Beauty is...Doing something good.

I was doing my web surf thing/ research and I found some sites that really impressed me. Weddings are a bit narcissistic. Its all about the couple. If they decide to include their families, Its still their decision. If they want to get married on a roller coaster(which is cool), Its STILL their decision: Its the one day when a bride can be completely about herself(or not) with little apologies. However, I think its really cool when you can take a moment off your self to help others.Here are some sites that I will try to be a part of:

• I'm not adding this because I'm an African. I'm adding this page because I'm a woman and because no women should live the way the women of Darfur have . Stop the Evil in Darfur. Today, tomorrow and yes If you can do it on your wedding day, great.

“We will not shut-up until the raping stops. We will stop the murder, yes we can! We will stop the burning, yes we can! And we won’t shut up until we stop the genocide once and for all, YES WE CAN!” -Rev Gloria http://www.savedarfur.org/content

• Donate My Dress. org- Give your dress and your bridesmaid dress to other gals who can't afford a dress to wear at their prom. Girl another lady a magical night or at least dress!

http://www.donatemydress.org/index.html

• Donate your gown to Breast Cancer Research. My Grandma died from breast cancer and although we weren't really that close. I still miss her. Its important to fight against a disease that has killed millions of women just like you. There is a cure out there, we just need to find it. Donate your dress:

http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/

• I am a pink kind of lady. I wasn't before it kind of creeped up on me and one morning I was like "Honey, I want a pink wedding" so of course I'm down with the Pink Envelope Project idea. I love the idea of giving someone who has only a little time to live a piece of heaven on earth. Check out the beautiful world of beautiful people and learn how you can help:

http://www.pinkenvelopeproject.org/

• GO Green! Climate change is REAL folks! Fish, animals and people are dying due to climate change. The endangered species list keeps on increasing. Weddings are extremely wasteful. So make a change for the better:

http://www.greenweddings.net/home.html http://www.thegreenbrideguide.com/

• Make a donation to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence or to a local shelter. Why? Because it could save a someones life:

http://www.ncadv.org/ There are tons of good things you can do on your day! There is really no excuse not to do something good. Whether you are having the biggest bash or just going to the justice of the peace and having a dinner afterwards, you can make a donation little or big to your favorite causes.

Wedding Planning is stressing me out...gggrrr

Man after seeing these post/sites I am really considering eloping. Or having something smaller. Like only with me immediate family and his immediate family. The whole wedding planning process has been a bit stressful. Who to invite. How much this cost versus this. Do you like this shade of pink or that one. It just wasn't fun anymore. But I didn't want to elope completely and totally diss my parents and my family. So I am deciding to revise the plan a bit. I'm starting to think that its okay not to have "everyone you know" at your wedding. It gives you more in the budget to play with. Quality versus quantity. What really touched me was this Style Me Pretty post, the couple's names were Liz and Ken. They only had 15 people! A long time ago, I thought that was insane but they still had everything they wanted and it looked amazing : Wanna see more check out Style Me Pretty posts: http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/11/real-wedding-liz-and-ken/
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/11/real-wedding-liz-and-ken-ii/
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/11/real-wedding-liz-and-ken-iii/
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/11/real-wedding-liz-and-ken-v/
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/03/11/real-wedding-liz-and-ken-vi/
I also saw this amazing site ( Lets Run Off.com) that writes all about it: http://www.letsrunoff.com/index.php
Or Intimate weddings.com http://www.intimateweddings.com/index.php
Its all definitely food for thought.

Wedding TV!!!! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

Today I'm writing about more cool wedding TV shows. I never get time to watch my shows. So when I can, one big luxury I enjoy is watching wedding TV on TLC. I love weddings with a passion. Gay weddings, straight weddings, zebra with polka dot weddings...You get the idea. Any who I thought why shouldn't you enjoy my love of weddings on TV. Thanks to You Tube and the magic of like minded wedding folks I bring you shows about wedding TV shows: Celebrity Weddings NuptialsTV is a cool show about the stars and their idos. Congrats Scarlett and Ryan! Congrats Jessica and Cash! Congrats Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson Congrats Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell I wanted a dress just like Rebecca Romijn! I got something close. I am a big wedding nut. Anywho, I love this channel MarryMeGay. Congrats everyone!! Brideorama: I love love love this show! It gives you a view into a bride's mind. What were her thoughts during the wedding and what tips would she give future brides. I dont know if they are on air anymore but it is /was a great show. Congrats Alicyn & Dom!

