oops....

I know I have been a very, very, very bad blogger in the last month... but holy crapoly maaaaan! I have been SO busy and SO exhausted it's not even funny. I started two online classes that I think get's their homework assignments from the Devil, am in the process of switching jobs (start the new one MONDAY!), and have had some other life changing things happen that I will discuss at a later date.

On another note...how the hell do you combine multiple videos taken from an iPhone, rotate them so you don't have to stare at your screen sideways, and make them viewable? I have a "full" video (in 4 parts right now) of the bridal party entrances that my cousin taped with his phone, but can't get them together.. hrmm.

Also, our pictures came. *smashes head on desk* NOT happy. Not happy in the slightest, teeniest, minute-est bit. The majority of them are extremely washed out by the way overpowering remote flashes he set up. They look rushed and thoughtless. The composition is crap too. All the beautiful pictures we saw in his albums are not the pictures we got from our wedding. Now I will admit, there are a handful of good pictures that he took, but there is something in all of them composition wise that makes me cringe and think "if he had just asked so-and-so to move their foot or hand, or stand a little differently, the picture would be SO much better!"

He missed so many important things all together... like the reaction on our faces when we saw each other for the first time. All we got was a picture of me walking up, then us hugging afterwards. WHAT THE FLYING FUUUCK YO?! Ugh. I specifically told him how important that was to me...and he seemed to understand. How hard is it to stand there, facing two people from the side and take pictures? I don't get it. He didn't take any artsy fartsy pictures of all of the small details... Only one hand picture for the rings.. not pics of the rings themselves. No bouquet pictures from close up, only from afar in other pictures. Zac's mom worked so hard on those! He should have taken better pictures.

I am SOOO glad that one of my bridesmaids, A, took some pictures in the hotel room while we were waiting on the photographer to show up. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have any pictures (good ones anyway) of my shoes or the rings. OR of any of us getting ready AT ALL! She definitely got some great photos that I am SOOO very grateful for! She even took one of my most favorite pictures from the wedding while I was tossing the bouquet!

(All of the following pictures are taken by her and NOT our photographer unless otherwise noted!)

My sister is the front runner there, and my mom is standing in the corner to the left, with her hair up in the red dress.. She looks like she's about to run out onto the floor too! haha. But my little Bean missed the bouquet by INCHES, and the lady in black right behind her ended up catching it, and taking an elbow to the face. (Still undetermined if Bean's elbow ACTUALLY made contact...but it was funny nonetheless.)

Checking to make sure she's ok! :) And UGH. Look at my  hair! CRAP I tell you! C-R-A-P. This is how my hair looks when I don't blow dry it... slightly wavy, and messy. I coulda done that for FREE!!

Remember when I mentioned that the venue ruined my cake top? Well, this picture is after I already fished out the skeleton topper that was laying down INSIDE of the top of the cake, completely engulfed in gross black frosting...



And Zac and I with the cake (ack! my arms are HUGE):



After the wedding, everyone hung out in our hotel room drinking and having a good time. Some of them also slipped away to do VERY BAD THINGS to Zac's car. I surrendered the keys, and pleaded with them so they wouldn't do anything to mine I was totally against it!

My little Bean acting special...


Some of the devilish things that went into Zac's car...(I think Bean took this pic with A's camera)


Another pic of Zac's car taken by a guest.


Sooo anyway. If you want to look at our pictures.. feel free! They are posted on shutterfly and password protected... http://ericaandzacswedding.shutterfly.com/ and the password is: ericaandzac (so creative!).

Our Vows

Le sigh...Still waiting on pictures from the photographer..... contract says "2-3 weeks following the wedding." It's been over a month now. He was supposed to mail the CD to us Wednesday of last week so unless it got "lost" in the mail, he didn't send it. UGHHH.

Our vows were something we both agreed didn't need to be traditional. We didn't want something religious or really spiritual at all since neither of us are really either. I put Zac in charge of writing the ceremony up though, and he did a great job!

In order to save money, we asked Zac's oldest brother (we will call him "J") to marry us, and then set out to figure out how exactly to make this possible. I'm not sure if it's the same in any other states, but in Virginia you can go to the courthouse and request a temporary license to perform a marriage ceremony. It's valid for 30 days, and you have to prove you performed the marriage within 5-7 days of the ceremony. (Which REALLY isn't enough time, IMO) The cost is virtually free in the end, but you must put up a $500 bond, which will be returned to you once you submit proof that you performed the ceremony.

So! J was officially legally allowed to marry us, which was very nice and he did a FANTASTIC job. He's a great speaker, and put his own touches on the vows that Zac wrote for us. These aren't exactly what was said, as J changed a few things to make it sound a bit better...but you get the idea! (sorry this is really long)

Procession


Welcome
Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We are gathered here today in friendship and happiness to celebrate the wedding of Erica and Zac. You have come here to share in this eternal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Erica and Zac to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.


So welcome to one and all, who have traveled from near and far. Erica and Zac thank you for your presence here today, and now ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married.

Definition of Marriage
Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as lifemates and partners.


The reality is that everyone's life is limited to only a certain amount of time. As Robert G. Ingersoll said, "The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here." Take the time to make your partner feel special. Never take each other for granted.


Take the time to listen and to share. Give each other the benefit of the doubt because communication will be difficult at times and misunderstandings are inevitable. It takes time, effort, courage, and commitment to make a successful marriage.


Take the time to negotiate, to talk about your fears, failures, and disappointments. Talk about each other's expectations, hopes, and dreams. Be flexible and willing to adapt well to changes and new circumstances. Above all, take the time to tell each other what you want. Take the risk of being vulnerable with each other.


Declaration of Intent
Do you, Erica, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?
Do you, Zac, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?


Exchanging of Vows
Erica/Zac, please repeat after me:


From this day forward I promise you these things.
I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow.
I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to achieve your goals.
I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement.
I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don't.
I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health.
You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always.


Pronouncement of Marriage
May I have the rings, please?

Please repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.

By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride.


Recession

So that's it! What do you think??
 
