Infomashunz on teh Interwebz

Sometimes I'm a geek.
But I'm not geeky enough to be able to make my own website, or anything like that.  I knew I wanted a website, so I was relying on The Knot's templates and fill-in-the-blank information boxes.  Which was fine...until I saw this post from Mrs. Penguin.  The sample template and facebook compatibility totally sold me on switching to Weduary.  Beau loved the idea, and even convinced me to spring for one of the $20 template.  The verdict?  Love.  Love love love.  It's pretty and easy and it connects to facebook!  I love the idea.  I haven't advertised it heavily, because we're still putting all the details together, but it is listed on my facebook.
That is all...I just wanted to let ya'll know!

The E-Sesh, Full Disclosure!

Our engagement pictures were fairly simply done.  We didn't want anything crazy or super-posed...not our style.  So we went out to the beach, the forest right by it, and then, because this is the last year we'll be here for them, onto base for the fancy poufy cherry blossoms.  Two days later, I took Kim and her husband to the train station so they could take a Hawaii vacation, and I got my CD with 90 pictures on it!  Here are some of my favorites.

all photos courtesy of KZ Wentzel Photography.  Thanks Kim!!!

A mutual friend said she thought these were Kim's best photos yet!  We attribute it all to her, and just a little bit to us being complete goofballs the entire time...

The E-Sesh...One Year Later

Our engagement pictures just did not want to happen.  Last August, we were scheduled with a supersweet Air Force wife Karen Davis, but Jason unexpectedly had to go to Alaska for 6 weeks and couldn't come to Korea.  Then, we talked to our friend Kim Wentzel about going out and playing in the snow for some pictures, but Jason had to go back to Alaska.  When he got back, we talked to Kim again about getting pictures taken with the cherry blossoms, and were all set to get them all done...when Misawa's weather interfered. Every.chance.it.got.  Arrrgh.  I sold Jason on Golden Hour  photographs back when I was in Korea, and when I asked what specific kind of shots he wanted, he brought that up again.  Problem was, Misawa insisted on being beautiful many mornings and clouding up in the afternoon.  Until this last Sunday...when the weather still didn't really cooperate, but we took pictures anyways!  Kim just let us see a preview, and here is my fav so far:

K.Z. Wentzel Photography

Did you have any challenges scheduling your e-photos?  Did it take you almost a year too?

Ringless No More

All Photos are Beau's.  Mt Io still has this much snow!

Happy news!  I have a replacement sparkler!  And it is gorg.  All I had to do to get it back was climb a mountain!

Slowly but surely.  Took us an hour to get to the top.

Obligatory couple shot

Met up with some Misawa friends!

I practically fell over!  So surprised.  

I said yes this time...

Such a great way to get engaged.  Again.  

I was promised a second proposal and Beau didn't disappoint!

Has anyone else been proposed to twice?  Did you lose your ring too?  Gosh I hope not...

The Dress I Do Want

Once I got down all my Do Not Wants, it was easier to focus on what I did want.

1.  Fit-and-flare or trumpet shape

2.  SOME lace

3.  Whispy, textured-y layers

4.  PLEATS

5.  Covered buttons up the back

FAIR WARNING BEAU...You don't want to see my dress pre-wedding, so you probably shouldn't read any more of this!!!

Do Not Want: Ugly Wedding Dresses

One of my favorite lady-centric news aggregator sites is www.thefrisky.com.  They have hilarious semi-regular columns like Be My Boyfriend and offer awesome non-standard celebrity fashion commentary with Well Played.  But my favorite, practically-makes-me spit-out-my-coffee feature is Do Not Want.  Why is this relevant?  Because when I started thinking about what I wanted in a wedding dress, I couldn't think of wants, but could think of PLENTY of Do Not Wants!  So here is my Do Not Want:  Bad Wedding Dress list!

(BTW, I don't mean to offend if you do want any of these things.  I just don't).

1.  Do Not Want:  Poufy Wedding Dress

From onewed

 2.  Do Not Want:  Overly Embellished Wedding Dress

From onewed

from recycledbride

3.  Do Not Want:  Shiny Wedding Dress

4.  Do Not Want:  Overly Fitted Wedding Dress

5.  Do Not Want:  Obviously Drop-Waisted Dress

6.  Do Not Want:  Overtly Flowery Dress

from choosedress

 7.  Do Not Want:  Mullet Wedding Dress

*all unmarked pix are from Bridepop

What's on your Do Not Want list?

