Wedding Inspiration!

This post is probably long overdue....I imagine that most brides start by introducing their ideas and vision, and then launch into all the little details, but I guess I'm not one to follow the crowd. Such a rebel, I know ;)

As most people around me know, I am a total girly-girl. If this wedding were just about me, it would be pink and glittery everywhere. However, Keith, is a total guys-guy. His one request when I picked my color scheme? No pink.

:(

So, I set out to find something else that would match "us". We both love the water, and since I'm from Hawaii, I first wanted to do something beachy. Like this:

http://wevegotitchicago.blogspot.com/2010/05/get-blues.html

But, then I couldn't really find an outdoor beachy venue that fit, especially since we wanted a church ceremony, so I went back to the drawing board. And found this:

 http://www.groomsoldseparately.com/wedding-ideas-and-trends/wedding-boards/gss-wedding-inspiration-board-navy-blue-khaki-cream-nautical-wedding/

 Swoon! I loved it! It was preppy (very classic New England) but incorporated our love of the water and summer. I am using an anchor as a theme throughout and adding pops of lime green as an accent color. The groomsmen will wear green and navy striped ties, and the girls will wear navy blue, and carry green bouquets. Since we decided on this theme, I have scoured the internet and every blog and DIY site for ideas. And I have plenty! As we get closer to the big day, I'm looking forward to working on some of these projects.

Oh, and even though I was told I couldn't have pink, Keith did give in on one thing (because he loves me soooo much!)

http://sweetchicevents.com/blog/angela-phils-eaglewood-resort-wedding-part-1/3-erica-rose-photography-pink-peony-bouquet-vale-of-enna/

Yes, I will have an all-pink bridal bouquet <3 I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Fifty-Eight!

This past Monday, September 26, marked my grandparents 58th wedding anniversary. 58 years y'all! Can you imagine?

My grandparents are on the end, and that's me and my Uncle, on our last trip to Hawaii :)

Well, yes, I can! I imagine and I hope and I pray that Keith and I are as lucky as they are. The sweetest part is that my grandparents are still as madly in love as the day that they got married---that right there is something to celebrate.

We live in a society where sadly, more than half of marriages end in divorce. My grandparents are from a generation where divorce just wasn't an option. They certainly have not had a perfect 58 years, but they stuck together through the hard times, and enjoyed the good. But you know what? That's life. I know that marriage isn't going to be all fairy tales and rainbows. I'm sure there will be things that Keith and I will face that will completely throw us. But I believe in our love and I believe in our commitment.

My grandparents, even though they live 6000 miles away, are a huge inspiration to me. They played a very large role in helping me become the person that I am. If I am blessed to have half of the amazing life they have had, I will consider myself truly lucky.


"For me, it goes back to a promise made. It’s about integrity. What’s the meaning of the promise if you don’t bend heaven and earth to keep it?"

My name is Gentel, and I'm an addict....

And no, I am not referring to my addiction to blogging, although I hope that this is where this all leads! Let me explain....

I have been obsessed with weddings since I was a little girl. I love wedding magazines, flower bouquets, cake and gowns...basically everything having to do with weddings. When I first got engaged, (ok ok, maybe a little before) I loved looking at weddings sites online.  Somehow, amidst all my searching, I found WeddingBee.  I loved the cute little monikers (seriously, these brides go by names such as Starfish, Carousel and Pony!) and I loved the realness of their posts. These are real life brides sharing stories and ideas and going through the same things I was. Soon after, I was hooked and checking WeddingBee multiple times a day. And then I realized that I could become a Bee....

Ohhhh.Emmmm.Geeeee. I want to be a Beeeeee!

http://busbysbees.wikispaces.com/B.E.E.+Binder

 

 

 

 

 

I always wanted to be a writer, and enjoyed taking writing classes in school. Even now, when my teachers assign me papers, I don't whine about the writing part, I actually enjoy it! Blogging is something that I would LOVE to do. And I want to be a part of this amazing community!! 
In order to get my feet wet, I decided to start writing this blog. Blogging for WeddingBee is not just a couple cute posts, these Bees blog almost-daily! I actually get disappointed when I log in mid-way through the day and there aren't very many new posts :(  I knew that if I was going to be a successful Bee, I would have to be willing to put forth the time and effort into writing (alot!) for this amazing site.
They only take applications from brides who's weddings are 8 months away, so I have one more month to go until I can apply to become a Bee, so stay tuned for more updates! 

And Pengy, if you're reading this one day soon....please, please, please pick me! :)

Where is all this stuff going to go?!

