The absolutely amazing bathroom in the Presidential Suite at the San Antonio Hyatt.Thanks to favor of a friend, we were very blessed to be given the suite for the whole 5 days we were in San Antonio. It was hard to leave at the end of the 5 days. The Hyatt staff had completely spoiled us.
My make-up artist Johanna was amazing. I described what I wanted and she nailed it perfectly. I would highly recommend her. The Makeup Maven & Co www.makeupmavencosmetics.com.
My gorgeous Co-MOH wearing the robe I got for them.
My wonderfully awesome friend Lauren. She was one of my hostesses.
Katherine Woods with Elegant Events did a great job as WeddingDayCoordinatorcoordinating all the little details that needed done. I decided to go with wrist coursages (tied on with ribbon for comfort) for the mothers
AUUHHH - the dress. This is my ceremony dress. Reem Acra “Magnolia” and Grace “Scarlet” Shoes.
Bridesmaid's dress by Watters and Watters. On their website, it is shownin white with green ribboning.
Getting into the dress....this was the moment I had been waiting for all day!
"The" gorgeous Haute Bride bracelet (ordered from Priscilla of Boston). It received so many compliments. The purse matches my reception shoes. I purchased the purse at Sam Moon and added the beads.I just love this color green.
I opted to skip a bridal portrait session in lieu of a post wedding day photo session. However, on the wedding day, the photographers made sure to capture some great photos of just me. This photo was taken in the suite before heading to the ceremony. I was so nervous and excited; I had trouble giving a truly relaxed smile.
The flowers turned out beautifully. The colors were perfect. Steve Pizzini did a wonderful job. www.pizzinidesigns.com
I love how dainty and simple my bouquet is.
My gorgeous Husband. I loved that he wore his military dress uniform for the ceremony.
Groomsmen attire
Picture of my Husband with his two brothers and Father in the cocktail hour space. Go figure, they’re already at the bar.
They're definitely enjoying a little down time before the ceremony.
Umbrellas I gave the female guests to provide shade on their walk over to the church. The church (LaVallita Church which sat on the River Walk) was about only 5 blocks from the hotel. August heat in Texas definitely calls for some shade. I found Hobby Lobby has a great selection of umbrellas and only $2.99/ea.
LaVallita is a gorgeous historic church built in the 1800's. The church holds around 80ppl and is very affordable. The best part is, the money paid goes towards their community programs. They church rents in 2.5 hour time blocks.
The programs were a fun DIY project. They were 6.5x6.5" square. The swirl pattern is JI-Muggar. It's best to use PowerPoint as you can turn, rotate fonts to get them arranged in a manner that looks best.I used small white eyelets to hold the pages in. They were attached to the back cover only. I hadn't used an eyelet before and was a bit intimidated by the whole process. I went to a local scrapbook store and they showed me how to use them. The ribbon is only tied around the front cover for asthetic purposes. The font you will need is MS Gothic and Anabella. I liked utilizing the two fonts for a more modern twist on a traditional item. I also used justified paragraph formatting and enlarged some words. Going for a modern, unique look.
Our guitarist (Terry Muska)for the wedding was so talented and wonderful to work with. We chose classic pieces common forweddings. The guitar provided unique sound more fitting to the historic church. Terry's website; http://www.terrymuska.com
Our wedding party was very small. We chose to not have any ushers. This is one of the groomsmen escorting the MOG.
Our florist filled the church with candles. This is the arrangement on the alter.
We just loved Pastor Don Duncan. He is the pastor at Church of Life, just outside San Antonio. We got to know him very well, which made the ceremony that much more personal.He does like to do a few counseling sessions with each couple, and was very flexible with us since we lived out of town.
We wrote our own vows. I was so nervous; I had to use notes to remember. My DH surprised me by having his memorized. This truly made the ceremony very romantic.
At this moment I was walking on air.
The petals cones were a snap to make. I found it easier to use two very light weight pieces of scrapbook paper to achieve the dual colors and still roll wrinkle-free.
All I have to say, blotting powder by MAC is the best. It was so hot; I was shiny before the ceremony even started.
Anne Marie Photography is the best photographers to work with. I barely noticed them taking some of the shots they got and they were all over the place. I would HIGHLY recommend them.
On our way to the reception, we had to make a stop. With the ceremony complete, everyone was relaxed and ready to celebrate.
Off to the reception!
This is a picture collage our photographers put together of some of the reception details.
