Yummy Popcorn

So we've all seen the candy bar. How about a popcorn bar?
From Scott and Tem.

Plus Size Bridal Stuff

Being a plus size myself it's kind of hard to find cute accessories and stuff. So I did a little digging and thought I share with you my findings.
Torrid
Recently Torrid added a bridal line. Check out their dresses too. But they have these 3 panties. Great if you are looking for your something blue!
Cafepress.comA great selection of plus size tops customized with whatever sayings you want. This is where I got my mom's t-shirt. I was impressed with the quickness of the delivery. Plus there are sale codes for Cafepress floating all over the internet.
Lane BryantI assume their bridal line wasn't very popular. All these items are on clearance. Hurry, few sizes left.
Girls Of EleganceThis adorable UK shop has all sorts of plus sized items. From dresses to tops like the one above.
eBay

I love eBay. Ebay seller tinas_embroidery has plus sized hoodies and tshirts that can be custom embroidered for you. eBay seller stitchwizard82017 also embroiders bags and tshirts as well.

Must Take Photos: The Rings

Ok, I totally trust Andrew to get some truly awesome shots, but when you look at wedding photos all day, you get things stuck in your mind. I'm going to make a short must take list for Andrew. I thought I'd break this up so this will be a mini series.
We'll start with rings.

From Photobucket. The obligatory rings on that day's newspaper. I have to do this. I love it for some bizzare reason.
From knottie VegasSept07 . The rings on the marriage license. Also a great shot.
From Kate McElwee. The rings on the program or invitation. I really like this one too. It's a close second to the newspaper shot.
From Kate McElwee. This one was from a Trash the Dress session in Hawaii. Rings in the sand are perfect for that locale.
From Our One Heart. So cheesy, but I love it anyway. Tai and I are huge readers so this is perfect. Plus look what book it is!
From Whitebox Wedding. This is perfect for our outdoor wedding!
What are some of your must have ring shots?

Currently....

eatingOne day, Tai told me to pick up "snacks" at Costco. I found these lovely treats. We love them! We ate the first bag pretty quickly. I don't go to Costco very often but I do now. I buy them 2 bags at a time. They are the perfect snack.

usingWe got these a lovely pillows as a shower gift from Kris and Cindy. They are so comfortable. Even Tai the pillow snob loves them. So comfortable. I highly recommend them!

watching

We saw this opening weekend. Awesome. I love comic book movies. I love Robert Downey Jr. I cannot wait for a sequel.

readingI love Jodi Picoult. This one was very gripping. I didn't want to put it down. Very thought-provoking. I guarantee this one will have you talking.

Fans

Since we're having an outdoor summer wedding, I decided I wanted to offer our guests fans to cool themselves. Originally, I thought I would do program fans:Source. But then we decided that we wouldn't do programs at all. So back to the drawing board.
I like these which I found here. On sale right now for $.99 each (minimum 24).
These are available at Oriental Trading Company for $7.95 per dozen (or $66.25 for 100) which isn't bad.Or these from the knot. I think these are my least favorite as well as the most expensive ($12.95 for 6 or $216 for 100).
What do you think?

Knottie Bio Inspiration-Vegas Style

In honor of my upcoming trip to Vegas this month, I thought I would focus on Vegas bios.
VegasSept07
I think it's a requirement to get your picture take in front of the Vegas sign.
I love the lobby of the Bellagio.I love her hair. I love that pin too!
Mrs 26&Worththewait
Vegas weddings have moved beyond getting married by Elvis! This lovely couple was married at Ceasars.Even though this was a destination wedding, quite a few people came. I think Vegas is a great idea because lots of people like Vegas and depending on where you live, it's not far.
RSweetpea
I love this color combo!
And she's such a pretty bride too!

Update: 2 months

So two months from today is the big day. I can't believe we're at 2 months already.
1. My shower was over the weekend. I'll share a few more photos.This is half the room while I'm opening a gift.
Here's the other half of the room while I'm opening the same present. Not to brag, but I've already got all the thank you cards done and ready for the mail! I really wanted to do those quickly so I wouldn't stress over them later.
For Marta and Ashley I put a little bag of goodies together:
A brown pashmina, a red umbrella, a little pedicure set and a tote bag. Nothing extravagant; just a little thank you.
2. At the shower, one of Tai's friend's offered to do my hair and makeup. In LA, she used to do hair and makeup. Tai said she was quite good and he encouraged me to schedule a trial with her. I think I will.
3. Our rings have been delayed. I checked with the etsy seller last week and he said that there are some delays and our rings should be in the mail shortly. I'm getting nervous!
4. The invites went in the mail Saturday morning. I dropped them off on the way to get my nails done. Now, I can wait for RSVPs. I wonder who's will be first!
5. Jeff is still MIA so there has been no progress on the suits. I won't push the issue til after I get back from Vegas. But then we're going out and buying a suit, damn it!
I think that's it for now. Oh, I'm working on my something borrowed, something old, something new and something blue. I hope to post something on that this month.

Shower Update

My shower was yesterday, so I wanted to share some pictures with you all.
Marta and Ashley really went all out and created a wonderful party. Marta made these custom labels for the bottles of wine:
Marta even made this delicious cake:It was so yummy!
We got lots of cool things like new bed pillows, our plates, a tool kit, shoe racks, and tons more! It was wonderful getting to hang out with friends. I hadn't seen some people in a while so it was nice to reconnect. People also had lovely things to say about Tai and I. It was very heart warming. It went by so quickly. I was kind of sad when it was over.
Oh, congrats to Tiffany, who got married yesterday. I hope all went well and I look forward to reading all about your wedding!

