This is it.

All packed up, ready to go to the venue

Well, it's here.

This event that I have been planning for 9 months is about to arrive.

"OMG, are you freaking out? Are you so excited?"

I am incredibly excited-- not only for all this planning to come to fruition, but mostly to marry the love of my life. To finally become Mrs. JEGs.

I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who has been so helpful during this planning process. Thank you blog readers for your opinions during difficult decisions like silk vs. paper. Thank you to all my Knotties for giving me a place to freak out when something went wrong. Thank you to all my friends for the constant support and offerings of help ("If you need anything, let me know!").

Most of all, I have to thank our parents. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without you we could not have made this day possible, and for that we are eternally grateful.

So this is it, folks. In a couple hours my bridesmaids and I will be off for manis and pedis. We'll grab some lunch and then off to the rehearsal. After the rehearsal dinner I am spending the night at my parent's house.

We aren't doing a honeymoon just yet, but we will be spending some time down the shore next week. I'll be back on the 26th with full details.

Signing off for the last time ...

Always&Forever,
Miss M.

My Not-So-DIYed Hoodie

Ladies, remember when you were in high school and it was your prom day and you whipped out a button down shirt to wear to the hair salon so you wouldn't muss your hair?

Consider this the grown-up version.

Now it is all about the Sexy Little Bride hoodies, ala this one from Victoria's Secret

or more recently, brides have begun personalizing their hoodies-- even going as far as blinging it out

I loved this idea, and in my DIY induced-fever I decided to give this a whirl.

I knew I definetly wanted a hoodie, but I also liked the idea of a tank top as well. I grabbed a short sleeve hoodie from Old Navy and a tank top from Gap Outlet. I scoured Michael's for a pack of iron-on transfer sheets and got to work.

I created an image in Photoshop and printed it on the transfer paper. I decided to test it out on the t-shirt first, and boy am I glad I did.

Talk about fail

Even though I followed the direction, the transfer began to peel off from the shirt almost immediately! Also, the transfer was a dingy shade of yellow-- very noticeable against my pristine white shirt!

Friends, I know my limits. It was time to call in someone who knew what they hell they were talking about.

I got in contact with Kim from Wedding Decals to see if she could take a crack at it. Kim specializes in these adorable car decals, and has recently gotten into clothing as well. She has hoodies, tank tops and even underoos!

I sent her the image I had created, and after a few e-mails about size and placement, I dropped off the hoodie to her.

A little over a week later, this beauty was in my possession

I love everything about it; the placement, the size, AND the fact I got to use my own personalized image. I cannot wait to rock this on the big day.

..and yes, I'm wearing sunglasses indoors. Mostly because I hadn't gotten my make-up on yet.

Vanity, thy name is Lizziebeth.

Always&Forever,

ME

P&S.. I should probably mention that I went with just "Mrs. JEGs" instead of "The Future..." or "Soon to be.." options because I liked the idea of being able to wear it more then just this one day. If I'm going to spend this kind of money on something personalized, I'm going to get a little bit of wear out of it. Also, I could have easily added some bling, but I just wasn't the look I wanted.

I Am Amazing

I don't mean to brag, but I'm kind of a big deal. But you already know that. Here's the story.

The other day I was in the shower and I had some sample tube of conditioner that I had been meaning to throw out. I knew if I left it in the shower I would never remember to throw it out, so I half heartily lobbed it over the shower curtain.

I listened for it to hit the floor, but instead I just heard a *thunk*. I made it in the trashcan! That is like a one-in-a-million shot!

Lemme give you some visuals:

Amazing right? Aren't you a little prouder to know me now? Admit it, you are.

Always&Forever,

Lebron James ME

DIY Escort Cards

I've had this photo of escort cards in my Inspiration Folder since probably before Christmas

As soon as I saw it, I fell madly in love with the embossed birds and the romantic swirls.

I had to have this.
I know zilch about embossing, but you know how I roll- I'm going to figure out how to do it my damn self.

So I sent and e-mail to the all-things-paper-oracle, Shannanigans, and she hooked it up. She told me the materials I would need, where to get them (for cheap) and general instructions. I hit the ground running.
After purchasing the correct embossing folder and my very own Cuddlebug Machine I began with the tented part of the card



This part was super easy, albeit time consuming. I cut 4x5 sections of cardstock and ran them through the machine with the folder to produce this pattern. Like I said- it wasn't hard, just took a long time. I was so happy with the outcome though!

The next part was a little frustrating. The inspiration picture has the names printed on brightly colored paper with a matching ribbon. I purchased some blue and orange cardstock, but had a hell of a time finding any kind of die or stencil to reproduce the original look. I tried some other options (including these), but nothing was giving the look I wanted- and to be completely honest, I didn't love the look of printing on the colored paper.

