Larisa & Nick 7/18/09 - invitation voted best of 2009!!

[camara381]

I'm with Meg! Where are you? We want to hear about all your plans.

 

[Bridora]

Come back!

 

[megsher]

I see you haven't been on in a while, but I just had to say hi. I saw your link in another post and clicked on it b/c you were honeymooning in July. Well how funny we are date and city twins. I am from Towson, but now live in NY. My fiance and I are getting married in Baltimore July 18th and then going to Disney July 19-26. Small world!!!!

 

[nickandlarisa]

Sorry guys for being MIA ... life and work and wedding planning have consumed me these past few months, but I'm still here! I will have to see where I left off and get some updates going ASAP!!

I do have a little more free time these days. One of my jobs is as a skating coach, and skating season never really ends but it is winding down now so my schedule isn't so chaotic. Other than that, one of the reasons I haven't been as excited to post these last few months is that everything is limbo right now and we aren't even 100% sure we can take our honeymoon (at least right after the wedding.) The reader's digest version of the story is that Nick just finished grad school and has been job hunting FOREVER! Obviously this is probably one of the worst times in our lifetimes to be looking for a job and it has been a slow and painful process. I am still very hopeful that something will work out, but as of now we have no idea where he will work, or where we will be living after the wedding. He is NY now, and I'm in MD, both living with our parents for the time being. The plan is for him to move down this way, but without a job that is kind of hard. He has several interviews lined up in the coming weeks, so I am hopeful.

So back the honeymoon, we are trying to be somewhat responsible and not spend money we may actually need to live off of in the coming months. I want to throw a fit like a 5 year old at the thought of not taking a honeymoon, but I contain myself and I'm grateful for all we have and I know that things will work out eventually.

Wedding planning has made major progress since my last post, and I PROMISE not to go missing again. It is nice to see the comments and know that I was missed. Its like having a little DIS family

I need to catch up now on what everyone else is doing. Some of the brides I was following are probably married already!!!

Glad to be back!
Larisa

 

[arbolita]

Welcome back!

What kind of job is he looking for? I can keep my ears open and let you know if I hear of something that I could pass along to you

 

[nickandlarisa]

Welcome back!

What kind of job is he looking for? I can keep my ears open and let you know if I hear of something that I could pass along to you

Thanks! Nick has a Master's in Atmospheric Science and he's looking for jobs in Meteorology or Forecasting. He also has computer programming experience so he's been applying to all sorts of positions. His undergrad was in Finance and he worked in that field for several years before going to grad school. Plan B is to maybe fall back on a Finance job.

 

[nickandlarisa]

I see you haven't been on in a while, but I just had to say hi. I saw your link in another post and clicked on it b/c you were honeymooning in July. Well how funny we are date and city twins. I am from Towson, but now live in NY. My fiance and I are getting married in Baltimore July 18th and then going to Disney July 19-26. Small world!!!!

I actually grew up in Towson before my family moved the Eastern Shore. It is a small world! Nick is from outside of Binghamton. Good luck with all of your planning, let me know if you have a PJ!

 

[nickandlarisa]

So many things to share, where do I begin?!?!

Shoes
These are called "Paige" from David's Bridal. I didn't see them when I got my dress, but later when we were looking for a dress for my mom. I had them dyed "Bridal Pearl" which is a very light ivory to match my dress. The shoe came bright white. They charge a whopping $3 to dye shoes! Nick is only about 2 inches taller than me so I didn't want to get a gigantic heel. Originally was going to go with a cute ballet slipper, but I needed about an inch of height for dress to be perfect in the length, plus I like feeling a little fancier with a slight heel. These were perfect and they are actually much cuter in person I think.

Cake
This is what I showed the bakery as the inspiration for what I want. I gave her some of the designs I've created (save the dates, etc.) so she can use some similar motifs in the design. The flavors will be strawberry shortcake, carrot cake, and a marble cake with raspberry and chocolate mousse. Depending on price we are also hoping to do little pastries and cookies.

Flowers
Ok use your imagination a little because I took this photo with my phone and the colors are not very accurate. The roses will all be garden roses, nice and full and open. I really wanted peonies. Every bouquet that I saw that I liked had peonies in it, but unfortunately they will not work in July. So the florist recommended the really full open roses that they are going to hand open or something to create that fluffy look I liked in the peonies. The roses are ivory, variegated (white and pink) and a mauve/purple. The baby's breath is sprayed aqua (our main wedding color). When she first told me about spraying the flowers I thought it sounded tacky but they look so good! Its not a solid coat, so some are lighter or darker shades of aqua and surprisingly it looks natural! I forget what the little purple flowers are called, but they are lavender in color with darker purple centers. The bridesmaid's bouquets will be similar to what's pictured, the stems will be wrapped in aqua ribbon, and there will be crystals around the wrapped stems and also larger crystals peeking out of the roses. My bouquet will be similar but bigger and with more ivory roses. Boutonnieres will be an ivory rose (I think its been a while since we met with the florist!) with the aqua baby's breath and purple (I think they might be called rice flowers) as accent. We are also doing two arrangements at church alter, and two swags on the church door. Plus a corsage for all the aunts and female cousins and a boutonniere for all the dads, grandfathers, etc. We aren't doing any flowers at the reception, I am making centerpieces which will be for a different post!

