This Tornado Loves You

(photo: Hazelnut Photography)

Guys, we are married. Married!

We just got back to our disastrously messy house after being at 3 airports for 14 hours, but when I saw that a few of our pro photos were ready, I just had to put up a little sneak peak! About this photo... I have absolutely no recollection of walking back down the aisle after the ceremony! Our faces show how ecstatic we are though :) I can't wait to see the rest of our photos and the video so I can try to piece together the entire day!

I promise to get back to regular posting quickly, since there is so much to chat about... Just as soon as we unpack, pick the kitties up from the vet, and get used to calling each other husband and wife!

Words and Photos: It's (Almost) Legal !

B's wedding gift is complete! When I had last week off from work I did a lot of sneaking around. All of our finances have been merged for a while now, so it is pretty hard to hide things that I buy for him, in this case, I had to get very creative. One part of the gift was a little pre-wedding, de-stressing, overnight adventure.

When I dropped off B for work last Thursday (we own only one car, so on days that I don't teach, I take him to work so I can have wheels for the day!) I secretly placed an envelope into his lunch (yes, I pack his lunch every day! Healthy and inexpensive!) with bus fare and some instructions. I told him I would not have phone access for the day, but I would see him in the evening. It was all very mysterious.

After following his detailed directions, B ended up in Beverly Hills, where I treated us to a night at the Avalon Hotel. See, it's been 100 degrees and super smoky in our 'hood this past week. We live only a few miles from some crazy raging wildfires, so we have been breathing in raining ash and smokey smog haze for days. We also live in a 1920's bungalow with no air conditioning. Let's just say, it's been hard to concentrate or work!

I wanted us to have a place to relax, decompress and write our vows (I also needed a place for a secret project, but that happened much earlier in the day and B won't get details about it until our wedding day), which needed to be in our officiant's hand by the next day. So B arrived, we basked in the 65 degree air, and spent a few hours eating pita chips and writing vows.

The next morning we had two more stops! First, we dropped B's suit off at the tailors to be finished up...

Then, we drove to the courthouse in Beverly Hills and got our marriage license.

We happened to arrive right at 1pm as they were opening after their lunch hour, which was good timing. When we left at 1:15 the line was almost out the door. The couple behind us made fun of the process the whole time, but we just couldn't help but be giddy!

We chose to apply for a confidential license, which means that no one can order a copy or search our information in public records, except us. It is the same price as a regular license, but the only stipulation is that you have to swear you have been living together as a couple, not "as roommates." You also do not need a witness to sign this type of license. I loved that I had to raise my right hand and pledge! I had never done that before. A license here in Los Angeles costs a cool $70 and is valid for 90 days. We are so close to being legally married that I can taste it!

Hmmm, we probably should have taken the license out of the brown envelope!

I am happy that our officiant is, well, efficient, and made us turn our rough draft vows in two weeks early. If it wasn't for that we would be doing them the morning of (we are total procrastinators!) and we wouldn't have had a nice night relaxing in a posh hotel :)

Did you write your own vows? Did you wait until the last minute, or were they finished ahead of schedule?

Project: Odds and Ends !

At this point I can get semi-reliable weather reports for the wedding day. That means we are officially super close. And all of my little projects are (almost) officially finished!

I used some bits and pieces of leftover ribbons, birds and scraps of material for two projects that I completed this week. Both items were free and took no time at all to make!




Project 1:

A basket for our flower child to carry down the aisle. Our venue discourages the use of real flower petals to be tossed, so she will be dropping fake petals or perhaps some pompoms. I wanted to keep her basket easy, so I simply hot glued brown felt ribbon to the handle, and made two large bows for the sides. As an afterthought, I glued two small bird figures to the sides of the basket.




Small Side Note:
I discovered the basket on my storage bookshelf, it was holding a collection of lotion gifts that I haven't had a chance to use yet. I moved the lotion into the bathroom, dusted off the basket, and put it to good use. I really advocate looking around your home for things like baskets, books, knick-knacks, vases and such. Not only do they cut down on your wedding costs, but they make everything more personal. Also, borrow! I am borrowing cake stands from everyone I know (and I picked up a few at Goodwill). I also went through my mom's collection of vases, and found some gorgeous milk glass pieces that will be showcased in our dessert buffet and on cocktail tables!


Project Two:

I decided on a whim to make a boutonniere for B. There are so many beautiful hand made examples on Etsy, but I thought, "I can do that!" As it turns out, I can't. At least not as well as some people can. My first try here turned out acceptable, but I may give it another try, or we may not have boutonnieres at all. I don't even know how many more I would need to make! The only male people in our wedding party are B and the ring bearer. We also have two ushers, and B's dad will we walking down the aisle as well. I need to look up some flower wearing etiquette rules!




I started by wrapping some scraps of fabric with floral wire, to create a loose flower. I curled ribbon down the "stem" (which was the wire) and added a few gold leaves onto the back area. I also added a teeny guitar pin to the side with B's name on it. We met at a show so I thought it was appropriate to include his instrument of choice! I am thinking of adding a button to the middle of the flower, to help it, you know, actually resemble a flower :)

What projects did you save for the last few weeks of before your wedding? Do you wish you got started on these projects earlier? I have a few projects to add finishing touches to, but everywhere I look I see a new idea I want to take on! It's hard to balance all of this visual inspiration...