Trashing the Dress

We had a fun trash the dress session with our photographer, Rachel Robertson. She found a run down building covered in graffiti to get some grungy, urban shots. Next we headed over to the state park and got some cool shots in the forest. Finally, we headed to her friend's pool to do some underwater shots. Looking graceful underwater is definitely not easy. Most of my shots didn't turn out so well -- not because of the photographer, because of the "model". Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Photobook - Mixbook

I created a photobook of me and my maid of honor using mixbook. I hadn't heard of this photobook company until one of the nesties posted about it. It's a little different than the other digital photobooks because it allows you to make collaborative books, get pictures from various online sources, and creates a "scrapbook" feel. I decided to give it a try in my quest to find the best digital photobook. After signing up for mixbook, they e-mailed me a code for a buy-one-get-one-free book, so I thought this would be great since I could give her one and keep one for myself.

Mixbook is online editor, so there is no software to download (yay!). As I mentioned earlier, you can get pictures from various online sources, including Facebook. You can even grab pictures from your friend's album. I tried this, but the resolution on most of the pictures was not high enough. However, you can also get pictures from Picasa, SmugMug, etc., so those photos will most likely be higher resolution. I haven't tried the collaboration feature, but that could be fun if you're not a control freak like me.

The templates are pretty cool. I'm a scrapbooker, so I loved all the different layouts and embellishments. It's a little hard to scroll through all the available options since it isn't really organized, and it took me a while to understand how to use and place the items. I love the pre-made templates...I got a professional looking book without much work! If you are more creative, you can start from scratch...just like a real scrapbook!

They have both square and rectangle books. I went with a 8.5"x8.5" album for this one to match the Shutterfly album I made as my "Will You Be My Maid-of-Honor?" book. It cost $29.99 for 20 pages, then $1.00 for each additional page. The classic rectangular books are similar in price. There is also the option for a soft cover which is a great option at $12.99.

The only downside for me was the shipping (not sure if this is because it is to Hawaii or if it is the same for everyone). If I ship USPS Media Mail, I have to wait about a MONTH to get my book! The next option, 2-day air will cost me about $30 for one book. I opted for the $7 USPS Media Mail, so I won't be able to post a review about the actual quality of the book until then. For now, here is a link to the online version of the book:

http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/wedding/me-and-my-maid-of-honor-4745648

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

Photobook - Picaboo

A fellow knottie posted a coupon code for a free large album on Picaboo, so I decided to take advantage of it and create a photobook of our Seattle engagement pictures.

I downloaded the software to my computer and chose the pictures that I wanted to add to the album. The software was easy to use, but I little slow and clunky at times. There were a variety of pre-set layouts, and you are able to add/move/delete things around as you please. You aren't able to automatically create a panoramic spread, but it is possible with some outside manipulation. The fonts are a little limited, unlike MyPublisher, where I could use any font on my computer. I really liked the ability to change the brightness and contrast of pictures and easily turn them black-and-white or sepia. My favorite feature is that you can make your own pictures background images for your page. There is also a large number of background images that come with the software.

The product pricing is okay. I got my album for free (just paid $8.99 shipping), but the regular price of the album is $39.99. They have other album types, but they can get pricey. I am interested in trying the flush-mount album because it offers thick, lay-flat pages, but those start at $349.99. I'm not ready for that investment yet.

The quality of the book was okay. I thought MyPublisher was better, but that was also a much more expensive album. These pages were not as thick and didn't have a "rich" feeling to it. I also preferred the silky-matte finish of the MyPublisher cover to the high-gloss finish of the Picaboo album. I am interested to see how the $26.99 "classic" MyPublisher album compares to this one.

Here is a link to view the book I created in Picaboo:

http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=b77e7864-39d1-6936-2590-a6d53f7281fe

Photobook - MyPublisher

I am on a quest to try out all of the photobook companies out there. My photographer's package didn't come with an album, so I am planning on designing my own. Ideally I would like to find a flush-mount album with metallic pages, but it is difficult for brides to do this because many album companies will only work with professional photographers. In case I'm not able to do this, I'm planning on doing a "coffee-table" book, but I'm on the search for the best company to use. I've decided to do mini-albums at each of the various companies to test ease-of-use, layout options, price, and quality.

The first company I tried was MyPublisher. They offer a 20% discount if you go through the Costco website. When I went to their webpage, they had a buy-one-get-one-free offer for new customers (but it didn't work in conjunction with the 20% off). I decided to take advantage of this offer and made a parents' album for our parents.

