donderdag 22 juli 2010

Verhuist

Ik ben verhuist... of mijn blog dan:



MIJN NIEUWE ADRES





check it out!

dinsdag 22 juni 2010

Eindelijk....

Het heeft even geduurd, sinds mijn laatste blogje. Wat kan ik zeggen? Het leven kwam een beetje in de weg.... maar ondanks tegenslagen zijn we nu dan toch eindelijk getrouwd!!

donderdag 1 april 2010

What is really important?

I feel empty, tired and I am so sad.
My love isn't at home with me, he is in the hospital.

Yesterday when I came home from work the Mister was in bed with a splitting headache. We visited the centre of doctors (huisartsenpost) that operates after business hours. There the doctor thought he had a migraine, his first. But his bloodpressure was too high and we were referred to the emergency room in the hospital.
His bloodpressure was (and is) still too high and his bloodwork wasn't right, that's why this will be the second night I will be without my guy. The medics still don't know what''s wrong with him, but they are investigating kidney infection. But they don't know. Not knowing is terrible. I feel so helpless.

This recollection of previous events brings me to my question: what is really important? Flowers? The right shoes? The right dress> There is nothing like a tragic situation (I can't think of anything else) to set your priorities straight. I would trade it all if it would make my man healthy.

Now I am at home, alone with the dog, but I feel really alone it doesn't feel like home without him. This just makes me realise again how much I need him, and how much I want to be with him.

Did you have a moment you realised you really wanted to be with your significant other?

And do you have advise how I can make my first dress fitting tomorrow any fun? I was so looking forward to it, but now I just want to get back to my man.

dinsdag 30 maart 2010

Guestbook

We have been thinking a lot about the guestbook possibilities lately. To let out gests write their names and addresses the traditional guestbook offers seems kind of futile. We have invited them all, so we already know their addresses. And why would we ever look at a book with just names ever again? We want something we can look back to after the wedding. But what?


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First I fell in love with the wishing tree. It looks wonderful, people get to add something besides their name. In my mothers backyard there is a huge Magnolia tree with beautiful branches, we could use a couple of branches from that tree to make a meaningful Wishingtree. But the Mister wasn’t sold on the idea. He shot down the wishing jar. He didn’t like the thumbprint family tree.


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He couldn’t see the appeal of a bench that our guests would sign. Do you also see a trend here? Just when I was about to give up on the idea of a cool guestbook that would be different, original, fun and one that we would both like, I found a new contender.


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Not only was the idea refreshing, but it would also have the potential to be a fun reminder of our wedding day. And… the Mister liked the idea!
Obviously an exact copy would be out of the question. We would be able to read this in English without much problems, but a lot of our (older) guests would have problems with filling in the English form. After a couple of translation attempts I found out that a direct translation to Dutch was easier said than done. Dutch sentences are built differently and to be able to give the guests options to fill in, I needed to include large open places and the word order in the sentences needed to be changed. A couple of days and DIY attempts later the Mister was still very much sold on this idea, but I started to second guess the idea.
This idea could work out perfectly, it gives our guests a chance to be funny and to make fun of us and I really do like that. But it could also fail miserably. I am somehow afraid that they will not get what is asked of them. What if this concept only confuses our guests?

If we don't want to confuse our guests, we could always ask them simple questions. The guestbookstore offers a concept that really appeals to me.

I love this concept! The pages can be translated, if I supply the translations, so there should be no problem for our guests.

We would like to have a silly picture taken of all guests (fauxtobooth anyone?), and what would be a more pefect place to add this picture then the guestbook. There is a page layout available with pictures.


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I really love this last idea. If our guests would all fill it out we would have a wonderful keepsake of our day. But this plan also isn't foolproof.
There are two sides and a lot of questions. We won't be having a diner for all of our guests, some guests will only be there for the cocktail hour, and some will only be there for the party after the cokctail hour.
Will there be enough time to answer all of these questions? How long would it take to answer all the questions?

