ChristyDanBioUpdate
***Warning: There is music playing in my bio, either turn speakers off or click pause on playlist.***




Monogram designed by knottie Danialle and FI


Courtesy of Sheila (etsy seller asimpleimpression)

Wood Plaque made by Etsy seller asimpleimpression

Below pic shows true colors


Love~~Laughter~~Friendship
"We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh"-Agnes Repplier

Looking for my wedding bio?  Click here

***If you see something of yours that I have not credited you for,
please page me on the nest NorthDakota board or email me at christylovesdan@mac.com***
Likewise, if you borrow any of my pictures please credit me.  Thank you!

 
 

Quick Links

Our Story ~~  The Proposal  ~~  The Ring
Ring Holder  ~~  The Location  ~~  Our Villas
Our STDs  ~~  Our Invitations  ~~  Our Stamps
Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue Ideas  ~~  The Aisle Runner   ~~  Bouquet Ideas
Ceremony & Reception Chair Decor Ideas  ~~  Table & Centerpiece Decor Ideas
Our Menu  ~~  The Cake  ~~  Cake Serving Set
The Hairstyle  ~~ Makeup Ideas  ~~  Card for FI Idea  ~~  FI's wedding gift
The Guestbook  ~~  The Favors  ~~  The Welcome Baskets
Our Wedding Bands  ~~  The Photographer  ~~  The Wedding Gown  ~~  Shoes
The Grooms Attire  ~~  AHR  ~~  AHR Invites
AHR Table Decor  ~~  Shoe Signing  ~~  AHR Cake
Candy Buffet
AHR Guestbook Idea  ~~  Memory Table Idea
TY card Idea  ~~  Our "Kids"
                

~~~Girl meets Boy~~~

   Dan and I met in 1996, while in high school, I was a Junior and he was a Sophomore.  We shared a class together.  He says when he first saw me walk into the classroom, he thought to himself "I could marry that girl".  His best friend and I actually started "talking" before Dan could ask me out, but Dan and I ended up hanging out together, going to the movies etc.  One day, while at his bestfriends house they decided to give me a call, but Dan asked if he could dial my phone number for him and at that time he memorized my phone number (very sneaky).  Later that weekend, I was surprised when I got a call from Dan and we ended up just talking for hours.  That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship!  From that moment we were just friends and be came bestfriends as we talked for hours on the phone and at school (passing notes to each other in the halls).  Occasionally, he would pick me up and we would go to the movies or out to eat.  One night while heading to the movies he played the song, "I'm The One Who Loves You" by Curtis Mayfield, but I was oblivious to the fact that he was playing the song for me.  His bestfriend and I ended up not dating (and it wasn't because of Dan).  Fortunately, Dan and I continued our friendship.  Awhile later, he began to "talk" to some girl and I began to feel a little jealous.  After crying to my mom, I realized that I really cared about him more than just as a friend.  Fortunately, he felt the same way!  One night after the movies, we were in his car chatting it up like we always did, but this time we turned to each other and kissed!  It felt so right!  You would think we would have began dating immediately, but a week later after giving it some thought (I was afraid that if it didn't work out I would not only be losing a boyfriend, but my bestfriend) I agreed to date him.  And after 11 years we're still together (no breaks)!

  ~~~The Early Years~~~


  
~~~The Proposal~~~

Dan proposed on December 11, 2006.  We had just bought a new car and we had discussed (before we purchased the car) that the engagement ring would most likely have to be put on hold because of the cost of the car and our budget because we had just purchased a house. I told him I was okay with that but deep down inside I was like WTH! Well, one day he came home from lunch and told me to get something from the glove compartment because he needed to read something about the car. And me being so stubborn I told him he could just get it before he headed back to work and he said "Just go and get it, its not what you think" (even though my mind wasn't even going there, I thought he had bought something for the car). So I went out to the garage, to the car and opened the glove compartment, then he told me to open the owner's book, so I did. I saw the ring and yet I still couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. I think I kept saying, "What's going on?!, What's going on?!".  It didn't seem real.
I was so not expecting it! Then, I burst into tears! Dan grabbed the ring, got down on one knee and proposed. And through my tears I managed to say yes!

       
These were taken at FIL's house a few hours after he proposed.
    
~~~~The Ring~~~~
(Asscher Cut Solitaire on a Platinum band)

