moonlitheart's biography
Here are some pictures my bridesmaid Dallas and our friend/hairstylist took at the wedding. Not the most high quality of course, but we should be getting our pro pictures in the next few weeks!
Tyler and I met our senior year of high school. We shared two classes, AP Statistics and Musical Theatre. We were very different in terms of "status" in the high school world. He was in band, FCA, had participated in drama for three years, and mostly associated with the arts crowd. I was all over the place: rhythmic gymnastics, chorus, yearbook, Spanish honor society...I had friends (and boyfriends) everywhere. So, it was really no surprise that we hadn't met before (although after dating for awhile, we realized we were in the same Chemistry class in 10th grade, but sat across the room from each other and never made contact). We sat next to each other in Musical Theatre class and really bonded through our mutual love of music. We even sang a duet together, "The Tennis Song" from City of Angels. Still, we remained only friends for about 8 months. There were definitely feelings and attraction before that, but neither of us really knew how to go about acting on it. In the Spring, we were cast in the musical Into the Woods. We had rehearsals every day together and he often drove me home afterwards and we would talk about our day with each other. I loved our conversations. In April, we both attended the Florida State Thespian Festival in Tampa with our troop. I think this trip really brought us together because it allowed us to get out of that high school box we had been in and we discovered that we had so much more in common than just our love for music. We finally made it official on April 7th, 2004 when he asked me out a few days after returning from Tampa. The pictures above are all from 2004; the one of us in the yellow shirts is actually from Thespian Festival. The picture on the lower left is right after graduation in May and the one above that is from his family reunion in June. I can't believe that was over 5 years ago!
We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Orlando, Florida. I'm a full-time student at the University of Central Florida. He's a department manager at Sears, taking classes at Valencia Community College when he can. In our spare time, we love to go out to restaurants, shop, and play video games together (we love the Nintendo Wii!). We still find time to sing...sometimes we learn duets and sing them in the car. We'll celebrate our 6 year anniversary of being together next April and we're so excited to be getting married finally!
We own three Chihuahuas, all named after characters from Grey's Anatomy. The first one is Addison, the second one is Bailey, and the third one is Izzie. Izzie (she's a long-haired Chihuahua) is the oldest, she's almost 4. She's also the smallest, weighing only 4.5 pounds. The other two (short-hairs) are from the same litter and they're almost 3. Our puppies are completely spoiled and very happy.
These pictures were taken at Kraft Azalea Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. Our fabulous photographer, Jen Adams, took them and I'm really happy with the way they came out. It was a pretty day and a lot of fun, even though my shoes kept sinking into the soft ground!
Here's a few monograms I made myself. Just amusing myself in Photoshop!
Our ceremony and reception is taking place at Highland Manor in Apopka, Florida. It's everything I was looking for in a venue. The atmosphere has an old South feel
about it and the grounds are beautifully landscaped. Catering is on-site since there's also a restaurant inside and the food is delicious. I've been there for lunch twice and both times I had the popcorn shrimp with sweet potato fries. Not to
mention, the sweet tea is some of the best I've ever had (and I'm picky about sweet tea!). The ceremony will be underneath an 150 year-old live oak tree, the cocktail hour is on the veranda, and the reception is in the grand ballroom that
features huge crystal chandeliers. We're serving Caesar salad, a choice of grilled tenderloin of beef or organic roasted chicken breast, and red velvet cupcakes and peanut butter cake with chocolate fudge filling!
Our rehearsal dinner is taking place at Mimi's Cafe on Saturday, the 12th of December. I think it's going to be about 18 people. We picked Mimi's Cafe because we love the atmosphere and they have so many different varieties of food that everyone should be able to find something they like on the menu.
My goal is to have two very contrasting atmospheres for the ceremony and the reception. The ceremony will feature lots of yellow and white and have a light, airy feel about it. The wedding party is wearing canary and there will be many flowers, an arbor, white lanterns along the aisles, and white wooden folding chairs. The reception will have a bold vibe, using lots of turquoise and crystals for sparkle.
My dress and bridesmaid dresses are from David's Bridal. The dress that my MOH and bridesmaid are wearing is style #F12495 in Canary. It has an empire
waist, spaghetti straps that cross in the back, and is made from chiffon. The beading detail along the waist is really pretty and the dress has an airy feel about it (I didn't want prom-like bridesmaid dresses).
