Nonpareil #03 Article

Today has been crazy b/c I have packed and loaded all my belongings into a uhaul to head north in the morning O_O

But I wanted to interrupt real quick to squeal with delight that my piece for the wonderful Nonpareil Magazine has finally come out 🙂

{Nonpareil Magazine}

Please check it out and tell me what you think 🙂 And many thanks to my wonderful collaborators – Ariana Mata of Kiss a Cupcake, Nancy at Honey’s Cakes, and Betty of The Vintage Tea Room by Betty!

Tuesday Link Love

If you’ve checked out the Link Love page on my website, then you already know how much I love me some wedding blogs and I want to periodically and randomly start sharing with you some of the links that inspire me on any given day 🙂

This adorable card is giving me the warm fuzzies 🙂

{Oh So Beautiful Paper}

I want these lights in an awkwardly addictive way O_O

{Erin Ever After}

What a easy and beautiful diy centerpiece… so fresh and springy 🙂

{Elizabeth Anne Designs}

I want to create a space like this!

{broken*saucer}

Such a simple way to spruce up an invitation suite…

{The Perpetual Party Planner}

The Hair Trial

When I first started considering wedding hair styles, I knew I needed my hair to be curly (that’s how Luke likes it *smile*) but it would be best pulled up b/c of the summer heat. I went back and forth on different looks but it wasn’t until I saw the series finale episode {The Past Presents The Future} of Ugly Betty and saw her hair at Hilda’s Wedding that I knew…

I wanted the curly side bun 🙂 I wanted to make sure it showed when you looked at me face on but that it wasn’t so far over that I looked like Princess Leia O_O

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So I armed myself with inspiration photos

and headed to my usual hair lady with my natural air dried hair…

75 minutes and $28 later, this is the beautiful do I got 😀

And don’t you just love the birdcage veil and fastener I made for 13 bucks? I’m in love with my hair and am so excited to see everything put together in just 5 weeks 😀

It’s here!

That’s right, folks! The Mismikado Creations website has finally launched!

I’m so happy about this I want to throw a party of something 🙂

The official new badge

In light of the blog redesign and the upcoming launch of the new website, here’s the latest {and hopefully final} blog badge! Thanks for showing your support guys! 🙂

Great New Resource for Brides: BidChapel.com

Could you imagine having vendors compete on who can offer you the best price within your budget for your wedding? Well that’s just what BidChapel.com is offering.

This is an amazing new concept that has just launched on the wedding scene and I encourage everyone to go sign up now. If you are a bride this will be an amazing tool for you to find the most reasonable vendors. If you are a wedding vendor, you should totally sign up and start bidding on their list of weddings in your area.

Let me quote form their latest press release to explain the concept…

“BidChapel.com is a sophisticated, effective and completely free website where a bride’s dream wedding can become reality, virtually through the click of a mouse. ‘We created the site to help brides expedite the research, planning and payment for wedding services,’ says co-founder Brian Radford. ‘We want our users to have that fantasy wedding they’ve always dreamed about. With access to thousands of professionals who want to make a bride’s wedding day special, it is now easier than ever to plan a wedding, especially within a specified budget.’

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The site creates an auction, where brides describe their dream wedding and professionals bid to win the projects, such as providing photography services or floral arrangements on the specified day.

The ability to provide feedback is one of the most powerful features of a crowd-driven website.  At BidChapel.com, brides rate interactions with professionals based on quality, price and delivery.  The value to the brides is apparent, but what about the value to the bridal professionals?

For industry professionals, the value is in the direct marketing of their services to brides who have already expressed interest in purchasing their specific offering.  The site is free to use, however, the BidChapel.com system assesses an administrative fee of 5% to vendors who are awarded as the project winners.”

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I don’t know about you but that sounds like a win/win for everyone. I’ve definitely hopped on the bandwagon so keep your eyes out for Mismikado Creations on BidChapel.com.

6 weeks!

6 weeks folks and this weekend is going to be INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE!

I’ll tell you all about it when I get back for a wedding I’m working 😉

Oh and what do you think of the new layout/template… it’s going to coincide with some very special I’m launching next week *wink*wink*

Picking Father/Daughter or Mother/Son Songs that don’t suck…

In the WIC there is a lot of emphasis put on the Father/Daughter  and Mother/Son dances but most of the songs often chosen for these make me want to gag! They are either over used or really creepy/awkward (especially in the Father/Daughter) case.

So I have decided to provide you with a list of songs I feel are great for any occasion or relationship…

The Father/Daughter Mix

Father & Daughter – Paul Simon {this is actually the song I picked because I feel it is completely perfect. Not too slow, not too cheesy. Just the perfect sentiment between a father and his only daughter.} Father & Daughter – Paul Simon

My Girl – The Temptations {an oldie but a goody 🙂 this song is just so fun and great for dancing} My Girl – The Temptations

Do You Realize?? – The Flaming Lips {of course I love the Beatles but this was a wonderful remake and I think it is so wonderful for a nontraditional father/daughter song} Do You Realize?? – The Flaming Lips

Jesus, etc – Wilco {You’ve got to love Wilco mellow alt country-ness and how can you not love a song that says “Don’t cry. You can rely on me honey. You can come by anytime you want.” Everyone say “aww” now} Jesus, etc – Wilco

