Race to the Aisle

We are having a BABY!!!!!!

2009-12-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

My husband and I are expecting our first child!!!! What an adventure :o)

babyponticelli.blogspot.com

What's New?

2009-09-08T20:17:00.001-07:00

What's new you ask well I have started a joint blog adventure with one of my best friend's Brandie. I promise I will soon have some updates on here such as the second half of my vendor ratings and some other wedding details but to follow me you can also check out. . .

touchoffabulous.blogspot.com

A Few More Pictures

2009-08-25T19:09:00.001-07:00

Joanne Tanguay Vandal

Michael Maler

Igor Parsadanov

PUG photo shoot - August 2009

2009-08-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

So when your wedding is over you will sit and stare at your dress bad and just dream about putting on that special dress again. Well my opportunity came last week when my amazing photographer/friend Carla Ten Eyck asked me to model for a PUG photo shoot. I was so excited I of course said yes immediately but I couldn't imagine how amazing these pictures would turn out. Thank you so much to Carla and the amazing photographers who were there that day! Here are a few of the pictures I got to see. . .

Val McCormick

Tina Lussier Parsadanov

Marcin Rafalowicz

Joe Catapano

Carrie Roseman

Anthony DeCarlo

Now I just have to sit down with Carla and decide what to do for a Trash the Dress session. I feel so lucky :o)

Highlight Video

2009-06-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

Tom Morlock posted a video from the wedding. Your more than welcome to take a peek

http://vantagepoint-films.com/?p=153

he is sssssssssssooooooooooooo talented!

Vendor Reviews Part 1

2009-06-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Photography - Carla Ten Eyck (& Crew)

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ok I really cannot say enough good things about this photographer! I knew that it was going to be a huge task to find someone who would be able to bring my vision to life. Now, I sat down with other photographers who would say things like "we shoot however you want us to" or "if you would like to compile some pictures we can re-create them for you" NO! I want you to do what you do . . . be you and do your style and if I like your style I'll book you. The second I met with Carla I just knew she was the one who had to capture my day. During our e-shoot she had me and Eric at ease (she shot along with Mike Romano who is also AMAZING). From our e-pics she created a sign in book which was beautiful. After that I did a b-session as a wedding gift for my husband which he loved! I didn't think I would be comfortable but I was completely at ease. Now for the wedding day. . . since I was so comfortable with Carla and her crew it was actually extremely enjoyable to have them there. I wanted to share the day with them :o) Carla captured everything perfectly and the photo booth she set up was an absolute hit with ALL of the guests! She also took the time to quickly post up a few pictures from the day on a monitor for guests to view :o) I haven't seen all of the pictures just yet but what little I have seen have far exceeded my expectations. You get what you pay for and She is top of the line!!!!!!

Reception - Laurel View Country Club

B-

I had a very difficult time finding a reception site that met my expectations and was within budget. After finding Laurel View I continued to look around but this was my best option. I really hated the color of the interior which I will admit wasn't noticeable the day of. The reception was beautiful and I love the floor plan set up. The exterior was beautiful as well we got some great shots on the golf course. Why the B- you ask. . . well they just nickel and dimed us every step of the way. It was like pulling teeth! We signed the contract at one rate and yes there was a clause that prices could go up but you don't think a place will do that to you. . .well yup they did. First they told us the minimum was 100 then they changed it to 150. I wanted to do a candy buffet and I got it all together. I made the Chinese to go boxes, bought all the candy, got together candy jars, and my wedding planner was doing set up and clean up. They said because they offer a candy buffet (which look horrible) they would have to charge me for leaving out a table for me to do my buffet. WHAT????!!!!???? SERIOUSLY! So we argued enough and got them to take away the charge. But after all that trouble I cant really recommend this venue.

Flowers - Jane Just For You

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jane is simply AMAZING! Her prices are more than reasonable and work work is elegant and gorgeous. Not only is her work spectacular but she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She wanted nothing more than to make my wedding as beautiful as it could possibly be. I never thought I would be able to afford the flowers that I ended up with on my wedding day. If you don't book Jane it would be a huge mistake. She is a great vendor whom I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Cake - Creative Cakes by Donna

A+

First off if you haven't seen Creative Cakes by Donna at some point while living here in Connecticut you must be living under a rock. . .or you have just started the wedding planning process :o) Her cakes are delicious and she is such a sweetheart. I sent her a picture of the cake I wanted and she re-created it to a "T". I did a fondant strawberry shortcake... mmmmmmmmm so good! Now I will tell you, try your bakers fondant before hand. I have tried some really horrible fondant but Donna's is really good.. . tastes like marshmallows! Underneath the fondant she also puts a layer of butter cream so that if your guests don't want to have the fondant they can just choose not to eat it.

Hair/Makeup - Dana Bartone

A+

Dana was a pleasure to work with. She came to my hotel with one other associate to work on me and my girls. I opted to have airbrush makeup done which lasted right up until my husband decided to get wedding cake all up in my face LOL. My hair was perfect as well as my makeup and Dana is just so easy to get along with which is def. key to staying calm on your big day!

Wedding Gown - Sophia Tolli Designer / Dress shop - Stars Avon, CT

Designer Sophia Tolli - A+ I LOVE my dress. I got a great deal since she is a pretty new designer. Highly recommend her dresses!

Stars, Avon CT - B- I felt that most of the women in the store were very snotty, they saw me as assigned to one person and gave me trouble when I wanted to come in to see my dress. The only reason I ended up purchasing my dress from the store as an employee by the name of Becca. She was wonderful, although sometimes she was hard to get a hold of she really does care about her brides! My dress was originally A-line but I wanted ballgown so Becca said the designer would be able to put an extra panel in the dress to make is poofy. The designer said it couldn't be done so Becca ordered extra fabric to do it herself. The store told her NOT to do it for me and to tell me too bad. . . how rude right?!? So she did it anyway and I was extremely grateful :o)

~~Pro-Pics~~

2009-06-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to post some of my teaser pro pics from the MOST talented photographer ever the amazing Carla Ten Eyck ( www.carlateneyck.com). Words cannot describe how much I LOVE her. . .from the moment we met I knew that she was the only person who would be able to capture the greatest day of my life. So here we go. . .

