hair hmmm...

boy, it feels good to do a post about something that hasn't been a struggle or cost us an arm and a leg. I'm starting to think about my hair.

I always thought i would wear my hair down in natural looking waves with some sort of flower or hippie headband accessory to denote myself as the bride.

(green wedding shoes)

but. today i saw a photo from when i bought my dress taken of the back with my hair up and i though - geez - do i want to cover that up? my gown is strapless and an exposed back is pretty beautiful as far as i'm concerned. (my mother always told me to accentuate your assets and hide your flaws so the back and shoulders can take over for my hips any day!)

anyway. i started to rethink, could i do some sort of loose messy looking updo instead of loose locks?

and then i saw this bride on once wed today and thought that it was meant to be. what a good combo of showing off the length and sweeping the hair off the back at the same time with this messy side braid of sorts (more photos here.)

(once wed)

what do you girls think? have you decided how you're doing your do yet?

wild flower wedding

so. i met with a florist today. as much as i felt pushed into hiring a pro by a mother that simply had no faith that i could do it myself and really just didnt want to help, i am so relieved i did. i LOOOVE him.

keith of floral concepts in ogunquit maine not only totally understands my vision, he added some great elements, endless ideas, and is even letting me go with him to the flower market before the event to pick out the flowers together. i mean, for a girl that really wants to DIY but doesnt want a melt down on her wedding morning over table arrangements i dont know if it gets much better, someone is taking charge yet i am still totally involved. it's a great feeling. i owe a lot to sue and her great florist experience for the ability to let go of a little control.

here is what i brought with me to help illustrate my vision. (I'm sorry I've been collecting for so long i have no idea where the images came from originally)

here are some of the great ideas keith threw out there:

- there is a local vendor that will fill my vintage ball jars and milk jars with wax and wicks in the color of my choosing so that i can add color with my candle light and have the jars be heavy enough to not have to deal with adding sand or stones - genius? it's basically custom candles

- edible flowers and herbs for centerpieces and the buffet table, and possibly the cake...mmmm chamomile

- a ceremony aisle sprinkled with fragrant orange marigold heads rather than rose petals

- birch trees wrapped with white light bound to the supports of the tent for atmosphere and light

i mean really.

(p.s. that's not my dress but it does look very very very similar)

our anniversary

yep, we have (until the wedding of course) a valentine's day anniversary.

mike and i had been friends for years but always happened to have the timing wrong, he had a girlfriend or i had a boyfriend - we always had an eye open for the other but we just couldn't get it right. well, a little more than 4 years ago i was dumped by the guy we (myself and my friends) thought was going to be the one.

mike invited me to go to a friendly weeknight movie, neither of us quite sure if it was a date or just polite friendly companionship until it ended with a kiss. he told me that he thought he had missed his chance and that he would do whatever he had to do to make sure that when i was ready to love again he would be there.

well, mike proceeded to sweep me off my feet, asking if i would be his valentine (of course! i dont think anyone had ever asked me that, even when i did have a boyfriend.) he pulled out all of the stops, a gorgeous bouquet of orange, red and gold gerber daisies delivered to my work (also a first) wrapped in luxurious brown kraft paper (he had me pinned) and then he picked me up for a romantic get away. there was a cd he made just for me playing on the stereo and a bottle of wine to enjoy (i know not legal but it was so romantic) as we drove up the pacific coast highway to the sunset restaurant in malibu, a little spot perched on the water with glass windows for 360 degrees so the moonlight sparkling off the crashing waves was our ambience. we took an after dinner stroll on the beach and eventually made our home to the soundtrack of a different even more romantic cd he made.

today, four years later we have postponed valentines day until tomorrow because mike has to work tonight. we spent the morning running errands and now he sits next to me as i type playing blackbird on the guitar, today's soundtrack, and i couldn't ask for anything more.

it just keeps raining...waiting for the rainbows

ok, i know that this is supposed to be an outlet for wedding planning and sharing this common experience we are all going through, but i can't help but share what has been going on in my life that has put the focus of wedding planning into perspective.

as you may have guessed by this post, we lost a very dear friend a week or so ago. one of mike's best friends, someone that i have been so close with for the last 11 years, someone that was to do a reading at our wedding (i guess i'm still compelled to put it into that context for you) that we will now have to find a way to honor respectfully without turning our celebration into another memorial. it's a very sad time but we have a lot of great friends that we are able to mourn with and heal with and remember with, therefore we are blessed.

