I spent last night sewing together a belated ’something new’ for a recently-married friend.  I mean ‘belated’ in an intentional sense: I was more than just a bit reluctant to have my precious home-made gifts lost in the myriad John Lewis pots, pans and bed linen that that happy couple received on their wedding day.  I’m also fairly anti-wedding list, and prefer to make my own gifts, buying only little bits and pieces.  Time-consuming as that might be, it’s much more thrifty, and also more fun (I hate going to John Lewis anyway).  So here’s the rundown on old, new, borrowed and blue…

For something old, I dug out a beautiful card with an angel on the front.  I’ve framed it using an old wooden frame of mine, and it is now ready to be hung somewhere in the matrimonial home.  The card is special for a number of reasons, the most important being that it was sent to me by the bride herself about six years ago and I’ve kept it ever since.  I was slightly reluctant to part with it at first, but then I realised that if it’s on display in her house I’ll likely get much more pleasure from it than I would if I kept it stuffed it away in a scrapbook somewhere, alongside the hundreds of other cards, letters and other bits and pieces that I seem to have accumulated over the years.

For something new, I’m making her an apron – blue and white stripes with pink felt flowers, all cut out by hand and sewn on with some odds and ends buttons that I’ve had lying around.  The ties are bright pink cotton, and a nice contrast to the stripes on the front.  Aprons make lovely gifts, and are really easy to make.  It’s just a case of cutting the material to the right shape (use a pre-existing apron if you’re unsure), hem the edges on the sewing machine, and attach the ties.  I once made ‘his and hers’ aprons as an engagement present, matching material with blue ties for the groom and red for the bride.  There’s no end to the colour schemes you can devise, or the decorations you can add to make them uniquely personal and interesting.  Pockets always made good additions, for wooden spoons, recipe books and the like and brightly coloured wipe-clean material (a good choice of which is available at Edinburgh Fabrics) is really practical, and great for children’s aprons.

Something borrowed is perhaps slightly unoriginal, in that I’ve lent her a book that belongs to me which I think she will enjoy, and for something blue – the only one of the four gifts that I went out and purchased – I’ve given her a beautiful blue journal with a jug on the front.  It’s exactly her style, and there’s plenty of room for her to write about anything she wants as she enters the world of the daily commute to work.

Total cost = roughly £12

Photos to follow once I get my camera back up and running!

♥

On October 4 of this year we had the distinct pleasure of photographing the wedding of Rebecca and Steve in Hamilton at the Scottish Rite Club.

Thank you from Stone Photography for including us in our very special day!

Well I could just keep filling up my space with pictures and stories of weddings and I will talk about a few more that I think could be of interest, but will probably take my blogging more in the direction of information to help bride’s who may be contemplating whether to hire a co-ordinator, or which vendors to choose, so be looking for blogs in the future that I hope will really help in your planning and thought process.

Cancun

Hadn’t been in Cancun for around 21 years and ended up going back two times this year.  I have talked already about a trip I did where I was checking out the NH Hotels for destination weddings and honeymoons,  today’s blog is from our family trip down there in July.  We stayed for 12 nights and at three hotels during that time.  The best was the Casa Magna/JW Marriott combo where you can stay at either and use the amenities of either.  They are right next door to each other so perfect.  Both have great restaurants and pool areas.  The Spa at the JW is excellent, imagine showering from the 8th floor or whatever I was on with a 1/2 length window looking out to the Caribbean and about 10 shower heads/jets working away, fab u lous.  While we were there an Indian wedding had pretty much taken over the JW.  They had the pre wedding day festivities outside the night prior, and on the wedding day we watched the groom come along the beach on a horse surrounded by the cheering family/music etc, it really created a lot of interest from the hotel guests who had never seen anything like that before.  Unfortunately before he got to the area where he would go to the cere site it absolutely poured down.  So they all got drenched and as the ceremony was going to be outside on a Gazebo Lawn with ocean backdrop at the Casa Magna, they delayed until the rain was gone (doesn’t take long) and gave everyone time to go and change and refresh hair and makeup (the bride was nice and dry this whole time inside as was her family).  They did get married outside about an hour later and then did their dinner reception outside on a large lawn at the Casa Magna with great lighting and colorful linens.  A great celebration for those to remember who were lucky enough to be invited and attend.  The other great point to note with these locations, is that they have ballrooms and banquet space including one unique covered outdoor/indoor area where I could see a large ceremony being done if you had to move in and not feel too sad.  During our days there we  saw quite a few ceremonies being set up on the beach at different locations/resorts for intimate groups for sunset ceremonies.  Very fun, and obviously an alternative desination that a lot of couples are choosing.

