Cool Find of the Week

We have been looking for a wedding band to go with my vintage e-ring and came across this:

Photo from here.

A little, um how do I say - bold for me. But would be fun since we have started speaking Spanish to each other since getting engaged in Mexico. Although I think I would regret this immensely later.

Anyone have "unconventional" wedding rings?

Great Contest!

Right now there is a great contest over at Southern Weddings to win a free map design and 10 free totes from the famed Laura Hooper. Her maps are amazing and this would be a great contest to win!
Seeing these adorable totes got me thinking. I wonder how I could turn the map I created for our invitations into a tote (see below)? Or perhaps print it on a mug or a coaster? Maybe a mousepad? With sites like CafePress the options are limitless.

But perhaps I am taking the wedding memorabilia a little too far....

More Hair Clips

Oh the torture. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I MUST decide on a hair accessory. Ok, really I have no trouble sleeping or eating but the inspiration keeps getting better and better and I don't know what to do! Maybe I will just start wearing a fancy hair clip everyday....

My latest inspirations:

Photos from LaBohemme Etsy shop.

I love the vintage clips in the center and the turquoise colors. I went to the craft store this weekend to buy supplies for my DIY hair clip project. Only $13 for a bunch of stuff - most of which I will likely return. Otherwise it would be the gaudiest clip ever if I use it all. But I am not sure I can get a look like these above or like this or these.
Any tips for a DIY version?

Tagged - I'm It!

Rachel tagged me with a new questionnaire. I love random facts - yeah!!

Here are the rules:

THE RULES:
Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people will be tagged.


Make a list of things you can see without getting up: computer, GPS, maps, and piles of paper and books - I am at my office procrastinating :)

What were you like when you were five? Causious and very worried. Apparently I cried everyday in kindergarten when the teacher would leave for 5 minutes to prepare snack. My mother tells me this but I think it is a lie.

What are you wearing now? Blue jeans and a flowery, frilly blouse in my attempt to dress up and give a lecture to an undergrad class today.

What color is your bedroom? White with a glossy finish. Why can't renters paint?

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading? Omnivore's Dilemma and I am never eating beef again.

Do you nap a lot? Unfortunately yes. Although I call it resting my eyes.

Who was the last person you hugged? Matt

What’s your current obsession/addiction? Wedding DIY projects.

What was the last thing you said aloud? "You live and you learn" to a friend who just got robbed with no renters insurance.

What websites do you always visit when you go online? Email, Facebook, and blogs I follow.

What was the last thing you bought? Lunch, sandwich of course.

What are you listening to right now? A very loud air duct. Was that supposed to mean music?

What movie are (or were!) you most excited to show your kids? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Wallee.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Running really fast.

What is your favorite weather, and why? Fall with a crisp breeze but the sun is shining - like today in Phoenix.

What time do you usually get up? 8:00

What is your most challenging goal right now? Keeping up with working out 7 days a week.

Say something to the person who tagged you: Rachel - I wish I lived in Texas and could go flee market shopping with you!

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Oh, a tough one. I would say Santa Fe, New Mexico. Or possibly San Antonio or Tucson.

Favorite vacation spot? Vacation? When do I get to take one of those?

What is your favorite children’s book? Ramona Quimby books

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you: Any sort of bread stuffed with cheese like a calazone.

If you could meet anyone famous - dead or alive - who would it be? Leonardo DaVinci

If you could have any job in the world , what would it be? Antique store owner or buyer.

I am tagging:
Cyd from The Sweetest Occasion
Jenn from With this ring...
Adrienne from The Love of Weddings
Niclole from Nicole and Jesse
Once a Bride
Hannah from that (engaged) girl
Jess from Project Wedding
Brenn from Where Preepy Meets Hippee

Raspberry Love

For the last couple of days Style Me Pretty has featured a Raspberry Shabby Chic Inspiration Board Contest. Gorgeous! Can I change our theme please? To late for us but there are my favorites: here and here. The winner will receive $500 so be sure to pick out your favorite.

I didn't enter but was inspired to create my own...

Raspberry Love - by M and M Wedding on Polyvore.com

click on the photo to see credits

Ooh La La!

