I've Got An STD!

Save the Date, that is. 

Originally we weren't going to do save the dates, but we were bombarded over the Christmas holiday about when the wedding is (even though we've told almost 95% of the people that asked NUMEROUS times). So, we figured the best thing to do would be to just bite the bullet and send out save the dates.

I actually bought the digital file from a graphic artist on etsy after working with her on the design for the save the date and also the wrap around label. It ended up being SO much cheaper that way.

For the save the date, I ended up buying magnet paper off of ebay and printed the design straight onto the paper and used my paper trimmer to cut the magnets out. 

(Sorry, I blocked out the town where the wedding is.)

For the wrap around label (please excuse the addresses on there, they are just made up names and addresses, but ours look the exact same way), we just bought sticker paper, printed them and stuck them on.

We had to hand make envelopes for them, though, because of the awkward size on them, buying envelopes online was WAY expensive.. so we googled it and bought some cardstock and we now are currently making 150 envelopes. lol.

I love the way they have turned out, though.

Shoe Obsession.

Last week I stumbled upon the perfect shoes for my bridesmaids on Target.com! After collecting the money from them I placed the order. (because, hey..  target had a special going on for 20% off orders of $75 or more and free shipping on orders of $50 or more).

While I was browsing for their shoes, I stumbled upon the perfect pair of heels for my bachelorette party getaway. We're going to Atlantic City (but more on that later) and it's going to be pink and zebra print themed and we're going to have at least one night out and about dressed in the theme.

So, guess what showed up at my door finally? Oh, that's right... a small box (which came in a separate shipment) and a HUGE box.

The boxes.

Inside the little box.

ZEBRA PRINT SHOES! They totally fit our zebra print theme (and my outfit, which will be another post).

Close up of one shoe.

Inside the bigger box.

Chocolate Brown Peep Toe Pumps! (Much prettier in person!)

Close Up.

The chocolate brown color matches PERFECTLY to the fabric swatch I gave to the seamstress who is making the bridesmaids dresses!

I think they go perfectly with the dresses that are being made, which can be found here. I even tried a pair on to make sure they fit true to size and to see how comfortable they are... and they are SO comfy! LOVE.

Bridesmaids Outfit: Part 1!

I made a sketch of how I want my bridesmaids dress to look like so I can send it to my seamstress to execute. She'll be starting on the dresses this coming April, so be sure to check back for part 2 of this post to see the completed dresses.

Here's the sketches I made to send to her:

Sketch.

Front of the dress.

Back of the dress.

Not to mention, I FINALLY got the brooches in that I ordered to go with the dress after a couple months of waiting. I'm not thrilled with the stone that is used in the middle of the big flower, but I'm thinking of popping it out and gluing in some smaller rhinestones so it flows better. Here's what FINALLY came in the mail after months of waiting:

The box.

When I opened it I was greeted with TONS and TONS of bubble wrap!

All five brooches to use on the dresses.

The brooch. See that middle stone? Ugh, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Different view.. they are so sparkley in person! 

I can't wait to see how the dresses come together! April can't get here soon enough!

Dressing the Groom

I searched high and low for the past month trying to find a tie that matched my dress. I thought it would be so cute if there was just that little added touch that tied us in together and I thought a polka dot tie to match my polka dot dress would be awesome. Plus, how cute for pictures?!

Close up of my dress:

Do you know how hard it is to find a white tie with white polka dots? It was nearly next to possible! I was on one of my many google image searches for one the other night and stumbled up this polka dot beauty offered on ioffer.com.. the seller had 100% feedback on over 1100 transactions, so I bit the bullet and bought it!

I can't wait to get it in the mail. How perfect, right?

Stylish Blogger Award!

I was so very kindly tagged for the Stylish Blogger Award from the wonderful Kelly at Ikea Bride!

So the rules are as follows:
1. Thank the person (or people) that gave the award to me and link back to them
2. List 7 things about me
3.Pass this award to other bloggers

I spent all weekend thinking of some things to share with you all. Here goes:

1.I have a very unnatural obsession with all things zebra print at the moment. 

{Source} Btw.. how CUTE is this luggage! WANT IT!

