Thankful for {family}

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (I think I say this at every holiday). I love Thanksgiving because it's all about bringing loved ones together to cook and enjoy a wonderful meal and remember what we are all thankful for. No presents. Just family, football, lazy couch time, cooking together, feasting and a long weekend ahead. ahhh I love Thanksgiving! So this week I've been thinking a lot about family and how we can incorporate our past generations into our wedding day, show a little bit of our families' histories, and also honor some people who will be there in spirit. I love the idea of using pictures, because it adds a personal touch and gives guests a chance to see that you have your grandma's nose or your grandpa's gap-tooth. You can't go wrong with pictures.

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Are you doing something special to honor your family?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you enjoy the holiday with those you love!

Setting the Mood {with Food}

Hi E&Iers! I'm back after an amazing long weekend in Southern California at fellow blogger Taya's wedding (aka my future sister in law!). It was such a great weekend filled with laughs, dancing, friends, family, new friends and new family, in a gorgeous setting...it was everything a great wedding should be. I could go on and on, but I'll let Taya tell you herself when she gets back from her honeymoon. :-)

Onto my topic of the week - food! You might remember my post, here, on finding a caterer who would work with us in making everything affordable, while still including the elements we really wanted - quality, local food, family style dinner, etc. Well, we finally found them and it was worth the wait! My favorite thing about the caterers we found was that the owner, and lead lady of this husband-and-wife-owned catering company, really listened to what we wanted and figured out where to cut corners and where it made sense to splurge a little.

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I am so relieved to have our catering booked! I believe food can really help set the mood of the day - the cuisine is just one more place to infuse your style as a couple. Loving how these weddings used food to help set the vibe of their wedding day.

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My advice to fellow brides out there is that if you are not finding what you're looking for and you are getting a lot of 'nos' to what you believe is a reasonable request, keep looking and don't give up! Ask lots of questions and reach out to new vendors until you find someone who is ready to have a conversation and work with you. I think it's also good to know what things you absolutely know you want and what things you would be okay not having. For me, I knew I wanted family style dinner, but I was okay giving up the filet mignon.

If you are getting married in the Gorge and looking for a caterer, check out Boda's Kitchen. Ask for Sirota Johnston, the owner and boss laday. She's awesome.

Location Inspiration

As someone who is engaged, I'm asked all the time what my 'theme' is. I had a lot of trouble in the beginning figuring out what my theme was because I didn't want to restrict myself to one thing. The more I thought about my theme, I realized that without really consciously trying to come up with one, I already had! I would say my 'theme' is simply, the location. From the very beginning I knew I wanted to incorporate local elements whenever possible - from the decor to the cuisine. With our wedding location being in near Mt. Hood, we will be surrounded by great views, pear orchards and fields of lavender (not all at once, but you get the idea).

Source: Erica Ann Photography, lower left, lower right

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All these local inspirations were part of the reason I was drawn to our location in the first place, so it seems like a natural fit.

Did you use your wedding location to drive elements of your wedding or did you come up with a different 'theme' entirely?

You May Kiss the Bride {Finding an Officiant}

There is one thing I have been completely putting off in wedding planning...finding our officiant. It is the only thing on those helpful wedding checklists that I have let go by and not done anything about - not even a google search. I'm one of those people where if I don't know how to do something, I sort of just focus on the things I like to do until I'm getting down to the wire on timing :)  So right now I am staring at the 10-month check list and realizing we are already down to 9 months. But, hey!, some people plan an entire wedding in 9 months, so I'm sure we'll figure it out! The officiant is such an important part of the day. The whole reason we are planning a wedding is to get married after all! The person will set the tone and should be a reflection of my fiancé and I.

So without further ado, my search begins.

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If you have any advice for me about finding an officiant while being in another state, please do tell! Skype-friendly officiant, anyone?

Saving the Date {paperlessly}

This week I have been checking things off the list! We are about to sign a contract with our caterer (post to come), I went dress shopping again and went to Paper Source to look at different invitation styles. We also decided to do e-Save-the-Dates and have them almost ready to send out. It's getting real!