Ritz-Carlton, Laguna

Moneli and Tommy had a great celebration at the Ritz tearlier this year.  Why I wanted to share this one was even though it was not my first Persian wedding at the Ritz, it was the first time we had done the sofreh outside on the Gazebo Lawn.  That area can be really windy and for the amount of work that goes into a sofreh it could have been a challenge if the weather did not co-operate.  The great news is it did.  So here you will see the ceremony set up and then the ballroom with all the decor elements that Moneli wanted to have to create her perfect celebration.  Very pretty.  Thanks to www.bobortiz.com for the great shots.

Speaking of the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna, this is a shot of a cake that really caught my eye this year.  I hope the beauty of it comes out in this shot, in person it really made you stand there and just admire it.  The wonderful news is, not only do the Ritz’s cakes look fabulous (and they can create anything) they taste great too.  None of that what I call ‘fairy’ cake that disappears in your mouth or tiny slices, your guests get nice large, thick slices of great tasting cake.  No-one leaves a wedding there hungry!!

Hyatt Huntington Beach Resort & Spa

Here is a lovely intimate wedding also done earlier in the season, using two locations at the Hyatt that aren’t used as much as they should be.  The ceremony was done in the Spa Courtyard, and the beauty of this site is not only the surroundings/very nature like, but that the sun is behind everyone, so no one is complaining about sun in their eyes.  Then the Fountain Ballroom which is a lovely smaller ballroom, no windows, but the guests have cocktails outside in the courtyard and can see over to the beach area, then they come into this enclosed room that by using great linens/chairs and some uplighting can become the celebration to remember.  No-one wanted to leave this event as the room just felt so warm and cosy, they sat there chatting at the tables for quite a while after the music was off and done.  That says a lot for  the atmosphere created, yay. Thanks to Alison of Bleu Cotton Photography for the two shots below.  Always fun to work with.

Here is a ceremony site where the couple also used the Fountain Ballroom but the groom wanted a coastal facing site, so very different to the Spa Courtyard above.  The guests were in the shade though which was nice.

St Regis, Monarch Beach

I really love it when I have the more intimate affairs and we can create a fabulous table.  Tara was great to work with and together with her vision, fabulous Amanda of Fantasy Florals, and a great groom Jim who agreed with every decision Tara and I made (way to go Jim), another great celebration was created and enjoyed by the lucky guests, and not wanting the night to end, they closed the hotel bar down I believe much later!!!  Thanks to Jeff of Moondance Dj services who did a great job handling both the ceremony music through cocktails, and then dinner and the party!!  Photos courtesy of my lovely www.franksalas.com, as always the best to work with .

Tara looked gorgeous courtesy of her parent’s gene’s and the ladies of www.designvisage.com on the wedding day!!  LOL

Well, that went on a bit longer than I intended.  Until my next one.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Lisa

“Just Married”

A few weeks ago (I told you these updates would be non-linear!), I attended my friend Jacqui’s wedding. It was a lot of fun, but I don’t have many pics from that night (other than a HILARIOUS–but unintentional–shot of me doing the “Carich dance.”)

The wedding was super fun… and they had a photobooth!  I’ve seen this on TV before, but never in real life. 

Basically, they have a booth set up and you get your picture taken (like you did at the mall when you were in Jr. high).  Except now they give you two printouts of your photos–one for you to keep and one that you paste in a book for the bride and groom.   There’s also a digital record–which Jacqui posted on facebook for the world to see.   SO FUN!!

Kyle and I. That last pic is horrendous...and priceless!

Group shot-- fun with props!

Me, Erin, Steph

Kyle is P.I.M.P.

A calla lilly centerpiece I made for a recent Indian wedding — quite the statement piece!

Everyone who loves a good deal loves every Black Friday Sale!!! Intimate Visions by Kristy is gearing up for it’s sale by offering everyone 25% off all print orders (minimum $10.00 purchase) made today, tomorrow on Black Friday, and this Saturday! To get your print orders in today, simply visit the website at www.ivkweddings.com, click on the “clients” tab, and enter the password given to you at your event to enter the online gallery! Once you have selected your prints to be ordered be sure to enter the promotional/coupon code to recieve 25% off your order!!! The code for this year’s sale is simply the word, friday (be sure to type it in all lowercase).

If you have any questions about the print sale and/or your order please contact me at ivkphotography@yahoo.com or you may reach me at (704) 473-2822. I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving and enjoying their families!

