Okay I just had to share this!

I saw this cake topped by an etsy seller (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38560213) and I FELL IN LOVE with them. And since I decided to include birds as a theme in our wedding. Well, the price for these lovebirds is a little out of budget...so I implored my dear grandmother, who is creative to the T, to try to make them for me...and she did! They are so precious, I love them. And they mean so much to me because they were specially and lovingly made by my dear grandma. And I know that they are unique, and there is none like them.

My fiance and I are envisioning a more "party" style reception, than a formal affair (mostly because of finances, but partly because we're both laid-back casual, fun-loving people). So we've been entertaining the idea of a cake & dessert reception rather than a full on meal.
Ceremony around 1, reception around 2. Cake, dessert and dancing for about 3-4 hours (until people get hungry for dinner and leave lol!!). And maybe a separate restaurant reception for the wedding party (though that is up in the air, have to figure out pricing and all that)...
This is our inspiration:

Or something similar.
Today I went thrift store shopping (budget/DIY bride's best friend!) and found the start to some amazing items for our dessert buffet:

It's only 3 items...but you want to know what I paid for it? $2.00 for all three items. The two smaller ones were .50 cents each and the other was 50% off making it a whole whopping dollar! hehe.
I honestly, no joke, walked into the store telling myself I would only buy something if it was 50% off... yeah, my thrift stores have clearance.. :):):)

I also got the start to my lace tablecloth vision:


I bought two lace tableclothes, and two lace doilies. All four items? $5.50.
(three were also 50%).

Yeah... I'm soo excited right now :)
I also got a ton of fabric pieces to start making my adorable little birds!

so excited... <3

Oh, so I realized two posts into my fantabulous blog, and I haven't introduced myself!
Here is my fiance, Daniel, and me:



We got engaged in September of 2009, and planning a May wedding! It's been such a fun process thus far, though it's proved very stressful and I've been tempted to simply elope several times (crazy thing is, my parents are okay with it!!), but it means the world to me to have our family and close friends with us on such a dear and special occasion.

So, about me. I am on and off as far as college goes, whatever I can afford for now. I've completely three semester, and have two more until I graduate with my associates (one semester was part time).
I moved to NY to be a full-time live-in nanny and that's where I met my sweetie!
My sweetie has a bachelors of applied math and statistics (ech!), and is working towards his masters in Math Education. He's almost done! He also just passed his certification test, so now he's applying for his teachers license, yay!!

What I wrote on my wedding website: (They Story of how we met!)

Daniel and Carissa met January 19, 2009. It was a cold winter night, at Applebees in Commack, NY.
Carissa had recently moved to New York to be a live-in nanny, and after visiting a local church was invited to the outreach volleyball group, and then invited afterwards to go to applebees with the volleyball group. Daniel met up with his friends that night after he finished work, and he says it was love at first sight.
Carissa, on the other hand, hardly gave him a second glance.
The next two months consisted of Daniel very subtly pursuing Carissa through facebook messages, texts and talking with her at volleyball and bible study. They also had a couple "movie nights" at her place.
Carissa had a few suspicions of Daniel liking her when they went to go see the band Mae in concert at the Crazy Donkey on February 15.
On March 9, Carissa had a bad day; a friend of hers was scheduled to fly in the next day and spend the week with her, and backed out last minuted. Daniel took off of work that night, went to her house with two half gallons of her favorite ice cream, and a chick flick (Maid of Honor!) to cheer her up. It was the day Carissa realized she returned his feelings.
They had their first date the next day in New York City, which consisted of walking through Manhattan, going to the Met Museum, dinner at Serendipity 3 and The Little Mermaid on Broadway Show.
March 13, 2009 - Daniel asked Carissa to be his girlfriend.


Now time for the proposal!!

After six months of dating, Carissa thought it would be special to get some pictures taken together. She and Daniel had a very good friend who is a student photographer, and asked if she'd be willing to do a photo shoot for them on their six month anniversary.
After finding that their place of choice was closed, they wound up at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. The photo shoot was fun for all three of them, and Carissa went about it unknowingly, thinking these pictures were merely something fun as a milestone in their relationship.
About an hour and a half into the shoot, Daniel told Carissa to look at Brittany for a picture, and he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked Carissa to marry him. Carissa nearly cried with exhilaration and was completely surprised!
It couldn't have been more special, not only for Carissa to be so genuinely surprised, but also that such a special moment was capture in photographs.





So that is our story :)