Yeah for award season! I love movies and TV so I love Jan/Feb and all of the award shows. The fashion is also fun and this year white gowns are definitely a trend. And there are some pretty styles and colors for bridesmaids as well. Here are some of my favorites from the SAG Awards. Anyone have a favorite?

All photos from Access Hollywood.

Rosario Dawson in what would be a gorgeous look for an Old Hollywood themed wedding.
Ooh, I wish I was a red head. Christina Hendricks gown is gorgeous in red and would also be a very romantic gown in white.If it came in a shorter version, Laura Linney's dress would make a cute bridesmaid dress.Claire Danes with great hair and makeup.

Anne Hathaway as a Grecian goddess.

Terri Hatcher - loving the one shoulder gown trend.

Cool Find of the Week

Etsy sellers have done it again.

I saw this post on the Bride's Cafe featuring some amazing photography and seller's from Etsy and was instantly in love with this picture. I am thinking that this would be a great way to do my hair with this type of hair piece. The hairpiece is from Etsy seller g.q. designs. It is a little out of my price range but thinking it would be worth it. My dress has a similar neckline, although has a larger bow made of gorgeous ivory lace. I was thinking a bow would clash with a flower in the hair but based on this photo I think I like the combination. And after seeing this I am on a search for pearls.

Photos from here and here.

Also I am totally in love with my dress and it is on the way to being fixed. I am very thankful to Dolly Couture for making a gorgeous dress and taking care of the zipper situation. (Apperently there was a mixup with some of thier zippers and they have graciously remided the situation. Things happen and all is good.) Alterations are also in progress so the waistline issue I was halving should be taken care of. I will post some photos soon!

More E-Ring Photos... But Better

I am very thankful to Sabrina from The Introverted Wife for using her awesome Photoshop skills to clean up our e-ring photos. You can see all of here work here. She is also looking to work her magic on some other ring photos. If anyone has some you should check out her blog.

The left is my original pic and the right is cleaned up.

click to enlarge.

One of my M&M pics was featured on the Weddingbee blog. They had been doing some really great tutorials and features of ring shots over the past month. Some additional great inspiration.

Surviving the Bridal Show

A couple of weekends ago I attended my first bridal show. I had read some tips on attending the Phoenix Bridal Show from the helpful Sarah from The Wedding Hub but I wished I would have followed it beforehand! Her advice is general to any show and after attending I can see now that she knew what she was talking about.

First of all - bring labels with your information. I don't know how many times I wrote out my name and address.

Second - definitely set up a separate email account to deal with vendor inquiries. I had just filled out cards for the things that I was interested in hearing more about. But somehow (I think with registration) my email got on everyone's list and even though it is about 2 weeks later I still get about 10 emails a day from various vendors. Hard to sort out from my actual vendors that I need to read.

Third - This wasn't on Sarah's list but I would say skip the show if you already have your vendors in place. If I were just starting the process this would have been a great place to start to get an idea of what is out there and what the costs are of various services. Since we are less than 3 months away I really just went to get some new ideas. That didn't really happen - my time might have been better spent browsing wedding blogs for inspiration! The show was really Wedding Industry Complex (WIC) overload!

One of the best resources at the show were free copies of Arizona Weddings, Arizona Finest Wedding Sites and Services, and Arizona Bride. I have picked these up at a bridal salon before but think it is great for getting local ideas about vendors. The national magazines are great for inspiration but don't really let you in on what is available locally. These mags list pricing info, websites, and phone numbers of venues, photographers, rehearsal dinner locations- you name it, it is in there. I would recommend to anyone beginning to plan their wedding to find something similar for your local area.






Anyone else have advice for surviving the Bridal Show?

Welcome Obama Family!!

Yeah America! It was so exciting to watch the inauguration festivities today and I am so excited for America's new direction. I certainly wouldn't want to be putting the country back together right now but have faith that President Obama can to it!

Photo from US Weekly

How gorgeous did Michelle Obama look in this dress? I just loved how he asked "how good does my wife look?" when they walked out onto the stage at the Neighborhood Ball. You can tell how supportive and in love they are, what a marriage inspiration. I hope that after today's jam packed schedule of celebration the Obama's get to relax like they did after their wedding. See this post for their adorable wedding pic.

