The Oxidized Bird...

Ok SOOoooo I came across these pictures of the Rusty Pelican on good old Facebook and I wanted to share them with all you. It gives you a better sense of the Rusty and how the day (lighting wise) will look. Enjoy!


Walkway up to the entrance....

Vestibule before you enter into the lobby....

Cocktail hour room... Ok it will be daytime but there were no pics with sunlight....

Grand Ballroom....

Grand ballroom at night... I had thought about getting lighting but decided to use what they have there, minus the fabric draping from chandelier to chandelier.....

Some outside shot areas....

The structure under the building... We totally need to sneak in there=)

Have a seat please....

Sooo I have not written on this blogg in a about a month, but just wanted to update/remind you (and myself) of the directions I am heading in.

I don't know if it is because there are only 4 months to go, but my brain is doubting some of my decisions so I decide to write and explain my thoughts in hopes of finding some clarity. Most of the weddings I see online and on TV have light colored linens, and light colored flowers, it has me doubting my bold peacock blue linens. Am I tacky?? Am I getting carried away? Will it have that wow effect I sooo want? Ugh with so much on my mind and with so much left to do I can't go back on the decisions I have already made....

Here is a recap selections I made for the linens. & like I said before hopefully writing this to you guys will help me be more confident / sure of my decisions....

The darker blue will be on all guest tables as well as place card table. The Lighter color will be on the cake table the sweet heart table as well as the gift table. Originally I had chair covers and sashes budgeted but now I have “upgraded” to Gold Chiavari Chairs with black seat covers. I think this will completely open up the room and show off the blue peacock colored linens.
I have also added gold chargers and the napkins will be black. I think that I am still sticking to my Idea of traditional with a small twist, and just hope that in the end my mental vision translate just as nicely into the reality.

Only time will tell! ;) and by the looks of my last image I like what I see.

Here are some images of what I am thinking of.

Sweet heart / Cake/ and Gift Table

Guest Tables & Place Card Table

Gold Chiavari Chairs =)

And my photoshoped creation of what the guest tables will look like with one of the arrangements.

I found my glass slippers!

I decided to go shoe shopping…. ONLINE! Sounds like a horrible idea, but I had gone to a few stores and didn’t really care for what they had to offer. Plus I wanted to find my perfect wedding shoes and I wanted Variety!

So I went to Zappos.com and began my search. I ran an advance search ….

Gender: Female (I think lol);

Color: White / Ivory (& Blue-toyed with the idea for a bit);

Size: 5- 6;

Style: Heel/ Sandal/ Platform / Wedge ;

Heel Height: 2 1/2" - INFINITY! (& beyond)

and Price: < $200.00… SEARCH!

Total results.... 273!!!

Soo one by one I went and narrowed down to 3! ( i was very proud of myself) Sooo now that I had my Fav 3 ( all different styles) I hit the add to cart button and BUY! I bought 3 pairs of shoes... That was for sure the largest online shoe purchase I have ever made. Then it became a waiting game... Are they here yet?? Are they here Yet? and then!! there they were. I immediately tried them on as Wes looked at me and laughed. He said he had not seen me that excited for something that I bought online... I haven't shown him any of my purchases but since I HAD !! to try them on right there I figured hey what the hell I let him see my shoes. =)

I am not joking when i say that I literally I felt like Goldie Locks. The first shoe was beautiful but just too big =( The next pair was also beautiful but TOO tight =( then I was off to my last pair. I was beginning to think that my zappos adventure was going to have to continue... and there it was a perfect comfortable fit in my infinity and beyond heels!! I am soo happy it only too three! I cant wait to dance in them, ( for a while) because as i have read & heard EVERYWHERE I need to bring back up shoes. =)

Here are my slippers =)

DunDunDaRam … Here come the Bridesmaids (and groomsmen)

Well it has been FOREVER since I posted on this, & I think it is about time for a much needed update=).

Soo after much debate and back and forth I finally selected a bridesmaid dress (as you all know). The search for the perfect blue had me insane. I could not find the blue that was in my head, so I just kept putting it off and off and off....

But finding out I was going to be an aunt, I knew that I needed to find a dress ASAP, and that worked with the extra lil bridal party member. I finally ended up in David's bridal after searching all boutiques in the Tampa bay area none of which had my "blue" or the price point. I was reluctant to go into David's because it is so commercial / and doesn’t' have a very good customer service rep. But in we went (Court, my mom, & I).

My first question was “Can I see your color swatches please?" There it was the, the blue I was thinking of.... Now to find a dress... Coco was a good sport and tried on a few and we found one we all liked but it wasn’t in stock in the color except for a size 2 which in bridal world is a ZERO! SOOO I had my first Bridezilla-ish moment and asked the sales girl to please put it on so I could imagine it and see if it all worked....

She really was a good sport about the whole thing =)

The dress is elegant yet comfortable and .. it has POCKETS! =) The black band is removable so you guys can later have an all blue dress or a blue and black dress. Also the band does not have a bow or anything it is more like a belt/cummerbund than a sash. Originally I was going to add a feather to your black band but have officially decided not to. You will be holding flowers during the ceremony so the feather would not be visible, until the reception and that is just silly. Plus I don’t want a feather over dose. I have done my little Photoshop magic and paired it with the look I have selected for the groomsmen. The grooms me will be wearing a classic black tux with a black vest. The blue of the tie is the same as the blue of your dress.

