Married

Five weeks ago we created a new chapter in this five year love story: Married. One a scale of one to 10, I'd rate the day an 11. It was truly the best day ever; more than I could have ever hoped for and certainly more than I'd planned for.

I'm a sucker for love, happy people and a good party. Turns out it's even more amazing when it's your happy friends, family and HUSBAND.

Lots more photos, thoughts and DIY projects to come. In the meantime, check out the photos Part 1 and Part 2 from our talented photographers - Chowen Photography - who we are lucky to now call friends. 

XO,
Mrs Lackore 

Pinterest-a-thon: Upcycled Corks and Bottles

Hi friends! Today I am guest posting on the Inspired Honey Bee's monthly Pinterest-a-thon. This month I tackled some projects that have been a few years in the making. We've collected wine corks for nearly two years. I wasn't exactly sure what's I'd use them for, until Pinterest came along! To learn more about the projects and what we plan to use them for, read my guest post here!

Want to join the party too? Link your Pinterest inspired projects right here!

Disclaimer: this little project of ours is not sponsored by Pinterest. We're just really obsessed. Like really!

Bridesmaid Style

Pretty early on in the planning process I started researching bridesmaid dresses. I found that I was drawn to the mismatched dresses within a shade. I love how they're coordinated but also show each bridesmaid's individual style. Here are just a few of the pictures I fell in love with:

1|2|3

Although I had talked to all my 'maids about the idea, I decided to make a little something they could use as a guide for shopping. I found these purple large tags on sale at Paper Source. They were begging to be used for a fun wedding project. On the front side of the card I used the collage of photos above.

On the backside of the cards I used paint chips (cut into circles) to make a scale of gray as a shopping guide. I also included a few suggestions for clarity. I finished the cards off gray twine.

To date, four girls have picked their dresses and I LOVE how the look is coming together! 

Of course you can't look at bridesmaid dresses without looking at shoes! To complete the look, I want the girls and myself to wear TOMS wedges. Since the ceremony will be on grass, wedges are perfectly comfortable for standing and dancing into the night. It makes me happy to think each girl will get a pair of wedges and a child without shoes will get a pair too. I also really, really love that TOMS created pewter sequin wedges  (bottom right).

1|2|3|4

 Last but not least, to REALLY complete the look will be my favorite ladies standing by my side looking absolutely fabulous in their shades of gray!! I'm still working on jewelry, but will probably wait until all of the girls have their dresses. Suggestions welcome!

Engaged? Check!

Photographer? Check!

Venue? Check!

Engagement photos? Check!

Popping the other question (will you be my bridesmaid?)? Check!

Wedding dress? Check!

Wedding Colors & Inspiration Board? Check!

Save Our date postcards, Officiant, ceremony music, day-of coordinator, florist and caterer? Check!

Bridesmaid style? CHECK!

Wedding update: 6 months to go!

When we got engaged I had the great idea only I would update the blog on a regular basis with our plans. Well then life happened and I've barely shared any updates. So, at last, in honor of the 6 month mark until our big day (which was actually 10 days ago), here is a wedding update...

Save Our Date Postcards
From the beginning I knew I wanted to send out postcards to save our wedding date. They're an affordable option, both in postage and paper, plus a great opportunity to use engagement photos. I did extensive research on Minted and Wedding Paper Divas and kept coming back to this postcard. I loved the date blocks and the word choice: save our date, however the layout and colors weren't working with the photo we wanted to use. I did what any crafty gal would do and decided to make the postcards myself! Here's the end result:

I used Picasa and Picnik photo programs and had the postcards printed through Zazzle. Not only was I able to get the exact look I wanted, I cut the cost by .20/card! Putting them into the mail was really fun, but not as much as the pictures and messages that rolled in as family and friends received them. I can only imagine the excitement when we get to the invites!!


Our VIPs
Over the past few months we've confirmed a few Very Important People to help make our day extra special and run smoothly. As I've mentioned a few times, it's important to us that this day be a reflection of our journey and involve the people and things we love most. So far I feel like this has come true, including the following...