Should we expect people to fill these pages in while they are in line getting in? Is there time when they are waiting for their turn to get their picture taken? Or should we make a sign that they can take a page and fill it our when they are inside? Will they sit down to answer our questions?

So many questions! I just don't know what to do! Do you have advice, what should we do?

zondag 28 maart 2010

Picture Perfect Places part 2

After taking pictures in our neighbourhood we will move on the the city centre. In 's-Hertogenbosch there are a lot of cute, small streets and old buildings that give a completely different feel than the first picture location.



And after taking pictures in the city, we'll be heading to City Hall:

We'll be taking pictures outside of the building after we're married. We're thinking group pictures.

The inside of the room we'll be married in also has a very old feel to it.


Will you be using more than one picture location?

zaterdag 27 maart 2010

Something to keep my girls occupied

We have two cute flowergirls in our weddingparty. But two little girls (age 3 and 5) need something extra to keep them happy. Just looking pretty in nice dresses, and being in a wedding won't be enough to keep them happy all day.

They have to sit through a legal ceremony of about 20 minutes and a personal ceremony of about 45 minutes. I think that's pretty long, they wil think it's boooooooring. They will need a distraction. They need something to do. I found the perfect stuff to make that happen! I found a lot of Princess themed items at the Zeeman and made a package for each girl.



I got them both a princess bagpack, a princess colorbook, a princess glass, princess and my little pony stickers and three princess barbiedolls. (Do you see a theme there?) We also hav this big box of colored penns and pencils.

We also found the perfect flower girl (bridesmaids) dresses for them, but that's for another post.

Too cute, don't you tink?
What will you be doing to occupy the young ones at your wedding?

donderdag 25 maart 2010

Picture Perfect Places part 1

When I asked my guy what his ideas about a great wedding picture location would be, he was able to surprise me with his answer. Well actually shocked me into silence. He thought the that a local castle would be cute.

Okay Mister, that really isn't the vibe I am looking or. It just looks horribly old fashined to me (no ofence to the gals that do like this idea). I am going for a more modern feel. It's what folks over here did for the last 30 years. A castle just isn't really city-chique, now is it?

My idea about a rad picture location is somewhat different. I heart me some graffiti.


Rock 'n Roll bride

The other day I went scounting for te perfect places for our pictures. Walking the dog on a Sunday morning was never this much fun before.

I love these builidings that are in our block. They are a sight we're used to when we are walking the dog, and I think they look really artistic.


This cute small building was just waiting for me, looking pretty with this empty building site next to it.



And just on the other side of a dirt road there is another piece of wall-art. From a distance this graffiti wall looks a bit much, a bit crowded with small images.


But up close it is really gorgeous! I can totally see us standing there in a couple of months.

Personal pictures.

How did you find your picture location?

woensdag 24 maart 2010

Dreaming of the day

Last night I had my first wedding related dream. Or the first I could actually remember the next morning. It was a strange dream, but that’s just how most dreams are. What stuck with me most is that this dream really strengthened my belief that I am a relaxed bride. Or at least dream-me is a relaxed bride.

My dream started at the end of our wedding day, the party was just coming to an end. There were only a dozen people left, and the DJ stopped the party without playing the final song we were planning to.
We left with the last of our guests and we went to the hotel where we had a luxurious room. I remember feeling very energetic and not tired at all, even though our day started out early.
Now this is where my dream starts getting weird.
My mobile started ringing when we were chilling in the Jacuzzi. I missed the call, but I could see that it was one of my girlfriends that had called me, and I instantly called her back. Her husband answered the phone. He barked some profanities to me and hung up on me.
Then I woke up, very confused.

This morning I had a long drive of over two ours planned, and I had enough time to think about our day.

I expected myself to be upset that a lot of people had already left, but I wasn’t. I expected myself to be upset that we didn’t get to sway to our final song, surrounded by family and friends like we intended, but I really wasn’t. I remember feeling very happy that we were married, and that we had a great day. So a couple of things didn’t go as we planned or hoped, big deal!
I don’t have any idea as to the origin of the last part of the dream. But I am not going to dwell on it, I have never been good at dream interpreting.