SOFTWARE: I downloaded the software and decided to go with the "deluxe" book, which is 15" wide by 11.5' high. It is printed on premium 182-pound high-gloss archival-quality paper, which is 75% heavier and thicker than the best paper used by any competitor (according to their website). I would suggest narrowing down the pictures you want to use for your album before adding them to the software, as it can take a while. Once it is loaded, all of your pictures are shown at the top of the window and the book is shown below. You simply select the template you want to use then drag the pictures onto the page. The software is pretty intuitive and easy to use. It ran a little slow on my computer, though. It took me almost a full day to create my book.

LAYOUTS: The layouts are okay. There are nice, simple layouts organized by number of pictures per page and whether or not you want to add text. What it was missing is the ability to easily create panoramic spreads (where a picture spans two pages) and the option to adjust opacity and use your own pictures as background images. These are two options I really wanted. Of course I could always create the layout I wanted in Photoshop and simply upload the layout as a single image, but that's just a little more work and time than I wanted to spend on this project.

PRICE: I thought the album was a bit pricey. My deluxe album was 66 pages and came out to $104.49. I got another copy of the album for free using the offer provided on the MyPublisher webpage. Shipping via FedEx was $14.98. It came out to about $60 per album.

QUALITY: I thought the quality of the album was excellent. The pages felt nice and the print quality came out clear (make sure you use high-resolution images, especially with such a big book). The book is big! It is really nice, especially for the full-page spreads I created, but might be a bit big for my taste (disclaimer: I love cute, tiny things -- I'm still searching for a small 4"x4" album that I saw sampled at The Wedding Cafe).

Okay, enough talking. Click below to flip through the book I created!

Click to view

Much Mahalos

I made my own photo thank you cards and got them printed at Costco.  $14.99 for 50 cards and $5 for each additional set of 25...the best deal in town!  They were ready the next day and came complete with envelopes.  This is actually take 2.  The first design I created had a black border around the whole card, but it didn't print right.  Luckily Costco took them back, no problem.

I'm currently working on writing the thank you notes on the back, and it is taking l-o-n-g.  I had really wanted to start them on the airplane of our mini-moon when I was still in wedding-planning-super-ambitious-mode, but since I wanted photo cards, I decided to wait.  Now I got my photo cards but lost my ambition.  I just keep reminding myself that having to write a lot of thank you cards shows how lucky we are to receive so many gifts and have so many people celebrate with us.  I've got about 25 done...125 to go!

Hey There, Movie Star

Our videographers, ImagineWurks, are awesome! They responded quickly to my emails and were so easy to work with. Perhaps most important of all, I love their work! I wanted a ceremony highlights video but didn't need it to be a same day edit, and they agreed to do it for me. While we were on our mini-moon, I stalked their vimeo site every day. When I saw our highlights video posted, I was so excited. I think I've watched it over fifty times already. Mr. Pug says I'll get sick of it, but I don't think so. It makes me smile each time I watch it. It is like reliving the day all over again. I am so glad we decided to go with videography!

Keith and Jamie Ceremony Highlight from Imaginewurks on Vimeo.

Eye Candy

I looooove detail shots.  They are a great way to remember all the little decisions you made throughout the planning process.  All of those months of choosing the theme colors, going to cake tastings, looking through tons of magazines, staying up all night searching the web for inspiration, and cursing myself for deciding to do my own invitations...this is what it is all about!  These are the things that your guests may overlook, but that you and other knotties drool over.  I admit that I was a bit worried that the results would not live up to those pictures in the magazines that I dreamt of, but they exceeded my expectations.  Mr. Pug and I were both stoked at the way everything turned out!

Invitation & Rings

 

Rings on Our Wedding Day Newspaper

  

My Bouquet

  

My Bouquet & Shoes #1

  

MOH Bouquet & Shoes #2

  

Obligatory Dress-in-Window Shot

  

Groom's Gift - Custom Jordans with Wedding Date

  

I Went With the Purple Shoes!

 

My Bouquet

Detail Shot of my Dress's Neckline & Bouquet  

 

Gazebo Florals

  

Orchid Aisle

  

Table Number, Centerpiece, and Table Tent

  

Table Setting, Favor Box, and Program/Menu Card

  

Chair Covers & Uplighting

 

Card Box & Guest Sign-In

 

 Wedding Cake

 

1001 Folded Origami Cranes

 

 Best Wishes from Micky & Minnie

 

Congratulatory Letter from President & Mrs. Obama

"i do" Letters and Mini-Pug

Getting Beautiful

Remember my H&M trial?  After examining some of the pictures, I decided to request a few changes be made for the actual wedding day.  For my hair, I wanted a little poof at the top and the curls to be more defined (not so "smooshed").  For my make-up, I wanted my eyebrows to be a little darker and my eyes to be more dramatic.

Dorys texted me from the parking lot a little before 10:30 am to let me know she was on her way.  We had a table set-up for her as requested by her assistant a couple days prior.  I really liked working with Dorys and her office because they were very professional and documented everything for me.