Officiant: As you'll remember, Brian and I met at a wedding (read full story here). In celebration of where it all began, we asked the father of the bride from that wedding to marry us! He gave a heart warming and funny toast at their wedding and is a loving and caring husband, father and friend. We are thrilled he agreed to marry us!

Ceremony musician: My uncle is an amazing guitarist. Last Thanksgiving he showed Brian and I his guitar room and even demonstrated all the gadgets. When we started talking about random wedding ideas, we both agree it would be so great to have Uncle Eddie play at our wedding. We are grateful he said yes! He is also known to tell A LOT of jokes (good and bad), so who knows he might play guitar and do stand-up comedy.

Day-of coordinator: When putting together our budget I made sure to figure in a day-of coordinator. Having done wedding planning, I knew I needed to have someone else to take care of the day-of details and logistics so I can focus on other things...like getting married. I called my friend Arlaina who I met working at the AHA, although she is now an event planner for the convention center. She was honored I asked her to do it and will do such an amazing job and have fun too. At the time I asked her, I was also job searching and she connected me to my current position! I am forever grateful. We've already agreed that I'll return the day-of favor for her (when the time comes).



Florist: In September during the creative challenge, I made bouquets and boutineers for fun. I had though for a split second it would be fun to do my own flowers, but making those reaffirmed my decision to hire a professional so that, same as above, I can focus on getting married. Layna's good friend Katie did all the flowers for her wedding (see here and here) and did an amazing job! I am so thankful she's agreed to do our wedding too! We've met once so far and it was probably one of the most fun conversations I've had during this planning. I'm excited to see what she puts together, I know it will be beautiful! 
 
Caterer: I knew who I wanted to hire from the beginning. As I explained here

I worked for a catering company so it was pretty hard for me to look elsewhere. I did look at pricing and menus at a few other caters but ended up going with my fav: Catering by Design. I know from first hand experience their event service is top notch, not to mention their food is really good (aka not your typically chicken buffet). I have been happy with their ability to work within our budget to create a delicious menu, using local ingredients when possible. We'll be having a tasting in the next month or so which I am super excited for!

I really am going to try and share the details on a more regular basis around here. They're fun to write and it helps me share the details more widely. I already have a few posts ready to go, so check back again next Wednesday for more Lack-gert wedding updates! July 2...here we come!

Engaged? Check!

Photographer? Check!

Venue? Check!

Engagement photos? Check!

Popping the other question (will you be my bridesmaid?)? Check!

Wedding dress? Check!

Wedding Colors & Inspiration Board? Check!

Save Our date postcards, Officiant, ceremony music, day-of coordinator, florist and caterer? CHECK!

Wedding Inspiration

From my haphazard, undocumented research I've come to the conclusion the two most common questions asked when you get in engaged are: when's the big day? and what are your wedding colors? Thankfully, at least with regard to the color question, I had a pretty good idea of what I really liked: plum purple, green and gray. Thankfully B agreed (or did not protest too loudly).

If you are talking in Paper Source colors - that's beet, clover and gravel to you. And if you are talking about our beloved rain jackets - its grapes and gray, like the foggy bay area skies.

With colors and a venue selected, on to the real fun: details! It is no secret that I love details, specifically wedding and party details. It has been so fun looking for inspiration on blogs, magazines and pinterest. However, all that loveliness also makes it really hard to narrow down all the ideas. So believe me when I say it was a true creative challenge to put together an inspiration board.

{click to enlarge}

What I hoped to capture and continue to be inspired by for our big day:

- love and laughter

- a celebration of our journey

- the friends and family who've surround and support us

- handmade details

- rustic: Colorado chic, wood details that compliment the Inn/gardens

- eco-chic: environmentally friendly, local food,  ect

- beautiful flowers mixed with succulents, eucalyptus, kale

While this doesn't encompass all aspects of our wedding day, it feels like a really great start! I, of course, also reserve the right to change my mind but hope to stick to these inspirations.

Inspiration from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

 This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Thanks for following along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month. Final week!

