la la land

I am back! From LA and from the nearly two week blogging break. There were a few circumstances and feelings that contributed to my largely distracted, uninspired, scatter-brained state of mind, all of which have since passed. I mean after all, I started this blog with the intention to share my travels through life with you all and so what if I don't write for awhile. I have to let go of the guilt and "should haves" I've been carrying around and just enjoy the process.

Anyways, as previously mentioned, I just returned from my trip to LA. I stayed with one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Jenna. She is awesome and its always good to see her. PS - she's going to be on a reality show! here is the trailer - she is the crazy, fun, & beautiful roomie. Here is a short photo diary of the trip. I left my brand new fancy camera at home with the hubby to be so pardon the iPhone pictures.

Jenna also got me an appointment at the Kim Vo salon Saturday morning in Beverly Hills. Michelle had my colored and styled in under an hour and I have never been so happy leaving a hair appointment. It was actually super affordable! What wasn't affordable was our breakfast. We were famished after such a hard day at the salon (hehe) so we went upstairs to The Conservatory (the Mirage hotel's in house eats). We spent $24 on orange juice alone! Maybe next time we'll just pick up some McDonald's breakfast to go. Yikes!

Ta da! New hair! What do you think?

We spent all Sunday morning at the Rosebowl Flea Market. Holy cow this place is heaven! If it wasn't for the heat and lack of motivation that morning, I would have spent hours browsing the endless racks of fabulous vintage. Jenna found this cute head scarf. I'm obsessed with her new pixie cut. Only she could pull it off so cute.

Meet Jenna <3

Leaving the flea market, Jenna and I had the strongest cravings for hot dogs. Maybe it was the frozen lemonade we had earlier or the first hotdog I had, either way, we were on a mission. The only place to satisfy such a craving? Pinks! This famous food stand was totally worth the 10 minute wait. I was in heaven.

But oh no, we weren't done yet. Jenna insisted that I be introduced to Foster's Freeze. Now, call me old fashioned, but I had never heard of this place and my dipped cone loyalty lies with Dairy Queen. But there was no hesitation from my part when Jenna offered up this place to satisfy my sweet tooth desires. While it did the trick and was super delicious, I'm sticking with DQ.

Now for the main event, the sole reason I decided to fly down to LA (besides Jenna's cute face, obvi) was to find my wedding dress. With about 60 days left, I was desperate. I knew I had to go straight to the source, Monique Lhuillier. Let me start by saying that the salon is beautiful. Sharon was the Associate helping me out that morning and while some may find her abrasive, she got the job done. After about two hours, ten dresses, and a run in with a rather rude "celebrity" that thought she was too important to share the only big mirror they had in the store, I gave up the credit card and walked away having just purchased my dream dress. Oh how I wish I could share the pictures, but I know they won't do justice (Note: they do not allow pictures in the store until the dress is actually purchased). I will give you a few details; The wonderful craftsman's at ML are creating a custom tulle skirt with a silk ruched corset top for me to wear on the big day. I also purchased a very beautiful antique looking, rhinestone and tulle belt to wear. The jury is still out on the veil but luckily I still have time. 

The racks at Monique Lhuillier : Swooooon!

I can't wait to go back for my fitting and see the final product. Jenna and I also met up with one of our favorite couples, Nick and Alex, to go see the movie Contagion and grab a quick bite to eat. They are some of my other best friends from back home in Florida and I miss them so much (note: Gene Simmons and his wife were sitting behind us in the movie theaters!). This weekend getaway was exactly what the doctor ordered - much needed bff time and a break from the stress of wedding plans back home. And again, sorry I've been MIA. Hope to share more with you soon.

Our Vendors: Photography

Okay. Finally! I'm feeling a little better and getting back on track this morning! A lot has been accomplished in terms of wedding planning - I guess thats the only benefit of spending an entire weekend in bed. We have secured nearly all of our vendors and I think I found my dream dress, Hooray!

Today, I am so happy to share this new series with you guys "My Wedding: Vendor Spotlight"! Each week I'll introduce key vendors who are helping to make this wedding possible and exactly what I have always dreamed of.

First up, our photographer, the uhhh-mazing Tec Petaja. From the first day I began looking at wedding blogs I knew I wanted to hire Tec. He makes every woman look incredible while seamlessly capturing those "special moments" you'll want to remember forever. On top of that, he's hands down one of the nicest guys to talk to and always responds super quick to all of my hectic e-mails. I was so excited when he told me he had our new wedding date available (its also his birthday weekend). Here's a look at some of my favorite shots of his and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Also, check out his blog for more photos.

Playing Dress Up!

