With the arrival of spring just around the corner and wedding / prom season along with it, I thought it would be the perfect time to profile this store  with a unique and gorgeous selection of dresses. I went into the boutique located on Fleet Street, between Hanover and North, earlier this week where a very kind sales associate helped me pick out some great styles that were both on trend and classic.

Pastels and peplum… this dress by Nicole Miller is perfect for a warm weather wedding or cocktail event…

Emerald green with a high low bottom, I am in love with this color! This would make an amazing prom look.

Store view… the store carries a big selection despite its small size and has a very tasteful interior.

Another beautiful Nicole Miller, this has the southwest look that is so on trend right now.

A back that will turn heads…

Store view, beautiful accessories and jewelry are displayed along the left side wall. And this beautiful green dress by Viereck shows off the more casual looks the store carries.

If you’re looking for a floral piece, this dress by Akiko is a great option. I love the angular hem.

Store view… some more casual choices. The dress pictured is a pretty summer weather piece. A woman was trying this on while I was in the store so if you’re interested you better get there quick!

This is a great way to rock the black and white look as well as the high low hem, and lace! I really adore this dress by Charlie Jade. If only I had an event to wear it! I don’t know if this is wedding appropriate, would you wear this to a wedding despite the whiteness of it? I think it makes a beautiful prom or semi formal look.

More black and white…

I love these bright colors and pleats by Max and Cleo…

Lace! Pair this with an army green jacket and you are right in the moment of style…

Thanks Alison and the Twilight staff for assisting me! I will definitely be back soon.

xo,

Hilary

I tried a steamed oyster and the only taste was that of the Tar-Tar sauce.  I don’t understand what the fuss about oysters is all about.

But I do like the fuss sass in this picture.  Love this picture of them her!

Less than 2 months until the big day!!

Thanks to Monica for the pictures!

It’s pretty cool how things go in cycles sometimes. We started the 2012 season out at the Crown Plaza Union Station with Holly & Ben back in April almost one year ago and we couldn’t have been happier to end our 2012 wedding season in the same beautiful venue with Charisse & Matt’s epic wedding just after Christmas! Charisse and Matt were very welcoming to us and made our job easy by looking great and working with us to get awesome shots. Thanks to the couple for putting on such a great event and inviting us to be part of it!

Key Vendors:

Cinematography Vibe Productions Photographer Alana Sheets Photography Venue Crown Plaza Entertainment AMS Entertainment

Being videographers we are asked to film important moments in people’s lives such as a Wedding, Christening or milestone occasion such as an Anniversary.  A lot of trust has to be invested by the customer in the person providing the service who they will entrust with this task.  People don’t want to be sold to but they do want to make a connection with you as people and be given a reason to use you. There is no way we would be able to get past the first post of having to be personable, show honesty, demonstrate integrity and offer something they want if they didn’t like us as people.  After all we visit clients in their homes and they have to feel comfortable enough to invite us in.  Once there they don’t want to feel violated or pressured into buying something from someone they really don’t like.

So while our products are an important part of what we offer clients will only begin to contemplate these once they’re open to you as a person and feel some sort of connection.  So those first few moments of meeting someone new are really make or break in this industry.  We could have made the best Wedding film in the world but if they don’t like the people who made it, rarely does it go any further.

It’s the beginning of wedding season! Bernardo Winery Spring Bridal Faire is the place for any bride-to-be. Some of the best wedding vendors in San Diego will be there.

Including the dynamic duo that is Loveleigh Beauty and Chandra Campos Makeup Artistry! Come play. Enjoy some bubbly, fine wine, makeup and a fashion show with makeup provided by yours truly.

We will also have a booth set up to answer any questions/concerns + share our bridal beauty tips/tricks.

I will def be blogging about the fashion show and experience, plus share the different bridal looks we will be showcasing for the season.

Also, I’ll be posting important tips like which foundation works best, tricks to make your lip-color last, and how preparing your skin starts weeks in advance.

