Hi!  My name is Khyla and I'm very excited to be a member of Project Wedding.  I think it'd be great for me to really get my ideas off the ground and I hope this site motivates me to do so because time is winding down.  I like borrowing ideas and making them my own.  I consider myself to be unique which is almost becoming a problem during the planning because I don't want my wedding to be like any other that I've attended.  That poses a problem because I can't find things unique and as different as I am for my wedding day.  With that being said, a lot of ideas and projects will be DIY (I also consider myself a frugalista so DIY is right up my alley).  I'm looking forward to meeting people and sharing ideas through the forums and community!

The website was my first big task.  I did it before I did the STDs because the website address is listed on the STDs.  My honey actual helped my find a place to 'house' our website.  We almost considered Myspace because we had unlimited possibilities.  But I didn't feel it was write so we used WeddingWire.com which has worked out perfectly.  Tell me what you think. 

www.weddingwire.com/khylaandmarqus

Uh oh...I just realized I need to update it asap!

We decided on 2 Save the Date announcements...one in color and one in black and white.  I let Marqus pick the pics we used.  Most of my friends use the magnets and with me wanting to be different (and save a buck) we used Vista Print and created postcards.

I found the lil poem on the back of the STD somewhere on the web.  For first time users, VistaPrint gave us 100 for free, just pay for shipping.  So we both registered and spent a total of about $22 for 200 STDs. I saved a lot on postage because my supervisor let me use the postage meter at work. I've gotten good feedback so far. 

The Inspiration

I've only been in a handful of weddings which is a lot less compared to some of my friends.  Although I've only been in a few as a bridesmaid (one as a hostess) I know how comfortable it is to be.  I have a total of 8 ladies in my bridal party, all of different shapes and sizes.  I not only want them to be comfortable but look good as well.  I've asked each of them what they feel most comfortable in.  Half are like "Whatever Khyla! As long as you're happy" and the others followed instructions like I asked.  I'm over the "wedding party being identical" concept so here's my inspiration for my unique ladies.

I would really like the conversion/wrap/twist (or whatever you call it) dress but I haven't found one in the aqua color in a decent (less that $150) price range. 

So the next best thing I've found is the David's Bridal Six-Way top.  I wish they carried it in chiffon or another flowy material.  I know this only shows 6 DB also has 2 or 3 other tops that goes with their satin bottom skirts.

The Reality

I got the Pool color swatch from DB and sent it to each BM.  Their instructions were to find a dress, I didn't care from where, but to find a dress that matched that color exactly.  7 out of 8 (it WOULD be my sister) followed the instructions exactly.  I'm pretty sure 7 got their dress from DB.  One from Alfred Angelo.  My sister went to some other vendor and they didn't have a color swatch to offer nor a dress in that color in the store so she ordered based on what she saw in the catalog.  Long and behold, it was darker than needed.  All this is 2 weeks before my wedding.  I jumped on eBay and bought her a DB dress, brand new with tags for $50...THANK GOD!!!  Here's a pic!

So I'm not a country girl but my hometown is...a lil bit.  But that's all of Mississippi.  It's pretty rural.  I wanted to get married in the town where Marqus & I went to college, Starkville, MS.  There are more places to stay, more to do, there's the University and from 2000-2008, I spent 98% of my time there with the exception of going home for the holidays.  Starkville is only 30 minutes away from Louisville (my hometown) so no big deal, right?  But then, we started pricing venues + food and with this in mind, I changed the location of the wedding. 

The inspiration was a beautiful church wedding. We had picked a church but by the time I changed, we hadn't booked a place for the reception. I don't have a pic of the church that we we're considering having the wedding but it is very nice.  I've been to a few weddings there. 

Now the reality was a lakeside gazebo in my hometown.  Here's the link to the website.  http://www.ltok.com/  But anywho, here are some pics.

We took engagement pics about 3 weeks ago and although we saw proofs the same day, we just decided to post some.  Check them out here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2216468&id=26506826&l=8fb4d51057

Our budget for the wedding is $5000.  These pics were done by a friend of mine who isn't a "professional" photographer but to me, she should be because she's just as good.  She did them as a gift and I'm so thankful for her.  Tell me what y'all think. 

We received rings this week.  His ring tungsten and blue.

And mine is white gold plated in rhodium, blue sapphire & diamonds.

I'm debating getting another one and wearing it on top but we'll see about that after the wedding.

I wanted something different and unique for my jewelry so I had someone create something for me.  My inspiration came from a DIY project I saw on Style Me Pretty.  http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/06/11/diy-project-pearl-necklace/

I sent Jazmine of Stars & Rocks a pic of my dress and I told her I wanted something eclectic similar to what was on SMP's website and she went to work.  I'm speechless with the results.  And she's creating earrings and a bracelet to match.  I haven't seen those yet and I think I may tell her not to send pics so it'll be a suprise.  Here's the necklace.

These of pics of my semi-DIY pocketfold invitations.  If you're wondering the pocketfold is the only part that wsn't DIY.  I didn't have that much time to devote.  I created the monogram on the outide.  When you open the initation, the base is printed on white cardstock and the overlay wasn't printed on velum and tied together witha black ribbon.  In the pocketfold, I have the "From Out Of Town" insert that shows directions from the major cities and airports including maps; "Map" insert that shows a map from the ceremony site to the reception site; "Registry/Hotel Info" insert which is pretty self expanatory; and the "RSVP" insert.  Behind all the inserts is a self-addressed stamped envelop for easy return.  Everyone seems to like them.   

I created this monogram first just playing around.  I thought I would use it on our DIY aisle runner.  But I'm not sure how to do the black part.

So I came up with this one as a possibility which may be easier but I don't like it as much.

To spruce this one up, I think I'll put use the border and spell out our names and use it on our runner.  We'll see how this goes.

I never thought I would get married so I can't say "As a little girl I imagined my dress would be....".  But once I got engaged and actually starting looking at dresses I wanted something full yet flattering.  A week after being engaged my friends were like "You gotta go try on dresses!"  So I started looking at DB's website and became mesmerized with this lil lovely (posted link only to make sure I didn't violate any terms):  http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs /stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=3001516&currentIdx=62&subCategory=-49999486%257c3001447%257c3001516&catentryId=6097083&sort=

And I thought it looked good on me but I'm FRUGAL!!  And the price tag didn't really appeal to me but I still loved it.  This is me in the dress (ignore my hair).

Fast forward to 6 months later,  I decided to keep looking.  So I found this.  It wasn't my size but I was getting closer.  And I just loved the detail!!!

Fast forward to about 3 months later to a Monday in October, a local bridal store sent me an email telling me that their Alfred Angelo dresses were on sale.  Now this store doesn't have a dress over $599.99, which is still kind of high to me, but oh well.  Didn't like the way the Alfred Angelo dresses fit on me so I kept looking.  I took an older co-worker with me and she was like, "Just keep looking".  All I saw was a fitted dress that was totally the opposite of what I looked for but when I tried it on, I just thought "I like".  But the lady who owned the store said she had never seen a dress cut like that fit someone so well.  Flattery got her everywhere!! LOL But there was a lil old lady there with her (b/c of how old she looked I'm thought it was her granddaughter) daughter and she told me "That's your dress".  I actually didn't buy the dress that day.  I went to the next best place...eBay!  I struggled to find it b/c the store owner wouldn't let me take pics nor tell me who it was designed by.  But after a day of searching I found it on eBay, in my size and had it by the end of the week, for less than half of what it sold for in the store.  How do you like those apples!!!

OH HOW I LOVE HER!!!!! She was just right for me.  For more pics, check out the link in my bridal portraits page.