{Holiday 2013} Merry Christmas!

wishing you & yours peace, joy & cheer!

Merry Christmas from Koru Wedding!

Photo: flickr

{Holiday 2013} reindeer cheer cards

 

 

I didn't make Christmas cards for our family & friends this year.  In fact, I couldn't even get it together to send boxed or printed Christmas cards & I ordered New Year's cards instead.  But I digress.  Happily, I did get to flex my creative muscles this holiday season!

Back in November, I committed to the Brooklyn Bride Annual Holiday Card Swap for the third year in a row.  I couldn't let down the creative ladies on my list.  I hauled out my natural card stock, various stamps & ink pads, & whipped up the snowy scene above.  You can't tell in the photo but the sweet reindeer is embossed in a sparkly gold for an extra special touch.  All in all, I was happy with my festive, wintery creation!

& that, my Koru family & friends, is a wrap for Koru Wedding in 2013.  It's high time for a holiday break!  After sneaking in a holiday wish or two, I'll be back on January 2 with regular blogging.  On behalf of Koru Wedding, I wish you & yours a Merry Christmas! 

Photo: Koru Wedding on Instagram

{Holidays 2013} sick

I had big holiday plans for this week.  Decorating our home for Christmas.  Making our handmade Christmas cards.  Making more handmade Christmas cards for Holiday Mail for Heroes.  Planning our annual NYC holiday date night.  Shopping for our family & friends.  &, of course, sharing all the holiday goodness with you on the blog!

Life had other plans.

I am sick, a really charming fever-cough-sore throat-exhausted combo.  The kind of sick where there is absolutely nothing you can do or take to feel better but rest, stay hydrated & keep your highly contagious self away from the innocent masses.  

& just let go of the holiday to-do list.  That's probably the hardest part!  As I rest on the couch for the fourth day in a row & take in the view of our undecorated Christmas tree, I've had to realize the holiday season will be just as festive & wonderful this year.  Without the house decorated to full holiday tilt.  Without handmade Christmas cards.  Without a tradition or two.  Without documenting everything here.  

For the rest of the holiday season, I'll do my best to blog when I can.  I promise to be back to regular programming in the new year.  I hope each & every one of you are enjoying a healthy, fun holiday season! 

Photo: Koru Wedding on Instagram

Merry, Merry Christmas!

May your heart be filled with Love & Laughter this Christmas & throughout the New Year!

Merry, Merry Christmas to you & yours from Koru Wedding!

*Please remember Koru Wedding Style is on hiatus on January 15!

Photography: via

Happy Holidays from Koru Wedding!

 

With Christmas just days away & 2013 hot on its tail, the time has come for me to wrap up.  I always take a holiday break but this time around, I'll be gone for longer than usual due to my early January surgery.  I may pop in for a post or two but for the most part, the blog will be dark until January 15, aka my second wedding anniversary.  I want to sincerely thank each & every one of you for reading & supporting my blog as I truly appreciate it.  I already have some beautiful real weddings lined up & I just know that 2013 is going to be a fabulous year- I hope you will join me here!  

On behalf of me & Koru Wedding, I would like to part ways with a simple, heartfelt "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!"

Photography: Haley Sheffield via

{Holidays 2012} Home for the Holidays

Welcome to our home for the holidays!  Today, we're going to take a little tour of our home sweet home, dressed up holiday-style.  We don't have a strict theme or color scheme so our home will never win any holiday decorating contests.  But it is decorated with a lot of heart & we love it!

 A fresh wreath adorns our front door & fills our entrance with the holiday smell of evergreens:

When our first two Christmas cards arrived in early December, I absentmindedly placed them on the mirror in our front entrance until I could find a better spot.  I decided I really liked the look & made a small display of the good tidings & cheer sent to us by family & friends:

On our dining room table, we have our modern Christmas tree decorated with a few of our favorite Christmas ornaments:

The dining room shelves contain many Christmas decorations but my very favorite is our glitter platter that dances in the light of our hurricane candle:

The small white chest that holds our wedding shadowbox gets a holiday upgrade with Christmas ornaments, Christmas cottage & green candles:

We don't have a chimney so hung by the white chest with care are our traditional red & white stockings with a bit of snowflake bling:

The top of our armoire is cleared off to make way for my snowy Christmas village:

 

And then we have our Christmas tree, decorated with a mixture of my ornaments, my husband's ornaments & our ornaments given to us at my bridal shower.  So pretty, so special:

Thank you for joining me for a short & sweet tour of our home for the holidays!

