Natural Beauty

As I think more about how I want to look on our big day, I know I've got a long way to go. I've got to lose about 40 pounds, grow my hair at least another 6 inches and keep my random face breakouts at bay. So my game plan for achieving my healthy hair, skin and body goals is as follows:

1. Take a multivitamin every day. Knowing me, it'll be every 3rd day or something, but I will incorporate it into my schedule so that it becomes a habit.

2. Drink more water! According to my current body weight I should be drinking 95 ounces of water a day. I'll take baby steps with this one because that's a lot of water!


3. I'm naturally inclined to eat healthy foods...but as I get older and life gets more hectic I find myself opting for quick fixes for lunch and dinner. I will make time to prepare healthy and wholesome foods for the whole family. No more sodas! More veggies! And I'm going back to a pork and beef free lifestyle. I was at my healthiest weight and in the best shape of my life when I cut out oink and moo.


4. As far as the hair goes...I'm cutting out the heat and going back to deep conditioning on a weekly basis. since it's getting cooler outside there shouldn't be an issue with styling since my hair tends to get static-y and more unmanageable during the winter. The solution for that is to keep it in a bun or up all the time.


5. I have a bad habit of doing a face palm when stuff goes awry. Hands are generally germy and dirty so all of those germs and crap get on my face and break me out. So as hard as it may be to come up with a new reaction to dramatic situations...I've got to stop touching my face!!


6. Oh yea...I'm quitting alcohol too. No more wine, beers, or margaritas. Most alcohol is empty calories and until I get my weight under control I can cut out these completely useless calories and instead drink some pomegranate or cranberry juice or even sparkling water.

Shall we R.S.V.P.??

We need to create our Save the Dates and begin the process of ordering invitations. I'm not really a hardcore old-school Calligraphy fan, so I downloaded some different types of script font and I've been playing around with them in Word. I suppose it's a bit too early to send out the Save the Date cards...but the date will be October 16, 2009. Be expecting the cards around the beginning of Spring!

I need to find out some good ways to save on invitations since they can be so expensive. I know we'll be printing our own envelopes and we are still completely clueless on the actual design of the invites.

Mmm...Sweets!

So I love the idea of a sweets bar at the reception. I know it's probably so cliche...but I don't care. I have found a place to get apothecary jars inexpensively and they have a great variety. I will disclose my secret when I get my jars! I don't want them disappearing off the shelves before I can get to them!

What am I going to fill them with you ask? jelly beans, swirly sticks, and candies in the colors of the wedding. The jars will be accented with dark purple ribbons and labels. Time to make a trip to the M & M store in Times Square!!!

We also want to have personalized bottles of Jones Soda on our Sweets Bar, just to give it that real old candy store feel. Luckily, they come in our wedding colors!!

My Bouquet Inspirations

The wedding colors are going to be bright pink, orange, and violet with the green from the stems of the flower arrangements serving as a complement to the bold color palette.



If I could somehow get the elements from the 1st, 3rd, and 4th with the dark purple calla lilies on the 2nd...I'd be so happy!

"My Inner Bride"

I created her on The Knot



It was fun...create yours too!

Location, Location!

So we've got some places in mind for where we want the ceremony and reception to be. Neither of us attends religious services nor are we affiliated with any particular church. While I am fascinated with the beauty of Catholic churches...I haven't been active in church since I was 5...so we've been looking at locations that are conducive to both a non-denominational ceremony and a reception. Our top choices are:

Atlanta Botanical Garden


Glendalough Manor


The Georgia Aquarium

I came across this site and I'm in love with these veils. It's called Unvelied Bridal Designs and the designs are beautiful!

http://www.unveiledbridaldesigns.com/index.html

I forgot to mention that I already have my gown...well one of them. I want another one for the reception so that I can dance and move around without a bunch of dress attached to me. I'll have to upload a picture because the dress is considered vintage now and I can't find it online anywhere! It's a beautiful gown though and I searched high and low to find it! Now I have to drop two dress sizes to fit it. No worries though. 8 is my regular size...12 is my...um...now size.

Here is my gown...

An Introduction of Sorts

Hi! I'm Elle and I'm getting married! After being together for 4 years...he finally popped the question (October 17, 2009). It was really nice. After a ride on the Staten Island Ferry he insisted that we go to Battery Park and get some pretzels. Me being the glutton I am was all gung ho about pretzels (pretzel dogs to be exact). So we walk into the park and I don't see or smell evidence of a pretzel stand. Just the usual Statue of Liberty impersonators and vendors selling pics of random stuff...and those guys who come up to you and whisper "I got Coach purses, Louis bags..."

We kept walking toward the waterfront and there were lots of people walking around talking and laughing and taking pictures. We sat down on a park bench and he asked me if I wanted some Hot Tamales...again being the glutton I am and feeling jilted for not finding pretzels, I replied with an enthusiastic "Yea!" He asked me how many and I said three or four. While waiting patiently for my candy, I asked him to pull out my trusty "Let's Go New York" book, to find our next venture. He pulls out the book and goes to hand it to me and drops it on the ground. I was like "smooth move ex-lax, " and he bends down to get the book...but on one knee...with a box in his hand. He opens the box and asks the question. me being the dote I am replied with an "aww it's so pretty!" and he asks again..."so is it a yes?" I said yes and we hugged and that was that! We went on to enjoy the rest of our trip and now we are knee deep in wedding planning and I figured I'd blog about it so I don't forget what I like and what we've planned and to give a realistic view of what it's like to plan a wedding.