We had gone ring browsing when we lived in Cali.
I always wanted a princess cut diamond, but after
trying it on I realized it didn't look good on my hand.
I tried on the cushion cut diamond (pillow cut) & the asscher cut diamond (square emerald cut).
I liked them both, but loved the asscher cut just a bit more.  
I didn't tell FI which I liked best, but he obviously
picked the perfect diamond (the clarity is awesome)!

~~~~Ring Holder~~~~
Thanks to the lovely knottie redshoegirl, I found this beauty.
We ordered this porcelain ring orb from
Scarlett Alley.
They were made by Everyday Artifact.
It comes with a copper rim and blue interior.

Because we won't have a ringbearer FI will carry our rings in this orb.
Just some members of the "ring orb club"--redshoegirl, myday1708, TheFutureQueen, Jap-rish wedding






~~~~The Location~~~~
Ravello, Italy


Ravello is situated in a splendid panoramic position,
on a rocky spur astride the Dragon's and Reginna's Valleys. 

    Built on a rock high 350 meters from the cliffs off the Coast of Amalfi,
it is positioned higher than any of the Amalfi Coast towns and boasts exceptional landscapes.
The writer Andre Gide has given us a splendid description:
    "Ravello is nearer to the sky than it is to the shore".

~~~Ceremony & Reception Venue~~~


       

          

   

~~~Our Villas~~~

Ravello, Italy

The View from Villa & Outdoor Area


Entrance/Sitting Area/Dining Area

Cucina & Terrazza

Camera de Lettos (Bedrooms)

~~~Our guest villas~~~

#1

#2

~~~~Our Save-The-Dates~~~~
FI made them & they turned out fabulous!


~~~~STD Inspiration~~~~
Courtesy of knottie lisakeiko




~~~~Our Invitations~~~~
We ordered our chocolate brown boxes from Paper-Source

Outside of Invites


Inside of invites, bottom of invites have espresso beans!

Note: We blocked out our names and venue info.

~~~~Invitation Inspiration~~~~


Courtesy of knottie ilovemycoastie3



Courtesy of Miss Gummi Bear (weddingbee)




Courtesy of Jordan Ferney (weddingbee)



~~~~Our Stamps~~~~
We bought our stamps through Zazzle





~~~~Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue Ideas~~~~
Old--Parent's Wedding Arras 


New
--Dress/Shoes
 I've hinted to FI about something like this...
Courtesy of David Yurman


Borrowed--
FMIL's faux pearls to be wrapped around the base of my bouquet
and FSIL's 1 Euro piece for my shoe.  :-)

Blue---
Courtesy of knottie SecretlyEloped


or
I bought these through customizedgirl

 
~~~~My Garter & Dress Label~~~~
Made by Shelli Moon from The Garter Maker
Love how they turned out!


~~~~The Aisle Runner~~~~
Made by StephieDorr.
Love it!
The pink is a bit darker than what the picture shows.
Stephie ROCKS!  
Courtesy of StephieDorrDesigns



The detail of the flourish is fantastic!



~~~~Bouquet Ideas~~~~
but will likely not get anywhere to close to this look because
the flowers that are in them, will not be available for that time of year.
 
    Courtesy of the Knot


bouquet includes: roses, calla lilies, dahlias, ranunculus


bouquet includes: calla lilies, roses, dahlias, cymbidium orchids

The following bouquets are other ideas I love.  
I'm not holding my breath on the bouquet-
it may not even turn out this good.  






I will have chocolate brown ribbon wrapped around the stems of my bouquet.


Bouquet Photo Charms

ordered through Artbeads

Courtesy of knottie mrspinkpeony

I will have pics of my "kids".


~~~~Ceremony & Reception Chair Decor Ideas~~~~

Love these chair sashes, but will likely keep the look in the above ceremony location pic
Courtesy of knottie bbarro1




Florist quoted us an outrageous price for this look, so
we are not having flowers behind the reception chairs.

Courtesy of the Knot




~~~Table & CenterPiece Decor Ideas~~~
Love the look of floating candles...