This is a view of our Guest Book table in the foyer of the cocktail space.
The martini ice luge for the signature drink. Our signature drink was apple martinis and a green margarita. I would recommend having a bartender stationed at it the whole time or have it immediately next to the bar. A lot of our guests didn’t know what to do with it.
I just fell in love with the chargers. I found them at the Z Gallerie. The orange glass was absolutely perfect. With only 75 guests, I opted to pre-set each escort card at a place setting. I created the escort cards in PowerPoint utilizing the same swirl pattern as the programs.
Our menu cards: created in PowerPoint. The hardest part was trying to get a true apple green color to match the table linens as close as possible. They were printed on a medium weight pearlized cardstock found at a scrapbook store.
Lounge area in the cocktail hour space. Love the use of the tangerine and green silk pillows.
Love this pic! Although, can not remember when the photographers took our rings to get this shot.
We were introduced and immediately went into our first dance.
We took dance lessons with Enrique at The Dance Place in Houston.
I just love this picture of my MOH with her boyfriend.
After our first dance, DH danced with his mother to
This is just soo darn adorable!
DH's brother gave this incredibly touching speech that described how he always wanteda sister and during a morning walk with me discovered I was that sister. Completely made me cry!
Cheers!
Before cutting the cake, DH thanked all our guests for traveling to our wedding. Surprising even me, he described to everyone how we met (online). The described the firsttime we met and how he'd given me engraved champagne flutes. Which, two years later, we are toasting with at our wedding.
The cake was a last minute decision as our mothers really wanted us to have one. We served a desert trio of cheesecake, sorbet and chocolate mouse.
While the cake was being served, we went upstairs to change. DH switched into a black suite with a silk green tie that matched my purse and shoes. I choose a silk taffeta mermaid dress by Liancarlo (style #3821). After being in the ball gown in the heat, it felt great to put on something light and comfortable.
We were re-introduced into the reception. At this point we kicked off the dancing portionof the reception by dancing to a Cuban salsa song on the Miami Vice soundtrack. The whole thing was a big surprise as no one knew about the second dress or that we'd been taking dance lessons. The dress is by Liancarlo Style #3821, silk tafetta, very comfortable. The headpiece I madeusing a silk gardenia hair pin I found at Stein Martand ordered feathers from http://www.tonyhill.net/item499780.ctlg and used lots of hot glue.
This is actually a pretty funny picture. I'm dancing w/my BIL who is 6.6” and I am 5.0”. When he dances, he scrunches way down. LOL!
The reception ended at 12:00AM with our last dance of the evening to Michael Buble’s, “Save the Last Dance”. There were about a dozen of us that went out until 3:00AM on the River Walk. The whole day was a dream come true!
The shoes are by Nine West, purchased in June of 07 at Macys. I added broochesto give them some bling.
I just love this picture. I only wish you couldn’t see that the dress was slightly big as I lost weight the last few weeks before the wedding.
Framed note to sit in front of card box on the guest book table. Frane is 4"x6".
Here's an example of the inserts for the program. Displayed is the inside cover page and the Thank you page. I wanted to show the type set style I was going with. Please excuse the one sheet that is in black ink.
Final design for the escort cards. It is a orange pearlized cardstock 8"x3.5" scored in half. It is the same cardstock you can get from Envelopments. I purchased it from Micheals Crafts for 0.99/sheet.
I decided to order our RD invites from Paper Trousseau. I did however, made my own envelope liners. I used a thin sheet of scrapbook paper purchased from Archivers in Katy. I traced my template by using the envelope. It's super simple and easy. Nice touch to a plain envelope.
I made these up for fun since half our guests have never been to Texas. It's a Texas Lingo card. It will go in the OOT Baskets.
Menu Option #1 - more of a contemporary look. Will make the headers a script font to match programs
Menu option #2. This option really has spark and is definitely different. There are clear crystals in the centerpiece arrangements and we will have a pin light over each centerpiece. I thought this menu on the glass charger would look dynamic. Or, it could look cheesey...not sure!
Paesano's on the River Walk. Location for RD dinner.
Still considering a boat taxi to pick up the guests from the rehearsal and take them to the rehearsal dinner.
Finished product of the Welcome packet that will go inside the OOT Basket. I used 12"x12" card stock to make a pocket. Inside the pocket are maps, wedding info and brochures for area attractions.
Menu option #1 - will print on a pearlized white cardstock.