{Holidays 2012} Holiday Date Night

The very first year RZ & I were dating, we had December date in Manhattan, admiring the city in its holiday finest.  We've done it every year since, a holiday tradition now known as our Holiday Date Night.  This year, we did things a bit different.  We started with drinks in the World Financial District & stopped to pose by the Christmas tree afterwards:

My picture isn't the greatest but we paused to admire the still-in-progress Freedom Tower that reaches well into the dark sky:

We enjoyed a delicious dinner in Wolfgang's in Tribeca:

Then we headed to midtown for a short tour of Manhattan's holiday sites.  First, we stumbled upon Radio City Music Hall, looking a little extra special as they celebrate 85 years of the Rockettes:

The red Christmas ornaments on Sixth Avenue are always a holiday favorite:

And then the always stunning, the always beautiful Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center:

Every year, we search the crowd until we find another couple trying to take a self-portrait with the tree & we strike the "I'll take your photo with the tree, if you take our photo with the tree" deal:

My husband & I have witnessed many things at the tree (an engagement once!) but this year was unlike any other.  Many, many people were openly praying & beautifully singing prayers for the 27 angels gone too soon in the Newtown, CT tragedy that had just taken place earlier that day.  We will continue to keep those souls, their family & their friends close in our hearts & prayers this holiday season.  It's fitting that my last photo in this post is one of the beautiful angels at Rockefeller Center:

May everyone find peace & comfort this holiday season!

{Holidays 2012} Spreading Holiday Cheer

I've done it again: I lost my holiday mind & decided to make our Christmas cards this year.  Even though I clearly vowed to never do so again after the insanity of last year.   Oh, & I signed up for a handmade holiday card swap.  Oh, make that two handmade holiday card swaps!  Yes, I knowingly committed myself to crafting 60+ Christmas cards.  Plus I'd already made 10 cards for Holiday Mail for Heroes.  As I mentioned, I lost my holiday mind!

Except that I do truly love designing & making cards :-)

For the Brooklyn Bride 6th Annual Holiday Card Swap handmade card swap & the Brenda's Wedding Blog Handmade Holiday Card Swap,  I created my Natural Holiday card with kraft paper card, snowflake border stamped in white & holiday message handwritten in silver:

On the inside of every holiday card design, I kept things simple with a handwritten message in silver & the finishing touch of a snowflake stamp in white:

For our family & friends' cards, I created two designs.  The first is my Let it Snow card with red card stock, silver snowflake border stamped in silver & holiday message handwritten in silver: 

The next design is my Merry & Bright card- so different for me & really jazzy & fun!  I used red card stock, fine silver glitter & silver metallic pen:  

Every holiday card was tucked into a coordinating envelope & sealed with cute snowman stickers:

Designing & making our Christmas cards was quite the project!  One night, the entire house was covered in silver glitter from top to bottom, including our pup.  There were definitely moments when I was tempted to give up & buy cards but all in all, it's great fun to step away from the computer & tv to be creative.  I love crafting & spreading holiday cheer to fellow crafties, family & friends!
  

wedding balls

Many moons ago, I fell in love with weddings while I was working as an intern for a local wedding planner.  One of the first weddings I worked was a Christmas wedding.  Held about one week before Christmas, the winter wedding had classy, beautiful holiday touches.  I have never forgotten that unique wedding & I think this amazing, Christmas ornament bridal bouquet would have fit right in:

  
Isn't that bridal bouquet gorgeous?  I adore the mix of shiny & matte glass Christmas ornaments in the prettiest shades of gold, blue & pink, topped off with a neutral ribbon.  The bouquet manages to beautifully balance the beauty of the holidays with the traditions of a wedding.  Perfection!  