This is me getting ready my husbands sister in law was nice enough to lend me her skirt reading "Mrs. Ponticelli". . .so here I am showing them off :o)

Now if you know anything about me you then obviously know how much I love Twilight. . . so I figured that at some point I may be nervous (which I wasn't) and the only thing I thought would calm me would me anyone of my Twilight books, so Carla put my books to work :o)

So after the task of getting ready me and my father took the vintage Buick over to the church. We were really early so I got to wave as guests arrived and spend some quality time with my dad which was amazing since I am such a daddy's girl.

Time to walk down the aisle or race to the aisle (LOL). My eyes were on Eric the entire time but as I reached the alter I couldn't help the emotion I felt and I got a little teary.

And here we are as Mr. & Mrs. Ponticelli!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this very dramatic picture of us leaving the church but I must admit there is a funny story behind it. Carla told me before hand that she wanted us to both push open the church doors for our exit, sounds simple enough right? Yeah. . . not so much, the doors were stuck and it took us a minute to get them to open. But it is still a beautiful picture!

Right after the ceremony we ran outside to take some pictures with our bridal party. One of Eric's gifts to his groomsmen was aviators so they decided to rock those for a few pics. . .but me and my girls had to show them up of course!

Who looks better??? Tough call. . .

This was a fun shot. . .very casual. . .Love it!

Eric wanted to immediately update his facebook with a picture so before we knew it everyone with an iPhone was working it. . .so Carla worked them :o)

So after our bridal party fun it was off to our reception at Laurel View Country Club in our vintage Buick. You know my girl Carla was going to rock out these shots, they are just beautiful!

My very handsome HUSBAND. . .soooooo much fun to say that!!!

The lighting in this shot is so soft and smooth. . . it looks like it should be on the cover of a bridal magazine or something!

So after working the Buick for a while we worked our way onto the golf course for some more pictures. . . again these are just magical! You will also noticed I changed into my Birdcage veil for a unique vintage kind of look :o)

This one right here left me speechless. . . it looks like a painting almost van Gogh-esk. . . with the way the sky looks in the back.

A nice view of the rings in this shot!

Carla said she could get some great shots if I would lay down on the grass in my dress. . . so whatever Carla says I do. . . .

We got some bridal shots worked out here. . .

Our first dance as husband and wife was to Ben E. King's Stand By Me. . . I sang all of the words to him and it was such a beautiful moment, of course he caught me by surprise with a few dips here and there.

I knew the moment I was engaged what song I wanted to dance with my father to and I knew it was going to be emotional for the both of us. It was a remix of Daddy's Little girl by Kippi Brannon and Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlise. It fit us to a T and again I sang the words and shed some tears. . . super emotional moment for me and my father!

I knew my mother felt a little left out since I no longer live in New York where I am from so I did a surprise mother daughter dance to Christina Aguliera's I Turn To You. My mother was so touched the moment she was called out she cried. Towards the end of the song my 2 little sisters and Oma (which means Grandma in Dutch) joined us :o)

Carla set up this total fun and amazing photo booth. . .which was a HUGE hit that night. My parents were kind enough to go search out and purchase a tons of awesome props to keep things going. . . Here is me, my husband, Carla, Mike, and Katie (aka the most amazing Photography crew EVER)

We ended up doing a bubble send off from our reception site. . .fun fun :o)

I will post more as I get them. . .Hope you enjoyed looking at these as much as I did!!!!!

Wedding Day has come and gone

2009-05-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

What a whirl wind adventure. . . my wedding day was perfect and I loved every minute to say the least. Just wanted to quickly post a few pictures I promise I will post more when I have them and some time :o)

Bachlorette

2009-05-25T16:39:00.001-07:00

So for my Bachlorette it was in NYC my theme was corset tops and devil horns and here is the craziness that ensued!

Flowers with Jane

2009-04-19T17:27:00.001-07:00

I met with Jane today here are my tall center pieces, they contain white and green hydrangeas and Tibetan tea roses :o)

I wasn't going to do small center pieces but I am now contemplating it here is what we were thinking about doing. . .

CT Bridal Shower

2009-04-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

So these a just a few pictures of my Bridal Shower here in Connecticut. I cant thank my future mother in law and bridesmaids for all of their hard work! I enjoyed every minute :o)

Here is the table set up. The theme was princess so there was a scepter and frog at each table :o)

Sham WOW. . . well since the spokesman is locked up I think I should take his place. . . LOL

Check out that ROCK

Me and my future Sis Xan

Rachel, Xan, Emily, Me, Corey

Bridesmaid

My new pots and pans!!!!!

Me and my Mom's. . . Eric mom's Barbara on the left and my mom Sylvia on the right

Me and my parents. . . Alan and Sylvia

Me and the Groom to be. . . that's just how we do!

Me and my Daddy

My PIC Corey showing me Twilight love at my shower :o)

Kisses by the water :o)

Me and Eric inside at my shower

Such a cute shirt!

My "Throne" I get a crown, scepter, and a frog prince. . .sweet!

Digging in some gifts!

Opening some of my cards

:o)

Working on those gifts

Finally. . .Programs CHECK!!!!!!!!

2009-04-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

The project which I have feared for so long is finally done. I had to make 200 of these programs and thanks to a few helpful bridesmaids I was able to bang these out in a reasonable amount of time :o) I also just took a box from my New York bridal shower to display them. . .

Hair Trial with the Amazing Dana Bartone!

2009-04-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

So I went down to Cheshire to meet up with the very lovely and talented Dana Bartone for my hair trial. She really is such a doll and I just love how my hair turned out :o) So here are the results from our time together. . .

Crazyness!!