Dorys started on my MOH's hair first.  MOH and I had decided on a side pony, and I absolutely love what Dorys did.

 

Next she did my hair.  She confirmed the changes I requested and then got started.  At first, I thought the poof on top was too much...

But once we put the veil on, I was happy with the way it looked.

 

I also loved the way my make-up turned out.  Dorys really listened to what I wanted and delivered.  The only disappointment with the whole experience is that I had requested airbrush make-up (and paid extra for it), but she was unable to do it.  When she went to set-up her machine, she realized that she was missing an important piece and was unable to find anyone who could deliver it in time.  She felt really bad about it and had to do our makeup with traditional foundation.  I was surprising laid-back about the whole thing, determined not to let anything ruin my day.  There was nothing I could do about it, so I just let it go.  In the end, I was happy with the results, and the make-up stayed put throughout the night without sweating off or feeling heavy.  Dorys also sent me a refund for the airbrush makeup fee and a giftcard to come in for a free make-up application since she felt bad.  I would have preferred she refund me for the whole make-up application, but I can use the giftcard for my upcoming TTD shoot, so it works out well.  Here's a few pictures of the make-up and a picture with Dorys.

Before (eew...)

After (ahhh...)

A Better Look at the Eyes

MOH, Me, and Dorys

I was really happy with the results and felt beautiful the whole night!

Oh, Happy Day!

I went to bed early the night before determined to wake up refreshed and stress-free.  I had restful sleep free from any wedding nightmares (throughout the planning process, I had dreams of the wedding day arriving and things not being ready -- we forgot to send out invitations, the officiant didn't show up, etc.).  I woke up as the sun started streaming through our hotel window, looked over at Mr. Pug, and gave him a kiss as I wished him Happy Wedding Day!

We took our time getting ready and headed downstairs for a big breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, fruits, toast, guava juice, and coffee.  After weeks of dieting, it felt good to splurge!  After breakfast, we headed back up to our room, and I sent Mr. Pug to the adjoining room so we could get ready separately.  Our videographer, DOC, and H&M arrived at 10:30 to begin the first day of the rest of our lives.  I couldn't believe the day was finally here!

Wedding Stress

The wedding has come and gone faster than I could have imagined.  The months of planning, the sleepless nights, the depleted savings -- all for one day.  I admit that in the last week or two before the wedding I was seriously wishing we had just eloped.  I broke out in hives all over my body -- something that had never happened before -- and the doctor concluded that it was probably stress-induced.  I wished I had a planner to just take care of everything so that I could just show up and enjoy the day.  Well, it was too late for that, so I worked hard the week before the wedding to do some serious planning and to communicate my vision and all the information to my Aunty who was acting as our DOC and the many, many helpers who had so graciously offered to help us.  My goal was to leave everything in their hands on the wedding day so that I could relax and enjoy the day.

The day and night before the wedding we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  We had to pick up items from our vendors (tuxes, chair covers, etc.), deliver centerpieces and favors to the catering office, and check into our hotel rooms.  At the same time I was still doing last-minute tasks like print table tents and guestlists for the reception table (they were purposely last-minute since I didn't want to have to redo them if things changed).  On top of that, we hadn't packed our overnight bags for the hotel or our suitcases for the mini-moon we'd be leaving on the day after.  I was also trying to find time to meet up with some out-of-town guests that had just flown in for the wedding since I knew I probably wouldn't get to see them much at the wedding.  In the rush of things I lost my cell phone and we got locked out of our hotel room.  Things were just not going well.  Then my brother said something that helped.  He said that there is always something that doesn't go right at weddings -- I'm just getting mine out of the way early.  Tune in next time to see if he was right ;)

Over the next few weeks, I'll continue my series of posts to catch you up on the rest of my planning, a recap of the wedding, vendor reviews, and of course, pictures!

Making it Legal

We went down to apply for our marriage license today.  I don't know why, but I had pictured the licensing office as being a lot more glamorous than it is.  I guess wedding are filled with such elegance and grandeur that I was a little surprised when we got to the marriage license office and it looked like this...

Very unassuming and to the point.  We sat down in the cramped office as the woman across the desk took the form we filled out and typed it into the computer (I couldn't help but think that this office could use some serious LEAN improvements to increase efficiency...those darn business school classes!).  After a quick glance at our ID's, collecting our $60 (cash only!), and making us raise our right hands and swear under oath that all the information we provided was true, that was it!  We walked out with marriage license in hand...we're one step closer to making it legal!

Bustle Blues

I started writing this post, but it turned into a long rambling complaining about my experience with the David's Bridal alterations department.  I'm trying to keep it short and sweet (or not so sweet), so I'll get to the point:

- Alterations manager (AM) had my dress to do a hem and bustle for over a month, then tried to push back my appointment twice because it was not ready.