With one last ditch trip to Michael's I found a die I could live with, and started from scratch. I printed the names and table assignment on white card stock and cut them...

After running the colored paper and new die, I was much happier

I think it created a much cleaner look and I LOVE the overall outcome

I think the simplicity of the tags doesn't distract from the beautiful swirls in the background, and the names are still easily identified. The alternating colors keeps things from being too monotonous.

These bad boys were a labor of love, and took me the better part of a week to finish them, but I think it wast totally worth it. I love love LOVE them!

One more thing to check off the list! We are almost there!

Always & Forever,

ME

My LBD Love

Remember last month when I was in search of the perfect cocktail dress? I liked the ruffle dress, but I felt like it was a little too young for me. I tried the Greecian Goddess dress on, and wowza, was that short. I felt like for $20 and a can of root beer, I could show you a good time (if you get my drift). After searching high and low for the dress from David's Bridal in my size, I eventually decided on the look-a-like.

I looked H. O. T. T. ...and I had some good company. Look at this sexxay group

my bra wanted to pop up and say helloooo

I wore my hair back in a low bun, some fab pink shoes bought at Kohl's, and a simple zebra printed bangle. Of course, I had the best accessory, a super hot fiance...

...that is, when he wasn't getting into trouble with his man-crush, Philip.


Always & Forever,
ME

Wedding Crashing: Modern Art Studio

As mentioned before, getting engaged was all the rage in 2009. JEGs and I knew about 8 or so couples who got engaged, and this weekend was the first wedding to kick-off the season- my friend Justin and his adorable lady, Shannon.

First, we have the official, "Off We Go" picture-

I decided JEGs looked like a member of the Secret Service, so he did the official "No Pictures, Ma'am" pose...

The wedding was held at the Mulberry Art Studio in Lancaster, PA. First off, I have to mention how wonderful the staff was. JEGs and I managed to get INCREDIBLY lost on the way there. We called the studio and talked to a woman named April who wasn't quite sure to get us back. Instead, she told us to give her the closest intersection we were at, and sent her son, Jared, out looking for us. When Jared pulled up next to us, it was like a knight in a Honda Civic! We followed him to the venue, and scooted in just in time for the ceremony.
This place was magical. It had a very intimate feel to it, and to add to the effect was beautiful draping from the ceiling with stars, twinkle lights and branches hanging from above. Pictures do not do this place justice, but I'm gonna try




Shannon looked stunning in a trumpet style chiffon dress with gorgeous embellishments down the side. I have to say, Justin cleaned up pretty good too! In the 22 years that I've known Justin, I don't think I've ever seen him in a suit ;)

The men wore black suits with a slight pin strip-- topped off with matching fedoras! The bridesmaids all wore different dresses in a hot pink color and carried small bouquets of calla lilies.

  

Shannon's bouquet was a little bigger, and held a special surprise in the middle:

Apparently she loves pigs!

The cocktail hour was held in the lobby, which gave the staff time to switch the ceremony space into a dining area. Instead of flowers, Shannon opted to DIY her centerpieces with branches spray painted hot pink and dripping with crystals-- it matched the surroundings perfectly

As a special surprise, Justin took the mic from the MC and along with two guitars players, he proceeded to serenade his guests and blushing bride

It was a beautiful wedding, and I wish all the happiness in the world to the new, Mr. & Mrs. Kutcher!



Always & Forever,
ME

Fabulous June

I love June. It is by far my favorite month- mostly because my birthday falls right smack in the middle of it. But here are some other reason that made the month awesome:

Swimming Pools-

With temps soaring into the 90s for a good chunk of the month (and our stubbornness to turn on the air conditioning) I turned the our apartment complex pool. After sweating and shredding to Jillian Michaels, a relaxing dip in the pool has become part of my daily routine!

Knottie GTG-

*Nerd Alert* I'm pretty active on the The Knot's message boards, and through that I have gotten to know some amazing ladies. This past month I was finally able to meet up with them for lunch at On the Boarder. For a couple hours we drank tequila, chatted, and vowed to do it again.

Ian Graduates

My cousin Ian graduated from my alma mater, Bensalem High School (Go Owls!). I'm proud of him, mostly because this family has had a rough six months, and Ian has really been in the epicenter of it all. I know a lot of people who might not have made it, but you handled the stress well, and we are all so proud of you!

My last month as Miss M.

That's right ladies and gents. In just a few short weeks I will swap out my last initial and become Mrs. G. Not only that, but on the 20th JEGs and I celebrated nine years together.

Hit the road June! July is here and it's got some fabulous events- weddings, birthdays and vacations- oh my!!

Always & Forever,

ME