My printer uses LASERS!

Now I have no reasons left to procrastinate on wedding related activities. Jeff and I upgraded from the free printer that came with my laptop 3 years ago that printed only in neon green to a spiffy laser one! And... wait for it... it prints in more than one blinding color. Success!

I can't wait to get started on multiple designs for cd labels, stationery, programs, cards, stickers, and all that nonsense, now that I don't have to sneak prints from the one color printer at work! But most importantly, my white whale has been conquered. Yes, I printed, stamped, glued, and finished our thank you cards! FABULOUS. I can't wait to pop some stamps on these babies and send them on their merry way.

What's your wedding "white whale"? In a perfect world, we would just be cruising through our DIY and planning, but let's be real here. Something is going to snag you! What is it?

How to meet a photographer on the interwebs

Or, how the best stuff can happen when you least expect it!

I read a few wedding blogs. Just a few, and just every once in awhile.

SIKE. I love to go through wedding blogs to pick up inspiration and DIY ideas as often as I can, because I love figuring out how to take something that is expensive and fabulous and make it even more fabulous and way less expensive. But there are just certain things that you see in the blogs that are harder to pare down, like photography. You can't have a wedding do-over if you don't like your photos. But really, it's just a single day to start a long life together. It was a struggle wrestling with these ideas, but we did, and eventually came up with a window for a budget that kept in mind paying someone talented fairly but not just tanking our budget.

We figured the first way to keep costs down was to stick with someone local. After recommendations from our neighbors and our wedding planner, we checked out a well known photography team in the Negril area. WAY out of our budget. Just a few years prior, our neighbors walked away with everything they wanted for about $500 USD. These days, multiply that by at least 5 to start, not including all of the other cool stuff that we wanted. Paula Gold was great to work with though, and has a decent portfolio, so I would say that if you can afford her, go for it! You won't be disappointed. But sadly, back to the drawing board.

Coincidentally found a Texas photog in Jamaica the week prior... but outside budget. We then committed to finding the best option in Jamaica that would work within our budget, and we were lucky to find one. We were ready to go when we found a vague part of the contract that confused both parties - the time she'd spend photographing on the day of the wedding. I am still in the dark as to the actual plan of our wedding day. The Rockhouse has that under control, but we probably won't really hash that out until closer to the wedding day (they are laid back, mon). We wanted to know what to pay up front and have one less thing to figure out while we were recovering from our hazy Red Stripe morning after the reception. We discussed and parted ways amicably, though I was pretty worried that we wouldn't be able to find someone that was a better fit. As a last ditch effort, I posted an ad on Miami's Craigslist.

"WANTED: Wedding Photographer - Destination - Jamaica,"

And WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! We got some responses! But one stood out immediately from Morgan Bellinger of Move Photography. He is a recent grad, building his photography business, based out of AZ and CA (helllooo, I LOVE AZ and CA!) and most of all, he wanted to photograph our wedding! After checking out his portfolio, I was convinced. It seemed like he paid special attention to portraits, and food photography. I am quite passionate about food, so this just works out perfectly. Not only can I have some great keepsakes of the people there, but some kickass shots of delicious Jamaican food? Booyah. We worked it out that we would pay for all of his travel expenses and his fee, and he would document the wedding weekend for us. As someone who is also looking to build her portfolio, I can see how this arrangement would be worthwhile for him. I am just thrilled to have been introduced to him early in the game, because this time next year, I bet he'll be charging the big bucks! Scoop him up now while you can! Highly recommended so far.

Here are some examples of his work:

I want to eat my monitor when I see pictures like this!

The color and the focus on this pre-wedding ritual is just gorgeous. I'm really looking forward to Morgan capturing all of the wonderful color and ambiance of the Rockhouse - if he can capture even a fraction of the feelings you get while there, it is a success.

Catching the guys in a goofy moment would be great :)

All photos courtesy of Move Photography

So, there you have it! JBB and I are super lucky to have gotten a wedding photographer that was down with our mysterious timelines, is pretty cool and will get along well all weekend with our friends during downtime at the pool and bar, and who did a sweet little engagement shoot for us on the run in Newport Beach. More on that gloriousness to come!

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear

I'm back! New imac and an early morning have brought this blogger back from the dead :)

So it seemed that after all of the necessary necessities were accomplished, I mentally checked out from wedding planning to prepare for summer travel and numerous upcoming weddings. That was JUST FINE for everyone concerned. So it was a real vacation and an even bigger treat to visit California in honor of my dear friend Jig and ML's wedding in the OC.