I said YES to the dress!

You read that correctly - I said YES to the dress!! It has actually been three months since that day but I still wanted to share the details and a few pictures. While this isn't a creative challenge, per se, it has clearly been a challenge for me to get these posted, so I'm rolling with it!

I was in Denver for 10 days in the beginning of June for two bachelorette parties. During the week between the parties I planned a day of dress shopping with as many of my favorite ladies that were available (others were greatly missed!).

We started off with lunch and bubbly beverages at Vita in the Lower Highlands.  Cheers! It was good to hydrate and fuel-up before trying on dresses because, yowsa it's a lot of work!

{L to R: Chels, Sarah, Kaci, Me, Crystal, Jess. Layna taking pic!}

After lunch we walked around the corner and up the stairs to the sweetest bridal boutique in Denver - Anna Be. I was so happy to start my dress shopping here because it is so charming; great space (hardwood floors, plush rugs, exposed brick walls and floor to ceiling mirrors with good natural lighting), beautiful selection of dresses and helpful, accommodating staff. 

After admiring all the dresses and securing our glasses of champagne, we got down to business. The gentleman who helped us allowed each lady to choose a dress for me to try on, which was so much fun! This gave me a wide range of possibilities, especially since I did not really know what I wanted.


I went into the whole dress shopping experience with a very open minded. I looked at magazines and online but did not obsess. I had ideas of what I liked, but knew from experience with other friends it's best to be open minded. Going into the day I thought I knew what I would not like, but you know what? Those two details are part of what I ended up with and I could not be happier!!

Back to shopping...I tried on a lot of pretty dress...

With each dress I got to model them for the ladies. Layna kindly documented the day so I could look back at all of the photos later. It was so fun to try on an array of dresses and get the immediate feedback.

I quickly realized what I liked and did not like. No surprise, my favorite part of every dress I tried on were the details!! Here are a few snapshots of what I'm referring too...

{click to enlarge}

So lovely!  

After getting a better idea of the styles that looked the best, our helper grabbed me a few more dresses. The top two at the end of the day were two he'd picked out for me. Clearly a trained professional! Before we left, he sketched pictures of those two dresses for me to keep.

I also tried on some fun accessories. Shown below is hair vine by Sara Gabriel. It might be hard to tell from the photo, but it is two flower clips connected by a 'vine'. You clip one flower to your hair and wrap the vine around like a headband. Then clip the second flower wherever you like. It was so neat! I don't think I'm going to do this for the wedding, but I really liked the idea!

After Anna Be we made a pit stop for ice cream and then headed on to the next dress shop, D'Anelli Bridal. This shop is randomly a mile from where I grew up and also where several of my friends found their dresses. I went into the shop having a good idea of what I wanted. I was delighted to see one of my "top two"from Anna Be on a mannequin. I was thrilled to then find out all the sample dresses were 25-75% off. I tried on a handful of dresses leaving my top choice for last. 


When I put the dress on again, I still loved it and so did the ladies and my mom. When I found out the price (75% off) and that it was my size, I could not say no! It also happened to be B and my 4 years anniversary and one year from when we wanted to get married. Since we couldn't do that date for our wedding, I thought I could at least buy my dress. So I DID IT, I said YES to the dress! The best part was that I got to take it home that day, since it was a sample dress.

I am still kind of surprised at my impulse purchase, but I am so happy I did!!! After the big purchase we went out for a drink to celebrate.

After the holidays I will start the alterations process. For now it hangs in the closet at my mom's house. Every time I've gone home I unzip the bag to look at it! I've only taken it out and put it on once...so far :) 

Over the summer I had the opportunity to try on a 50 year old family wedding dress. This dress was worn by my mom's second cousin, her two daughters and daughter-in-law and my aunt. It's been altered for each woman and their name and wedding date embroidered inside. I feel so lucky to have tried on such a piece of family history!

 ~

Engaged? Check!

Photographer? Check!

Venue? Check!

Engagement photos? Check!

Popping the other question (bridesmaids)? Check!

Wedding dress? CHECK!