Some of my gorgeous brides!

Love,

LL

xo

I got to do many of the things that I love the most in West Michigan:
- Relax with my parents
- See my little brother
- Watch a MSU basketball game
- Shop on 8th Street in Holland
- Get coffee at Lemonjello’s
- Participate in a sorority pledge event
- See my beautiful sorority family
- Drink beer at a brewery near my college
- Eat my mom’s cooking
- See the friends that seem more like family at this point in life
- Witness two beautiful people getting married
- Dance, eat late-night food and stay up way too late with my best friends
- See Chris reunite with his fraternity brothers; so good to see them all together
- Spend precious time with my grandparents
- Hug Chris’s brother after he made it through two weeks of fraternity pledging

*Mom, I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of the family in this collage. You know how it is.

Despite the winter weather, I wanted to look like spring. When I think of bridal showers, I think pastel colors, lots of flowers, bare legs, and pink lips. Since it’s still winter, I compromised a bit by adding a basic black blazer over a spring-like silk print dress, although I stuck to my guns with bare legs and light pink lip gloss.

Dress: Sugarlips; blazer: Target; pumps: NineWest

Cake truffles, tiny sugar cookies, loads of balloons, and fuchsia daisies.

Winter white sangria, mimosas, muffins, yogurt parfaits, and Grandma’s graham cracker cookies.

My sister (on my right) + her bridesmaids.

It was a great event; I particularly enjoyed the sangria. It was a party, after all.

The hostesses did a lovely job
With her matron of honorWith her mama
With her grandma
My cute friend received some nice gifts

I started my position as recorder!
And this trio will be soon walking down the aisle!  though only one in white :)
Happy wedding season, Sloaner!

There was love in the air last Saturday
and when these two get back
from the wonderful state of Hawaii,
hopefully this eases their transition.

Happy wedding you two lovebirds!

#daynesbrian

It’s been a while since I welcomed a month and write here “personally”. I’m not on a digital detox or something. I just don’t feel like sharing in this time of the year. ( Last year it was the same! Seriously I don’t know what is wrong with me but in this time of year, I feel moody like “swimming in the sea of melancholy” haha. ) I hope it will be over in coming days. 

Actually February was rather nice with plenty of family and friends time. We hosted a “birthday breakfast” for my father and proudly gave him his present:

Truly, there is nothing more pleasing in the whole world than giving gifts to people you love and making them happy…Eventhough they say “one kiss is enough” :)

Also we didn’t know that Samsung Galaxy 10.1 is that good! Husband is thinking to get one for himself.

We were also given some good news during February. One of the oldest friends of my husband is getting married.

They are really funny together and I hope them to be happy forever. I’m looking forward for the wedding in May.

Besides the wedding news, we got used to the “baby news”. One of my collegues gave birth to her second child and my dear friend Zeynel became a father. Next week my closest friend here, Gülden is going to give birth to her third child. Baby fever is on the air. 

In these moody and mostly lonely days, ( yes, husband is still on the busiest schedule on earth!) a few things help me : Reading, running, driving and (not always but) cooking. Right now I’m reading The Happiness Project by Grethen Rubin.

It’s not my genre and sometimes I’m having hard times to continue or not but I can say, a few ideas she gives are honestly good and useful. I frankly don’t have the motivation she has but if you read, I’m sure there will be something for you,too.

To get out of my grumpy mood, I set myself a few monthly goals. Seeing the last page of The Happiness Project is one of them. Also;

• Trying a new recipe once a month

• Eating clean

• Running 70 km/month

• A weekend get away with hubby.

• Accomplish two things from my 31 Things Before 31 List.

• Not to kill anyone.

Last month I tried for the first time to cook carrot soup and it turned out delicious.

This month I’ll try to make a pumpkin tiramisu. I don’t care about how much calories it has, I can proudly say that we’re eating super clean lately. So we deserve it. Last time I remember that we ate out was on Valentine’s Day (it wasn’t a date, I was just craving for pizza).