I have now been dress shopping a total of three times at three different stores and have found dresses that I love at every single one of them.  So what's the problem you might ask?  They are all so entirely different from each other that it is hard to choose!  One is fitted and all lace, the other is Grecian inspired draping of tulle and silk, another is a soft tulle ball gown with an empire waist, and lastly, one dress is made entirely from small intricate beading with cap sleeves.  I thought I would have that, "Oh My God! This is my dress!" moment, (everyone else has had that while shopping with me) but I'm realizing I may be a bit too practical for tears.  My latest wedding dress problem is time.  Having now moved the wedding up to November, I need a dress in less than three months (with alterations)! Yikes!

So, while I'm mulling over the millions of choices I have, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites from the Jenny Packham Spring/Summer 2011 collection.  I'm sure these aren't new to anyone in the wedding world but I just can't get enough of her dreamy, ethereal, & romantic gowns.  I tried on the top right dress, Eden, and looooooved it (although it was hard to tell what it would look like on me since it was a sample size 10).  Which is your favorite?  Any other favorite dress designers?  Did you have that "This is my dress!" moment?  Any tips for taking the plunge with a dress?

What A Week!

As I have mentioned before, this week has been super crazy but wonderful.  On Tuesday, I went to try on wedding dresses with Laurel, my Maid of Honor, and Aaron's Mom.  They were the best shopping buddies imaginable and were so supportive.  I had such a great afternoon with them and think I may have found the dress of my dreams! YAY!!!  However, I am going to hold off on purchasing a dress until I get back from my appointment at the Monique Lhuillier flagship salon in LA in a few weeks.  I definitely want to try and get a post up of the potential dresses and styles that I'm loving in the next week for all of you to see.

an Amsale gown that didn't quite make the cut

on our way to lunch after dress shopping

I guess you're also wondering why things have been so hectic around here.  Well, we decided to move the wedding up to November instead of October 2012!  So while I have been operating under the assumption that I have over a year to plan, I now am faced with the reality of only having three months!  It was a crazy, last minute decision that Aaron and I felt had to be made for personal reasons.  I have a ton of fear, anxiety, and stress about things not going the way I originally had planned but I do think we're making the right decision for us. Our planner, Kristin Newman, is on board and luckily, so are the rest of our vendors.  I mean, what are the odds that the photographer, videographer, florist, and caterer are all on board with this huge change of plans?  Its been such a blessing.  Now all we need to figure out is the venue and official date.  I am so excited and can't wait to update you guys with all of the news in the next few weeks.

did I mention we got a new camera??? so excited !!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend also!  I would love to hear if you had any big changes in your wedding plans, how you dealt with it, and/or any advice!

Inspiration Board : Natural Wedding

When Aaron and I first became engaged, all I wanted to do was look at wedding blogs. I couldn't get enough.  Seriously, they're addicting!  I literally pinned hundreds of photos for inspiration and almost filled an entire notebook jotting down the ideas that I loved. Now, after months of checking blogs daily, I'm a little burnt out on weddings.  Don't get me wrong, I still cheek everyday, I'm just...less inspired.  I am not trying to be rude OR say that the weddings I've seen aren't beautiful, because they all are.  But, after awhile, they have all started to look the same to me.  They all have the same thumbprint guestbooks, photo booth props, mason jar decorations, and "photo op" shots.  And please don't get me wrong, I loved (and still love) all of these ideas! They were fun, whimsical, and charming; I thought they were unique expressions of the couple's personalities, until I realized it was becoming every couple's expression of their personalities.

I want my wedding to be timeless.  I want my wedding to be romantic.  I want my wedding to be beautiful.  I want my daughters to look at my pictures and say, "That looks so dreamy Mom. I wish I could have been there!" Instead of asking, "Why are you holding that mustache prop up to your face in half of your reception photos?" Feel me? I think this pretty much boils down to the fact that my Mother & Father eloped to Lake Tahoe when she was about 3 months pregnant with me (...surprise!) and there is not a single photo of my parent's wedding.  I guess I just missed out on the whole timeless Mom wedding photo thing and want to give that to myself and my future children.

So, today I wanted to share with you lovely readers the images that have been inspiring me lately from my Pinterest.  Our wedding is going to be held entirely outdoors so I'm embracing the colors provided to us by Mother Nature: green, white, and natural wood. I hope you enjoy my inspiration board and I would love to hear your feedback on trendy vs timeless weddings.  I'll be heading out the door soon to try on wedding dresses at Marina Morrison Bridal Salon in Union Square.  Can't wait to tell you all the details and, if you follow me on Twitter, you may even be able catch a sneak peek photo : )

Clockwise from top : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 /

Clockwise from top : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 /