Hair Trial + My Dress

After I saw that JEM over at Aqua Bride did her OWN hair trial 3 months out from her wedding, I figured I better get on top of my stuff and get a hair trial done too.

Just kidding! Lol. I already had it planned. I went to my favorite beauty school student, who put in extensions last week, do to a trial this week.

Armed with this picture:




I came out looking like this:









No picture from the front because my face is shiny! I think I may need the "bump" adjusted a little to resemble the picture more. But it came out better than I could have imagined, and is true to the picture but unique as well. I'm gonna go back to her the morning of the wedding bright and early for hair. It works out because we can't even access the venue until noon, and our wedding starts around 5pm.

But I have something else to show you ladies:



I took my dress to the tailor, and had the idea to add this lace strap to the right side of the dress. I love it. A little over 3 weeks to go!

Ok, Ok, Ok! First Dance Song

Alright, it's been a long, hard decision. Our first dance song will be "Like A Star" by Corinne Bailey Ray. She's an artist from our time, the lyrics are meaningful, it sounds beautiful. It's not too showy or "doing too much" as we like to say.

Listen to it here

Whew. A huge weight has been lifted. Here are the lyrics:

Just like a star across my sky,
Just like an angel off the page,
You have appeared to my life,
Feel like I'll never be the same,
Just like a song in my heart,
Just like oil on my hands,
Oh.. I do love you,

Still i wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

You've got this look i can't describe,
You make me feel like I'm alive,
When everything else is a fade,
Without a doubt you're on my side,
Heaven has been away too long,
Can't find the words to write this song,
Oh.,..
Your love,

Still i wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

I have come to understand,
The way it is,
It's not a secret anymore,
'cause we've been through that before,
From tonight I know that you're the only one,
I've been confused and in the dark,
Now I understand,

I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
I wonder why it is,
I wont let my guard down,
For anyone but you
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

Just like a star across my sky,
Just like an angel off the page,
You have appeared to my life,
Feel like I'll never be the same,
Just like a song in my heart,
Just like oil on my hands

Thanks Aunt and Uncle

My fiance's aunt gifted us this cake serving set and got it engraved for us. She was so nice, she emailed us pics of different options on Ebay and we chose this since it came with flutes and a cake serving set. She got it engraved for us. It's still at her house but here are the pics she sent me:

Say Hello to Our New Photographer

Laura Sokol Photography out of Mesa. I found her on Craigslist last night at a great deal. For this beautiful work? Yes, please! All pictures taken from her blog here.











And a baby shot:



We have moved on from our original photographer due to horrible customer service and mediocre pictures. Finding this woman was a blessing, my fiance and I decided to go with her and she is a FRACTION of the cost of our other guy. I am ecstatic. Good things can happen unexpectedly!

Why we went with the first guy? The urging of my MIL. She was only trying to help, but I don't think she is hip to the new wave of wedding photography that is out there and becoming the new standard. He did not have a website so we were just going off of trusting MIL. This work blows his out of the water, and the work of any other local photographers I've seen. She was so friendly. I think she will be a big difference from our engagement shoot guy. Another reason why E-pics are good is you get a feel for your photographer and get to honestly see the work they do with YOU.

She asked so many important questions right off the bat of talking with her, like if there are special ceremony moments she should be aware of (sand ceremony), if we prefer her to stay rooted in one spot during the ceremony to not distract the guests (hell no, girl, go anywhere you want to)and also she was interested in viewing our wedding website. How sweet! Less than a month to go and we changed photographers. It's all good, I couldn't be happier.

Another Award! Woohoo!

Thanks to JEM, I got the lovely Gorgeous Blogger Award.

The rules:
Accept and thank the person who gave it to you!
List 10 things about yourself
List 5 additional things you DON'T like
Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to!


10 Things about Moi

1. I love, LOVE Kathy Van Zeeland Purses. She's probably the only designer I can actually spot.
2. I'm not a shy person, in fact I am pretty bold.
3. I prefer bite-sized cookies. You don't have to worry about crumbs!
4. I love being an aunt.
5. I always look up the meaning of dreams in a dream dictionary.
6. I have kept and filled up diaries since I was 10 years old. I always say "Dear Journal."
7. I am always sticking up for other people.
8. I do not like not being able to help a person whether it's a friend, at my job, in class, etc.
9. Ironically, I was always scared to give anything to homeless people until I met my fiance. He always makes sure to stop, pull out his wallet, and prefers to give paper money over loose change.
10. My father is Ethiopian.

5 Things I don't Like

1. As soon as I get excited about a blog and decide to follow, that's when the blogger drops off the face of the earth.
2. People who are too, TOO similar to myself. Usually don't get along. Lol!
3. Governor Jan Brewer.
4. Kids who are spoiled, disrespectful and generally do not contribute anything to life other than being a reckless, selfish individual.
5. People who are passive, so much so that it brings about negative consequences in their life.

Ten People To Award!

1. Sony
2. Thoughts of the All Consumed Bride
3. Confessions of an Indecisive Bride
4. Amberdawn
5. Jaryce21
6. Gonna be his Mrs.
7. Mrs. Oliver
8. Bicoastal Bride
9. Sara
10. Bee

Flowers on a budget-Thanks Mom and Dad!

While at my parents house today, I had a stroke of brilliance. My mom and I were talking and I brought up the fact that some brides and their families specifically plant flowers a year or so before a wedding so they can use them in their wedding.

Then I realized we could use the flowers in my parents' yard for the wedding!

