My wedding day was beautiful!!!  The weather was perfect, the venue was perfect, everything looked perfect, everyone had fun, and most importantly, I finally got to marry Steve! All my pro pics are finally in and uploaded!  Thank you, PW, for helping me have my dream wedding!!

Check out the video highlights of our wedding day.  Shot by the best videographers ever, Jody and Abbie Wickersham of Glorious Day Films.  

That's right!  We found out on Oct 5, 2011 that we're adding a little baby to our family.  It will be our first human baby (we have 3 fur babies already).  We couldn't be more thrilled!

In January we found out our little baby is a girl!!!  We've already decided on a name...Molly Jane.  I love her so much already!

Taken by the fabulous Tammy Odell.

Getting Ready/Accessories/Pre-Ceremony

                             Our venue was the Dominion House in Guthrie, OK.  It was so beautiful.

                                                    My dress was a Maggie Sottero Milana

         Some of my jewelry, all purchased from Etsy.  Thanks, Beatie, for recommending Mikan Designs                                                              &n bsp; for this gorgeous bracelet.

                                                     My shoes were my something blue

                        Our FG basket was an antique and our RB pillow was vintage Air Force fabric. 

                                                   My hair flower was also from etsy.  :)

                                                My mom was so good at tying my corset!

Steve gave me this necklace as a wedding day gift.  It is the original diamond that was in the engagement ring of his grandmother's that he gave me when he proposed.  He put a bigger diamond in mine, but I got to wear  the original diamond around my neck. I LOVE this necklace.

     I love that my photographer captured me on my iphone.  lol  I was probably checking the weather.  :)

              This is probably my favorite picture.  Three generations, my grandmother, my mom, and me. 

             I had my late grandmother's brooch fastened to my bouquet.  My sister surprised me with it.

                                               I love all these ring shots that Tammy did. 

                                                     Our florist did such an amazing job. 

                                   My sisters each had a piece of my grandmother's jewelry too.

Ceremony

          Our guests saw these details when they walked into the garden.  Our guest book was from etsy.

   My mom and dad and friend spent hours on these program fans.  My grandpa made the box they're in.  :)

                           The grandparents and parents walked to Edelweiss played on classical guitar.

                                                             Waiting for us girls.  :)

                  Here come the bridesmaids!  They walked to a classical guitarist playing January Rain.

Our RB and FG were SO cute together.  She ran out of petals at the end of the aisle and yelled "I'm out of flowers, Mommy!"  (Her mom was one of my bridesmaids.)  You can see the petals thin out down the aisle.   :)

     My dad and I walked to "Ashokan Farewell" played by our guitarist and one of my former violin students.

My friend Mindy sang "How Great Thou Art" in honor of our grandparents who have passed away.  It was a very special song for me and my grandfather and I wish so much that he could have been there at my wedding.                             

       My friend Brooke did the scripture reading, even though she had a horrible cold.  What a trooper!   :)

Ceremony cont.

                 We wrote our own vows as well as repeating the traditional vows after our minister.

                                                                       The Kiss!

                                                              Husband and wife!

Couple Shots and Bridal Party Shots

                                             With our minister, Jon.  He did an amazing job.

                                                             Just me and the boys

                                                           My husband and the girls

Reception

                                 We entered the reception through an Air Force Sword Arch

  Our cake was made me Rosebeary's in Guthrie.  I loved the design and Janet was such a pleasure to work with.  The flavors were white chocolate, raspberry cream, carrot cake (with cream cheese icing in the cake), all with a buttercream icing.  The groom's cake was s'mores flavor and was exactly what Steve always wanted.  :)

                                 We used the cake topper my parents used over 30 years ago.

                                                         Some reception details...

   I made this using an antique window I had at home.  It has pictures of our parents and grandparents.  Now                                                          it's hanging in my living room. 

                                Our bridesmaid's bouquets sat in mason jars on the cake table

  We donated money to the Susan G Komen Foundation in honor of my mom, a breast cancer survivor, as well as numerous other family members on both sides of our families.  To inform our guests of this we made pink ribbon sugar cookies and attached little notes explaining our donation.