Engagement pics .... just a few of our favorites. Our engagements were taken in downtown Houston by a local photographer. Craig with Studio 563 was so much fun to work with. Well worth the money.
Wedding ring with custom fit band. Diamonds and sapphires. I love the antique design. Tacori is the designer. 05.16.07 Revised signature drink card #1 First attempt at wrapping out Send-Off favors. The box is a 6x6x4" box. Inside the box is a hand painted coffee mug, Flavor of San Antonio Coffee and a 4" Almond biscotti. We plan to include a hand written note thanking each guest for attending and wishing them safe travels home. 05.16.07 Revised signature drink card #2 05.28.07 - Added some Epics to the Welcome Letter. Love how it turned out! Welcome Letter was created on Word just by using a lot of text boxes, boarders and a lot of patience to get it all to fit and space out right. I will print page one and then put it back through the printer to print the page 2 on the backside. It's a simple way to get 2 sided sheets. Our printer is an inkjet. I found that it was best to use card stock in 100lb. vs. a brochure paper where the ink smudged. 2nd revision of our Welcome letter for the OOT. Pg. 1 2nd Revision of Welcome letter for OOT. Pg. 2 Card box for the guest sign-in table. It's actually a square vase from Z Gallerie. I will have a small silver frame in front; src="http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7KPfrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQGxPQnxGGGxv8uOc5xQQQ0GQGJ0GQnnqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPG0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442"> Calligraphy example on the white shipping paper that will cover the outside of the invitation box for shipping. I found out calligraphy is not a skill I can develop in a short time. I used white craft paper from Hobby Lobby and cut strips wide and long enough to wrap the boxes. I then printed off the addresses in Word and traced them onto the craft paper using a light box. The light box can be found at Hobby Lobby for 39.00. FOR SALE: $25.00 Erica Koesler Comb.....will wear for the ceremony. I love it soo much! My "Something Blue". Will be stitched into the skirt of my ballgown. Will request it be stitched with baby blue thread. Ordered from Ebay Seller: queblessed3x. Erica Koesler comb - view of it in my hair. Attempted to photograph veil. It's an ivory, angel cut, cathedral veil with a blusher. Trimmed in silk satin. Will sell after the wedding for $125.00 (includes shipping) Had the veil custom made by Louise Blum in Houston. BM gifts. Monogrammed robe (ebay seller: punkydoodlemonogramshop), tote bag (ebay seller: alfej2005), spa slippers (Liz Claiborne from Macys), earrings, necklace (jewelry is Monet from Macys)and Burt's Bees Nail and Toe spa kit. Hair style possibilities #1 Hair style #2 Hair style #3 Hair style #4 Crate & Barrel votives. Purchased 40 in the orange. Will have them intermixed with the florist's centerpieces on the reception tables. Will sell after the wedding for 0.75/each. Love the color and texture. Love the color and chair decoration. Accent lighting = except will use oranges and will have pin lights over each centerpiece. We will have square tables and chargers. Ceiling draping. Ours will be in a sheer organza soft apple green color. Ceiling draping - inspiration for colored fabric. Lounge area will be set up in cocktail room and also a few pieces on the edge of the dance floor with apple green and tangerine colored silk pillows. Custom water bottles. I designed the monogram in Word. Laminated the outside of the label to prevent ink from smudging. I then used a scrap booking glue to attach the labels. OOT Baskets. My fi is holding it closed. I am waiting for the twist ties and welcome tages to arrive. Making a Texas themed wrapper for the Hershey bar. Going to add a few "Texas" themed items still. Our Texas themed candy bar wrapper I created in PowerPoint. I could have purchased the candy bars online with a similar wrapper, but wanted to save 2.99. I printed the wrappers on a pearlized scrapbook paper and will seal around the candy bar by using phototape on the ends. Back of wrapper. Added some hunerous details. Copied the bar code off the internet by doing a simple search in Yahoo under yahoo images. Super simple! Second view of OOT baskets. Our Save the Date. Our guests loved them. Initially, some thought we had sent them airline tickets. LOL! Please page me on the dress or reception board if you are interested in receiving the template. The hardest part was cutting the round corners. Inside of invitations once wrapped with logo sticker Outside of invitation box with decorative wrap and guest name label. RSVP envelope - I stamped the swirl to give a little extra detail. The envelopes looked to plain. Our invitations. The cards were designed by Invitation Solutions in Houston. The cardstock is actually a pearlized light apple green (called serpentine). The boxes I ordered from Paper Source (2.00 each, size A7). The ribbon is from Nashville Wraps and the tissue paper is from Target. I will wrap the outside of the boxes in white craft paper and calligraphy the addresses on the paper using a lightbox. Boxes purchased at Paper-source.com. You can find similar flourish patters at www.houseoflime.com. Program idea. Love these fans. I would love to pass these out to the guests at the church as it will be hot in August. First attempt at petal cone assembly in box. Box is from The Container Store $34.99 (has a lid, great for stoarge use later). I'm still not sure where they cones will be placed at the reception, if they are displayed on the guest sign in table, I think it would look better to find something a bit more contemporary to match vase which cards will go in. Will fill the bottom of the box with crystal and green glass beads to help cones stand up. Will use orange petals. Petal cones I made using card stock. FONT>
Wedding ring with custom fit band. Diamonds and sapphires. I love the antique design. Tacori is the designer.