Now, for those of you that don't know Jig, she is one of the funniest, kindest, quirkiest, and special people I know. Saying she's a special person has some different connotations, but it's true - she makes an impact on everyone she meets, and I can't imagine myself without her, even though we don't have the opportunity to see each other as frequently as we once had.

The saying on that mirror holds true in so many ways! It was taken two days before Jig's wedding, and our brunch together in Newport Beach was the calm before the storm of wedding festivities. Even after a long time and a far distance apart, of course we all fell into things pretty naturally. Perhaps someday we will live in the same time zone! Until then, we'll have to stalk each other's blogs/facebooks/email regularly. Lastly, the chick in the backseat, MOI, realized after seeing all of the wonderful and well thought out details of Jig's east meets west LOVELY wedding on a hill, that she had to get her ass in gear!

So, we had a fabulous vacation. Caught up with old friends, married off my special lady, and saw as much as possible from West Hollywood down to Coronado Bay in San Diego. But we did manage to accomplish one wedding feat - meeting our photographer, and under some daunting circumstances, squeeze in an engagement shoot! And after returning from California, well rested and full of ideas, I'm back in action and ready to plan this thing. Giddy up!

the most gorgeous pic ever!

I don't really buy wedding magazines. I have inherited a few from bridesmaid TPOC (thanks girl!) and my wildly talented MOH, the managing editor of one. Can I mention it here? I don't know what is TMI on the interwebs. If you read this, you can let me know ;)

I was flipping through a Modern Bride while waiting for James last night and was pleasantly surprised to find that this was the issue with Mrs. Bee! Then, after a few more page flips, found this picture:

i forgot to write down any of the info, but it's from Modern Bride Magazine

I.LOVE.IT. I want to have it in every color, plus that hairstyle (impossible but isn't it perfect?!), and all of her accessories. I would wear that dress in white for the wedding instantly. It's actually quite reasonably priced, since it's a bridesmaid gown. Maybe I would even get a stinking print of that picture for my future office, haha. Keep scrolling up to look at it, I'll wait.

By the way, my PRE-wedding chop went quite well. Ugh, I'd post a picture, but after further review, I look hands-down crazy in my picture! I was so excited with all of the products and thinning shears and shampoo smells that I couldn't hold it together for 2 seconds for a photo worthy of the blog. I'll post one later, since we went out for BML's birthday that night!

Tell me - what pictures have you seen that really wowed you?

Let's get real!

I am in total wedding la la land. I have been so wrapped up in being wrapped up that I don't think I'm getting anything done! Goals:

Book the photographer's flight. It could change in a week, but if I book and never check again, I won't see any unpleasant lowering of prices. I need to lock him in - we are so excited about it! I can't wait to post about his work.

his work is awesome! Not only does he do great portraits and events, but he also photgraphs food (which is a HUGE part of why we love The Rockhouse!)

Pick a freaking dress. My thriftiness has allowed for 2 dress purchases but now I have to just get decisive and take one to Becky @ Becky's Alterations and Bridal in Jax. She totally knocked the bridesmaid's dress out of the park with her quick turnaround time and ability to make lemonades out of a big old lemon that didn't fit.

Book the band. We have one that we like but they wear argyle sweater vests! How reggae is that?! Not. But they do a mighty fine Earth Wind and Fire, so you know they've got potential.

Hugade - a good possibility!

The rest of it, the DIY, stationery, gifts, etc - that's the super fun stuff. I can't wait to plan that but I must do the less fun stuff first, so that I don't feel guilty with the hot glue gun when something more crucial is left untouched.

Thanks for sitting thru this horrible but necessary post. I'm going to get some work done, and get cracking on my first task. Booyah.

The PWC...

... PRE wedding?

That's right - I'm foregoing the post wedding chop and opting for the PRE wedding chop.  I have been growing out this Katie Holmes cut for a while now.  In the interest of having long, luxurious wedding locks that would all tuck into a romantical and beachy updo I have been getting the Supercuts special ($14 and no hair wash or blowout!) and gradually getting rid of my layers.  Now it's nearly layer-less, hanging past my shoulders, and looking... well, like a basset hound.  I have a rectangle shaped face and a prominent nose and am basically doing everything that Glamour, Allure, Marie Claire et al. tell me to avoid.  

The hairstyles featured earlier in this blog are all so lovely, and I would like to emulate them.  But I just can't be seen in another photo looking like this.

Cute, eh? On me, not so much!