                                    We incorporated mason jars throughout our entire reception.

   Steve sang to me at our reception.  He sang the song from The Wedding Singer, but added his own verses.

                                Our first dance was to "You Belong to Me" covered by Ben Taylor.

 After our first dance we did our first Rockband song as Husband and Wife.  We battled to "Livin' on a Prayer"  and I won.  :)  To be fair, I was playing bass so my part was a LITTLE easier. 

               These boots were the groomsmen's gifts.  They were put to good use at the reception.  :)

                           Our ring bearer and his little brother.  They were the life of the party!

Instead of a bouquet toss we gave a bouquet to each of our grandmothers in honor of their 60+ yrs of marriage

Leaving the wedding

Our photgrapher, Tammy Odell, posted these on her blog...they'll have to tide me over until I get the DVD of all the picture files. 

Getting Ready/Pre-Ceremony

Ceremony

RECEPTION

                                       &nbs p;          

DETAILS

The weather for our rehearsal was surprisingly perfect...considering it had been raining for 2 weeks and our rehearsal (and wedding) was the only time the rain subsided.  Here are a few pics from the rehearsal...I haven't received any yet from the dinner.

We went to The Sandals Regency resort in St. Lucia and I want to go back!!!  The weather was perfect between 80-90 everyday and so sunny!  We went to the pool everyday, which overlooked the ocean.  (The only way I could get Steve to stay as long as I wanted to was to keep sending him to the swim-up bar...that man had like 80 Rum and Cokes on the trip I think!)  Everything is all-inclusive and a lot of the restaurant food was SO yummy.  We had a 24-hour butler/concierge service, which we took full advantage of.  We ordered breakfast in bed most mornings.  When we wanted a snack we got cheese and crackers or chocolate chip cookies or nachos....no wonder I gained 6 pounds.  We also went zip lining in the rain forest which was a blast.  On our kayak excursion we saw the cool arch where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.  It was so beautiful and so romantic and I just want to go back now!!!

One of my bridesmaids, Darolyn, threw me a bridal shower at La Baguette in Norman.  It was so beautiful!  Such good food and SO many people came and brought such fabulous gifts.  It was so much fun.  It was girls only for a little bit and then my husband joined us to help open gifts.  Here are some of the pics.

So my 2 Maids of Honor (my 2 sisters) and one of my BM's (my best friend from high school) threw me an awesome personal shower/bach party!  We started off at my friend Mindy's house with some PHENOMINAL food and drinks, and I opened some very sexy gifts.  :)  So many close friends of mine were there, and I was so flattered and taken aback by all the generosity and love they all exhibited!           

Then we all went to a yummy italian restaurant for dinner, where my mom joined us.

Then on to a night out in Bricktown--very rainy, but very fun!

Shot by the lovely and talented Sara Wilson of Eden Wilson Photography

Steve and I met in August of 2007 and started dating in October that same year.  We dated for 3 months before he deployed to the desert in December of '07.  While he was deployed we agreed that I would move into his house, with the intention of me finding another place either before he returned or soon thereafter.  Due to job uncertainty, I remained there and we eventually decided we didn't want to live apart anymore.  :)  We celebrated our 1 year anniversary on October 5, 2008.  I gave him a mandolin (we are both musicians and he'd been wanting to learn the mandolin) and he gave me a beautiful record player system.  (It looks really old but it has a CD player and MP3 hook-up).  15 days later, on a normal Monday, I came home from work to make dinner.  We decided to watch a movie as we ate.  At one point I paused the movie to take a quick bathroom break.  When I came back into the living room, Steve asked me to come stand by the record player and listen to a new song he had written.  I said "it's about time you wrote me a song".  :)  I saw the title of the song was "Janie's song" but it didn't even enter my mind that it could be a proposal.  The song was really sweet and talked about how he used to hate cats but now he loves mine (Gabby) and how my 20 pairs of shoes on the floor only makes him love me more.  Then at the end of the song he told me he would love me for the rest of his life and asked me to be his wife.  He then lifted the record player lid and pulled out a black ring box.  I was so stunned.  He got down on his knee as tears rolled down his face.  Of course I said yes!  The ring belonged to his Omi and he had diamonds added to it.  I've always loved antiques and I've always wanted an antique ring, but this is so much better because it's so meaningful!  It's beautiful!  Little did I know that the day prior to his proposal he asked my dad for permission to ask me to marry him!  I also had no idea that he'd been getting the ring ready starting in July!  He really surprised me.             