When we were rehearsing our vows, we couldn't stop laughing...Zac was making jokes and changing vows around, so I did the same. We both said "I will laugh AT you in times of joy..." instead of "with" you, and messed up a couple other words.
 
I did not know, however, what he had in store for me during the actual wedding. Hopefully someone took pictures of it.. but if not, we should have video in ohhhhh 3 years or so. ha.
 
Up Next:
 
Why are the Best Man and Maid of Honor wearing  torn wife beaters?!

The Rehearsal

April 15th, the day of our rehearsal was a beautiful day...a bit chilly, but sunny and rain free! Unfortunately, the day OF our wedding was a completely different story.

If it hadn't rained, we would have gotten married on the patio outside at The Clubs at Quantico. The Wisteria would have been beautifully draped over the pergolas lining both sides of the patio, with the chairs set up in the middle... but instead, we got married on the dance floor inside. I had gotten bio-degradable confetti to line the aisle with, but we didn't get to use it. My mom, on a whim, also purchased an aisle runner from Michael's but the way the ballroom was configured it wouldn't have laid down properly.

Oh.. and WHY are aisle runners SO expensive for something decent looking??? It seems if you attach the word "wedding" to anything, it automatically comes with a 50% markup in price.

Our rehearsal went well... we set up the photo booth in the breezeway, between the patio and the ballroom; quickly decided where things should go should it rain and we needed to get married inside, and of course- rehearsed.



Setting up the photo booth



Zac's brother (who married us) telling Zac's sister (our DOC) what to do. Typical brother and sister interaction. :)



Practicing walking down the aisle.

Can you see the black and white book Zac's brother his holding? I cut down a manila folder to a rectangular size, covered it in scrapbook paper and wrapped a red ribbon around it. I thought it would be nicer to hold the vows in instead of holding a piece of paper...and I didn't want to buy anything. I just printed off our vows, and taped them inside.

Zac and I walking back, to practice one more time.

Waiting with my dad, and our ring bearer to walk again.

And now I will show you a picture I am not proud of... but after watching THIS video.. should at LEAST make you smile or laugh a little... Or watch it below if it works..


It's a little joke between us to make the face randomly... you should see the looks we get..

So without further ado:



Our "face"

Anywhozit.

After the rehearsal we went to a local Mexican restaurant in Stafford called Pancho Villa. I picked a handful of items from the menu, and they made a special menu for us so we could control how much money was spent.


Half of our rehearsal dinner guests.



The other half :)

After we ate, we handed out the gifts to our bridal party and our parents. I don't have a picture of the groomsmen gifts yet, but hopefully the photographer snapped some photos. We bought all of the groomsmen, our ring bearer, ushers and Zac's brother cufflinks off of Etsy. They were silver with a black cabochon with a white skull and crossbones on it. I really liked them! I don't remember which Etsy seller we bought them from otherwise I would link to their store. Zac also ordered his groomsmen  a shot glass for  called a Quaffer.   They took Jager Bombs before the wedding with them. (Gross)

We got Zac's mom a variety of teas because she likes tea, and I put them all in a big flower pot (which broke in the car on the way to the rehearsal *sad face*), gourmet pasta and pasta sauce and some candies, and we got both of our dads fishing stuff. I got my mom a basket full of gourmet stuff. Bertucci's grocery store is AWESOME for gifts (a little pricey but nice). We got both mom's the same sauce and pasta, and a couple other little things from there. They seemed to like their gifts!

After the gift exchange we ate the grooms cake. I was NOT and am still not happy with this cake.

Let me count the ways...
1) Black frosting which made everyone's mouths black (and tasted bad)
2) Sprinkles (what do they have to do with this image??!)
3) The image looks stupid turned this way
4) The cake lady should have turned the image the other way and done it on a chocolate frosting with chocolate piping or white piping.

That would have been a much better idea.. and NO sprinkles. I am not pleased with the woman who did our cakes. She was careless and thoughtless... and this cake tasted like it came from a box!!! I could have made this myself...

*sigh*

So that is the rehearsal!!

After dinner we went back to the hotel and hung out in one of their conference rooms and played games all night. It was fun and relaxing!

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack!

I didn't even tell you I was leaving. But I did.

And I'm glad to be back. We left for our honeymoon to Australia on the 27th, arrived on the 29th (their time) and just got back late Saturday  night.

Our trip there was hell. Coming back was great.

We stayed here- the Nepean Country Club. It  looks MUCH nicer in the photos.

Which is where I circled and pointed to with the arrow. It's about 1 hour and 45 minutes outside of Melbourne. We also stayed a night in Melbourne, and went to Phillp Island (both are circled).



I will update more as I get back on a better schedule. My sleep schedule is sooo outta whack! It's only 2:30pm and I am already dying fast.

We are still waiting on photos from our photographer (he said 2-3 weeks)...

Oh My...

As far as our guests are concerned, the wedding was FABULOUS.

My opinion on the matter however, is slightly less chipper. SO many things went wrong it's ridiculous.

Here are just a few things that went wrong  (I will elaborate more on the day later).

1. Most of the flowers died, and my bouquet froze in the hotel fridge. My MIL was in charge of doing all of the flowers, and had to scatter around town looking for replacements the Friday before, and the day of the wedding.
2. It was pouring cats and dogs off and on ALL day, with periodic breaks of sunshine. None of which occurred DURING the ceremony (the sunshine that is), but 30 minutes afterwards. Our ceremony ended up being inside.
3. The curl in my hair didn't even last until the hair/makeup girls left, so it looked like crap for the wedding.
4. They had to re-do my mom's hair THREE times because they could not do what she was asking for, even though they claimed they could.
5. Lots of things were missing at the reception-including 90% of my guestbook pages, so only 20ish people filled out pages out of 75.
6. The photographer was 4+ hours late. Wasn't really sure when he was going to show up, one day he said 10:45am, then Friday he said 1:00pm. He showed up at 4:30. Wedding started at 5:30pm and we still had to do bridal party photos.
7. All of the photos were VERY rushed.
8. We didn't get ANY detail photos taken, which were very important to me because there were so many little details I wanted captured. Luckily one of my bridesmaids does photography as a hobby and took a few pictures for me of our rings and stuff before our actual photographer showed up! THANKS ASHLEY!
9. The wedding cake had black frosting, and most of our guests mouths and teeth were nasty after eating it.
10. The cake was gross, looked nice, but gross (at least I was not impressed).
11. It was also melting, and the cake topper was SINKING into the top of the cake. They lady added NO supports whatsoever. Our cake topper weighs a pound!! And she knew this beforehand.
12. Cake Massacre! The venue ruined the top of our cake. It looked like they put it in the box, and threw it on the floor. When we got back to the hotel, I opened it to find my cake topper smashed down inside the middle of the cake, and the cake itself spread all over the inside of the box. No anniversary cake for us!
13. The venue forgot a lot of small details that they said they would provide... like table numbers! Luckily Zac's brother's wife took care of it!