Inspiration Eye Candy

It is a gorgeous day here in Phoenix. I am glad I am not freezing with the rest of the country. Since is feels like spring out here even though it is Jan I made a Spring Inspired board. I love fuchsia and paired with lime. So bright and sunny.

Lime and Fuchsia by M and M Wedding

Anyone using either of these colors?

Check it out...

Everyone should head over to Once a Bride to check out her recent Flower Inspiration Boards. She made a purple inspiration for me! There is also a great set of red flowers - I wonder what she will do next? She also has some great tips for flowers on a budget, advice every bride needs.

More E-Ring Photos

Inspired by the recent tweaking of the Relentless Bride's e-ring photos by the Introverted Wife, and all of the e-ring posts on Wedding Bee I decided to take a shoot at some artsy pics of our rings.

The top photos are my ring in our agave favors and centerpieces. And of course since we are M&M we have to get a few shots of our rings with them. I think I will put both of these types of pics on our list for the photographer. I will leave it to the pros.


Thanks to everyone for the reassurance about my dress saga. Meeting with a seamstress later this week. On a more positive note, we met with the venue and caterer to finalize the menu, centerpieces and linens yesterday. The price was $400 less than our initial quote. How often does that happen?

... It's Here

I picked up my very special package with my custom order dress this morning from the post office. Not sure if I want to talk about it yet. It is gorgeous. Just what I wanted- a lace, vintage inspired tea length dress.
However it doesn't fit, the "waist" is hitting me on my "hips". And I broke the zipper. I have had basically the worst night ever. I suppose everyone has a few bridal breakdowns now and then. Mine just all seem to be over the stupid dress. I can't help but keep thinking that it doesn't matter if we have the cutest invitations ever, or an awesome signature drink, or even thoughtful welcome bags if I look like a hot mess come wedding day.

Matt has done a great job calming me down and I am sure the dress can be altered.

Anyone else not having things quite go their way lately?

Project Reuse Ex. 4: E-Ring, Part II

First off I should apologize for being a Debbie Downer with my post yesterday about the high environmental and social cost of gold. This blog is intended to be inspirational and fun and not scolding people and showcasing my own guilt for desiring gold and diamonds. Hopefully these few posts can be inspirational for others to choose more ethical jewelry options.

Anyway as promised here is a photo of my e-ring. I absolutely love it! It is an antique from the 1920s in the Art Deco style. I really wanted an antique ring because I am an archaeologist and love old things and also because I have romantic dreams of having a vintage ring passed down in our family some day. Although it will have to be after I am gone because I am not taking this one off.
I also really wanted an antique ring because it is the ultimate in reuse and recycling. Matt purchased the ring himself after I showed him a few pics of what I liked. I am a simple girl so I wanted a simple ring - but something with a little pizazz (i.e. the filigree visible in the ring profile) but not too much. I wanted something that looked like an e-ring but didn't have a huge honkin' solitaire. He wanted to replace the diamond and purchased an Arkansas diamond because in addition to recycling the gold we wanted a conflict free stone.

With every choice there are tradeoffs, pros and cons. So hopefully our ring choice is a more sustainable option than a new purchase and we have done a little more to make our wedding a little greener.

This is also my 100th post. I think it is very fitting that it is about my engagemnet ring, it is what started our wedding process and hence this blog. Today also happens to be the anniversary of our 1st date. Aah, how momentous.

I am a Lazy Blogger.. But Fabulous Blogger?

First of all I must apologize for not posting this sooner. I had a draft written weeks ago and am finally getting with the program. I actually thought I did post it already but doing some blog house keeping and realized I hadn't. I guess it was for a reason because I discovered today I was tagged again.

I have been tagged by Krista from the blog "Canadian Bride" and also from Jenny at "And she's is rambling again" blog because they think I'm fabulous. Well maybe not me, but at least my blog :) Thanks so much ladies! I also think your blogs are fabulous! I am glad to know that someone reads this. It means a lot.

So hear goes...Rules - List 5 Obsessions/Addictions that you have, and tag back to the person(s) that gave you the award. Post the rules and tag and additional 5 people.