Did you have wedding related dreams? And did they leave you feeling relieved, like me, or did they make you anxious?

zondag 21 maart 2010

Dancing shoes

I have shown you before that I have gorgeous 3" Blue Satin Gucci's. They walk like a charm, but will I be able to walk in them from 8:45 AM 'till 01:30 AM. I think my feet will object at some point.

Do I need a back up shoe? I have been checking out shoe stores in the city (and online) for the last two months. No luck there. They just don't have cute, low heeled shoes.

The back-up shoe isn't my only dilemma. Will I be able to dance the night away in my 3" heels? Will I be able to dance in them after I have walked in them the entire day? I am not so sure. After the dancing lesson for our first dance I realised something new. I need to practice my dancing skills in heels. Sure I danced on 4" heels, but that did not include the fast feet movement and the spinning I will be doing for our first dance.

I tried dancing in my own gorgeous heels while dancing our steps. *Gasp* It did not work out like I wanted. I really doubt I can pull it of. I could fall down. I could break my leg. What I need are dancing shoes. Cute dancing shoes! But I have no idea what I really need.


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Is heelhight more important than heelwidth? Is the "raw" suede sole a must?
Are there brands I should look for first?

zaterdag 20 maart 2010

Ceremony music

Because we will be having two ceremonies, there will be a lot of music options. I really want to have music that represents us. A mushy love song just isn't us. For the legal ceremony in City Hall we can use 3 songs. One when we are entering the room, during the signing of our Marriage certificate and the last one when leaving the room.

We still have no clue what we should use when we enter the room. This needs to be a short song or we need to use an exerpt of the song. I am guessing the desire length is 30 seconds. I was in favor of "The Wedding March" by Queen. But my guy isn't interested.

The next song we will be playing will be during us (and our withnesses) signing our Marriage certificate. We're thinking about: "Just Say Yes" by Snowpatrol. When I heard this song first, it was in a commercial and the song wasn't even available on Itunes. The words just didn't leave my mind, it would be perfect for our wedding. Now, a couple of months later, I still love this song. It's not overly sweet and it just screams wedding to me.



For our exiting song we are thinking about a Dutch song: "Alles is Liefde" by Blof. This upbeat song about love just makes me so happy. The title translates to "Everything is Love"



What will your ceremony music be? And do you have a suggestion for our room entering song?

vrijdag 19 maart 2010

A ceremony theme

Earlier I talked about our personal ceremony. We were at a blank coming up with ideas. Without the script of a Catholic mass, we needed to find a theme.
Who would have guessed that my guy would come up with THE idea? I'll tell you, it wasn't me.

He was looking for songs to use at our wedding. Somehow that was the only wedding related task he applied for voluntary. Strange huh?

This was one of the songs he came up with:



One day I was listening to the words of this song and I realised that this was a perfect song for us. The song is in Dutch, so I'll guess I need to explain this one. Since that is kind of hard when you don't understand the words, I took the liberty in translating the verse.

I want to go to the left, you go to the right
I will chase you again.
I want to go forward, you want to go backwards
but we reach each other again each time

My song translation skills are terrible, it sounds better in Dutch, trust me.

The lyrics just grabbed me because it makes me think of our relationship. We are good together, but we both have our own ideas, and ways we want to handle things. When he tells me I shouldn't do something I just can't help myself and I have to do it. But just like in this song we do end up on the same page. And we do choose each other in the end.

Our lives have been very different. He didn't go to college but chose a profession as a carpenter, I did go to college and university and got my master of Science degree.
He still lived with his parents before we moved in together, I had been living in dorms an by myself for over seven years. Our music styles couldn't be more apart. Do I need to go on?

The theme we decided on was: "we joined each other on the same track (of life)".

Are you going to include a personal theme to your wedding ceremony? Did you have a song that inspired your wedding in some way?

donderdag 18 maart 2010

How to include the Mr?

