Koru Kate Finds: Book of Love

Welcome to the first Koru Kate Finds of 2012!  If you're new here (hello & welcome!), Koru Kate Finds is my weekly series of wedding finds, from DIY projects to decor to jewelry, to inspire you & your wedding.  Let's start the fun, shall we?

Today's Koru Kate Finds is the DIY Book of Love:

Let's face it, everyone has computer drives full of lovely photos that we never print.  Ladies, it's time to make something of those memories.  The sentimental fool that I am, this personalized & easy DIY project is right up my alley.  All you need are fun photos, sweet memories & few basic supplies to make a Book of Love to cherish forever. 

A Book of Love is billed for Valentine's Day, although it's fitting for any special occasion.  Make one with photos from your engagement session, your bridal shower, your bachelorette party, your rehearsal dinner, your wedding, your honeymoon or your newlywed years. You get the idea, right?  

A Book of Love is a perfect gift &/or a lovely keepsake.    

For complete instructions & plenty of other DIY goodness, please visit The Wedding Chicks HERE.  Enjoy!

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   ♥ 

Hi, My Name Is . . .

Me, on my Wedding Day
I had no clue of the name drama that lie ahead for me!
Photo by the great Timothy Glenn Photography

My full name is Kathleen Ann Undecided.


Married women, I pop champagne & throw confetti for you!  Yes, you.  Whether you kept your maiden name, hyphenated your maiden name with your husband's name or took your husband's name, I whole-heartedly support & applaud your decision.  The simple, sad truth is that I can't make a decision.  


I have seen family & friends take different paths when it came to changing their names, such as my sister who has kept her maiden name & my best friend who took her husband's name.  Both are in happy, healthy, loving relationships.  Clearly, the decision to change or not change my name has no impact on my marriage.  It's a matter of following my heart & doing what's right for me.  Throughout our happy engagement, I had no doubt in my mind that I would follow tradition & become Mrs. Husband's Last Name.    


We got married last January, officially becoming husband & wife.  I changed my name on Facebook.  I proudly wore my Mrs. Husband's Last Name hoodie during our Hawaiian honeymoon.  I printed business cards with my married name.  And the name game stopped there.  What had seemed like the best decision for me now filled my mind & heart with doubt. 


I still want to take my husband's last name.  We are a team, we are partners & our shared last name is an important way for us to reflect that.  Agreed.  Hyphenation is not in the cards for me, just a personal preference.  Agreed.  Here's where it gets hard.  


The way I see it, I have two options: drop my maiden name & take my husband's last name or drop my middle name, make my maiden name as my middle name & take my husband's last name.  Both my middle & maiden names mean the world to me.  Ann is my middle name & I was named after my Mom who has the middle name Ann too.  I don't want to drop it.  Sullivan is my maiden name & it's my Dad's last name (obviously).  My Dad died when I was 13 years-old & my maiden name is a connection to him.  I don't want to drop it.  I have done nothing to change my name in the past (almost) year but that doesn't feel right either.


About two weeks ago, I mustered all the courage I possibly could & filled out the HitchSwitch paperwork to begin the process of changing my name.  I decided to go with my first instinct & follow the traditional path of dropping my maiden name & taking my husband's name.  As kind, understanding friends & family reminded me, I would always be a Sullivan & my last name has nothing to do with a connection to my Dad.  I felt so brave & confident.


And then I cried & cried.  The easy, detailed HitchSwitch paperwork arrived days later & I cried & cried some more.  Epic meltdown. 


Hello, my name is Kathleen Ann Undecided.


Do you plan to or did you change your name?  Any advice for an undecided married girl like me?  

Crafty {Belated} Birthday

Belated Birthday Gifts & Wishes 

for Jen of Craftiness NOW

At Koru, the inspiration & celebration of new beginnings involves weddings 99% of the time.  But beginnings come in many forms like births & birthdays.  & I like to celebrate them all!!!

My friend Jen of Craftiness NOW is no exception.  When she announced her birthday bash in August, I eagerly started a birthday project for her that involved her love of pink & crafts.  Then I was unable to attend her party (boo-hoo) & I stalled on my crafting.  We finally made plans last week & this was the fire I needed under my crafting butt to get this project done.

