Gift Wrapping With Stencils | Neon Pink + Kraft Paper

If you following my Pinterest, you know by now that I am obsessed with gift wrapping. I'm having so much fun trying every pattern, color, paper, and of course, toppers!

 

I picked up this furniture stencil from Royal Design Studio as well as some kraft wrapping paper. This neon pink paint comes from Michaels (It was on sale, only .10!!!!)

Simply, I put the stencil on the paper and took a sponge brush to dab and paint the paper. I tried taking a roller to the paper, but paint started to build on the side and looked pretty bad. To create the cleanest lines possible, you have to go piece by piece on the stencil and dab, brush and dab again until you get the desired amount of paint.

This small present took about 45 minutes total, so if you are looking for a cheap and fast alternative to wrapping paper, this definitely isn't it. But if you are looking for something totally different, well just check out how awesome this looks done. I added some Washi Tape to complete with look :)

There is plenty more where that came from! I already have 3 more complete gift wrapping projects to show off, so stay tuned.

Thanks to Royal Design Studio for the stencils to create this awesome wrapping paper. 

Adventures With a Registry Gun

After reading blog posts and registering and looking through magazine articles that said I "had to register" for this or that, I really wasn't all that excited about setting up our registries. Between the horror stories and the long list of things that I should have but will have no need for, I was ready to just include our Paypal info and call it a day. (Is that tacky? I assume you're nodding your head yes.) The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why it has to be a negative experience? So I decided it wasn't going to be. Easier said than done, right?

Source: Crate and Barrel

So the Mister and I had a chat about what stores or sites we wanted to use for our registries and then headed over to our first destination which was Kohl's. I shop at Kohl's regularly and they are really great about returns and I get tons of coupons which is really helpful when you have a lot to buy at once. I tried to be proactive and set up our basic information online beforehand so we could just pull up the info and start scanning! Unfortunately it didn't end up going that way. By the time the scanner was in our hand we were already a little frazzled from spending 30 minutes re-setting ourselves up. I think if that little bit of stress hadn't have happened it would have been a great experience but since it did, I quickly became overwhelmed by where we needed to start and trying to remember each thing we might need. We left with only about half of that registry done.

Luckily after about a month break, we went back to getting our registries done and it went really well! We did our Target registry which was really simple and a lot of fun. This time we took an open approach by just walking through each department and added things we could see ourselves using and things that would work cohesively in our home. Surprisingly it made a great date night! Dinner, desert and registering.

Source: Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn

So here's what I took out of it and what we'll stick to  in order to continue having fun while getting it done.

  • Make a list of where you want to register and see if there are any perks or rewards from registering there. Certain stores give you coupons or will give you special items for purchasing any remaining items on your registry. Also make sure the places offer registries and how easy it will be for you and your guests to use their registry.
  • Ignore the "have to register for" lists and register for things you feel you'll really need and use. Don't want an extra set of dishes and flatware just for special occasions and holidays? Don't include it! Not really interested in "things"? Register  for your honeymoon and experiences!
  • Don't try to get everything registered all at once. Trying to make sure you have every kitchen utensil you might need is a waste since you'll probably forget a pizza cutter. Break up the registries into a couple days in store and/or online.
  • Make it fun! Do fun things before and after and enjoy yourselves. Your fiancee might not like looking at throw pillows to add to your registry, but he will like scanning them with the gun! Maybe even let him add in some novelty glasses or a tech item he's been wanting. Also register for fun things like games to play when friends come over. Add things like camping gear or things for hobbies that you can do as a couple.
  • Make things easier on yourself. Using nifty things like the Amazon wish button (like the Pinterest pin button where you can add anything to your registry) and apps like Wedding Scan to add things from any store to a master registry. Not only are you saving yourself from having to sign up for multiple places, but you don't have to stress on filling an entire registry with items from just one store or having a registry on your website that only has a few things.
  • Revisit your registry. Make sure your in-store additions make it onto your registry and check in later to make sure you still want the things you previously added.
What did you find helpful when registering? What items were must haves for you and your fiancee?

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Planes, trains and automobiles...all three might be possible modes of transportation for our wedding weekend next July. Almost all of our guests will be traveling by plane and/or car to reach our (not-too-far-away) destination wedding town of Hood River, Oregon. The actual wedding location is about 15 miles south of Hood River. So, high on our list of priorities is making sure everyone can get easily to and from our venue without worrying about getting back after enjoying some adult beverages. Thankfully, our ceremony and reception are at the same place, so we just have to arrange transportation to the the wedding and back to town (a.k.a. the after party). So this week, I've been looking at different options for transportation. Not all of them work for our location, but they sure are fun to look at!

My friends had one of these red buses at their wedding last summer and it was awesome! Guests love them and (bonus!) they are such a perfect photo opp!

Source

If I was getting married here in San Francisco, I would love to use trolleys! I used to live on the trolley line on California Street and even with that constant buzzing of the trolley line out my bedroom window, I never got sick of them.

Source

Source

School buses would be super fun and actually would work with our location...