Pretty Maids

Over the weekend, Marta and I did a little shopping and started talking about the big day. I don't want to put any extra pressure on either them of to look any different than the usually do. Both Ashley and Marta are beautiful so I just want to highlight their natural beauty. Source. I love how fresh this bridal party looks. I hope for something similar.
Source. I love how the red and orange pop against the brown.Source. I love that all have the same necklace. Kind of ties their look together. And the bridesmaids have smaller versions of the brides bouquet. I pushed for that but we ultimately decided on different colors.Source. No offense to this bride, but I think this a little too matchy. Did they all decide to wear their hair the same?
So I think we'll be going for something more like the first photo. Casual and happy.

Japanese Wedding Traditions

When I started planning our wedding, I wanted to take Tai's heritage into account. But I had no idea what traditions are customary in a Japanese wedding. So I turned to the Knot.

Sake Sharing Ceremony The traditional Japanese ceremony is a Shinto ceremony, though many Japanese in America celebrate weddings with a Buddhist ceremony. Regardless of religious rituals, most Japanese also include a cultural sake-sharing tradition at the wedding, popularly called san-san-kudo -- san means "three," ku means "to deliver," and do means "nine." This ritual dates back to a time when sharing sake created a formal bond as strongly as a handshake did in Victorian times. Using three flat sake cups stacked atop one another, the bride and groom take three sips each from the cups. Then their parents also take sips (for a total of nine sips), cementing the bond between the families.

But Tai hates sake. I think he got sick once off it. Needless to say we won't be drinking it on our wedding day.

Gifts for the Guests In Japan, brides spend $30 to $50 on "favors" for their guests. In America, favors are more likely to be small tokens -- a few folded origami cranes (the bird that symbolizes a long, contented married life) or a lace bag of sweet almonds.

We considered making those origami cranes but that was a little too much for us. Considering we don't know how to make origami cranes to begin with. I don't know what sweet almonds are but they remind me of jordan almonds and those won't be making an appearance at our wedding.

SPEECHES Wedding speeches and blessings are very important at Japanese weddings. Family, friends, colleagues, and teachers all stand up at one point or another to wish the couple well. Traditionally, these speeches might be moralistic tales about matrimony's importance; in America, they have evolved into heartfelt messages of love from close friends and family.

Tai really wanted to incorporate this into the ceremony. But we didn't do this. First we felt that this could go on too long. Some people would talk forever. Of course we'll have speeches at the reception.
Sadly none of this was added into our wedding.
When I was searching for Japanese wedding traditions, I found these:Hello Kitty weddings are hugely popular in Japan. Absolutely crazy.
I was telling Dad the other night about sending the invitation to Mickey and Minnie. He asked me what I would do if Mickey and Minnie showed up. I told him I didn't think they would but I did tell him that I could pay to have Hello Kitty show up. He thought that was pretty crazy.

I love Wedding Photos!

I blame Jessica from Tying The Knot for my addiction. Months and months ago, she mentioned that she read lots of photographer's blogs. I thought no, I won't start reading them. Nope, not me. Finally I succumbed. I started with Kate McElwee's blog. She's a popular one with a lot of the Seattle Knotties. Besides someone was always talking about their preview pics on the board. It would be easier if she was in my Google Reader. Oh, what a slippery slope. I now have 15 photography blogs on my Google Reader. That's not too bad, but I'm always looking for more to add.
To tempt you in adding some photographers to your blog diet, I'll share some of my favorites with you!
I'll start with Kate McElwee:This is a detail shot from a recent wedding Kate did. She's really good about capturing details.
Another one from the same wedding. I love how clean the photos look.
Ross James Photography. A new favorite of mine. I posted a picture of his recently and he commented on my blog. If you are in the Ellensburg area, definately check out Ross James!
I love the use of light here. The photograph looks so rich!I don't know anything about photography (oooh, pretty picture). So I have no idea how these photos looks so gorgeous. I assume it's in the skill of the photographer.
Tinywater. A Northern California photographer.
I know that this had some Photoshop help, but hello, gorgeous! She looks like she should be in a magazine. This is definitely frame worthy!
I love this one. It looks vintage, like they got married in a fairytale!
Henry Chan. New York based photographer.
I also love a photographer that captures the feeling. At the end, you'll have these photos to remember what you were feeling then. And sometimes it's a glance you didn't catch. Sometimes it's the way someone looked, that will remind you forever of that moment.I like Henry's honesty. His pictures seem to capture the true spirit of the day.
I know there are a hundred more popular wedding photographers out there. Ones that get mentioned every day on a hundred sites. But I prefer the quiet ones. The ones that take fantastic photos and share them.

Succulent!

I saw this centerpiece on Toast and Tables (from Martha Stewart):I love succulents. I forget that they are an option.
This a wonderful idea for the bouts. Just a little different. I also think this would look with a cream or yellow rose. Or skip the rose and just go with the succulent!We're not doing it, but I know those letters covered with flowers or moss are popular. But how about using succulents? I think this is a great idea. Succulents don't really have a season to me. I think this would be great a wedding in any season.How about this beautiful centerpiece? Combines gorgeous orchids and succulents! I think this would look amazing with a mango colored tablecloth.
I love unexpected touches!