Say Yes to the Dress

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this!  Two weeks ago, my mom, dad and I headed out to our first bridal store!  To say I was excited would be a complete understatement!  I was soo ready to try on dresses and get one step closer to finding "the dress".  My consultant Maurice was amazing and so very brutally honest, which is exactly what I needed.  The first thing he asked me was what I was looking for and to be honest I didn't really know what I was looking for, but I definitely knew what I was NOT looking for.  No ballgown, no strapless, and no corset back.  Other than that I was pretty much game for anything. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted it to be fitted (umm I've worked hard for my body and I wanna show it off!). 

So he brought me several dresses to try on.  Let me tell you, this was amazing fun!  I LOVED trying on all the different dresses and imagining myself walking down the aisle to marry my best friend.  Now, I am not an emotional person usually so I kinda figured that I wouldn't be brought to tears when I finally found the right dress so I was interested to see how I would react.  In total, I think I tried on almost 20 gowns but in the end I kept going back to #5.  When I put it on, I didn't wanna take it off.  I wanted to dance, I wanted to walk around in it and I wanted to take it home right then and there.  That's how I knew.  And when I looked at my dad, he was doing that thing that men do, you know clearing the throat, walking around nervously and not really saying much.  I guess that that could only mean he was getting choked up... awwww =)

So that was it... One store, 20 gowns and I found the dress.  I was sure this was gonna be a very looooong drawn out event but I guess when you find the right one, you just know.  So for all you out there dying to know which gown I chose, I'm going to do something very taboo...  I am going to post a picture of my dress here =) Enjoy!

Isn't it PERFECT!

Engagement Pictures

Last week, Luis and I took our engagement pictures with Aurora from Studio Eternity Photography.  She often shoots at the UCR Botanical Gardens and after seeing some of the pictures, I knew thats where we had to go.  Lush and green, it was the perfect backdrop for what I envisioned.  She took A TON of pictures but for now, here is a sneak peek =)

Love them <3

A little recap, and a promise

So Hi there... yes its me and I'm BAAAAACK! Life has been a little busy and crazy but oh so fun so here is a recap of the last month or so (omg its been that long???)

August started out on a great note.  Luis and I attended a fundraising event for Homeboy Industries a nonprofit organization that gives former gang members a second chance.  Started by Father Greg Boyle, these former "homeboys" can get their tattoos removed, recieve job training and a safe place to go to if they ever need advice.  Father Greg Boyle is hands down the best speaker I have ever had the pleasure of hearing in person.  I am so grateful for people like Father Boyle for helping those who society has deamed unfixable.

In August, we also added to our little family.  No, I'm not preggo, but we did adopt an adorable little kitten named Teddy.  There is no cooler cat ever, seriously, ever... He is amazingly funny and quirky and we just love him =)

Ok, now on to the fun stuff! We (meaning my mother and I) have finally decided on all the paper for the wedding.  Invites, programs and escort cards are done! Well not DONE but done in my mind, they are being ordered and we can start getting all those designed and assembled.  Luis and I also took engagement pictures last week with Aurora from Studio Eternity Photography who was just awesome! We shot them at the UCR Botanical Gardens which was so pretty and it was like taking pictures at 5 different places.  I seriously cannot wait to get them back!

I also have an appointment to start trying on wedding gowns! I am crazy/insane/batty/insanely/cockoo excited about this! I do have somewhat of an idea of what I am looking for, but I look forward to trying on lots of different gowns!  I do know for a fact that I DO NOT want a gown like this:

Thats right, no ballgown for me please!  I've worked hard for my new body and I'm ready to really show it off!


Lastly, after spending way too long in school I graduated and realized it was at the absolutely worst time ever.  The economy sucks, and no one is hiring... no one except Oak Grove, a residential treatment center and school in Murrieta.  I got hired on call (they don't hire new employees full time so I've gotta work my way up from the bottom) and my first day was on Friday.  I freakin' love it.  I finally feel like this is what I am suppose to be doing, I enjoy work and I am excited about working again.  What better job is their than just helping kids and making them get better??? I'm so excited about this new chapter in my life and am looking forward to finally feeling fullfilled.

So there is a recap of the last month or so in the life of Sara... and my promise is to keep you all (all my 3 readers) updated much more frequently =)

Caoi

A few checks off my list

"After my fight" is a phrase I hear ALL the time, especially when it comes to anything wedding related.  Every time I bring up anything about the wedding, whether its the guest list, the catering or tuxedos, Luis' response is always the same... "after my fight".  Usually I wait just a few weeks too long and then sure enough, Luis is already training for another fight so again I hear "after my fight".

