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Way back in November, Jacin from Lovely Little Details tweeted about a great LivingSocial deal on photobooks from MyPublisher: buy a $30 voucher for only $10. The first thought that crossed my mind: photo guest book! After doing my research and finding positive reviews on the company, I was sold! Bam! Another item to cross of my list!

With MyPublisher, you need to download their software in order to create your book. Luckily it’s pretty simple to navigate and after playing around with layouts, I ordered my book at the beginning of February.

While their average “Classic Hardcover” 20 page 8.5X11 book run about $30,  you can upgrade to things like customizable jacket covers, lay-flat binding, etc. I ordered the regular linen fabric cover in navy but added on the lay-flat binding for an extra $15 because it’d be nice when people tried to write in it. Once you add shipping costs and the $10 used to buy the voucher, the book ended up costing me $35 which is pretty good considering the retail value of the book was $50.

Check out the ridiculously fun packaging MyPublisher uses:

“Ta-da! I’m here…”

When working on layouts and trying to create a lot of visual interest, I sprinkled a couple of cute lovey dovey quotes here and there (feel free to gag)

“Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Cute, right? After “ooh-ing” and “aww-ing,”  some coworkers commented that I should have included more blank space. I was like, “For what? Don’t write me a novel! Just say ‘Congrats! Best wishes! Love-So & So.‘ You want to leave me a long, well thought out, heartfelt note? Write us a card, you weirdos.” So maybe I went a little overboard with sizing of the pictures but I hope people aren’t afraid of writing in the margins as I love that kind of thing. But at the end of the day, I got great positive feedback from everyone who saw it, including Ale and that’s all that really matters.

So do you leave super long notes in wedding guest books? (I sure don’t!)

P.S. All opinions expressed are my own and I received no compensation for this review.

Wedding Wednesday: Dressing the Dames

Last week, I let you in on what the boys would be wearing so it’s only fitting I share what my best girls will be wearing.

Picking out the dresses was easy peasy. We all went out to J.Crew on December afternoon right before Christmas. After agreeing that their cotton taffeta fabric was the best option as far as colors and styles, each girl picked a dress out and ordered it right then and there because J.Crew was featuring a great holiday promotion at the moment. I should run a tally for how many wedding things I’ve scored on sale, right? #winning

While I never intended to be trendy in this endeavor, I always liked the idea of different dresses for each girl. When it came to actually buying dresses, my crew and I took the different dresses idea and took it one step further…

From J.Crew

Boom! Different cuts AND colors.

That would be the Gabby (in spiced wine), Ramona (in cactus green) and Mollie (in deep coral) dresses in cotton taffeta from J.Crew.

Tell me that color combination is not stunning, I dare ya! Isn’t it fun? :::Squee::: I love it and am so excited by the idea of the great pictures that will result from me in a tight squeeze with my besties

What do YOU think?

Wedding Wednesday: With These Rings

Personal Photo

We will be declared husband and wife!

Like everything else in this wedding planning business, picking out rings was a snap. For Ale, we went to the jewelry store one night after work. The salesgirl who was helping us was an absolute doll. Her and I complemented one another on our manicures while Ale hemmed and hawed over rings. Eventually he settled on a simple design with a brushed center and beveled edges (which surprised me because I thought he was going to go for a plain band) but said he needed to think about it before making the decision. The girl said “No problem,” and we walked out.

Before we even reached the car, Ale turned to me and said, “Actually, can I decide now?” to which I responded “Of course! Dude, I want whatever you want. This is YOUR wedding ring.” He then said, “Okay then, let’s go back. Is that weird?” Crazy kid.

So we go back in and the girl says “Ha, that was fast?” And we purchased Ale’s ring and I picked it up the next day.

Picking out my ring was even easier process: I went online to the website Ale bought my e-ring from, picked something and had him order it. DONE AND DONE. It came in yesterday morning at work and I kept sneaking peeks at it all day because I love it so much! So dainty, so sweet!

Now if I could only harness this excitement and energy and finish working on my invites…

Dressing Up The Dudes

You would think for how much I like hearing about other people’s wedding planning process, I’d be a better blogger/sharer of my own…but I’m not

As of this past weekend, everyone in the bridal party is properly outfitted! Like with my wedding dress, bridesmaids’ dresses, and groom’s suit, the men’s suits were picked out in one shot. In fact, this was the easiest decision to date because the group only tried on one suit!

