Thank You Notes + Fun

Signed, Sealed & Delivered
Thank You Notes- Check!

Did I write Thank You Notes & Fun in the same title? Have I gone crazy?! You may not want to ask that question after I finished writing 67 wedding thank you notes (who's counting?). Now that I've reached the other side of wedding thank you note task, I have some advice to share. Fun may have been a stretch. Let's say I have some wisdom on surviving the thank you note task with your sanity intact. Here we go:

1. Design a beautiful thank you note. This may seem silly but I swear it's a key to success. Match your wedding invitations, show off your married monogram or pick your favorite wedding photo. Whatever card will make you smile after looking at it over & over again, design it. I chose our very favorite wedding photo & it never failed to make my heart skip a beat.

2. Organization is key. As with any big project, organization saves you from unwelcome hassles. Gather your thank you notes, guest list, pens, stamps, address labels, etc before you write one single word. Keep them in one handy spot throughout the thank you note process.

3. Pick good pens. I happen to love gel pens so I stocked up on those puppies. You want a pen that you're comfortable writing with for long periods of time & you want plenty of them.

4. Set a goal & stick to it. I decided to write 10 thank you notes per night to get the notes mailed before my next vacation. I gave myself plenty of time & I took short breaks while still writing 10 notes per night.

5. Share this fun task with your husband. I didn't do this- I wrote every single thank you note. My hubs has horrible handwriting! Often, I need him to translate notes & cards he writes for me. In the interest of our wedding guests knowing what the card says, I took on the thank you note task solo. Still, I highly recommend sharing the joys & thrills with your partner.

6. Music, music, music! The Tori Amos station on Pandora saved my soul. No lie. Whether it's your favorite CD, your best iPod mix or singing to yourself, let some good tunes carry you through the process.

7. Grin & bear it. This too shall pass. Honestly, it's not so bad. I felt so much love & gratitude recounting all the generosity our family & friends heaped upon us in celebration of our marriage.

The wedding planning process is chock full of thank you notes: engagement party, bridal shower & wedding. Take the tips above & survive the process with grace!

Do you have any additional tips to share with me?

Koru Kate Finds: 1st Edition

Happy Monday, Koru Family & Friends!

Welcome to our newest feature on Koru Wedding Style: Koru Kate Finds! Every Monday, I will feature wedding finds to inspire you. From jewelry to bouquets to invitations & more, you will enjoy the fun & creative here to brighten the start of each week. Every once in awhile, I may share a non-wedding find with you but I'll keep those few & far between. Let's get this wedding party started!


My first finds come from one of my absolute favorite collections, Kate Spade New York. I'm obsessed with the entire collection but I have two stars in my eyes at the moment. The "I Do" and "Mrs" necklaces are so simple & sweet they make my heart patter. I would have loved, LOVED to have gotten one of these adorable necklaces for my bridal shower. The "I Do" necklace could have graced my neck for my wedding festivities, then a switch to the "Mrs" necklace for my honeymoon.

"I Do" & "Mrs" Necklaces
Available at & Images from Kate Spade

Koru Loves, it's too late for me & these necklaces but you still have a chance!

Calling Jersey Girls!

The honor of your presence is requested at the "Jersey Shore" house!

Oh yes, my dears, it's true: the "Jersey Shore" beach pad is available for weddings!

Or engagement parties, bridal showers, rehearsal dinner or any other event you'd like to host at the summer home of Snooki & the Situation. The Seaside Heights home is being touted as perfect for the non-traditional Bride & Groom. All with killer tans & Jersey accents must apply. Dream come true or nightmare?

I have to admit I have never watched "Jersey Shore" but I knew I had to pass along this gem when a fellow Jersey Girl sent this info my way. I don't live under a rock & I know the show is hugely popular. Perhaps some have been anxiously awaiting a "Jersey Shore" theme wedding. Any takers? Let me know, I'd love to help with the wedding planning!!