Sources: top, bottom left, bottom right

As for the trains, there is actually a train in town that you can take around the area. Might be a fun pre-wedding day activity.

Did you provide transportation to and from your wedding? Any fun ideas that I'm missing?

Hair Today

My goodness. I feel like each time I do a post these days, we're hitting a wedding countdown milestone! Tomorrow will be the official one month mark and I'm definitely starting to feel it. While I swim among the thank you notes, seating charts, and craft projects, I'm really looking forward to heading up to Sebastopol for my hair trail next week! I'm still not 100% sure what I want to do with my hair, but I'm hoping a pile of photos will provide the needed inspiration for my stylist to come up with something fantastic.

I love braids and twists. I know it's trendy, but I like the boho feel to it (I do live on the Berkeley border after all). I'm thinking a loose braid or twist is a must. Aren't they gorgeous?

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

The wedding is fairly casual and I typically wear my hair down, so something pulled all the way up doesn't really feel like me. That said, I definitely want my hair to feel special (and to stay off my face when dancing). I'm thinking a side pony is a great solution to achieve both a casual and special feeling together in one style.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

So take one part braid and mix in one part side pony tail, I guess this is what you get!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

What do you ladies think? Any advice, do's or don'ts for wedding day hair?

not wed yet {the bachelorette party}

I cannot believe my bachelorette party is this weekend!!! My maid of honor, Monica, has been planning for months to coordinate what she affectionately calls, "the best bachelorette party EVER." Here's what I know about the weekend: we rented a house with a swimming pool and outdoor bbq in beautiful Santa Barbara, we are going wine tasting; hiring a driver of course, and we are going out for a night of dinner, drinks and dancing on state street (I think). Regardless of what we end up doing, I know I'm going to have the time of my life because I'll be surrounded by over a dozen of my favorite girlfriends. This post is dedicated to what I'll be wearing this weekend. I already have both dresses picked out, but figured I'd throw some inspiration your way for those of you brides-to-be out there who still need to shop for your last "fling before the ring" attire. ;-)

Since we'll be spending one of the days out in the sun wine-tasting, it's important to have a casual, but fun and flirty sun dress. Here's some inspiration below.... BTW I found/bought that turquoise necklace online for only $40!! In person it looks like it is worth hundreds! What a find!

photo credits: left, top-right, bottom-right

And for the night we hit the town I envision myself in a white & sexy little number. FYI, I bought the BCBG dress on the left. LOVE it!

photo credits: left, middle, right

Here's some inspiration from my last bachelorette party fashion post:

And finally, here's a sneak peek at my party invitation (Monica knows me so well).... and a shot of me wearing the fabulous dress I recently bought- that one will be for the wine-tasting extravaganza. OOOOH, I'm so excited!!!!!

photo credits: invitation &  Taya's Dress

What do you have planned for your bachelorette weekend? Are you doing something local or traveling somewhere new? Would love to hear your fun stories!

Over a Year Till I Do & Halfway Dressed

Okay, so, I’m going to admit it:  I have never been one of those girls who has dreamed about her wedding day since she was a little girl. When I got engaged last November, the questions started piling up fast. “Where will you get married?”, “What do you want your dress to look like?”, “What is your vision for your wedding?”.  Almost 9 months later (yes, I realize 9 months is an entire engagement period for some couples), I still can’t completely answer any of these questions, but I certainly have a better idea of what I want and how to best make it happen. I never thought that I would care as much as I do about my wedding dress.  I started my search by aimlessly and casually browsing through Bridal magazines mentally tearing apart everything I saw.  Searching for wedding dresses on Pinterest only confused me further, because the styles and silhouettes I was gravitating towards were all so different.

Source: Dove Sparrow Photography, Watters Brides, Samuelle Couture, Jenny Packham, Lindee Daniel, Melissa Blackburn

After looking at three bridal shops (Panche Bridal in Santa Barbara, Lovely Bride in Los Angeles (my favorite shop!), and Camarillo Bridal in Camarillo), I discovered that I have expensive taste. At each shop, the dresses that I liked most were on the higher-end of my dress budget, and I was not completely in love with any of them.

The search continued while I was visiting some friends in San Francisco a month ago and decided to try my luck at Glamour Closet, a discount bridal shop that sells sample wedding dresses at up to 75% off retail. I was in luck! I walked away with a Monique Lhuillier lace corset (very similar to the photo below) at a price too good to pass up and a new vision for my "wedding dress."

I had never thought about looking at two-piece dresses. I had wrongly mentally labeled them as 90's prom dresses gone wrong. But, once I started trying on two-piece dresses, I began to see how this concept would give me more flexibility, more creative control, and maybe even keep me within my dress budget.

Source

And so, my search for a perfect bottom continues. I am leaning towards designing my own (maybe even two: a long skirt for the ceremony and short skirt for the reception) with the help of a local tailor. The following are my inspirations so far.

Source: Sarah Seven, Bonzie on Etsy, Carol Hannah

Have you thought about or gone the two-piece dress route?  Do you have pointers for designing your own dress? Am I crazy??