Photography: Amanda Thomsen Photo via

{Mrs. Monday} Holidays 2012

With Thanksgiving just days away & Christmas right around the corner, I have the holidays on my mind.  It's not all blissful thoughts of love, family & laughter with a nice amount of holiday cookies & cupcakes mixed in.  No, before we can get to the celebration of the holidays, we must face the nitty-gritty logistics of where we are celebrating the holidays. 

Every couple we know has a different approach.  Some host the holidays.  Some spend Thanksgiving with her family, Christmas with his family.  Some split each holiday between her family & his family.  Some spend the holidays with their friends.  There a million different scenarios & the magic trick is finding the one that works best for your baby family.

After years of experimenting, we may have found the perfect solution for us!  RZ & I are following the same formula as last year: Thanksgiving with his family, Christmas Eve with his family & Christmas with my family.  In reality, we consider both our family- I say my family & his family just to for explanation purposes.  This holiday formula worked last year with us spending quality time with all of our loved ones while keeping the travel & stress to a minimum.  Now once we have kids, I'm not so sure the current plan will work anymore but we will cross that bridge when we must.  We will enjoy it while we can!

How do you navigate the holidays? 

Photography: Bring to Light Photography via

Our First Christmas

Our First Christmas as husband & wife ♡

Our personalized First Christmas ornament arrived from Oceanside Designs &, well, it's simply perfect.  I chose our favorite wedding photo, then Mel took it away & designed this amazing ornament that we will treasure forever.  I planned to save it as a Christmas gift for RZ but once I had the pretty package in my hand, I knew there was no waiting.  That baby went right on the tree to be enjoyed & admired!

I am so, so excited to make the beautiful First Christmas memories that we will always associate with this ornament. 

On that note, I'm bowing out from blogging until 2012.  Let's make a date to meet back here on January 2 & continue to have our wedding jollies in the new year ☺   

May your holidays be merry & bright!

Photo by Koru Kate

Holiday Date Night, Take Two

My hubs & I made a very important decision: 2011 could not be the year of No Lights at Rock Center.  We wouldn't let this happen.  Holiday Date Night, Take Two became a reality with one critical change in our game plan: the tree first, dinner second.  You can't accuse us of not learning from our mistakes!

Last Friday night, like the holiday troopers we are, we made our way to crowded Rockefeller Center & breathed a sigh of relief when we were greeted by this familiar, beautiful sight:

LIGHTS!!!!!!!!!  Camera!  Action!

We paused for a bit to admire the graceful ice skaters:

We can't leave well enough alone so we posed for one more holiday photo with the LIT tree:

Seconds after this photo was snapped, we witnessed a man propose to his surprised girlfriend.  (I stopped myself from handing them my business card, ha!)  I felt like we were on a movie set for a moment.  Pure holiday magic!

Our Holiday Date Night, Take Two got even better, continuing with a delicious dinner in the West Village.  But dinner wasn't the best part.  As we strolled through the charming, decorated streets, we were delighted to stumble upon Christmas carolers singing holiday tunes.  I've never seen & heard Christmas carolers in real life.  Let me tell you, it was quite cool.  More holiday magic!!


Now our Newlywed Holiday Date Night will be remembered as The Year of No Lights at Rock Center, followed by Lights & Pure Holiday Magic.  ♡  XOXO   ♥ 

Koru Kate Finds: Cheer

The final Koru Kate Finds of 2011 is abundant during the holiday season.  You can find it here, there, everywhere.

My holiday-style Koru Kate Finds is Cheer, specifically Holiday Cheer.  The smiles on your family & friends' faces.  The childrens' laughter.  The carolers' sweet voices.  The twinkling lights.  The sparkly decor.  The festive traditions.  The amazing smell of fresh evergreen.  Or how about the sweet smell of baking cookies?  The cup of piping hot chocolate.  The holiday card from a dear friend.  The bright red bow on a pretty package.  The lovely holiday party.  The most perfect holiday date night as newlyweds.