Let's call this project Inspiration Canvas Set.  I found inspiration on Pinterest but (stupidly) I didn't actually pin the source but the basic canvas, letters, paint idea is similar to this pin.  I wanted something simple & sweet to decorate Jen's cute apartment & inspire her with some well-chosen words.

First things first was a trip to AC Moore.  I loaded up on 4 baby canvases, wooden letters & paint.  Because a throng of sorority sisters had depleted the supply of wooden letters to make their paddles, I was forced to rethink my words.  I ended up with my original words of Love & Hope, plus the new additions of Joy & Wish: 

I painted two of the canvases with a few coats of Ballet Pink because Jen loves pink & the other canvases with Vanilla for a nice contrast:

The "toughest" part of the project was painting those tiny letters.  For most of the letters, I painted them before I glued them on the canvas.  It wasn't easy keeping them in place to paint them.  I didn't paint Wish until it was glued on the canvas for that exact reason.  Then I ended up with pools of extra paint on the canvas.  I can't decide which method was best:

Before too long, my birthday present idea turned into an actual birthday present that I'm pretty proud of:

I wrapped these cuties in a cupcake gift bag & paired them with pink wine & presented them to Jen at our little dinner & dessert party.  I'm pretty sure she liked them.  Hopefully, all of Jen's birthday wishes come true because she deserves each & every one!

FYI, with the right words, these could be a great engagement, wedding or baby decoration or gift.  Think Marry Me with the couple's name, wedding words like Forever/Always/Love/Heart or the baby's name, birth date & stats.  Be creative & have FUN!

Last Days as a Soon-to-Be Mrs.

My final photo in my Soon-to-Be hoodie
Soon after this photo, I changed into my "getting ready" outfit

In the final days leading to our wedding, I was an easy recipe- one half stress & one half excitement. The two emotions struggled for my attention like 2-year-old twins having a meltdown. The to-do list was a mile long & the hours in each day were too few. But I was a happy Bride-to-be! That trumped everything. Most of the time.

Oh, the never-ending to-do list! I almost break out in hives just thinking about it now. Apply for marriage license. Shop for & assemble hotel welcome bags. Complete DIY projects. Final meeting with venue contact & wedding planner to review timeline, menu & details which was done via phone conference when snow shut down our meeting. Pick-up out-of-town bridesmaid & husband from airport. Last dress fitting for out-of-town bridesmaid. Manicure & pedicure with my sister. Clean engagement ring. Finalize table assignments. Finish escort cards. Make alphabetical guest list with table assignments & table list with guests assigned to that table. Wrap bridal party gifts. Drop-off hotel welcome bags. Pick-up wedding dress. Church rehearsal & rehearsal dinner. Pack overnight bag, ceremony & reception items. Clean the condo. Make final payments & allot tips. Etc, etc, etc.

I couldn't have tackled most of these tasks beforehand & the majority of the tasks were fun. Naturally, picking up my out-of-town bridesmaid & getting a mani-pedi with my sister were more enjoyable than working on welcome letters, table assignments & escort cards with a super-slow printer. Still, as someone who lives & breathes weddings, I enjoy every aspect. The stress crept in because there didn't seem to be enough time! By the last two days before our wedding, I was eating little & sleeping even less.

& yet, I was a glowing Bride-to-be who relished my remaining time as an engaged woman. I didn't want to pass up any opportunity to spend time with my family & friends who came to celebrate with us. It was better to stay up until 4am to work on things than miss a good lunch with my Mom, sister & cousin. Nothing was more important than these special times: dinner with my family including my out-of-town Mom & Grandma, soup, salad & breadsticks lunch with my Mom & dinner at our favorite pizzeria with my cousin & her husband. I will forever remember the love & laughter that poured over my overwhelmed & grateful heart.

10 Days & Counting!!!!

Available on Etsy in braggingbags' shop

Somehow, we are here: 10 days away from our wedding!

Part of me is stunned. How can our wedding possibly be 1o days away? Another part of me is stressed. Is there possibly enough time to get everything done in 10 days? The rest of me is over the moon. I'm marrying RZ in 10 days!

My head is dancing & swimming "Wedding" on a continuous loop. Marriage license. Rehearsal dinner. Bridal party gifts. Hotel gift bags. DIY poms. Table assignments. Escort cards. Honeymoon packing. Etc. Etc.