I have also been wanting to ask you girls.....
How do you feel about the walk in with the boys or solo? I am leaning towards together to shorten the mass, plus I like the idea of pairs…. Since I have already mentally paired you ladies up with the corresponding boy… LOL… but I am also considering showcasing you girls…. Whatcha think?

Besitos~ Adri

Bloom... Bloom... Pow!

Soo while my mom was visiting we not only bought the dress, but we also scheduled some appointments with some florists. I ended up going to only see one and picking that first one because I really liked her a lot and so did my mom.

I met her daughter at one of the bridal shows I went to over here, and her name is Rita! lol... Anyways I had done some... ok A LOT... of research of what I wanted, so I was very prepared for this meeting with her. It worked out because she could see exactly what I wanted. Also, she has worked at the Rusty Pelican and was voted "Bride's Choice Florist 2009" for this area by Wedding Wire, so she obvi has a good reputation.

We mostly tried to work with White & Lime flowers with a tiny hint of yellow in my bouquet, and the large arrangement (my lucky color). I also wanted more of the modern with traditional.


The boys boutonnieres.... Wes's will be different because it will have some small white and yellow orchids... =) Basically they just consist of the Peacock feather and some green berries.




My bouquet. The difference between this image and mine is the coloring. I will have white roses... Lime green Spider Mums and small yellow orchids (see below) I will also have the rosary I made for Abuela Nena wrapped around the handle.

This is an example of the orchids that will be in my bouquet, Wes' boutonniere and in the large arrangements. The yellow will be used very sparingly. These were the orchids around Abuela Nenas mango tree. =)

Your bouquets will have mostly white spider mums (like below) as well as a few light lime green hydrangeas around the bottom.

These are the small arrangements, and they will be pretty much exactly how you see it here. There will be 4 tables with these arrangements.

This is the middle sized arrangements. We have 4 of this kind of arrangement. They will be in 20" Glass Cylinders. They are very large Calla leaves and will be mixed with some white orchid spray... see below.

White dendrobium orchids will be mixed in with it. to add some white.

These next 2 floral arrangements are examples of what the Tallest arrangements will be like. There are also 4 tables with these arrangements. They will be in 24" tall glass cylinders. It will be a mixture of these next 2 images. Again mainly green white and a small hint of the yellow (maybe)

Here are some Decor Ideas... These aren't included in the florists duties, but she said she would provide the wisps (greenery) for the votives. i figured we can put 2 or 3 of these on each table mixed around, as well as the entrance table and the sweet heart table along with your bouquets.

& that's all!! =)

~xoxo Adri

Here is her website.... it needs to be updated but here it is, just in case if you're bored.

http://www.affordableweddingflorist.com/index.html

My dress ... THE dress ... =)

Hi Ladies!

Long time no talk but here is a quick update …

When imagining my dress I would have originally I wanted a Ivory lacey mermaid cut dress. I always pictured myself in a traditional silhouette but I have ended up with a simple clean modern trumpet shaped dress.

In July I went to Alfred Angelo (my friend Jessie worked there ) and I tried on some dresses. I didn’t even know what Alfred Angelo was. I figured it was just another David’s Bridal type of place, but I was surprisingly mistaken. It was cool/weird to try dresses on. But after a few I got used to it. I really wasn’t expecting to try anything on that day, just go and visit her at work… hence my Merry Christmas panties… lol … In the end the one we all (me, mom, sister, and jessie) liked the most was a simple modern white dress.

I then later went with Rachel and Courtney to show them this same dress since Coco was in town. When I tried it on again I didn’t feel so in love. I asked them to pick a few different ones for me and I picked some as well. And BAM! There it was. I felt great in this dress!

This past week my mom was in town visiting me and we headed over to Alfred Angelo again, Rachel in tow, and my mom bought it for me =) SOooo I now officially own the dress that I will wear the day I become Mrs. Shaw (Puentes-Shaw to be exact… lol)

I am super happy with the choice because it is traditional yet modern, and I feel pretty & sexy in it. Plus with the decor of the wedding and because of my style in general we decided maybe a more modern dress would work better and it did!

I love the empire line as well as the cut @ the boobs. But I won’t tell Wes that…. I am going to continue to tell Wes that the dress has long sleeves, pearls, and has a turtle neck… lol

Click the link if you want to check it out. =) but keep it hush hush since I want it to be a surprise for the other guests. =)

I REMOVED THE LINK TEMP.... JUST IN CASE WES CHECKS THIS SITE OUT.... I can email you all the link (12-04-09)

xoxo~ Adri

Ideas for your Dresses

Ok... So I have done a bit of research on this, and I have narrowed down to a dress that i really liked. Only problem is that it is too $$$ and it isn't really the color I was looking for. I would like for your dresses to be the blue ( more of a peacock neck or Capri) with black empire or some sort of black detail. I think I can easily get someone to make this. Preferably the dress will have an empire waist, and more of an edgy look rather than boring ol traditional bridesmaid. I want you guys to feel and be able to wear this dress again.

This is what I was thinking about. ( material & embellishment may be in question, but generally the dress is what I like) I photo shopped these images of the dress to get the blue I am thinking of. The original dress color is aqua.

I have gotten a few other dresses from some of you but Lucy found a website that Carries ALL lines, and at really good prices. I have included the link so that if you are bored you can surf this site Then post the link in the comments section of any dress you may think works.

http://www.bestbridalprices.com/bridesmaiddresses.php

Let me know your thoughts....

Besitos Adri