I don't want to brag, but...

okay, I want to brag about my craftiness from our wedding! :) I had so much fun doing my projects. It all started with wanting a theme...since I wanted to get married at a winery (a Missouri Winery was enough, but still too far away), I decided to do a wine theme. It wasn't over the top, but I think it was obvious.

For the invites (right), I didn't include anything wine-y, but did use the colors merlot, olive green, gray and blue. It worked.

For the guestbook (below) I wanted something different. I found photobooks that you could make on shutterfly. So I think I saw someone make a guestbook out of one of those somewhere online. I thought it was a great idea, so I made one of photos from our first date to our engagemnt photos. And the very end were pages for guests to sign.




I made the programs for the ceremony too. :) The outside was our initials, M and B, just like on the invite. Behind it was an F. It signifies that we are going into the church as just Mike and Beth, but are leaving as the Frahlman's. :) The fold was kinda neat too. A woman I used to work with gave me this idea because she used it at her wedding as well. It was nice and small so it would fit in a purse.




Place cards were wine corks I bought on Ebay (yes you can buy anything on Ebay and you wouldn't believe the demand for wine corks!). I cut a slit down one side and place a bead of hot glue on the other so it wouldn't roll over. Although some still did, I didn't have enough budget for a quality control person to come in and look at them.

For party favors, I had a really hard time. I wanted to keep with the wine theme, but couldn't afford 100 personalized wine and wine bottles from a local store. So I figured the next best thing was candy! I bought some little boxes from Michael's and put some hugs and kisses in it, glued a ribbon around it and an F monogram on it and ta da...little boxes of candy!


Table decorations were made out of empty wine bottles. One bottle had a label on it that said the table number and the other two were for decoration. Afraid people would think they were full bottles of wine and wreck the centerpiece (people can be such animals! ;) ) I put some greenery around it to keep it off limits.

Thanks for looking!

Engagement Photos

Yeah, so we got engaged a while ago, but its never to late to get engagement photos done! I had hired our photographer and included in the package was an engagement photo session so we met her at Tower Grove Park and she just started snapping pictures. I felt so America's Next Top Model!This last picture we took kind of as a tribute to Mike. He is always wearing his sunglasses, yes even indoors with no lights on sometimes. Probably not the picture we'd use for the newspaper announcement, but its fun to have. He was tickling me by the way, that's why I have the double chin face going on! :)

Some Cards Made By Me!

I thought I'd share some cards that I made recently. Okay, fine...at least in the last few months...

Above are wedding cards I made for Kim and Ty and Tracee and Justin. They were the couples that had their weddings on the same day in May. They are now married and they probably got my card with their lovely gift cards in them (even with a registry I still can't decide on a gift!).

The one for Kim and Ty on the left (duh!) was drawn in Paint Shop Pro and said something like "It was written in the stars..." or something. I had known from the first day I met Ty and saw him and Kim together, that they would end up together. That's why I had to make that card for them...they are my Luke and Loralei!

For Tracee and Justin, I used different patterns of paper and made a wedding cake. I didn't want to do a couple cake topper, because my cutting skills are not that great, so I made a flower topper. They actually were having cupcakes as their wedding cake, so i thought about putting a cupcake on the card, but I liked this better.



On the right are my Mother's Day cards I made for my mom, Mike's mom, and Mike's two grandma's. I think they turned out pretty cute...I like simple and I like flowers. Perfect for Mother's Day! This was my first time using scrap booking brads, which is what is on the corners of the cars in the upper left and lower right. I am used to using eyelets, which is used on the upper right card for the flower center. Eyelets are very loud...they don't look like it, but to set one I use a hammer and create the hole in the card (with multiple pieces of paper its tough!) and then put the eyelet in and again use the hammer to flatten the back of it so it stays in place...I love the outcome but hate the process because I know it bugs mike and the dog runs away from the room. Oops!

Gotta have a theme!

I haven't been doing too much wedding planning because besides booking the ceremony and reception sites, there isn't much to do a year in advance. I have been talking with photographers, but that's about it. I am, however, doing lots of research on decorations and invitations. If you didn't know, I like being crafting and making things.

