It's On!

We have officially booked our wedding venue!  On July 14, 2012, James and I will be tying the knot at Mormon Lake Lodge!

We are really excited about this venue!  We will be having the ceremony outside and then the reception in the Town Hall.

Outdoor ceremony location

Town Hall (in the middle, looking at stage)

Town Hall (looking at bar)

The decor theme is rustic chic to fit in with venue!  We are incorporating a lot of mason jars, sunflowers, burlap, and lace.

If you would like to see another wedding that occurred at Mormon Lake, check out Cameron + Kelly's photos from Jen and Bubba's wedding.

Check out our wedding website for more information on our wedding!

Bridesmaids' Dresses

I've been trying to figure out why finding bridesmaid dresses is such a difficult task and I've come to the conclusion that, for me at least, it is because I get sidetracked by all the ugly dresses.  So, I've decided to highlight some of my least favorite bridesmaids dresses...the ones that I can't imagine anyone actually wearing.  Please don't be offended!

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 Laura and I found this beauty when I was looking at dresses for Jilko's wedding.  Why the weird sideways petals?

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 Speaking of weird petals...This dress might look OK if the petals on the skirt went all the way down...maybe...

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 This dress is just weird. I like structural designs on Project Runway but they rarely translate well to real life and here is an example.

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Another flower replica disaster...

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 This is another beauty that I made Laura try on.  I think Tara said it best when she called this the "big bird" dress.

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There are so many more I could highlight and I am sure I will as I continue this hunt.  However, I felt one last dress was necessary to share. Not only am I not really a fan of this dress but at $1600, it is one of the more ridiculous ones I have seen!

Do any of you have suggestions for other bad dresses that should be featured?  What about some good dress suggestions?

Please vote for us!

Sorry that I haven't posted for awhile...the end of the semester was hectic!  I have some great entries planned for this summer though including the announcement of our venue with pictures so stayed tuned!  In the meantime, I am writing to ask that you take a moment and go and vote for us to win custom cake toppers from Bunny with a Toolbelt!  

http://bunnywithatoolbelt.blogspot.com/2011/05/time-for-voting.html

One entry per person, and you must be registered to vote on Google (this prevents anonymous and duplicate votes).  We only have till Thursday so please go and vote and spread the word!  Thanks!!!!

THE Dress!

My mom is in town visiting for Easter and today we went dress shopping.  As many of you know, I've had my eye on Dolly Couture's Avila Bay.  This dress is only available to try on in Los Angeles though.  We had talked about driving out there at some point but I was just going to try on dresses in Phoenix first to get a better idea of what looks best on me.  I am curvy girl so I wanted to make sure to find stores that actually had dresses I could try on.  I googled "Plus size bridal gowns Phoenix" and my first hit was Strut Bridal Salon!  For any of you size 14+ brides out there, this is the place to go!!!!  The owner Ann was who helped me out.  She was friendly and helpful.  She took the time to get to know me right at the beginning.  I said I wanted a dress that was fun, classic, and vintagey and she nailed it on the first dress.  I, of course, tried on several more but I kept coming back to the first dress.  I asked her for a birdcage veil which is what I thought I wanted and she put it on me.  She then asked if I would try a different veil on and brought out a shoulder length veil with a blusher.  I didn't think I would like it but she put it on and the look was complete...I had found my wedding outfit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You'll all just have to stayed tuned for the next year before the reveal though! And if you are a plus size bride in the SW, GO TO STRUT BRIDAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Several windows opened!!!

This past week has been very exciting.  I found out that I was nominated for two different service awards at school!  I also found out that I won three contests!

The first is from Borrowed & Bleu.  It's a $25 gift certificate to Jada Michaels!

Image credits: Jada Michaels

The second is from Last Minute Bride (the awesome blog that I also won shoes from earlier).  I won a gorgeous personalized bridal hanger from Any Occasion Creation!

Image credits: Any Occasion Creation

The third win was from Culinary Crafts.  They sponsored a DIY contest and I entered with the Bridesmaid Ring project.  The prize is a 4-pack of macaroon favors.  My project will also be featured on their blog!

Image credits: Culinary Crafts

There are also a lot of spring giveaways going on right now including a large assemblage over at The Nester! Check out my twitter account (handle JASIVRAS) for more information on other giveaways!

When one door closes...

Jorge Manuel just announced the winner of the 'Once Upon a Star' and unfortunately it is not us.  Congratulations to Jeanine Lalonde and her fiance Marc!  We wish you all the best in your wedding planning adventure.

While we are disappointed not to have won, we do have other exciting news to share.  James and I are also contestants in a contest to win awesome cake toppers!!! Check out our story over at Bunny with a Toolbelt!

Image Credits: Bunny with a Toolbelt

Aren't they adorable?!? Other couples will be featured on the site over the next month (you can still enter).  Then from May 2nd to the 7th, there will be voting for the best story.  Mark you calendars now! We'll also remind you when that time comes!  Wish us luck!

Will you be my bridesmaid?

I wanted to do something special for the girls that I was going to invite to be in my bridal party.  As I was cruising through all my wedding blogs and perusing Etsy sites, I saw some really cool ideas for bridesmaid invitations.  I ultimately decided to go the DIY-route and decided that it would only be proper to ask my bridesmaid to join in on this journey with a ring.  After all, this whole "wedding" thing started with a ring!  I then had to decide what kind of ring.  I was looking through ring options online when I saw a locket ring.  It stuck out to me because one of my bridesmaids, Tara, has a very important locket and she gave each of us (i.e. her bridal party) a beautiful locket as a bridesmaid's gift.  So, I decided to figure out how to make a locket ring.  Here is a sneak peak at the end result:

Materials:

Adjustable Silver Tone Ring Blank

Silver Plated Photo Locket Charm

Jewelry/metal glue

Photo

Instructions:

1) Bend the pendant section back and forth so that it comes off the charm.  Make sure that there are no sharp edges.

2) Spread a small amount of glue on the ring blank and place it in the center of the bottom of the locket charm.  Make sure that the hinge lines up with the ring itself.

3) Rest the glued sections so that the locket is on the table and the ring balances on top and let the glue dry.  Most jewelry glues recommend 48 hours before wearing the material.

4) Take the picture you want included in the ring (in my case, I provided my bridesmaids with a photo of her and myself as well as a photo of her and her significant other) and reduce it down so that it is .75 inches wide (or slightly smaller if you plan on laminating the photo)

5) Print the photo and cut it into a circle with a .75 inch diameter (or slightly smaller if you are laminating).

Optional: I took my photos to Staples to have them laminated so that if the girls forgot and washed their hands with the ring on, the photo would not be destroyed.

Note: Jewelry glue can be used to secure the photo inside the locket.  I chose not to do this as I gave each girl two photos that could be used in the locket.

I put the ring in a handmade origami box made with wedding-themed scrapbooking paper (purchased from Jo-Ann Fabrics).  I gave this to my girls along with a "Will you be my bridesmaid?" card as well as a Bridesmaid Information card (the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of the other bridesmaids and my mom).  Since this was right around Valentine's Day and I had to fill the whole box for mail delivery, I also included some conversation heart candies.

For more ideas on bridesmaid invitations see...
Blogs
Emmaline Bride Spools
Belly Feathers Lemon Love
Once Wed Chain


Etsy Vendors (just a few of the many options)
AnistaDesign
Flapperdoodle
yourhappilyeverafter
OccasionsCreations
tinkermel3