They're soooo pretty...

I first fell in love with wedding albums during our tour of wedding venues. I've been a scrapbooker for several years, but the professional magazine style 10x10 albums are dreamy. The thick pages, the flush mounting, the leather covers.... mmmm.... It's one of the only parts of wedding planning I felt myself get giddy over.

Source

And then. I saw the price tags.

Source

Ho.ly. Cow. It's not that I think they're "not worth it" but.... in many cases it doubled the cost of photography, which placed those photographers (who were some of the only ones withIN our price range) soundly out of our budget. Alas. (If you haven't done that searching yet, I'd say most albums start around $1500.) But they're sooooo pretty.....

One alternative is that I could get the photos and try and make one myself later. Well, I would hate to be disappointed by my attempt because they're soooooo pretty when done professionally. Another option is to have the photographer make it for a one (or two) year anniversary gift. But if the point is that we don't have money for one, will one year later be much different (and it takes several months to fabricate it anyway)? And a wedding album as a second year anniversary present just doesn't have a great ring to it.

Dilemmas! Stay tuned for our decision...

Are you as in love with magazine style wedding albums as I am? Or are having great photos for prints more important?

A busy life

I was in school a long, long time. When I *finally* graduated this past June, I was fortunate that (in this crummy economy) I found an awesome business to purchase. However, running a new business is an overwhelming and stress-laden adventure, especially as a solo owner.


I dated Mr. SB for a long, long time. I am SO EXCITED to be getting married to him, but planning a wedding (especially all by yourself in a brand new place) can be overwhelming and stress-laden as well. My to-do list these days is pretty much endless.


I know that all brides have stresses around them (kids, parents, unemployment, military deployment), but my combination of new homeowner, new business owner, new town, no one to help with <-- new-ness has left me boggled. I've read many blogs that address this topic, and some of their "how to feel better" lists just add items to my to do list!!

What's a girl to actually do? Here's my list. Maybe you'll relate to it.

1. Let's start with a cliche: Count your blessings. I am at such an exciting time in my life. Each time I find myself "wishing it away" I take a deep breath and remember that. Seriously, you'll feel better.

2. Remember that timing rules are really just suggestions. The first thing I saw when I logged on to theknot.com was a banner warning me how many things I was already behind on. Wow, awesome. There is always a way to make it (whatever IT is) happen. Sure, it may cost a little more money or not be *perfect*, but don't spend tears, sleepless nights, relationships, or stress headaches on worrying about not meeting these rules.

3. On a similar vein, you don't HAVE to do anything. Sure, there are lots of brides out there who get frustrated and just say "Ugh, I'm going to elope!" Well, ok, you can do that, but on a smaller scale... don't have favors, or cake toppers, or a seated meal, or hard alcohol, or a rehearsal dinner, or 350 people, or pocketfold invitations. Seriously. Only fellow brides even know half this stuff exists and most will totally understand if you leave some of it out (they probably wish they would have too!).

4. Be reasonable with yourself. I did a ton of online searching for photographers and sent many, many emails because I could do that at night watching tv. In person, I only met with two. Am I certain that I got the absolute best possible deal & match? No. But do I feel confident that my choice will work out well? Yes. Caveat: if there is something you feel very passionate about, by all means, go nuts in your planning. But you can't be nuts about it all.

5. Take care of yourself. Sleep, eat well, don't neglect work or pets or your honey. If you gain 15 lbs or lose your job or develop migraines or start fighting with your future life partner, life won't get any easier and your wedding won't be planned any "better". There are lots of healthy ways to get out stress. I like exercise and a nightly glass of wine. Find what works for you.

Notice ask for help isn't one of them. I don't really have anyone to ask for help. You may not either. So take your time, make that to-do list with specific tasks, and keep taking baby steps to check them off. You'll get there. And soon you'll be married to your best friend.

Now running a business... I don't have a checklist for that yet (but I do have many sleepless nights...)!

How do you keep your sanity with all that goes on around you?

Plan A

The beautiful weather is one of the main reasons I am now a Northern Californian. And a main reason people avoid weddings in March. I'll show you some pics of our "Plan A" and what the "Plan B" is later.

Ceremony

This hillside will be green. Provided the ground is dry enough, we will get married here, with the grapevines on the right... (all pics from Nicholson Ranch's website)

And the lake to the left. (Great for pictures.)


Cocktail hour

After leaving the ceremony site, you walk through their wine production area (neater than it sounds) and head 5 stories underground to their wine caves. There is a beautiful hallway and a BEAUTIFUL formal dining area where we will have our cocktail hour. Since all of our guests are from out of town, we wanted to limit down time and travel for them (and not organizing transportation is one less thing on my to-do list).


Reception

Back above ground, this room has beautiful high ceilings and a fireplace and amazing views of the surrounding wine country. It only seats about 75, so we're basically the max wedding they can support indoors. In fact, we'll have to break down tables to have a dance floor. We won't have a big partying/dancing crowd, so I think we'll be fine.