Here are a few guest photos until I get some better quality ones! (The quality of these is too terrible to make any bigger! SORRY!)

And sorry for the wonky picture arrangement....blogger is not my friend today....




Taking pictures before the ceremony. Notice lack of curl in hair?!




Seriously...my hair looks like crap.




After our bridal  party entrance...




 

Taking more pictures, while hiding from the rain.

You can see behind us where we were SUPPOSED to get married! BOO!

The surprise part of our first dance!

The cake!!!! ^^

 That's all for now! Stay tuned for more!



Three More Days!

I can't wait to share more info about the wedding with everyone! I want to post more, but I still want some things to remain a surprise for family and guests!

3 more days! Oy. It's supposed to rain all day today, and then not again until Saturday. Of course our wedding day would be sandwiched in between 2 days of sunshine and warmth! Blah.

Have you ever heard people say that rain on your wedding brings good luck? Well, I have.. at least 300 times this week already. If one more person says that to me, I'm bound to go postal. I might sound crazy...but here is my logic.

If good luck is:
- My hair not holding it's style and falling out because of the rain (which it ALWAYS does)
- not having anywhere to take decent pictures inside
- everything being extremely muddy
- the fact that our ceremony is OUTSIDE and will have to be moved into the huge ballroom
- all the money spent on things to decorate outside

Then it will be the BESTEST LUCK EVAR. *sigh* I know everyone says that on your actual wedding day, that stuff won't matter.. Well, you don't know me then! haha. Everything else up until this point has been pretty sucky, so those things are the only things that I really wanted to go smoothly! Here's hoping!

Zac picked up his suit yesterday. He said it felt very weird because the pants were poofy and didn't fit the same way he was used to. He sent me this little picture as a teaser.



I'm so excited to see him and the guys all dressed up. I LOVE these shoes.

I WILL be back to post lots more after the wedding...until then, I have much to do before becoming a Mrs!!

The Deets Part 5: Fauxto Booth props

I'm a little hesitant to post pictures of the props I made, because I kinda want them to be a surprise at the wedding! But, I don't think very many of our guests read my blog.. so I think it's ok to share.

Everything was made from items purchased at Hobby Lobby (which I am addicted to like crack! Why must they sell such awesome stuff?!).

Props in this photo include items made from: wood- the star wand (which still needs ribbon) and the pirate mask (premade from HobLob, I just painted it); stiff felt sheets- mustaches and the two pairs of red retro glasses, as well as the black ball on the green microphone; sheets of foam paper stuff- weiner, kanye west blue glasses, broken heart, giant mouths and pirate patch; the two masks were also acquired form HobLob, one was painted silver with red feathers glued on, and the other was painted black first, then covered with red and black feathers.

There is also an abundance of old bead necklaces from one boobie showing or another...

Two empty picture frames for people to.. well, frame themselves with and two chalkboards (one not pictured that I just painted last night on an old piece of canvas).  The red and black chalkboard is from Wal Mart and  was about $3 and came unfinished. It's pretty much layered pieces of MDF, and is VERY rough on the edges... so if you buy something like this from Wal Mart, make sure you sand it first. The chalkboard paint and red paint I already had...

Here's a close up of the two masks. They had strings on them so you could put them on your face, but we cut those off and glued 12 inch dowel rods painted black on them instead.

The giant lips are from HobLob too, from the Valentine's Day section.. they were a random purchase (only $1) and I thought it would be funny.


Ain't he just darlin?!

 The foam sheets of "paper" came in a pack of 30-40 pages, and cost about $10. I still have tons left. We probably used maybe 5 sheet's max from the pack.

The stiff felt  sheets were $0.50-$0.75 each (I can't remember exactly), and we bought 3 (red, black and brown). It's perfect for the mustaches, and holds up nicely. No need to glue the shapes to cardboard for support.

The feathers came in a package and cost about $2.00, and we still have TONS left. Masks were $1.99 each...paint I already had in various colors. The pirate mask was $1.00 and so was the wooden star. The pack of dowels came 12 to a pack for about $2.00 or so.  The two frames I already had, but I got from Goodwill awhile back for a buck or two each...

All together, we spent less than $25 on items for props!!! That's great! I'm pretty sure we had a coupon or two as well, so the cost could very well have been under $20, and I still have a lot of stuff left over for future projects!

Twelve Days...

... 'Til I am a Mrs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TWELVE friggen days. Where did the time go? It seems like not to long ago it was late July and we had just gotten engaged. Why must time go by so quickly???

There is still much to be done. Mostly little things... but of course they are the most tedious.

Programs still need to be made. Vows need to be finalized. The program for the photobooth needs some fine tuning and we need to make little cards with information on where to find the pictures after the wedding, and also where people can upload them! Doesn't seem like much... but we are perfectionists... and if the graphics don't look good they ain't goin on the stuff!

I created a shutterfly account and site for our guests to upload the pictures they take... and since we opted out of printing the fauxto booth pictures out AT the wedding, we are going to upload those on here too. (the site is password protected for now)

The Friday before the wedding, I have a ton of errands to run... hopefully I can have someone else do a few of them.. but if not, I am going to be busy busy!