283 days and lots of details to go!!

Popping the other question

Today I'm sharing a project that was done several months ago that I've yet to share. Since it tops the list of Michelle's Favorite Projects EVER, I thought it would be ok to share during the September Creative Challenge! 
 ~
When it comes to weddings, the most important question is will you marry me? Second to that, in my mind, is will you be my bridesmaid?  Even before he asked the big question I had already been thinking of who I'd ask. I adore my friends and cannot imagine such a big day without having them there by my side. 

Of course I wanted to do more than just ask them; I wanted to do something creative and FUN! When I saw these confetti invitations on Oh Happy Day! my creativity wheels started to turn. After a few weeks of searching for other fun ideas, I came right back to these party poppers.

To make the poppers, I used Oh Happy Day's easy to follow instructions. I also used her awesome "twist me" template. The only minor difference is that I used regular paper and book binding glue. If you make these, I recommend printing on label paper like she suggests!

Creating the inside of the poppers was my favorite part. First I came up with a clever saying:  the time has come to POP the other question will you be my bridesmaid?  Using Word, I created 1 inch circle text boxes. For each popper I made 2x the circles so that they would be double sided. I printed the circles in color on cardstock and got busy punching them out with a 1inch circle punch. I then glued them all to a piece of twine, as seen below.

What fun would a party popper be without confetti? That's right it would be a party pooper! Using scraps of colorful paper, a flower punch and my regular ol' hole punch I went to town on making confetti. Each popper was packed FULL of colorful confetti.

I was fortunate to ask most of my lovely ladies in person. Witnessing the party poppers was so.much.fun!! Here are some action shots of Jnelly. Note: I made each girl go outside for this. Over the years I've learned confetti and glitter are outside toys.

In addition to the party poppers, I wanted to make something a little more sentimental. It was important for me to share with  each girl why I asked them to be part of this special day. I also wanted an opportunity to set my expectations, promises (mainly to not turn into a bridezilla) and a heartfelt thank you. This idea was inspired by this post by Elise of enJOY it.

I settled on making each girl a small book using these mini accordion book kits from Paper Source. I purchased seven different colors of the books, but used the same cover paper and ribbon for all of them. Included in each kit are the instructions so I won't bore you with the how-to. I was happy with how they turned out! I especially love how bright and cheerful they look!

Here is a peek inside of one of the books:

In case you're curious, inside the book:

front: pictures and a personal message to each friend. I cropped all the pictures to 2X2 inches and printed several on 8.5x11 paper to save on cost.

back: printed on cardstock and cut to size with

As you can probably tell, this project was a labor of love that spanned a few weeks and several episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. It was time well spent and I am so happy with the outcome...cause it is important to share that they all said YES (phew!).  I had extra poppers and asked B if he wanted me to make some for his g'men and he said uhh, no thanks! Party pooper ;) He opted for calling each guy to formally ask them. So far they've also said YES!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!  

Yarn Wrapped Letters

I spotted these yarn wrapped letters and immediately fell in love. They're so cute and cozy all wrapped up in pretty yarn!

{pinned here}

While packing up our apartment, I came across these wooden letters Jnelly made for our engagement session. She covered the M and B in wood grain paper, as seen below. They were a fun prop to have during our photos, minus the fact we were standing so that it reads BM. True, they're our initials and also, well you know. Thankfully we did get a few of MB with the gorgeous view of Tennessee Beach!

In the spirit of craftiness, rather than purchasing more letters for this project I decided to re-purpose the M and B and turn them into yarn wrapped letters!

Picking out yarn was so.much.fun. I settled on our wedding colors: variegated purple for the M, green for the B and gray for an ampersand down the road! I was unsure about how much yarn I'd need, but one roll was more than enough.

To make the wooden letters a little thicker, I used some batting on either side of the wood. I also did one layer of felt so that the white of the batting wouldn't be seen through the yarn.  After I cut all the batting and felt down to size, I hot glued them to the letters. As you can see from the photos below, it did add a nice little thickness to the letters.