The Mother/Son Playlist

Still Fighting It – Ben Folds {one of my all time favorite songs and I think the words are just so sweet and lovely. Someone please pick this for their wedding!} Still Fighting It – Ben Folds

You Are Goodbye – Holly Conlan {Nontraditional? yes! Sad? yes! Incredibly sweet? absolutely! I just love the line like “Stay” “Please don’t ever leave” that are exactly words mom’s say to their children} You Are Goodbye – Holly Conlan

Other Side of the World – KT Tunstall {listen to all the words and maybe you’ll get but I thought it was very sweet} Other Side of the World – KT Tunstall

You Are My Face – Wilco {can’t you just hear a guy singing this about his teenage years with his mom?} You Are My Face – Wilco

The Songs That Can Go Either Way

Yellow – Coldplay {I’ve always felt like these were sweet words you should say to your child} Yellow – Coldplay

Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses {my dad actually requested we play this song at our wedding *smile*} Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses

Stand By Me – Ben E. King {one. of. the. best. songs. ever.} Stand By Me – Ben E. King

You Belong to Me – Jason Wade {I like this song b/c no matter where you go or who you are with you will always belong to you parents because you nothing breaks blood} You Belong to Me – Jason Wade

Ok so I know that not every family is “cookie cutter perfect” with a mom or dad always in the picture. So here are a few songs for those “different” circumstances…

Songs for Estranged Relationship

This Boy – James Morrison {one of my favorite songs and I just love how he tells his mom that he gets why she had to do what she did and he’s ready to move on} This Boy – James Morrison

Broken Strings – James Morrison & Nelly Furtado {I like how this song is about letting go and saying good bye for that one last time… I think it works great for a son or daughter} Broken Strings – James Morrison & Nelly Furtado

Daughters – John Mayer {anyone whoever thought this was a sweet song about a father and daughter is severely mistaken. Listen to the lyrics. It’s not so sweet but it is pretty and it’s often very true} Daughters – John Mayer

For the Daughter who wants to Dance with her Mom

The Best Day – Taylor Swift {this is actually my mom’s ring tone for my phone b/c I vividly remember what it felt like to be 13 and only have my mom there to cheer me up and get me through everything} The Best Day – Taylor Swift

SansParents – For the Sibling Who Was Always There

Daniel’s Song – The Finches {I don’t have a brother… but if I did I hope I could be as good of a sister as this} Daniel\’s Song – The Finches

Orange Sky – Alexi Murdoch {one of the prettiest songs I know… it’s like the best lullaby} Orange Sky – Alexi Murdoch

Hope this helps in your song quest!

*All photos by yours truly 🙂

Don’t cry
You can rely on me honey
You can come by any time you wantI’ll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

A digression into everyday life…

for those of you who don’t know this already…

I am a

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It’s kinda a really bad obsession and I can’t get enough of reading… I blame my grandma who always took me to the library ever Wednesday growing up. My favorite authors are Elizabeth Scott, Sarah Dessen, John Green, and Chris Crutcher. They write the kind of books I hope to someday be able to write. And they are incredibly cool people as made evident by their blogs or tweets 🙂

But I like other kinds of books beside YA too… especially those big coffee table books. I’ve already picked out a few for us but one I have wanted for years is…

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During my sophomore year of high school, my amazing art teacher, Denise Freeman, bought this book for her class to introduce the topic of photo montages. I was hooked! Dan Eldon was one of the most amazing artists and now that I am the age he was when he was beginning to rise in his career of photojournalism I am even more at awe. He accomplished so many things that I have dreamed of doing before his life was snuffed out in tragedy at only 22 years old. I am so happy they are finally making a movie about him and I have coveted this book of his journals for years.

And now through the fabulous Better World Books (i don’t think I will ever buy from anyone else) I can get this book at a phenomenal price. However, I can also get the biography of Dan’s amazing life, Dan Eldon: The Art of Life.

So I guess the question is… which one should I put on our coffee table?

I feel so quiet lately

I know I haven’t been sharing that much fun wedding related stuff lately… especially personal details with our life and planning O_O

Things have just been very overwhelming… like having a massive anxiety attack last week overwhelming… but I do promise to catch you all up on everything within in time… Just think we only have 7 more weeks and then we’ll have all the time in the world for project and photo recaps 🙂

I went to South Padre Island this weekend for a friend’s bachelorette party. Had a blast and I’ll share stories and photos soon. I’ve been borrowing my mom’s camera b/c not sure if I mentioned it but my p&s broke at our shower a couple weeks ago.

The invitations went out on Friday… with a minor stamp mess-up that led to very bad bridezilla moment on my part but already got one local response that they are currently being delivered.

Will be working at the RGVAH site 3 days a week this month so that will be stressful… I can’t believe the project is stretching into May… so crazy!

Luke and I have been working on something special and I promise to post about it soon! Maybe this week… hopefully! 🙂

One of my friends is pregnant… very exciting news!

Booked another wedding to shoot this month.

Mom finished making all the linens.

Working on a special business project that I can’t wait to share 🙂

And that’s pretty much it… plugging along and thinking about you dear readers constantly… I’ll get back into regular posting before long… I promise!

Thanks for still coming back and reading 🙂