Breakfast is Served

Previously, I posted about my sister's shower....The Concept & The Venue. Thanks to Memorial Day Weekend, the shower vision is starting to become a reality. The invitations were designed, envelopes are half addressed, escort cards were started (I'll finish after the rsvp's roll in), and boxes have been painted. Overall a pretty productive weekend (...all this and house hunting too)!

The invites were actually pretty easy to do. Although I'm sure they could have been easier.
I created the invites in Paint on my computer. Although, I did the fonts in Microsoft Word, which I did a print screen and copied them into my paint image.

I'm not techically savvy enough to create them in one program, although, afterwards I realized I could have just made text boxes in Word, which would have been easier and left my image not as grainy.... o well. I'm still happy with the final product!

To create the invites, I used a mix of Champagne Font ( from urbanfonts.com), Segoe Script, and Arial (both from Word). The Audrey Hepburn Image is from a stamp, I purchased from Etsy, Seller Terbearco. I then added diamond embellishments purchased at A.C. Moore.

Cost Breakdown:
Audrey Stamp: $18.24 (Includes shipping & Handling)
Printer Card Stock: I had these already
A7 Papersource Notecards (50): $9.00
A7 Papersource Envelopes (50): $21.25
Tape: I already had this
Rhinestones: $7.17
Ink: $1.59
Total: $57.25 or about $1.14 per invite
For the "calligraphy" on the envelopes, I used a thin paintbrush and wrote out addresses in white paint. I had no clue where to buy white ink for a calligraphy pen, and since I don't own a calligraphy pen, this came out super cheap. The paint was originally $1.99 and the paintbrush was $3.99, which I used a 20% off A.C. Moore coupon to get them for $4.78

I also purchased seating cards from Papersource, 50 for $7.00. Since I had already purchased the Audrey Hepburn ink and stamp, these only cost the additional $7.00.

Lastly, I found some boxes that we were given filled with cookies at Christmas time fomr the Dancing Deer Baking Co. I thought they would be cute to hold the jewlery in for the photo booth. Another cheap project...I really try to find items I have laying around the house before making any new purchases, mainly because of cost savings, but it makes me happy to recycle too!

I am getting so excited for my sister's shower. It's nice to take a break from my planning to do something for her. I have a hard time being the center of attention, so it's nice to have her as my bridal partner in crime to get through it!

Is anyone else helping a friend or family member with their wedding during your own planning?

Music Mondays: Dancing with Dad- Part 3

Previously, I wrote about father-daughter dance choices. So far I have considered Cinderella and My Wish. With a long engagement, many options have come up. Soon after getting engaged, I fell in love with country music. I felt like it opened a whole new world for me. I am a huge lyrics person and the lyrics in many country songs just speak to me. It started with Taylor Swift. I know she is more pop-country, but she was just the beginning.

Mr. Newport is a big fan of Pandora Radio. It is pretty awesome. You put in an artist or a song, then it creates a radio station with similar songs and artists. If you don't like a song, you give a thumbs down, if you like it, you give a thumbs up. If you hit thumbs down or next/skip too many times, it won't let you do it anymore for an hour. Due to contracts.

So after I started an obsession (not stalkerish, I just listened to her cd everyday) with Taylor Swift, Mr. Newport suggested I try Pandora to get similar music. To vary it up a bit...I think he was just sick of hearing her first album over and over again!

So I typed in Taylor Swift and on came all these other amazing songs by amazing artists... I was introduced to Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Rascall Flats, and more! A coutnry fan was born!

I recently heard Tim McGraw's My Little Girl, and what could be more perfect for a father-daughter dance song?

Tim McGraw My Little Girl

Verse 1:
Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.
Gonna tell you how much I love you,
though you think you already know.
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.

Chorus:
Your beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl.

Verse 2:
When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone.
Now look at you, I've turned around and you've almost grown.
Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I Love You!" in the moonlight at your door.
As I walk away, I hear you say, "Daddy Love You More!".

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 3:
Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand.
But I won't say "yes" to him unless I know, he's the half
that makes you whole, he has a poet's soul, and the heart of a man's man.
I know he'll say that he's in love.
But between you and me. He won't be good enough!

Has your taste in music influenced your song choices? Are songs you are incorporating from a particular music genre? Where do you find music inspiration for your playlist?

Losing Control

Our engagement shoot went great. Not as expected, even better.

I had these visions in my head of what I wanted for our shoot. This vision included schedules, planned outfits, specific shots and timing. Well....none of that happend, and it was a good thing. Having the ideas was great, but going with the flow was even better.

I learned that giving up control can be a good thing. I've been obsessing over photographer's blogs since the moment I got engaged....or maybe a little bit before. I saved tons of shots I loved and wanted. I even snuck some to our shoot. I was too mortified to let our photographer know this. I also brought a list of specific shots I wanted.