1. The Internet. What did we do without the internet. Email, blogs, Facebook = fun for me. Maybe this is why I will never finish my dissertation?

2. Traveling, planning a trip, and thinking about a trip. I have spent some time in Europe, the Middle East and Mexico so next I would like to tackle southeast Asia or South America.

3. Food. Maybe I should say Culinary Adventures. I love to read recipes and try new ingredients. Although trying new restaurants is also an obsession. I also really love to combine my obsession of traveling and food. I dream about witting street food travel guides.

4. Crafting. I love make things, especially paper things. I go through different crafting obsessions. For awhile it was scrap booking, jewelry, cards, ceramics, etc. So a DIY wedding is perfect! I think when the wedding is over I will turn this blog into a crafting blog... or maybe I will start and Etsy store.

5. My Wedding Dress. I feel incredibly vain for saying this but I think it just may be the most fabulous thing ever. I hope every bride past, present, and future feels as happy as I do about their dress. Talk to me in a week after I actually get my dress to see if I feel the same way... I hope so.

I tag:
a backyard wedding
Once a Bride
The Wedding Hub by Sarah Hubbell
How About Orange
Oh So Beautiful Paper

Project Reuse: Ex. 4 The E-Ring, Part I

For most couples I imagine one of the biggest expenses are the engagement and wedding rings. What couples may not think about is that their rings may also be a huge environmental expense. I am returning to the Project Reuse posts this week to highlight another way we are trying to make our wedding environmentally friendly. I heard and interesting podcast about the high environmental and social cost of gold mining which reminded me of another reason why I love my e-ring. My ring is an antique and fits our REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE wedding mentality.The podcast was from Fresh Air on NPR featuring the author and photographer of the most recent National Geographic cover story about the real price of GOLD. When discussing wedding jewelry it seems that diamonds get all of the attention - both as the shinny stars of the rings as as the culprits of many of the social and environmental problems of the jewelry industry.

I taught a class last year in which the students had to document the total environmental and social impact of an everyday item. One of the students turned in an essay about her e-ring and was quite proud that they choose a conflict-free diamond. A wise choice for sure but when I asked her wear the gold for the ring came from and if she considered the impact of this in her purchase. I could see her heart sank as she admitted she had not and in her research for the paper discovered all sorts of reasons why gold mining can also be just as destructive. Wedding resources have all sorts of info about conflict free and eco friendly diamonds, but there is less awareness about the high environmental, social, and health costs of gold.

Photo from National Geographic.

That is why I thought the National Geographic piece was so interesting and had to share. I won't go into the details other than to post this from Brook Larmer's article:

" Rough hands attend to the delicate work of pressing excess mercury from gold extracted at an illegal mining operation in Kalimantan, Indonesia. A vast amount of mercury—at least 30 percent of the world total—is used by small-scale miners to process gold. When handled without safety equipment, the toxic metal can be absorbed into the bloodstream or lungs, causing serious damage. Tests performed by the Global Mercury Project, an initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Global Environment Facility, revealed that mercury levels in the bodies of miners in parts of Indonesia are several hundred times higher than is generally considered safe."

So, what are we supposed to do? Diamond mining supports war and civil unrest, gold strips open earth and causes horrible health problems. Workers in these industries are often make pennies a day while the fat cats get rich.

We thought long and hard about weather or not to even go the traditional diamond e-ring route given our desire to avoid supporting such practices. Perhaps a glass ring? or not even a ring at all - possibly a necklace... Argh, still jewelry with precious metal and stone = still same problems.

Ring from Etsy seller

I think it must be something so ingrained in our American culture that I couldn't do anything too non-traditional. (Although I commend any couples out there who do! Kuddos!). I won't geek out and explain the Anthropological theories that explain this type of prestige economic institutions and just end it here.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to be environmentally and socially conscious with their wedding rings? Tomorrow I will share more about what we did...

It's Coming...

I received and email this morning that my dress is ready to be shipped. (Insert squeal of excitement here!!!) Then I opened Facebook and saw a picture!! (Insert another squeal of excitement followed by tears I was so happy!!!) I think I will work from home this week and wait by the door...If anyone is friends with Dolly Thicke of Dolly Couture on Facebook you can see a pic in the Custom Library Album.