All in all, I'm overwhelmed & amazed. There is much to be done, yet this is a very special time to be cherished. These are the final days of our engagement, my final days as a Bride-to-be. I don't want to waste it worrying & stressing. I want to take my time & enjoy every last moment. These are the days to remember!

Welcome 2011!

RZ and I had simple New Year's Eve plans: Ring in 2011 with our brother, sister-in-law and baby niece. Life had other plans. I was sidelined with a high fever, sore throat & general yuck. By the time the sun set, I was feeling better but there was no way I could risk getting the baby sick. Our plans became even simpler: Ring in 2011 at home with our Bailey.

RZ, being the fabulous guy he is, was determined to make our simple night special. And he did!

First, we had wine, shrimp cocktail & brie with crackers:


Notice the shrimp cocktail beautifully served in margarita glasses:


Then a yummy, yummy steak with mashed potatoes & broccoli:


And our official almond champagne toast to ring in 2011:


Bailey puts on his sweetest face in anticipation of his first 2011 treat:


Our last night of 2010 was filled with my favorite things: RZ, Bailey & delicious food & good drinks. I couldn't have asked for a better night!

Now it's 2011! We're getting married SOON!

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!

Engaged Elf

Christmas is special this year because it's our one & only as an engaged couple. As such, I donned my Soon-to-Be Mrs. gear as we made like Christmas elves & decorated our condo. RZ snapped this quick photo of me placing the first ornament on our Christmas tree. We're enjoying every precious moment!

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!

Two Months and Counting

Damask Table Number Luminary

Available at Etsy in SouthernBellWeddings' shop

Two months from today, I will walk down the aisle to marry RZ.

Part of me wonders where the last nine months of our engagement went. Is it possible to slow down time so I can savor each & every moment in the next two months?

The other part of me is ready for the days to fly by quickly & happily until we're Mr. and Mrs. How much longer until we're relaxing on the Hawaii beach as newlyweds?!

Two months, two months, two months!

Very Soon-to-Be Mr. and Mrs.

We're next!

The 2010 Wedding Season was packed professionally & personally. I coordinated weddings for several fabulous couples & I celebrated weddings for several dear friends. My Wedding Season came to an official end on Saturday evening with Marisa & John's incredible wedding. As the Last Dance faded & the lights came up, RZ & I shared a smile. Nothing needed to be said.

We had attended our last wedding as an engaged couple. The next wedding is ours!!

E-Session Results

"What are you going to do with a bunch of photos of yourselves?" asked a fellow Bride-to-be when I told her we were having an engagement photography session. I didn't have an exact plan. What I did have were my reasons for wanting an e-session:

1. RZ & I always try to have a nice photo taken of ourselves when we go glam for a wedding. Usually, we fail. In our last attempt, we looked great . . . as we posed in front of someone's car.

2. RZ & I were alone on a winter beach in the Hamptons when we got engaged. We took a few self-portraits but we have no official engagement photographs of us. This is a special time we want to remember.

So we had our e-session out & about in Hoboken with our photographer, Tim of TGP. Despite his camera-shy subjects, Tim captured countless fabulous photos. First things first, we framed some in our home. Here's one of our favorite photos hanging in our hallway:


Here's a grouping of our favorite photos displayed in our living room:


And that was that for our e-session photographs. Until Tim suggested using our engagement photos to create a personalized guest book. Well, well. No blank cream pages for us. Colorful, creative layouts of our favorite engagement photos instead. Our photos + our guests' notes = a very special keepsake. Good idea!

Our guest book arrived last week & we are beyond thrilled. Take a look & see if you agree:




Isn't it lovely?

Happy Weekend!!!

Book Photographer: check!

Hand-in-Hand Engagement Photograph
Image by Timothy Glenn Photography

Do as I say, not as I do.

Shortly after booking the venue, I urge my planning clients to book their photographer & music as quickly as possible. Both are important parts of the wedding day & both can only participate in one wedding at a time. Florists are another biggie but they can handle multiple jobs in one day. Once a photographer & band are booked, they're booked. For the best selection, book early!

