Mrstgun's Planning Updates (Pic Heavy - FINAL Planning Post - Page 65, Post 642)

[futuremrstgun]

hello, everyone!!!

 

before i get started..i have to send a special shoutout to EVERYONE ON BDW..i've read many threads, seen great DIY projects for inspiration AND learned so much from this site.  as i plan my october wedding, i thought it was only fair that i share a part of my planning in hopes of helping any other bride who like me, didn't know where to start until i found BDW.com.

 

ok, ladies..here it goes...

 

THE BEST $19.99 I EVER SPENT ONLINE

i decided to try online dating in 2007 and so my membership was $19.99...i was online for about a month..going on dates with a new person every weekend was a blast but I didn't really 'click' with anyone..that is, until i met Torry...he sent me the cutest email and I was smitten from the start.  We 'chatted' and texted for about two weeks when we finally decided to meet in person on Halloween...basically, we've been inseparable ever since! i never believed in..WHEN YOU KNOW YOU KNOW..or love at first sight...that is..until i met Torry...  he truly is my beautiful surprise... (shout out to india.arie for that song!!!) 

 

THE ENGAGEMENT

our engagement was a complete surprise...i mean, we'd talked about getting married but i never thought Torry would do it so publicly...so, my fiance surprised me over dinner at what i thought was the kickoff weekend for my daughter's sweet 16..instead they conspired together to surprise me with an engagment over dessert.  take a look at the pics..they explain it ALL much better... 

 

 

 

the plate that changed my life.

 

 

 

 

the proposal...and the UGLY cry.

 

following our engagement, i couldn't wait to announce the news so i put together an engagement card and sent it out within a week. 

 

this card was sent to family and close friends.

 

next up was a STD that i did on wedding paper divas.com

 

 

the STD postcard was mailed out a year in advance (October 2010).  i keep having to recycle the same photo because the fiance isn't crazy about taking pics...funny thing is, this picture is the very first picture we took together...three months into our relationship...  lol!  the other side of the postcard included travel info and our wedding website.  i chose Iberostar Rosehall Beach resort following a Fall vacation at the resort...basically, i fell in love with Iberostar and booked our wedding date right away.

 

next up, i had to choose my dress.  initially, i wanted a short and sassy dress to show off some killer shoes so my daughters picked out this dress from David's Bridal.

 

 

 

then i realized that while i do like that dress, it didn't have the WOW factor that i longed for so i bought a second dress....

 

 

i've decided i'll wear the short dress for our stateside/legal ceremony and for the reception.  the WOW dress will debut down the aisle in jamaica.

 

on to the shoes...i'm an official shoe whore so i have THREE pairs of shoes to choose from...

 

 

choice no. I

 

choice no. II

 

choice no. III

 

still working out the details of my jewelry but i did find a fabulous cathedral length veil for $9.99 at David's Bridal..original price was $129...i posted the veil somewhere on BDW...the sale is still on..so get to the nearest David's Bridal to snag yourself a veil..

 

i'm still on the hunt for dresses for my two daughters and my step daughter..who will stand up for me and my son is being dressed by my fiance...

 

ok..so now that the attire is covered, its time for me to delve into my stationery suite which includes a pre-boarding pass itinerary and wedding passport program as well as OOT bags which aren't fully complete so, i'll post those later.  we opted against a formal invitation as we felt that the STD was sent to everyone and those folks who will be traveling with us will receive the pre-boarding pass itinerary and OOT bags...basically we opted to forego the formal invite to save some $$$$...

 

our colors are all shades of purple and platinum..my honey's favorite color is purple and i love silver so it just made sense for us to go with purple and platinum...thanks to this site and the fabulous DIY brides including torilynnsmith...(THANKS FOR THE GREAT BOARDING PASS TEMPLATE)...i started with torilynn's template and tweaked it until i got exactly what i wanted...here's a peak at my pre-boarding pass itinerary suite...

 

the cover includes a personalized postcard with handwritten note for each guest or couple...

 

a close-up...

 

the shells pictured are among a boatload of shells and sealife that i purchased from Ross for $12.99...the shells will line both sides of the aisle...(i know why, bring shells to the beach?)  well, purple shells don't exist on the beach..so they'll make the trek with us to jamaica...

 

the second page

 

a look at the itinerary at a glance...most of these icons, i had to produce myself because there were very few in powerpoint that caught my eye...

 

our logo appears on the back of each boarding pass.

 

 

so, i really wanted to do a passport but i'm not patient enough to do all of the stapling, cutting, etc...so i've opted to do a passport program...i printed our passport on 8 1/2 x 11 glossy paper double sided with plans to reproduce it at kinkos...here's a look at the 'end product'...

 

the cover

 

i customized the stamps with dates and places that mean something to us...for example, our first date was on halloween at white flint mall in MD...my honey's favorite music artist is bob marley...so, for family and friends who know our story i thought it would be 'cute' to incorporate meaningful dates and places, etc. i'll likely do a little tweaking for spacing, etc...(ie, i want Nikki Giovanni's name on one line, etc.) oh and sorry the pics are so grainy..i took ALL of these on my iPhone...THANKS Apple!

 

 

so, most of my DIY projects are complete...i'm sure i'll upload more stuff as my planning continues...

 

THANKS for allowing me to share!!!

 

R~ aka futuremrstgun

 

[redginger]

Your story is really beautiful! And, wow...love the wedding dress and your DIY projects! I didn't know that Ross has seashells and sealife...I need to get myself to a store. Did you paint your starfish and shells purple? If so, what kind of paint did you use? Thanks for sharing!

[janette34]

Wow, you have been one busy lady!  Everything turned out great.

[futuremrstgun]

redginger...nope..they came like that...straight from Ross.  i'm about to change the colors of your logo...stay tuned.

 

R~

[J-me]

Love it - great job!! Thanks for sharing

[acireta]

Love your stuff so far! All of your diy posts have been inspirational so far. Question- was your first date at bertucci's? My bridesmaid has worked there at white flint forever! Just wonderin' :-)

[futuremrstgun]

nope...cheesecake factory...we shut the place down...were the last couple in the joint...halloween 2007!    R~

[jbmarch2012]

Awesome planning thread so far, I especially love your DIY projects! Can you post the template for the boarding pass, itinerary?

[Islandgirl910]

GREAT job!! Your guests will love your passport books and all the effort you put in. Just realized that your wedding is a less than a month after mine. Whoo hoo!! Congrats to us and we prep for both of our weddings!

[futuremrstgun]

thanks, islandgirl!  jbmarch, i'll send the template you later on (that is, AFTER i find the darn thing on my computer..i saved and saved and saved but for whatever reason, i can't find it)...good grief!?! 

 

R~