This is jeffandcarissa's Chocolate Wedding!

So i am really getting on to this idea of trash the dress the more i hear and read about it..... at first i was like why they hell would you want to destroy your dress after you paid so much for it. but then i read a little further to find out there are so many ways to do trash the dress from running through a feild to lighting your dress on fire.
I really love the idea of laying on the grass, running through the field, leaning on a rail fence, heck even sit on a not moving ATV for the pictures. I think this photo session would be memories of a lifetime(other than your wedding that is)

Lets face it ladies, what is the difference if you get chocolate cake on your dress and have to get it cleaned or getting grass stains on it.... either way you will be getting it cleaned after the wedding... so why not have a little fun, wether it be on the lower side or completely outrageous!!!

******If you read this post i would love to hear what you think of Trash the dress and if its for you...........

Over the past couple of days i have been very busy with wedding things and of course mothers day.....
Some little projects that i completed are
~*~i melted crayons into multi-coloured crayons for the kids at the wedding(i wanted heart shaped ones but i dont have a heart shaped muffkin tin so that didnt work.) but over all they are not bad, kinda funky to go with the colouring books.
~*~ finished the personalized water bottes(they all stillneed ribbon)
~*~ Picked and met with our florist today, order is now placed, i got my lilys....yeppie
~*~ had my make up done,..... i really like it but pictures didnt really turn out(my camera is crap apprently)... i love the eye colour, its a slightly smokey with a touch of pink....
~*~ fixed the flowergirl headpeice so that it was hot glued on and my daughter will have a harder time getting it apart lol....
~*~hopeful on Friday i will find an outfit for my bridal shower...
~*~ We meet with the minister on Friday for our first meeting... not sure what is going to happen then, if anyone knows i would love to hear about it...

So since mothers day is coming up, i was just wondering who all the mamas were out there. i was kinda curious about how old they are and how you might be having them in your wedding, i love kids and could talk all day about my daughter so here is a little about her and feel free to write anything about your bundles of joy.

My little bundle's name is Hailey, she will be turning the big 2 on May 30th 2008. She is into everything, and starting to talk(you must watch everything you say or so i am learning lol because they copy everything lol). And like every mama i think she is the cutest baby in the world lol....dont you all agree lol??

This one was one of the harder DIY projects i have done... For anyone going to do this, you must have patients. It took so long to make it look even good, and i still dont think its perfect, i have just had enough for one night lol....dont get me wrong it still looks good i am just a perfectionist when it comes to wedding things lol, and my daughter loves it, so really thats all that counts. what do you girls think???? let me know if you see anywhere for improvements....


One word of advice to anyone gonna do this project. Measure first. I thought i knew the size of my daughters head guess i was worng cause i was almost done and i put it on her head to see what it looked like well it didnt fit, so we started over lol....

dont you love her outfit. Its mine from when i was her age lol... my mom kept everything, which is great cause now i have it for my daughter.

I hope this helps all the brides that responded in my last post. This will be the guidelines that i will use to make my flowergirl headpeice. I will post pictures when i am done. i dont think it should take too long it looks really easy!

1. Allow the flowers to stand in a preservative solution in a cool place for several hours, or use fake flowers
2. Measure a piece of floral wire to fit the size of the persons’ head. Allow a little extra at each end. Coiled wire is better for head garlands, because it takes a circular shape. Make a hook and eye at the ends of the wire. Bind the wire with stem wrap floral tape.
3. Wire and tape the individual flowers and leaves.
4. Tape the individual flowers and leaves to the taped wire.
5. Add ribbon streamers down the back.

* for picture and location of where i found this check out
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/makflorheadg.html

Guess i am just in the mood this week for profects. Here comes another DIY project i think. Gonna go and pick up the supplies tommorrow... I think i will make my daughters headpeice, I was looking at them online tonight and was going to get my florist to just make us one. But that will cost probably a lot of money when i can make it for under probably $10. So here is some pics for what i am thinking of making.. I know they are kinda close to the same style but which one do you girls like???
Have any other brides made one of these yet?? if so can you give me some pointer... i cant seem to find anything on how to make one....and ideas would be great thanks.

i will probably be getting the supplies from my local walmart only because that is the only place in the small town lol...

I know we are doing personalized M&M's for our wedding favor, but i was just wondering what creative ideas other brides have come up with to give to their guests.

Another project done today. I finished making the ring bearer pillow... Let me know what you think.....

So i meet with the flower lady(my cuz lol) a week this monday and she told me to kinda have an idea for what i want. But i dont really know what i want... I really like lilys and gerber daisys... do you think it would be ok to mix them or would that be too much?? the blue and green one is of a lily like flower and the daisy. and the first pic i really like

I feel another DIY project coming on. I really think that i can make a ring bearer pillow. I love to sew so how hard can it be??? But my problem is which one do you think i should make... i really like them all but i think that the second one is my favorite. What do you girls think??