I cook daily and I can’t believe we are over of 5 kg of oranges in 6 days… 

This month, I want a family union as soon as possible. I also want to visit my friends and spend some time with them. I do want a getaway with my husband and a hair cut. I want these indefinite  days to be over and move on. We want our lives to be molded positively. 

So March, be good to us. We’re not asking too much.

Love,

F.

I’ll also be posting more eyeshadow tutorials as requested by readers. If you’ve got specific colours or products that you’re not sure what to do with, let me know and I’ll put together some looks to give you some ideas. If I don’t have access to a specific product, I’ll do my best to find a dupe.

So keep your comments and questions coming!

Let’s all raise our glasses to the new Mr. & Mrs Wissam Al Mana!  Even though we are a year late, we are proud for the married couple.  Janet has kept this marriage under raps for 365 days! Why? He is handsome, your gorgeous, whats the problem?  I would assume that with any global superstar, the privacy of their love life is very important to them and something they would like to keep sacred. Yet, with marrying a business billionaire such as Mr. Mana, you would expect everyone to be invited to the wedding, from President Obama, to Oprah;but instead the couple had a quiet, private ceremony.  With the kind of money this couple makes, they had enough money to fly the entire Jackson family to Qatar on private jets.  Instead the two decided to use their money for good, so their wedding gifts to one another were contributions to their respective favorite children’s charities.  (say it with me) ” Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww” Regardless of how many times you’ve been married and whether or not we were invited we congratulate the married couple because Janet Jackson has been Keepin’ It Diva since good times!

The summer brides are checking in, the vendors are walking through and our beautiful garden is beginning to bloom. Wedding season is near, I can smell it! Bring on the long weekends, late evenings, lawn ceremonies, fountain cocktails, beautiful sunsets, adorable ring bearers and flower girls, fabulous brides and food … oh yes, the food!

I can’t wait to see all of these plans unfold! Until then, let’s live vicariously through the past and revisit some of our favorite moments here at Landmark on the Sound Event Center.

- Patiently waiting …

See you next Sunday!!

xo-tm

Our family church was free but I didn’t anticipate getting stuck in the narrow aisles with my hoop skirt. Photo by Nadra Photography.

Here are three good reasons to get married on an off-day, off-season: lower rates, your invitees won’t have to skip your wedding for another and you’re sure to book your pick for the venue, photographer, ect. Typically wedding season is from early t0 mid May to Columbus Day weekend in October (second Monday of October). With variations based on geography.

You can also consider having a Thursday or Friday night function for a better rate and less competition from other eager couples. Or having a lunch, brunch or afternoon reception that eliminates the pricey full, sit-down dinner. When my husband and I were planning our wedding, the menu options for brunch were mouth-watering and the price tag was laughably small compared to dinner. When the priest could only do the wedding ceremony on Saturday morning, it was set. A morning wedding with a brunch following. Why wait around all day for dinner? And who doesn’t love brunch?

Waffles and roast turkey – brunch is awesome…and cheaper. Photo by Nadra Photography.

Vendors will have lower prices for less busy times. Lunch, a stand-up reception or brunch will always be less than dinner as well. You can still have dancing, drinking and fun. Guests can move onto an after party, and the couple won’t be too exhausted to spend some time doing what married couples do.

While the date of our wedding was determined by our work schedule, it happened to be the weekend after Columbus Day. In the end, I realized it was a lucky break for me. I was booking the photographer and organ player up to the week before the wedding. I never had anyone tell me they couldn’t do it. They were booked solid before that, but eager to cut me a deal for the first weekend after the madness died down. And there were several guests who’d attended weddings the weekend before, which made me grateful that they didn’t have to chose between weddings.

What about the weather? All the brides I knew who got married in June had rain in one of the rainiest Junes on record. In October, we had peak leaf color on a sunny day after a week of rain. You never can tell. Another girl I knew had a gorgeous, snowy January wedding. Some things you can’t predict.

