Attending a wine and canvas party has been on my to do list for at least a year. I find it hard to believe an opportunity didn't present itself until now - when I of course have to be pregnant. The occasion was my cousin-in-law's bachelorette party. The evening started at Glazed Expressions in Clive before moving on to Miss Kitty's. The bachelorette, who happens to be an art teacher, picked out a painting of some poppies for us to do. It was a pretty nice set up - we had a pretty private room and could bring in our own drinks and food and gifts. The painting didn't take too long and wasn't overly complicated. Pretty much everyone's turned out really nice. It was just as fun as I expected with my paintbrush in one hand and sparkling grape juice in the other.
0 Comments
Lucas and I had a "quick" engagement of just eight months. To me, that was long enough. His brother, Dane, and his fiancé, Jordan, have been engaged for 1.5 years. Finally, the big day came... and went! What a beautiful day it was! For a December wedding, they couldn't have asked for much better weather - no snow storm and temps above freezing. The bride was beautiful, the groom cleaned up nice, the ceremony was lovely and the reception was a blast. More than all that though, these two really love each other. It's easy to say that about most couples, but these two really get what commitment is all about. I think there's a couple reasons for this. Both are very family-oriented and both are Christ-centered. Sure, Christians get divorced, but I think the beliefs you have give you a better foundation for marriage. I'm excited to officially have a new sister-in-law and wish the newlyweds years of wedded bliss! I couldn't be more excited for my wonderful friends who (finally) tied the knot this weekend! They have been together for a mere seven years and couldn't be more perfect for each other. As the best man pointed out in his toast, they compliment each other in many ways including that Rob is unusually tall and Lindsay is unusually short. I'm sure there were some other deeper reasons, but that one stuck out to me.
They had a beautiful, intimate ceremony in Chicago at Revolution Brewery. The couple looked perfectly classic with Lindsay in an A-line gown and Rob in a black tuxedo with blow tie. Their personal vows were heart felt and real - no fluff or filler. The love and excitement in their eyes and body language was awesome. I not only felt the love between them but was reminded of my wedding day and my love for Lucas. Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs.! I feel so blessed to have you in my life and that I could celebrate with you both! My sister-in-law tied the knot back in March. I offered to shoot the ceremony and create a wedding video. She loved the idea. She's been very patient as I kept telling her the video was on the way. This weekend - finally - proved to be the right time. I wasn't traveling and only had a few commitments I could work around. When it comes to editing video, I have to be in the right mood. It's like any other creative outlet. If you're not feeling creative, it's not going to turn out. I was feeling it this weekend and am happy to have already gotten her a three-minute "highlight" video, which I shared here. (I do not own the rights to the song in the video - A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.)
I also created a full-length video for the Mr. and Mrs. This video starts with the seating of the grandparents and ends with the couple driving away from the church. In case, tomorrow or years down the road, they want to re-live the ceremony moment-for-moment, they can. The 30-minute video leaves nothing out - including a few funny bloopers from the pastor. I edited my own wedding video, but this was the first time I edited someone else's wedding video. It was fun to create, and I'm happy I can provide these memories... for free. The amount of money wedding videographers charge is pretty crazy. I like to think I'm off to a good start with one happy client. Enjoy! What a wonderful wedding weekend! My dear friends tied the knot after nearly three years together. It was such a blast to be a bridesmaid and be part of the action. Friday night included dinner and drinks in the East Village with the other bridesmaids who were from out of town. On Saturday, we had the rehearsal, watched the Alabama game, attended the rehearsal dinner at Exile Brewing and had the bachelorette party. Sunday included a bridesmaids luncheon at Centro, primping party at the Amy Allen Photography studio, group photos at Gray's Lake and of course, the ceremony and reception at Jasper Winery. Monday entailed a lot of sleeping.
More than all the excitement and activities, weddings are really fun to see two people commit themselves to each other. These two are so great together. There's no doubt they'll make a great Mr. and Mrs. and have a lifetime of love, laughter, faith and happiness. Congratulations! In honor of my dear friend's impending nuptials, a dozen of us helped her celebrate the end of her single days in style in the beautiful San Diego. I've been to San Diego several times over the past several years on family vacation, but I've never spent time in the Gaslamp Quarter. I was not only excited to see my friend for the first time in over a year, but to explore downtown San Diego. We stayed at the Westin and were able to walk to dozens of bars, clubs and restaurants. I was happy to find most don't have cover charges and the drinks weren't terribly priced. To make things extra special, the bride-to-be bought a new school Polaroid camera, which provided us some quality entertainment. We showered her with typical bachelorette gifts and added one sentimental item. Each girl invited to the party could add photos and write a message to the bachelorette in a photo album. It was a great idea to make the weekend even more memorable. Thanks to San Diego and all the other girls for a wonderful time!
