t minus one year

one year from today, we'll be on st. john, dancing the night away as a married couple. yippie! now, does that mean it's our negative one year anniversary? and for that matter, do we have to start the count over once we're married? tyler and i have been together for over 5 years now, but when we're married for a year, is it only our 1 year anniversary? seems a bit unfair to the dating years. 


oh well, it's still exciting! i think we should celebrate!


365 days to go...

the great dress search

I having been thinking a lot about wedding dresses today, so I'm trying to picture myself in all sorts of styles and shapes. Without trying anything on yet, it's hard to determine what is going to look good on me. Right now I'm loving etsy designer Sarah Seven's gorgeous wares. I wonder if I can swing a trip to Portland to try some on....

Engagement Party Slideshow

engagement party preview

happy birthday to me!

today is my birthday, and i feel so blessed. i am on to my twenty-ninth year, and i can only hope it's as wonderful as the last.

                                          
man, that's a lot of candles!!

hankies and undies

i knew the minute i decided who my bridesmaids were going to be that i'd need a clever way to ask them to be in the wedding. after all, it's a question i won't get to ask too much in my lifetime and i think it should be special. i originally bought each girl (and my one "bridesman") leather luggage tags that are personalized with a hot stamp monogram. not a bad gift, and useful since it's a destination wedding! but, i wasn't quite satisfied with plain 'ol luggage tags. i needed something else. so, i moseyed down to the vintage store near my house to see what i could find for inspiration, and it turned out that they had a huge bin full of beautiful vintage hankerchiefs. i had seen a gorgeous set of save-the-date hankies online, so i decided to reinterpret the idea into a clever way to pop the question. 

since i don't own a screen printer, and there was no way tyler was going to let me buy one just for this project (even though i tried to convince him that we'd use it "all the time"), i was at a loss. a brilliant plan, and no way to execute it... alas, enter my new friend reggie! our friend matthew introduced her to tyler that very evening and it just so happened that she owns a screen printer! hooray! 

she was kind enough to print all the hankies and the pair of undies too. i think they turned out beautifully! now, how am i going to decide who gets which hankie? 

let's get the party started!

only 6 days until our engagement party! 

we decided to kick off the celebration in '09 because, let's face it- we can't wait a whole year! i can't believe we've been engaged for over 6 months now! time really flies...

the party will be at the home of our dear friends, jennifer and mike crane. they are so sweet for wanting to host our party, and we are so grateful! they have an amazing home in pasadena with a gorgeous backyard. i can't wait to see the yard all lit up at night.

we have gotten our favorite local band, the leftover cuties, to play at the party. i am so excited to hear them live again, i have been listening to their CD nonstop since we first heard them at a party in malibu. i know they are going to be a big hit! if you'd like to check out the leftover cuties online, click here for their website.

i can not wait to see all our friends and kick off this celebration! i honestly don't know how i am going to make it all the way till next november.

this is the dress i plan to wear: what do you think?

location, location, location

it's official! 

we have booked a wedding venue! it took some fanangeling, because apparently st. john is a very busy place for weddings in november. but we ware very excited to announce where we will be getting married!

the wedding will be held at the westin resort & villas on the island of st. john. this is a gorgeous resort, and we think it will be the perfect setting for our wedding. we plan to marry at sunset, on the westin's private beach. since the beach faces west, it is sure to be an amazing view. then it will be on to cocktails, dinner, and lots of dancing on the grounds of the westin's beach garden. ah, i can hear the waves crashing and feel the breeze blowing already... i can't wait!

if you'd like to check out the westin online, click here to go to the website.

i heart jose

good news, we have chosen a photographer!
the photos are my favorite part of any wedding, so it was very important to me to choose a great photographer. in my mind, the choice was easy. i have been admiring one photographer's work for quite some time now. jose villa is an amazing fine art wedding photographer and i am so honored that he is going to shoot our wedding!
click here to check out his website and portfolio, and click here to view his blog.

these are some of my favorite images from jose's website:

time and place

drumroll, please.......


we have chosen a location and wedding date!!
the wedding will be held on friday, november the 5th, 2010 on the island of st. john in the us virgin islands.


we are so excited to have this major decision out the way. it was very tough, since i had my heart set on wine country. but when we considered all our options, we ultimately decided to make the most of getting married and have a destination wedding. 


doesn't st. john just look divine? we chose the island not only for its remarkable beauty, but because we have both been to st. john and loved it. we wanted to pick a place that is special to both of us and this fit the bill perfectly!


we have not picked a venue just yet, but stay tuned!

congratulations, amie and brody!

amie and brody got married today! 

it was a beautiful ceremony on the beach in duck, nc. the weather was iffy and we couldn't decide if it was going to rain, but in the end it was a wonderful day. the slight haze turned out to be perfect for the photos, which were taken by elizabeth zongolowicz of blue peacock photography.

it was so much fun making amie's bouquet and decorating the house for her big day. it was a real "family affair", as lynda and my mother did all the cooking, i did the decorating, and the guys pitched in wherever they could.

after the ceremony, we had cocktails and food while listening to the music played by kim kalman.

i miss wine country

we have only been back to LA for a few days, but i already miss northern california. we are thinking of having the wedding in sonoma, since we had such a fabulous time, but i have decided not to do any wedding planning for a few more months. i just want to enjoy being engaged!

we are heading to north carolina next week for my sister's wedding. she is marrying a wonderful man and i am so happy for her. they will be wed on the beach in the outer banks of north carolina, followed by a cocktail reception at my parents house. i plan to make her bouquet and some other special things.