Catie & Cent

Our nano-second of fame via our AWESOME photographer Travis Hoehne. He met up with us in Dallas and we had some major fun with these!






More to come soon! :)

This is my first Photoshop stab at an inspiration board. I've been scouring sites like the Knot and Martha Stewart and Brides and everything to find a nice chocolate and aqua color combination. I haven't quite found what I want, but I think it's all a matter of finding the right shades.

The venue we're looking at comes with white linens. I really don't want to be one of those brides that cares about the tablecloths. The venue coordinator mentioned that an estimate for colored linens is between $30-$38 a table! For cloth. For cloth that probably no one would notice unless you have guests that are interior designers, wedding planners, or just notice that kind of thing. I am considering table runners, which would help incorporate the color palette. Of course, that's all still up in the air.

I really like the contrast of the chocolate and aqua blue. More inspiration to come!

Since learning how to use Illustrator last Fall, it has been one of my favorite programs. It's definitely not a program that you can figure out on your own. At least not for me. I definitely needed instruction. Well, 18 weeks later and $60 down the road, I'm now well-versed in Illustrator. I wouldn't say I'm an expert by any means, but I can come up with a thing or two.

I started to mock up our invitations, mostly to get the gears turning, but here's what I came up with today. Luckily I have the CS2 suite from work, and I'm planning on the CS3 suite which I get a sweet deal on thanks to my class!



It looks a little off since I took trim size and bleed zones into account. (Terms I learned this past week in my Photoshop class). But I'm pretty sure we're agreed on the brown/blue color scheme, which I thought we could carry onto the invitations. More to come!

We had a fantastic time yesterday with our AWESOME photographer, Travis Hoehne, shooting in downtown Dallas and the Speedzone. I can't wait to see the results!

It turned out that Travis was going to be in Texas for a workshop this week. Since Cent lives in Dallas, I figured it would work out nicely if we had our engagement photos taken where he lives, since we're having the wedding in California. Plus, it was unknown and new territory for Travis as he is from California and has had several photo shoots in the Bay Area. It was so fun!

We shot around the Dallas World Aquarium (also where we went for our first anniversary) and took some awesome action shots. ::cue Chariots of Fire music:: Then, we went to have some fun. For a unique twist on engagement photos, we went to Speedzone where there were also have the debut of Mario Kart for the Wii. We were able to borrow the Mario and Luigi hats from the Mario Kart people and Travis shot us while we raced. So fun! Then we played a round of putt putt golf, something we'd been wanting to do since we first started dating. Even though we didn't keep score, I won! I got two holes-in-one! It was probably the best round of mini golf I'd ever played. So many thing just fell into place, it was so great!

I'll definitely post some shots when we get them!

Well Michigan finally made up their minds and picked our date. Oh well. It's just a date and I'd rather have Fr. Jose be our officiant than being dead set on July 11. Cheesy anyway. So July 18 it is.

Actually, it works out a little better because some venues are still open for reservation. It's crazy how quickly people book venues, especially since it's summer. I'm feeling optimistic and that everything will work out once we have a venue chosen. Now it's just a matter of choosing. A couple of choices are out - Sunol Valley is booked up, Summitpointe is too small, Palmdales Estates you have to supply your own drinks.

Here are the contenders:

Castlewood Country Club, Pleasanton
(image from www.castlewoodcc.org)


Dublin Ranch Golf Club, Dublin
(image from www.herecomestheguide.com)


Wedgewood Banquet Center at Metropolitan Golf Links, Oakland
(image from www.herecomestheguide.com)


Palm Pavilion, Pleasanton
(image from www.herecomestheguide.com)

Oh the decisions and comparisons. There are some other places too, but these had pics. July 18, here we come!

In the midst of my hard drive fiasco, I decided to peruse some photos of centerpieces. I know that all of this stuff is backdrop to the main event -- the party/reception/dinner/etc, but it's fun to think about. I'm not a bridezilla (yet) nor am I totally high maintenance. I think big centerpieces are pretty awful, especially if it makes your guests want to move it to the floor so they can see each other.

I think something like this on each table would be nice and simple and fit the bill of filling the empty space in the middle of the table. Plus the simpler, the more inexpensive. I also like the idea of decorating with some votive candles, but one of the venues we are looking at doesn't allow open flames. So I'll also have to look into some LED tealights.

All photos from The Knot.

I definitely want a handtied bouquet... none of that "tightly packed" business.


Both from the Knot.


From Martha Stewart Weddings

So since the reception search is sort of on pause due to the pending couple in Michigan, I figured I would check out some 'do's on the Knot.