Nearly three years ago at a football game I met an outgoing girl who had just moved to Des Moines and didn't know a soul. A month later she came to my Halloween party with another friend. Turned out they weren't just friends. Fast forward 2.5 years and now she's about to get married to that same guy. In order to prepare the couple for their new life together, I helped throw them a bridal shower. There were four of us, and we really make quite the party planning team. We worked very well together and all had an "expertise" to bring to the table. Between choosing a venue, developing a menu, planning the games, getting the groom to pop in, following up with guests who didn't RSVP, preparing the food, setting up, welcoming and entertaining guests, keeping track of gifts and tearing down, planning a wedding shower is no small feat. But if you asked me to do it again, I'd say yes! Some people just have party planning in their bones. I'm definitely one of them. Congratulations to the wonderful couple! Almost there... Photos credit: Andrea Jansa ... so now let's celebrate! Not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm getting pretty darn good at planning bridal showers. The tricky part, though, is keeping costs in check. I'm planning a friend's shower with a group, and I took on the responsibility of invitations. I knew the bride wanted to incorporate the nautical theme that guests would also experience at the wedding in a few months. Being the comparison shopper I am, I visited several stores and websites before selecting an invitation. Price and design were the main considerations. I would have loved to hand-make all 30 invites, but that just wasn't going to happen due to lack of time.
Instead, I found several vendors on Etsy that email you a pdf and/or jpg of the design and then you print out as many invitations as you need on whatever paper you want. This seemed like a great deal because the design was just $15 - putting each invitation at 50 cents. My research told me I couldn't beat that. I went with Bella's Boutique Design for her awesome nautical design, size, price and speediness. You could order them in a 5x7 or 4x6 size, which not all shops offered. Bella also touts she can get most orders emailed to you in just 24 hours; mine were in my inbox in less than 12. I opened the files, they looked great and printed perfectly. I did have access to the color printer, card stock and paper cutter at my office, which I'm sure helped polish the look. I had never ordered downloadable invitations before so I was a little nervous they wouldn't turn out well. Not at all! I do have to take credit for the little alarm clocks you see in the photo. The shower is also an "Around the Clock" theme so I figured a little clipart would compliment the invitations just fine. Who doesn't love the 2001 rom-com The Wedding Planner? OK, probably most men, but I think most women take a liking to Matthew McConaughey and most people (regardless of sex) like Jennifer Lopez. In the flick, J-Lo plays a successful, practically legendary, wedding planner. She leaves no detail unfinished.
After planning my own wedding last year, I can appreciate what a wedding planner does. There's way too many odds and ends details that can make you go crazy. I was not only able to maintain my sanity during my eight-month engagement, but I really enjoyed it. Lucas and I had our ceremony at our church in West Des Moines, Shepherd of the Valley. Just recently the wedding coordinator for the church asked me if I'd like to help her. Uh, duh! This last Friday and Saturday I helped prepare the church, the bride and groom and their families for the big day. The rehearsal went pretty well Friday night, and Saturday ran pretty smoothly as well. My job was to make sure the space was set properly, the cast of characters knew their parts and that the bride didn't have to worry about any part of the ceremony. This bride was extremely laid back, which made my first wedding a breeze. I know it won't always be that easy, and that's just fine. My wedding day was about as wonderful as it could be, and this is a small way I can give other couples a chance to have a wonderful day as well. Weddings come in all shapes, sizes and styles. Well, unless it's a Wardenburg wedding. Wardenburg weddings come in only large and extra large. My sister-in-law Tessa did a wonderful job putting together a lovely wedding in just three months. She looked beautiful and classy while committing herself to the man of her dreams in a quaint Lutheran church in Chillicothe, Missouri.
Not only was it just my first time attending Tessa's wedding, it was also my first time videotaping a wedding. Before the ceremony I was getting some b-roll and cutaway shots when the photographer asked me if I shot weddings often. I said nope, this is my first. She tried not to act surprised. I like to think I did a pretty good job for a first crack at it; however, I won't know for sure until I start to edit. I'll keep you posted. |