So!  I'm going to visit James @ Omni Salon in Jacksonville and having him fix it.  Let's keep the length, but lose the blahs.  I'd rather have some fabulously layered tendrils falling out of my bun all night than look crazy for the rest of the summer.  Considering I have 0.0 motivation to get dressed for work these days, I need something that doesn't require a lot of maintenance to look good.  One sad thing, though, about abandoning Supercuts is that I won't get to hear about my stylist's stepdaughter's redneck wedding!  I was just getting into the story about the 19 year old's temper tantrums in the dress.   Maybe for my real PWC.  Or when I just need some more inspiration!

Disney and weddings?

Purely to be nosey, we looked at what it would cost to have a wedding at the pavillion at Disney. Yeahhhh, the budget for even the basics would far surpass our entire destination wedding, all in. So it was never a consideration. But this weekend while hanging out with family and running around Magic Kingdom like goons, I have declared that it would be an awesome place for some engagement photos! Imagine how fun and colorful they would be! Disney of course has its issues, but it can't be beat for the overall experience. Even the power lines near Disney attach to a giant pole shaped like Mickey's head. Unbelievable attention to detail.

What if we were to have an engagement shoot at Disney? We could play house in Minnie Mouse's kitchen, or share a kiss in front of Cinderella's castle.

Minnie's house

The castle, at dusk

How moody and awesome is that! You could even try to get one of the characters to faux marry you! Chip would probably be up for the challenge, he's a fun guy.

Because weddings are so planned, I think it'd be a neat idea to introduce a little whimsy in your engagement photos. What other ideas do you have for whimsical unique E-photo locations?

Lessons about fairies and flowergirls

This weekend, JBB and I met up with his sister, bro in law, and niece at Magic Kingdom! It was fantastical, as you can imagine. Ellie will be our flower girl, and she's turning 3 this fall. It was so fun getting to hang out with her; she has a lot of interesting things to say! For instance, you knew that Tinkerbell is friends with Peter Pan in Neverland, but did you know that Neverland is "Second to the right, and straight on till morning"? She told me that, and also that it's an island. I was delighted about this, because we are getting married on one! Ellie and I have agreed that when we get to Jamaica, we're going to find those fairies and invite them to the wedding! So, we're going to have family, friends, stray kittens, and fairies. What a jammin' party!

Our little tinkerbell with her very own magic fairy wand! Watching the light parade in Magic Kingdom.

hello? is this thing on?

I'm triple (near quadruple) digits from my home state right now. I backspaced a few to add the "state" in there, because I feel more at home-home in Florida than PA. This has greatly influenced a lot of wedding decisions. A couple examples: I'm normally a shower-hater, but I've caved, since I'd miss the people in PA that wouldn't be able to attend the wedding. And I did my dress shopping [briefly!] here in Florida with bridesmaids L and J, but also online, which I shared with the rest of the gang, who patiently replied to my random texts and emails with pictures of me standing in ill-fitting gowns. This is just fine with me, as I appreciate the road less taken and don't mind abandoning traditions that aren't personally as important.

But the dress thing kind of struck a chord with me. For a while, I begged my mom to come to Florida to go dress shopping with me. I pictured my mom, bridesmaids, and I, drinking champagne, trying on dresses and giggling like goons, and then getting some lunch and BOGO drinks at Chili's next door. Wrong. I can't think of a single question that she has asked me about the planning that wasn't about the logistics (ex. What flight should we take? Isn't that a little early? Can't I come on Friday night, since your brother has school?), except one like "My girl friend asked about your dress and I didn't really know..". In my experience, people that want to know wedding details will ask you. The people that don't want to hear about it usually don't, and I appreciate that, because if you ask me, I will tell you in painstaking detail about how we came up with our invites, or website, etc. That TMI look on someone's face that doesn't really care is brutal! I've been there before.. I get that look when babies, taxes, basketball, miley cirus, et al are mentioned. Yes I said it - BABIES. ;-)

So, my wedding planning is a little bit different than my friends, but I'm very thankful for JBB's family's involvement and interest, and of course our wonderful friends. I will say that a non-involved mother is better than a momzilla, because we would NOT get along. Sometimes I do wonder what it'd be like to get a call from a parental about the wedding, though. Just sayin'! I could have it all wrong, though... but there is only so much reaching you can do without someone reaching back. Overall, I am overjoyed with how things are going and look forward to officially starting a family with JBB and our kitties in December, and celebrating in Jamaica with family and friends!