Viva Las Vegas with Susan Breslow!

Congrats Lisa & Tim!

Thanks Everyone on Youtube and folks check out the sites. love ya!

LOVING TUTERA, MAN!

I am one of the biggest David Tutera fans ever.....I mean ever!!! I just love his blinged out affordability. Call me materialist but I think that having a nice event that also LOOKS nice is important. Its just a party but its still a wedding. I don't think its worth going into debt over but if you believe in the basics such as putting nice flowers in a vase and sitting it on a table to create a sense of decor then you can understand how doing that nine times can brighten up a blah room. Needless to say you can have an amazing day without going overboard. People can still feel like they went to an adult and or family fun function without you spending tons. I don't think it has to be only two choices: Have the party that the wedding industry wants with the diamond camels, the caviar, black tie waiters and 14k gold wedding favors for 15 milllion OR have a wedding with dental floss garters, doughnuts for a cake, flimsy paper plates and donkey for $100. I just believe there is a balance. Before The Wedding Industry people got married with whatever they had. And since The Wedding Industry people have access to tons of unique stuff that their mothers didn't have access to. Anyway here are some examples of cool ways to have a glam event in a smart way:
If the video doesn't work, take a look at the link: http://www.wpix.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3052617

WHICHGOOSE!

I am in love with this hair crown! (I can't decide on a blinged out crown, a nature inspired crown or a vintage flower). I, DO know that I want this beautiful crown. Honesty, I don't know why I want it. I just do. It is super pretty yet simple. I love the rustic wood nymph look. Ya know, the "Help , I'm lost in a forest but I am a sexy tough chick" look. This piece is from Whichgoose on Etsy. Its called Ophelia and its only $30 US Dollars. Whichgoose has some really awesome designs for wood nymphs every where.

Check this shop out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5649119

Found a Goodie!

While I was "cleaning" I found this super cool DIY project. Its affordable cus everything you can find pretty cheap. Gold leaf? cheap! River rocks? Cheap! Super cool. Here is a sneak peak: Can we say elegant place markers? Yup! Learn how to do it here: http://www.poopscape.com/projects/goldleaf/goldleaf.htm

WEDDING INSPIRATION

Here are some of my inspirations for my wedding...Its kind of pink. (QUICK DISCLAIMER: These are random pics that I have collected. If you see your pic contact me, and I'l give credit where its due. Thanks1):

Playlists

I was looking on Daily Candy for weddings and I thought this was kind of cool. So far the big debate over whether we should go ipod or DJ. Ipod less costlier and DJ is less stressful. Any way I go I think that some of these songs may make the cut. Check it out: Playlists

Super cute cake toppers!

So I am on the hunt for cake toppers. Originally I wanted to have a customized cartoon version of us. But after seeing that price tag: $100 and up, I was like "heck no". Don't get me wrong, I think that anyone who has the talent to turn wood or clay into mini mes should get paid in full. I do think that any piece of art that takes more than an hour of some one's time is worth the moola. I just don't have it to spend. So I did some research and I really looked into it. Here's what I found: I found this one on Etsy. I love this set. Its the same idea of custom cartoon cake topper only with a little less detail. The shop's name? Goosegrease. The price for your very own look alike peg person cake topper? $40. Yup tell the lady about yourself and your baby and you will get your very own peg person. Check them out: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5881530 Next I saw on Save On Crafts, these two doves. I love the cute birdcage veil on the lady dove. The price ? Only $2.99 for the pair. I would put some wax paper underneath them and place them right on my cake. Of Course I thought of this the crystal monogram cake topper!!!! I love this sparkly idea for an otherwise boring white cake. However the prices for this are out of control from $55 and up. I have seen some that retail for $250! That's on expensive cake topper! So much so alot of brides are getting out their glue guns and doing it for themselves. Want one check out these secrets that I found!

