This is dirtymartini's Green Wedding!

"something old" symbolizes continuity with the bride's family and the past


in my case, my parents will not be in attendance...

my mother passed away when i was 6 and my step-mother, and the amazing woman who raised me as her own from the time i was 9, passed away a few years ago.

in homage to my father, i will be wrapping his old rosary around my bouquet; and for both my moms, i will be using a photo locket pinned to the bouquet ribbon.

"something new" means optimism and hope for the bride's new life ahead

"something borrowed" is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family.

As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like, "Marry in blue, lover be true."


for my "something blue", i'm jumping on the colored shoe wagon!

my original "something blue" was going to be l.a. dodgers undies, but i cannot find any cute ones... so now my something blue will be my shoes!!

i'm going to buy a dodgers patch and have it sewn to the inside of my dress also  =)

***5/31/2008 UPDATE***
ok so the shoes were too big!! ugh!! so back they went... i decided to just order green satin shoes instead and just use the l.a. dodgers patch as my something blue... i'm over it and ready to move on to the next thing! =)

our dw will be on the big island of hawaii!!

we will be spending time on oahu and big island for our 15 day wedding-moon.

we were originally going to be spending 3 weeks island hopping (oahu, big island, maui, kauai), but we cut it downt to 2 weeks because one of my bffs is getting married in canada and didnt want to miss that.

we're thinking maybe of hitting maui and kauai for christmas and new year's...

tux by joseph abboud

fh likes the combo of black tux with platinum color vest & tie

gm will be in same tux with black vest & tie

all those mo-fos will be wearing jordans instead of the uncomfortable dress shoes! i guess we women arent the only ones who complain about our feet in dress shoes! hahha

nooooowww he wants to wear one!

so after buying the sean john suit, now fh says he wants to wear a "barong" to our dw! well at least he can still wear the pants right?

i think it's a bit endearing that he wants to =)

for those of you who aren't familiar with the barong tagalog, it has evolved from pre-Hispanic native wear to the "Philippines national wear" over the course more than four centuries. Throughout its evolution, various factors have influenced the look and meaning of the Barong Tagalog.

http://www.mybarong2.com/article.php?art_id=99&osCsid=491365dd06453c9eb60ac647a5d90bf3

i'm a pretty laid back bride... and i mos def do not want an updo, no tiara (hello - this isnt prom), no stiff gel or spray.

my goal is to just let my hair do it's thing naturally with a little help from my fave styling products and a great stylist.

my hair is normally wavy and i dont want to "fight" with it per se; but i also dont want to look like i just rolled out of bed either! haha

<------- some style inspirations

we originaly planned on having our reception at a ballroom, but something about that was just so boring and not really "us"...

so we ate the deposit, and just moved our reception to this restaurant on the marina...

we reserved the patio for dining and the adjoining private room for dancing.

it's gonna be so great - warm august night, dining under the stars, great pacific ocean breeze, fantastic food, open bar, a kick-ass "club" dj, not the same old boring mobile djs and our family and friends celebrating with us!

cant wait!

i've got more than a year away - but i decided to get a headstart on all the diy projects.

i'm making the pomanders for the church decor; they allow silk flowers for the pews and aisles, but only real flowers for the altar arrangements...

i'm making 12 pomanders for the church, and another 12 for the reception venue--- and repositioning the 12 from church - so i'll have a total of 24 at the reception venue... not really sure at this early point where or how, but at least i know i'll have some to use.

i already decorated 4 baskets; 2 large baskets for the programs at church; and smaller ones to hold the sharpie pens by the dress-guestbook, and use the other small one for our personalized matchbooks.

i'm not doing everything in a matchy matchy way - my aim is for everything to look more coordinated than exact matching...

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other diy projects to do:

- bathroom baskets
- oot "welcome to socal" bags
- adhering the crystals to the wooden letters for cake table

i opted for an anniversary band for my wedding band.

it's your basic prong-set band in white gold (3ctw)

i can't wait to wear it everyday!