We are so thankful that this site has so many beautiful areas for us to enjoy (I haven't even show you the space that I'll be getting ready or the photo opportunity spots). Are you using multiple areas of your wedding site for different parts of your day or changing locations throughout?

The other dress

Not mine, my MOH sister's.

If you knew me, I am the least compulsive shopper on earth. I will take FOR.EV.ER. to decide to buy something. I recently spent two weeks online (after I decided which computer I wanted) to actually click "purchase." I will spend an eternity in the cat food aisle reading labels. However, something about wedding dress shopping brings out the decision maker in me!! If you read before, I went to three stores and decided in about 20 minutes to buy a dress (in part because my sister wouldn't be in town much longer). What I failed to mention, is we also bought her dress then too!

After I had decided to get my dress, we thought we *might as well look around* for her dress. She didn't mind that it probably wouldn't be a re-wearable dress and the shop carried an extensive selection of Alfred Angelo, which was near our budget. Fortunately, we had a similar aesthetic. I wanted a strapless dress with the waist ruching to match (kind of?) my style and our wedding isn't really formal enough for a long dress or any fancy fabric. So very quickly we decided on a simple A line knee length clover green dress. It's a little plain (but beautiful on her and a perfect color) , so I'm on the look out for a sash or broach or maybe just a great necklace to give her. (Suggestions?)
So, a one hour trip to a bridal salon and we both walk out with dresses ordered. I'm still kind of in shock. But love both dresses and can't wait to see them in action.

How are your impulse decisions turning out?

"We're gonna look hot!"

That was one of Mr. SB's very first wedding related comments.

I think we're pretty cute, as is!! But I'm biased...
(At my friend Tiffany's GORgeous wedding last fall.)

I understand his point. It's the most photographed day of our lives, might as well try and be proud to look at those photos for the next, oh 50 years...

One problem though. Mr. SB & I are remarkably inconsistent with our exercise habits. We'll be good for 6 months, then fall off the wagon. Then one of us motivates the other and we do better... until we fall off again.

Well, this summer Mr. SB jumped on the wagon with both feet dragging me behind! He purchased the P90X workout plan. If you haven't seen the infomercials, you should keep an eye out. The leader, Tony Horton, is a piece of work, but one. ripped. 45 year old. (I could do without Dreya though, just saying.) Anyway, it's 65-90 mins per day of weight training (pull ups, push ups, legs, back, arms, you name it) and serious at home cardio. Six days a week. For 90 days.

#1. It's not easy to find that time. There are plenty of excuses.
#2. It's a challenging workout. Each time, every day.
#3. Pullups never get fun or easy.
#4. If you want the shoulders/back/triceps to wear that strapless, low back dress on your wedding day, sign up. Show up. Get results. It works.
#5. You can do it. Period. There are modifications, you'll have some bad days and be sore, but it's pretty amazing.

This has not been all sunshine and roses and awesome energizing workouts. But I am as strong as I've ever been and my arms look as good as they ever have. And I've still got a few months to go till the big day. As MUCH as I complain about it (still, almost every day), I totally appreciate you bringing me on this adventure. Thank you Mr. SB.

How's your pre-wedding fitness regime going?

Colors, take two...

Talking with a potential photographer, we discovered that green & white sometimes look washed out in photos. Beautiful and natural, yes, but also missing a little pop of "something." Around mid-March in wine country, the mustard flowers are in bloom. The vines haven't grown leaves or grapes yet, but the grass below them turns into a yellow sea. Our winery won't have much mustard, but the surrounding area will. This photographer takes some beautiful pictures of this time of year.

These pictures steered me in the direction of yellow, but since my family lives near Green Bay, Wisconsin (and are huge Packers fans), I was leery of suggesting "green & yellow" in any cheese-y manner. So I set out to find some more inspiration. Thank you theknot.com :)


Based on these ideas, I'm happy to move forward with green, white, and yellow... and a little nod to my Wisconsin roots.
Did any of your ideas seem unlikely at first, but make sense the more you worked with them?

E photos

I saw a posting from a SoCal photographer on weddingbee.com offering free e-sessions for couples while she was vacationing in San Francisco. I quickly sent her an email and casually mentioned to Mr. SB, "Hey, honey, how do you feel about engagement photo session??" which was met with an utterly blank stare. "What would one do with those?"

To be fair, *I* wasn't sure what we'd do with those, but knew I'd come up with something! (Mr. SB & I are notoriously bad at taking photos together, so I figured we might get some nice SF shots. I was still fairly new in the wedding world and didn't realize the potential for these beautiful photos... silly little rookie!!)

Connie did a GORGEOUS job.. we spent three hours (!!) together at Baker Beach and Golden Gate Park. Enjoy her beautiful work. And if you live in SoCal, call her up!! She's awesome!

Did any "random" activities turn out better than you expected?