Hannah & Dan, let me just say that your wedding day rocked. Seriously. Now here’s some sneak peek for you as promised… happy thanksgiving!!

And of course a picture of the WALL!

I’ll talk to you guys soon!

BLUE ROSE Wedding or Special Occasions Felted Bolero

Available at my Etsy shop:
Magic Laboratory of Fashion
All designs are © Tatiana Agapcheva, please do not copy my work.

Just a little Thanksgiving Day Humor to share with you today. We’re in The Bay Area enjoying our family for The Thanksgiving Holiday. We hope you have a wonderful time with your families today as well. We’ll be back tomorrow (Friday) from 1-5, come on in for our awesome Black Friday Sale! CLICK HERE for more info.

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Having a wedding checklist is essential to making a successful event. An elaborate wedding may require a year and a half of planning and coordination. Just search the web and you will find dozens of templates that you can download. I won’t try to duplicate the efforts of others when so many good checklists are already available, but don’t forget you need to adapt the list to your needs.

Learn more at Bride Speeches

It is time to accept this week as a dull some and do not talk about it anymore.

I was suffering from cough and cold since the storm and wanted some medicine for it. I went to the nearest pharmacy yesterday morning and in very clear words asked for syrup without any side effects such as drowsiness etc. The store fellow assured me for that and gave me a medicine which I took as first thing at office. Till lunch time I was almost asleep at my desk. After that, I moved home for a quick nap with a promise to return in a couple of hours.

It was 9 in the evening when I wake up. I was asleep for almost 7 hours. Next thing I did, had my dinner, another dose of that drug and again, I slept till 8 this morning.

My head was buzzing all day long and in the noon time I went to the pharmacy and complained about the situation, he just said sorry and that was it.

Ashu is coming tonight for his interview at my company and tomorrow we will leave together to Indore. He does not have any reservation as for now and we have to share the return seats after all.

By the looks of it, I am having a very busy calendar ahead. It is Ashu coming late tonight, and then tomorrow’s travel and then Kunal’s post wedding attendance, then move to Sanawad for Amit Jain’s wedding celebrations, on Sunday its Dhamnod where the wedding will take place. I will be going to visit Aarti at her hostel and may be to see Priyank’s kid.

On my return journey to Vadodara, Brijesh will be coming with me as he has got appointment as a fresher in my company.

Before things settle down, again I’ll be moving to Indore to take Priyanka with me to Vadodara for the house as the week will be gone in checking up if everything is all right.

Phew!

Gobble Gobble! I’m off to New York for a fabulous weekend with my daughter. Look out FAO Schwartz! The Craigs are coming!

Hope you all have a terrific holiday. Catch you Monday!

This is an attempt to update more often

My biggest problem with treating this blog as my professional portfolio is that I overthink it. Overthinking this means I have abandoned this, and locked myself away with a more diarrheal blog and indulged my already horrible masturbatory tendencies. I solemnly swear that I will at least attempt to update this once a week.

In the last month: Curly Hair and Weddings, oh my!

Let’s do this in pictures for a change.

Look, curly hair!

Styling done by Mahar Mangahas Hair done by Louis Philip Kee Salon, One McKinley Place, The Fort

I have commitment issues, but Philip Kee is one of the few men I remain loyal to. I actually feel guilty when I entertain the thought of getting my hair done elsewhere. In the case of the curls, it was either that or I just get a boring old maintenance cut to my dull, fine hair. While my best friends and very critical styling advisers insisted against it, it was Philip who took the chance. I have no regrets. My hair actually has character now!

Photo by HG Studios

The curls were done in honor of the wedding of one of my other close friend’s, which I somehow agreed to plan for. It was an exhilarating experience, to say the least. Weddings in the Philippines are more about the families involved than the couple, and that formula makes for a double-edged sword. At the end of the day however, it’s all about the union between two people who have found each other. Best wishes, Joy Alano and Honey Chua!

Yes, I can do weddings. If you, or you know of anyone who would like an excellent team of wedding planners and stylists, I can round them up for you. Feel free to email me at myachi at gmail dot com.

In the meantime though, I recover. I also left my more regular job teaching Europeans over the phone, so am in the strange lull at the end of the year. I am on the lookout for new rakets and am slowly organizing my tutorial services to market properly, so here’s hoping that picks up.

On the writing front, I also also been blogging at the Materia Girl tumblr account for less serious, fandom-based musings while twittering haikus. I also have a few articles up at Vibal Publications’ Philippine Online Chronicles. Since I left my more regular job, I’m hoping to focus more on the writing. Let’s see how that turns out.