I'm shamed to admit that RZ & I booked our photographers, Timothy Glenn Photography, about two months ago. In the wedding planning game, we were very, very late. We knew we wanted TGP to photograph our wedding from Day One of our engagement because there is nobody's wedding photography we admire more. The catch is that TGP consists of the talented duo of Tim Camuso & Glenn Maida; Tim happens to be my brother-in-law. Would it be possible for Tim to work & enjoy our wedding?!

Indeed, when there is a will, there is a way. It did take some time to iron out the details. In the meantime, we forged ahead with our planning, certain that a solution would work out for hiring TGP. We had a great Engagement Session in Hoboken with Tim that produced some lovely photographs. Then along came the final solution: Tim will photograph the ceremony & post-ceremony photography session, while a second photographer will take over for Tim at the reception. We'll have amazing wedding photographs & Tim will have fun (we hope). Yipee!

We've worked hard to assemble the perfect team to make our wedding dreams a reality & we're very, very excited that Timothy Glenn Photography is a part of it.

Don't follow our example: BOOK EARLY!!!!!!

Proud to be a Soon-to-Be Mrs.

At last, my wedding hoodies are HERE!

I have been planning to get a Soon-to-Be Mrs. hoodie since we got engaged. Seven months passed. I never placed my order despite good intentions. Now that crisp, Fall nights are upon us, I got myself in gear & ordered my hoodie in chocolate brown with turquoise thread in brush script. Isn't it awesome?!


I can't wait to give it a test run tonight during our walk with Bailey!

While I was placing an order, I killed two birds with one stone & ordered my honeymoon hoodie too. This cutie features my new last name & our wedding date on a white hoodie:


I'm looking forward to wearing the hoodie to keep me cozy & warm on the plane ride to our TBD honeymoon destination! Until then, it's going to lounge at Koru Wedding Shoppe as a sample to inspire other Brides. Feel free to stop by & admire it!

Riviera Engagement

The Riviera invitation
for a formal, Fall engagement party

Love, love it
Especially the inner envelope lining

A newly-engaged Bride came to Koru Wedding Shoppe in search of the perfect invitation for her formal engagement party. We had a grand time looking through options in the invitation books together. No matter what else she saw, the Bride loved the Riviera invitation from the Exclusive Collection II book by Carlson Craft the best. The Riviera invitation is described as lavish & opulent scrollwork patterns inspired by the beauty of the French Riviera. The winner!

We had a few minor adjustments to make before the invitation was ready for the Bride's Fall engagement party. The bright pink & platinum gray color scheme on white paper was changed to grape & champagne on ivory paper to subtly speak of Fall. The formal script & readable block fonts were good as is so we simply picked engagement party wording.

My favorite part? The champagne inner envelope lining. I'm such a sucker for the small details.

Our First Registry Gift

Our very first gift from our wedding registry arrives

And I'm not allowed to open it!

Finally!

I often say delivery days at Koru Wedding Shoppe are like birthdays. I adore receiving packages of invitation orders or retail items. So you can imagine my total delight when a package arrived at Koru addressed to me personally a few months ago. For me!!! I could hardly wait to rip away the packaging & enjoy the gift.


Then reality set in. The Crate & Barrel box clearly meant this was a gift from our wedding registry. Our first! It wasn't a gift for me; it was a gift for us. Therefore, I had to wait & open it with RZ. My bubble was temporarily burst. I lugged it home & eagerly waited for RZ to arrive so we could open this baby. As soon as our condo door opened, I grabbed him by the hand & dragged him over to the gift so we could open it immediately. RZ took one look at the packaging & declared that it was an engagement gift & we needed to wait until our engagement party to enjoy it. What??!! Now my bubble was really burst.

Seriously, RZ refused to let me open the gift. I removed the outer packaging so we could let the gift-giver know the gift was received. The gift was from a dear family friend, Rosellen, wishing us a happy engagement. Day after day, the gift sat in our dining room & taunted the fact that I couldn't open it.

Finally, finally, the day of our engagement party came & I was able to open our very first engagement present from our wedding registry. I eagerly tore into the package & I was thrilled to find the Cambridge Baker with Rack, the sure way to cook & serve in style. It was worth the endless wait. Thank you, thank you!

An Affair To Remember

Our engagement party in full swing

The engagement party loot
Lots of thank you notes to write!