Milkfed Press Stationary Giveaway

Victoria, the design genius and creator behind Milkfed Press is one of the most raved about stationary and invitation work in Northern California. All her work is custom designed that is catered to her client's needs and combines every bit of craftsmanship possible: binding, typography, design, and letter press printing- with a very antique touch! Look at some of her work:

We love her! And we want to share some of her work with you with another giveaway! Here's what you have to do:

Like the Milkfed Press Facebook page & our Engaged&Inspired Facebook page,

Email me your name and address to EngagedandInspiredNatalie@gmail.com-

and the first to do this will have 7 Shake It! 8 1/2 x 11 Letterpress Prints mailed to them!

Good Luck!

and congratulations to Dalena Nguyen for winning last week's Milk&Honey Shoe Competition!

Here is her shoe design here!

 

What To Do With Your Wedding Dress After

I got married a year and a half ago. To this day my dress has been hanging around my house waiting for something to happen to it. This day and age, what do people do with wedding dresses?!

There are a few obvious options, preserving it, selling it, or keeping it in the closet with hopes that your daughter will "say yes to your dress".

Unfortunately I am not one of those sentimental people that wants to hold onto my dress for my future daughter. I hope to heavens that she is cool enough to have her own style and her own wedding day look. I really don't want to force it upon her because I have been holding it for 30 years. The whole concept just doesn't seem all too practical to me.

As for the sentimental side, I did take some of the petals from the bottom and add them to my wedding shadowbox in the form of a flower to keep a piece of my dress forever. But the whole thing? I don't really need it sitting around!

Another idea was to preserve it. I feel like that is even less practical seeing as it is sitting in a box that you can't even open! That just seems like a real pain.

I tried selling it with little luck. Maybe I should try that one again. I was hoping the concept of used wedding dresses would become a much bigger ecosystem. Not just for my sake, but for practicality's sake.

After months hung on the door to my crafting closet, I HAD to move it. My office is far too full as it is. Finally I nailed a nail into the wall of the guest bedroom and hung it there so it was out of the way and added a tinge of decor to the room. It is fine there, but of course I worry about it.

So now what? What is everyone doing or planning on doing with their dress after the big day? Would love some ideas or suggestions to help me out a little as I am starting to feel a little stumped on the whole thing.

Holman Ranch Wedding: Where To Stay

I am incredibly lucky that I have the chance to go to my wedding venue all the time. After getting married at Holman Ranch I started doing a lot of wedding coordination, planning and design work there and I absolutely love every second of it. After getting insanely familar with the area, I now would have done some things different for my own wedding. I don't regret what I did at all, but I thought I would share for all you Holman Ranch or Carmel Valley brides that need a little direction with booking rooms

We stayed at a small cottage style hotel in Carmel-By-The-Sea for the wedding. It was super cute & quaint and all my girls and I fit into the suite at the hotel. Though it was utterly my fault, in the end, that was my biggest regret. First, I wouldn't have put myself in the suite. People were coming in and out of there all night the night before and all morning the day of because it was the only room that could fit 20 people and it has cute balconies. All I really wanted was just a little peace and quiet, but unfortunately the big suite turned into the party spot!

Second, we booked out the entire hotel. I really like the idea of everyone staying in the same spot, and I used to think booking out the hotel was awesome, but I have since changed my tune a little. At night, everyone wants to hang out with the guests of honor in the biggest room on the property. I'm not saying I didn't want to hang, but it would have been nice to escape for 5 mins to a little peace and quiet if I wanted to. The morning was equally overwhelming the morning of the wedding (becuase of all the people that wanted to hang out in my room while I was trying to get ready!)

If I did it again, I would have booked my room at Bernardus Lodge, and left it as option for people if they wanted to spend that kind of money. It is very close to Holman Ranch and it has since become one of my favorite spots to go.

There aren't tons of rooms but the grounds are large giving people a few more options than hanging out in my suite the morning of the wedding. They have a pool, bocce ball, huge patios with firepits, and a restaurant which would have given me the fun factor I wanted, but also the space I needed at times. Since it is only 10 minutes from Holman Ranch instead of 30, it also would have been much better for the schedule. :) Which I was a crazy person about following.

That is what I would have done. Another great option is the Carmel Mission Inn. It is pretty nice and actually fairly inexpensive giving a good alternative to Bernardus pricing.

Watercolor Wonderment

Tomorrow will be the 3 month mark for our wedding day. EEK!! Time to start thinking about our invitations. We want to somehow relate them to our fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants Save the Dates, except without all the pirates... I'm really in love with the idea of incorporating watercolor, because that brings in a little of the water element of the Save the Dates, and, well, it's just darn pretty. Watercolor stationary is popping up more and more, and I just think it's so romantic.

love & lobster

Plus the watercoloring adds that handmade element that we loved (and loathed) about our Save the Dates.

source: jtru designs; invites by wedding paper divas (left and right)

Here's even a cute little DIY for that beautiful white font look I love!

Check out the step-by-step for these gorgeous "Will You Be My Bridesmaid?" cards over at Glamour & Grace. Just stunning! I wish I had been that creative for my girls.

What do you think of the new watercolor trend? Yay or nay?