Veils, veils, and headpieces..

So I've been thinking... I've always wanted a wedding veil that is pretty traditional. They are called "Mantilla" veils. I think they are so beautiful. I love how, in this picture from Paloma Blanca, the model is wearing it towards the back, and not on her forehead. It looks a little more modernized. But I guess you have to pick your dress first, huh, then your veil!! Doesn't hurt to look though :)

Mantilla Veil Front

Mantilla Veil Back

I've also noticed so many brides are now wearing these vintage inspired veils. The "birdcage" veils. They are gorgeous, just not sure I would be able to pull one off?? And what kind of dress to wear with it, a simple one I suppose?

I especially love this one in particular, which of course... I would love the most expensive one I've seen so far. The headpiece is custom designed by Jennifer Behr. Such a beauty...

There are also other options for headpieces, that are a little more budget friendly. There's this site called Etsy, not sure if you've heard of it, but they have tons of handmade things. Most of them are beautiful. You can find so many things there, you can get lost in that site! Here are a few headpieces I found from Etsy.

These two are from Etsy shop Ohmydeer.

These last two are from Etsy shop Heknowsmylastname.

Semester is About to End...

Wow. I cannot believe how fast this year is going. To think, in a month, I'll be done with this semester of school! I'm sure you're thinking, what does that matter? Hello! It matters because after this semester, I only have the summer left until I graduate. Talk about stress. And not only for me.. but of course for my fellow graduates-to-be.. my honey, and my sister.

Just thinking about all of the assignments and exams that are so fast approaching, stresses me out. I don't know about you, but to me, studying is boring, ha. That's my excuse. I'm such a crammer, and sometimes that does not benefit me. Hopefully these next couple of days, I'll be able to get some work done.. group projects, exams, quizzes, oh my...

I think I'll need some of these glasses when I come to work :)

Pnina Tornai Wedding Dresses... I'M IN LOVE!

So.. I know, no wedding planning supposed to be going on here.. but I can't help but look! Last week or so, I was watching the show, "Say Yes to the Dress," on TLC.. and this woman came in and tried on this amazing trumpet/mermaid style dress! I fell in love right away! I had already decided before this, that the wedding dress style that I wanted was the mermaid style.. let's see if I change my mind later, ha. Anywho, this whole week, I've been searching the web for that dress!!!!

And guess what!!! I finally found it... It only took a million google searches to finally find it! Haha. The dress is by a designer from Israel, named Pnina Tornai. Her dresses are sold exclusively at Kleinfeld's in NYC. I can only imagine the price tag on these beauties. And the best part of it all, Pnina Tornai dresses are made to fit like a corset, so they are very flattering. They are somewhat over the top, and not your typical "traditional" wedding dress... but ahh, a girl can dream, right!!

So without further ado... here's the dress that I truly, madly, deeply, fell in love with when that girl tried it on, on the show... Just beautiful!!!

This is from the runway of Pnina Tornai. The front of the dress...

Detail of the flowers at the skirt...

Back of the dress..

Oh and of course I had to include some of the other dresses by the designer... some of the other one's I fell in love with....

Check this out.. beautiful crystal beading at the top and at skirt...

Detail of the beading... just beautiful.


Check out the corset type back...

This one is beautiful as well. I couldn't find many pictures other than from the Pnina Tornai web site. I think I like this one more than the others!!

Finally... Engagement Party!

So we had our official "engagement party" a couple of weeks ago. It was great having all of our family and friends there to celebrate with us. And actually a lot of people came, which was great, because we had tons of food!! I think everyone ate a couple of times, ha. Here's a couple of pictures of the night, I didn't have many, so here's what I have:

These are my beautiful sisters, which I love with all of my heart. They are my best friends :)

In this picture, Jesse is making a toast, thanking everyone for coming and celebrating with us. He was telling everyone that I'm the only woman he would ever want to marry, and things like that. As you can see, he made me tear up, aww.

He even made my mom cry.. tears of joy, of course!

Oh, and check out what I got from my sister!!! I'm so glad she got me this, because I was going to go to the store and buy one myself. Thanks sister!!! I'm sure it will come in handy, once all the planning begins. I've started to read through it, and man, does it have tons of great advice on how to choose your vendors, gift ideas, etc. It's just perfect!!


And I had to take a picture of these beautiful flowers my mom brought. Can you believe these grow in my parents' backyard!! Jesse surely didn't believe it, haha. They're so beautiful!

Bummed

We had originally wanted a Sunday wedding, but now that may not happen. See the thing is that I just found out that the Catholic church does not perform weddings on Sundays. It's like a rule against the church, since Sunday is considered a holy day. So I'm kind of bummed now. I had finally convinced Jesse to marry in a Catholic church, and now I'm not sure what's going to happen.

The reason we were thinking of a Sunday wedding, first of all, there's lots of cost savings, and second, it just sounded like a good idea after thinking about it. Now Jesse says let's just get married outside of a church, and still do the wedding on a Sunday... I'm not too happy about that. Don't know if I'm just being a brat, but I want to get married in a church.. The architecture is beautiful, and it would mean a lot to my mom.

Here are some possible churches we can get married at, of course Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is my first choice, hands down. We went to the older church when we were younger.

Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart:

St. Anne's Catholic Church:

Holy Rosary Church:

Annunciation Catholic Church:

Hopefully we will find a solution to this whole Sunday/church issue.. most likely we will switch our wedding to Saturday. Maybe that's a better idea in the end? I haven't been confirmed with the Catholic church, even though the church will marry you even if you are not confirmed (I just found this out also).

If any one else is interested, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is offering adult confirmation courses, beginning Wednesday, April 15, at 7pm. The courses last 7 weeks and you can go on April 15 to register and get a class schedule.

P.S. I need to post some pictures of our engagement party. It was so much fun, having all of our friends and family there. Pictures to come soon, promise!

"amanda + jesse"

I was browsing the web last night and found this web site: http://www.thebridescafe.com/ This website is amazing! If you're looking for inspiration, go there! I love looking at the pictures of the beautiful things other couples have done for their weddings.

While on this site, I found another site :) http://www.kissthegroom.com/ It's just as amazing, with so many love stories. They have this adorable feature called "The Kissing Tree" where you can carve your name in it.. it's just adorable, so without further ado, here's my kissing tree:

If you can't really see the details of the tree... You can click the image to enlarge it.

I carved "amanda + jesse" Love it!