Courtesy of Sol Tamargo



Courtesy of knottie jmarsh1180


But because the Amalfi Coast is known for their lemons,
we'd like to have lemons incorporated into our centerpiece decor
and will be going for more of this look

Courtesy of the Knot












And I hope to have a table runner made in time!


~~~Placecard Idea~~~
We're doing this.

Courtesy of the Knot


Courtesy of knottie mrs.kennedy



~~~~Our Menu~~~~
Designed by my lovely FI
 

~~~~The Cake~~~~
We have chosen to have a Millefoglie
**Millefoglie is the Italian version of the French millefeuille--ours
will have flaky pastry interlayered with rich crema chantilly
with strawberries and chocolate***

Pic courtesy of knottie bicicletta





~~~~The Cake Topper~~~~
Made by etsy seller oilpainta
I just love how our cake topper turned out.
Having Baby Dan & Sissy on there makes it even more special!
   


~~~~Table Runner~~~~
Made by StephieDorr.
The border on the runner looks more purple than the picture shows so I will have that removed.
Our cake will be set on it.

Courtesy of  StephieDorrDesigns




~~~Cake Serving Set~~~



It came out a little darker than I was hoping for,
but is still very pretty!
We ordered it from Julie's Practical Art

~~~~HairStyle Ideas~~~~
Love these looks, but I have this thing about my ears so will likely wear it down

Most hairstyles courtesy of the Knot






Pic on Left Courtesy of knottie mrspdxbride06
 

Will likely go for this look




Hair Trial Pics
 
 

~~~Makeup Ideas~~~










Courtesy of Mac cosmetics



~~~Card Idea for FI~~~
Courtesy of knottie mrs.kennedy
Except of course it would be with our two "kids"!  He'd love it!



~~~FI's wedding gift~~~
I'm going to give FI cufflinks with our "kids" pic on them!
He's going to love them.
Courtesy of redenvelope.com


~~~~Guestbook Idea~~~~
Cute idea, but wouldn't want bottle to break during shipment back to the states.
Courtesy of the Knot


So we're going to have our guests sign postcards from Italy!
Courtesy of knottie djrs



~~~~Favors Idea~~~~
We're going to go with the Italian tradition of
5 Jordan Almonds in little organza bags signifying
health, wealth, happiness, fertility, & longevity.

We need to make similar tags for ours



~~~~Welcome Boxes~~~~

What it will include:
Olive Oil, Olives/Olive Pate, Homemade Traditional Biscuits and Italian Chocolate Cream (like nutella),
welcome letter, translation pamphlet, postcards of Ravello, photoshare card,
wedding day timeline, wedding week timeline

 

Loved these cute gable boxes
Courtesy of knottie jmarsh1180
 


But instead went with a kraft bag with one of our monograms on them!




The finished bags!








~~~Photoshare Card~~~
Designed by the fabulous knottie Danialle





~~~Our Wedding Bands~~~

Courtesy of Tiffany



~~~The Photographer~~~

Local Italian Photographer

~~~~Wedding Gown~~~~
After 2 months of searching; 8 boutiques, and 42 gowns later I found
my gown!!  
This was not a gown I was even looking into.  
I just happened to come across it, while I was gathering gowns to try on from my list of
'Dresses I Must Try On'.
There it was on a mannequin pleading with me to try it on   
and I'm so glad that I did!

Audrey Hart 7269


1st day I tried the gown on
 



 

After Alterations
Seamstress created a sweetheart neckline, french bustle, hemmed and took the dress in a lot!
They also made me a veil!
Even though my face doesn't show it in any of the pics, I LOVE IT!
Now only if I can stay this weight until April 28th!  








Love the bustle!


I just love it!


Nice bootie shot Mom.  


Where my dress label will be placed so that I can easily show others!


~~~~Shoes~~~~
I have a feeling finding the perfect shoe is going to take me
longer than deciding on my gown.
Here are a just a couple of pics I've gathered so far.
I'd love to have some bling on my shoes!
I will most likely wear ivory heels for the ceremony in Italy
and wear pink shoes for the AHR in Houston.

Colorffics-Desire (Ivory)
Right now these are my #1 shoes,
wasn't in love with the bling on the shoe--
so I removed it and placed some gorgeous clip-on earrings in its place!
 

Nina-Ettora
Love these shoes, but can't find them anywhere


Gracie-Crystal
Ordered these, but they were not nearly as cute on as they are in the picture



JCrew-Lucie Heels (Platinum Gold)



Jimmy Choo-Reza (from the Cruise05 collection)
obviously unavailable and I believe the color is really a coral so they wouldn't
have worked anyways, but I love the style.