2009-04-10T15:22:00.001-07:00

So the wedding is next month. . . RSVP's are coming in. . .my dress is done and sitting in my closet. . . and the days are just melting away. I want to apologize for not posting at the moment I am being a horrible blogger there is just so much going on. Now as you have seen through my many posts I have been on my game since, well since the moment Eric proposed. Even with all of the projects I have completed there is still much to be done. So at this moment still looking at a mountain of work I am so appreciative that I paced myself by doing projects so early. Right now I am tackling my big beast. . . . . . THE PROGRAMS. As beautiful as they are they are a ton of work considering that each petal must be cut out individually and each program calls for 6 pedals and at 200 programs for the wedding that means I need to cut out 1200 petals. Yeah so you can see why I haven't been around right. I promise I will post pictures once I have some more but trust me when I tell you. . . Start working on everything early you will appreciate it soooo much when you are at the point I am now. So goodbye for now hope all is well and Happy Easter!! MWAH!

Reserved

2009-03-22T05:08:00.001-07:00

So not only did I watch Twilight 20 times but I did get some wedding related work done as well. Here are the church Reserved signs for the parents and the Bridal Party :o)

TWILIGHT DAY

2009-03-21T12:25:00.001-07:00

Here are our pictures thus far. . . . Gosh I love this movie! This is me and my PIC Corey :o)

NWR: Twilight

2009-03-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ok so my non-wedding related obsession Twilight is coming out on DVD tomorrow. I am sooooo tempted to hit up one of the release parties tonight but because of my recent surgery I cant risk hundreds of screaming girls bumping into me and what not. I also pre-ordered the Blu Ray version from Best Buy so I am going to the store with my PIC (partner in crime. . .Corey) to pick it up. I mean come on what is better then Edward Cullen (aka Robert Pattinson) is High Def? Ummmmm NOTHING! So the plan is. . .pick up the movie and first we are going to watch it all the way through. . . then we are going to watch the deleted scenes and the documentary, then we are going to watch it with directors commentary. . .and then watch it again . . . and again. . . and again. . . and again. . . and I think you get the point :o) Well it will be on all day long at our Condo and I cant wait!!!! Oh and to make things even better I just ordered the Twilight book collection, since I must must must re-read all of the books again!

** Don't worry I'll be posting pictures of our fun events of tomorrow!

Program Test

2009-03-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

So I tweaked the programs some more and printed it out and here is how they turned out :o)

~Programs~

2009-03-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

So I decided to redesign my programs. I will still be doing the fan programs but cutting them out was a task I was not about to tackle. So I completely remade the shape of the petal and here is the final version.

The 6 sheets will be held together by a diamond fascinator :o)

Rosary

2009-03-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

So I purchased these rosary beads from Ebay to have wrapped around my bouquet. They are more perfect than I could have even imagined :o)

New York Bridal Shower

2009-03-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

So this past Sunday I had my first Bridal Shower. It was a lot of fun and here are the pics:

FYI:

My hair inspiration was from Bella, the prom scene :o) Hey I had to incorporate Twilight some how!

Guest List

2009-03-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

Well I know some girls add a few famous people to their invite list. . .now of course I know that there is only a .0000000001% chance that anyone would show up but I could'nt help myself. So I just thought of who I would really want to invite. . . um top of the list of course is Robert Pattinson :o)

and I think I'm going to do Stephen Moyer, Christian Bale, and The Obama's. . .this is sooo much fun!

Wedding Band

2009-03-14T12:13:00.001-07:00

So there was a whole bunch of drama with my wedding band. . . he is the short of it: A few months after getting engaged we purchased our rings. I ended up getting an eternity band thinking everything would look perfect once it was the the right size. Well when the rings came in. . . well not perfect, the rings together didn't look right and I hated it. I didn't want to hurt my FI's feelings so I just kept telling myself. . .you love it. . .you love it. . .you love it. . .but I didn't love it and so months few by and I finally gathered the nerve to tell my FI that I wanted to exchange the ring. After about 6 trips to the jewelry store w/ BM's and Knotties and my FI I finally decided on a ring and as we finally went to make the exchange they said too much time had passed and since it was a special order we had to work with the manager. I was devastated. . .I found the right ring but I wasn't sure if I would end up with it :o( But then a few days later I got a call telling me we could do the exchange!!!!!! YAYAYAYAY! And this ring I was able to get it engraved and my FI decided to have "My Love" written in Dutch with our wedding date :o) So here are all the pics. . .

Shower Attire

2009-03-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

So tomorrow I have my New York bridal shower. I hadn't the slightest idea of what to wear and I was talking to the girls at work about it. My co-worker (the amazing Alyson) offered to lend me the dress she ordered for her bridal shower last year. She didn't get to wear it because it was too big and so she brought it into work and it fits perfectly :o) Since it is still a little chilly out here in Connecticut I decided to run over to Kohl's and see if they had anything. While walking around I saw a dress. . .the only one like it and it was in my size! The little bolero with it looks perfect with both dresses so I couldn't be happier! Here are the dresses. . . the one on the left is my New York dress and the one on the right is my Connecticut dress :o)

Now Reading. . .

2009-03-05T03:38:00.001-08:00

I read this book about 5 years ago but I decided to gear up for the movie release and re-read it. I really LOVE Dan Brown's books they are so exciting and I am really excited to take on reading this masterpiece again :o)

Currently Reading. . .

2009-03-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

So since I so dearly loved the series True Blood on HBO I decided to get the first book in the series Dead until Dark. Well actually Eric got it for me for Valentines Day. Its a great book there a quite a few differences between the show and the book but I guess that's to be expected. I'm almost done but I think I have decided to hold off on the series after this book so that I can be surprised with the show. Its a great book and all I have to say is mmmmmmmm to Bill Compton! Does anyone have any suggestions for any other hot vampire books?

Realization

2009-03-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

So with my first bridal shower quickly approaching its really beginning to sink in that my wedding is literally right around the corner. In only 86 days I become a wife! WHAT! How exciting is that? Since the day he proposed it seemed like something that was so far away and now its almost here. I am that girl who growing up always dreamed of her wedding day. I to this day remember friends and family asking me when I was a little girl. . . "Jessica what do you want to be when you grow up?" my response was always steady "I want to be a wife and a mother". Now half of my dream is coming true. I love my fiance more than anything and the mere thought of spending the rest of my life with him just makes me giddy. I just wanted to share :o)

Place Cards :o)

2009-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

So this weekend I tackled my place cards which I have been at a loss for ideas. But as all of my projects go out of no where something clicks and I make it work. So using Photoshop I create this template. . .