But then something wonderful happned. We met Dave, our photographer, and we clicked right away. I trusted him.....and those months of planning went out the window. I did't really even need to look at the shots or the list, because I was in love with everything he was doing. I felt comfortable and I am sure when he sends us our photos in two weeks, that I'll be happy with the quality, quantity and diversity.

When it comes to planning, I have been known to be a bit of a control freak. I don't let others help easily, but it was nice giving up that control to someone I could trust. I think I have to remind myself that I chose my vendors for a reason and I need to let them do their jobs. I'm sure happy we did with Dave!

That's not to say we didn't have any input in our shoot. We gave general locations. Then he took it from there. We used a few props, which we had no clue how to incorporate them, but he came up with awesome ideas. I like that he took my ideas and not just ran with them, but really enhanced them with his creativty. I can't wait to see how they all turned out. I'm so excited to work with him at our wedding!

Has anyone else clicked right away with a vendor? Did you find it hard or easy to give up control to others?

Engagement Tips?

This week, Mr. Newport and I are headed to RI for our engagement pictures! I planned so far in advance, but it still seems like there is so much to do! I bought a couple outfits, but we haven't decided what Mr. Newport will wear. We chose a few locations, but still haven't finalized them. We leave for Newport in two days and still have a lot to do...

Did anyone else have a lot left to plan for engagement shots at the last minute?

Allegro Photography

Any last minute tips? Recommendations? What was your favorite picyture or location from your engagement shoot? What did you wear? So mnay questions, I know, but lots to figure out in the next couple days!

Confessions of a shopaholic....

I am a recovering shopaholic. In high school, I worked in retail and every cent of my check each week went towards my weekly shopping sprees. Let me tell ya, my family wasn't made of money, but you would sure think I was with my spending habits. I look back now and shake my head at all the weekends I spent at work to save for material things, when I could have had no job and been having fun on the weekends....Ooo ridiculous teenage years.

When I say ridiculous, I mean I spent over $500.00 dollars on my prom dress or the Searle Coat that cost over $300.00....not the thrifty Miss Newport that I am now. Although I do have to give myself some credit because I wore my prom dress to both the junior and senior proms and I still wear the Searle coat I bought 8 years ago (it's just for special occasions). So those were my bigger buys, but I also just loved hitting the mall every weekend, yes you heard me, every weekend.

Once I hit college, reality set in. I realized I wasn't made of money and I just didn't have the means for spending sprees. The closest mall was 45 minutes away, which I didn't have transportation too and I didn't have a job, just the money I saved over the summer, which wasn't much due to my bad spending habits.

So no money, no car....but something else changed too. I met Mr. Newport. He never cares what I wear, he thought I was beautiful from the moment he met me in my red Boston University sweatpants (which funny enough, I'm wearing right now). I started being comfortable in my own skin, and I started having fun with him and no time to shop. After a few years with Mr. Nepwort my shopping addiction was cured.......or so I thought.

Fast forward a few years to the present time.

10:00 a.m. Purchase a stamp from Etsy for Sister Newport's Bridal shower invites

10:30 a.m. Purchase a mask for sister Newport's bridal shower (More on this later)

11:00 a.m. Purchase paper, envelopes, embellishments, stamps, place cards, craft boxes and more from Paper Source, all for either sister Newport's bridal shower or our wedding

7:00 p.m. Purchase vases, scrapbook, scrapbook stickers, calligraphy pens, craft bags, and more from Michaels, all for either sister Newport's bridal shower or our wedding

This was just one of the many shopping sprees I have been on lately, and let me tell you, my wallet ain't happy! Sure I need (want) all the items, so I can justify it. But how many crafting sprees can I justify? My wallet is getting worried.

Has wedding planning brought back some of you or your fiance's bad habits?

The Lovely Langham

For Sister Newport's Bridal Shower things are on a roll! The venue is BOOKED! We are planning a Tiffany's theme bridal shower at the lovely Langham Hotel. The Langham is a gorgeous hotel in Downtown Boston, right across from Post Office Sqaure. You may recall, I wrote about the Langham in an earlier post, the hotel is known for their chocolate buffet!

So why so fancy? Newport mom really wanted to be involved in the planning. My sister and I both know what we want when it comes to our weddings (which limits her say in our choices), so she decided she is taking a lot of control when it comes to the showers.

For a group of our size, we had the choice of two rooms, the Lafite or Belair.

Choice Number one:
Choice number 2:

We love the chandeliers in choice number 2, they are very Tiffanyesque don't you think? These pretty much helped us make our decision to go with choice number two. We will be using round tables, as shown in choice number 1.
Here is the room all done up for another event:

The venue was definitely a splurge, but momma Newport saved by doing a morning event as opposed to afternoon or evening, it saved on food costs, since breakfast choices tend to be cheaper. She also opted to use standard chairs instead of chiavari, which would definitely bring up the cost. Linens were included in the price, as were all china pieces. We even negotiated adding mimosas into our deal!

I am so excited for the shower. Anyone else planning a shower this summer? any cost saving tips for decor, favors, stationery, games and prizes?