Even with a lunch reception or December wedding, you can save even more money with these suggestions:

• Does the word “wedding” cost more?
  

  I bought non- “wedding” shoes on sale that I knew I would wear again (I have). Photo by Nadra Photography.

  With the insanity of the wedding industry, it seems the word “wedding” triggers a higher price. While you don’t have to pretend like you’re not an absurdly happy couple celebrating in a tux and white dress, you can call around for quotes from various services that you are considering. One phone call can refer to the event as a family reunion, prom or garden party and the other call can refer to the event as a wedding. If there is a difference in price, ask what the differences in service or items provided are for a wedding and negotiate away the wedding “extras.” Or bargain a lower price or the same price as another event if the differences are not justified.

• DIY: You don’t need a wedding planner. Various tasks can be spread between the wedding party, parents and willing guests to make things run smoothly and so the maid of honor and best man aren’t overburdened. You may also consider that you don’t need a florist, cake maker or caterer if you or your friends and family members are talented (and willing!) in any of these areas.
• Hire an amateur photographer. While you could dispense with the photographer all together and ask friends and family to take pictures or designate one person to take pictures, this could end in disaster. You don’t want to be madly disappointed that no one caught moments that you couldn’t remember or didn’t want to forget. Asking someone to be in charge of something like photos as a volunteer activity could lead to – no photos at all, blurry and badly lit photos or unsatisfactory photos. Unless you implicitly trust someone with this task, you are better off going to a local college to recruit an eager photojournalism student, making a connection with someone who wants to get into the photography business but needs to get his/her first clients or hiring an acquaintance whose photography you admire but who would not be a guest. I’m sure they would all be excited and flattered to be hired. That way you can vet their portfolio and discuss the shots you want beforehand, yet pay a fraction of the price of a professional. I’ve worked with many amateur and student photographers over the years on projects, and their photos always blow my mind.
• Check what your paying for. For any vendor, make sure you understand completely what you are paying for. If there are things in the “package” that you don’t want, bargain them away. If you go with a professional photographer, they often bundle a wedding album at $1,500 or more into the package in addition to their services. You can eliminate the album and DIY later.
• Get a free venue. Most religious venues are free – just make a donation as thanks. Hold the reception at someone’s gorgeous house or property. Many restaurants will book your party as a private party where you only pay for the food and service instead of a fee for the actual space. You start to run up massive costs when you have to pay for the venue space as well as all the food and drink.
• The Rehearsal Dinner is not the wedding the day before. More and more, rehearsal dinners don’t look any different than the wedding. Strictly limit the rehearsal dinner invitees to the wedding party, immediate family members and wedding officials. Even with the largest families and wedding parties, this shouldn’t be more than 30 people. Hosting the rehearsal dinner at someone’s house saves money and should be casual fun.

Ahhh… ‘Wedding Season’ in Cambodia.

What could be more delightful than waking up – before sunrise – to a loud, pulsing beat that rattles the walls through screeching speakers blaring some song that may sound lovely when sung to a small audience in an acoustically-inclined room but over loudspeakers sounds more like someone angrily shouting at their grandmother in a sing-song kind of way? How about if it goes on for THREE DAYS?

Weddings are a joyous celebration of two people uniting their lives; families and friends gather to rejoice in their love. But here in Cambodia, weddings have taken on a whole new set of descriptive words for me. From what I have experienced in Battambang, weddings can also be, well, incredibly disruptive to my beauty sleep.

Like all weddings, Khmer weddings are elaborate. A large tent is erected in the middle of the street and covered with pink tapestries and colorful ornate decorations. The plethora of tables under the tent are rarely full, but available to sit at for the entire extent of the days-long celebration. Chairs are covered with pink silken fabric and guests wear white shirts and blouses with dark pants and sarongs. Someone told me that the bride changes dresses at least four times. The (rented) dresses reflect various colors of the rainbow and always have lots of glittering accessories. (American wedding planners are clearly missing something. When will we let go of boring Puritan white dresses and live it up a little? Note to friends and family: I fully intend to have a vibrantly colorful wedding with lots of sparkly things.) I’m also told that most weddings are two days; for more affluent Khmer, weddings will last up to four days.