O Christmas Tree

Our Christmas Tree decorated

with the sentimental bridal shower ornaments

Bailey takes a holiday nap by our Christmas tree

Our condo is decorated for the holidays & transformed into our personal winter wonderland. We hauled out the decorations, played Christmas tunes & made holiday memories. This year, we had the most fun decorating our Christmas tree with the new Christmas ornaments handpicked by our beloved family & friends. I don't think our tree has ever looked more beautiful or meant so much to us.

Happy Holidays!

We Are Family

Festive & Fun Foyer Decor

Our Family!

What is family? They are the crazy, lovable bunch I call my Mom, sister, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc. Now my family is extended to include RZ's fun, sweet bunch of relatives. And, of course & perhaps most importantly, RZ is my family.

RZ & I started our family unofficially years ago. It was us, plus our sweet Gucci & spunky Kaydee. Now it's us, plus our goofy Bailey. Who knows what the future may bring our family. No matter what, our family is always & forever us. We're thrilled to make our family official on our wedding day!

Because our family is my number one priority, I was absolutely over the moon to receive our "Corpuz Family" holiday wreath hanger as a bridal shower gift from my bridesmaids. They included a cheerful, red berry wreath. The festive wreath & personalized hanger were amoung one of the first bridal shower gifts to be placed in our home. I look forward to hanging it year after year during the holidays as our family grows & changes.

Shower of Love & Best Wishes

On my bridal party invitation (photo coming soon!), guests were invited to shower me with love & best wishes in honor of my upcoming marriage to RZ. And what a fabulous job they did!

I was touched by our nearest & dearest family & friends throughout my bridal shower. They traveled from near & far to celebrate with me. They put their hearts into participating during the shower from bringing me beautiful Christmas ornaments to sharing a delicious meal with me to playing fun games with me. They were far too generous in giving me gifts to make our home comfy & cozy. They make our lives special on a regular basis but on the day of my bridal shower, they trumped themselves.

Here is the incredible team that planned my bridal shower:

Sister of Honor Mary, Bride-to-be, Mom, Cousin Gabi & Aunt Tami

Here are the lovely ladies of my bridal party (minus one):

Sister of Honor Mary, Bridesmaid Erin & Bridesmaid Andrea
Flower Girl CJ, Bride-to-be, Flower Girl Charlotte

I wish I had a photo of all the bridal shower guests but I don't. I'll have to remember them in my heart!

Bridal Shower Christmas Tree

RZ & I love decorating our home for Christmas & this year, it's extra-special because we have the bridal shower ornaments. Each guest brought a Christmas ornament to hang on our tree. I came home with two, large baskets of beautiful ornaments. We had the most fun sorting through the ornaments to see who brought us what ornament. We couldn't have picked better ornaments ourselves!

We won't decorate our Christmas tree until Sunday so, in the meantime, I placed our modern Christmas "tree" in its usual spot on the dining room table. I picked the first eleven ornaments from one basket & decorated our modern "tree." Not only does it look beautiful, we look at the ornaments & think of our family & friends. Love, love.

From left to right . . . First is the snowflake ornament from my sister Mary who knows how much I love decorating with snowflakes. Second is the angel ornament from dear family friends Laurie & Julie who know a thing or two about angels in our lives. Third is the Starbucks ornament from my Mom who drinks Starbucks lattes like water. Fourth is a classic Christmas tree ornament from my fun friends Teresa & Marisa. Fifth is the snowman & penguin ornament from our darling flower girl CJ. Sixth is the checker cab ornament- just like our wedding day transportation!- from our beagle Bailey. Seventh is a beagle ornament in honor of Bailey from three sweet kids in our family. Then we have another beagle ornament in Bailey's honor from my Aunt Tami's wild menagerie of cats & dogs. Ninth is a bling engagement ring ornament from my cousin Chloe to commemorate our engagement. Tenth is a framed engagement photo from my Aunt Tami. Last but not least is a cupcake ornament from my Aunt Dee who knows I love a good cupcake.

The rest of the ornaments from the bridal shower are saved for our Christmas tree. We are lucky & blessed to have Christmas decorations hand-picked by our family & friends to treasure forever!