Music Mondays: Dancing with Dad - Part 2

Previously, I wrote about Cinderella, as a father-daughter song choice. I do really like that song, but I am indecisive. Another great contender that I have found is My Wish by Rascall Flats. I think this song would reflect many parent's relatiosnship with their child. What parent doesn't have many wishes for their son or daughter?

I think Rascall Flats has really captured the hopes and dreams parents have for their children. I think it is a beautiful song and lately I have really fallen in love with country music (I used to hate it, for some reason? I think I just didn't give it a try), which is another big plus for this choice! My only concern is, people may have heard it at a ton of other weddings. It does nto have as personal of a feel, because I think it relates to so many parents and their children. Although, that is also why I think ti is such a great song for the father-daughter dance.

My Wish lyrics by Rascall Flats

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Did you find a song you really loved, but felt it may not be as personal or overused? Did you use it anyway?

Nautical Knotties!

I haven't used the Knot so far as a big resource, but lately I have been skimming through their galleries and have wondered, why knot? (haha) So many brides upload photos to the site, they have amazing galleries. I love that I can type in "nautical" or "starfish" and have so many results.
Source

I have found some amazing starfish inspiration pictures on the site!

Source

Source

Do you use the Knot as a source of inspiration? What is your favorite part of the site?

Piers, Wharfs and Docks!

More inspiration by Jennifer Skogs! One of our definite location's for our engagment shoot is Bannister's Wharf. It is a cute little Wharf right of the main stretch of the center of Newport. Bannister's Wharf also happens to have a little B&B, overlooking the pier, where we stayed the night Mr. Newport proposed.

I knew I wanted pictures on the Wharf, but I wasn't exactly sure what to do on the Wharf. I love these shots below and was so happy to find these for inspiration for our upcoming photo shoot!

Mr. Newport is known for swinging me around in public. So I love the shot above!

AMAZING Editing! Jennifer Skog's is so unbelievable!
Jennifer Skogs Photography

Do you have a must have engagement shoot location? Were you inspired by other photos?

The DJ Search is OVER!

After four consultations with DJ's throughout RI, we finally found THE ONE! I am so excited because by the time we went on our drive to the fourth person, I was starting to think we would never find the perfect DJ, but we did.

We met with Larry from Engagements D.J. Entertainment, out of East Greenwich, RI. He was absolutely perfect for us. We are looking for someone who is low key, has experience, will work with us on the playlist, has a great personality and who has decent prices. He has the whole package. He will even play the Cha Cha Slide! Which I never thought would be an issue, until a consultation with another DJ.

We had met with four DJ's total, the most vendors we had met with for anything. I kow four isn't too many, I think 3-4 is a good number, we thought we would need more visits before making a decision, since the last three didn't work out too well. For a couple of the other vendors, we just knew.....

Venue- 1 meeting
Photographer- 1 meeting

Videographer- 3 meetings

DJ- 4 meetings

I was starting to think we would need to do more!

DJ # 1 had a lot of pros, I thought he had a nice style, experience, personal touches, but a little pricey. He never responded to a follow up e-mail I sent post meeting to thank him for meeting with us. I was a little turned off by that, I don't know why, I know he isn;t required to respond, but I like working with vendors who really like us and want to work with us to, and I felt liek the lack of reponse made it seem like he didn't feel the same way, although the meeting went great.

DJ # 2 unfortunately there wasn't anything we liked. The meeting was a nightmare and total waste of both of our time. I felt bad for the guy, he didn't have a chance with us, and I should have known how to communicate this with him earlier in our meeting.

DJ # 3 had a lot of pros, I REALLY liked him. He had everything going for him, buttttttt he would not play the Cha Cha Slide, and I couldn't get past that.

DJ # 4 was THE ONE. We went in with doubts, as he was recommended by the same person who recommended DJ # 2. I actually almost cancelled the appointment! We decided to give him a shot, after not being fully on board with the others. I am so glad we did! He is someone we just felt a connection with and after an hour meeting, I really feel liek we can trust him to do an excellent job of keeping our guests entertained and making the reception run smoothly. He has a lot of experience with our venue, and had wonderful thinsg to say about working with our coordinator in the past. He also has worked with our other vendors on numerous occasions, so I feel like they all have realtionships and will work really well together.

I am so relieved that we found him. Did you have trouble finding a specific vendor? Did you have to meet with a lot of vendors before finding THE ONE? How many?

Bridges & Inspiration

It's getting close to the engagement shoot! We have less than a month and I am still trying to narrow down where to take our photos. I have a few favorite spots, but then I see photos like these by Jennifer Skogs and it inspires me in a while new way and makes me think of a whole new location!

Newport has a gorgeous bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, which is lit up beautifully at night. It wasn't even on my list of shot locations for the engagement shoot, but then I see photos like these, and it makes me want to extend my hour photo shoot even longer.......
Jennifer Skogs Photography

Do you sometimes get overwhelmed by the limitless possibilities showcased by a favorite photographer? Who do you go to for photo inspiration?