Johnny and I at Suma Beach Party, Japan

I hadn't initially intended to make such an elaborate bio so I didn't keep notes of where I found these images. If you see one of your pictures posted here please page me on the Austin board so I can properly credit you, or if want would like it removed, I will do so immediately.

Engagement Pictures

If you would like to use any of these pictures please credit our photographer Vanessa Escobedo Barba:
www.photographybyvanessa.com
























Barr Mansion

Ceremony and Reception site: www.barrmansion.com

The Mansion is a Victorian home built in 1898 with an Artisan Ballroom built on the estate. The ceremony will take place in front of the rose garden and the reception in the ballroom.









Our first visit to Barr Mansion in December



Florist

Florist: Tina with Prive Floral www.privefloral.com

Ceremony Flowers



Calicayman



Bouquet Flowers

I am hoping to have white peonies, which may be difficult in March. However, I found a website that has peonies available from February through to the first week in May: www.marisolblooms.com





www.privefloral.com



Calicayman

The BM bouquets will be wrapped in antique brown dupioni silk ribbon and mine will be ivory.



Chickenbiskit

Grooms boutonniere

Johnny and all of his groomsmen as well the FOB and FOG will wear Gardenias



Flower girls pomander

Rather than carrying a basket our flower girl will carry a pomander, which will be white with shades of green



Centerpieces



Tribecbride

Entrance table and extra arrangements








Michelle Rago Ltd.

Cake Table decorations



COrunnerWedding



drzwife

The Grooms Cake



www.barrmansion.com

The Dress

Monique L'huillier: Monet
www.moniquelhuillier.com

Bought from Julian Gold in San Antonio: www.juliangold.com

I love my dress! I felt so beautiful when i tried it on! The detail in the lace is amazing. I am going to wear it without the sash. I can't wait to wear it. I love that it has a very romantic and elegant feel. Timeless. A++





alphamedialab



The Veil

Toni Federici: Lydia
www.headpieces.com

Bought from JJ Kelly Bridal in Oklahoma City: www.jjkellybridal.com

I love this veil! It matches the dress perfectly. The veil is 105" long with a wide alencon lace trim across the bottom. A++





SimonsBride05

Grooms and Groomsmen Attire

Rental tuxedos: www.menswearhouse.com

Johnny is going to wear a white tie and vest and the Groomsmen will wear black



Bridesmaid Attire

Lynn Lugo: www.lynnlugobridal.com 

I love this vendor! I was able to email the designer directly and get advice about the various styles. Although the dresses cost more than i wanted, the quality of the material and design is well worth the money. The website is very informative and allows you to even custom design the dresses - adding and subtracting certain things. Lynn was so kind and sent fabric samples to me while I was in Australia with no charge. She also had them made 4 weeks earlier with no extra charge. The only down side about the dresses is the color of it doesn't look as nice in photos. The color is much lighter in real life. I am not going to give Lynn Lugo an A+ because I thought they were a little too expensive. A-

It is the middle one.






This is the color of the dress in sunlight. The color is pistachio and it is made from dupioni silk.





Flower Girl's Dress

The Briar Patch: www.shopbriarpatch.com

100% Dupioni silk fully lined with petticoat. I ordered it in pure ivory because I wasn't sure if the leaf green would clash with the BM dresses. I searched everywhere for flower girl dresses made from dupioni silk however I couldn't find them for less than $200. Finally I found the briar patch! $49!



The Hairstyle

Hair Salon: Bella Salon www.bellasalon.citysearch.com 

I recently had my hair trial and I was quite disappointed with it. The following is a picture of what I wanted and how Alicia did it. I think that it looks messy (especially at the back) and it felt like it was going to fall out the whole time. In fact a small piece did. I am glad that I had a trial because now I know that I should change the style. Alicia was very sweet and spent almost 2 hours working with me. She tried doing it three different ways (using my natural curls, teasing sections and using a curling wand) but I didn't like how it turned out. I think that I might change stylists or salon completely. I paid $75 for it and if it were my wedding day I would not have been happy with it.
Trial = C





This is after I took it out. The half up style could be an option.



Or something more formal could be an option. I love both the hair and make-up in this one.



Make-up

Make-up Artist: Jentri Quinn www.jentriquinn.com  

Jentri was very sweet when I had my trial. She was sick at the time and seemed a bit off at first. There are a few things that I will change. I thought the eye make-up as a bit too dark. I was fairly happy overall with her work. Although I had a better experience at the MAC counter.
Trial = B+



Cocktail Hour

Clear glass "Verona II" infusion jars: www.infused-vodka.com

We ordered three 408oz jars however they sent the wrong size (much smaller ones) and we had to send them back. We have received the right jars now however they have yet to credit our credit card with the cost of posting them back.
  