On Sunday, I went to the store with just the groomsmen to pick out a navy suit . The first suit we encountered was navy Ralph Lauren suit with a subtle etched blue plaid pattern. Everyone grabbed a couple of sizes before heading off to the dressing room. As each guy came out, they remarked how comfortable the suit was and as they looked at one another, noticed how it flattered all of them. Best part was that the suit was on sale! You know I love me a good deal!

From Men's Warehouse

While I love the look of light blue collared shirts, I’m thinking white shirts and either light blue or coral ties to match the colors in Ale’s tie:

Personal Photo

Grumble, grumble, damn turtle tie! You remember how long it took me to find that thing??

In any case, I LOVE CROSSING THINGS OFF MY LIST! Only 110 days left! Who’s excited?!

TGIF

#1. I got a new iPhone and I have fallen for it hard. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I like it.

#2. Because of #1, I’m now infatuated with Instagram and get why people love it so much.

#3. Because of #1 and #2, I’ve started taking pictures of any and everything. Late last night, I took a picture of one of my favorite cards pinned on my in real life memo board (as opposed to my Pinterest ones ) and I think it bears repeating:

Personal Pic

I think it’s important lesson we could all appreciate.

Have a good weekend

Bridal Brain Flipping of the Switch

You know you’ve reached an amazing point in your wedding planning process when just about nothing phases you. You just feel GOOD. We recently hit the 4 month mark and ever since that day, I just feel ready. Prior to that point, whenever people say, “Oh gosh, it’s so soon!,” it would throw me into a frenzy and make me spurt out “NO IT’S NOT! DON’T SAY THAT! I NEED MORE TIME!”

But now, totally different story! Now I’m the one that jumps up and down like a 4-year-old on Christmas exclaiming “It’s soon! It’s soon! WEEEEEE!”

The biggest turn around has been in my sleeping pattern. This past summer while I was doing things like booking an officiant and buying a wedding dress, I’d have bad dreams where I didn’t have a dress or there was no ceremony which meant we weren’t married. These dreams would lead to me waking up in a terrible panic.

However, that is no longer the case! Most recently I had a dream where I hacked off my long hair with a pair of scissors, giving myself an awful, uneven, short mullet-like haircut. As I looked in the mirror, while clutching a hunk of hair, I simply shrugged and said “Meh, we’ll make it work. I’ll go get it cleaned up at a salon and we’ll just make it work. No big deal.”

YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN HAPPY-GO LUCKY CRUISE CONTROL WHEN…haha.

Anyone else experience the happy-go-lucky cruise control point? Or had hilarious dreams?

Maria & Ale Buy a Suit

A One Act Play.

Scene 1: The Apartment

M: (popping head into A’s office) Hey you. Get dressed. We’re going to the mall.

A: Okay.

Scene 2: Men’s section of a department store

M & A casually begin looking at charcoal gray suits.

Salesman: Can I help you?

M: Yeah, we’re looking for charcoal gray suits for our wedding in May.

A nods

Salesman: Any particular style you would like? Or would like to stay away from?

M: Yeah, I like dark gray. Not light gray. And I don’t like pinstripe suits. Like, I guess it can be subtle a pattern, but I don’t want a BAM! That’s a pinstripe suit!

Salesman: Hmmm, okay. Gotcha.

Salesman walks around merchandise and picks out 4 suits for A.

A tries on 4 suits.

Meanwhile M tweets and watches the Caps vs Penguins game.

A comes out in last suit. Everyone nods and agrees the fourth suit is the best one.

Salesman takes A’s fittings and rings up suit.

Salesman: So how long have you folks been looking at suits?

M: Um…the last 45min?

Salesman: Oh. (laughs) Glad I could help! Oh and by the way, we are having a sale today so your total is half off the original!

A: AWESOME!

M beams at scoring a bargain.

M & A thank the salesman and walk off.

M: I’m awesome at saving money! And at making picking out wedding things easy!

A: Yeah you are.

M: You’re going to look so handsome! EEEE! Now, onto real business, I want coffee!

Scene.