"The goal of life should not be to find joy in marriage, but to bring more love and truth into the world.  We marry to assist each other in this task".  --Leo Tolstoy

We have had to set a date of September 18, 2009 for our wedding.  We wanted it to be much sooner, but since Steve is in the Air Force we have to think about all the people that are currently deployed.  Basically, mid-September was the earliest date we could find where EVERYONE we care about should be able to attend.  Knowing I had a little bit more time to wedding plan I decided to hold off until after Christmas.  (I don't recommend doing this--venues and vendors book SO quickly.  We got very lucky, but our venue/vendors could have easily been booked by the time I got around to planning...what can I say?  I procrastinate.)  The day after Christmas I flew to Florida to be with Steve and his family.  His sister was in town for the holidays from Germany and she offered to take some engagement photos for us.  She is an aspiring photographer and wanted to get some more practice.  We shot on the beach as well as some other spots around Destin/Ft Walton Beach/Niceville. Here are some of the pictures.

This has been a big challenge.  I feel like I looked at almost every venue in Oklahoma.  (OK, that's an exaggeration).  I've never really wanted a church wedding.  I guess I've always imagined an outdoor wedding, but in Oklahoma that is risky.  (wind, rain, tornadoes, heat, humidity, etc.)  Steve is Catholic and I'm Protestant so I thought something neutral like a Wedding Chapel might be the best.  We looked at several wedding chapels and almost signed at one.  Just in time, Steve's parents found some online reviews for the place, and I'm so glad they did.  The reviews were horrible and I'm so glad we didn't end up booking there.  In the end, after 2 bridal fairs and numerous tours of other venues, we've decided on The Dominion House in Guthrie.  (www.dominionhouseguthrie.com)  It's an old Masonic Orphanage that's been renovated for weddings and events and the outdoor garden is BEAUTIFUL. (It's also rumored to be haunted, which Steve LOVES).  I have already started praying for good weather.  :)  They do have a back-up chapel but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the garden!  Our budget is $15,000 (Thanks, Dad!) and it will be a challenge to stay within that at the Dominion House.  (The food is PRETTY expensive.) But I'm saving my money and so is Steve, so hopefully we'll be able to cover anything additional.  These are some pictures of the actual house, the garden, the ballroom (Oh the reception is in the ballroom also on the grounds.) the Bride's room, and the groom's room.  I'm so excited!

I knew I couldn't pick out my dress until I knew where I was getting married.  If we had ended up with some little chapel, a really fancy dress might have seemed inappropriate.  Once we booked The Dominion House I began my shopping.  All I really knew going into this experience was that I didn't want the traditional white strapless dress you see so many people wearing.  I knew I LIKED strapless, I just needed it to be vastly different from all the other dresses I've seen.  (I'm a violinist and have played in so many weddings...I've seen hundreds of dresses.)  My first stop was Alfred Angelo.  Not a fun experience.  My mom and I were kind of overwhelmed because the saleslady was not very friendly and it was SO busy there.  I told her what I liked and one of the things I mentioned was that I didn't want too much beading.  She had me look through the catalogue and I was struggling to even find one dress that I sort of liked.  I finally found one that wasn't so bad and I showed her and she said "OK. For someone who doesn't like beading, you sure picked a dress with a ton of beading".  Nothing I tried on really jumped out at me.  Needless to say, I did not re-visit that store, despite the numerous messages they left me on my cell phone wanting to schedule follow-up appointments. 