05.16.07 Revised signature drink card #1
First attempt at wrapping out Send-Off favors. The box is a 6x6x4" box. Inside the box is a hand painted coffee mug, Flavor of San Antonio Coffee and a 4" Almond biscotti. We plan to include a hand written note thanking each guest for attending and wishing them safe travels home.
05.16.07 Revised signature drink card #2 05.28.07 - Added some Epics to the Welcome Letter. Love how it turned out! Welcome Letter was created on Word just by using a lot of text boxes, boarders and a lot of patience to get it all to fit and space out right. I will print page one and then put it back through the printer to print the page 2 on the backside. It's a simple way to get 2 sided sheets. Our printer is an inkjet. I found that it was best to use card stock in 100lb. vs. a brochure paper where the ink smudged. 2nd revision of our Welcome letter for the OOT. Pg. 1 2nd Revision of Welcome letter for OOT. Pg. 2 Card box for the guest sign-in table. It's actually a square vase from Z Gallerie. I will have a small silver frame in front; src="http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7KPfrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQGxPQnxGGGxv8uOc5xQQQ0GQGJ0GQnnqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPG0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442"> Calligraphy example on the white shipping paper that will cover the outside of the invitation box for shipping. I found out calligraphy is not a skill I can develop in a short time. I used white craft paper from Hobby Lobby and cut strips wide and long enough to wrap the boxes. I then printed off the addresses in Word and traced them onto the craft paper using a light box. The light box can be found at Hobby Lobby for 39.00. FOR SALE: $25.00 Erica Koesler Comb.....will wear for the ceremony. I love it soo much! My "Something Blue". Will be stitched into the skirt of my ballgown. Will request it be stitched with baby blue thread. Ordered from Ebay Seller: queblessed3x. Erica Koesler comb - view of it in my hair. Attempted to photograph veil. It's an ivory, angel cut, cathedral veil with a blusher. Trimmed in silk satin. Will sell after the wedding for $125.00 (includes shipping) Had the veil custom made by Louise Blum in Houston. BM gifts. Monogrammed robe (ebay seller: punkydoodlemonogramshop), tote bag (ebay seller: alfej2005), spa slippers (Liz Claiborne from Macys), earrings, necklace (jewelry is Monet from Macys)and Burt's Bees Nail and Toe spa kit. Hair style possibilities #1 Hair style #2 Hair style #3 Hair style #4 Crate & Barrel votives. Purchased 40 in the orange. Will have them intermixed with the florist's centerpieces on the reception tables. Will sell after the wedding for 0.75/each. Love the color and texture. Love the color and chair decoration. Accent lighting = except will use oranges and will have pin lights over each centerpiece. We will have square tables and chargers. Ceiling draping. Ours will be in a sheer organza soft apple green color. Ceiling draping - inspiration for colored fabric. Lounge area will be set up in cocktail room and also a few pieces on the edge of the dance floor with apple green and tangerine colored silk pillows. Custom water bottles. I designed the monogram in Word. Laminated the outside of the label to prevent ink from smudging. I then used a scrap booking glue to attach the labels. OOT Baskets. My fi is holding it closed. I am waiting for the twist ties and welcome tages to arrive. Making a Texas themed wrapper for the Hershey bar. Going to add a few "Texas" themed items still. Our Texas themed candy bar wrapper I created in PowerPoint. I could have purchased the candy bars online with a similar wrapper, but wanted to save 2.99. I printed the wrappers on a pearlized scrapbook paper and will seal around the candy bar by using phototape on the ends. Back of wrapper. Added some hunerous details. Copied the bar code off the internet by doing a simple search in Yahoo under yahoo images. Super simple!