Finding the Dress...From Japan

I wasn't able to make it back to the States in April like I was hoping.  Well...scratch that...I could have, but I didn't want to pay the $1500 for what might've been a very short trip.  Anyways, I wanted to go to see Beau, but also to go try on dresses!  A question I get a lot now is "Isn't there a store you can try on dresses there?"

Well...sortakindanotreally...

Yes, that says "Braidal" and "Happy Wedding"

Really with the bows???  And sorry for the fog...crazy rainy tonight.

Paperless Planning, Shelley's Edition

It's funny that frequently, I think I have a good idea for a blog post, and then one of those lovely Bees usually posts about it!  Great minds think alike, right?  Like this post from Miss Mink.  I had just been thinking that there was a lack of wedding papers in my life.  I attribute this mostly the fact that I'm not in the States to receive paper copies of contracts and information brochures.  But I HAVE a planner, and tons of magazines.  What are they doing?

All Photos Personal. This is where I keep my magazines...I'm a packrat.

A year & a half's worth of bridal magazines!

Chillin' in one of my hall closets.  Yep.  I feel kinda bad that they're kinda useless right now.  I think I may actually use them eventually, it's just that I've been tackling things like venue and catering that I don't really need inspiration for.  Also, I've kinda been on inspiration overload lately, and I've kinda cut back on my magazine readin' and blog stalking.  ALSO, I have a tech-lovin Mr., whose father took my wedding spreadsheet and gave it crack.  I can't even get it open right now...sigh.

But let's talk about this planner some more.  I bought it, not because I'm southern or this one appealed to me the most...it's just that it was at the Exchange (think a version of Wal-Mart specifically for military peeps), and sometimes we have to just buy something if we even THINK we want it.  I'm surprised there's not brawls for things like box fans and dehumidifiers among the folks who live on base and don't have air conditioning.  
Anyways, You can see I do have some checklists and contracts printed out (for reading, since I don't like the computer screen reading), and you can barely see some magazine tear-outs at the top.  Also, those post-its are my reminders to work on wedding stuff.  But that's about the extent of my paper-planning, which kinda surprises me.  I'm the nerd who really can't grasp the idea of reading a book on an iPad, even though in theory, it sounds like a good idea.  I need to flip the physical page...it's gratifying!  I also usually end up putting my to-do list on stickies, even though I have an app for that on my iPod.  I guess it's too easy to stay on my computer while I check out 5 different vendor websites at once!
I have busted it out again, because I need my dress inspiration pictures to make a decision (that I'll blog about soon, I promise.  I know I've been hinting around it).  And since some big decisions are done or almost made, I can start workin' on the fun stuff--clothes, invites, details, projects, DIY, yay!

Did you go paperless (or mostly paperless) for all your wedding planning?  Do you have a fancy-schmancy spreadsheet too?  Can I see it?  (hehe...just joking...mostly...)

Cake: Topped

Beau and I had a calm Saturday night that (naturally) involved drinking beers, watching tv, and planning our wedding cake.  We knew we wanted the same lady who made our "practice" wedding cake

Personal Photo

to make our real wedding cake.  So Jason sent an e-mail to his grandpa, and he gave us Susan's e-mail.  Of course, Susan got right back to us and directed us to her website http://www.brookfieldweddingcakes.com/.  While we picked out flavors and designs, Jason noted something about cake toppers on the site, but I'd been checking out toppers on Etsy for months!  I have quite the collection saved to my favorites.  For the longest time, I just KNEW we were going to have kokeshi (or peg doll) toppers, because they're a style borrowed from the Japanese.

the originals...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokeshi

Back Where It Belongs

This is one of those posts that probably borders on TMI, but I promise it's wedding related!  First a picture of one of my favorite events, but also something that triggered this concern for me:

Photo courtesy of K.Z. Wentzel Photography

It is FINALLY springtime in Northern Japan...which means it's Hanami time!  This is basically a time to cook out, have a beverage, and enjoy the sakura (cherry) blossoms while they last.  It really is magic time of year!  And with that comes the ability to wear short sleeves, and for everyone but me, tank tops.  But I have this goin on: