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

[canadiangirl]

gatta luv on line dating lol thats how i met my FI too....and i luv the ugly cry!!!!!!

[greatbritain]

I love how creative you are. You and some other brides on here are seriously inspiring me!! Thank you for all you share with us
 

Originally Posted by futuremrstgun 

ok, fellow destination brides..today's post is ALL about my DIY hair flower.

 

i hemmed and hawed about the flower..do i need a flower???  will a flower really be cute???  what to do..what to do..ok, so i took the leap and purchased some flowers from hobby lobby..none of them were big enough for me..so i took them ALL apart and built my own huge flower.  the photo below is with the flower and the birdcage veil that i bought from Davids Bridal.

 

i'm thinking i'll wear the flower to the welcome dinner or maybe one of the other nights before the wedding...because i already have a birdcage veil and a cathedral length veil...as you can (sorta) see from the pic..i embelished my short dress too with the same flowers...enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think..

 

 

 

until next time, happy planning!!!

 

R~

 

[greatbritain]

Your story is wonderful and I cracked up about the "ugly cry". We allllllllll know how that looks! Congratulations on all your hard work so far, it's so creative and beautiful and it really makes me nervous that I need to step up my game (and really try harder with my creativity).
 

Originally Posted by 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

 

 

[futuremrstgun]

hi, greatbritain!

 

you're too sweet...i'm thoroughly enjoying the whole process and frankly, if it wasn't for this site, i really don't know if i would've had the courage to do ALL of this...  having the opportunity to share has been been, by far, the BEST part of planning my wedding...i'm loving every single minute of it.

 

if you need any templates of help..just PM me..i'll be happy to lend a helping hand where i can.

 

good luck to you and as always, happy planning!!!

 

R~

[futuremrstgun]

ok good afternoon, fellow destination brides.

 

today's post is ALL about wedding cutlery and serving ware.  i'm on the fence about stemware so i'm going to focus on cutlery. 

 

i will be purchasing nice forks (maybe een real silver ones) and a cake server for me and the mr to use during the cake cutting.  i came across an adorable idea when it comes to the forks and i immediately thought of all of you...take a peak.

 

 

now, we all know i'm a DIY Diva..but i don't do engraving..so i'll be purchasing forks and having them engraved..i'm thinking i'll hit up things remembered or a jeweler...ok, that's it from here.

 

as always, happy planning!!! 

 

R~

[futuremrstgun]

good morning, fellow BDW brides!

 

today's planning post is dedicated to gifts...bridesmaid's gifts that is...my sister and three daughters (ages 23, 17 and 17) will be standing up with me...they're not 'bridesmaids' per se, but for this post, that's what i'm calling them. 

 

THANKS to a fellow BDW bride, i purchased the cutest purple Eurocases from paperpresentation.com for $29.97 (includes shipping and tax)...i was able to select the color and size wanted (BONUS)..the same Eurocases are available on the Land of Nod with limited colors available and you don't get to choose the size...  take a peak...

 

 

 

ok, now on to the contents...in addition to tapping into my inner DIY Diva...i've become quite frugal so the Eurocases are filled with FREEBIES and $1 deals from Target, Michaels, Dollar Tree and Dollar General.  the freebies include cosmetic and perfume samples..all FREE from an area department store (which shall remain nameless)...anyone can get FREE cosmetic and/or perfume samples..as a matter of fact, they WANT to give them to you in hopes that you'll return to purchase...and because i was putting together four bags i was able to get an ARRAY of FREE samples even some high-end samples from Prada and Dior!  woo hoo!!!  here's a peak at the loot.

 

 

 

in addition to the FREE cosmetics, toiletries and perfume samples, included are some GREAT $1 deals..an emory board shaped like a flower (Michaels), some cute glass magnets (Target), a floral luggage tag (Michaels, a hardcover notepad (Dollar Tree) with mini pencils (Dollar General) and the cutest erasers ever (Michaels) (my oldest is in law school and the two younger ones are seniors in high school so i'm hoping they'll use the erasers)...take a peak.

 

 

well, brides..that's it for today's post..tomorrow i'll feature my sister's and my son's gift bags...

 

as always, HAPPY PLANNING!! 

 

R~

[torilynnsmith]

I LOVE when your thread comes up with new posts, I hurry over to check out what R is up to today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I love those forks you shared that is such a great idea, also the eurocases look great!!!!!  I too have become quite "frugal" as well so I LOOOOVE all couponing and "freebie" tips!!  Question about the samples, did you just go to the cosmetic counters and ask for them?  This is such a great idea and a nice way to top up your cases!!!!  I got the same flower emory boards for my BMs when I saw them at michaels I thought they were soooo neat and just a fun addition!!!!

 

Oh and congrats on having a daughter in Law School!!!!! That is amazing!!!!! Looking forward to your future posts as always!!!

 

 

 

[futuremrstgun]

aww...torilynn..you're too sweet...i'm SOOOOOO loving this whole planning thread process and i thought i'd make it fun and do a post every day...kinda like a blog...which i may start AFTER the wedding because i'm sure i'll have planning withdrawal...

 

yes, you can go right up to ANY department store cosmetics counter and ask for samples...now, if i were you, i'd go in knowing what samples, i'd like..you know..sound like a REAL shopper.  oftentimes, the samples are for new products..so scour the web and/or magazines for debuting perfumes or cosmetics.

 

so glad you like the forks too..i can't wait to run out and buy some...i will post them after they've been engraved...

 

until next time, happy planning!!!

 

R~

 

[canadiangirl]

im in the same boat as you tori.. i love looking at your stuff, all very well done and so much detail and love goes into your stuff....  congrats and i will stop back in tomorrow lol as always i look forward to seeing more. PLUS your wedding thread after lol

[futuremrstgun]

hi, canadiangirl!  THANKS, love!!! 

 

i'm sooooo enjoying this whole process and i can't WAIT to see my DIY projects debut on my big day! 

 

my fellow BDW.com brides are truly making my planning experience even more worthwhile...THANKS again for the kudos, canadiangirl... 

 

until next time, HAPPY PLANNING!!! 

 

R~