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my e-ring is pretty basic as well - it's a cushion cut surrounded by pave - i love it and find mysef mesmerized at times just staring at it and the little white dots that sparkle around when the sun or light hits it... yeah i'm wierd like that!
fh was so nervous i wouldnt like it - but really how could i not love something that came from his heart??

fh bought 2 rings - one in tungsten and the other in titanium... he is "test driving" them at night for fit and comfort before making his final decision.

altho the final choice is his - i am secretly hoping he chooses the tungsten one.

i ordered my veil from candi merle, owner of crowning glory in brea, ca.

it will be a cathedral length mantilla veil (108') with 1.5" beaded alencon lace edging.

i cannot wait to get it!

i decided since my dress(es) have alot of detail on the bodice, i would forego the necklace and just get earrings. i'm not a huge fan of the matchy earrings-necklace look for myself...

i've found alot of great earrings online

i've purchased 2 pairs for our dw and will decide the day of

i'm still on the hunt for earrings for our 2009 wedding

fh has decided to wear a tan suit by sean john and pair it with a crisp white shirt and his ny yankees cufflinks.

his shoes are from bacco bucci in dark brown

i am ordering spa robes, spa slippers and cosmetic cases for my 10 bridesmaids.

robe will be white with hot pink embroidered first initial
slippers will be white
cosmetic case will be hot pink

all custom order bridal party gifts are from www.smartypantsboutique.com

Jen was the 2nd vendor we booked - and the only florist we talked to... while it's more than a year away, we didn't want to lose out on her captivating floral artistry, as she only does one event per weekend.

I love orchids and am envisioning orchids everywhere from the altar to the reception, with touches of bamboo...

we are paying for all the attire for the kiddies in our bridal party.

our 4 adorable and sassy flower girls will be wearing a white pick-up dress with green sash.

i'm going to buy black silk anemone flowers to pin on the front of the dress, right onto the sash.

i bought the dresses from www.mygirldress.com

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on my wedding day, i am going to give the li'l divas a little hankie embroidered with their first initial, along with this poem:



You are so very young, but the years will pass by
and you'll too be a bride, in the blink of an eye.

While you may not remember, the day that I married,
the part that you played, or the basket you carried.

There will be a day, that will burn bright like an ember.
The day you will wed, you will always remember.

So here is a hankie, for the day you will say...
"I need "something old" for my wedding day"

our bridal party is pretty large; i am not one of those brides who wanted a matchy-matchy look, so i encouraged all the bridesmaids to choose their own dress, as long as it was from the jim hjelm line in chiffon fabric, in kiwi green.

the model is wearing one of the chiffon styles in kiwi.

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shoes:

same approach, with the only "requirement" being the shoes be a silver, strappy style... otherwise, i dont really have a preference on the heel height, closed or open toe or if the shoe is satin or metallic leather... my main concern is that they are comfortable and feel gorgeous b/c that will show in the pictures.

Kristi was the first vendor we booked and we are so excited to have her and her fiance, Paul Bennet, capture our day.

www.klkphotography.com

www.blueskyvideo.com
Paul Bennett, Videographer

and finally, dress #5 from the maggie sottero line.

this dress is actually going to be our guestbook!! we're leaving sharpies on all the tables and in the cocktail area for our family and friends to sign...

i'm pretty much over the whole guestbook thing and wanted something totally original and fun! i plan on getting a mannequin to put it on so folks can sign the fron and back at the same time.

dress #4 is actually a bridesmaid dress (jim hjelm) that i ordered in white satin.

just like i have multiple dresses, we are getting married twice!

we are eloping this august!!  our destination wedding will be on the big island of hawaii... nobody knows, it will be just the 2 of us ~ we wanted to get the legality of being married out of the way so we could relax and enjoy the planning process for the much larger and more extravegant church wedding and reception scheduled for next year.

my destination dress is a maggie sottero sheath dress in white with a white sash.

my 2nd dress is a corset back maggie sottero in white on white.

<-------- pics from bridal salon and on the model are in "vanilla".

i'm a multi-dress bride... i'm going to decide the morning of on which one to wear and sell the ones i dont wear either on ebay or one of the sites dedicated for this purpose alone.

my first dress is a gorgeous henry roth gown in diamond white.  pictures just dont do it justice ~ the intricate lace and beading in the bodice and along the box pleats add a certain elegance to this modern twist on the classic a-line sillhouette.