Wedding Etiquette- The RSVP

RSVP. répondez s'il vous plaît. Respond please or please respond.

OR

OMFG Whyyyy has only 1/4 of the people invited said they are coming! What are the other 75% dooooiiiiing?!?!!?

I never understand why people can't RSVP to things. Is it because they can't come? Don't want to come? Don't yet know if they are going to come? Forgot?

Whatever it is, it is most definitely, without a doubt RUDE to NOT  RSVP. Whether you are coming or not. Especially to weddings.

I'm not a big fan of spending a lot of money on wedding invitations... but some people do. We bought ours from Michael's and printed on them ourselves. I probably spent about $100 on invitations with Michael's coupons, and we wasted a whole bunch trying to get the printer to print properly. We also still have almost a whole box of 30 left over.

What was my point there? Oh! Some people spend a lot of money on wedding invitations, only to have about 20% of them thrown right into the trash or "lost." Think about that when you get one next time and toss it in the garbage right away! Someone spent a lot of time and potentially money on that! Maybe there's a little blood too from all the paper cuts...
Anyhoozit.

The bottom line is... If you get an invitation with an 'RSVP by' date, do it. Most people opt to send the RSVP envelopes with a stamp already on them, so all you have to do is write your name and the name of your guest(s) and put it in your mailbox!

OHH!! And that little line, the mysterious M_______________. The M is there for a reason and so is the line. The M is there for you to begin writing Mr./Mrs./Miss whatever... followed by the names of ALL of the guests attending. I know there's never enough space, but write all of the names anyway.. it's ok if they aren't all on the line.. write them underneath! Hell, use the back of the card to write the names, just put them SOMEWHERE. And PLEASE do NOT send response cards back with no name on them.. how do you expect people to know who the flying monkey butts you are?!

The 'Maybe'
The maybe is.. well. Rude AND sucky. Here's the dealio. Most wedding venues/caterers (and this is if you are NOT catering your own wedding) (why would you do that?) require that you give them a final headcount at least 2 weeks in advance. Some may be in as little as a week but it all depends on the size of the venue and the types of events they cater to. So! If you say, "I don't know if we are going to come yet. Put us down as 'maybe'" The bride has to guestimate how many people to add to her list. You probably won't be the only maybe, so let's just say that for every 100 people, there's probably 10 "maybes"  Our venue cost is inclusive of quite a few things. Venue, catering, open bar for 3.5 hours, DJ and cake for $88 per person for the meal package we chose. So $88 x 10= $880! That's a lot of money for a "maybe!"

I would say, just to be safe, if someone says they are a "maybe" tell them to let you know two and a half weeks out. If they are still a "maybe" then, count them out.

They also say that you should expect at least 20% of the people you invite to decline the invitation, and 15-20% to ignore your free stamp and very important deadline. A good estimate for out of town guests accepting is probably 55%. Of course, this depends on the relative wealth of your invited guests and age. Meaning, if they po, they prolly ain't comin! If they old and crippled, they prolly ain't comin! If they old AND po, they definitely ain't comin!

Sorry....

We invited about 130 people to our wedding with a goal of no more than 100 actually showing up. Our RSVP by date was March 25th and since then, we have received about 76 yes's, 15ish No's and 10ish "maybe's."  Most of our guests are out of towners (not in the Tri-State area of Virginia, DC or Maryland).

So...(and I didn't do these calculations until AFTER writing all of the other stuff!! Creeeepyyyy)
 58% of our invited guests said YES.
 8% said MAYBE
 11% said NO
 23% have not responded <--------FAAAAAAILLLLLLLLL

Pretty close to the guestimations "they" set out.

Who are "they" anyway? I dunno.

The Deets Part 4: The Fauxto Booth

I REALLLLLLLLY wanted a photo booth at our wedding no matter what venue we chose. But I'll be darned if renting one isn't ridiculously expensive!!! Holy crap. The cheapest one I found was around $500 for 3 hours but you still have to pay for the attendant to be there and for a certain amount of prints. $500-$1000+ was not in our budget AT ALL. So I decided to make our own.

I don't have a picture of the frame itself without the back drop on it.. but if I get bored enough to put it back together, I'll take one for you to see. :)

I DID however, take a really bad video with my cell phone to send to my mom and sister that I will share with you. Ignore my gross voice. I was getting over being sick so I sound froggy and high pitched at the same time. It's a glorious period when you're getting better. Puberty much?

We went to Lowes and cleaned our store out of the useful 3/4" PVC fittings (I spent a lot of time sitting on the disgusting floor searching through bins to find the right sized pieces we needed), and bought a couple pieces of 5 foot 3/4" PVC pipe. I think all together we probably bought about seven 5' pieces and had a little bit left over. For some reason, buying two 5' pieces was WAY cheaper than buying one 10' piece of PVC in the same size but if the 10' piece is cheaper for you then go for it!

We also bought a PVC pipe cutter which we subsequently broke 10 minutes into cutting the pipes to the right sizes. Whoops. Someone *aheeeeeem*Zac*aheeem* didn't read the directions on how to cut pipe with it. So that's $10 down the drain. It still does it's job, but there's a huge chunk taken out of the blade. Ha



3/4 inch elbow



3/4 inch Tee

 




3/4 inch coupler

  We bought probably 6 elbows at $0.30 a piece, 2 Tees at $0.36 each,  and a butt load of couplers (maybe 6-10?) at $0.20 each.  We had a rough idea of how we wanted to build the frame, but didn't know how it was going to work out so we bought what we thought we needed. Zac ended up having to go back for a couple more pieces when we realized it wasn't stable enough.

Our first attempt didn't seem sturdy at all. And the bar across the top wobbled. I was worried drunk people might knock it over and break something at the venue. Here is my little doodle so you can see what we had initially.
**Disclaimer: I am NOOOOOT an artist**
**It's OK to laugh!**

Our second attempt was much better and much sturdier. I am worried about people tripping over the pipes, but I think they will be ok. I'm still contemplating whether or not I should spray paint the PVC black or white to cover up all of the writing. I'm leaning more towards "I don't care" at the moment. The size of the booth ended up being about 7 feet tall, and 6ish feet long so we added a foot or two to each 5' piece on the frame to make the desired length. One 5' PVC pipe for each side x's 5 sides = 5 PVC pipes + 2- 5' PVC pipe for cutting in smaller pieces to make desired length. The legs are made of two pieces connected with a Tee and each piece is about a foot long.