Just in case you need to know dimensions: 3 1/2 by 2 1/2

Once cut out here is what you are left with:

I decided to alternate my colors to give my card table more dimension :o) Another one completed yay!

Something Blue Bridal Show 2/15

2009-02-18T16:37:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of modeling in the Something Blue Bridal Show @ Cascades in Hamden with some of my fellow knotties. . . enjoy

BM Dress :o)

2009-02-13T03:46:00.000-08:00

So I was finally able to snap a picture of one of my BM's in her dress. It is only slightly different than my sisters aka MOH. I just love them!

NWR: Eclipse & Breaking Dawn

2009-02-12T19:45:00.001-08:00

So I finished reading these books and also the partial draft of Midnight Sun. It was really nice to take a break from the wedding planning process. I have gone full throttle since I said "Yes!" These books were beyond amazing and I can only hope she puts out more in the series and finishes Midnight Sun. . . breaks over back to planning :o)

NWR: New Moon

2009-02-01T07:26:00.001-08:00

Ok so I cannot get enough of these books! I read this one in a day and a half :o) I don't want to give anything away but I'm hooked and already on to the next book. With all the wedding planning this is such a nice escape for me. . .

NWR: Twilight

2009-01-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Ok so I am the biggest dork and I have seen Twilight in theaters twice (I had company. . .my partner in crime in this adventure Corey). I remember seeing the previews for the movie and not thinking anything of it. I LOVE the HBO series True Blood and I figured "Oh ok I'll go see this vampire movie". I love Bill on my tv series and I looked at the poster for Twilight and I was like oh he's ok. . . WOW how time changes! So by the end of the movies I was in LOVE with Edward I mean who wouldn't be right? I felt a little odd because he plays a teenager but then again he is over 100 years old. I felt even better when I found out that the actor is really 22. I now don't feel as creepy anymore. So I kept hearing from everyone that the books were amazing and so I decided I'll give it a shot. The only author I can read and enjoy is Dan Brown so I was quite the skeptic when I picked up Twilight. Yeah after 2 days I have read more than half and I should have it done by either tonight or tomorrow night. Such a great book and I cant wait till I can dive into the next one. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. . . its a nice break from my million and one projects :o)

Something Borrowed. . .Check!

2009-01-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Ok so it was love at first sight when I saw these earrings. I wanted them sooooo badly but I just couldn't justify spending over 100 bucks on them. So the girl who owns them decided to lend them to me. Here they are. . .

BM Bouquet Accessory

2009-01-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

So I love the idea of having each BM have their initial in their bouquet but they are ssoooo expensive. . .something like 30 each. . .um with 7 BM's that was NOT in budget. So if you couldn't guess this to begin with. . .UMMMMM DIY! So I went to Michael's and hit the floor running! I found what is called "eyelet alphabet" which is little letters in script. I wanted some bling so I also found Swarovski crystals and got a special type of glue and here is what you will need in addition to the letters. . .

. . . and here is the finished products. . .

Bubbles For The Church

2009-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have still been the busy little wedding bee working on projects here and there and I do have a new one for you! As if I have not used my wedding monogram in enough places. . . I have found yet another place :o) I have seen bubbles a million times and its always the same thing. . .wedding cake design or doves on top but you should know me better by now I want more! So I found an AMAZING deal on the knot for bubble wands (which can also be purchased at Michaels). On top there was a heart and although I got the wands to match my color it still wasn't personal enough so here is where the monogram I mentioned comes into play. . . TAGS! I took some left over paper from my invitations and table numbers and put a mat behind the monogram and then for a hole punch and went to Michaels and got a heart hole punch. . . (I know how cute and for only 5.99) to attach the ribbon onto the bubble wands. Here is the outcome. . .

BM Dress's are in

2009-01-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ok so sorry I haven't posted in forever! Things have been really crazy around here. So the BM dresses came in last week and I LOVE THEM!!!!! I am beyond excited about how great they look. Here is a picture of my little sister and maid of honor Maria, her dress is a little different then the rest of the girls but you can get the idea. . .

I also added a BM, my FI's sister in law Corey. . .she is such a doll and I LOVE her!!! She said yes so we are working on getting her dress! YAY. . .boy is time flying by!

New Years Day

2009-01-02T19:32:00.001-08:00

First off. . .Happy New Year everyone! I really couldn't believe it when it struck 2009 I whispered to my fiance. . . "we are getting married THIS year". He proposed on December 22, 2007 and 2009 seemed so far away and now it is almost here. I am so beyond excited not just for the party or putting on a pretty dress but I am excited that I am marrying someone that I am head over heals in love with. Like any real couple we have our ups and downs but I would rather be with him than anyone else. So New Years Day I decided to get some things done for the wedding since I didn't have work. I printed up 4 of our engagement pictures and put them into the card box which I posted previously. I LOVE that card box. . . FYI once my wedding is over chances are that will be for sale I doubt I will have use for it later. I also decided to work on my table numbers which again I posted previously. I am still working on them they are pretty time consuming but here is some of the progress that I have been making. . . .

I still cant finish until we decide on our menu but I love these :o)

DIY Card Box

2008-12-29T18:47:00.001-08:00

This was the perfect project for my fiance to join in the DIY fun that I have been having for a year now. Here he is working on putting together the 4 picture frames which we purchased earlier in the day :o)

Look how hard he is working. . . . yup that's my man!

His part of the project was almost completed here is the box you can see all of the brackets inside. Now it was my turn to make the top while he cut out the bottom of the box.

So I purchased fabric from Joanns that matched our wedding colors. I attached the fabric to the top with a hot glue gun and then stuffed it so it has a pillow affect. Here is the finished product. . .

A bit of work but totally worth it!