Anyways, I want anything and everything zebra print lately which led to the following discussion at Hobby Lobby between me and Derrick.

Me: Look!! A zebra print filer.. Look! A zebra print storage box!! Look!! A zebra print blah blah blah.

Derrick: What is your deal with zebra print? You don't need any of that.

Me: Yes I do. 1. It's ZEBRA PRINT. 2. I can file my photography files in the filer and my photos in the photo storage box. 3. It's 50% OFF!

Derrick: You don't store photos, you put them in an album.

Me: But, it's 50% off.. but fine, I bet I can find a zebra print photo album. *Goes looking*

This resulted in Derrik rolling his eyes at me and telling me that just because something is 50% off doesn't mean I need to buy it. This also resulted in me walking out with my 50% off zebra print filer.. SCORE!

2. I loved and still do love any and all (pretty much) of the WB, CW, UPN tween shoes.

This includes and is not limited to: Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, Gilmore Girls.

3. I was in the drill team my senior year of high school.

I really wish I had a picture of myself on the drill team on my computer, but I don't. But yeah.. as much as I love to dance, making the drill team really surprised me since I have no natural rhythm. I practiced my heart out to make that team and I completely rocked try outs. I enjoyed being on the team and still remember some of the dances and it's been 8 years.

4. I wish, more than anything, that I could have gotten to know my mom.

She died when I was only 2 and in a lot of ways I feel like I was cheated out of a lot. She won't be there for my wedding day (well, physically at least) and I never really got to have any of those mother-daughter chats growing up. As much as I want to have children someday, it also terrifies me because what if I die young like my mom did and leave my children behind. It's an everyday struggle to not have her here and that's the last thing I want to do to my children (not that she had a choice, it was a heart problem that led to her death). But still, the thought terrifies me.

5. I seriously have one of the most awesome best friends. We've been friends since kindergarten (with the exception of a few times where we weren't friends, but I think we just needed to grow on our own and it made our friendship stronger) and we've been on some awesome adventures together. 

{She's going to kill me for adding this picture!}

No matter where we go, we always manage to have fun and make great memories. Like the time we raced a train or traveled all the way to Nashville in horrible weather just to try out for the Biggest Loser. lol. We have so many inside jokes and memories together and while we haven't been on one of our awesome adventures lately.. we are planning on going to Atlantic City, NJ for my bachelorette getaway (FIST PUMP MANIA) in September and who know what shenanigans we will get into there.

6. I played the trumpet in band from 5th grade all the way until I graduated. (Hello band geek! LOL)

The reason I started playing it in the first place was because my mom played the trumpet when she was in school and it was something I felt tied me to her. I may have never gotten to know her, but I somehow felt connected to her when I played the trumpet.

7. I love love love playing Board Games.. my favorite being DVD Scene It (which no one will play with me because I always win!) But Monopoly makes me more mad than any other game.

First off, this game lasts WAY too long.. secondly, it makes me mad. I have literally gotten so mad at this game that I knocked the board off the table and walked away. Yes, I'm that intense when it comes to board games.

Pass It Along- I tag:

First Comes Love...

Sweet Cadence

Jenny Busy Bee

Hearts and Whimsy

Arsenic and New Lace

Enjoy!

My First Photoshoot Sneak Peak!

I had my first 4 photoshoots as "Danielle Renee Photography" yesterday. I told many of you that I'd post some pictures on here of the outcome. Here's 7 pictures as a sneak peak from one of the families that I did. I'll post some more later. I'm just really excited about them and wanted to share. Not too bad for just starting!

Check back for more later!

Hair Descisions

Before I changed my mind on my dress, I had a hairstyle picked out.. the low loose bun. Now that I've changed my mind to a floor length polka dot gown, I'm not sure what hairstyle to go for. I do plan on buying clip in extensions for my hair.. it is getting long, but I have fine hair and for a lot of the hairstyles I've picked, I'll need the extra hair.

I could really use any and all advice/opinions on what would go best with my dress. I really appreciate all the help!

Here's my dress again (going to be floor length with brown sash)

And some different hairstyles..

Thanks in advance for any and all help!