If I did this again, I would probably plan it out a bit better. Reading all of this makes my head hurt... but when you look at it, you would never know that Zac was cussing up a storm while cutting the PVC, or that I was getting mad at him for getting mad at building the frame.. haha.

Here is our second and final frame:





We very well could have used more couplers than what I listed on the picture, but you get the idea!

So basically, attach pvc pipes together with couplers to reach desired length. When connecting pipes to make an angle, you need an elbow. When connecting the top to the bottom portion, you need a Tee. Simple.

For the backdrop, I bought a black Queen sized sheet at Wal Mart for about $11. I probably could have found something cheaper, but the dimensions were right, and it was easy and quick.

To attach the sheet and still be able to take it off, I pulled the sheet across the frame until we were holding it where we wanted it. I folded the top half down over the top bar and secured in a couple of spots with safety pins. On the sides, I folded the leftover material over towards the middle of the frame, basically making an upside down L with the top part of the fabric and secured with safety pins in a few spots.







And that's about it! If this makes no sense to you.. it's ok. I'm a little scatterbrained! I also splattered red and white acrylic paint all over the sheet to give it some texture. I was worried people might blend in if they were wearing black, so I wanted there to be some distinction!


Here are some photos of the finished booth!

I probably should have ironed the sheet first... but I really just didn't care at the time!

three's a charm...or not.

Lemme just start off by expressing a big fat UUUUUUUGGHHH!

Ok done.

I had my 3rd dress fitting tonight at 6:30pm at the store where I bought my dress. These are supposed to be fun right? The bride is supposed to be giddy and cry and jump for joy when the sweet, well mannered seamstress brings it out with a big smile on her face as she says "Your dress is doooone! It looks beautiful!!"

I hate TV. Where's David Tutera with my beautiful designer dress that probably costs more than our whole wedding?

Totally not how it happens. At least not on my TV show in my head. Going to the store where I got my dress on a weekday, in the evening, is a huge inconvenience. If you live anywhere near DC, you know how HORRID traffic is. The last time I went (and also tonight) I elected to take the Metro. While more convenient in the sense that I don't have to drive through DC towards VA, except for my drive from work to the Metro in MD, it still sucks. Going into  DC on the metro is fine, because everyone else is going the other way... but once I get to the first stop in DC going towards VA, it's like cramming 80 mexicans in Pinto. NOT kosher.

Pretend I'm Jim Carey in this photo.

*sigh* Might I also ask for a little courtesy whilst riding the Metro? PUHLEASE wear deodorant. P-L-E-A-S-E! It really dampens the mood when I'm standing in the aisle of the Metro car, packed like a sardine, and I turn to find my nose 2 inches away from a sweaty, hairy, STINKY arm-pit monster.

So an hour and a half later, I arrive at the Metro station, my mom picks me up and we head over to the store.I wait about 10 minutes for the seamstress to be ready, then go into the dressing room, cram myself into my Spanx (btw- I LOVE these. They are extremely difficult to get on, but maaaaan do they make my butt cuter and less fatty, and flatten out my jelly rolls) and start putting the dress on. I look down at the boobs, and wtf. Little threads EVERYWHERE, missing beads, loose beads---uuuuuuugh. They never fixed it.

I call my mom in to zip up the dress for me, she zips it half way and RIIIIIIIIIPPPPPP. The mother ffing zipper rips right off of the dress. You have GOT to be kidding me. Holy whore in a hand-basket. Now, I haven't gained any weight and I didn't Hulk out.. but I wanted to gouge the seamstress's eyes out at that very moment. 

The seamstress came in and acted like nothing happened.. "Oooo how deed dat happeeen?" Because you suck. That's how.

(Edit: Her name is Myra! I rememberedededed! :))
In addition to the zipper ripping right off the dress, the lining inside the dress was bubbling out of the boob section, and the area under right arm pit was gaping wide open....

She didn't fix diddly squat last time. So now, I have to go back a 4th time on March 31st.

Dear David Tutera,
I would love to have you come make this wedding process stop sucking.

Please? I'll bake you cookies!!! :(

'Say Yes to the Dress' is a Liarface...

...so are all those other wedding dress shopping shows. Sometimes they show minor mental breakdowns while brides are dress shopping. But I feel like the brides and mom's are on their semi-best behavior when they are being filmed.

Here's a list of awkwardness/frustrations and thoughts that I experienced while dress shopping. Have fun.

Thoughts about getting nekked/trying on the dresses with the sales girl in the dressing room:

• Um...can you turn around please and not look at my boobies and fat belly?
• There's no way in hell my fat ass is fitting in that dress. But if you want me to try it on!
• If you pull it down anymore its going to rip. I'm not paying for that!
• That dress is F-U-G-L-Y. Who put that in here?! I didn't pick that! If you grabbed that for me you need to be fired.
• I HEARD A RIP! I HEARD A RIP! TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF!
• 
  I have to pee. If you tighten that dress any tighter, I'm peeing on you.
• When you come to work tomorrow, you should put on MORE deodorant. Maybe some perfume.I know this job is hard with lifting your arms above your head constantly and what not.. but puh-lease! It smells.
• I know you're thinking "God I fucking hate this job. All these bitchy brides coming into the store every day. Stop yelling at me! I'm just trying to do my job! UGH! I need a new job!" How do I know? You wince too much and your smile is fake.
• I look like a fat $5 whore.
• What the flying frick is up with these mirrors? It's like being at a carnival at the house of mirrors. Big! Fat! Skinny! Short! Wide! Tall! Thin! WooooOoOOOOOOoooOOOOooOo!
• A family of midgets could live under this dress.

Things I wanted to say to my mom but didn't...ok, ok. I DID say some of them....just some!

• Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. U-G-L-Y. UGLY!
• no no no no no no no
• It's what *I* want. ME. Not YOU. ME!
• I know you like it but it's too expensive. Are you paying for it? NO. PUT IT BACK. Also, it's ugly.
• If you don't stop crying about how much you like this hideous dress, I'm going to rip it off of me like the Hulk and storm out of the store in my underwear and bra-less titties.
• I hate you.
• Can we go now? My self esteem is even lower now than when we came into the store.
• I- DON'T-LIKE-THAT-STYLE-OF-DRESS. STOP handing it to me! STOP STOP STOP! AHKJAHHGDAJS!
• How come when I find a dress *I* like, you think it's the most atrocious thing on the planet?!
• Can't you just keep your opinion to yourself and let me pick a dress *I* want!?
• But I want you to like it tooooooooo!
• I hate you.

Cue mental breakdown....

• UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! I don't care anymore! Let's just get one so I can go home!!!!!
• (while stomping feet on the ground like a 5 year old) NOOOOOOOOO!!! NO NO NO NO NO! It's ugly!
• Do you like it or not?!!?! "Maybe" is not an answer!
• I can't get out of this dress! UGGGHHH! It's stuck! Get me out! Now now now! *whimpering* It huuurrrrrrts!!! Ow ow ow ow ow.
• I'm not going to cry about this dress so stop waiting for the cliche tv reaction! I said I like it so let's buy it and go home!

Just in case you're wondering.. I'm not bridezilla. I try really hard not to get mad at people, but I get frustrated really easily and want to just give up on these types of things. ESPECIALLY when it comes to clothes. Pretty sure I made my mom mad a couple of times... but it happens! Just imagine lots of irritation... think HULK SMASHING thoughts, and go back and read it all again.

It's ok to hate me now.

Wedding Etiquette- Bridesmaid Duties

Bridesmaid duties... They are pretty similar to the Maid of Honor duties, but may include more following directions from the MOH or bride and executing. Of course, the bridesmaids are always included in the planning process, around for input on dresses/hair/make-up etc. They are also there to help the bride with anything she may need help with.

Some common Bridesmaid duties may include:

Pre Wedding:

• Playing a supportive role for the bride in the planning process
• Shopping for the wedding dress with the bride
• Shopping for Bridesmaid dresses with the bride
• I think this is a VERY important step. With my bridesmaids, I wanted to make sure the dresses looked good on ALL of them. I have seen many BMs wear HORRIBLY ugly and unflattering dresses because they looked good on some of the BMs but not all of them. Some brides don't care, and want what they want.... but I wanted my bridesmaids to be comfortable and look good too!
• Shopping for accessories for the wedding day
• Helping the bride plan the details for the wedding
• Helping to plan the bridal shower/engagement party/bachelorette party
• Address invitations if the bride needs help
• Help the bride and/or groom register for items for their Registry if help is needed
• Spread the word about where the bride and groom are registered
• Attend and help out during the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
• this day can be confusing and stressful. The bride and groom may need help to keep the ball rolling to get things accomplished. Some venues only allow you to practice for a short amount of time without having to pay for your time there!

Wedding Day:

• Run last minute errands
• Assist with wedding vendors- check off arrivals of equipment/deliveries and make sure they go where they need to (if no Coordinator is available)
• Assist the bride with getting ready
• Assist other bridesmaids in getting ready
• Check on the groom and groomsmen and make sure they are running ON TIME!
• Witness the signing of the marriage license
• Stand in the receiving line (this is kind of old fashioned. The last time I went to a wedding that did this, I was 6 and it was 1992)
• Serve as a hostess at the wedding reception, introducing guests, showing them where to go, etc.
• Carry the brides wedding gown train as necessary
• help to bustle the train before the reception begins
• Accompany the bride to the restroom if she needs help!

Of course, there are many things that you may or may not do as a Bridesmaid. The most important thing is to be there for the bride and assist her when she needs help. Planning a wedding is stressful! She will need all the support she can get!

The Deets Part 3- The Suits

Read Part 1! The Overall Concept
Read Part 2! The Dress!

In keeping with the 1930's Hollywood Glam style for our apparel, I wanted Zac and his groomsmen to wear modern style Zoot Suits.

From Wikipedia: "A zoot suit has high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed pegged trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather and pointy, French-style shoes (Spanish: calcos)... Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket."

Photo from Wikipedia

I'm not a huge fan of the tight-cuffed around the ankles  look. Nor am I am fan of the fact that they kind of look like parachute pants... but the more modernized suits that you can rent/buy at tux shops today taper slightly at the ankle, but not too much. I love the longer jackets. I couldn't find any pictures of people wearing vests with their zoot suits, but Zac and his guys are wearing them with theirs. I think it makes the suits look more formal and crisp.

We decided to rent the suits from Joseph A. Bank because their prices were good, and they had the color red we I was looking for, for the accessories.

I pulled together a quick rendition of the suits on their website... I can't quite remember which color choices Zac hd picked for himself and his groomsmen, but I'm pretty sure the only difference is the vests and ties are either red or black.

Here's what it looks like!


I'm hoping that the black from the vest and the suit don't clash as much in person as they do in the photo.. But nothing ever looks the same in pictures as in person, so we shall see!

I would have preferred no pin stripes either, but it's all that they had, and I don't mind it. I think the guys will look great!! :)

The Deets Part 2- THE dress

Read part 1! The Overall Concept


Ignore the website I am linking to for the photos.. Pretty sure it's a scam, but it's the only place I can find pictures of my dress!!

Zac- NO LOOKING! Avert your eyes now and close this window!

1...

2..

3..

4..

5...

Ok. So I got my dress at Alfred Angelo  in Springfield, VA. We went to a TON of dress shops before going there.. I had originally thought I wanted a different dress from AA, but when we went back a second time to try it on again, I decided I wanted to try on the dress I ended up buying a second time because it looked better on me in pictures.