I like this hairstyle, swept back and simple. I'm not exactly feeling the hair vine thingy, but fresh or fake flowers would make a nice substitute.


I can never make this curly tousled hair look work. Of course, I think I'll have someone else do my hair, so it should be a non issue. My only concern would be me getting annoyed or hot from having my hair down...




Similar to the first style, only with flowers. I'm thinking I might need some fake hair filler to give the do some body. My hair is fine and would need some major inflation to look like this.


I really like this one. Simple with flowers. Out of my face, but still pretty.

So there is a couple in Michigan who may be getting married the same date that we want. This would be a non-issue if they didn't want our same officiant. All I have to say is that they better pick the right date, which at this point could go either way.... Hurry and make up your minds folks, we have!

Oh the joys of wedding planning.

I'm liking these monograms I found on Aylee Designs via Wedding Bee. Although I'm thinking that I can design my own now that I have some Illustrator and Photoshop skills. These are fun for personalizing aspects of you wedding and would make great return address labels for thank you notes.

I like these ones too from eLucky Designs.



Inspiration everywhere!

So since the beginning of lurking around the wedding blogs, I've seen a lot of talk about this thing - beloved by some, despised by others, it's called the"Gocco". From my understanding of it, it's a mini printing press that you burn on an image and then ink up the paper. More or less. Anyway, it's one of those thingamabob's invented by the oh-so-creative and cutesy Japanese.

I'm not buying it though. First of all, it seems like too much work. Second, my coworker tried it out and a flurry of things happened that they didn't end up using it anyway. Third, it looks a little like stamps gone awry. While I know there are many brides out there that live and breathe by their Gocco, not I, not interested.

Don't get me wrong, I have a little (or big) obsession with paper and paper products (watch me wander the aisles of Michael's) as well as pens and writing implements. I'm excited about designing my invitations and getting something uniquely us. I'm not really sure what I want to do, but I've been inspired by Wedding Paper Divas, but they aren't quite what I'm looking for. Plus, we might be getting our printing done free!

Oh all the things to keep track of!

I love flowers. Not so much taking care of them, but I like looking at them.

And, in terms of floral centerpieces, I'm leaning toward those that are low to the table so that the guests don't feel compelled to move them in order to see the other people at the table. I'm not into the big and fluffy and elaborate and view-obscuring. Cute and simple works for me. Plus it's a lot more cost effective (aka Cheaper!)

Take a gander.






All photos from www.aboutweddings.com

I love cake. I'm so excited about the cake part of the wedding!

A couple of pictures to drool over.

And this first one has our initial!

cakesbyana.com

evasexquisitecakes.com


miniasbakeshop.com


jenscakes.com

edithmeyer.com

So, I'm thinking that once I've gone through the wedding wringer, that I should jump on the bandwagon and make some cash on the side.

I think that if I team up with my cousin Mercy (who has serious creative vision), that we could totally shoot weddings for fun and for money. Cheap to begin with and build a business on that. I just have to tell her my business plan. I think she'd be okay with it. :)

The sad thing about the photographer that we will be owing money to, is that he is on the low end of the cost spectrum for photographers in the Bay Area. Good for him, bad for our wallets. Photography is really important to me, so someone with a style that I like is really important!

However, with my cost and budgeting skills, I've figured out that we can have a reasonable Bay Area wedding, and still have a little something left in the nest egg. Even with my meager salary.

I didn't realize how expensive photographers were until Catie told me that we had to pay the photographer $900 in April. DANG!!!! I'm in the wrong business!

Seems appropriate considering that we met during the Happiest Celebration on Earth at Walt Disney World. Now how do you register for such...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, as much as I don't care for Martha Stewart, she and her staff have some cute ideas. I really like these regional favors that were featured in the Winter edition of MS Weddings. Since we're from opposite sides of the country, and Cent has grown up all over, I thought maybe we could incorporate some kind of favor thing. I like the idea of the peach preserves. The California favor idea was olives -- not what I think of when I think California.

I keep thinking about things for the wedding in bits and pieces. People ask me about the reception, the dress, the flowers, the colors, the favors, the photographer... So much to think about! I'm still working on finding a reception venue, and I think until I figure that out, I'll be too preoccupied to think about the other things. Of course, I'm just saying that now...


Hawaii Bundt Cakes....................Texas Spice Rub

Georgia Peach Preserves........... Cute Sugar Cookie Cakes

(above images from Martha Stewart Weddings)

These are a couple of cute favor ideas I found on The Knot. I love chocolate covered pretzels and then the bags with the red labels have cookies in them. I love cookies! I want whatever we do for favors to be cute and as hassle-free as possible. Again, I say that now.



(images from theknot.com)