Those are just a few examples of holiday cheer that I've enjoyed lately; I know there is much more holiday cheer coming my way in the next week.  

Where have you found Holiday Cheer?  I'm sending you sincere wishes for plenty of Holiday Cheer for you & yours!

Photo via

Holiday Date Night

RZ & I have a Christmas tradition that began during our first Christmas as boyfriend & girlfriend: Holiday Date Night in New York City.  Holiday-season Manhattan is absolutely magical from the Lord & Taylor windows to the Fifth Avenue star & everything in between.  I have adored admiring the holiday cheer since I was kid; it's even more special to share it with the man I love.  Holiday Date Night 2011 was hotly anticipated because we would enjoy it as newlyweds. 

Our newlywed Holiday Date Night started out like every other one with the holiday windows at Macy's at 34th Street.  My favorite window was the spinning bucket of champagne:

Next up, Lord & Taylor, always my vote for best holiday windows.  Check out this snowy scene:

Bryant Park is festive during the holidays with ice skating & shopping.  We always pose by their icy blue tree &, well, thank goodness (more on that later):

Dylan's Candy Bar hosted a pop-up shop this year & I couldn't resist taking a peek at the candyland.  Is this candy Christmas tree not a candy-lover's dream come true?!

We never forget to pay homage to my husband's Filipino heritage with a swing by the Philippines Center's gorgeous holiday display of parols (p.s. I still want one):

We strolled up Fifth Avenue, passing Santa, Grinch, Reindeer & Snowmen.  No, not decorations- walking, talking Santa & crew (only in NYC)!  The Rockefeller Christmas Tree was crazy crowded & we decided to come back after dinner.  First, we saw Cartier, tied up with a holiday red bow:

Time to eat, drink & be merry!  We enjoyed a delicious, traditional steakhouse dinner at one our favorites, Wolfgang's Steakhouse.  Bonus: we met Wolfgang:

Stuffed & happy, we made our way back to Rockefeller Center, only to find this disheartening sight:

Sad but true: Lights out at Rockefeller Center at 11:30pm.  In the city that never sleeps!  BOO!!

But hey, we wouldn't let one little glitch ruin our newlywed Holiday Date Night.  Just a few blocks away, we found more holiday cheer.  A bright, happy Christmas light strand put smiles back on our faces:

More holiday smiles at the biggest, merriest Christmas ornaments:

Our newlywed Holiday Date Night was so fun & so special.  I will remember it forever as the year of no lights at Rock Center! 

Photos by Koru Kate

Holiday Card Evolution

In what seemed like a flash of brilliance, I chose to send homemade Christmas cards this year.  I enjoy making cards & I adore the holiday season so why not?  Sure, crafting 50+ Christmas cards would be my largest cardmaking project yet.  Oh yes, of course I would find the time for this project during the busy holiday season. 

Looking back, I identify that moment as a stroke of insanity! 

Allow me to take you on the journey of the Koru Kate Holiday 2011 Card from inspiration (I'm so excited to make my holiday cards!) to reality (What in the world was I thinking?) . . .

Six weeks ago, I pinned a snowflake card as my inspiration:

One trip to Paper Source, one trip to AC Moore & one raid of my craft armoire later, I had Version 1 of my holiday card:

A few minor tweaks of colored card stock & patterned paper later, I was happy with sweet Version 2 of my holiday card:

Bright Version 3 of my holiday card on RZ's choice of classic holiday red card stock:

A few more of lovely Version 2 on my choice of icy blue card stock:

I'm a complete sucker for details so every card has a snowflake stamped on its butt:

I'm pretty proud of my humble holiday cards.  We dropped the first batch in the mail last night; the second batch should be ready this evening.  I've glued my fingers together, I've smudged countless snowflakes, I've wondered if the project would ever end.  But there is a definite satisfaction knowing I created our newlywed holiday cards with care & love for our family & friends.

Will I make my holiday cards next year?  Ha, by then I will have forgotten the insanity & I will think it's a fabulous idea!  

Photo 1 via, Photo 2-6 by Koru Kate