Been a loooooong time

Sorry I have been slacking majorly in updating the blog!! I am sure you are dying to hear what I have been doing in the last month. Well, school, event coordinating, and job searching have consumed my every waking moment, and I have actually not gotten as much time to do wedding stuff. However, this last weekend, my parents came to Michigan, and along with Brent's parents the six of us accomplished A TON!!!! Here is a BRIEF recap of what we got done:

We met with the Florist and put together the whole flower scheme for the ceremony and reception

We had our Taste Testing and decided on the following foods:

o Plated dinner

o Rolls

o Salad: Blueberry Vinaigrette

o Entrees: Medium London Broil, Picatta Chicken, Vegetarian Wellington

o Sides: Risotto, Grilled Vegetables

o Drinks: Coffee Station, Pop, Wine, Beer

We ordered our Guest Favors – this is a surprise!!

Discussed Transportation ideas, Tuxes, Little kids attire, Bridesmaid accessories, Music options

Chose our Master and Mistress of Ceremonies

Decided on how we are going to do invitations

Started laying out an itinerary for the day of. Here is a sneak peak…

o 5:00pm - Ceremony

o 5:45pm - Receiving Line

o 6:15pm - Send-off

o 6:45pm - Hoers 'devours

o 8:00 - Dinner

o 9:30 - Dancing

It was such a crazy day, but soooooooooooooooo good! Brent and I are blessed to have such amazing and supportive families. More to come in the next few weeks.... :)

My Style

It's crazy that in 4.5 months from now I will hopefully (if I get a job and have enough money to own my own place) get to decorate my own space. I am excited to pick out patterns, colors, and furniture that fits my style. But what is my style? Well, According to Imagini Style Finder I am {Funky Modern}. Here is the description:

Your modern and lively sense of style is perfect for today's easy living, and just about suits any budget. Chances are that some of your favourite things were picked up at a car boot sale, in a market while on holiday, or handed down through the family. At the same time, you might have saved (or be saving) for the perfect Eames chair or Mies sofa, a classic that never goes out of style and something you will take with you from one home to the next.

Living Room You have a comfortably contemporary living room. The danger with the 'modern look' is that it too easily falls into the realm of the bland and insipid; 'easy' gets confused with 'careless' and the result is just downright dull! Perhaps of all the rooms in our homes, the living room can be the one that most expresses your sense of style and your interests. Think, too, about how and when you will most use the room. For example, do you want it light and airy or warm and cosy? Try introducing one or two unexpected elements when choosing your accessories: one of the positives of the modern look is that it is very accommodating. Bold splashes of colour indicate a confident sense of style, while glamorous prints and patterns are fun and stylish. With a living room like yours, it's no wonder family and friends love popping round to see you.

Bedroom Your bedroom benefits from a lovely feminine touch. Sleep is fundamentally important to our well being. In busy towns and cities, noise can often hamper a good night's sleep. Soft furnishings really do absorb sound, and touch is such an important sense in the bedroom, from crisp, linen sheets to wool or even sheepskin underfoot. You like to surround yourself with pretty frills and flounces in your bedroom, using light, bright colours to create a refreshing retreat that's easy on the eye.

Dining Room You're an interiors globe-trotter, the inveterate internationalist. At home, your dining space mixes inspiration from different cultures and countries, perhaps reflecting your origins or a favourite holiday destination. It's a common misconception that the 'ethnic' or global look is synonymous with decorating on a budget. You know better, however, and can point to the influence of primitivism on the masters of modernism as proof of its sophistication. When it comes to entertaining, you like to aim for maximum impact with minimum hassle.

Home Office You like things floral and feminine, even in the home office. Hot desking is all very well at work, but having a designated 'office' space at home really does make sense, even if it's in a corner of your bedroom. Pretty finishing touches can transform even the most utilitarian desks: a potted plant, a vase of flowers or family photographs can make all the difference.

Conclusion Fresh, fun and easy to live with, your home is perfect for how you live your life.