JCrew -Lucie Heels (StrawberryIce)



JCrew-Gwendolyn Satin T-Straps (Soft Azalea)




Nina- Giana (Antique Lavender)





And I just love these Manolo's!
A girl can dream!
Courtesy of knottie DoraBride07
 

~~~My Earrings~~~
And I thought finding my shoes were difficult.
I never thought finding and deciding on earrings would be
so tough!

Pic courtesy of & made by etsy seller opheliax



~~~Wrap Idea~~~
Thinking about getting a pink pashmina for the cool night
Courtesy of thepashminastore.com




Pics courtesy of knottie mrs.kennedy





~~~The Grooms Attire~~~
FI will be wearing a dinner jacket


Pics courtesy of knottie mrs.kennedy




~~~At Home Reception~~~

Monogram made by knottie bunnybride0108
FI changed color of pink.

When:
Sunday, May 25th
(memorial day weekend)

Location:
Italian Restaurant with Authentic Pizzas!



 If we had AHR STD's
these would be a cute idea
Courtesy of instyleweddings.com


Courtesy of knottie tossedrice via knottie toolongengagmnt


~~~AHR Invite Idea~~~
Invites are in!
Pics coming soon

~~~AHR Table Decor Ideas~~~
Courtesy of the Knot
Either have pics of us from our past or use postcards from Italy


Courtesy of knottie jmarsh1180

We would have pics of us together from 1996-2008

~~~Shoe Signing~~~
Courtesy of marthastewart.com

Cute idea...
Try a who-will-marry-next tradition that Turkish brides have been practicing
for generations. Before you start down the aisle, have your single bridesmaids
(or any female friends or relatives who've yet to marry) autograph the sole of your bridal shoe.
After you've danced the night away (and tossed your bouquet),
legend has it that the person whose name has faded the most will be the next to marry.

~~~AHR Cake Ideas~~~
The look we're going for


And the groom's cake will be designed like luggage.
We've ordered our cakes from Cakes by Gina


Love these Cake Boxes...
Courtesy of knottie mrs.kennedy


~~~DIY Card Box Idea~~~


~~~~Candy Buffet~~~~
We're thinking about having one at our AHR
We'd have a sign that read La Dolce Vita (the sweet life)

Courtesy of knottie classy1


Unknown source


Courtesy of knottie bhc


Courtesy of fuzzydream




~~~~Guestbook Idea~~~~
We would love to have a photobooth at our AHR


Guests could take their pic in the booth & write something in the guestbook!




but we will likely go with a less expensive route...and still very cute!



~~Parent's/Grandparent's Weddings/Memory Table~~
Courtesy of the Knot




~~GOBO lighting~~
Courtesy of knottie mrspinkpeony





~~~~Thank You Card Ideas~~~~

Courtesy of knottie Stellablue96



Courtesy of knottie KadySuu



Courtesy of knottie janineb


Courtesy of knottie zoegirlTX


~~~~HoneyMoon~~~~
Potential HoneyMoon locations--
Well since we'll be in Europe for our wedding, we're definitely going to take advantage
of it and we're spending 3 weeks in Europe!
Before we get to the Amalfi Coast we will spend
two nights in Paris with my parents.
After the wedding:
First stop will be Amalfi (staying one night there and then going up to
Pompeii and then to Naples to enjoy the best pizza in the world!)
Second stop will be Rome
Third stop, we're back in Paris with a couple of nights in London!
We're staying at a friend of the family's apartment in Paris and saving tons of money!

~~~~Our "Kids"~~~~

Our babies are siblings and are 11 years old.
My mom has their mom "Weena".
They were born 19 days after Dan & I started dating.
They are a chihuahua-mix.

  
Sissy aka Rooster (Our Princess)



Baby Dan (Our Baby Boy)



   

~~~~Fun Xtras!~~~~
  I ordered it in white!
Courtesy of ShopIntuition






I ordered this tee--it was FREE with $5.95 shipping!
You need a promo code.

courtesy of bridalpartytees.com

This is a close-up of my shirt--it's not straight, but it'll do for a lounging/night shirt







 




~~~~Vendors~~~~
Coming Soon








 ~~Thanks for looking!~~      

   
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