Our Engagement Pictures were taken by the amazingly talented Carla Ten Eyck

DIY Table Numbers

2008-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

So I just designed my table numbers. The table numbers will actually be 3 sided and will include the table number, menu card, and the word love written out in different languages. I played around with photoshop and this is what I was able to come up with. . . .

After I printed out my templates I put a card stock mat behind it to bring in the colors and give it a layered look (which I love). All you have to do is tape the ribbon to the mat and then tape your template to the mat. Final step is to tie your bow and there you have it!

~~Our Honeymoon~~

2008-12-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

Today we have booked our honeymoon. I'm very excited to complete this venture! When began talking about our honeymoon we didn't think realistically. . .first thought. . .HAWAII!!! Yeah well finances were not taken into account so it was back to the drawing board. After researching different options I remembered how much fun I had on the 2 Princess Cruises that I have had in the past. So onto the Princess website I went. . . I found one and only one cruise that fit our schedules. A 9 Day Caribbean Cruise out of New York. We have 4 stops. . .first stop will be in Bermuda then on to San Juan, St. Thomas, and last stop is Grand Turk. We worked with a travel agent at AAA and she was such a doll :o) We got a free upgrade to a balcony room which I am super excited about and we may receive more upgrades as well as we get closer. So I have a few things in mind for some activities and I know for a fact I am going to hit up that spa. I cant wait to share this special time with the man that will be my husband <3

12/15 Wedding Monogram and Invites

2008-12-15T19:38:00.001-08:00

I guess I am now venturing into designing invitations as well. . .here is what I designed for my fellow knottie Lauren :o)

. . .and here are some more monograms that I have created :o)

12/13 Wedding Monograms

2008-12-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

I worked on some more monograms over the weekend. This bride wanted to incorporate a greek key design, I couldnt find one so I designed it myself. I love the way these have turned out its a nice touch but not too much in your face.

12/10 Wedding Monograms

2008-12-10T18:08:00.000-08:00

I made a few more monograms for a bride :o) She requested that I incorporated cherry blossoms so I hope she likes it!

Knottie GTG 12/6

2008-12-07T09:37:00.001-08:00

This Saturday we happened to have another Knottie GTG. I must send out a special thank you to our lovely hostess Karen! I must also add that these girls are just amazing, everyone is super supportive and not catty or nasty in the least bit! I love spending time with all of them and I cannot wait to meet up with them again :o) Here are a few pictures of our crazy times together. . .

12/2 Wedding Monograms

2008-12-02T21:02:00.001-08:00

Here are the most recent monograms that I have created :o)

Invites in Calligraphy

2008-11-30T12:12:00.001-08:00

So this weekend I decided I was going to tackle the calligraphy task. I am doing calligraphy for others so I knew if I was still going to do my own it was going to have to be now or never. A while back I completed all of the return addresses so I just had to all of the mailing address to complete. It took me 2 days just a few hours a day and now I have one more thing checked off of my DIY to do list (which seems to grow by the minute). So YAY for checks!!!!!

That's a whole lot of calligraphy!

11/23 Wedding Monograms

2008-11-23T06:42:00.001-08:00

I have put together a few more monograms so here they are. . . I had 3 colors to work with and I think the colors came out great!

Photoshare

2008-11-22T20:16:00.001-08:00

I just ordered these from vista print for the wedding. . . what a steal. . .really literally a steal they were free and all I had to pay for was shipping :o) I wanted a way to get all the pictures from the guests and I have seen these before so I jumped on the opportunity to have these made up.

So there will be one of these at every seat! Another thing done :o)

11/22 more Wedding Monograms

2008-11-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Here are a few monograms that I have worked on recently :o)

Chinese To-Go Box

2008-11-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

Well I was on a roll tonight so I decided to keep on moving and I finished all of the Chinese to-go boxes for the favors. So I had the design down from a while back so all I had to do was print the labels and make them into stickers. So first was the printing which I did on photo paper it gave it a clean and expensive look to it (I highly recommend using it).

Time to cut out the soon to be stickers. . .
and here we have our stickers ready to go. . .

and onto the Chinese box it goes. . .

. . . here it is!

I made about 200 boxes to cover my bases :o)

another project down :o)

Invites Moving Along

2008-11-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well I am quite the early bird and as soon as I had the opportunity I decided that I wanted to get the main part of my invitations done. I already put together the blue mats with the white envelopment but we just had the invitations I designed using Photoshop printed. So that meant time to start putting everything together. Here I am chugging along. . .

Well anyone who knows me knew I wouldn't do a simple invitation I ended up using 2 mats and crystals :o) It was a lot of work but totally worth it! Here are the fruits of my labor. . .

and there you have it 125 invites! All I have to do now is print up the RSVP's and then put the stickers I have already created to seal them. . . oh yeah and then all that calligraphy as well. . . never a dull moment for a DIY bride :o)

Xyron Stickers

2008-11-16T19:35:00.001-08:00

Well I did say I would put up instructions so here they are. . . I made these labels a while ago they are going to seal my invitations.

Once you have your label printed and cut up you will place them on the xyron machine.

Turn , turn , turn

almost through

once its on the other side all you have to do is cut

and there you have it!

it really doesn't get any easier than that! That's a whole lotta stickers. . .

FYI Good Info

2008-11-15T20:40:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let you know that Carla Ten Eyck is available for B-shoots. B-shoots are misunderstood by some people. You don't have to show anything if you don't want to. It is all about you and making you feel good about yourself. . .and for me I want to give the gift to my FI so he knows 10, 20, 30 years from now how lucky he is that he married a hottie. . .LOL jk. She is beyond amazing as if I haven't said it before. She really has a way of making you feel so comfortable that you don't notice things around you and time just melts away. Before we knew it we realized that 3 hours had passed and we still had so many amazing ideas floating around. I have seen my fair share of pictures, being a bride who is all about research. I have never been the cookie cutter type of person. I have never wanted what was average or what was necessarily expected. I didn't want somebody elses pictures with my face plastered on somebody elses pose, if that makes any sense? So match me up with a creative brilliant mind like Carla's and there you have it pure magic!
See fully covered just a beautiful picture

A unique shot of our wedding rings :o)

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me :o)

http://www.carlateneyck.com/

http://www.photosbycarla.blogspot.com/

Stickers

2008-11-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

So its been a while since I have done a project so while the boy was away I decided to play. . .with a project that is :o) So I had bought myself a little Xyron machine (which by the way is AWESOME) a little while back with the intention to make myself some stickers. I promise ladies I will post instructions once I decide on which sticker I am going with! But I love the 2 trials that I have just completed. . . so here is what I came up with so far. . .

Band Viewing

2008-11-09T19:34:00.001-08:00

Earlier in the week my parents had mentioned to me that the band that will be playing at our wedding were going to be playing down in New York. We didn't have any plans so we decided to take a little trip :o) We are so happy we decided to go because the band was beyond amazing! As if I wasn't excited before . . . I am even more so now! Here are a few pictures from our fun night out.

Me ~N~ Eric

Me ~N~ My Mom

My Mom ~N~ Dad

Limo check :o)

2008-11-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well I have decided to go vintage for my transportation :o) I love it! Its a 1936 Buick (it feels very Godfatherish). So it will take me and my father to the church and then me and my new husband for pictures and to the reception. We book this with Carriage Limousine out of Oxford, CT. We still have to decide what we are doing for the Bridal Party but at least this is one less thing that I will have to worry about.

GTG @ Mandy's

2008-10-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies. . .I wanted to get this pics up for ya! I had so much fun I cant even tell you :o) You are all wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~Wedding Monogram Announcement~~

2008-10-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I have to say I love making monograms for my fellow knotties and girls who have found my blog. But I am a struggling knottie trying to pay for a wedding and I do have a ton on my plate . . . so if you would like a monogram please email me. I will make sure you are happy with your monogram and will send you a proof to make sure that you are happy with your design. If you are interested in a monogram and you would like more information you may reply to this or previous posts or email me at JessicaAnnSlutsky@gmail.com . . . Thank you for all of your support it is greatly appreciated!

. . . and another

2008-10-22T19:45:00.001-07:00

Stephanie from the knot requested a monogram (we share the same awesome photographer) so I put together a little something :o) Hope she likes it!

Something Blue Bridal Show at Cascades

2008-10-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today I had the pleasure of modeling at Cascades for Something Blue bridal shop :o) We had so much fun. . .I wish the shop was open before I purchased my dress because I totally would have bought a dress from these wonderful ladies! Here are the pictures from our day. . .

Mandy getting all pretty (she is already beautiful of course!)
Thumbs up . . .getting glamorous!
I love this shot :o)
and this one is so attractive right?
BRIDES
This is me stealing a sip of Malissa's coffee

Yup they are still working away on us

Pretty Malis
Someone is gettin sassy
close up

butt shot. . . not really just trying to get the back of her hair
Makeup time
Its time for Malis
and Mandy too!
yay we look all pretty

love it

this look is priceless
Should we show this pic to your hubby Malis?
headed up to put on our gowns

some of the girls all done up

HOW GORGEOUS ARE WE!
all of these are amazing!

Lisa the owner of Something Blue . . . she is such a doll!
cute flower girls
all of us models

:o)

Classic!
Let me tell you if I could be a 2 dress bride this would be it! I may not be a Maggie Bride but I got to be a Maggie model (all 3 of my bridal gowns were Maggies). I felt like such a diva in this dress!

sassy

How cute is she???

She stole the show

I really liked this BM dress

How adorable is Mandy's dress

I had to give my girl pepper some screen time. . . .

Special Thanks to:

SOMETHING BLUE!

Some more. . .

2008-10-18T18:10:00.001-07:00

I had a few requests come in for some monograms. . .I just wanted to share, I hope they like them :o)

Something Blue . . . CHECK!

2008-10-17T20:24:00.001-07:00

Well me and my FI stopped by the mall today and I found this ring that I just had to have as my something blue :o) So this is my wedding gift from my FI to me! I know it is supposed to be a surprise but I fell in love with it and we had to buy it on the stop since it was the last one. . . I love it!!!!!!

STD Miracle

2008-10-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

Well after much debate and arguing we have decided on a STD picture! I am so appreciative for all of your votes ladies and I loved the one that was choosen which was the one of my laying in his lap in the park but FI said no way :o( So after going through all 464 pics again this is what we have come up with. I will be ordering them through Vista Print . . .great deal! Cant wait to finally put this order in and check it off my to do list!

Bridal Shoes

2008-10-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

I know I am such a dork. . .but when I got home from my dress fitting I couldn't help but do another project. So on the bottom of my shoes I added our wedding date

and our initials
Love it!

B.E. Bridal Show

2008-10-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

First off the show was a blast! What is better than meeting up with some knotties and playing dress up? So here are the pictures documenting our fun!

This is us over at the Alexander Salon getting all done up

Suite 960

It was a blast can't wait for next weekend!

LOVE MY KNOTTIES!

Me and My Dress

2008-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

So Saturday I went in for my first fitting! My mom came along and that is why there are so many pictures :o) My veil and shoes came in so I got to see how it looks together with my dress:

Here is a shot of my pretty shoes!

and here it is my dress with my birdcage veil. . . I LOVE IT!

I tested it out to make sure that I can sit. . .surprisingly enough I can.
Here are my garters. . . I don't have my blusher just yet but this is the length I am going for. . .
It was great to see how well everything went together, I was buying things piece by piece and thank God everything works!

Breast Cancer Walk / Shopping

2008-10-06T19:32:00.001-07:00

Sunday I did the Strides against Breast Cancer walk with a few of my fellow co-workers and my FI also have along for the fun :o) Here is Tammi, Me, Tonya, Gina, and Mary :o)

Here is me and my silly FI, Eric. . .he helped me get through this very emotional day :o)
Take 2. . .big smiles :o)
How inventive!
In Loving Memory

Eileen King

Although you are gone you walked with me

and you will forever be with me because you are all around me.

I know you will be there with Grandma and Grandpa on my wedding day sharing in my joy!