My next stop was David's Bridal. My David's Bridal experience was MUCH nicer than the one at Alfred Angelo.  My bridal consultant was so sweet and helpful despite the fact she was helping 2 other brides simultaneously. My mom and I had a lot of fun here.  She took these photos.  It was funny because at one point she said "that dress looks SO good on you".  Then she took a picture and then viewed it on my camera and said "huh.  I guess the camera really does add 10 pounds."  :)  I found 1 or 2 dresses that I really liked and thought could be "the one".  They were between $600-$800.  I figured I would just look around at 1 or 2 more places before I made a decision.  Below is the picture of the dress I liked the best at David's Bridal.  It was WAY too big so I had to hold it up.  (By the way, almost all of the dresses I tried on anywhere were either HUGE or tiny...weird.)

                               Here is a dress that I sort of liked, but there was no love.  :)

What ended up being my last stop was The Bridal Boutique in Norman, OK.  My mom wasn't able to make this trip so I had one of my bridesmaids, Darolyn, come with me.  I can not say enough about this store and its employees.  Bailey was my consultant and she is fabulous!  It's a really nice boutique and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find anything in my price range.  She assured me there were a lot of beautiful dresses for under $1,000.  (That was my maximum).  She was right!  I was astonished how many gorgeous, high-quality designer dresses there were, most of which were priced the same or less than dresses at David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo!  The difference in quality was tremendous.  Bailey never forced anything on me, she didn't smother me, but she was always nearby to help.  I love Bailey!  Below are some pictures of some dresses I tried on that didn't work out.  You can probably see how nice these dresses are, even though they don't all fit.  At this store, everything ran small.  I was fitting into a size 10, whereas I was a 6 at the other stores.  Oh well.

I thought this might be the one.  I loved the little flowers at the bottom.  I thought it would be perfect for a garden wedding.  And check out the back!

                                   Here are some other nice ones that didn't make the cut. 

                                I think I'll need to do a separate entry for "the dress".  :)

So let me start off by saying that I really didn't think I would be the kind of girl that just "knows" when she's found "the dress".  You read all about the girls who walk out in their dress and they cry and their moms cry and strangers cry...I knew that wasn't me.  And it wasn't.  But I did "know" when I found the dress.  When Darolyn and I walked into the Bridal Boutique (I should mention that it was a Sunday and the store is closed on Sundays but they opened it just for me.  They are so accommodating!) I told Bailey I liked dresses with a vintage feel, lace, not too poufy and big, and that I needed it to be under $1,000.  Bailey was busy pulling dresses for me to try when I saw a BEAUTIFUL dress peeking out.  I saw gorgeous gold lace cascading over champagne tulle.  I showed it to Bailey and said "there's no WAY this is under 1,000 right?".  It turns out, it was $790!  So I tried on all the dresses Bailey pulled, and then it was time for this gorgeous gold/champagne dress that turned out to be a Maggie Sottero.  As I took it off the hanger I told Darolyn I thought I probably wouldn't want to try on anything after this one...it was SO beautiful.  I put it on and felt amazing.  Bailey laced me up in the back and I walked out in the main room in front of the big mirrors and Darolyn told me it was "the one".  She said "that dress will make people cry".  :)  I didn't want to take it off.  I knew it was the one!  Bailey told me it would take a month or two to order, and since my wedding wasn't for another 7 months, I decided to wait.  I knew I wanted to lose a few pounds and wanted to be fitted when I was closer to the size I would be at the wedding.  In between then and May (when I ordered the dress) I went back to the store 3 different times, once with my mom and my sister Jennifer, once with my sister Jessica, and once with my friend Yujean.  I had to keep trying it on!  :)  When I was finally fitted I had lost about 10 pounds.  The size 10 was too big and my measurements put me in between a 6 and an 8.  Bailey ordered the 8 to be on the safe side.  Since the dress has a corset back alterations shouldn't be necessary.  Take a look at the pictures!  The below pictures were taken the very first day in the store.  I'll post some newer ones with the veil later.  Enjoy!