Cool Find of the Week

So I have known about longed for the adorable ring bowls from Paloma's Nest. I just love the simple, elegant look and think they would make an excellent wedding keepsake.

Well today while browsing through the site and noticed all sorts of new goodies - and just in time for Valentines Day.

click to enlarge photos

I love the milagro heart seen in the "Treasure" bag and ceramic designs above. And the new natural wood designs. Cool indeed.

One Year Ago Today...

... Matt and I got engaged. Okay, it was actually 364 days ago. I am posting early because Matt and I are headed up to Zuni, NM early in the morning to purchase his wedding band. Matt does archaeology in the Zuni area and they make amazingly beautiful silver jewelry. A Zuni ring is what we want for him as it holds alot of symbology for us. He was actually living there for a semester last year before we took our trip to Mexico (what turned out to be our engagement trip) and was sort of the reason this post is not called One and a half years ago today...

Matt asked me to marry him on the last night of our 3 week Christmas trip to Mexico. We were in Parque Mexico in Mexico City and it couldn't of been more perfect. Matt had purchased my ring about 5 months earlier. I couldn't believe he could wait so long!! But in hindsight I am glad he waited. I was studying for my comprehensive exams (i.e. extreamly stressed and crabby) and then he temporarily moved to New Mexico and decided to wait for our big trip. My ring is an antique from the 1920's and I absolutely love it!

I won't divulge any of the cheesy details of the actual proposal but will share a funny part of the evening. As soon as we left our park bench a stray dog came over and peed right on it. I hope that isn't symbolic of anything to come...

Cool Find of the Week

The week before New Year's is my favorite time of the year. No, not because I am still chowing down on Christmas goodies but because everywhere you turn there is a Year's Best of something and everything countdown. I am a girl who loves to reminisce...

I was so busy this year I missed out on watching, reading, and even writing my own Best of 2008 list. But recently I did come across this slideshow of the Best 2008 Wedding Images from the Best Wedding Photographers from Junebug Weddings.

Here are two of my favorites:I obviously love these because of the whimsical vibe of the wedding couples. And of course I love the short, sassy dress from the top.

I know the bottom image is also featured on the cover of the recently released Southern Weddings Magazine (how could you not of seen this one if you read wedding blogs), but where have I seen the top image before? I know it is familiar. If anyone knows, tell me because I would love to see more from this wedding.

Up or Down?

I am trying to finalize where, when and how I will get ready for the Wedding Ceremony and Fiesta Reception 2 days later. I don't have many skills when it comes to hair and make-up so planing a splurge and seeking out the professionals. I think I have the where and when in order but am asking for some advice on the how.

Hair up or down? I created this inspiration board using Bridal Canvas (like my favorite Polyvore - only just wedding related photos).

I am trying to grow out my hair and right now it is just below my shoulders. When I cut it this summer I thought I would have plenty of time to grow it out long but now am a little worried. I also currently have bangs but am making the commitment not to trim them in case I need/want longer bangs for the wedding do.

I have previously talked about some sort of flower or feather hair accessory, this is still in the works but should I incorporate it with a loose and natural looking up-do? or long flowy loose locks with just the sides pulled up? I think this kind of accessory would work with either hair style but knowing how I want the hair will help me decide on how large or small of an accessory to get.
Any suggestions?

Name Change

So I decided to change the name of this blog. It is still M and M Wedding but the URL has changed to get rid of our last names. Dumb choice to have our last names so blatantly plastered on the web anyway. I hope this doesn't mean that the few (but loyal) followers I have can still find it.

To make up for any confusion- how about some eye candy in the form of an inspiration board I created for our Wedding Fiesta.

The board does not quite have the feel of what we have planned but the ring is almost a dead ringer (hee, hee) of mine, the STDs are what I tried to recreate, and the banners on the cake are similar to the papel picado banners I have been making for the decor.

Shower Fun

While home for Christmas my sister-in-law and mom's friends hosted a bridal shower for me. I am so thankful for the wonderful party and must share some of the great memories. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive to have a shower. I remember when we gave my sister-in-law a shower several years ago "hazing" was sort of the point. Also, showers tend to get um.. inappropriate at times. Also I hate the whole part when the guest of honor opens presents in front of a room full of people starting at them. Weird, right?