In this very hot and dusty rural town in NW Cambodia, to say that a bright pink tent with lots of ornaments stands out would be an understatement. If there is a wedding happening, you will hear it and then see it coming well before you are upon it.

From before dawn ’till after the sun has set, sounds and music are carried from under the tent to the surrounding six blocks of neighborhood. Though I don’t speak Khmer, I can assume that over the loudspeakers nice things are being said about the couple, blessings are given from family members, toasts are made, and DJs insert shrewd remarks to get the crowd moving again. The music that is played is indescribable. Due to volume and speaker quality, I think I may be completely missing out on several lovely renditions of Khmer wedding songs. Because what I hear when I wake up sounds a lot like an Islamic call to prayer mixed with K-Pop. If you don’t know what either sound like, please, please Google them… and then close your eyes and imagine them mixed together and blasting into your window over crappy loudspeakers.

While I feel privileged to be included in the happy couple’s celebrations while lying in bed at 6am in my guesthouse room down the road, I am increasingly grateful for my ear buds, my eye mask, and Dr. Henry Henshaw’s CD ‘Music for Sleep, Stress, and Anxiety Relief.’

Happy Wedding Season to all!

~Darcy Miller, guest blogger for dear friend Miss Sonja Chacon. Darcy is currently working in Battambang, Cambodia for Children’s Future Intl.’ — a US-based nonprofit serving the well-being and education needs of impoverished children at high risk of trafficking.

Are you getting married, or do you know an awesome couple who will be saying their “I DO’s” in 2013? If you answered yes to either of these questions, we want to let you know we still have some available dates and would love to get them filled with wonderful couples who want amazing memories of their special day.

You can call us at; 620-253-2806, email us at phil_andrea@cox.net, Send us a message through our website ,  or message us on Facebook to see if your date is still available and talk to us about details. We look forward to hearing from you!

Now for a few of our favorite images from past weddings.

Shoes and Wedding Rings

Bride Waiting

Beautiful Bride

The Guys Couldn’t Hang

The Wedding Cake

The Groom and His Men

Wedding Party

The Rings

Bride Ready to Ride

The Dip

The Look of Love

Beautiful Bride

The Wedding Shoes

Wedding Rings

First Dance

Thanks for spending some time with us! Don’t forget to Like us and check back often!

Today’s Weight 268 lb

Weight Lost to Date: 15 lb

In my View losing 15 lb is heck of a job but still long way to go. This week no Gain no Loss but its OK. Next week is my Mega Weight Buster week.

Haad Before & After 1 week Power Burst workout. Can u See the muscle gained in one week?

Next Weeks Daily Meal Plan

Breakfast:

Egg and 1 slice of bread with orange juice.

Hash Browns Pakistan

Lunch:

1 small serving of red or white meat with Roti(Pakistani Bread).

Dinner:

One Beef Burger with 2 slices of cheese.

American Beef Burger Lahore Pakistan

American Beef Burger and Hash Brown DHA Lahore. Home cooking

Daily Workout 

Now I don’t do Weight training what I do is run 1k every day as you know I am obese so running 1 k strait is not possible so I run 200meter than walk than again run 200 meter and so on! This has lots of benefits

1. I save on Gym fee as there are plenty of parks for running or jogging in DHA Lahore for free.

2. Its good for health and Heart.

Fat test Result

Stay Tuned for my next update next week by that hopefully I would have shed some more pounds.

With love in the air, I feel this is the perfect opportunity to tell you that Fishtitch has opened a new shop on Etsy!

Fishtitch Bridal showcases all my bridal bouquets, boutonnieres and accessories for you wedding party.

Pleas spread the word and pass it along to any of your engaged or soon to be engaged friends.  Thanks for your support, it fills me with a warm loving feeling!

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