08-13-09 I went to pick up MY dress at the store!  My size, never been worn before!  Got the Maggie Sottero Certificate of Authenticity and everything!  Here are some pics of my actual dress

Here are some pics from my 08-19 appointment to get the dress fitted and bustled.  Even though the dress needs to be taken in in order for the corset to look like it's supposed to, I didn't want to risk anything going wrong with the beading on the dress.  I'll just have to deal with the corset being tightened almost to the point where the sides touch.  Oh well.  :)

As far as photography goes, I had NO idea what to do.  I knew the style I liked but I had no idea how to go about finding someone.  A friend of Darolyn's (bridesmaid) is a photographer and I thought it might be cool if I could hire her.  She's really nice and I would enjoy working with her, plus I love her style!  She told me she's not comfortable doing weddings yet, but recommended a couple other photographers with similar styles.  I put the names away and kind of forgot about them.  My mom and I went to 2 bridal shows and I was overwhelmed with how many photography brochures I received.  They all looked good but they either weren't what I was looking for, or they were too expensive.  (I wanted to keep the photography under $2500)  I then got a call from Darolyn telling me she had looked at one of her friend's recommendations and that she thought I would really like her portfolio.  So I went to her website (Tammy ODell) and fell in love with her pictures.  I arranged a meeting in Norman.  (She lives in a small town south of Norman but was willing to drive to meet me.)  Steve and I not only loved her style and her prices, we loved her personality!  I think the package we ended up choosing is right around $2000.  I can't wait to see the pictures!  Go check her out--she's AMAZING, especially with outdoor shots. 

www.todellphotography.com

For videography I thought I might just skip it.  I figured we could always set up our camera on a tripod or something. But at one of the Bridal Fairs I came across an amazing company--Glorious Day Films.  It's run by a wonderful husband and wife team and they're so unique.  They shoot with old super 8 film, and the final product is a vintage-looking montage of wedding highlights with beautiful music in the background.  The basic package we chose is costing just under $1,000--a price I was shocked at because it seems so inexpensive for all the work they do.  (We did get a discount for being friends with them on facebook.)  :)  Take a look--it's breathtaking.

www.gloriousdayfilms.com/

I recieved many florist brochures at the bridal fairs but I really wanted to keep with my trend of hiring special, creative, unique people that I really get along with.  My sister recommended I contact one of her good friends, Katie Huskerson.  Katie has a business called "Birdie".  I guess the best way to describe it would be to just tell you to go to her website.  :)

www.thelittlebirdietoldme.blogspot.com/

She does a lot with flowers and vintage/antique pieces.  She has amazing style and she's the sweetest person you'll ever know.  We met up at a coffee shop and spent a couple of hours chatting about ideas.  My bridesmaids (there are 7!) are wearing light blue chiffon dresses in the style of their choice.  Some of the dresses have a chocolate brown accent belt or sash or brooch.  My wedding colors have kind of evolved into light blue, chocolate brown, peach, sage green, and ivory.  Here is the inspiration for our bouquets.  (This image was found on google)

Katie is going to do this bouquet for me, but with some gardenias mixed in. It consists of gardenias, peach roses and chocolate cosmos.  Gardenias are my favorite flower and I will probably also wear one in my hair.  The bridesmaids will have smaller versions of this, minus the gardenias, but with cream hydrangeas mixed in.  Katie is doing my bouquet, my 7 bridesmaids, all the corsages, boutonnieres, petals for the flower girl, petals for our exit, and centerpieces for the reception for no more than $800!  She is my hero!  I asked her to just surprise me on the table centerpieces.  I trust her completely.  She has amazing taste and style and she knows what I like and what my style is, and I feel like nothing I could conceptualize would compare to her ideas.   

I couldn't get my bridesmaids to a number lower than 7.  There are at least 4 other friends I wish I could include, but I feel like 8 or more bridesmaids is kind of pushing it.  :)  I do feel very blessed to have so many close girl friends in my life.  My 2 sisters will be maids of honor, and the remaining 5 bridesmaids will consist of Steve's wonderful sister, my 2 best friends from college, my best friend from high school, and my best friend in Norman, who's like a sister to me.  I think all of Steve's groomsmen are in the Air Force, possibly with the exception of 1.  All the AF boys will be wearing their blue uniforms. 

The Bridal Boutique offered me a 20% discount on bridesmaids dresses, so I chose different styles from the Bari Jay line and I'm letting them choose the style they like best, that they think they might wear again.  They'll all be a short length and they'll all be "misty blue" with "mink" accents.  They will not be wearing those birds nests on their heads...