So after the walk we had some free time because we couldn't go home due to a parade. So first stop was JoAnn's for some craft supplies then we saw Big Lots. We decided to go in to see if we could find picture frames and found this instead. . .
We will use 3 for each table with a hole bunch of little frosted votive candles all around it will kind of be set up like this. . .
To my amazement the price for a box of 5 only $10!

Fashion Show Fitting

2008-10-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I am doing a bridal fashion show in Hamden on the 19th and we had our fitting this past weekend. Since some of my lovely knotties are modeling as well we couldn't help but meet up before hand. I must say they are the sweetest girls ever!!!! Here is Mandy, Malissa, and I taking some pics of ourselves. . .

I must say it was a total blast to put on some beautiful dresses and chill at the bridal shop. I loved Something Blue, they were too sweet and so gracious. They are a new shop and I highly recommend them! I will post pics from the show when it comes but I must say that I cant wait for the show and the next time I get to chill with these girls!

Yay another one bites the dust!

2008-10-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished up the J this weekend. . .I decided to do it in blue. . . I love it and I know my photographer Carla will rock it the day of in my details pics :0)

I have also completed the cake table monogram. . . I love it!

Cake Table Decoration

2008-10-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted something to put on the table with the cake. . . I have seen the "I DO" so here is my twist on it. . .
First here is what you will need. . . .

Your colors, paint brushes and tons of news paper. . .
First put on your base coat. . .
Once this is dry you will be able to put your colors on. I used 2 coats and put on a clear coat as well.
Once your letters have dried you are now ready to start putting on your crystals
Here is how it will look when you start out.

Almost done. . .
Here is the completed J
. . . and the letters are done. . .
I have not completed the P and I am not sure at this point if I will use it but of course I will update you on whatever I decide.

I Need Your Help!

2008-09-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

So I am reaching out there into the world wide web for your help! We are doing Save The Date magnets and I am at a total loss as to which picture I want to use. My photographers are so amazing that I LOVE every picture but I was able to narrow it down to these few and I am asking you to vote on your favorite and that is what I am going to send out :o)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Cant wait to see what you pick!

Maybe this one??? I got some feedback. . .

A few favors

2008-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

So 2 of my fellow knotties asked for some monograms so I of course I got right on it. . . here is what I came up with :o)

Church Door Decoration Update

2008-09-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the church door decorations step by step. . .

Step 1: Take 6 pieces of paper as if you are doing a pomander

Step 2: Fold paper back and forth
Step 3: Fold paper in half
Step 4: Staple the middle of the tissue paper
It will look like this. . .
When you have all of your flowers finished you are ready to start putting them on your letter
Step 5: Start putting your flowers on with hot glue

put flowers on the top

Here is a diagram of where you put flowers. . .

Here is the finished E :o) I love it!

For my BM

2008-09-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

So one of my BM's is getting married so of course I am going to help out. She loved all of the work I have done for my wedding so far so I have jumped right into planning for her now :o) I really should be a wedding planner! So here is her monogram. . .

And I have just designed the invitations. . .
and I did a little mock up for her to have an idea . . .

and if she wants more black we can change the design a bit and do black instead of white. . .

I hope she loves it!

In Loving Memory

2008-09-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

I just got the call at 10:59 that my aunt who has been battling breast cancer for 7 years has lost her battle. I am at a loss right now. . .I live in CT and my family is back in NY so I cannot be with my family during this very difficult time. I am very thankful however for my FI whose arms was the comfort that I desperately needed. Also thank you to my fellow knotties, the support means more than you know! I must now remember that she will no longer have to suffer and I will see her again in heaven. She will be with us on our wedding day in spirit. You have only been gone an hour but it seems like an eternity, you will be forever missed.

God saw she was getting tired and a cure was not to be

so he put his arms around her and whispered come to me.

With tearful eyes we watched her and saw her pass away

although we loved her dearly we could not make her stay.

A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest,

God broke our hearts to prove to us. . . .He only takes the best.

Garters. . . updates

2008-09-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well my garters are in. . . Etsy was great! I order it from GarterLady and they are even more beautiful in person than in the pictures! She even has a small blue detail inside, so that will be my back up if I forget something blue. Here are a few pics that I took when they came. . .

The lace and detail is amazing!Don't mind my HUGE leg. . . I have been hitting the gym :o)
I think the two garters go together perfectly even though they are different.
Close up
In addition to my garter coming I was finally able to get a hold of my dress lady and I have an appointment set up for October 11th to try on my dress again (don't worry I will post plenty of pics). Also my last BM just put in the order for the BM dresses! Yay this was a big source of stress because this dress was so important to me, its not easy finding 1 dress that 6 girls love! But they are due to come in by December 17th. On Monday the 29th I am meeting up with the AMAZING Carla Ten Eyck to start talks about a possible B-session and picking out our STD pics. Last but not least I just got the contract from Jane at Just for You for our flowers. . . things are finally starting to come together :o) ** NWR (not wedding related) Now I am going to get back to my lil Get Smart marathon. . . I am a Nick at Nite kid. . .LOVE IT!

Friday Night Knottie GTG

2008-09-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

So Friday night a few of us knotties got together for a girls night. . .and it was a blast. Not being from Connecticut I really don't have too many friends but it felt so good to get out and spend some time with some awesome girls! We only took a few pics we were so busy talking and getting to know each other that I didn't really go for my camera. There were 5 of us all together. Alina, Karen, Jen, Emily and me. So our first shot was a ring shot :o)

We went for a bite to eat so on this side we have Alina, Jen, & Karen.

Emily and I sat on the other side.

Group shot before the movie. . .we saw The Women. . . Thumbs up on the movie!

Getting ready for the movie to start :o)

The movie got out a little late but Karen and I were still down for a drink :o) And since Karen wanted to do some shopping for engagement shoot clothing we got together today again. . . .good times! We stopped in Jessica McClintock and couldn't help but try on some veils.
and here I am. . .
Yes I know I am a dork but I created a CT Knottie monogram to stamp on our pics :o)

If your a CT Knottie and you would like this for your siggy just leave a comment with your email!