Every Last Detail

When I arrived at my bridal shower at Trinity in Hoboken, the very first thing that struck me was how perfect & beautiful everything looked. Then I realized not only was every last detail fabulous, it was so personal.

The favors were handmade, crystal snowflake ornaments gorgeously presented in a purple organza bags with matching tags:

(I adore purple. I decorate our condo with snowflakes for Christmas.)

The tables were decorated with pretty, white poinsettias, felt snowflakes, Crumbs Bake Shop cupcakes & ornament place card holders displaying photos of me & RZ:

(Winter Wedding = Winter Bridal Shower)

The delicious vanilla or chocolate Crumbs cupcake favors were nested in a white basket with a delicate "Thank You" charm & every photo was from a special day or event like this St. Patrick's Day party photo:

(I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm addicted to Crumbs Bake Shop cupcakes!
And I enjoyed reliving our memories through our photos!!)

Each bridal shower guest was asked to bring us a Christmas ornament for our Christmas tree:

(I love, LOVE decorating our Christmas tree, always have.)

Each guest tagged their ornament & hung it on the Christmas tree as they arrived:

(Guests put thought into the ornaments, like the framed engagement photo above, two beagle ornaments for Bailey,
a NY taxi cab similar to our wedding day transportation, etc, etc)

The bridal shower looked like a photo shoot for Martha Stewart Weddings, yet it was clearly designed with love for me. I'm one blessed Bride-to-be!

Busy Bride!

Snowy Winter Wedding
Available at Etsy in LoveNaturally's shop

I have a fun, exciting weekend planned as a Bride-to-be. My Mom flew in from California to join the festivities. Fabulous times ahead!

First, I have my hair & make-up trial with Ashimoto tomorrow. After the trial, we head to Ally's Bridal & Tuxedo for my first dress fitting. Time will tell if I ate too much for Thanksgiving! I'm crossing my fingers!! Glam hair & make-up + my wedding dress + my accessories = a preview of my bridal look. Does it get any better?

Well, believe it or not, it does. On Saturday, I'm attending my bridal shower at local, waterfront restaurant in Hoboken. Other than that, my bridesmaids & Mom have kept me in the dark about the details. Some of my favorite ladies are coming to celebrate with me & that's all I need to know. I'm so honored!

I will fill you in on the juicy details soon enough. Have a wonderful weekend!

Sweet Shower Details

On Monday, I wrote about the fun celebration of Marisa's bridal shower. The entire affair was planned & executed with love from the pretty decorations to the yummy food to the entertaining games to the thoughtful touches. Today, I wanted to share some of the sweet details.

First, the lovely tables decorated with bright pink linens, gorgeous flowers & heart wine stopper favors:


The Maid of Honor & Bridesmaids received awesome goodie bags: a monogrammed beach bag filled with a beach towel, monogrammed notes & Bridal Party t-shirt from Koru Weddding Shoppe:


Last but not least, the delicious cake. Don't you love the "From Miss to Mrs." saying?

Shower of Wishes

Yesterday, I had the honor of attending my friend Marisa's bridal shower. Family & friends gathered to shower Marisa with love & good wishes. It was a fun, special celebration for a beautiful Bride-to-be.

I had a wonderful time at the bridal shower- almost as much fun as I had preparing for it!

First, I had the golden opportunity to craft my first bridal shower card:


Instead of buying items from Marisa's registry, I shopped at my very own Koru Wedding Shoppe. Marisa had mentioned she liked the sassy Newlywed tank top. What could be better for her Aruba honeymoon? Here it is:


Last but not least, I wanted to get Marisa the Soon-to-Be Mrs. hoodie. But her wedding is quickly approaching. And maybe I should stick with the honeymoon theme. So I went with the another version of the Soon-to-Be-Mrs. hoodie. It's pretty cute: Mrs. So & So est. Wedding Date. I ordered a white hoodie & light pink embroidery in brush script to match the Newlywed tank top:



I hope Marisa enjoys her new tank top & hoodie on her honeymoon! Best wishes always~