                                            The color of all the dresses will look like this

Here is the flower girl dress for Steve's niece.  She will look so cute in it!  It's from www.mygirldress.com. 

I got our flower girl this tote bag from seller beachchik on etsy.

I'm going to fill it with a cinderella doll, a stuffed animal, a flower girl book, and a book about animals. 

I'm thinking maybe one of these suits for the ring bearer.  Maybe in chocolate brown?  It's also from the same website. 

My mom found this dress at Dillard's.  How cute is she?!  (I hope she doesn't mind me posting this pic)  :)

Here are some accessories, most of which have been found at www.etsy.com, aka the best website in the entire world. 

                                       &nbs p;                                         SHOES

These are handmade ballet shoes by Elephant and Chickpea on etsy.  I've been searching everywhere for shoes, and have been unsuccessful.  I just wanted something comfortable, flat, yet dainty and pretty.  I'm so excited to order these!

***update*** these weren't going to be available soon enough so I've switched it up and ordered these instead, in light blue.  They're from the seller De Bonis Orquera.  I absolutely adore them!  They're precious, dainty, and most important...comfortable! 

                                       &nbs p;                               FLOWER GIRL BASKETS

               I'm trying to decide between flower girl baskets.  I found this one on etsy and really like it.

                                            Or this one which is by Emici Bridal on etsy.com

                                                            This is also Emici Bridal

                                                                  ***update***

      I ended up buying an antique metal basket at an antique store.  Here's a picture taken at the wedding.

                                       &nbs p;                                         & nbsp;  EARRINGS

                                        I got these earrings from Wired Vintage on etsy.com 

                                       &nbs p;                                         & nbsp;     GARTER

                          I love this!  It's my wedding colors.  It's by the Garter Lady on etsy.com 

                                       I ended up going with this garter from the Garter Lady

                                       &nbs p;                                         & nbsp; GUEST BOOK

I am SO excited about this!  KC Scrapper from etsy.com made ours to order.  Since Steve and I are both musicians we chose this one.  It's antique sheet music, and on ours, she used brown lace and light blue and peach accents and personalized it.  It was only $25 plus shipping!  I love it!  Everyone I've worked with on etsy is wonderful.

                                       &nbs p;                                         & nbsp;     NECKLACE

This is what I'm most excited about.  I got this from the seller "Portobello" on etsy.com.  She swapped the pearls so they would be more cream colored and vintage-looking.  When I wore this to the bridal boutique when I tried on my dress all the sales girls commented on how it was the best wedding necklace they'd ever seen.  Bailey even told a Maggie Sottero representative about it and he was interested in finding something similar for marketing purposes.  Isn't it lovely?!

                                                                *****update*****

The day of my wedding Steve had his best man deliver a gift.  It was a beautiful diamond necklace.  The diamond was the original diamond from his Omi's ring.  He had it removed and put a bigger one on for my engagement ring.  So I ended up wearing her original diamond around my neck on my wedding day.  It was so special to me.  You can sort of see it in the below picture.

                                       &nbs p;                                    RING BEARER PILLOW

                   This is the pillow I'd like to order for the ring bearer.  It's Elmo and Ike on etsy.com

                                            I really like this one too, from Emici Bridal on etsy.

                                                                  ***update***

I decided it would be more special to me if my mom made the ring bearer pillow.  Pics to come.  Since we're having an Air Force wedding we decided to go with a pillow made from this fabric:

                                       &nbs p;                                         & nbsp;     BRACELET

I LOVE this bracelet!  It's by Mikan Designs on etsy.com and you can see it on Beatie's bio.  It's so beautiful--I'm just trying to decide if I want to spend the money on it...

***update*** I purchased it on 8-20 at a small discounted rate!  This seller is the best!

This has been another challenge.  At first I wasn't going to wear a veil at all.  Then Steve's grandmother (his Omi--the one who gave his family the ring I now wear) found out I wasn't going to be wearing one in order to save money (the one I thought I wanted was like $200!).  She begged me to let her buy me one because "every bride HAS to have a veil".  :)  I refused the money and said I didn't mind.  Then, as Steve and I were leaving her house, she opened the passenger side door and threw an envelope on my lap and slammed the door.  :)  It contained $200 in cash and a note that said "Please let me pay for your veil, Janie.  Someday you can tell your daughter your Omi bought it for you".  How could I say no?! 