UGH!  

So this time, I smartened up and asked told Luis that today we were going to get a few things crossed off our wedding list, before he could go back to the gym, back to training or decide to fight again.  And to my shock he said yes without even so much as a sigh or a rolling of the eyes! SCORE!  So I thought it would be a good time to decide on the tuxedos and go pick out wedding bands.

Now Luis is definitely the "just tell me when to be there" kind of groom and while I am a little bit of a control freak, I really want Luis to at least have a say in what he was going to wear on our wedding day.  But of course, I did this in the classic women way, but making him think he was picking out what he liked which actually ended up being exactly what I wanted.  Yup.  I'll admit it, I'm that kinda girl, but hey, he was happy and I was happy so no harm done right? And these boys are gonna look super hot in their tuxes!  You can all thank me in about 11 months.

Finally, we headed to the mall to pick out wedding bands.  Now this was definitely something that was 100% up to Luis because he will be wearing this band for-ev-er and I want him to love it.  This time, without any womanly coercion, he picked out a super awesome wedding band.  Grey, and thick and manly... perfect!

Luis and I then picked out a beautiful diamond wedding band to go with my engagement ring.

So we've made some good progress on our my to-do list. Still much more to do, but I think I can handle the rest of it on my own =)

Manzanillo, here we come!

After having severe honeymoon ADD, Luis and I have finally decided where we will be honeymooning after our June 2011 wedding.  We definitely wanted to go someplace tropical, but June is pretty much the worst time for most places because of hurricanes, and nothing kills romance like a category 3 hurricane!  So we will be heading to Manzanillo, Mexico.  Located on the Pacific Ocean, June is absolutely the best time to be there!  With day tempuratures in the mid 80's, beautiful waterfalls, snorkeling and relaxation, I can't imagine a more beautiful place to spend the first few days of my life as Mrs. Iniguez.  Here are a few pics of this beautiful resort town:

Honeymoon ADD

Ever since I have been engaged I have been day dreaming about the big day. But often times I find myself day dreaming more about the day AFTER the big day! Waking up with my husband and being wisked away on some romantic adventure where there are no alarm clocks or lists of things to do are thoughts that consume my mind. The only problem is... I have honeymoon ADD. Everyday I change my mind about where I want to go. Spain, Italy, Mexico, Costa Rica, and a million other places are always in my brain!
Sometimes I think how romantic it would be to sightsee the streets of Spain, other times I think about us enjoying the best wine in Italy and then I'll think about laying on a white sand beach in a tropical location. I know our honeymoon is a long time away (almost exactly 18 months to the day)but I really wish I could pin point where to go! Luis of course just says "whatever you want my love" which is sweet but of absolute NO help to me at all. The frugal side of me says to go to the beautiful beaches of Mexico and enjoy an all inclusive resort while the frivilous side of me says "go to Europe! Spend a ton of money and don't think twice about it!" But the problem is, I will think twice about it. I'll think about how I could have put that money towards my home, or let it sit in savings for an emergency. I have a feeling Luis would rather go to Mexico and relax and with that in mind I think I am envisioning little umbrellas in my drinks... But we'll see how I feel next week :)

DIY Wedding

So with my wedding planning underway, it has become very apparent that many parts of my wedding will be DIY.  My family is rich in love but our richness pretty much ends there LOL! But to be honest, even if they did have a ton of money, I really don't want them to spend so much money on things that we can do ourselves.  Being that my wedding is 18 months away, I have plenty of time to do all my DIY projects and I have a bunch of great women to help me.  I was totally inspired by my friend Nancy's wedding invites and she has proven that you can make absolutely beautiful invitations all by yourself, with the help of bridesmaids of course =) So thats my plan!  We are going to make our invitations!

I am also lucky enough to have a very talented Maid of Honor who is a flower arranging genius! This is a bouquet she made just for fun! BEAUTIFUL!

So I am gonna take advantage of her talents and the talents of my wonderful bridesmaids and we are going to make all the flower arrangements, bouquets and centerpieces.  So my plan is to go to the Farmer's Markets and the Flower Districts in Los Angeles in June of this year to see what flowers are in season and what flowers will give us the best bang for our buck!  Then, we can do a test run on all the flower arrangements and  in June of 2011, when we are making them for THE big day, it will be a piece of cake!  I'm thinking we will also have DIY programs for the day of the wedding as well as favors (if we do any at all) and we will decorate the pews of the church too.