I think I like the idea of a wine theme wedding. I like the idea of a theme...otherwise all my decor will be quite random. Anywa, we are not having our reception at a winery or vineyard, but the place does have Venetian decor...and Venetian is from Venice, Venice is in Italy, and Italy has a lot of wine! Ha ha! I've been thinking about centerpieces lately, so I've been saving wine bottles just in case. (Guess we won't be drinking boxed wine for a while!) I could use the regular hurricane lamp with a candle the place provides, but it doesn't hurt to think of an alternative.

Here is an idea I came across for wine bottle centerpieces...I'd have to find a way to cut the bottle, but research has already began on that. Or I could just put flowers in a non-cut bottle...but I'd be afraid it would be too tall.

These are sold on a website, but if I wanted at least 10 of them, I don't want to pay $38 a piece and I think they will be fun to make anyway.

A few other ideas I have are to use wine bottles and put Christmas lights in them. I've seen this done a few times. I'd have to get battery operated Christmas lights though.

I still have a lot of time left. I will probably wait till the last minute anyway. Can I be a DIY bride...we'll see won't we...

Our Shimmy becomes a Denney

Kim and Ty's big day is finally here! Lets start it off by meeting at 7:30 and getting prettied up! Yay!

We went to the salon and Kim and the seven bridesmaids got hair and makeup done. It was a nice morning...we had plenty of munchies and lots of girl talk. Kim was super calm and looked beautiful with her hair up and make up on. She looked like a princess chillin out in her sweatshirt.

Once hair and makeup was done we went back to the hotel, but couldn't do too much. I had a lot of hairspray in, but not enough to go hang out on the beach! So I hung out in the hotel room chattin with Mike and it was finally time to put my dress on. I really liked it so was quite excited to wear it...Thank you Kim for not getting us BoPeep dresses like the one Rachel wore on Friends!

We got to the church and before long it was time for me to lead us all down the aisle. It was so great getting to stand up there with Kim and her friends. It was such a nice ceremony because Ty's grandpa performed it and he was able to add such personal touches. I was doing great and not even tearing up until Ty's grandpa started talking about how great the two are and how he's so happy Ty met Kim and how wonderful she was. I kept thinking, I think that too. They are both so great...so Luke and Lorelai. :)

After the ceremony, a few pics were taken and then it was time to board the trolley...only problem...its raining. So, Mr. Trolley guy has his umbrella so we were able to stay dry. We had enough hairspray to withstand a hurricane, but better safe than sorry.

On the trolley, we had to just wait and see what happened with the rain and enjoyed the ride...the Denny boys opened a few bottles of champagne and we drank to the newlyweds!

The rain luckily stopped and we were able to take pictures on the beach. It was gorgeous out, but pretty bright. I don't have any pictures from that, but will get them from Kim someday.

We got to the reception and had dinner, drinks...normal stuff...then the fun began...the dancing!!! I love to dance, by the way!


Kim and Ty started out with their first dance. They had everyone blow bubbles during the dance instead of after the ceremony and it was so magical!





After their sappy moment...the rest of us hit the dance floor. We stopped a few times to pose for pictures. Here are the Boeing geeks at the party...Nate, Kim, me, and Jenn.

I really enjoyed meeting Kim's friends...they are so much fun...here is a picture of me with Lara and Laura. I couldn't believe I was nervous I wouldn't have as much fun as I did because I wouldn't know anyone else in the bridal party! All the Illinois girls knew how to have fun!


Nate was all about dancing, so he and Kim showed us all how it was done!

Then of course was the normal bouquet and garter toss...guess who caught the garter?

The engaged guy! Not fair! Of course when I saw it was a San Diego Chargers garter, I lost it! I'm not a big fan because I'm not a Marty Shottenheimer fan after he left the KC Chiefs! Then after a while of whining about it, I remembered they fired him. Okay, so maybe I don't have to burn that thing!

After doing the electric slide, boot scoot, and bringing sexy back, we finally went to bed. It was such a long day and I knew we had to get up early the next day and drive home. All 12 hours of it! It was worth it though. Mike and I had a fantastic time marrying off our very own Kimmy Shimmy...who is now Kimmy Denny! Thanks for the great weekend! Hope our wedding is just as fun!

Day Before the Wedding

Friday morning I did not get up at 9:30 with everyone else to get nails done...thank goodness. We slept in because after the night before, I could not get out of bed!

Instead of a manicure I had to make a CVS run to get IB Profin...yeah, you can guess what that was for... allergy medicine and some other stuff we forgot. Can't go on vacation without leaving something at home!

