F/U to New Veil and Dress

i got some better pics... please forgive the crazy faces

A Different Dress :?

So now that we're having the wedding in a glass conservatory, a new dress is in order...
This is Sophia Tolli's Francesca (i love that name)

*disclaimer* i had to sneak pictures b/c you know no one lets you take them ;)






This is the link to the website with much better pictures, but this is it on me :) It has a really pretty corset back and a french bustle with crystal lace all along the edges, here's the model:

LOVE These!

I was helping out knottie amycloud45 look for some chandeliers... well that was solved real quick there is a great website Shop Wild Things Hollllaa!! I found chandeliers, lamps and candlabras for the reception site. Way exciting! :D

These Lamps are going to be up by the bar area
And I found a vinyl Etsy seller and they had this up and had to share!



Maybe when we move into a house we'll get a cool wall decal ;)

Another DIY Success!

I saw a head band by Elie Henderson and I LOVED and it was $175... no, thanks. So I made this instead! It was relatively easy. And surprisingly I like this one more... but probably only because I made it. I may make a few more and throw them on Etsy and see how they do.

Christmas Spirit

Can I just say without guilt I'm rocking out the the Nsync Christmas album?!? And everytime I hear Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas I totally get into it and do a little chair dance?

It takes me back to this boyfriend I had in high school, he made me an ice skating 'rink' in my back yard. Didn't last long becuase of the heat wave we had the following days, but it was sweet.

It's Adam's 2nd Christmas and with the sad state of affairs the economy is currently in, it's not going to be a huge Christmas at that. We didn't put up a tree, which makes me kinda sad, but it's such a chore to put it up and down. When we get a house or a bigger apartment next year, it is for sure going up! Robert David (my younger brother) bought a tree for our little brother Nathan and if it's not decorated by this weekend, I'm going to sneak into the house and do it for them.

This is a picture of our tree and of us from last christmas

Miss Dior's Animal Planet Video

Miss Dior's Video Debut can be seen here.

Our Fabulous Miss Dior

...passed away on Friday night. On Thursday she was running around on her wheel and 'seemed' fine. On Friday night when I took her out to feed her, she could barely move. We didn't know what was going on, but she had a heartbeat and was breathing so we tried sprinkling water on her whiskers didn't work, tried coaxing her with her favorite treat and nothing worked. Adam noticed that her whiskers stopped moving and had stopped breathing while I was holding her. It was sooo sad. I cried and Adam was upset but we buried her with her favorite chewtoy and her favorite treats and wrote her a cute note. :( She was the cutests teddy bear hamster in the entire world. And if you've been around for a while, you know how much we spoiled her. We were just saying how everyone else has birthday parties for their kids and we should have one for Dior and Edward. No joke, we said this about 20 minutes before all this happened. It sucks, but even though she was just a hamster, it makes you think how precious life is and how even little bitty things can make you happy.

Well... I'm 25

My 25th was on the 5th. Crazy to think how much things change as we get older. I recently went out with my bridesmaid and best friend from college. She got married last May and is now 6 months pregnant!! I can't believe it. Liz is pregnant! I'm soooo excited for her, but it's just like, Damn! We went to Mr. B's in Royal Oak, in the non-smoking section of course, and just talked about the good old days of being crazy and having fun. We were quite the pair and we would travel all over. Looking at her in her mommy-to-be glow was amazing. Matt was so excited too. We talked well into the night and much past her bed time about the memories we had from school and from our nights out. It was fabulous. I realize now, that I could have never really appreciated the love I have with Adam now, if it weren't for those days long ago. Now, more than ever, I'm just thrilled to have him in my life.

DIY Mantilla Veil

I love mantillas! Someone tell me why that have to be so freaking expensive!!! The crafter in me is beyond excited. I went to Habermans' in Royal Oak and found a Chantilly lace that is perfect. I bought a yard, just to test it out and see if I would even be able to DIY it. It was a success!! Using 'Unique Stitch' which is a fabric glue, I applied the lace (which I cut and trimmed to just the scalloped border) to the edges of the tulle. It dried clear. I also did some hand stitching with invisible thread to secure it in some spots. It came out beautiful. I know a lot of brides would love to have this style veil, but can't spend the money to have one. This is a great way to get what you want, and to save a bit of money doing it too! This is just the sample, the finished one will have the cut edges of the tulle hidden behind the lace.

We have a photographer & hair/makeup checks!

I'm so very, very excited to say... we know have our photographer. Leah Stafford comes highly recommended from all of the DW knotties. She's from Norhtern Ohio and just a few seconds of scrolling through her work and you'll see why. She's coming to Key West with us and will be traveling up to Detroit in December to take our engagement picutres. I have loved photography since I was little. I could just flip throught the pages of magazines and be awed, not by the fashion (that came later) but by how people could capture images. Adam's grandfather, Harold, was a photographer. I've seen some of his work, it's very good. To me, photography is one of the most important vendors [i]especially[/i] for a destination wedding- there are so many people who won't be there to celebrate with you, so all you'll have are the photos and videos you bring back.

Leah is a former DW Knottie and knows exactly how to capture the moments. If you take a look at her site, click on the 'Intimates' section. Typically known as 'boudoir' photography, she is a nationally known photographer and travels all over the country photographing women in their most intimate settings. I think it's amazing and definetely plan on doing a session of my own. Adam even agreed to do a couples shoot.

Also, we have a hair/makeup stylist in Key West. Marie-Pierre is one of the best stylists on the island.