Like I've mentioned before, I love paper! My first choice would have been to do a crafty and unique Save the Date, but we decided to go the 'e' route for a couple reasons - cost: by going through a website we were able to get a really cute design for almost free. Time: we were able to get our Save the Dates picked out and ready to go in a matter of a few hours. Logistics: we needed to get people to our website where they could get more info on accommodations. By creating a save the date that will come through email to our guests, our wedding website is just a click away. I was pleasantly surprised to find a ton of super cute designs on sites like Paperless Post and cocodot. Many of the designs are free and the rest are very reasonably priced.

Sources: Paperless Post and cocodo

Did you or would you consider doing an e-Save the Date?

Paper Extras {tying everything together}

I am a sucker for paper - stationary, thank you cards, menus...you name it. So when it comes to my wedding, I get giddy over not just the invitations, but all the 'extras.' Here are some images inspiring me...

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I came to the realization recently (after getting a quote from a designer) that these things do not come cheap, so there may be some DIY in my future! I won't be able to do everything so I'll also have to get creative with different vendors. Knowing that it's going to take more than just hiring a designer and approving the design, I realize this all will require some extra work. But I know that the savings and getting to have more of a hand in everything will make it worth it.

I was really inspired by fellow E&I blogger who recently posted about her DIY invitations - check them out! I also love Kim's, here.

Did you DIY all or part of your wedding invitations and/or the extra paper goods? How did it go for you?

Wedding China {Yay or Nay}

This past week has been a busy and productive one! I've been checking things off my list. Here's what I've done:

Finally found a caterer who is listening to what we want and working with us to make it happen! Fingers crossed that this one works out. Future post to come.

Got in contact with a friend-of-a-friend designer for our wedding invites. She seems awesome but working on the details of style and printing technique, which both effect cost.

Set up multiple appointments to try on wedding dresses in the coming weeks. October=operation wedding dress.

Built our wedding website! We are going to use it to get the word out about accommodations since our destination is a small town and already booking up for next July. You may remember my post about wedding websites, here, where I talked about going social. I ended up going with Weduary and am really happy with it so far!

Solidified our condo rentals for the wedding party.

Started our wedding registry. This brings me to the topic of today's post - wedding china.

I'm sure many of you have thought the same thing - do I really need china? Does the tradition of creating a family heirloom outweigh the fact that I won't be hosting Thanksgiving until I have a house or apartment big enough for a table with a leaf?

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As of now, I'm undecided on whether china will be a part of our registry. But, these pictures are making me see the appeal! They also remind me of my grandma's collection of teacups with saucers. She has all different styles and gets a new one every couple years. I would be so excited to have them one day and it's not because she got them for her wedding, it's because they remind me of her. So, I don't think you have to have wedding china to build something to pass down to future generations, but it would be fun to have a fancy set for holidays and dinner parties.

Did you, or are you going to, register for china? How did you decide whether or not to do it?

Inspirations From Mexico

My fiance and I traveled to Mexico this past week for a friends' combined bachelor/bachelorette celebration. We had an amazing time to say the least! With weddings on the mind and bridal magazines as pool/beach side reads, I couldn't help but daydream of Mexico-inspired weddings. Please join me as I swoon over Mexican-inspired celebraciones de amor.

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Until next week.

Gracias!

Candid Photography {worth a thousand words}

This week I'm looking at photographers and discovering I'm drawn to all the amazing candid shots. Don't get me wrong, I love posed photos just as much as the next girl, but I think what sets great wedding photographers apart are the moments they are able to capture when no one is expecting it.

Sources: all Style Me Pretty

This week I'm going to Mexico for a friends' combined bachelor/bachelorette party. Finding a photographer will be next on my list when I return from vacation. I can't wait to keep looking! I am hoping photographers will be open to Skype meetings, at least until we narrow it down.

Follow up to last week's post - while I loved the dresses at Amy Kuschel, I don't think I found the dress for me, so the search continues!

Until next week!

The Dress Search is {Back} On!

Photo: Elizabeth Messina

This week I have an appointment at Amy Kuschel Bride, a boutique where each dress is designed and hand made right here in San Francisco's Union Square. The dresses are tailored to each bride. With this place being close enough for an after-work appointment, I just HAD to get in and check it out for myself. The prices are reasonable (in the bridal world), ranging from $1,500 - $5,000. If you know this designer's story, it was important to her that brides be able to get a beautiful, high-quality dress without spending a fortune.

This week, I invite you to join in as I do a little 'homework' for my appointment. They asked me to look over their website for designs I like. Twist my arm! ;)

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Thanks for reading and I'll let you know how it goes!