But this was a Midwestern bridal shower with most of the quests my mother's friends. Therefore it was miles away from the "shower" my friends back in AZ keep threatening, I mean offering, to host.

The party was at a small local winery (yes there are winery's open in Nebraska in the dead of winter - I was surprised too). The room was beautiful and we decorated with our engagement photos and plenty of other decor in our colors. This particular vineyard was not yet making thier own wine (take at least 5 years for vines to mature) but we did sample a few bottles of other local NE wines.

My sister-in-law did an amazing job creating a really cool Bride Bingo game. She made up these cute cards for each guest (and some for me to scrapbook :)). Notice the background? It is one of our engagement photos with Matt down on one knee. The game included questions that she had sent Matt to answer. They included the typical shower questions to see how well (or not well) we know each other. Since many of the guests have never met Matt it was a good way for them to find out more about us as a couple. The guests had multiple choice answers - but I had to answer blind. For every question I got right I could put a little star on Matt's photo. The star was supposed to represent "his starry eyes"...

I did okay on answering the questions. But was no ace. Anticipating this game, I tried to brush up on my M&M history. Where we met - check. First date - check. Date of engagement - check. What would Matt say was the food I can't live without? Chilli rellenos - wrong, I said cheese. Matt's favorite junk food? French Fries - wrong, I said chocolate covered peanuts. What would Matt say was my favorite movie? Jungle Book - wrong, I have never even seen Jungle Book so not sure where that came from.

I really needed to get back on track. It was sort of embarrassing. Then came a series of other questions. What was your most embarrassing moment in front of Matt? I definitely know this one. It was a few years ago when I bought him the Neil Diamond CD instead of the Neal Young CD for Christmas. I don't know who either performer is but Matt was sure to let me know that Neil Young is no Neil Diamond. In the end I think I only got about half of them right. But Matt also got a few wrong in his answers as well. Doesn't really matter. I always say we know each other better than we do ourselves.

The rest of the shower was filled with eating (it was around the holidays after all), chatting, and of course the present opening. I don't want to sound unappreciative of the gifts. It is really nice to receive gifts and appreciate the time, effort, and expense people go to. But why do they have to be opened in front of people. It just seems to put the focus on material gifts received rather than the people. I propose that we as society change this tradition and do something to embarrass the guests by asking their spouses questions about how well they know each other instead. Now that would be a fun party.
I owe a big thanks to all of the hard work my sister-in-law did with the game and hosting. Also I am thankful for my Mom's good friends for making some great food. If you were able to make it - I really enjoyed seeing you there. If you were not able to come - you were missed.

More Cool Color Inspiration

I noticed that photos from the new Martha Stewart Weddings magazine were on-line today so I thought I would share some of the great ideas in this issue and how I would like to incorporate them. The major color palette presented in this issue is pink, yellow, and orange. Based on this inspiration board I made on Polyvore I am obviously a big fan of these colors:

Fuchsia and Orange Wedding by M and M Wedding

Our color palette takes it a step further by brightening up these shades and adding turquoise, lime, and purple.

Sweet Treats: I am in love with these marshmallows! I have always wanted to try to make homemade marshmallows (my favorite sweet treat). I am hoping they are not time consuming and we can make them for the dessert reception in NE.


Hair Clips: These hair clips are so cute I might just have to make some for everyday use! Wouldn't these be great for flower girls? Next time I am at the craft store I will have to check out the flower section. Perhaps there is some sort of turquoise flower I can make a hair clip with for my ensemble...




Placecards: These simple, yet colorful placecards almost make me want to have seating at our reception. I love paper crafts of all sorts and a board with the seating assignments is the one thing I am not tackling. Hmm... we will see how much time there is to add another DIY project.



Ring Pillow: I love this idea for an easy to sew ring pillow. It gave me an idea to make either a ring pillow or a handkerchief out of an old shirt for my "something old". Stay tuned to see what I made...




Colorful Candles: I am not a big fan of candles- especially the smelly kind. But I absolutely love this table scape. The candles really do look like they are floating. Perhaps I could do this for a party someday...