Jewelry
Last thing I have for tonight is my wedding day jewels. I decided to go with pearls. I'm not sure if I posted this before or not. Anyway, Nick gave me the earrings for Christmas, my parents gave me the necklace for my birthday. I was thinking that would be a wedding gift because its really really nice and way more than a typical birthday present so that was a very nice surprise last month for my b-day. I just turned 28 btw. The bracelet I hinted to Nick would be a nice wedding gift from him he could give me the day of as my something new. Everything came from Blue Nile and I would definitely recommend that company/site to anyone looking for fine jewelry.

Table Names
Ok one more thing. We ... I, decided to name the tables after fairytale places. I bought these picture frames, which I am going to paint gold, and make a sign for each with the name of the table.

Off the top of my head this is what I've come up with:

Neverland
Andalasia
Wonderland
Tortuga
The Briar Patch
Hundred Acre Wood
Pixie Hollow
The Laughing Place
The Enchanted Forest
Far Far Away
Under the Sea
Fantasia
Honah Lee
Shangri La
El Dorado
Sherwood Forest
Atlantis
Fantasyland
The Secret Garden
Oz
Camelot
Narnia
Utopia
The Shire
Adventureland
Candyland

Some of these are kind of stretch and I don't like all of them, I was just trying to brainstorm at this point. I'm still looking for ideas if you have any! We will have 15-19 tables I'm guessing.

Also I will have some kind of framed message on the place card table that reads ....

You are sure to find
familiar faces,
As you take your seat
at these fairytale places!

I made that up!

Oh, one more thing, this it for real ...

Bridal Shower Dress
I just ordered this online (from Victoria's Secret of all places to get a dress). It was on sale, plus 25% off one item, plus an additional $20 off, plus I had two gift cards! No idea how it will look on me but hopefully it will be a keeper! I do love pink! My shower is May 16th, it was going to be a surprise, but I had a hand in helping find the location so it worked out and I'm glad I know when to wear my dress! Also probably going to wear these shoes which I already had to wear to a wedding this summer.

So now I am starting to get caught up on sharing everything! There are few things I need to take photos of and I can give you another update soon. Working on the invitations now. Still need ideas for hair. Want to do part up part down, and curled somehow I think. My hair is long again, like it was in the engagement photos posted awhile ago. I'm also borrowing my friend's extensions she wore in her wedding last year. My hair is pretty thin and I just need the volume! I want big hair, in a non-80s kind of way if that makes sense, haha. Any hair ideas??

More to come soon ...

 

[nickandlarisa]

Ok one more quick update ... I'm on a roll!! These are our place card holders, in gold.

 

[arbolita]

I remember seeing that dress on the VS website - you'll have to let post after it comes in how it fits, because I pretty much love it also!

 

[MiaBella05]

subbing everything looks wonderful

 

[Angela0917]

Wow, everything looks great! I almost bought the same pair of shoes! I was between those and the "Makenzie" shoes, and ended up going with the "Makenzies"! Your table names are so cute too!!

 

[camara381]

Welcome Back! Great update. Love the shoes! The cake is beautiful can't wait to see the final product!!!

 

[pink_tink8i8]

I love your cake choice and the frames for the tables

 

[kcampbell]

Larisa-

Just wanted to tell you your wedding plans look beautiful! I just found this PJ tonight and love your story. I also had to tell you that I saw on your engagement announcements that your fiance is from Newark Valley! So random-- I'm from Vestal, NY! I love it..."It's a small world after all!"

Anyway, Congrats! You will have a beautiful wedding!

 

[nickandlarisa]

Larisa-

Just wanted to tell you your wedding plans look beautiful! I just found this PJ tonight and love your story. I also had to tell you that I saw on your engagement announcements that your fiance is from Newark Valley! So random-- I'm from Vestal, NY! I love it..."It's a small world after all!"

Anyway, Congrats! You will have a beautiful wedding!

It is a small world!! We just went to the Mens Warehouse in Vestal a few weeks ago to get the tuxes when I was there visiting for Easter!!! He is never going to believe that someone knew where Newark Valley is, haha. It is a beautiful area up there in NY!! I LOVE going to all of the wineries along the Finger Lakes!

