Free Downloads: Invitation Suites Galore!

I have found the jackpot to free invitation suites for all you DIY brides out there! Check them out  *here* How amazing is the talented Anna Skye for allowing us all to download her gorgeous invitation suites for FREE! So many to choose from!

Let's start from the wedding and move backwards

I have sooo much to catch up on, so I thought I would start with the day of the wedding and work back words.  I can't believe it's already been 16 days since the wedding, at times it feels like it yesterday and others it seems so long ago like a dream that didn't really happen. Everyone keeps asking me"was it what you hoped for" and I always answer it was MORE than WE could have ever hoped for.  Our wedding was amazing not only because of us, but because of everyone that had their part in it.  From the very beginning we had decided that our wedding was not just about us getting married, it was also about our families and friends blending. One of my favorite comments that someone told us was that we were "the most loving, generous, inclusive and happy bride and groom of all time" this made me so happy to hear!
Here are a few tips that helped ensure that we enjoyed ourselves:

1. Make an agreement with your fiance, your families and the wedding party that no matter what, you ALL will enjoy the day and won't let anything bother you, because all that matters is that we are all together. No stress, no worries, no drama for yo momma. 
2. Let go and just be. My dad told me that he really liked how my husband (he he) and me were true to ourselves, he could see were we were not pretending to be a certain way, that we were enjoying every moment. We weren't worried of what people would say or think. As mi amor & I frequently say to each other when the other one is not understanding us "Just love me".
3. Remember the wedding is not about the dress, the venue, or the decor, it's about proclaiming in front of all those that you love that you found your soul mate & you want to share that moment & celebrate it with them. Enjoy each moment with everyone that is there. My hubbie said the day after that it was the best day of his life, for me too it was the best day of my life.  Some tell you that it shouldn't be the "best day" of your life because you are setting yourself up for disappointment saying nothing will compare to that day, but for us this is not the case. It was the best day of our life because it was the day we married the person we always dreamed of, because it marked the day that we blended our families into one and because we got to spend 3 days partying with those most important to us in the entire world. 

This is us entering after we took the bride & groom pictures, thankfully my little bro (also groomsman) hooked us up with some Pico Sours, and as you can see, people came up to us as soon as they saw us. The guy in the black tux on the right is my groomsman, he was on the hunt for some apps for her since cocktail hour was just about to end.

MOH/Cousin fixing my bustle after my 85 year old great aunt stepped on it while doing a salsa move. Brides Man is in background supervising he he. I freaking LOVE this pic!

One of many photobooth pictures, can you believe 1/2 of the people in this picture had never met before the wedding! 

I'm a Mrs.!

As of 1 week today I became a Mrs., it was MORE than anything I could have ever imagined. I will post updates soon & also post about all the things that kept me away from this lil bloggity blog! I still need to catch up on sleep & work has been extremely hectic! But I wanted to make sure & get on the blog to congratulate Mrs. Beaver!!!! Hope you have an amazing honeymoon!!

DIY: Give a KICK@** Maid Of Honor Speech

JT here formally known as the "Maid of Honor" to recount my speech giving experience for WW's Reception!!!

I'm pictured here on the right (I'm the girl). Yes, this was at the wedding and no I don't remember taking this picture but anyway... I digress...

So my speech: I'll be honest, I was four drinks in when I gave it and I ended up not using any of the versions of the speech I had intended (there were three) but if I say so myself people really loved it.

A few guidelines for giving a great speech:

• MAX IT OUT AT 3 MINUTES. Mine was 2:22 exactly. I even said at the beginning that I would keep it short just so I remembered to do just that.
• Use an anecdote. Relate it to recent events, music, movie, something that the crowd can really relate to.
  
• Just talk about the couple. Like how you met them, your interactions and observations.
  
• Make a take away. I wanted to make my speech a "What I learned about love from ____ and ____." People were really into that. I mean you should be able to find something from every couple because why else would they be getting married unless they had been putting something extraordinary into the relationship.
  
• Use a format: beginning, middle and end (resolution). I was on the speech team in high school and my favorite competition was the impromptu speech. Impromptu speech was always 2 minutes long and you were always supposed to lead in with a few explanations, some witty observation and end it with a learning point. I somehow managed to pull out that formula (unbeknownst to me).
  

If you want some more points about speech making or would like me to type out some parts of my speech, I might just do that...

