Thankful v2

I am thankful for...

[+] A home that is ours. One that keeps us safe and warm. A roof over our heads. A place to create memories and relax with my little family. 

[+] A job that constantly challenges me with a company I take a lot of pride in. I have some pretty great coworkers, enjoy what I do most of the time and feel like I'm really contributing. 

[+] Our big, snuggly, perfectly sweet Ollie. Our lives are forever changed because of him and I couldn't imagine life without him. He's become pretty dang spoiled lately but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

[+] J and my health. I've seen too much sickness both serious and not-so-serious in my time preparing for medical school and I cannot imagine the struggle that some people go through with continuous, significant health problems.

[+] Family. In all meanings of the word. My immediate family sometimes has our issues but I would do a lot for them and hope they would for me too. I'm also beyond lucky to be gaining such an amazing family as my in-laws and not only J's immediate family but his cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, the whole bunch.

[+] Two amazing states that I can call home. California weather is pretty dang awesome throughout the year and being able to head to the cold in Colorado is definitely icing on the cake.

[+] My fiance. These last few months have been very stressful for both of us in different ways and to know that we are there to support each other 100% brings me so much joy. Plus he sure does bring a smile to my face. I would do anything for this man and I cannot wait to be his wife.

[+] That our wedding is in 36 short days. The time of our engagement has flown by and while it seems that my to-do list is constantly growing, I know that if nothing else goes right on that day walking away as J's wife and having him as my husband will be a success.

Tying the Knot: Our Wedding Party

There's something about our wedding party that just brings so much joy to my life and a huge smile to my face. J and I are beyond blessed to have these amazing people in our lives who are honoring us by standing by our sides on one of the biggest days of our life together.

Seriously, these eight are the best.

They are our best friends. Some we've known for what seems like forever while others are newer friends. We've shared endless memories J and I both hold dear to our hearts and I couldn't have dreamt of better people to share our day with us.

So here's a peak at our crazy, fun, loving, amazing, fantastic wedding party. Everyone in these pictures is part of our big day and each picture floods me with memories I'll cherish forever.

I'm predicting that our wedding is going to be a blast. These eight wouldn't allow it to be any different!

Tying the Knot: Our Formal Invites

Here is a the final product of our wedding invitations! They are 100% made by me (with J's help of course) and I couldn't be happier with them. Simplicity, streamline and to the point was exactly what I wanted for our invites and that is exactly what they are. 

Now onto some details about how they were made and what I used. The layout was created using PicMonkey and the fonts are Veranda and Coneria Script. Once the design was set I used Microsoft Word to print on A6 size paper. Both sets of card stock (white and navy) were purchased from Paper Source. The white is A6 (4x6) and the navy is A7 (5x7). I used my HP Photosmart Printer at our house to print all the invites and details cards.

J helped me mount the wording card on the navy card stock using rubber cement and I tied navy ribbon around each. Our details card was printed on white card stock as well and cut to 3x4 inch size. These were slipped underneath the ribbon on the back of the invite. I designed our monogram, seen below, using PicMonkey as well and it was placed on the top of the details card as well as our ceremony program for some consistency. 

They were mailed in white A7 envelopes also from Paper Source. I used Powerpoint to print out all guests' addresses (approximately 1x3 inches in size) and used my Xyron machine to create stickers out of each address. These were centered on the outside of the envelopes and finally they were stamped with our return address on the back flap.

If you would like more details about how I actually made them (like a step by step tutorial) I would be happy to do that, just leave a comment or send me an email! Once I figured out what I was doing and what my vision was for our invites the process was really very simple.

Tying the Knot: DIY Garters

STOP! If your name starts with a J and you are my fiance, do not read any further! 

J wants to know nothing about what I will be wearing/look like/have on me the day of our wedding and that includes my garters. But I wanted to share the project anyways! 

When it comes to garters I have mixed feelings. I like the goofy, party side of them. The new husband retrieving it from under layers of dress. The superstition that who ever catches it is next in line down the aisle. But on the other hand it's not something that I feel the need to spend a bunch of money on or quite frankly, keep as a memento after the wedding is over. So basically I knew I wanted one, knew I wanted it to somehow reflect either our wedding or our style but knew that I wasn't going to spend a significant amount of money just to put in a box somewhere later. All these things meant it was the DIY route for this girl again.

I picked up some pretty lace, one thinner than the other to serve as our toss garter. I got 2 yards of each because it was on sale and I didn't have a plan for it quite yet as I wandered around the store. I also picked up some elastic and some pretty embellishments that I figured I would incorporate somehow.

Once I got home I decided on a plan. I cut the lace 4 inches shorter than how much I needed to go around my whole leg. This would allow for the elastic to be added and make it tight enough. Since I was going to embellish it I decided to make each garter double layered with lace to make it more sturdy.

Using scrap pieces of fabric I already had at home I hot glued some rosettes and added in my bits of sparkle and pearls. Then I got sewing. Again for stability purposes I took a small square of plain white cotton, folded it in half, and then in half again and slid it between the two layers of lace. Even though I was zig-zag stitching I wanted to make sure there was enough to "grab onto" for the stitches to hold.

Each end of both types of lace got a similar treatment and then I attached the elastic. I stitched it back and forth quite a few times on one end first. Then I took the "very meticulous" route and slid it up my leg to determine how much elastic I'd need for it to fit right. I apologize there's not a better explanation for this step but I was sort of making it up as I went along. Once I figured out how much elastic I needed I repeated the sewing on the other side.

Now I had a circle of lace that needed some pretties. Using the same plain cotton I cut a strip just slightly narrower (is that a word?) and placed it between the two pieces of lace. Since I was hot gluing my rosettes to the lace I wanted to make sure they stuck completely and avoid hot glue burns from it seeping between the lace. Then I placed the rosettes where I wanted them, added extra sparkle and ta-da!

Custom bridal garters. And yes, our wedding colors are ivory, white and navy so I threw in the touch of orange for J's love of the Denver Broncos. I'm sure he'll appreciate finding some navy and orange under there!

Another item checked off the list with under 60 days to go!