While it seems like a lot of work, I am actually really really excited to be so hands on with all the little details!  It will truly be a labor of love and it seems so much more fun than just walking into a flower shop and pointing at things I like.  I also think its gonna make for a very special day and some very special bonding with my greatest friends!

The Knot!

I am officially a Knottie!  I was lurking on the website The Knot for the last few months and I finally posted my first discussion on the board =)  Wedding planning here I come!

Wedding Colors

Luis and I have finally decided on our wedding colors.  We are doing a jewel toned purple and grey with accents of black and white =)

So one thing check off the list, only 5456461489 more to go!

The 'Maids

Getting married is something every girl dreams about and every girl has their own idea of their perfect wedding day.  Some girls dream of a backyard wedding with a few close people, some a huge wedding with 400 of their nearest and dearest and some people would rather head to the courthouse and share their special day with that one special person.  My idea of a perfect wedding has nothing to do with location, number of guests or the flavor of the cake.  For me, a wedding is about celebration with friends and family.  I am lucky to have friends I consider family and family I can call friends so deciding who would be standing next to me when I marry my best friend was a pretty easy task.

My Bridesmaids

Jennifer Magana

Jenn is my cousin who I consider a younger sister.  There is only one word I can use to describe her.... HILARIOUS!  She never takes herself seriously and is always up for a good time.  She makes me laugh non-stop when we hang out and you never know what your gonna get with Jenn.  She is beautiful, stylish and intelligent.  She is always up for experimenting with her look and looking oh so fabulous.  She is definitly my go to girl when I need a night out on the town!

Amanda Heredia

I have known Amanda for over 10 years.  We went to high school together and were acquaintances, often having classes together and even going to the same church, but when we discovered that we both were going to Cal Poly Pomona we started carpooling and the rest is history!  We helped each other through crappy relationships and some incredibly hard times but through it all we had an amazing ride and got closer than ever.  She is someone that is very close to my heart, and even though we don't see each other as much as we would like, everytime we get together it's like we never skipped a beat!  Not only is Amanda incredibly gorgeous and absolutely brilliant, she is a great example of what a wife and mother should be.  I am so lucky to have her in my life!

Cassie Berni

Cassie is someone that I met about 6 years ago and really just hit it off with.  We started off as coworkers and eventually grew to be amazing friends.  I can talk to Cassie about anything and everything.  Cassie is an amazing wife and mother and I hope that one day I can be as successful in that as she is.  She has a classic beauty that is enviable along with a one of the guys personality that makes her so down to earth.  She can be dolled up in jeans and heels while rooting for her SD sports teams (GRRR!)  I love having a friend that I can talk about men, clothes and baseball with!  It doesnt get much better than that!

Maria Mestas

Maria, know to many as Mo, is my go to girl!  She is always a text message away and we can talk about things that many people probably couldn't!  She is my cousin on my fathers side and is one of my closest friends.  We share the same values and for us, our families always come first no matter what.  Anytime we get a chance to help out our brothers or celebrate with family you can count on Mo and I to be there!  I love Mo's spure of the moment decisions and her spontaneity!  I wish I could be more like that!  Having someone like her in my life is definitly a good way to keep me on my toes!

Kristen Mestas (very soon to be Kristen Nysse)

Kristen is also my cousin on my fathers side and is someone that I have grown close to over the past few years.  We are practically neighbors and I love knowing that if I need someone to talk to or someplace to cheer on our Dodgers I can just walk around the corner and have a great time!  Kristen has a smile and a laugh that is infections and is always ready to have fun!  I am so happy that she is just a few weeks away from marrying one of Luis' best friends and we are lucky to have both of them in our lives and to share all of these important moments with!

My Maid of Honor

Carol Colby

I am honored to have Carol as my maid of honor.  She is my cousin on my mothers side but I consider her a sister.  I have always looked up to her.  She was the first to put makeup on me and make me girly!  She also kind of set me up with the first person I was ever allowed to go an a real date with!  She was and always will be my big sis.  Carol is unbelieveably smart and funny!  She always has something witty to say!  Her syle is classic and chic and I always look up to her ability to look pulled together all the time.  She is someone that is always in my corner 100% and I know she will be ready with tons of marriage advice for me!

So there are the women of my bridal party.  The best friends a girl could ask for.  I couldn't imagine getting married and not seeing them stand beside me and supporting me on the most important day of my life.  I love you girls!