- AM left me a message to call her back the next day at 12:00 noon.  I was in the area and decided to stop in the store -- she was not even working that day.

- When AM was showing me how to bustle the dress, it took her over half an hour and multiple tries to figure out how to do it.

- The bustle was not done as we had discussed and left a lot of the dress dragging on the floor.  It did not look like a small train...it looked like pieces were falling out.

- When I asked her to make it shorter so it was not dragging on the ground, she made the back of the dress so high you could see my heels, but left the sides and the front long and sweeping the ground.

-When I asked her to make it so that it was even all around, she was unable to do it claiming that the style of my dress was too difficult.

- After over an hour, we finally got it to a point where it looked decent.  She told me to come back in two days to pick it up.  As I was getting undressed, she came to me with another bill!  I had to pay for more points that needed to be added to fix what she did wrong in the first place!

- Two days later, I came to pick up the dress and she was not even working that day.  Her assistant tried to show me how to bustle the dress but could not figure it out.  I stood there holding the back of my dress up for half an hour while the alterations lady, my maid of honor, and the sales girl all sat on the floor behind me trying to figure out this puzzle.  Apparently no one in the store had ever dealt with an under-bustle before.


- My maid of honor (who has never seen a bustle in her life) finally figured it out and did some workarounds to make it work.  The points were placed without taking the 1/2" loop into consideration, so the dress was still dragging on the ground.  We decided to just have my maid of honor tie the bustle above the loop so that we wouldn't have to leave the dress to be altered one more time.

Okay, so I still managed to ramble and complain a lot.  In short, I was really disappointed with my alterations experience at David's Bridal.  I thought it was expensive (about $200 for a hem and bustle), but I thought I would go with them for convenience and because they specialize in wedding dresses.  Perhaps the fact that it is a new store means that the alterations department doesn't necessarily have a lot of experience with wedding dresses yet.  I wish I had taken the time to shop around a little more.

Cranes

According to Japanese lore, folding 1,000 Origami Cranes is truly a labor of love. Tradition holds that the bride who finishes this task, called 'sembazuru', before her wedding day will be richly rewarded with a good and happy marriage. Paying homage to the magestic crane, which mates for life and is said to live one thousand years, the bride ensures her own good fortune.

In Hawaii, many brides will fold 1,001 Origami Cranes (1 for good luck) and mount the cranes to create a piece of art that can be displayed in their homes.  

Mr. Pug and I originally wanted to have the crane design be his family mon (crest), but we were unable to find it.  We talked about a few other ideas and ultimately decided on a circle (representing eternity), bamboo (representing strength), and the kotobuki character (representing good fortune, celebration, and longevity).  We turned over our idea to the extremely talented Cathy Lancaster of Classic Cranes, and she worked her magic.  We handed over 1001 origami cranes in ziploc bags, and 1-1/2 months later, this is what we got...

I couldn't be happier with the results...it is absolutely amazing!  Cathy was great and I highly recommend her.  Her price is also reasonable, as you pay for the framing separately.  Crane mounting cost $425.  The framing options we chose from Pictures Plus came out to an additional $395.

Hair and Makeup Trial - Third Time's a Charm!

After my first hair and makeup trial where I felt like I didn't really look like myself and my DIY trial at home, I was nervous about my second professional trial.  I had spent more time looking for inspiration online and came to the conclusion that I am really darn picky about my hair!  I didn't think I was, but almost every picture I looked at had something that I didn't quite like for myself and the style I was going for.  It was either too big, too structured, too plain, or just wasn't "me."  I finally stumbled across these pictures of Carrie Underwood that looked promising:

It was loose and romantic, elegant and chic, not too messy and not too structured.  This style could be it!  I printed a copy of it and took it in to my trial.  The stylist thought it would work for me and quickly got to work.  Here is the result (ignore my un-made up face please):

I'm thinking I'd like a little more defined curls, but other than that, I was quite happy with the results.  Next we moved on to makeup.  We kept it pretty natural by going with airbrushed foundation, a neutral colored eye, and a light lip color.  We kicked it up a bit by adding fake lashes.  This was my first time using the small lash clusters rather than the strip that goes across the whole eye.  It looks a lot easier to apply, and I love the look.  Here is my finished product:

 

Admiring myself a bit...

Oooh-la-lashes!

 

With the Veil

It's been about five hours since my trial was done and my makeup is pretty much the same minus the lipstick (Mr. Pug and I went to a yummy dinner).  Granted, I have been sitting in air conditioning and haven't been very active, but it seems to be holding up well.  A few tendrils of hair have come loose in the back.  This style is pretty forgiving, but I'll make sure to mention it for the real thing so that the hair stays in place a little better.

I went ahead and booked this stylist for my wedding day.  She took a few pictures that she will upload on her site for me as well.  What do you think?  Is there anything I should change??