i now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Carter!

we did it! we ran away to Vegas a got married. well i guess technically we didn't really run away. we had this planned for a few months, be we were trying to keep it to ourselves. we didn't want to invite anyone. i didn't want people to get offended cause they weren't invited, so not inviting anyone solved this potential problem. just the 2 of us. the way our relationship began.

may 11, 2009 we made it official. we got married at the little chapel of the flowers at 4 in the afternoon. just us, the minister and the photographer, who was also our witness.

while we were getting ready in our hotel room i felt like i was going to throw up like every 5 minutes. nerves i guess. all of it went away as soon as the limo arrived. now for the rest of our wedding story in photographs. ( i edited all of these , the originals are on my myspace page)

i know this isn't a great picture of it, but i made my head piece. its Russian veiling, a peacock feather ( with an "eye" in the center) 2 peacock feather ( no "eyes"on the sides), some swarovski crystals, 2 white feathers also on the sides and a broach in the center bottom.

i also made Noah's boutonniere and my broach with feathers for my sash

i think i found my wedding invites

Isn't it gorgeous?!click it!! its clickable! :0) it is letter pressed. and it is exactly how i want them to look, color, wording, everything. but it will cost a small fortune. good news is that it is only 1 color and not 2 . 2 colors would have been a lot more. now all i have to do is find a local company that letter presses. do you know of anyone that is cheaper than $1000 for 75 invites? i think it's wrong when the invites cost as much,if not more, than the food or d.j. i could use all of the help i can get. who /what did you use when you got married?

PART 2 of S.P.A.W... the location

The place is called River Oaks Hot Springs. to the right is River Oaks Golf Course and to the left is River Oaks Hot Spring and Spa. so its a little confusing if you are looking for it. but its gorgeous. above is Noah and Aiden walking down towards the huge pond/mini lake.

this is the gazebo. you can get married here. its cute, but not really my style. its on the property so it is still an option.

view from the gazebo looking left

view from the gazebo looking right

this is the amphitheater. it is most likely where we would want to get married at. this is looking out towards huge pond/mini lake. i think it is really pretty.

view from the bottom of the amphitheater looking up. its on a slight hill, so we would try to figure out how to seat everybody without chairs( they aren't allowed on the hill). maybe with rows of fabric that everybody could sit on so the wouldn't ruin their dresses and slacks. oh and if we choose to have it here its probably going to be a semi-casual wedding( though no jeans please) so everybody isn't dressed to the nines and having to walk around in the grass getting their heels stuck. i know from experience from a few weddings i was in.

this is the pavilion where the reception would be held.

looking in toward the kitchen.

I'm in the same spot, but now looking out towards the pond/lake. gazebo left amphitheater center.

side view of the pavilion.

this fan is towards the kitchen. it is huge! i guess why the company is called big ass fans. funny.

this is a sneak peek at what I'm doing for Alicia's baby shower. they are coffee filter roses. her shower / I'm turning 27 is in 2 weeks! 2 WEEKS I'm kind of freaking out a bit. hopefully everything will come together nicely, if not God help me that it does.

because i would NEVER want this at my babyshower cake

this, i stumbled across at this great website called cake wrecks. she shows these crazy cakes that people have actually PAID FOR. that one of the rules, that it has to be made by a "professional" i use the term loosely, because wait til you see these cakes. there is a wedding cake in there that will make you want to cry. cause if that was me on my wedding day i would be so upset/angry. and i would do exactly what the bride did.

some of the cakes are pretty crazy. if i was a baker i would never do something like that and then send it to the customer knowing that they probably wont like it. if you know me then you know how crazy i am when i make stuff. i have to make sure its perfect. i dont like to half-ass anything or it will eat at me until its done right. so check out her website and if you come across any crazy cakes let her know. she will most likely post them on her page!

semi-planning a wedding....... the dress

when we first got engaged and were planning our wedding (some time ago) this was the dress that i found and fell in love with. the detail was just amazing to me. the beading and that bustle were oh so pretty and because i didn't want something too princessy and poofy this dress was perfect. until i tried it on. i had just given birth to my handsome son not more than 4 months before, so needless to say i wasn't the shape/size i wanted to be. with my lovely mom pouch in the front and beautiful back rolls showing through the see through back of the gown, i was the picture of not-so loveliness. i was devastated. i drove all of those miles to get THIS dress and now it wasn't a option.

so i ended up buying a dress, after trying on what felt like a million, but i am still not 100% about it.

i wanted something sleek and stunning, and not a dress that i had to have 10 girls hold up just so i could go pee. i have been looking around and have totally fell in love with the 30's and 40's old Hollywood glamor gowns. I've been looking on wedding websites, photographer websites and realized that this was the bride i wanted to be. not a cupcake bride, not a country bride, not a goth in a purple wedding dress bride (I've seen it and it's hideous), those are not my styles. i wanted a timeless look, i didn't want my grand kids to be looking through my wedding album and by snickering at me, like I'm doing to ALL of the 80's brides( that was SOME hair and lace back then wasn't it).

also while looking around i fell in love with 2 things this gorgeous ostrich wrap

and these types of veils, cage veils i think they are called

i really love the ostrich wrap because 1. it will cover my tattoos for the photos, 2. it just beautiful, and it beats that whole sash around my shoulders bit. and 3. it just adds even more to the old Hollywood glamor effect I'm going for. so there is where i am on the dress for my wedding. what do you think?

semi-planning a wedding...... the location.

isn't this what you start with first? or is it you pick a date first? either way, I've got nothing. i know what i want.... or do i? well i like garden style weddings. i think that they are beautiful and there are a couple of location around here that fit my liking, like this one.... Hummingbird House....

or like this one.... Rancho Llano DE Los Robles.....

then there is another part of me saying that because I'm in wine country why cant you have it at a winery? a lot of the places are VERY pretty. the perfect time to have one would be in the fall, but for us that is a bad time of year.... everyone in our family has a birthday in the fall/winter. but the problem for me is how pricey it is. i know of one that is so pretty, but because it is also a bed and breakfast, you have to rent the whole place( rooms included) if you are going to have a wedding/reception past 4 pm. like to the tune of 30k. too rich for my blood . at most of the wineries you can only drink their wine and champagne (understandable, they run a business not a charity)and you can't have hard alcohol ( i thought this was a celebration) and some allow beer (whoo hoo). it 's not a huge deal i know, but my family isn't the wine type so now this REALLY wouldn't work.

but there is also the beach. we live SO CLOSE to the beach , it would almost be a crime not to do it there. but there are a few things detouring me from this option. 1. the weather, it can be so unpredictable. windy, foggy, rainy, extremely hot. 2. you couldn't have a reception there, so that's 2 sets of directions you have to give people who have already driven hundreds of miles to see you. 3. there are miles of beautiful coastline how could i pick just one spot.

argh. too many choices for this very indecisive mind of mine. help!