So i am really getting sick of this site. As of today this site is saying that i am random people when i try and write a comment, then when i try to send my comment it says Error then something to do with check my cookies. What is going on, i know i am signed in, i have never had this problem, and i really wanna leave comments for other brides.
Any one eles having these problems???? How do i fix them????

So i was just wondering what kind of bar you ladies are having. Will it be a cash, Donation, or open bar?? I think that we are planning on having a donation bar. That way we arent expecting people to pay for their drinks but we can still have help covering the cost of it. Since it isnt cheap.

We were thinking about having Jeffs little brother in the wedding but i didnt know how to put him in. I was thinking a Ring bearer, but then is he too old. He is 8. But then i was thinking he could be a groomsmen but is he too young for that?..... What do you ladies think?
The littlest one is the one i am thinking about....

I was just wondering how many brides are having a tossing garter and one for a keepsake.... i bought a cheap one with something blue on it, now i am thinking that i will buy this really cute one as a keepsake. My only question is what will i do with it after the wedding???(the pic is not my garter)

I cant believe that the wedding is in like 3 months, its coming so fast and i lately havent had any time for it. Between planning my daughters 2nd birthday, planning a possible trip to the zoo for my daughter( we havent decided yet if there will be time before the wedding to do) dealing with the car accident(trying to get my car fixed) and just life nothing has been getting done with the wedding. For things about the wedding that have been getting done(really without my help lol)
My MOH has set a date and is now planning my bridal shower... June 1st(the day after my daughters birthday party lol)
My mom has talked to the family friend about playing music during the ceremony, and she said yes!
My MOH is planning a Making whoopee party(kinda a bachlorette party)

There is so many things left to do, i think i better get doing them before its too late....

As of today i can no longer say that i have never been in a car accident. After work i went like normal to pick up my daughter from daycare. I was waiting to turn left into the driveway, when i was hit from behind. Needless to say my car isnt doing the greatest, still can drive it but it doesnt look so pretty. I am ok, my neck hurts a little and i have a bit of a headache. I have a feeling my headache is going to get bigger on monday after we get to talk to the insurance company.

So here it is, I really really like ribbon/bows on cakes, but i hate fountant(dont know if i spelled that right :S), but i have found cake pictures online that look like they are using real ribbon. My concern is that the oil from the icing ( we are using buttercream icing) will soak through onto the ribbon and make it look horrible. Have any brides seen real ribbon on cakes? did it turn out?? what do you all think? please let me know

So here are some pictures of cakes that i like, simple but beautiful.... but i dont like just one, i like things about each one that i really want to try and incorperate into my cake. Which ones do you girls like?

I was going to wear flip flops for my wedding day because its an outdoor backyard wedding but over this past weekend i decided to go a little more dressy with ballet flats. I have always loved them and thought they were so cute. I found these at payless shoes in white, how perfect. so i bought them for $28 not as good as my $4 flip flops but i think will look better and be more comfortable!

So this past weekend we got guys fitted for the tuxes(except for one guy). I am so excited to have yet another thing DONE!!! the wedding is getting closer and closer, almost at 100 days!!
Oh and today i found out that it is going to cost $140 just for a marriage licence... WHAT thats crazy, i thought maybe $50 but i guess we have to pay it .

This past weekend we went to stokes and sears to register. It was so much fun just picking out things that you want to have. I think even jeff got a little excited, and he doesnt get excited about anything wedding. Thats just one more thing i can check off my list. just need to keep it updated

Today I finished the invites and sent almost all them out(just waiting on a few from mom and dad) I picked up the cake topper, napkins, and plates for the reception(in pink and brown)
We figured out that we are going to have my daughters dress made by a family friend(she used to be a seamstress) and last of all i had my first dress fitting today. It was so much fun, there isnt much things that need to be done on it, just add very thin straps so that i am more comfortable, add a few pink beads & pink tie at the back and hem the bottom(it would be perfect if i was wearing heals)
I will post the pictures from the dress fitting later when i get them from my mom

When i was taking pictures for another post (below) I let my daughter wear my Tiara, Then i realized that she really liked it and didnt want to take it off. For months i have been trying to figure out what to do with her head for the wedding since she doesnt have enough hair for us to really do anything. Up until this point I didnt think that she liked things in her hair, because she would always put it out the second you placed it in. But with the tiara it was different, she just loved it and cryed when i took it off. I guess my question is would it be right for her to wear a Tiara as well. or just something small and sparkly. Also would it look weird if her tiara was the same size as mine since mine is small(mine is about the same size as a headband but a little higher)????