{Source Le Love}

You'll know when he is the one...the first time you look into his eyes you know something is different, you won't even question whether he is the one because there is no one else in this world that you can imagine being with. Perhaps like me, you'll be scared, scared to let someone in, to give them the power to hurt you, to leave and crush your heart, you won't tell him this of course because that alone is also letting him into your heart, but he'll know, he tells you he can feel the wall you have up, and to let it down because it's ok to let love in, he's afraid too but he's willing to take the chance with you and let you in completely, so you do & you've never been happier.

Westside Wedding iPhone Apps: Brides Iphone App FREE

The Brides iphone app is sweet and free too bad it was not around last year when I was spending countless hours looking for my wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses. Check it out ladies, it is awesome!

Westside Wedding loves iphone Apps: iShoes

As you know I love my iphone and it has been my own personal assistant with this whole wedding planning, allowing me to email vendors right away, approving drafts for wedding related items with time constraints and especially with trying to find the right shoes, jewelry, dress etc. The free iphone app iShoes helped me find my shoes & my moms!

1. iShoes

I love that you can email your fav items! This is great if you need to email them to your bridesmaids!

I had initially wanted colored shoes but fell in love with these babies:

and here are my moma's shoes Nine West Women's Janika Sandals,in purple Satin

All you need to know about Wedding Lighting

I knew about Led Lights and twinkle lights but did you know about gobo or pin spotting? me either but thanks to GetMarried.com now I know a lot about lighting! whoop!

{image via http://trendsettingwedding.typepad.com}

DIY: CD Holders/Labels/Playlist for OOT Peeps

MOH here again. I was called upon last minute for a DIY project from WW. UM D you WHAT?! Not usually my thing, so I had to do some research. Things you need to start:

• Good eye for design, clipart, existing theme info colors etc. from bride we had some great starting points from our designer Jeff W.
  
• Photoshop
• Template (I used a really awesome one by Corrie Haffly.)
• Card stock paper
• Quality ink or laser jet printer
• Paper cutter
• Good permanent glue roller
• Martha Stewart Utility Bone Paper Folder (WTF, I know right?!)
• http://hypem.com
• Patience and a whole lotta heart

Can I just say that I really love this Martha Stewart utility bone paper folder?! I had no idea what it was when WW handed it to me and suggested I use it to fold the paper and it came with NO instructions on how it actually folds paper (it looks like a plastic butter knife) but it came to me in a dream on how to actually use it so I made a YouTube how-to video for those of you as clueless as I am. (I hope there are some out there.)





We did two CD versions one for the older generation attendants and one for the younger generation. Here's the first draft of younger generation tracklist:
01 I Gotta Feeling (Dirty Remix) - The Black Eyed Peas
02 Can't Stop Partying - Weezer feat. Lil' Wayne
03 Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds To Mars
04 Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People
05 All The Right Moves (Danger Remix) - One Republic
06 1901 (What Kind Of Breeze Do You Blow? A-Mix) - Phoenix
07 Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
08 Fireflies Goin Down (Yung Joc vs. Owl City) - The White Panda
09 Timbaland feat JT - Carryout (Vindata Electro Remix) - Vindata
10 Roll Out (Robbery Remix) - Ludacris
11 Circus (Diplo Remix) - Britney Spears
12 (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (Rosen Remix) - Weezer

Groomsmen RV trip and gifts

Mi amor had a groomsmen 5 day RV trip in February, it was a chance for all of them to get to know each other, and for some it was the first time meeting. I was very excited for them, I thought it would be time well spent male bonding! I wanted to get them each a car package to take on the trip, it was so much fun putting these together and I even got myself some of the items he he! Here is the list:

1. Party Mix
2. Nestle hot chocolate with mash mellows
3. Beef Jerky
4. Peanut Butter M&Ms - I thought they were the delicious Special Edition Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's that I had earlier this year but they were just peanut butter. I've never cared for peanut butter & jelly, I think I have had one bite out of  my whole life and I spit it right back out but for some reason I loved the taste of the Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's ! so freaking good! I thought the boys may enjoy them for breakfast :-)
5. Enamel Coffee Mug 10oz
6. Jack Daniels Coffee
7. Enamel Dinner Plate
8. Enamel Bowl
9. Roll of mentos
10. Stainless Steel 6 Oz Liquor Flasks. Amazon has a great deal on these - Set of 5 for $20, free shipping and no sales tax!
11. 6 Function Stainless Steel Camping Tool aka Hobo Tool I *love* this little tool, I bought one for myself to leave at my desk at work for my lunch!
12. Then I put them all in a Reusable Grocery Shopping Bag !

And since I was already on amazon shopping for the boys, I could not resist getting this stainless steel lunch box for myself :-)