I think it's not uncommon for the bride to be to do most of the wedding planning. My situation is no different. My guy decided he wanted to take the next step. He found a perfect ring. He proposed. After that it kind of became my party.

I spend hours online looking for inspiration. I discovered this online wedding community and I liked it! It allowed me to read and write about weddings without getting my friends tired of my constant wedding babling. I get to find inspiration and ideas for our wedding. When I get enthausiastic I show my find to him, most of the time he just shoots it down. He does put in his two cents. He's good at that.
Good thing I have a whole lot of spirit, he doesn't get my mood down just like that.


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But despite of my secret weddingplanning pleasure I kind of wish he would take more of an interest in the wedding. It's supposed to be OUR day, not MY day. I want active participation. Is that too much to ask for? And now that I am voicing my wishes, I would also like to act that it would be wonderful if he showed this renewed wedding interest without my stimulation.

Is there anything I can do to increase his role in the weddingplanning? Or should I just accept this as a fact of life? What's your advice for me?

What about the dog

Almost three years ago we found the perfect addition to our family... meet Tommie:




Personal pictures

He´s a 3 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he light of our home. We found him at a breeder in a town close to our home and we instantly fell in love with him. But what should we do with him during the wedding?

There is always the option of dressing him up and includig him in our day. He should be a part of our day.


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But he's not to keen on strangers and he tends to bark when he's affraid. Now having the dog freak out won't be adding to our joy, and certainly not his. But leaving him with friends will be difficult, as all of the people that watch him when we're away will be attending our wedding.

Will you be including your animal in your weddingday? Or did you think of another solution for them?

woensdag 17 maart 2010

Pomanders

We found a perfect location for our personal wedding ceremony. With the white walls and the dark brown furniture I think the place looks great.


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The inside is not decorated, and what better way to decorate the isle than with pomanders? I can just see colourful flowerballs decorating the isle.




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I just love these coloury flowerballs! So cute!
I'm just not sure if these pomanders should have fresh or faux flowers.

How are you going to decorate your church isle?

dinsdag 16 maart 2010

A Personal Ceremony

We will not have a Catholic wedding ceremony. We are both raised Roman Catholic but we aren't practicing (anymore). It would feel silly to only go to church for weddings and funerals and then decide you want to have your marriage there. But the legal ceremony in City Hall is so short, and with so little room to add a personal touch, that we decided that instead of the (formal) church wedding we will include a personal ceremony in our day. Because this ceremony won't be following a strict script like a Roman Catholic marriage ceremony, we are able to fully decide the content of the ceremony. We can pick the music - all music not just Christian songs - we need to think of what we want to say, and who we will ask to speak during the ceremony.
But before we wanted to build our ceremnoy we had to find a suitable location. What location in the city would be able to accomodate all of our guests. The location also needs to be appropriate. Holding a personal ceremony in a bar didn't ring true to us. My mom – always eager to help with planning our wedding – gave us the perfect idea.

The “Lutheran church” in the centre of our city is no longer in use as a church and you are able to rent the space for private ceremonies.



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The outside looks so cute, and the inside isery intimate. It's perfect! And the best part? The location was still available for our day and we were able to reserve it!

Would you ever consider a personal wedding ceremony?

zondag 14 maart 2010

The dress: a beginning

I didn't have a clear view of what kind of dress I wanted to get married in. What I did know was that I don't like long, wide, white and poofy dresses. They just aren't right for me.

My sister was just finishing up her wedding planning and she had a stack of wedding magazines for me to browse. Most dresses in these magazines were long, wide, white and poofy. Most, but luckily not all. I did see one dess that caught my attention. This gorgeous Pronovias dress instantly became my inspiration dress. Long, sexy with an edge because of the colour.


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A couple of weeks later it was time to pick up my sisters wedding dress. Guess what dress the manequin was wairing? Yes! It was the dress and I just had to try her on. Luckily my sister didn't mind me stealing some of her spotlight that day.