I decided to redo the do it yourself Bride shirt and i am so glad I did.... it looks great, I bought a little bit better of a shirt and that made all the difference. And it was so easy. all you have to do is buy some fabric paint, a shirt, and write whatever you want on the shirt(you could also use the fabric paint to write on anything fabric, think of evrything you can personalize for really cheap)...Black shirt is the new one(its a v-neck tank top) and the White shirt is the old one
The only thing i might change is putting my wedding date on the black shirt like the old one has.... What do you brides think???

So after calling Tip Top Tailors today, i think for the guys we are planning to have them buy a plain white dress shirt, and plain black dress pants, Then have them rent a tux vest, and tie from the store from the collection chaps vintage in the pink. I figure this will be causal but still dressy. Is there any other brides doing this type of idea? Plus in the end they will get to keep the dress shirt and dress pants, and i think it will be a little cheaper... not much tho

I think every girl needs to feel like a princess on their wedding day, and thats just what i am going to do lol.. I bought a tiara from a cheaper jewlery store for $20 and i saw the exact same thing at a bridal store for $210. So ladies look around before you buy anything at a bridal store, at least when it comes to jewlery. There are some pictures, they arent the greatest, i think i need a new camera because everytime i try and take a picture of jewlery it comes out blury. but you get the idea from these pictures, there are lots of angles of it lol
Oh and the picture of my daughter she is wearing my tiara, she just loves it so i think i will have to get her one.

So over Easter my mother in law coloured my hair for the wedding(we will need touch ups still from now to then). I LOVE IT!!! I think it looks so much better than the blonde. Its hard to see from the pictures but it is about 2 shades darker than my natural with highlights. What do you girls think of it ???
Oh and i love the way my make up is in these pics, i think i might do that for the wedding too...

So i really wanted to have a bathroom kit. I think they are just the cutest things, they add just a little something to a place that is always forgotten about. The only problem is I have an outdoor wedding so we are using port-a-pottys. I guess my question is, Would it be ok to make something small for them.
If any other brides are having an outdoor wedding and are doing something like this please let me know so i can check it out!

Ok so we were going to register at Sears and Canadian Tire the next weekend i had off. Now i am not sure where i am going to register other than sears because apparently Canadian Tire is stopping the program and no new brides can register. Now why would you do that, think of how much money they can make from a registry, Only at Canadian Tire would you cancel something like this.
Do you other brides think it will be fine to register only at on location, because i really dont know where eles to go other than walmart... and i dont really like wal mart....
I now hate canadian tire

Ok so today i decided to start a wedding website. I figured that it would be useful for letting everyone know about where we are registering, our story, who will be in the bridal party, RSVPs for those who wont do it by mail, etc. Do any of you have a website other than here?
My new site is www.mywedding.com/jeffandcarissa
its free and easy to work.

Ok so i was once again going through other brides blogs and i found this flowergirl dress that i love.... but i know very little information about this dress... mainly that i love it lol.... so if any other brides have seen this dress or know who makes it, the style number of it, where to get it, anything at all that would be great...

The jewlery is finished.. a family member created and made all the jewlery for the wedding from pictures out of books that i really liked...sorry the pictures arent the best but you get the idea..... and the last one is a pic of my daughter and flowergirl....

Ok so this is the first day in three days i have been able to get on, everytime i try and service error comes up. I was just wondering if any other brides have this probelm, or if maybe its something to do with my computer????

So this is something i have been thinking about for awhile but am unsure about.... the wedding is about 4 1/2 months away.... when should i register.....When are you guys registering for your weddings??

Ok so still no ideas really on what songs to walk down the aisle to ..... even the classic verson, what artists have done it ? i am so clueless when it comes to this ..... i love wedding planning but i really hate trying to pick songs... for this song i want classical but with a little more modern feel....any ideas??

Ok so i got bored today and decided to play around with makeup and take pictures of it, since i am doing my own makeup for my wedding... i want something pretty but natural... i dont want to look like something i am not, but i do want to look like a princess.... here are some pics i took of it let me know what you think....sorry there are some really bad pics.... at least i think so lol.....