I then met all the ladies for a luncheon at a cute restaurant in Fort Walton. Everyone was in a good mood, but you could tell who went out the night before by who got the champagne martinis and who got water or sweet tea!

It was a nice lunch...filled with fresh seafood meals. One meal was a bit too fresh from the sea...a whole fried soft shell crab on a sandwich. Hmm, when I usually eat a type of animal, I don't want to see it in its true form. I prefer to think its not from a animal that has been animated by Disney or something. So that was sent back and something less telling of what it was was ordered. I would've done the same thing!

Left: Lara, Kristen and I hanging at the beach before the rehearsal. Below: I am making Mike pose even though he'd rather be swimming in the water!

We were only able to hang out at the beach for less than an hour before we had to be to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Things went smooth , but I had learned that it is supposedly bad luck for the bride to rehearse at the rehearsal so we had to have a stand in. Good job Ellie!

Dinner was great at an Italian restaurant in town. I got the steak, but I wish I would've just ordered just the dessert plate. Yum! Dinner was filled with speeches and a few happy tears. Every speech began with, "We though Ty was crazy for moving all the way out to California to work at a base when we have Eglin Air Force Base, right here in town..." But they all ended with, "But we knew why he did it when we all met Kim." All together now...Ahhh!

After dinner we went to a bar called Helen Back (say it out loud to yourself and you will understand the name is not just a person's unfortunate name) with Lara (as in Lara Croft), Laura (as in normal Laura ;) ) and their beau's. We met up with the other Boeing people (Nate & Heather and Jenn & Mike) and had a few drinks.

While at the bar, we found a new game. Someone decided to attach a metal ring to a string on the ceiling and a hook on the wall. The point of the game was to swing the ring and get it on the hook. I'd fit in great down there because I'm easily entertained by stuff like that.

Off to bed...tomorrow is the big day!
(Didn't take too many pictures that day because I had to save battery for the big day!)

Off to Florida!

I know it has again been a while since I have posted. Last week was crazy because we were getting ready to head to Florida for Kim and Ty's wedding and there was so much to do! We met my parents in Columbia so they could take Rou home and watch him while we were gone. He really likes Grandma and Grandpa in KC because they have the big back yard he gets to run in until he can't stand up anymore. We got home late that night and had to pack up still and get to bed early so we could leave no later than 8am...so we left Wednesday morning at 8:15.

We arrived in Florida at our hotel at noon on Thursday...stopped overnight near Montgomery. Not too bad of a drive but everyone thought we were crazy...oh well.

It was sooo beautiful down there! We stayed on Fort Walton Beach which is in between Destin and Pensacola. Our hotel was right on the beach! We ate next to our hotel in an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the ocean...I fell in love with it out there! Not a big fan of going in the ocean, but I sure do like to look at it!

Once we got all settled and had some beach time, we went to Ty's family's house in Niceville...geez who could live up to the name Niceville? Well, it really is an appropriate name after meeting Ty's family... ahhhhh! We all hung out and ate burgers and met each other. I was the bridesmaid who knew no one but Kim and Ty, but clicked pretty well with everyone else. They are all so nice...maybe it was just because of the town we were in...hmmmm?

After we ate it was off to embarrass...oh wait, I mean celebrate Kim and her marriage. We took her on her bachelorette party! Now, of course what happens in Florida stays in Florida, or something like that...but we really didn't get too crazy! We got her shots and had guys buy her drinks, but that was about it. We did run into a bachelor party that was going to bar to bar on a pontoon boat...drunk guys driving around a pontoon boat at night...hmmm?

During the evening, Kim had to perform dares on these little cards Lara bought. They were a hoot! They ranged from have a guy buy you a drink to go break dance...we improvised on some of them, but Kim was a good sport about it. She humored us in her sash and veil!

About 2am we rolled back to the hotel and I went to my room to find that I was alone...Mike and the other guys went out for a last minute bachelor party and still weren't home...hmmm? I was hoping they didn't get a pontoon boat like that other bachelor party did! Oh well, I was too sleepy to care at that time...sent him a text and went to bed! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

We Have a Date!

We finally booked our reception hall so Mike and I officially have a wedding date!

