The Glad Game

I was in a little bit of a bad mood this morning because my computer is on the fritz. I don't know much about computers but I know enough that the screen suddenly going dim it isn't a great thing. But rather than letting my computer situation ruin my day I decided to have a "Pollyanna" moment and focus on the things I am grateful for and that make me "glad."

I am glad that: 

• I stepped out of the shower to fresh towels, laundered by the Mister. 
• My Starbucks baristas had my drink ready even before I got to the counter. 
• A friend called to set up a lunch date for sometime this week. 
• I found out that I won a $50 gift card in an in-office drawing! 
• Donne and I have a standing phone call date once a week to catch up and have some girl time. 
• The Mister and I have great doggies that are well behaved and are always happy to greet us when we get home. 
• Queenie has more free time now that she is on summer break and can meet me for dinner and play dates. 
•  My dad called to see how my day was going and offered to let me use one if his spare monitors. 
• A fellow foodie brought me a newspaper clipping of a featured restaurant, that he and his wife recommend. 

I am glad that I didn't let my computer issues bring down my mood because I have so much to be grateful for! Any and all positive thoughts that my computer will be fixed without completely replacing the LCD screen is greatly appreciated.

Wedding Wednesday - Congrats Donne!

On Saturday, July 30, 2011 Donne married her Mister in an amazing wedding at the Riviera Country Club surrounded by family and friends.  It was a beautifully sunny day and picture perfect for a wedding.  The ballroom was stunningly decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of flowers, the food was delicious, and of course, Donne was absolutely radiant!  Along with most of the other guests, and the bride and groom, the Mister and I had a great evening and danced the night away...  

:: the rehearsal dinner @ Napa Valley Grille, Westwood :: 

:: before ::

:: after ::

:: college friends ::

:: a bridesmaid and her Mister ::

Congratulations to Donne and her husband! Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.  We love you and wish you both lots of love, laughter, and happiness (and good food too!) XO!

Donne's Fling Before the Ring!

:: The Ladies in front of the Bacara Fountain :: 

While some brides and bridal parties, choose to partake in extreme bachelorette weekends in Vegas full of drunkenness and debauchery, Donne chose to celebrate with a weekend in Santa Barbara at the Bacara Resort.  As soon as we approached the grand archway of the Bacara, I knew we had picked the perfect place to celebrate Donne's upcoming wedding!  The Barara is a luxurious resort, the perfect place to relax, and conveniently located to local vineyards like Koehler and Rusack.

 

:: Poolside @ the Bacara ::

:: Koehler ::

:: Rusack ::

:: all dressed up for a night out ::

Wedding Wednesday - Website

Tonight the Mister and I are spending some time working on our wedding website!  We are having fun looking for pictures and are taking turns doing the writing... yup, that's right folks, the Mister has actually asked to do some of the writing!


According to WeddingWindow.com here are the top 10 reasons for having a wedding site:

• share wedding information easily
• save time and money
• reduce your impact on our Earth
• focus on what's most important 
• manage all of your wedding details in one place 
• provide your guests with travel suggestions 
• create something unique to you
• allow guests to learn more about you 
• communicate easily with your bridal party
• accept messages from your guests. 

The Mister and I primarily chose to have a wedding website to be a resource for our guests (to answer their questions) and as a means for RSVP (eliminate the cost of RSVP cards, envelopes, and stamps).  We looked at a bunch of different wedding website creators before making a selection.  -There are so many choices!  Our top 2 choices were WeddingWindow and theKnot.


WeddingWindow
Pros: Donne and her fiance chose weddingwindow.com for her beautiful wedding website.  Wedding window gives the bride and groom a lot of flexibility and customization options.  
Cons: Price.  The price for 1 year (their most popular package) is $79, but can cost as much as $119.

theKnot
Pros: It is free.  It is easy to use.  You can elect to password protect certain pages (like specific information for just the bridal party) And I can see and edit it at work... shhhhh! 
Cons:  Like other things in life, you get what you pay for:  this website is pretty basic. It doesn't have all the bells an whistles that some of the other sites offer.  But considering we know that some of our guest might not be incredibly computer savvy, a more basic website, like the one that theKnot offers is better suited for us.
DONE! We decided on theKnot.com!

To the other brides out there... do you have a wedding website?  What type of website did you choose?

Pretty in Pink

Meet Pearl!  Donne did a great job finding a beautiful Lula Kate dress that will be flattering on each of her 6 bridesmaids!

Today I faxed in my bridesmaid dress order for Donne's wedding to Bella Bridesmaid, LA! -The Ladies at Bella Bridesmaid were super friendly and very quick to respond.

More Stamps! (kinda)

Donne, one of my bridesmaids and fellow bride-to-be, and I are always sharing wedding ideas.  Recently we have been discussing sending out our save the date cards.  

We both have our "save the date" card ready to go, but are concerned about the stamp that will go on them.  We both don't want a plain "forever" stamp on our cards so we were more than excited when we came across these custom stamps!

Donne's Decision

On behalf of Donne: Thank you to the ladies who visited the sites and blogs of the two photographers and cast your vote.  

The votes are in and they were unanimous for Kari! 

After a good night's sleep, hearing what everyone had to say, and a quick chat with her mister Donne made her decision: 

Kari will be the photographer at her wedding next July.  

BTW Kari is the photographer Donne originally booked... :)

Photographer 911

“Help!” I got a frantic email from one of my best friends, whom I call Donne.   She booked the photographer for her July 2011 wedding last month but after continuing to look at the profiles and portfolios of wedding photographers all of a sudden she got buyer’s remorse.  And I got a frantic phone call. 

Kari Kochar

Donne: Oh goodness! Do you think I can get the deposit back from my photographer?

Me:  What?! Why!

Donne: Well I was looking at a blog and I think I found a better photographer…

Me: Hold on… Have you had a change of heart toward [your original photographer], or is [the new photographer] that much better?

Donne: I don’t know… [new photographer] just has some great images and captures some great moments...

Me: I’m still confused: what makes [this new photographer] so fabulous? Do you like her enough to possibly lose your deposit?

Donne: Well… can you look at their portfolios? I NEED your opinion!

Me: Okay, hang on. 

Sarah K. Chen

After going through the websites and blogs with Donne she still wasn’t sure so I sent out an emergency email to my friends and family:

LADIES! 
A friend of mine needs help making a final decision selecting her wedding photographer.  Her top two choices are Kari Kochar and Sarah K. Chen.  Please look at their websites and blogs and cast your vote.  – I will let you know whom she chooses!  Thanks, ladies!  XO

I have gotten responses from some of the ladies and I'm awaiting just for a couple more.  Which photographer do you like? Kari or Sarah? 

Stay tuned to see which photographer Donne and her mister choose...