Love Story: Jess & Russ

The most gorgeous graphics and the sweetest lli love story ever!

It's a must-read and a must save for a soft, mushy romantic such as myself!

http://jessandruss.us/

Check it out!  You won't be disappointed!

Trash The Dress: Part 1

Sis T asked me yesterday to see some of my Trash The Dress pictures.

I usually forget I even took these.  You see, I actually took my Trash The Dress

pictures BEFORE we even got married.  There was a group of photographers that

got together and organized this event.  

Trash The Dress sessions (as well as Boudoir Sessions) were something 

COMPLETELY NEW in my wedding days.  If you Googled it, you would

only get maybe 3 pages of pics?  So all us brides and photographers got together 

to do a session for the benefit of all.  They would get portfolio pics.  

We would get FREE pics! Win-win!

Personally, I was in a rush.  Missed half the session because I got lost 

trying to find this dam in SoCal somewhere in the middle of nowhere.   

I didn't have my hair done.  Slapped on some make-up in the car.

And here's what you get.  So I forgot about them for the most part.  

Until T asked to see them.

I had about 5-6 CDs from different photographers and settings, 

but wouldn't you know I can't find most of my wedding related 

photo CDs now?  Eek... this has me cleaning like you wouldn't believe

for these two days.

So, PART 1 - these photos are from the same photographer 

who did our Engagement Pics.  That's how I actually got to do these pics 

(because he invited me afterwards...)

More to come if I can ever find the CDs!

xoxo,

Vivian

Monique Lhuillier: Katarina

Sis T's engagement and trek to the Monique Lhuillier Sample Sale today got me thinking about dresses and my own wedding dress.  After a bit of googling for the dress my sister fell in love with, I decided to search for some images of my dress, the Katarina, as well:

The print ad photo.

The runway photo.

I was amused to find out (on Once Wed) that Ali Landry also wore

the Katarina dress in her wedding to Jose Alejandro in Mexico.

It was fun to see dress twins in a "Same Dress, Different Ways" kind of way.

A few pics I found while browsing listings for selling the dress.

This bride has an amazing figure and paired it with a coveted

jeweled belt.  Love this combo!

And a couple of me in my Katarina ... oh how I still love my dress.

I love how you can see the ruffles kinda swirl in this pic...

... and see the train in full effect here.

Sometimes I think about selling my dress, but then I get sad at the thought of

not having it anymore.  What about you?  If you're married, have you

sold your dress or are you keeping it?

Happiest Proposal On Earth!

LOVING this sweet marriage proposal, 

which happened recently at Downtown Disney, CA....
heart of the Happiest Place On Earth!

It's completely upbeat, happy, and sweet!

Hope this made you smile today!

xoxo,

Vivian

I Wish...

 ... for a lifetime of love and friendship with my dear hubby...

... that we may always love and laugh together ...

... and always be thisclose...

Inspired by Mrs. Kutcher

Demi sure is inspiring!

Talk about keeping it HOT for your hubby!

Can you believe she's 47?

Feeling Married

I just wrote a behemoth of a comment in response to Rhi's rhetorical question about "feeling married":

"...I completely understand where this post comes from 
and I truly think it IS a confusing thing. 
People don't really have good explanations for it, but always bombard you with these vague type of questions "How does it FEEL now that you're married?".  


Ask ANYONE (mostly women) in the FIRST year of marriage, and MOST women I know will be a bit confused.  Like, "not much has changed".  
They still feel the same, if not more love towards their husband.  
But you already loved him SO much before you were married too right? 
Personally, I had a lot of weirdness with changing my last name, 
and hung on to it until probably the 1 1/2 yr mark.  
Saying it was very awkward.  Using it, more so.  
It felt like I was giving up myself to become a wife.  
But, gradually, slowly, and unconsciously, BEING a wife became natural. 
Second nature.  I forgot about the I and the ME and corny as it sounds, everything became a WE and a thinking about us collectively and more selflessly about my husband.  Not to say I didn't before, but something was different inside of me.  And I think the only way that comes is over time.  
You can't pinpoint a moment in which it happened.  But it does.  
(Side note:  we've been married 3 yrs now).  
And I notice it in my friends too.  
You see a subtle change in everyone after about a year.  
You can see the difference of "married love".  I think it's why they call it the "honeymoon stage".  Besides all the endorphins and adrenaline from getting married, when everything settles in a bit, that feeling comes from knowing that you have this partner that holds your heart.  
And you realize that you hold his too.  
From the other side, I think that many husbands feel the change much sooner after the actual marriage than the wives do.  I'm convinced it has to do with the fact that men often do put themselves first and foremost when they are single, pursuing their careers and their dreams.  Then, once they get married, they become less selfish and more comfortable about being responsible for someone else's well-being, support system, and emotions. 
Oy vay - just a generalization and I wrote such a book.  
But it's just my very very humble opinion based on my observations."