The problem I've had with veils is finding a style that goes with the dress.  I love veils with a thick lace edge, but they just don't look good with my dress.  There's too much detail on the dress and the veil kind of overwhelms it.  I think the dress needs to be the focal point, not the veil.  (In my case.)  So then I tried some birdcage veils.  I LOVE birdcage veils but I really think they go best with short short hair or updos, neither of which I will have.  So now I think I've decided on a simple ivory veil that matches the bottom of the dress.  It has a blusher, which Steve specifically requested.  He really wants to see me walk down the aisle with a veil covering my face.  lol.  He said he is excited to lift the veil over my head to have our first kiss.  Below are some pictures of the hit and misses.  Now the dilemna is figuring out how to have my hair with the veil.  I know I want it half up, and wavy, but how do you do that and still have the blusher?  Any suggestions?

These are some of the losers.  :)

And the winner is...

I went to my hair stylist for a cut and highlight and had her do a quick trial on me too, without the veil.  All in all, it was what I wanted except just a little TOO much body at the crown and a little too messy.  But I really like how it looks natural and wavy instead of tight curling iron curls.  I'm still trying to figure out if I want to have hair around my face or not and also where the veil will go--underneath the clip or above it.  Here are the pics.  (I also don't think I want to be quite this blonde for the wedding..it just doesn't feel very me...maybe I'll get used to it.)  Pardon the strange facial expressions--there was no one to take pictures for me so I had to do some creative self-portraits.  You can see my little cat Gabby was watching closely.  :)

***UPDATE***

Now I'm considering having my hair all down, with a subtle braid in the front.  I like the first picture as far as style and volume, and the second is the braid inspiration.

***2nd Hair Trial***

After this one I'm changing hair stylists.  :)  I showed her some of the above inspiration pics and this is what I left with.  (I also asked to keep my blonde color but just to infuse a LITTLE bit of brown and I left as a brunette with a few blonde streaks!)

OK Third time's a charm...I finally found a girl I like!  She'll be doing this up-do and my make-up the day of the wedding!!!

I'd like to put pictures of all my bridesmaids up here but since I have 7 it might be a while before I can collect all of them.  :) 

Jessica (my middle sister)

Jennifer (my youngest sister)

Beth (best friend from college)

Yujean (best friend from high school)

Stephanie (FSIL)

Loren (best friend from college)

And here is our ADORABLE Flower Girl, Katlyn!  (Steve's niece/Stephanie's daughter)

I started making the invitations this past Sunday, May 31st.  A friend of mine made me a card for our engagement dinner and that card turned into the invitation inspiration. 

My friend Heather uses the Stampin' Up products, and since she is a demonstrator she gets a 20% discount.  Thanks to her generosity, we are making 130 invitations, 130 thank you notes, and we have 260 envelopes, plus all the supplies, for less than $200!  We've changed the brown ribbon to antique lace and slightly changed the blue color and the color of the ink/stamp.  

<----Heather and my mom

<----me and Heather

 Session #3 was this weekend.  We finished the fronts and now we have to print the inside.  Here are more pics!  I think the invites turned out so adorable!  (I know I'm a little partial though)  :)

***Update***

I finally finished stuffing envelopes, addressing envelopes, and stamping envelopes late last night (July 30).  I'm mailing them today, July 31!!!

(The dress being the first)  :) If this is your cake, please let me know and I'll give you credit.  This cake is our inspiration.  Ours will be 4 tiers, and we will be using my parents' cake topper.  (Light blue bells).  The flavors are going to be white chocolate, cheesecake, raspberry cream, and italian cream.  Steve's groom's cake is going to be a picture of his Taylor guitar with a palm tree border.  His cake will be a smoores flavor!

I'm not sure whose cake this is--if it's yours please let me know and I'll be happy to credit you!