The party crowd gathers for the champagne toast

More champagne toast gathering

The happy & blessed Bride & Groom-to-be!
(I'm sporting my new dress)

The first Saturday in July was a picture-perfect summer day with sunny skies & warm breezes. At my childhood home, our family & friends gathered to celebrate our engagement under the grand oak trees. It was the day of our long-awaited engagement party!

Our engagement party was absolutely wonderful; we couldn't have asked for a better party. Everything was beautifully decorated in a hot orange & bright pink color scheme, accented by summer flowers everywhere. The atmosphere was casual & relaxed so people were free to mix & mingle throughout the backyard. We were able to eat, drink & be merry all day long!! We had amazing people, delicious food & plentiful laughter. We couldn't ask for more!

Before dessert, everyone gathered for a champagne toast. Now mind you, no ordinary champagne toast: my absolute favorite, Wilson Creek Almond Champagne toast. It's the little details that count. My Mom, my Uncle & RZ's Dad gave short, sweet speeches. RZ & I stood side-by-side, surrounded by our loved ones, & listened to the sentimental speeches. Cheers! We were overwhelmed by the love! It was my favorite part of the day & I wished it could last longer. The entire day was filled with love for us, celebration of our engagement & hope for our future.

Our engagement party would not have been possible without the careful planning & hard work by our hosts, my Mom & my sister, & my brother-in-law. The day would not have been as special without our family & friends. Thank you, thank you to all!!!

We will forever remember the special day of our engagement party!!!

The First Dress

I tried on this dress . . .

and this dress in a different color . . .

and this dress too! Plus about 13 more!
All images from Macy's

I bought the first dress I tried on!

No, not my wedding gown.

My Mom is visiting from California for our engagement party next weekend & we have tons of fun, wedding-related activities planned. The first item on the agenda was finding a dress for our engagement party. I needed a party dress that was cool for the summer heat & comfortable for a backyard party.

We started the day at the Olive Garden for their lunch special of soup, salad & breadsticks- yum! We needed the fuel for the big shopping day ahead. The hunt began at Macy's; the store was chock-full of beautiful, summer dresses. My Mom & I grabbed anything & everything that caught our eye. I ended up in the dressing room with at least 15 lovely dresses. I grabbed the one I liked the most & tried it on. I adored it- the fit was perfect & the style was unique. My Mom agreed. But I went on to try & model the others.

Much like Brides who buy the first wedding gown they try on, I bought the first engagement party dress I tried on. I couldn't top the look or feeling from that dress. As if I wasn't bursting with excitement for our engagement party before, I am positively brimming with anticipation now. I can't wait to celebrate with our family & friends!

We're Getting Married

Our engagement party invitation

We're getting married!!!

Cheers!!

One of the first things my Mom mentioned after we got engaged is that she & my sister wanted to host an engagement party for us. We'd never turn down an excuse to celebrate so we gladly accepted. My Mom & my sister whipped together a fantastic plan for a casual barbecue held in the backyard of my childhood home & attended by our local family & closest friends. I'm looking forward to our nearest & dearest mixing & mingling on a beautiful summer day.

The engagement party is their deal so I've let them take the wheel & plan this shindig. For the most part. One, I made a polite demand for angel food cake, my favorite dessert. Two, I asked to take care of the party invitations. After all, I have tons of great resources at my fingertips at Koru.

Truth be told, I had an invitation in mind from the Casual Collection. I didn't want to totally take over the process so I sent three invitations for my Mom & my sister to choose from. I put them in random order so they wouldn't know which one was my favorite. Option One was the Engaging Event invitation, featuring an engagement ring. Option Two was the Chic Couple, featuring a modern couple toasting martini glasses. Option Three was Bouquet of Beauty, featuring a subtle background of calla lilies.

Bless their hearts, they chose my favorite: Chic Couple!!! It's a fun, fresh design on shimmer paper that's perfect for our engagement party. For some reason, I'm obsessed with shimmer paper- I love the dash of sparkle. Why choose plain white paper when you can have a little shimmer?! My sister provided the cute wording & I chose a block font in mocha ink for the copy & script font in lipstick pink for our names to add a pop of color & emphasis. Viola- here's our engagement party invitation!

Our engagement party invitation was our first piece of wedding stationery. Right now, it's a tease for a great day ahead. After the party is said & done, the invitation will be a fabulous memento for us.