with this wound still so raw i was laid off yesterday, without notice, after working for the company for 5 years and with no severance package to speak of.

none of this is good, but it shines a light on the good stuff i have in my partner in life. every bump along the road brings us closer together and i am just so grateful to have him, to take care of him, to let him take care of me, and for the two of us to buck up together and continue to take on what the world dishes out. there are good things on the horizon, i am free of a life where i struggled to get out of bed in the morning, now we can begin creating our happily every after.

i predict that i may go a little DIY crazy with all this free time, so i hope it means i will have lots of great things to share with you all! thanks for listening, xoxo

...back to decorating

after a brief hiatus to let life happen i am back to wedding planning and am very excited about my last totally unnecessary (can we say shop therapy) decorative accent.

i've purchase a few lots of vintage hankies in oranges and yellows to add a punch of color under our vintage pewter water pitchers. we've chosen to go with plain ivory table linens and napkins to keep things simple and i had been debating a few different ideas to add some color or texture to the blank canvas and ground the centerpieces. after looking at different linen, burlap, and doily options i decided to go with these vintage floral hankies. i love the whimsy, the variety of patterns, the lack of sewing involved, and the overall feeling of vintage farm house which is what i hope comes through from our overall look. i thought they might be too girlie for mike but he totally approves (goes to show you no matter how well you think you know someone they can still surprise you.)

i bought more handkerchiefs than there are tables. i like the idea of having some extra to add as accents in other areas, to the bar, mason jar candles, bread baskets, and i don't even know yet...i also like the idea that i can send them home with some special friends or family as treats at the end of the night or take them home with me to make pillow covers or quilts (if i get adventurous and learn to use a sewing machine!) as useful momentos of the day.

The Big Chill

For the worst of reasons we are living in The Big Chill this week. I hope for new memories from these familiar faces to mix in with the tears, story telling - and really good tunes.

a little checkmark

but a checkmark none the less. after seeing Chocolate Lovers list and hyperventilating quietly to myself about all of the unchecked items i still have on my long long list (but i have time, i have time, i have time don't i?) i'm proud to say that as we speak mike is returning from a meeting with our linen, table top, bar ware, etc. rental company - and it looks like we are close to locking that up (hooray!) and we just booked our transportation.

since we are being married at a family farm that is a bit in the boonies, and because we dont want any of our precious family or friends driving after their celebretaory beverages, we've chartered a trolley to transport guests from the hotel to the farm and back. it was quite affordable, holds more than 30 ppl per trip, and it's darn cute! check it out from the ogunquit trolley company.

now to find out how i'm going to sneak away to get some photos on it without mike or the guests seeing me, maybe I can talk them in to hanging around until after the ceremony...or maybe i wont care at all...but it is cute isnt it?

it makes me think of Mr. Rogers - ding ding!

i love LA

a little kristy backstory for you ladies...

i moved to LA to finish film school and start working in the business back in 2001. my school kinda pushed us all out there - into the deep end, but with a pair of half deflated water wings on. anywho - the great thing was when i got to LA i had a lot of friends from college there already and more came every year (including mike) which was a big safety net when being 3,000 miles away from home.

i stayed in LA for almost 6 years. when i left it was with mike on the heels of faith and love and starting our life together back east, but i left a lot of friends behind and a city that i truly loved. it was good to me - it gave me great life experience and filled my 20's with volumes of stories, parties, dating adventures, and broken hearts in Hollywood.

why am i bringing it up? well i had unhappily come to terms with the fact that i wouldnt get to LA this year because all of my vacation time was taken up with the wedding/honeymoon this fall. i was also coming to terms with the fact that i wouldnt get to have a shower or a bachelorette or any sort of girl celebration with my LA girlfriends. i kept telling myself that them flying out for the wedding was more than enough to ask for, and i know it is.

(photo taken on the way to get my nails done the last time i was in LA, later known as the day i got engaged)

well- i changed my mind. i decided screw it - my boss can decide not to pay me if i take more than 10 days off this year i don't care. i want to go to LA. i want to see my friends, i want to go shopping, i want to go to the flea markets and wear flip flops.

in talking through the plans to come with my best LA girlfriend i started chatting with another friend who is getting married this summer who has since moved to New York. She was having the same feelings i was about being away from the girls, not being excited at the idea of a shower with only aunts and grandmothers and feeling like skipping it all together - so we're going together!