A great website to find fun {Funky Modern} decorating ideas is Dominomag.com. The sad news is that with the recent economic crisis domino is no longer able to continue. I do not know when their webpage will be removed from the internet, but here are some of my favorite images:



Also, if you have the time check out this SUPER CUTE blog about DIY decorating: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

Wedding Filled Weekend!

I had quite a Wedding Filled Weekend!! On Saturday morning, Mrs. Boersma's friends threw me my first shower. It was so nice of her friends and they treated me like a princess. Mary Jo Dekker hosted the party, and served yummy treats. We started off with a fruit cup with 7-up, and juices (sooo good), and then ate quiche and tons of pastries. She made a lemon bread thing, like 5 types of cinnamon rolls, sugar bread, and so on. It was a nice treat! Then we played a game, and decorated an apron for Brent, aka a "mapron" (man-apron). Then I opened up all my gifts. It was so much fun, and I feel like I recieved enough to start living on my own! ha ha! We got a jello mold, a baking pan & cover, a crock pot, a hand mixer, a pie divider, a chopper, a level, a fancy silver bowl, measuring cups, a coffee maker, fancy glasses with a "B" on them, a fruit bowl with a banana hook, collapsible funnel, collander and mixing bowls, and pyrex mixing bowls with lids. They also gave me an address book, so I can bring it to all my showers to collect addresses! What a great idea!

Then on Sunday, I went to David's Bridal with Brittnee and Christine to get sized for my bridesmaid dress for Brittnee's wedding. :) And today, Brent and I updated our registry and actually went to Bed Bath & Beyond to open another registry. Now we are registered at two locations: Teerman's & BB&B. They were soooo nice, and took us step by step through the process. Also, as part of the deal we get a free wedding website which is super cool. Brent and I spent a couple hours over there, and our best find was placesetting options. We want dinnerwear this is middle-line, pretty but can be used on a daily basis. So we thought we would go with Colorwave Dinnerwear in three different colors: (4 sets of each) Green, Blue & Red.

And although we were not planning on registering for fine china we found really pretty Kate Spade china:

We found that Bed Bath & Beyond has EVERYTHING, so we are really excited that we chose to register there. We are now trying to figure out our last place to register... Any suggestions send them our way!!

Business Attire

Brent and I are getting married in exactly 140 days. It is my hope that both of us will have jobs in the next 139 days. :) But to get a job, means having an interview first...and after looking through my closet, I have no idea what I am going to wear to interviews! ha ha! So, I have surfing the internet to find cute business attire. Here are some of my finds from spiegel.com:

Dresses

Pencil Skirt/Jacket Outfit

Wraps

Mix-n-Match

I'm An AUNT!!!! For the fourth time...

Just wanted to share the news - My sister had her baby today!! It is a girl named Eliana Joy. She weighed in at 7lbs 15oz, and 18 3/4 in long! I can't wait to meet her!!!

Simply Cute Dresses for Under $100

If you have never been to Etsy before, you are simply missing out. All handmade items, and you can find almost anything - especially wedding stuff. Tonight I spent about an hour just looking at cute dresses, and I found some fun ones! Check out my finds:

I also found some absolutely adorable dresses at some other fashion hot spots (click on the picture to be taken to the source)

Summer of Brides and Bridesmaids!

Guess what?!? Not only will I be a Bride this summer, but I will also be a Bridesmaid! :) One of my best friends, Brittnee Longwell, is getting married to another good friend of mine, Taylor Blom, on May 23rd, 2009. She asked 7 other girls to be her bridesmaids last April, but her and I have worked together at Volunteer Services for the past year and half, and have grown a strong friendship, and she wants me to have me be a part of the wedding. I feel so blessed and am super excited! So...this Sunday (day after my wedding shower) Brittnee and I will be heading to David's Bridal in Grand Rapids to get sized for my dress.


Brittnee's and Taylor's favorite colors are Blue and Orange (GO HOPE!) so the bridesmaid's will be wearing "pool blue" and holding orange gerber daisies, and the guys will be wearing pool blue vests. Check it out at David's Bridal.

Overall, I am super excited! For the last couple months, I have been meaning to ask Brittnee to play a special role in my wedding, and I can't wait to ask her. :)

Do it Yourself Wedding Invitations

Since buying a new computer I have gotten the opportunity to use Microsoft 2007, and have discovered that they have some AWESOME clip art! I stayed up until 4am last night doodling, and messing around with clip art and paint shop...and I thought of some super cute invitation ideas!! :) Check out two of my designs...

Invitation Option 1:

Invitation Option 2:

So, maybe I will be able to print my own invites!! How fun would that be??? Let me know what you think of the designs.

Our First Registry

On February 7th, Melissa (future sister-in-law) will be in Holland, so Mrs. B's friends are going to throw me a bridal shower!! And since everyone in Holland loves Teerman's Brent and I spent yesterday afternoon registering. We registered for a toaster oven, an electric hand mixer, electric knife, crock pot, salt and pepper basket thing, Spice rack, cheese cutting set, cake and pie divider, collapsible colander, mixing bowl and funnel, covered cake pan, fruit bowl, rotary grater, fruit/veggie chopper, storage set, jello ring mold, bathroom mirror, and a photo frame hook rack. We thought we did pretty well for our first time! And it was a lot of fun picking out things for our future home...wherever that may be! :)

Talking about future homes, Brent and I have also been diving into the whole job search thing. I finished my resume and had it checked out at Hope's Career Services last week, and Brent is bringing his over there tomorrow. Tonight we talked about what kind of jobs we are looking for and here is what we came up with...
Caitlin is interested in any of the following:

• Women's Ministry or Networking (a job that coordinates activities, puts together growth groups, plans opportunities of growth) This could be in a church, or in an organization that promotes empowering women :)
  
• Some sort of Event Coordinating...similar to what my dad does. Ha ha! I would rather not work 60 hour weeks every week. Maybe 20 hours one week, 60 hours another week. And I don't want an event coordinating job where I would have to work nights and weekends on a weekly basis.
  
• Working with Non-profits or a Volunteer Coordinator of a company
• However, I am open to trying anything...particularly if it falls under Religion or Communication
• Someday, I would like to go back to school though
  

Brent is interested in the following:

• A job that he could be challenged (to an extent) and learn more about his strengths
• Community Relations
• He is willing to try ANYTHING. College has mostly consisted of classes, coffee shops, basketball games, and volunteering at church, so he is looking for any kind of job where he could try new things and find what he is passionate about

So, if any of you know someone who could help us find a job that would be awesome! :) It's crazy thinking that Brent and I will be married in FIVE MONTHS!! Hopefully we will have something lined up by then...

First Dance

So, who is all about fun first dances? Do you think I could get Brent to do one of these dances??

A Closer Look at the Theme

So, a couple entries ago I posted some links to pictures of the new theme I am going for. And I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at these.

A long time ago, I wrote about how I want to use curly willow on the pews at Dimnent Chapel. I envisioned walking through a forest, but I had a hard time explaining to my mom what this would look like. And finally, after much searching my mom found the perfect picture of what look I am going for. Here it is...


This picture is great, because Dimnent also has the white and black tile aisle, and it has stained glass at the front of the church. Dimnent is a little darker though - darker woods, and the stained glass is all different colors, so I am still unsure if I want white curly willow, or natural wood curly willow. It's pretty though, isn't it!?!?

Then at the reception my mom and I were hoping to make mini tree centerpieces, kind of like these:


Here are the materials we would need:

• Vase (clear, or white, whatever is cheaper)- Dollar Store or a craft store for $1-$3 a piece ($20-60)
  
• River Rock (if the vase is clear) - Dollar Store $1/bag ($20)
  
• Branches - we could get these from the backyard! (FREE)
• White silk or paper flowers to stick on the branches - Michael's or Walmart, or another discount store ($20-40)
• Bird Ornaments - We found them at Target after Christmas ($15)
• Glue & Glitter - Michael's ($10)
• Time Spent with Friends and Family making the Centerpieces (PRICELESS...maybe we won't think this after we are done though)
  