When you are trying on dresses, if the bridal shop allows you to, I HIGHLY recommend you have someone take pictures of you from every side and angle. The mirrors in these places are always tilted weird and make you look a bit different than you really do. I thought a LOT of dresses looked good on me in the shop, but when we got home and I looked at the pictures, I looked terrible in many of them.

Here is the dress I originally chose. For some reason Blogger won't let me upload a picture so you will just have to click! I was going to get the color portion in their Cherry Red. I wanted an all red dress, but couldn't find one that wasn't ugly or easily accessible (everything had to be ordered as a sample, and none of the dress shops EVER called me back... more on that later).

After much consideration, and about 30 minutes of standing on the little podium thing and looking at myself in the mirror, here is the dress I finally chose, but in Ivory not white AA Style 2057 (discontinued):

The seamstress is going to remove the little white ribbon under the bust, and replace it with their Cherry red fabric, and re-apply the applique. You can see on the photo of the back side- the ribbon goes all the way around, makes a bow, and the bow's tail extends the length of the dress. This will all be red too! I need some color since I couldn't have my red dress!!

I love the train on this dress. It's not to long, and just beautiful! It definitely goes with the 1930's look I was hoping for!

The best part about this dress? It only cost $380.00 without alterations!!!! It was a discontinued style, and was the last one in the store. I believe, it was originally about a $1,000-$1,200 dress. I can't remember. Alterations are costing about $250ish which still isn't too bad! AND it fit. Everywhere except for the boobs. I'm lacking in that department. But the rest of the dress fit like a glove!

What do you think?!

Wedding Etiquette- Maid of Honor Duties

Being only 24, I haven't had the opportunity to participate in any weddings. Except when I was 5 or 6 and my sister and I were flower girls in my parent's wedding...but that doesn't count. I have attended countless weddings as a guest, however. I had never been to a bridal shower until I had my own, and I have never been to a bachelorette party.

So what's a girl (or bridesmaid) to do when she is put in the position to take on the duties that require her to throw a bachelorette party/bridal shower or any other wedding related events? Learn.

If you don't know how to do a math problem, you try to figure it out on your own at first. If you can't figure it out, maybe you do a little research...look for similar problems that have been solved and try again. If that doesn't work, maybe then you set aside your pride and ask someone for help.

It's the same concept when you are in someone's wedding. If you don't know what you're supposed to be doing, you ask OR you find out through research. Nowadays it is SO easy to find the answer to almost everything just by typing a word or phrase into Google. You just have to be willing to put a little effort into it (read- TRY) and wade through a couple useless websites/articles/blogs, etc... Go to your local library! I guarantee you will find at least a handful of books on wedding etiquette that include helpful information.

So what ARE the duties of your bridesmaids and Maid of Honor? I'm going to try and go over a few in the next couple of posts, based on what I've learned and from my own wedding experience...

*Edit: January 28th, 2011 @5:40pm. This is by no means a "you HAVE to do this" type of thing! Everyone's situation is different and every bride is different in the things she wants her bridal party to do/help her with...You may not have to lift a finger! This is just a compilation of the more traditional roles...* 

Maid of Honor (also- Matron of Honor if she is married):
If you have been chosen to be a Maid of Honor, it is most likely because the bride feels that you are her closest, truest friend (and sometimes relative), and she believes you will be there for her throughout the wedding planning process. The MoH is most often the best friend of the bride or sister.

Think of the MoH as a chairmanwoman of the board...a board of bridesmaids. It is your duty to keep everyone on the same page as far as wedding details/events go, and also to help keep the bride sane.

Often times, if the bride has selected multiple bridesmaids, they may not all know eachother or live in the same state. The MoH should initiate some ice breaking and contact the bridal party to get the ball rollin'. This can be done by making phone calls, or sending out an email to everyone. The MoH must always be very polite and tactful when sending emails, to ensure that no one takes anything said the wrong way. Sarcasm and humor can often come across as snarkiness in an email, even when it wasn't meant that way.

Now that we have that down... let's get into the nitty gritty.

Main Duties-Pre Wedding

• Be the bride's support! Not everything always goes as planned in the wedding process, and the bride might get overwhelmed at times. It helps to have someone to vent to.
• Keep in contact with all bridesmaids throughout the process and relay pertinent information as necessary.
• Throw the bride and groom an engagement party. Now this is something that not many people do anymore (I've never been to one)... and often, if they are having one, the bride or groom's family throws it instead. Check with the bride and groom's family and see if they are planning one first. If you decide to do it, consider making it a surprise, but you could also ask the bride if she wants to have one. Many people decide to opt out because of cost. Parties get expensive!
• Host a bridal shower for the bride with the help of the bridesmaids. Traditionally, the MoH incurs the cost of the bridal shower, but in modern times (yea, modern) the MoH and bridesmaids often agree to share the costs. The MoH can also ask the bride or groom's family for input if they don't plan on throwing a separate shower. People have MORE THAN ONE? Apparently! I only had one...but I have met many people who have had as many as 5 bridal showers before their wedding!
• Help the bride shop for her wedding gown (or at least offer).
• Plan, host and execute the bachelorette party with the help of the bridesmaids. You can ask the bride for input on the types of things she likes to do, or wants to do for her bachelorette party...but try to make it a surprise (unless she hates surprises)! It will be much more meaningful that way!
• Help the bride with anything she needs help with! This could include:
• Helping the bride research vendors if she hasn't already chosen them
• Making phone calls to vendors
• Helping with any DIY projects the bride has decided to endure (favors, invitations, save-the-dates, etc)
• Purchase wedding day attire. The bridal party is traditionally responsible for paying for the dress, jewelry, shoes (and paying for hair and makeup the day of). Sometimes a bride may opt to purchase some or all of these items for her bridal party, but I wouldn't count on it. Accepting the position of MoH or bridesmaid is kind of like an unwritten contract. Everyone should take into account the fact that they are going to be spending a  small (or large!) chunk of change on certain items/events for the bride and groom's big day. If you can't afford it, let your bride know. She can work something out with you, or try to stay within your budget. Don't be afraid to tell her!!!
• Help keep the rehearsal running smoothly! Keep everyone in line. Many times, the venues only allow an hour or so for the pre-wedding rehearsal, and people can get carried away very quickly with chit chat and goofing around. Save that for the rehearsal dinner!