 

[nickandlarisa]

So a little mini update, I just ordered custom stamps from Zazzle. I was debating whether or not to splurge on these, ah but why not!?! So this one is for the RSVP envelope included in the invitation package. I'm still not sure how much the invitation is going to weigh (they are in boxes!) so once I figure that out I may make something custom for the outside of the boxes, too.

 

[nickandlarisa]

Let me start by saying its 90 degrees here today! And I have a HUGE update for you!!

Wedding Band
Here are pictures of my wedding band, we had it custom made to go with my engagement ring. So first is the e-ring by itself.

Now this is the band that already existed to go with the e-ring.

And I wanted something a little fancier, so I was so lucky to be able to sit down with the designer and work out this idea. Now the band on its own is a little interesting, and I would probably never wear just this, but you can see what it looks like on its own.

Now when you put the two together, its stunning! They fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and the designs just compliment each other so well, I love it!

Centerpeices
I wanted to be crafty with these, and do something other than your typical flower arrangement. (Also wanted to save money!!!) So I was thinking about candles for some time and looking online for cheap candelabras, but nothing was really striking me. Then one day I was in Marshalls, I love that store!! They had these candle holders, only a few dollars each. Not very exciting as a black wrought iron look, but imagine them painted gold! There are 6 variations I think, some with 2, 3, 4, or 5 places for candles.

So the original plan was to do pillar candles on top of these, and maybe tea lights around the base. I was on the hunt for a tea light holder that maybe had a hint of color, and I found these! They are glass candle dishes in the shapes of flowers in an aqua/teal color! Found these at the dollar store!!! There are about 5 or 6 different flower shapes.

So the gold painted vine/flower candle holders with pillar candles, and the blue flower dishes scattered around the base. But then one day I was looking at the arrangement and just put the flower on top of the candle holder, brilliant!!! And that's how I came up with this look. The mini pillar candles are ivory and will burn 16 hours. So I still need to spray paint the base candle holders gold, but you can get the general idea. I am probably going to scatter some silk rose petals around the base for some added color.

Save the Dates
Ahhhh, the save the dates!! If you have read along you know I am a graphic designer, and I actually have a little side business designing wedding invitations. Well needless to say, when it came to my own wedding stationery, I had to something slightly over the top. You may have already seen the engagement announcements posted early on in this thread. Next big project to tackle was the Save the Date.

And here it is!!!
The outside:

Open that you find:

Untie the bow and take it out of the package and you have this. Pictured is the front of the card, with part of the back peaking out. I signed my name and embossed it in gold on the back of each one.

Its a "Z-card" that opens up in 3 panels. So open it up to reveal:

A close up:
Hopefully you can see the metallic shimmer paper and the Swarovski crystals!

I wrote the poem inside, and in case you can't read it in the photo, its:

The year was nineteen
ninety nine
when their paths crossed
it was divine.

Now ten years later
vows will be spoken
joining them in love
eternally unbroken.

They hope to see you
on that day
when the glowing bride
is given away.

Her handsome groom
awaiting her hand
not a more joyous occasion
in all of the land.

So please save the date
for it has been set.
The eighteenth of July
you best not forget!

Enclosed please find details
for accommodations
and this will be followed
by a formal invitation.

What started as friendship
and grew into love
they pray will be blessed
by the Lord up above.

Larisa and Nicholas
a tale of love, hope and laughter
but how will it end? (You guessed it ...)
Happily ever after!​

And then there is a folded card in the gold pocket on the far left of the folded out "z" that contains details and our STD magnet.

And a close up of the magnet.

So that's it!! They are definitely the most complex STD I have ever done, and probably one of the most complex I have ever seen, and that was my goal. I wanted them to be extravagant and unique. It helps that I do this for a living and didn't have to pay for them, except for supplies, and postage. They were heavy! I mailed them in December, in a large 7 x 7" white shimmer metallic envelope with a gold seal on the back. I know a lot of our family and friends have high hopes for the invitations, so I have to live up to huge expectations!! I will tell you this, I'm working on the invites now, and they will come in a box!!!

 

[disneydiva21]

I love your engagment ring and band! My father is a jewler who designs and makes his own jewelry and I absolutely love being able to design something unique like that!

Also, your save the dates are amazing! You have such talent! Do you have a web site or anything for your side business? The reason I ask is because my best friend is getting married next May and I would love to pass your info on to her!

 

[disneybarbie]

hi! subscribing
your engagement story is beautiful! everything looks magical for the wedding too .. i love the idea of the Disney-places for the table names

Barbie

ps - is that a Pal Mickey in you signature pics? we have one too.. DBF won't put him down when we're in the parks! x