What do YOU think if you are married? 
I'd love to hear different viewpoints, opinions, and stories!


xoxo,
Vivian

Finding The One

Wedding Pics: The First Look

For a long time, it has been tradition, 

that the groom must not see the bride before the wedding.

In modern times, I hardly know a single bride 

that DIDN'T see the groom before.

"The First Look" is touted as a time 

that the couple can share alone before the wedding begins.

Often, a sentimental and sweet photo session 

takes place if you opt for "the first look".

In our case, I was very happy we did these shots 

since our families HIJACKED, and YES, 

I do mean hijacked in all caps, 

our "after ceremony" photo time.

More on that later...

. . .

In Hawaiian tradition, the bride always gives the groom the first lei.

It's said that giving the groom the maile lei showed him and everyone

that this wahine (girl) wanted his hand in marriage...

* I left out "The Kiss" here... there are still somethings a little private ;)

This alone time, before the ceremony started, 

was really the only time we had to ourselves 

until much past midnight...

and some of the only portraits we got together...

This is one of my favorite photos...

but knowing what I know about photography now (which isn't much), 

I would have expected the photographer 

to fix a few obvious blunders in the scene...

. . .

Overall, my advice is to go ahead and do "the first look" 

if your time and photographer allows.

Without it, we may have never gotten any photos of just the two of us.  

IMHO.

Wedding Pics: Getting Ready

Geez... practically 3 years later and I will finally post some pics for Rachel! ;)

I'm such a slacker - I still have my final wedding album layout 

sitting on our counter for over 7 months.

I didn't realize I never got around to posting any wedding pics.  

So here goes Part I!

(mind you, most of these pics qualities have been resized for lower memory)

My cousin was thoughtful enough to snap a shot 

of the day's newspaper and wedding related story.

Getting my veil pinned on.

I wish the photographer had hung the dress over the window.

We had an amazing view of the valley with floor to ceiling windows. 

***BRIDE TIP:  Despite everything I read about NOT giving photogs a "must take list", 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do.  If I hadn't instructed for a few detail shots, I

 would not have got them.  This dress shot was just one of a few disappointments 

from lack of a list and trying not to be controlling.

I had read that a signature wedding perfume scent would be a great reminder

for the hubby.  The idea is that when you wear it, he will always relate the 

scent to our wedding day.  I think it worked (though Chloe became my daily perfume).

I couldn't afford Louboutins in the budget, but I did score these

sparkly Manolos for a good discount!  Again, I was disappointed by

the lack of creativity with my shoe shot.  

Surprisingly enough, we had to ask the photographer to take ring shots as well.

At least these came out nice.

In case you're wondering:

Hubby's Band is a Tungsten Carbide comfort fit ring. 

I originally wanted to get him THIS RING, but he ultimately 

fell in love with the one he chose (similar to THIS).

My wedding band is the Cartier Platinum, 3 Diamonds style B4058300.

My e-ring is a 4-prong solitaire based on the Cartier 1895 Solitaire setting*.

* Cartier didn't sell Asscher stones, nor would they sell just the setting.  

So we had to go to a jeweler who did have the stone I wanted 

and could make the same setting. 

As some of you may know, I want to change my setting at some point.  

The band and setting are eternally classic, but they are much more of 

my hubby's style than my own.  Though, there are days when I love that the 

simplicity and elegance are timeless and go with anything.  

Getting ready with my girls!

Me and my MOH checking out the reception room as it's getting set up.
We didn't know the photog was behind us at first, and these 2 were some of my fave shots.

That's it for today...

More pics and posts to come!

Cranes of Luck and Love

Saw this beautiful wedding of Laura and Jonathan in Chicago, IL.

What an incredible backdrop and a perfect way to add visual interest

to an indoor wedding where you may have a plain background.

The vibrant colors make her white dress pop that much more!

Beautiful shot of the cake through the shower of cranes.

I have a similar one with shower of orchids.

In Japanese legend, making 1000 cranes can grant you a wish, such as long life,

or a thousand years of good luck. The same can be said if it is given as a gift.

Given to a couple for a wedding gift, it would hold a gift of wishing a thousand years of

happiness and prosperity upon the couple. Given for the welcoming of a baby

would be wishing the baby a long life and lots of luck.

In Asia, the crane is a mystical creature that is said to live one thousand years.

I love this idea so much - it's great for any special occasion - a baby shower perhaps?

And easily transitioned into a baby nursery! I'm definitely doing this at some point!

Want to learn how to make some paper cranes of your own?

Check HERE for a step-by-step photo tutorial.

Or check HERE for a YouTube video tutorial.