i am so excited to have all of the girls back together, to spend a day at the korean spa, to eat a huge brunch, and to hit up Crossroads and Jet Rag - oh I love LA! i'm sure it will be bitter sweet, and no it's not the most responsible decision i've ever made - but it has made me so so happy and that is worth a lot - isn't it?

more music

my parents song, so urban cowboy and of the moment when they were married in the late 70s, but as far as i'm concerned it's withstood the test of time pretty well.



i love it, it makes me love them and their love so much, it always is a little window into who they were before they were "mom and dad" when i see them dance to it, a must play at our wedding - for sure.

wishing on a star

one of the light hearted debates mike and i are dealing with is "our song." (i'm taking a break from dealing with or thinking about all things stressful, tent, transportation, or guest list related) we both really love music, and after being together for years and many many a mix cd for the other person we have a TON of songs that remind us of each other, or falling in love, or being in love, or driving across the country, or of waiting patiently for each other, you get the point - and im sure many of you can relate.

as we're boiling it down we find ourselves in a debate between two songs. one of the songs is a classic, well known love song that i love because mike put it on a mix cd for our first official date - valentines day, for our drive to the sunset restaurant in mailbu. it was probably the most romantic night of my life, and he had planned everything out to a T, incorporating a cd for the drive up, and a different, more romantic cd for the drive home. not only was the song part of the evening but it also tells a story of loving someone from afar for a long time before you are actually given permission to love them, something that we relate to since we knew each other for 8 years and loved each other from afar before we became romantically involved.

sounds pretty good right? well, the hitch is that we (mike) fears that it is too cliche for a first song, something heaps of other couples use, and he wants something more unique to us. (oh! i forgot! it's also one of my favorite songs that mike plays/sings probably part of why it means a lot to me - i more often than not hear it directly from him)

the second song is one i shared with mike more recently because it's honest and romantic in a very modern way. i love the song, he loves the song, and it's about your life not really "starting" until the other person became a part of it. it's heart wrenching, it is, but my fear is that it won't last the test of time. will we look back on it and think? oh yeah i forgot about that song?

this idea was reinforced on christmas when we visited one of mike's relatives. his aunt and uncle were married on the same day we will be married. they are such a fantastic couple and are still obviously so in love after all these years and are really something that we aspire to be. we want to make sure to acknowledge their anniversary during our wedding and the first thing that came to mind was - we should surprise them play their song for them. so at christmas, when they were asking about our planning etc i casually asked what their song was, thinking it would be quick and easy and sneaky - except they couldn't remember it. after asking all of the other relatives in the room someone finally remembered - Rose Royce Wishing on a Star.


i couldn't help but think, how sad will i be with myself if i forget? i know now it seems impossible but after 35 years of life and family and children and work, will i forget?

it could be that the first song has been a part of our story for longer that i feel like it will be impossible to forget, but then again, if the second song is "our song" it will become a much bigger part of our story and hopefully unforgettable.

at the moment we are at a stand still, i know we will find a meaningful way to incorporate both songs in some way, but i thought i'd share some of my thought process with you all. what are you doing for your song? is it something incredibly personal to you? perhaps it just tells your story, or is a timeless love song, or all out fun?

please forgive me while i faux pas...

...and talk about - gasp! - my registry. i couldn't help it, i just got the new crate and barrell catalog and i think these little juice glasses are just the cutest thing i've ever seen.

yes, i'm aware it may have something to do with the fact that i just studied back to back semesters of typography but i think the design is adorable.

do you miss it?

this holiday season, filled with a few new engagements close to us, and the new year - filled with reflection - had me thinking about where i was at this point last year, as im sure most do.

last christmas mike and i went on a sailing trip with some friends to the british virgin islands. one of the first nights, (after jumping off the willy t,) mike asked me to take a walk with him on the beach away from our friends. the moon and the christmas lights lining the masts of the sailboats in the cove were the only lights we saw - i was sure - this is it. my heart beat out of my chest as we reached the end of the beach hand in hand, live reggae in the distance. we paused, took in our surroundings, shared a kiss, and then - walked back. that's it?


this time a year ago the suspense was killing me! this was one of many moments i thought we're going to be the big one where he popped the question. everytime we had a date night dinner, i secretly looked extra nice just in case, found myself primping a little more than often, and keeping my eyes open for clues.

the anticipation of a proposal was so intense that i have to say, as i reminisced this new years, i kinda miss that time. the excitement of knowing it was coming but not when, the guess work, the girl talk the surrounded it. am i nuts? maybe just a glutton for punishment? do any of you bride to be's miss it?