They only had a dress 3 sizes too big, but even with me holding the dress up all the time, it still gave me a good idea of the fit and flow of the dress. She was long, wide, poofy and black. I felt gorgeous wearing the dress. There were only two problems holding me back:
The sales woman informed me that they only got one shipment of Fiesta dressed and it wasn't possible to buy more of the Pronovias Fiesta collection afterwards. Bummer!
And, last but not least, my guy had only told me one thing about his vision of my wedding dress: he wouldn't like a black dress. "It's a wedding not a funeral"
Pretty bad that I still tried on the dress, but in my defence... it wás my inspiration dress.

Will these two negatives equal a positive outcome?
Did you have an inspiration dress and did it meet your expectations when you met her in real life?

vrijdag 12 maart 2010

A bouquet to keep

Somehow I just can't get myself to pay €100 for a bouquet I'll only use for a day. It wouldn't have been fancy or complex, just peonies that are in season for my May wedding. Is it my Dutch blood that boils with this feeling of injustice? Am I just tired because everything for a wedding just seems to get so much more expensive?


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You can always dry your bouquet. I remember we had a bouquet drying upside dow in our kitchen when we were young. But this doesn't appeal to me when it concerns my weddingbouquet. It just makes the flowers look old and dead. A framed picture of the bouquet would be a better reminder. But that's not for me. I guess my bouquet won't be made of real flowers, because I would like to keep it as a reminder.
There are so many options, and if you're not able to make them yourselve there is always Etsy.


Fabric Flowers Bouquet
Add a vintage touch to your day.


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DIY


Button Bouquet
A very cute alternative.


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DIY


Feather Bouquets
A light looking, fashionable detail.


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Vintage Brooches
These gorgeous bouquets have been all over the weddingblogs. I love them, and you can also use old family pieces in your bouquet.


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Butterfly Bouquet
What a gorgeous an playfull bouquet, perfect for a spring wedding.


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Martha Stewart DIY


Candy Bouquet
Don't forget your flowergirls! Just let them keep their sweet tooth in check until you have a few pictures of them.


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What bouquet do you like best? Will you be doing something different like this, or will you go for real flowers?

donderdag 11 maart 2010

Hair inspiration

Even before I was engaged I knew what I wanted my wedding hair to look like. I wasn't loving the typical wedding updo's and the fake curls. Why should I have a hairdo that just isn't me? Most of the time I barely comb my hair before leaving the house, and when I do it's just pulled up in a fast ponytail. My hair down is just too hot on a summerday, or when I am dancing, a ponytail it is!

My friends did manage to convince me that me just pulling my hair up in in ponytail would be too shabby. So I spend a couple of hours looking through folders of wedding hairdo's', and I found something I really like: the side ponytail.


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I love all of these pictures! A big plus for this hairdo would be that it's not very constructed, so it shouldn't take the hairdresser too long.
Where did you find your hair inspiration? And what are you thinking about?

Fauxtobooth

Before I was planning my wedding I only attended a handful of weddings. One very nice way to remember your guests by is making a picture of them when they arrive. All you need is a box full of props and a background. I've seen an empty pictureframe and a 70ies painting.

Then I started reading weddingblogs and I was introduced to the photobooth concept. Why just take one picture of all guests, when you can have a spot where you can have fun.



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Unfortunately I haven't located a company renting a photobooth in the Netherlands.
But you don't have to look very far for an alternative in wedding blogland: the fauxtobooth. Just create your own backdrop, install a camera and shoot the night away!


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Doesn't this look like the best idea ever?
I hope when can have a fauxtobooth, that will allow our guest to enjoy themselves, and make wonderful pictures together.

There are a couple of things we need to work out:
- What kind of background will we use? And what camera should we use?
- Where will we place this fauxtobooth?
- Who will be in charge making the pictures? Should we ask some of our friends to handle the camera or should we put up a camera and let folks handle it themselves?
- What kind of props will we use? But that is something for another post.

Will you be having a photobooth?