White, light pink and hot pink oleanders. Look at these babies, taken from my camera phone in my parents yard:




We have about six or seven HUGE bushes of these flowers. I would use them for the bridesmaids, and then buy light pink and white roses to mix in, especially for my boquet. And it will be free! And when we actually picked a few to play around with:





I have been waiting to hear from the florist my MIL had a connect with but he seems so flaky and uncommitted. I am over it, and I don't want to shell out any more money, even if it isn't my own. My mom loves the idea, my dad takes care of these flowers and I know he would be filled with pride that he was the supplier.

These flowers hold up in Arizona heat, so it's all good. And we can make our boquets really full. The colors are perfect! We'll add some ribbon, and a few other flowers from boquets we'll buy from the supermarket. I'm excited!

Fiance's Graduation

I wanted to share pics. I see other brides all the time who post graduation pictures and I am happy to be able to add this one to the list!

My fiance graduated Summa Cum Laude, and not only that, he was one of three majors to be recognized for having earned a 4.0 GPA and completing his major in 8 consecutive semesters.

I was sooo proud of him. We took a few pictures:







I swear more family was there (aunt, grandpa, father, sister) but we took most pictues on his dad's camera and I will have to get those later.

Our school is huge and we had to go to two ceremonies over the course of two days. It was rough waking up at six a.m. each day to get there on time! But it was worth it.

And after all of that, we went to his friend's graduation lunch, his graduation dinner, and then I threw him a graduation party! I used Dollar Tree to hook up the decorations! It was so fun, and his family was hilarious because when they found out I was doing a real "college party" for their nephew/grandson/son some people couldn't help but stop by. One aunt in particular, who is generally very proper, has a real sense of humor. She came in and we took a picture of her with a bottle (unopened) and his dad came and asked for a mixed drink while we were setting up. OMG! I had a good time. He had a great time. It was the perfect way to end on a high note.

Friends came out and signed a gift that myself and a good friend helped to make! I love it. And what's nice is the glass of the frame snaps into place so they actually signed the area around the pictures and then the glass goes on top. It actually only holds three 4 by 6 pictures. I am glad because I hate huge pictures. This can go in any room in our new place:



The first is of him and I, next is just him, then him, his siblings and mother. (I will switch that with a photo of him, his mom and dad and siblings once his dad sends me a picture). I went and bought HP premium photo plus paper (for $19!!!) at Walmart to print the photos. Can I just say I am in LOVE with the quality of the paper. And I love the frame, which was marked down 80% at a CVS. We decorated it with fun graduation themed items from Michael's. It was an idea on a whim but I love the sentimentality. All of his closest friends, aunts who were at the party and brothers signed it.

I also enlisted the help of said friend who is of age to supply the "goods" for the party. Fiance got his own bottle of some of the best Vodka for thirty dollars (that was the sale price). It's called 1860's Genuine American Vodka, is hand crafted and distilled from the U.S. grain, and comes wrapped in leather. People were scared of it because it tasted like water but stung stronger than anything when it went down. I did not try it! Got it from BevMo if anyone is interested. It is very highly rated!

Anyway, my fiance was really happy, so I was really happy. I love the frame I got him so much I think I will buy another one!

Random Thoughts

Today my fiance went through commencement for completing his bachelor's in biochemsitry! I am so proud of him. Pictures to come. Tomorrow is the day he actually gets his diploma in a seperate ceremony.

May 13th: Parents Anniversary (This year they are celebrating 22 years! I love them!)
June 12th: My wedding

May 8th: Older sister's birthday
June 7th: My birthday

I love making connections out of nothing, lol. I am less than a month away from the wedding. Blogging is not very exciting for me right now, lol. Sorry! I will at least definitely post re-caps from the wedding. And then after that, who knows, see you in the blogosphere. But I can probably squeeze out a few posts between now and then.

Feeling very blessed, appreciative of my blossoming and stable relationship with a man I admire and respect, and am happy to partake in many joyous occasions this season. Something fun: Everybody should comment on one thing that makes them happy RIGHT NOW in the comments section of this post.

Bachelorette Party

So, I can't wait until the day I get the word (or perhaps invitation) to my own bacheleorette party.

(source)

The weird thing is, I can not imagine other people planning something for me. Part of me feels like I won't have one. My BM's don't all know each other. Who's planning it? Do they even talk to eachother about it? Maybe I'm anal but I wish I could plan it myself.

It's not fair! Haha. But whatever. I'm thinking about my schedule, and we are having the wedding on a Saturday. Friday night will be the rehearsal. To be honest, I don't think I want to go "out" to party the night before my wedding. So I'm going to spread the word that whatever my girls want to do that includes going out, we do it on Thursday night. That way, we can recuperate and not have to worry about being tired/cranky on THE BIGGEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

My wedding is actually the first one many of my bridesmaid's are going to be apart of. Actually, scratch that, all of them are bridesmaids for the first time in my weding. And none of them really go into wedding stuff. I wonder do they know that brides now adays have bachelorette parties where there's (sometimes) invitations sent to the bride? And a theme involved? And games? But maybe I'm getting it confused with the bridal shower.

Anyone else a little controlling and wish they could just take charge of it themselves?

Junior Bridesmaid Dress

We ordered it today. From Sears, for $24.50. My future sister in law and my niece, both plus sized girls age 11 will be wearing it. We ordered it in size 18.5, if any of you ladies have trouble finding age-appropriate clothing for your girls who are blessed with a little something extra, Sears is a good option. They had tons of dresses.

Take a look: