Hi everyone! So I'm starting to familiarize myself more with Project Wedding and must say that you are a lovely group of very friendly and helpful brides and brides to be!! Thanks for all your help and future help, input, and advice!

I'm a sunny So Cal girl who moved to NYC in 2005 for work. But I'm enjoying it as much as I can because my fiance and I plan on moving to California in about 4 years. Yay!

So my honey bunny and I started dating in August of 2006. Within 3 months we were in love and talking about our future together. He asked my parents persmission (soo cute) during Christmas of 2007 and he popped the question in Feb 2008 on the beach during a weekend getaway to the Bahamas (as we escaped the brutal NYC cold). So here we are, planning our wedding June 2009 in CA. Its a little scary since we live so far away but we know it will all fall into place and work out!

Here is my 3 carat baby. It has a brilliant round center stong and four princess cuts on each side and it is "Euroshank" design meaning the bottom is flat so it doesnt bang against the desk or something. It's VERY comfortable. My love designed it himself and chose the center diamond from a jewler friend. It's been apraised and insured so I'm much more comfortable wearing it everyday around the city (I turn it around when I'm in the subway or dodgy neighborhood).

www.jewelersmutual.com

If you don't own a home or have renters insurance to which you could add your ring to, and if your ring is appraised at over $5k, I highly recommend you go through Jewelers Mutual. Your yearly insurance cost is based on the apraisal of your ring. You don't have to pay a deductible and you could go to any jewler of your choice to have it repaired or replaced at the appraisal value of your ring. If you go to their website, you could calculate your approximate yearly cost to insure it based on its appraisal.

So I'm a shoe girl. (Which girl isn't right?). I bought these shoes on an impulse at Bergdorf Goodman's. I know what you're thinking, "Who buys Manolo Blahnik's on an impulse!?". Well not me, but this time, I totally fell in love with them and HAD TO GET THEM (just like the picture but mine are GRAY..NOT RED). You know how Carrie in Sex and & The City walks by the store window and sees these gorgeous Manolo's and is like "Hello Lover!" Well that was me, and I got them. I knew I'd wear them to my wedding so voila. The time has come and I'm relieved I have at least the shoes out of the way (since nothing else has been done!).

This is my dream dress. I found it on an online dress re-sale website. I would buy it from her but thats not my size. Its by Melissa Sweet style "Liliana". I'm in complete and utter love with it!

I am also in love with this one. Paloma Blanca 3704

Thanks to HMM and Kohler, I've been inspired to do our own save the dates! My fiance and I worked hard on them and are so happy with the results. I took these pics with my camera phone and it doesnt do them justice! The pic is distorted but the real ones are much better. I will try to find my camera to take better pics. I do have to admit, at first these weren't easy to make but in the end, we're totaly glad we did them ourselves. I almost gave up and went on a hunt for regular plain gold stamp ink and stumbled upon a stamping heaven of a shop in the West Village. The owner totally coached me and sent me back home to try embossing again! We purchased all of the materials at Micheals: 1) platinum card stock for the backing 2) ivory card stock for the actual invite 3) matching envelopes 3) Martha Stewart monogram stamping kit 3) Martha Steward clear stamp 4) Gold embossing ink 5) Pirate Gold embossing powder 6) Paper cutter (thank goodness for 50% off coupon..it came to be $40! 7) embossing machine. I will be accenting them with rhinestones later.

I made this board using Polyvore.com. It was fun!

I will attempt to recreat something like this but with satin ribbon probably. Cute idea to keep the bouquet "alive". :)

http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/08/02/photoshoping-made-easy/#more-60954

Tada!! I've made my very first pomander! It wasnt that hard to make but i'm reconsidering the ribbon. It may be too wide but i'm not sure. I've ordered thinner silver ribbon and will test it out. If you want instructions on how i made it, PM me! These will go on the aisle seats for our ceremony. I will make 12.

So I'd love to have these letters on our cake table but need some inspiration. Currently I thought of this only because these are materials i had on hand. But i think it looks cheapy! So help me come up with something glam and fab!

Thanks to fellow PW bride Eugugoly82, I am the proud new owner of her cardbox! She did a lovely job!!

Photo Credit: Eugugoly82

I also bought this gorgeous easel from Eugugoly82. She has great taste! :) We will display our favorite engagement photo at the entrance of our ceremony and then move it over to reception. Yeah!

Photo Credit: Eugugoly82

My parents decided to plant about 5 hydrengea plants which the nursery promised would yeild hundreds of hydrengeas for my big day. I'm super excited and I hope it works out!! I plan on making about three different centerpieces using them. One will be in a glass vase. The other in a big silver urn type vase and the third type will be in lots of mint julep type vases. I may also make my bridesmaid bouquets out of them. For my bouquet, I plan on buying peonies from the LA flowermart and DIYing my bouquet :)

This is my dress. Monique Lhuillier "Noel" with that same sash. I'm trying to sell it because my fiance saw it already. I'm selling it for $3,500 which is close to what I paid for it (obo). Its never been worn or altered and doesnt even need to be cleaned. Its in pristine condition and I have the reciept for it to show its authenticity. It retails for at least $6,000. I got it from the ML sample sale which we camped out for and were the first to get in. PM me if you have any questions.

Cachet Shantung dress and bolero

Garter: Beyonce - "Single Ladies"

http://www.youtube.com/user/beyonce?ob=1

Possible First Dance or Intro Song - Frank Sinatra "L.O.V.E."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdDQCAZ64J4&feature=related

Haute Bride! I originally had purchased some earrings from them but they got here broken so I had to return them  :( But I found this gorgeous bracelet on their sample sale site to make up for it!