• Yes, I'm a knottie. Why cus I really like the magazine. Any who here is a fellow knotttie/Nester's tips link:

http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/blogs/tiarared/archive/2007/03/07/how-to-make-a-swarovski-monogram-cake-topper.aspx?MsdVisit=1

• I found this from another wedding blog ( yea I look at other people's stuff, hey I'm a bride)

http://anotherweddingblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/our-diy-monogrammed-cake-topper.html

• This one is from the Wedding Bee, I heart Wedding Bee.

http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/10/12/diy-initials-cake-topper/ I also like the idea of not having an "official' cake topper like this cover of Martha Stewart. This is a really cool idea and it could work with anything. Bugs, butterflies, sparkly stars or even footballs if it has a pick and you can stick it on top or all around your cake, it will work!

I ordered my dress!!!!! super hyped!

After long hunting and investigating I have found my dress. I picked this dress because I simply thought it was the most flattering, my mom liked the idea of lace and I always knew that I was a halter kind of gal. A close friend told me that strapless was more "elegant" so I went searching for the perfect strapless dress and one day after having one of my long talks with my mom I realized that I knew I wouldn't be happy wearing a strapless dress. It was never my style. I was a jeans and fitted tee kind of gal. I liked veggie burgers and flip flops. I like potato chips and collect fat Buddhas not because I am a Buddhist but because I think they are cool. I am not "elegant" . I am "trendy, different and romantic". My advice: Go with your heart because no one can know your vision better than you do. Okay, enuff with the wedding Oprah (I do love Oprah, all of a sudden) mumble, Here's a sneak peak of my dress:

HONEY DON'T LOOK!! THIS ISN'T A POST FOR YOU, MAN!

I MEAN IT, DUDE! TURN BACK!

IF YOU ARE STILL HERE, THERE IS A PROBLEM!

THIS IS A NO FIANCE ZONE!

It was only $170 plus shipping! I got it from Unique Vintage! www.unique-vintage.com I can't wait to see this dress in person. Cant give them a true rating until I see it for myself. However what I can say is that they have tons of dresses for a steal. I mean gosh, I was speechless at some of the fashion forward styles that they have under $100! I mean for less that $300 dollars I can get a ceremony dress and a sexy short reception leaving my wedding dress. For only one day in your life I think under $200 is good. My friends were like " Don't tell people about your steals !" I think that by helping people save money you bring good karma to yourself and in this economy I need tons of good karma. Here are some other sites that really got me:

• Coco Myles. RATING: A+. I love this site because it super affordable and the staff is super kind.
• Net Bride. Rating A. These folks aren't the biggest talks but they are doers. Tell what you want and the will get you the lowest price. I got some really great deals on some really well known brands.

peace!

More ways I'm saving money!

So far I'm doing pretty well. Here's an update:

• I still eat at five guys (I cant resist their veggie burgers with extra cheese) but I dont eat fries or get the soda. I have started a recessionista bride work out. Run up and down the stairs ten times, jog at least twice a week and have two small snacks twice a week and pray that your fat butt goes away.

• I have five or six venues that I am looking at. So far, I am saying no to any venue that cost over $500 and doesn't cater. I just cant rent a space for anything over $500 unless I'm getting more than just table and chairs.

• I am cutting the guest list. At first, I was like I want 100 people. My FI said "heck no". So then I was like "ok...I want 50." and He was like "We know 50 people?!" I was like "umm..yea" then finally I am like "30 and I cant go under that." and he was like "fine" So I guess thirty is the new 250.

• Still cant decide on my rings. Hubby found his in two minutes. So in an interesting twist of feminism, my husband will have his ring before I will!

• I will order my dress tomorrow, Its gorgeous! I have been obsessed over it forever!!!!! It will only cost $182!

So here are my updates!!! till then love ya!