So today mom and i went to an open house to order some more things for the wedding. We ordered all our plates, napkins, my tossing garter, and our cake topper.... These are the three that we loved..... The second photo i think is the one that we ordered( sry not sure if its exact because i had to try and find a pic online of it but its really close) and the other 2 were the ones that we were picking from.... i really love the one of the bride and groom kissing but the one we picked is more our personalites

"I was recently a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. I'm also engaged and was amazed when she told me I couldn't wear my engagement ring during her wedding because it was larger than hers...ridiculous!" —Scarlet, Longview, TX

"I was told that if the groom was unavailable during the toast, the bride has to kiss the best man." —Anonymous

"The worst wedding advice anyone has told me was to sing our vows to each other." —Erin, Richmond, VA

"My mother wanted me to ask random pretty girls at church to be in my wedding party so that my brother could meet and then date them." —Anonymous

"'Beggars can't be choosers.' This advice was given to me when I decided to wait on making a decision on a dress and venue. I have a low budget, but being rushed into any decision seems unwise." —Erin, Rockford, IL


Please leave comments on some of the worst and Best Advice you girls have had.... I know how once you are engaged everyone one has something they need to tell you. And i guess we all need to remember that our family and friends are giving us the advice because they love us . Right ?

Here are some of the projects for the wedding i have been making over the last month....
Let me know what you think..... i love to hear everyones comments....

Ok so i am not sure when i should do this...i have them all ready to go but am not sure when to send them out. My wedding is July 26th, and i need to know how many people are coming to the wedding by the about june 15, so i said on the invite to respond by june 1st just incase anyone sends them a little late. But when should i send them out? i dont want to be too early but i dont want to leave them to the last minute. I was planning around the 1st of april... Does that sound like a good time? then that gives them 2 months to respond.... i am just worried that someone will forget in that lenght of time....i already had to send a few out because we have some family moving right when i was thinking of sending them and we didnt want it to get lost in the mail....
What do you girls think? when are you sending yours?

So here are some of the songs that i am thinking of using in the wedding..and there are the links so you call all hear them, if you dont know them already.

For the first dance:

Big and rich- From this moment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNfCU6zQ7ek

Lifehouse- You and Me ( when jeff and i got together he said this was our song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCe2GwscXgo

The Father Daughter Dance:

Tim McGraw- My little girl ( i love this song there could be no other for this dance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I5UV4VWCSk

As for walking down the aisle i have no ideas really yet. I might use the Big and Rich song or the classic song very unsure yet

so i found this website that brides can make maps for their wedding, add pictures to the map, captions and i am sure more(i really didnt get that far into i just wanted a map). It was the only site that i could find that would show roads that really arent known, which i needed because my parents live in the middle of know where and most people that are coming dont know the area....
heres the website
www.weddingmapper.com

I found this site to be really helpful i hope it helps you guys too....

So Yesterday i recieved my sand ceremony set and it looks just like the pictures.... its a little smaller than i really thought it would be but thats ok, because now i think i know how i will display it in my home after the wedding, where when i thought it was bigger i had no idea where i was to put it. Oh and instead of green and yellow sand i have black and white sand

So Jeff has been telling me that i talk, and think about the wedding way to much. And he doesnt think its normal. He tells me that i just need to relax and think about something else for just a day, but i just cant. From the moment i wake up, to the moment i lay my head down for bed, and even in my dreams i am thinking about the wedding and new ideas that will make it unique and my dream come true. I just wanted to know is there are any other brides out there that are driving their spouses to want to cancel the wedding, just so you will talk about something eles??? but i know i just cant help it, I have been dreaming of this day my whole life, and i cant understand how he hasnt been doing the same thing. I donno maybe i am just a little wedding crazy, but who can blame me its just so much fun!

So this has been a very busy week. Some of the things that we have done are:
*Favors
*Ceremony program all we can until we talk to the minister
*Invitations for the wedding (still need to make the ones for reception only)
*RSVP's
*sand ceremony set ordered
*2 out of 3 bridesmaid dresses ordered
*And all the groomsmen have FINALLY been asked to be in the wedding


Oh and that picture I Just love and we are planning on doing something like that for our thank you postcards

So my theme thoughout all my wedding planning has been double hearts. I wasnt really going to go with a theme but then i found a guestbook that i loved here at a local store. I havent yet got the items but i think i will soon since they are now on sale 25% off....i cant wait to get them then that would be another thing that i can cross off my list of things to do..... here are some pictures of what i am planning on getting.... i couldnt find the picture of the garter that matches but i will have that too.

Ok so this has been a very productive but yet stressful week.... some of the things that we have completed we have all the favors done, most of the invitations done, as much as ceremony programs done as we could until we talk to the minister and the sand ceremony set is on its way i am still waiting, and tomorrow 2 out of 3 girls are going to get sized for their dress.....so i am excitied that we got most of the things done we needed too, and thanks to everyone who help out.... now as for the stressful part of this week well first off trying to make all the wedding things perfect..... which was hard....and second well it doesnt have to do with the wedding but today my babysitter just decided to quit leaving me this monday with no one when i need to work..... but thankfully my one bridesmaid who at the moment isnt working is going to come over to my house and babysit for me.....so i guess my stress level has lowered A LOT......but ya sorry that has nothing to do with the wedding i just needed to get that off my chest.....