Calligraphy

2008-09-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

Well onto another DIY project. . .Calligraphy! This is the one I always knew I would have to do and have dreaded it. I taught myself calligraphy about 8 years ago when a parent of one of my students saw some of my art work (I used to draw for the kids in my after school program all the time). She said since I was so artistically inclined could I learn how to do it. . . well I guess so I told her. Yup a week later I had a second job doing Christmas cards for the rich and famous and its paying off now b/c I don't have to hire a calligrapher :o) One down and 100 something to go, here is one that I had already completed

I just think it adds a special touch when your guest sees their name written all pretty.

Knottie GTG 9/19

2008-09-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

Ok since I have hopped in and I am helping to organize here is the info:

We are meeting at 7:30 at Criterion Cinemas @ Blue Back Square

http://www.bowtiecinemas.com/blue-back.html

42 South Main Street

West Hartford, CT 06107

(860) 236-4111

Here is a link to a map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=42+South+Main+Street,+06107&sll=33.52028,-86.81152&sspn=0.362933,0.637207&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

We are meeting at the theater and figure out what to eat from there, afterwards I know I am down for drinks!
Since we have never met and have only seen pictures I will be carrying this purse. . .

I figure its loud and noticeable :o) And here is another pic of me unfortunately I am not as tan anymore lol!

Cant wait to meet you ladies!

*If you have any questions leave comments b/c while I am at work I cannot check email :o)

Tissue Paper. . .done!

2008-09-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

As I have posted earlier I have decided to bring in my colors by putting my tissue paper flowers at each persons setting. Well 225 flowers later here they are!

I plan on opening them closer to the wedding I don't want the to get ruined. . .wow that was a lot of work but another project down and we are on to the next!

New Wedding Monogram

2008-09-17T19:38:00.002-07:00

Shannon saw my blog and asked for a monogram and how could I say no. . .so here it is

Hope she likes it :o)

Garters :o)

2008-09-17T19:38:00.001-07:00

Yay I just purchased my garter and tossing garter. . . literally 2 seconds ago. I was just looking through some stuff and saw these and knew I had to have them.

This will be my garter. . .

Here is the tossing garter. . .

I am so excited that I have one more thing checked off the list of a million things to get done. These are perfect and I cant wait to do the garter toss. . .it will be such a good time.

**Purchased from Etsy

Menu Cards

2008-09-14T21:09:00.001-07:00

Well I have been trying to think of different ways to bring my colors into our venue. If you have seen the post of my venue you will see the room is red . . . the one and only thing I dont like about the place. So I will have floor lenght white linens and to bring in our colors I will use this menu (which was created on photoshop, with thanks to Brianna Nichole). Since our second color is green I will alternate at each seat (Blue Menu=Blue Flower, Green Menu=Green Flower).

I will be placing a tissue paper flower on each menu (for instructions on how to create a tissue paper flower see pomanders)
And here is what each guest will find at their place setting.

Working on Programs

2008-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

So I am not sure what I want to do for my programs but I saw this picture and I really like it. So in comes photoshop into the picture.

So here is what I have so far. I put the faded design in the background to add some texture. This was also another great opportunity to use the monogram I had designed previously. Since our colors are Blue and Green I figured I could switch back and forth with the ink colors.
This is all I have so far because we haven't sat down with the church just yet to figure out some details nor have we chosen our readings. So I obviously cant make pages for information I don't know yet :o) I will keep you posted on the progress with these, advice and opinions are gladly accepted!

** Ok so I have just printed out the first page to get a feel for how it will look and here is the very first mock up . . . .

I think I may like it better with the thick blue ribbion. . .oh well I have some time to think about it :o)

Race to the Aisle

We are having a BABY!!!!!!

What's New?

**A Few More Pictures**

PUG photo shoot - August 2009

Highlight Video

Vendor Reviews Part 1

~*~Pro-Pics~*~

Wedding Day has come and gone

Bachlorette

Flowers with Jane

CT Bridal Shower

Finally. . .Programs CHECK!!!!!!!!

Hair Trial with the Amazing Dana Bartone!

Crazyness!!

Reserved

TWILIGHT DAY

**NWR: Twilight**

Program Test

~*Programs*~

Rosary

New York Bridal Shower

Guest List

Wedding Band

Shower Attire

Now Reading. . .

Currently Reading. . .

Realization

Place Cards :o)

Something Blue Bridal Show 2/15

BM Dress :o)

NWR: Eclipse & Breaking Dawn

NWR: New Moon

NWR: Twilight

Something Borrowed. . .Check!

BM Bouquet Accessory

Bubbles For The Church

**BM Dress's are in**

New Years Day

DIY Card Box

DIY Table Numbers

~*~Our Honeymoon~*~

12/15 Wedding Monogram and Invites

12/13 Wedding Monograms

12/10 Wedding Monograms

Knottie GTG 12/6

12/2 Wedding Monograms

Invites in Calligraphy

11/23 Wedding Monograms

Photoshare

11/22 more Wedding Monograms

Chinese To-Go Box

Invites Moving Along

Xyron Stickers

FYI Good Info

Stickers

Band Viewing

Limo check :o)

GTG @ Mandy's

~*~Wedding Monogram Announcement~*~

. . . and another

Something Blue Bridal Show at Cascades

Some more. . .

****Something Blue . . . CHECK!****

STD Miracle

Bridal Shoes

**B.E. Bridal Show**

Me and My Dress

Breast Cancer Walk / Shopping

Fashion Show Fitting

Yay another one bites the dust!

Cake Table Decoration

I Need Your Help!

A few favors

Church Door Decoration **Update**

For my BM

In Loving Memory

Garters. . . updates

Friday Night Knottie GTG

Calligraphy

A Few More Pictures

~~Pro-Pics~~

NWR: Twilight

~Programs~

BM Dress's are in

~~Our Honeymoon~~

~~Wedding Monogram Announcement~~

Something Blue . . . CHECK!

B.E. Bridal Show

Church Door Decoration Update