And now for the fun part - wrapping!! Here's how I went about wrapping, although you could do it other ways as well. Regardless of how you wrap, I recommend thinking it through before you start so you don't have to un-wrap and start over.

1. Tie a knot on the backside of the letter and beginning wrapping the ends (aka serifs). Use a little bit of hot glue to help the yarn stay on these small edges. 2. Transition onto the main part of the letter. 3. And we're wrapping. 4. Make a smaller roll of yarn to wrap the tight corners. When tying on a new piece of yarn, make sure the knots are on the back of the letter.

And voila - the final product: M&B! I love how they turned out. I'll admit, I was a tiny bit  nervous about them looking like a 5th grade art project (and maybe they still do), but I think they're adorable! I borrowed an ampersand for this photo. I plan to make a yarn wrapped one using the gray yarn, but at least this gives you an idea!

One last photo of the yarn up close. Aren't they pretty? Super soft too!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!

Something Blue...and well organized.

Do you know what today is? Yes, it's Friday, September 2. It's also the Friday before the long holiday weekend (hooray!), the second day of the September Creative Challenge and 10 months until our wedding!!

It feels like just yesterday we had over a year until our wedding; amazing how quickly time flies by! Details for the big day are well underway. Several of the important pieces are already taken care of so I'm excited and not feeling stressed. However, the 10 month marker is definitely a good kick in the bustle to get organized. As 7.2.12 gets closer there will be many more details to keep track of.

My first step in operation organization was to start a wedding binder. In addition to spreadsheets, this binder will be my other best friend in planning the big day. It's a place to keep signed contracts, receipts and of course ideas torn from magazines.

I bought this blue [IN]PLACE binder earlier this summer. I chose this particular brand of binder because it has pockets in the front cover and the corners have elastic loops to help keep all the good stuff safely tucked inside.

My first order of business was to brand this blue binder with our wedding date! Using metallic silver paper and my beloved cricut, I cut the numbers and two small starburst periods. They are now glued on the front cover.

Next I created the tabs for the sections. I chose the Avery Note Tabs (20 pack) because of their color and they are easy to stick and remove, just in case I change my mind (which neeevvveeerrr happens!).

Thanks to the recent bride, Mrs Cotton, for sharing with me the sections of her wedding binder. I used her list as a starting place for my wedding binder sections. Here is what I came up with:

Timeline/To-Do ~ Budget ~ Guest List ~ Vendor Contracts ~ Venue ~ Photography~ Ceremony ~ Reception ~ Paper Products ~ Flowers ~ Cake/Dessert ~ Bride & Groom ~ Bridal Party ~ Bridal Shower ~ Rehearsal Dinner ~ Hair/Make-up/Accessories ~Registry ~ Honeymoon

And now for the fun part: putting all the ideas, contracts and receipts I've had tucked in the front pocket into their individual plastic sleeves. Now when I pull ideas from magazines, I can put them in their section. I also went through all of the paper products from our friends weddings that I've held on to over the years. It was fun to look back at all the beautiful paper and now use them for inspiration (thank you, ladies!).

I will admit, I am a nerd about organizing; it makes me happy. Regardless of your nerdiness, being organized for your wedding is essential to staying stress free. So here's to the next 10 months of organized planning with my trusty blue binder!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!

City Love

For the better part of the last four years Brian and I spent our free time exploring the mountain tops, forests, lakes, ocean and city streets all across the state of California. Living in the Bay Area led to many local adventures. Not only did we fall in love with each other, we also fell for the city by the bay.

We were fortunate to have our good friend and talented photographer, Jnelly take our engagement photos. She spent a weekend in the Bay Area photographing us in all our favorite places, including the spot where Brian proposed. I will cherish these photos, and our sweet memories, for years to come!

 

 

Photo locations:
Treasure Island, Avenue of the Palms
Cellar 360
Ghiradelli Square (green wall is in the parking garage. random, i know!)
Tennessee Valley
Alamo Square
Baker Beach

All photos by Janelle Van Houw: Jnelly Photography

Jnelly in action!