My dress is style #E9351;
it's a satin A-line with a chiffon overlay and beaded lace details. It's in white and has a chapel train. I love the sweetheart neckline and it feels much lighter than a lot of other dresses I tried on because it's partly chiffon. My favorite
thing about it though is that is has a corset back.
(Ignore the awkward way I'm holding my arms in this picture. I was hot and didn't know which way to pose for the picture! That's my MOH in the second picture.)
My mom is wearing a long jacket dress from JCPenney. Her shoes are from Bellissima Bridal Shoes and they're by Touch-Ups in the style of Taryn.
My shoes are by Coloriffics and are the style Coronado. I originally saw them on the David's Bridal website and loved them because of the rhinestones covering the stiletto heel. Then I found out that Sears (where my fiance` works) carries them on their website, so he bought them for me with his discount! They have a 3 1/4 inch heel and so much sparkle. My earrings are from JCPenney and are 1/10 CT T.W. diamond hoops. My necklace is also from JCPenney and is a 1 CT T.W. heart with pave and channel set diamonds. Both are presents from my parents.
My veil and headpiece are both from David's Bridal. The veil is style #V9466. It's elbow length with an embroidered lace edge. The tiara is style #100501 and is silver with rhinestone flowers and crystals.
Ideas for my hair (I don't have bangs though, so that would be a little different):
Ideas for makeup (I know I want dramatic eyes...not sure about lip color yet):
My bouquet is all about calla lilies! I think the calla is so elegant and wedding-like. I'm carrying a bouquet of mostly white callas (mini and large) with a few yellow callas. My MOH and bridesmaid will carry smaller bouquet of all yellow callas. I'll also have tiny pave crystal hearts in my bouquet and the stems will have a crystal heart buckle on the ribbon. [All above pictures are from TheKnot.com]
Our cake is being made by Heather at It's Tasty Too. We knew going in that we wanted sugar orange blossoms on the cake to draw in our Southern elegance theme. I had been thinking we would get a white cake, but Heather suggested we do a yellow cake the same color as my bridesmaids' dresses and do white accents. I love the idea of having a yellow cake! I also knew I wanted at least one hexagonal tier. So, we're having a yellow buttercream cake with sugar orange blossoms and white scrollwork that is inspired by our invitation. The bottom tier is a hexagon, the other three tiers are rounds. We have two tiers of peanut butter cake with chocolate fudge filling, one tier of mocha cake with german chocolate filling, and our top tier is banana cake with chocolate fudge filling. We're also having groom's cupcakes that are red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The above photos are all from TheKnot.com and each has an element of something that inspired me.
Our invitations are from The American Wedding and I was very much pleased with them. They're simple and elegant. I like the scrollwork so much that we're incorporating it onto our cake.
Read on for more info about the DIY menu cards and ceremony program designs! Pictures of the finished products will be up soon. :)
My DIY menu cards are finished! Here's how they look. I think they came out really nice, even though they took forever! The second picture is mock-up of how they will be placed in the napkins.
CEREMONY
- Pre-ceremony music (arrival of guests): Jim Brickman, Vitamin String Quartet, etc.
- Prelude (parents entrance): "Music For the Royal Fireworks" by Handel
- Prelude (bridesmaids entrance): "Minuet in G" by J.S. Bach
- Processional: "Canon in D" by Pachelbel
- Recessional: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Michael McDonald
RECEPTION
- Bride and Groom Entrance: "Ever Ever After" by Carrie Underwood
- First Dance: "Everything" by Michael Buble
- Father-Daughter Dance: "5 Foot 2, Eyes of Blue" by Dean Martin
- Mother-Son Dance: "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart
- Cake Cutting: "Cut The Cake" by the Average White Band
- Last Song: "For Once In My Life" by Michael Buble
OTHER MUST-PLAYS
- "Destination Moon" by Deborah Cox
- "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera
- "Orange Colored Sky" by Nat King Cole
- "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat
- "Your Everything" by Keith Urban
- "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John
- "September" by Earth, Wind, & Fire
- "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" by Michael Jackson
- "Your Body Is a Wonderland" by John Mayer
- "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle (from Aladdin)