For the meantime, this is a start.

]]> http://kimhawkins.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/eleni-and-tim-a-bedfordshire-barn-wedding/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:48:30 +0000 kimhawkins http://kimhawkins.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/eleni-and-tim-a-bedfordshire-barn-wedding/

After their fantastic pre-wedding shoot a few short weeks ago, Eleni and Tim were married last week in a 13th Century Tythe Barn, which belongs to The Barns Hotel just outside Bedford. It was a pretty blustery day but luckily the weather forecasters got it wrong and the rain held off until all the photographs were completed! Eleni looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle and I think there was a little glistening in Tim’s eye when he saw her in her dress for the first time!

Here are some of the images from their day.

I meet this wonderful couple thru their niece Tracey who is a great friend and wonderful photographer.  The sea, sand and  surf is great, but throw in great music, food and a Bride and Groom that are head over heels in love with each other and a group that just want to celebrate this union.   It  was a wonderful celebration of love and of families , so here is a sneak peek.

Saturday is a big day for an old work-mate, she’s getting married to the Kiwi of her dreams.  Weddings are the only chance I get to dress up so I enjoy the opportunity to go shopping, co-ordinate a wardrobe and find accessories to match.  I can see how people can spend hours choosing pieces, mixing and matching for just the right look.  For me, the ocassional wedding is more than enough chance to exercise my feminine side.

Sometimes I don’t know what people are thinking. Do they choose to do these things to hurt you or are they just plain insensitive. Who knows…

1.When your wedding theme is silver and your fiance’s mother chooses to wear gold. Enough said.

2. When you want to make your brother your best man because he is truly one of the best friends you could ever have but your fiance’s mother says that would mean that her other son would be marching with your brother and it would make him look gay.

Side note: He is gay.

3. When your fiance’s father complains that their names are not on the invitation saying “with the blessing of our parents…” He wants us to redo the invitations. We have 550 guests and at that point all invites have already been printed out as it is less than a month before the wedding.

4. When your fiance’s mother looks at your mom’s guest list and then crosses out mutual friends from her list to make room for more of her friends.

5. When your fiance’s mother wants to feel “more involved” with the wedding so you let her have her best friend do the flower arrangements for the church. Nothing wrong with that except her bf is a total bitch to you, the bride.

6. When your fiance’s father and maid of honor/fiance’s sister (by default as your mother-in-law said it couldn’t be your bother and had to be her) say nothing nice about you or your husband in their toast and just end up blabbing about nothing relevant. (Yes my dad and brother said a lot of great, wonderful things about my husband in his toast.)

7. When your fiance’s parents know you are supposed to do the massive (550 guest list) seating arrangement 2 days before your wedding and schedule a family “talk” that your fiance is obliged to attend. They end past 1am and you post-pone the seating arrangement for the day before the wedding.

8. When you have to arrange the seating arrangement the day before the wedding and you end up finishing 3:30am on the day of the itself. (Refer to #7)

9. When your fiance’s father tells your finance that his mom is jealous with the engagement ring he bought me because he never bought her diamonds.

10. When your in-laws complain you don’t spend any time with them ( we were out on a 2 month honeymoon in Europe and Australia…duh!?!).

A quick photo tribute to Kanako!  I got to know Kana through a missions trip to Japan the summer of ‘05, when I picked up my first SLR!  (Wow, that’s a long time ago..)

The next year we were in the same small group together on campus. It was also the first year I helped out in Japanese Bible Study. I was Kana’s leader in CRH 2 and Kana was my leader in JBS. That’s a power struggle for ya!

The following year, Kana disappeared to Chicago.

She came back ‘07 and J-HOP made its debut. It was a very different J-HOP back then but in Kana-style, one founded in prayer. By ‘08 J-HOP was in full swing and I had the privilege of coming on board as did several others.

And ‘09 is Yuki year. ‘Nuff said!

J-Team '05 (June 20, 2005)

Girls on the subway in Osaka, Japan (June 27, 2005)

CRH 2 - Pretending they're happy to be there (Dec 5, 2005)

That was sharing small group.. Kana drew this pic about herself. That flower must be Yuki.

JBS - I'm eating alone. Kana's talking to Genie. Our guest is like, "What about me??" and Chris is.. well.. (Dec 7, 2005)

J-HOP's beginnings! (April 26, 2008)

J-HOP '08 (Sept 27, 2008)

J-HOP '08 continued (Nov 20, 2008)

We look the same except Chris & I lost hair while P Jung gained some. (Nov 21, 2009)