OK, so when I first started this process, I will admit that I kind of went overboard with my ideas. I wanted to DIY as many projects as possible. I thought that not only would this save us some money, but would also add personal touches to our wedding. There was only one slight problem...my list was quickly growing longer and longer and I was faced with the problem of what I was going to do with everything until the wedding.

Keith and I live in a 1200sq foot condo with limited storage space....and our second bedroom has turned into our "man-cave"/guest room/catch-all. It looks like this:

We recently re-organized much of the clutter and purchased some new furniture a new desk and it looks much better! But still, seriously, WHERE am I going to put all of my projects??? I have warned Keith that this room will probably turn into Wedding Central for the next 9 months, so hopefully I can find a way to keep everything organized until then!

Where are you storing all of your wedding things? Are you also running out of space?

Save-the-Date Madness

I was so excited about choosing our save-the-dates. STD's (hehe) are much more popular than the were even a few years ago, so I knew there would be some of guests that would really enjoy receiving them, that had not gotten many before. 

There was never a doubt in my mind that we would use Wedding Paper Divas for these. I absolutely love their designs, and find their prices to be pretty reasonable too! Here are a few of the designs that I considered:

We loved this but wanted to use two photos / Image via weddingpaperdivas.com

I loved the font and the "ticket" text boxes! Again, only space for one photo. / Image via weddingpaperdivas.com

Adorable! / Image via weddingpaperdivas.com

We chose this one because it wasn't super formal, and allowed us to use two different pictures. Since we both had a favorite from our engagement session we decided the best compromise was using them both! Here is our final design!

Finished product! :) / Personal Photo

And the back!

Sorry it's not centered...love phone photos! / Personal Photo

And here's a shot of my table as I was addressing them all:

Personal Photo

I also splurged on personalized stamps from Zazzle.com using another one of our engagement photos. I think it adds such a nice touch! 

The entire project ended up costing us about $190. The postcards were $110 and the stamps were about $80. 

I was so happy with how they came out and we got tons of compliments on them! Everyone especially loved the stamp, so I'm glad we got them :) 

Did anyone else use personalized stamps?  How did you choose from all the save-the-date options out there?

To video or not?

Videography always seems to be that one thing that brides are evenly split on. On one side, you have the brides who are fine with having some record their wedding, or have no wedding at all. And then on the other side, you have the brides who swear this is not something they can go without.

Where did I fall? Right smack in the middle, that's where.

Keith was of the opinion that if we could afford it, and if I really wanted it, then go for it. Aka, he left it up to me. Now, I don't do well with making decisions. I'm always over-thinking and over-analyzing, and then even when I do make a decision, I second guess it. *Sigh*

Finally, I decided that I would hire a videographer, but ONLY if I could have a specific one. Jeremy Folster, of Folster Video, did BM CC's wedding last year. Even now, I still get goose bumps when I watch their video. He is so incredibly talented and I loved his work.

So I emailed him and asked if he had our date available, and he did! It was a sign! Yes, I'm also a big believer in signs :)

I had a phone consultation with him and was so excited to talk about the details of the day, and our timeline and what I wanted him to shoot. He was able to give me some good advice on some other things I had been debating like, whether or not to do a receiving line (yes!) and if it would be "acceptable" for us to mingle with our guests at the cocktail hour before our reception (another yes!). It was nice to talk to someone who knew what he was talking about and give me some piece of mind on more than just videography.

This is the link to his website if you want to check out his work! I can't wait to see how our video comes out and I'm really looking forward to choosing the music he sets our 2-minute video to!

Where do you fall in this discussion? If you're already married, do you have any thoughts or regrets either way?

It's all about the numbers...

The guest list has for SURE been the biggest challenge we have faced so far, and it's still only 99% done. Originally I was going to do an "A" and a "B" list, and then I decided that was just going to create more work and hassle, and I didn't want anyone to find out and think they were second best. 

Keith has a huge family, and I don't. Our guest list ended up being split something like ..... 70/30. I preferred a smaller, more intimate wedding and he didn't want to offend any of his family by not inviting certain people. Inviting all his family, meant not being able to invite as many of his friends as he wanted. We went back and forth about it for close to two months. 

Our list started at 206, at one point was down to 165, then up again to 175 and now it is finally at 180, and although it might go up again, but 186 is probably the max. I hope.

I know they say to expect 15-20% won't be able to come, which will put us closer to the number we would ideally have preferred.  Looking at our guest list now, I know that each person on it has been a part of our lives, individually and together. Each person has touched our lives and helped to make us the people that we are today. So while I may have originally preferred that our guest list number be smaller, I am looking forward to celebrating with everyone. 

How did you determine your guest list? Did anyone do an A/B list?