Of course I had to have a picture to go along with it! It took me so long to decide on a date because I couldn't find a reception hall I liked that was also close to our Church. I didn't want a regular banquet hall, I wanted something unique. But you normally have to go downtown to find that. But we did find Spazio in Westport and really liked the Garden Room. It's a banquet hall, but is decorated in Venetian decor and is really cute and only about a 15 minute drive from our house and Church. I really liked it when we first saw it a few months ago, but we had to see what else was out there. There is a lot of places, but nothing that I really loved besides this place! Now all I have to do is book the photographer, DJ, limo service, get the invitations, make party favors....oh wow, I think I need a nap!

So Many Weddings...

in one day!

My friend Kim (lives in California) is getting married May 12th in Florida. She graciously asked me to be a bridesmaid and I said yes! I'm very excited about it! Get to wear a cute bridesmaid dress, go to the bachelorette party in Florida, good times!

My friend Tracee (been great friends since second grade even though I moved away from Phoenix in sixth grade) got engaged last year. It was so exciting to hear the news! But then she told me that she had also claimed May 12th as her wedding day. I asked her to change it, but I guess I'm important, but not that important. :)

Anyway, so then I tried to reason that it will be daylight savings so there is two hour time difference between the cities and the flight is probably 2.5 hours... so I could try to make it both... but... oh never mind... it would never work, so I will have to miss Tracee's wedding.

So I decided that since I can't go to Tracee's wedding, I will for sure be at her wedding shower. What day is Tracee's shower in Phoenix? April 21st...and then what day is Kim's shower? April 21st! ARG! I think these two know each other and are playing an evil trick on me. Anyway, I will still go to Tracee's shower and am very excited. I finally bought my plane tickets after a few weeks of deciding wheather to use airline miles or just spring for the flight. I finally decided to go on Southwest, so everything is set!

Well, I guess when you have your wedding on May 12th, your shower must be on April 21st and your shower invitations must get to the guests on April 3rd exactly. That's right...they did it again! I got the shower invitations on the exact same day! How are they doing this? Oh well...I guess I'll throw them off by RSVPing on two different days. Take that!

I really am so happy to have Tracee and Kim as close friends and am really excited for thier upcoming marriages. I don't usually have best friends having all their parties and weddings on the same day, so I hope they understand why I have to keep making these hard decisions about who's party/wedding to go to. I better at least get to see pictures, Tracee!

Artsy Wedding?

Yesterday I went to the Foundry Art Center in downtown St. Charles. Its a local art museum/studio that holds wedding receptions on the weekends. I had heard wonderful things about it and wanted to check it out. It is so unique which is what I want. They also book up really fast. I talked to them early last week and they still had 2 weekends in April open, but on Saturday both of those weekends were on hold. Told you it is popular! We will make a decision on that soon I hope. Just need to figure out if its the best fit and make Mike check it out too.


I also enjoyed going to the art center just to look at the art, too. I pretend I'm an amateur artist because I take pictures and draw and stuff. I know my silly PowerPoint drawings won't quite make it in to art museums, but its still fun to and say I'm an artist. I actually thought about submitting a few photos to an art contest at the St. Peters Community Art Center on Mid Rivers. They had a contest for photos with a travel theme. I took a ton of photos in Italy and Australia last year, since it was the first time to either place. I really liked some of the ones I took in Italy and photoshopped them a bit. I thought they looked cool because I upped the contrast a lot and played with the color. They looked neat to me and I was really going to submit them, but chickened out at the last minute. A silly voice in my head kept saying...What if they don't fit the theme, what if people laugh at them because they are too photoshoppy...The voice won and I procrastinated too long to do anything. Oh well, maybe next time. I decided to post them on my blog and maybe that will help me get my confidence up.

I Love Shopping!

This weekend was a continuation of my birthday, because Mom and Dad drove out from Overland Park. We had a great time (and not just because I got more presents and a dinner).

Saturday was snowy and cold, but we still made it out wedding dress shopping! Jenna and Amy joined my mom and me and went to An Elegant Event bridal shop in Chesterfield. It was such a cute store. They had some really nice designer gowns. I am really liking Maggie Sottero dresses.

This would be a great place for me to put some pictures of myself in the gowns acting all pretty and princess-y. That is not going to happen because Mike is not allowed to know what my gown will look like. I think it is such a neat traditions to not let the groom see the bride in her gown until she takes her first steps down the aisle. So I won't post dress pictures until after the wedding. In the mean time, here is a picture I drew on power point to commemorate the wedding gown trying on event.