2nd revision of our Welcome letter for the OOT. Pg. 1
2nd Revision of Welcome letter for OOT. Pg. 2
Card box for the guest sign-in table. It's actually a square vase from Z Gallerie. I will have a small silver frame in front;
src="http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7KPfrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQGxPQnxGGGxv8uOc5xQQQ0GQGJ0GQnnqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPG0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442"> Calligraphy example on the white shipping paper that will cover the outside of the invitation box for shipping. I found out calligraphy is not a skill I can develop in a short time. I used white craft paper from Hobby Lobby and cut strips wide and long enough to wrap the boxes. I then printed off the addresses in Word and traced them onto the craft paper using a light box. The light box can be found at Hobby Lobby for 39.00. FOR SALE: $25.00
Erica Koesler Comb.....will wear for the ceremony. I love it soo much!
My "Something Blue". Will be stitched into the skirt of my ballgown. Will request it be stitched with baby blue thread. Ordered from Ebay Seller: queblessed3x.
Erica Koesler comb - view of it in my hair.
Attempted to photograph veil. It's an ivory, angel cut, cathedral veil with a blusher. Trimmed in silk satin. Will sell after the wedding for $125.00 (includes shipping) Had the veil custom made by Louise Blum in Houston.
BM gifts. Monogrammed robe (ebay seller: punkydoodlemonogramshop), tote bag (ebay seller: alfej2005), spa slippers (Liz Claiborne from Macys), earrings, necklace (jewelry is Monet from Macys)and Burt's Bees Nail and Toe spa kit.
Hair style possibilities #1
Hair style #2
Hair style #3
Hair style #4
Crate & Barrel votives. Purchased 40 in the orange. Will have them intermixed with the florist's centerpieces on the reception tables. Will sell after the wedding for 0.75/each.
Love the color and texture.
Love the color and chair decoration.
Accent lighting = except will use oranges and will have pin lights over each centerpiece.
We will have square tables and chargers.
Ceiling draping. Ours will be in a sheer organza soft apple green color.
Ceiling draping - inspiration for colored fabric.
Lounge area will be set up in cocktail room and also a few pieces on the edge of the dance floor with apple green and tangerine colored silk pillows.
Custom water bottles. I designed the monogram in Word. Laminated the outside of the label to prevent ink from smudging. I then used a scrap booking glue to attach the labels.
OOT Baskets. My fi is holding it closed. I am waiting for the twist ties and welcome tages to arrive. Making a Texas themed wrapper for the Hershey bar. Going to add a few "Texas" themed items still.
Our Texas themed candy bar wrapper I created in PowerPoint. I could have purchased the candy bars online with a similar wrapper, but wanted to save 2.99. I printed the wrappers on a pearlized scrapbook paper and will seal around the candy bar by using phototape on the ends.
Back of wrapper. Added some hunerous details. Copied the bar code off the internet by doing a simple search in Yahoo under yahoo images. Super simple!
Second view of OOT baskets.
Our Save the Date. Our guests loved them. Initially, some thought we had sent them airline tickets. LOL! Please page me on the dress or reception board if you are interested in receiving the template. The hardest part was cutting the round corners.
Inside of invitations once wrapped with logo sticker
Outside of invitation box with decorative wrap and guest name label.
RSVP envelope - I stamped the swirl to give a little extra detail. The envelopes looked to plain.
Our invitations. The cards were designed by Invitation Solutions in Houston. The cardstock is actually a pearlized light apple green (called serpentine). The boxes I ordered from Paper Source (2.00 each, size A7). The ribbon is from Nashville Wraps and the tissue paper is from Target. I will wrap the outside of the boxes in white craft paper and calligraphy the addresses on the paper using a lightbox. Boxes purchased at Paper-source.com. You can find similar flourish patters at www.houseoflime.com.
Program idea.
Love these fans. I would love to pass these out to the guests at the church as it will be hot in August.
First attempt at petal cone assembly in box. Box is from The Container Store $34.99 (has a lid, great for stoarge use later). I'm still not sure where they cones will be placed at the reception, if they are displayed on the guest sign in table, I think it would look better to find something a bit more contemporary to match vase which cards will go in. Will fill the bottom of the box with crystal and green glass beads to help cones stand up. Will use orange petals.
Petal cones I made using card stock. FONT>