Main Duties - Wedding Day

• Help keep the bride sane! She is going to have a million and one things running through her head on her big day (especially if she is the Type A sort of bride).
• Hold onto the groom's ring during the ceremony. Some brides leave the rings with the ring bearer until it is time to exchange them.
• Hold the bride's bouquet during the ceremony
• Arrange the bride's train at the appropriate times during the ceremony as needed.
• Stand as a witness (and sign!) for the marriage license, if necessary.
• Give a speech/toast during the reception
• Help with any other duties the bride may need help with

Whew!! That's all I can think of for now.. if I remember any more, I'll add them later. Hopefully this can help someone so they don't have to endure the stress that I am with the whole process... More to come! :)

The Deets Part 1- The Overall Concept

Now don't get me wrong... I know I sound like Negative Nancy pants on here... but I really AM excited to be getting married! I just envisioned the process going a little differently, and going more smoothly than it has been.

So let's talk positive wedding things!

When are we getting married?
April 16th, 2011 (SOON!)

Where are we getting married?
The Clubs at Quantico- Quantico Marine Corps Base

Wedding colors?
Red, black and white. So creative!

Theme?
No theme really. I wanted our apparel to be 1930's inspired, so my dress is as close as I could find to that Hollywood Glam style without being super poofy, and the guys are wearing modern Zoot Suits (more on the clothing later!). I'm excited. Everything else is really just pieces of us spread throughout the venue (skulls-Zac, Damask patterns-me).

Cake/Cake Topper?
HA! Prepare to be confused/concerned/question our sanity and taste...

We got our cake topper from http://www.goreydetails.net/ for $20.00. This is where the skulls come in! But I like it too...

It's a pretty hefty cake topper! It's solid and sturdy though, so it will definitely last for a long time as long as one of us (aheeeem *me*) doesn't drop it.

The wedding cake is going to be 3 layers in a pentagon (I think) shape with Damask flourishes on each side, and ribbon lining the bottom of each layer. I was trying to find some pretty silk ribbon with skulls on it, but I haven't been able to find any I like, so we may just go with plain black or red ribbon.

Each tier is going to be different flavors with different fillings!
Top: Red velved with Bailey's Irish Cream filling
Middle: German Chocolate with Pecan filling
Bottom: Lemon cake with a raspberry filling

DELISH!!

20 Things

Here are some growed up lessons I have learned since getting engaged and starting the wedding planning process:

1. Weddings are expensive no matter how cheap you try to make them
2. DIY stuff takes A LOT of patience
3. DIY stuff takes A LOT of time
4. DIY stuff takes A LOT of  wasted materials practice PATIENCE
5. I don't have a lot of patience
6. When your mom and dad say they will give you money to pay for it and tell you that you can have your wedding wherever you want, but they are only contributing THIS much; they are big fat liars
7. Your parents will have a say in where you have your wedding because THEY are paying and THEY don't want to pay for that.   And that is too expensive. You don't want to have "your" wedding there. blah blah blah
8. Even if they don't do it intentionally, every argument you have with your parents after they have offered to contribute will contain some form of this phrase: "Well, we are paying for some of your wedding. We can take our money back if you want to continue arguing with us."
9. When you ask your fiance for input and he says "I don't care. It's whatever you want baby." Just take his word for it. He REALLY doesn't care.
10. He kinda cares.
11. Sometimes.
12. If you are never one to be the center of attention, now is still not really your time.
13. It's kinda about everyone else too
14. Suck it up, shut your mouth, grit your teeth and smile
15. Follow number 14 every time you get annoyed with someone
16. Follow number 14 every time you want to rip someone's eyeballs out
17. If you can't follow 14, just walk away and drink some booze. Or buy something expensive and useless for yourself.
18. Wedding planning is fun
19. Wedding planning is fun when things go your way
20. Wedding planning is F-U-N!

It's Platinum, It's got a fancy diamond...

... It's an ENGAGEMENT RING! And it's on MYYYY FINGER!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Zac proposed on Saturday the 24th in New York City on top of the Empire State Building. Cutesy huh!?

He's awesome. Like, a LOT awesome. I am so happy!

So how did he do it? You ask? Well.....

We were going to New York to video tape our day and submit it to this YouTube project called Life In A Day. So Zac, my sister and I took the MegaBus up there to spend the day. I would totally recommend using Megabus too. It cost about $44 bucks for each of us round trip from DC to NYC, and I think it was only that expensive because we waited till the last  minute to book our tickets.

The bus was full, but we left so frickin early in the morning, we mostly slept the whole way. It took about 4 hours to get there and was much better than us driving ourselves to a city we had never been to before.. We soooo would have gotten lost.

We were dropped off on a street somewhere, stopped in a Starbucks to go to the bathroom and get coffee and went on our merry way. We had absolutely no idea where we were going, but knew 5th street had lots of stuff, so we started walking that way. I kept seeing a huge building/tower thing and was like, "You guys wanna go up there?" but it never registered in my head what building it was.. We almost walked completely past it, until I looked up and saw the "Empire State Building" sign on the front. It's hard to notice when you're walking below it!

So we went in and paid retarded tourist trap amounts of money to go up to the main observatory. We were all snapping pictures and video taping the exquisite view.. at one point, Zac asked my sister to video tape and I got snappy because I didn't want them filming stupid stuff because I didn't want to submit a bunch of jumble to the contest (you aren't supposed to edit your footage). Silly me.

So while I was looking at buildings, Zac pulled out his digital camera and said "Hey look at this picture." I took the camera for him, and saw this:

"AWWWWWWWW!" I said. Then he pulled out the ring, and I was so excited I took it from him while saying "YES" and kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him some more.

He didn't get down on 1 knee.. he didn't actually ask me to marry him because I didn't give him the chance.. but it was perfect in my mind.

And the planning begins...maybe.

View from the top:

And just for fun...

NOM NOM NOM NOM!