I am going to have tall glass vases with green Apples in them rather than lemons and limes next to the jars





Invitations

Erickson Design: www.ericksondesign.com

I love the way our invitations turned out. I am a stationery nut! They are exactly what I wanted. They are unique yet traditional. However there was quite a bit involved in organizing it. We began working with Erickson Design at the end of September and only finalized everything in December. It took 3 to 4 weeks to receive the first sample and then when we wanted to change the colors she sent another sample which took 3 to 4 weeks again. I don't know if she forgot about us or if she sent them via China or something. B+ 





Calligraphy

Calligrapher Laura Hooper: laurahoopersart.com

This is the sample of the font. It is called "Elegance" in a stagged layout. The calligraphy gave our invitations such an elegant feel. We have received so many compliments about the calligraphy. Laura was very easy to contact and work with. She had the envelopes addressed and sent back to us within 2 weeks. A+



Monogram

Creative Montage: www.creativemontage.com/monograms.html

We had 5 monograms made for $10. Although we love the designs they made a mistake with the order of our names. I assumed that the names would be in accordance to etiquette (brides name first, then grooms) and since all of the examples were done this way on the website I didn't think that we needed to specify. However, because Johnny used his credit card to pay for it she did it the opposite way. She said that we could have 2 monograms changed for free but then she didn't change the ones we asked for. Basically, there was a lot of unnecessary emailing back and forth. I would recommend Creative Montage because I love the designs and it cuts down on the time of having to do it ourselves. B+



Programs

I am going to make programs like these however with our monogram on the front



They will be tied like this



ad52905

This florentine tray will be used to hold the programs on.
It was ordered through Uno Alla Volta Catalog which can be viewed at www.oneatatime.com



Reserved Seating cards



Escort cards



Table Names



Menu cards



Picture Frames



CorunnerWedding

Wish Bowl



Our wish bowl, on the far left, was ordered from www.restorationhardware.com



Signature Mat



Get-Away Car

Antique Limos: www.antique-limos.com

We have hired the same 1937 black Cadillac that Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey used for their get-away car



Iron Cactus

Rehearsal Dinner: Iron Cactus www.ironcactus.com

The Iron Cactus is a Mexican grill and margarita bar



Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Paper Style: www.paperstyle.com

The Paper Style website was very easy to navigate. We were able to order our invitations without any dramas. They sent us a proof of the layout and once we approved them they were printed and shipped to us within a week. I would use this company again and I highly recommend them to anyone else. A+



OOT Boxes

Gable boxes: www.buygiftbox.com

This is a great way to buy gable boxes if you only want a few as they are sold per item. Although because we only needed 15 the shipping cost was almost the same as the boxes.



Wedding Photographer

Heather with Eclectic Images: x.electicimagesphotography.com

Videographer

Bob with Wild Parrot: www.wildparrot.com

Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Music

Barton Strings (string quartet): www.bartonstrings.com

Reception Music

Blind Date (Band): www.blinddateaustin.com

Wedding Night Hotel

The Driskill Hotel: www.driskillhotel.com

Pre-Wedding Honeymoon:

Nassau, Bahamas

Johnny and I are moving to Australia right after our wedding so we won't get a chance to go a our Honeymoon for a couple of months. We spent 5 days in the Bahamas after spending Christmas and New Years with Johnny's family. Overall we were rather disappointed with our trip. Everything was so overpriced and very touristy. Our day trip to some of the surrounding Islands was canceled due to bad weather so we spent most of our time on the beach and drinking cocktails - I can't really complain about that though. It was nice to just get away and relax before our big day. I'm glad that we went but it wasn't the cultural experience that we are use to and hoped for. I wouldn't go back. C+





The aquarium at The Atlantis Hotel







They make their cocktails STRONG in the Bahamas!



Johnny's impersonation of a pirate.

Favorite Bios:

mrsbeachybride - Beautiful pictures

calicayman - Amazing flowers and creative ideas

canadiangirl2 - Beautiful flowers, colors and pictures

CharlotteCirce - I love the BM dresses

COrunnerWedding - Great pictures

drzwife - Amazing ceremony and reception sites

june42005 - Amazing engagement and wedding pictures

tobenjoy - I love the flowers