Newlywed Holiday Cards

I absolutely love receiving all of the holiday cards in the mail this time of year.  There's something special about the bright & cheery smiles of my friends & their families, something I only feel when I receive snailmail.  I have to admit however, I am a bit sad that my fiance & I decided to hold off on sending out holiday cards until once we're married.  I guess that gives me plenty of time to look at all the designs & start planning next year's well in advance, right?!  {ha!} We'll likely use a picture taken at our August wedding for our card next year, but that doesn't mean I can't dream about the fantastic winter designs.  Some of my favorites include snow, which of course doesn't frequent the city of San Francisco.  Who knows, maybe come late November/early December 2013 we'll decide to forgo the obvious wedding picture & head up to Tahoe to take some snow-covered pictures of me & my Mr.

Sources (from top left) 1, 2, 3, 4

dancing queen {wedding music}

My fiance loves live music.  He went to school for music technology.  He also plays the guitar (and owns 4 of them, which I've turned into art in our office!) and was part of a few bands.  I also love music.  I sang in my chamber choir in high school & also played a few instruments.  Not only do we both love music, we both love to dance.  And, I don't mean just love to dance, I mean we're dancing machines!  We're the type of people who are out on the dance floor from the first song until the last with just a few bar breaks in-between.

Source (from top): source, Arkansas Bride

 When it came time to talk wedding reception music, my fiance had one request and I whole-heartedly agreed - A BAND!  We wanted a full band with the repertoire to keep people on their feet.  And not just our friends, we wanted our entire family out there grooving to the music.  That's why we've chosen a band who specializes in music ranging from the 1940's all the way until today!  We couldn't be more excited for this party!

Source: Wed Pics

I hope our guests are ready to dance, because we have a little surprise planned for them!  :-)

Source: Southern Living

the meeting of the mom's

I'm a family person, I always have been & always will be; it means everything to me.  It's not the old days where the parents meet at the wedding & exchange pleasantries but nothing more.  I want more than that.  My dream is to one day be one of those couples who have both parents visit for the holidays.  I'm lucky that both of our families raised us this way & that hopefully this dream will come true.  But first, the families need to meet!  I decided mother's first.  And, I couldn't think of a better event for them to meet than to go wedding dress shopping with me!  It gives the perfect backdrop: excitement, smiles, laughs (ok, maybe also some happy tears), and of course champagne!

Source (from top left): Westside Wedding, Bijou Bride, Intimate Weddings, Wedding by Color, Intimate Weddings, Pronovias, What Anna Loves, themette

I had previously fallen in-love with this adorable vintage wedding dress stamp, so I decided to make invitations using it to send to my mom, future mother-in-law, and 3 of my local bridesmaids.

And this gave me the opportunity to try out this DIY faux calligraphy.

Source: Side by Side

 I've recently become obsessed with my embossing gun & this was the perfect time for me to add another project to the list!

the {bridesmaid} proposal

I wanted to ask my bridesmaids to be a part of our wedding in a very special way.  That was something I thought of for a very long time.  I didn't want to just ask them verbally or give them a simple card, I wanted something more, something special that they would remember.  Of course I scoured Etsy for different ideas, but nothing seemed just right.  I found a variety of ideas on how to word the question.  But how to ask?

Source (from top left):Trimmings Shop, The Inspired Note, PaperEtiquette,Caffeine Colour

Bubbly, to me, always signifies celebration and is exactly what I like to drink with my girls.

Source (from top left): Daily Cup of Couture, Classy & Style, Zoie loves, Classy in the City, Everything Fab, Global Good Group, The Glitter Guide, Riches for Rags    

So, I decided to make the bubbly the way to ask them to be a part of the wedding!  I found different ideas of how to include champagne or wine in an invitation.

Source (from left): maddiegdesigns, Southern Fried Paper, Letter Love Designs, Pepper Lindsey & Co.

As a do-it-yourself girl {and bride}, I wanted to design the tags myself rather than outsourcing the project.  I'm new to photoshop & illustrator, but it was fun learning when you have a thoughtful gift in mind.  I had to go with my go-to pattern {polka dots} and my main wedding color {yellow}.

Source: me!

They turned out great & I couldn't have been happier!  Best of all, it really screamed me!  cheers.

Designed By Me

Source: Malia Cano Photography

Make your wedding scream you!  I've read this time and time again in every wedding magazine, website and blog.  But, how does one do this in a day and age where there's pinterest, loverly, etsy, and a million wedding blogs all showcasing the perfect, and incredibly creative wedding?  I have always been a planner, and though I haven't thrown a million parties, when I do I go all out & enjoy the act of decorating and making each aspect really my own-this I'm sure my friends would attest to.  When it comes to planning my wedding, I want everything to be perfect.  I'm sure we all do.  But I really do.  I want it to be so perfectly us, with adorable details that have our personal signature.  There's just one issue.  So many of the wedding ideas have been done, so how do I make it different?  How do I make it unique?  These are the questions I've been asking myself at every step since we got engaged.

I'm still at the beginning of the wedding planning process.  Sure, we have a lot of the big decisions done, but not the design aspects.  I am in the "hunt & gather" stages, trying to determine what I love and what is doable.  After trying to put myself into one of the more obvious design categories, whether it be modern, rustic, vintage, classic {the list goes on}, I realized I could emulate my design style I've already developed into my home: eclectic!  So, I'm no longer trying to decide if an idea "goes" with the "theme" because it all does!  Now, the only issue is how to cull the ideas down & not try to do everything and the kitchen sink!  I hope you enjoy following me on this path.

Source (from Left): Lori Barbely Photography, the decorista, sweet designs.

Source (from left): Southern Weddings, source.

Source (from left): Food Channel, Love Me Do Photography, Languid Lovely, Belle the Magazine, The Sweetest Occasion. 

E&I Bride: Lesley Tying The Knot At Vine Hill House

I'm totally excited to introduce you all to another fabulous blogger that will be blogging her journey to I Do here on Engaged & Inspired. Let me introduce you all to Lesley! She is absolutely adorable and totally stylish. I can not wait to see how her wedding unfolds and all the amazing details she will be adding to her fabulous day. She is tying the knot on August 24, 2013 in Sebastopol, CA at the Vine Hill House.

Any other Vine Hill House brides planning a 2013 wedding?? Let us know how we can help!