• Total = $85-125 for 20 centerpieces. That is about $5/centerpiece

Has anyone heard of people doing this before? If so, feel free to send your suggestions my way! :)

The Perfect Music

I have discovered that every bride is different. Some brides think the most important part of the wedding is her dress. Others it is the table decorations. Others it is the theme. One of the most important aspects to me is the CELEBRATION - the music, dancing, family and friends. I just want everyone at the reception to have a ball. So, I have started to think about the music. Although, these are not "dance" songs, the following are cute songs that I have found that would be perfect for non-traditional music in the ceremony or first dance song at the reception. Check them out, and send any suggestions my way! :)

Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life



The Pogues - I'll love you till the end

Celine Dion - Because you Loved Me



Dave Matthews Band - Crush



Joshua Radin - Today



Eastmountainsouth - So Are You To Me



The Beach Boys - God Only Knows



Billy Joel - She's Got A Way



Ed Cash - Marry Me


- Ed Cash Lyrics

Hillsong - Deeply in Love with You



Weezer - Best Friend



Elton John - Your Song

David Gray - The One I Love



Over The Rhine - I Want You to be My Love



The Proclaimers - Let's Get Married



Curtis Chapman - I Will be Here



Twila Paris - Beautiful



Wow, that was a lot of songs...but they all are so great!! It will be hard to pick

Do It Yourself

Here are some super cute Do It Yourself ideas for the reception, or just in general!!!

Flower Fairy Lights - found on Vintage Glam Weddings

What you’ll need:

- Fairy lights (Christmas lights)
- Vellum paper in your wedding colors
- Scissors

Here’s my simplified version of the project:
Step 1: Cut 5 inch squares of vellum paper. Fold paper square in half diagonally to form a triangle.
Step 2: Fold the left and right corners up to meet at the center, forming a diamond shape. Fold in half to form a small triangle.
Step 3: Cut curves along the open edges to form a heart-shaped top and create the petal effect (see my photo below). You can also try cutting different shapes to create different flowers. I drew a heart on my triangle to illustrate how big the heart is. Don’t mind my drawing skills.


Step 4: Snip the tip of the bottom of the triangle - remember to cut small enough that it won’t fall off the lights but wide enough so you can pass through each fairy light.


Although it is unlikely that these tiny lights will catch on fire, you don’t want to worry about that on your wedding day! Use LED fairy lights instead of standard ones. AT Disclaimer:“While vellum paper is a lot less flammable than ordinary paper, don’t leave the lights on unattended.”

Felt Fortune Cookie Favor - found on Martha Stewart

Step 1. Using fabric shears, cut a 4 1/2-inch-diameter circle from a piece of felt. Cut a piece of matching ribbon slightly shorter than 4 1/2 inches. Using wire cutters, cut a piece of floral wire slightly shorter than the length of ribbon.

Step 2. Using craft glue, affix the wire to the middle of the felt circle. Glue ribbon on top, covering the wire. Let dry 30 minutes.
Step 3. Fold the felt circle in half, using the wire as a guide, so ribbon is inside cookie. Next, angle the sides toward each other, bending the wire at its halfway point and forming a fortune-cookie shape, as shown.
Step 4. Assemble the fortune cookies. Carefully peel back one flap of the felt cookie, and insert a paper fortune and a few candies. Fold the flap back over to close cookie around contents.

Beaded Wire Letter - found on Martha Stewart

What you need:
-16 gauge wire
-beads (use color beads to match your wedding colors!)
-ribbon

So...it's been awhile

So...I guess it has been awhile since I last wrote. The end of Christmas break went by rather quickly, and I spent much of it traveling. And since getting back to school life has been even crazier, and I have had zero time to blog...and no computer to blog on! ha ha! My laptop broke before Thanksgiving break, and I finally took it in to get looked at and they said it was a broken mother-board, which is pretty freakin-expensive. So, I had to work myself up to forking over the money for a new laptop. I tried doing the whole college thing without one, but could not do it anymore. EVERYTHING involves computers now! So, I finally went to Walmart and bought the cheapest computer I could find (I did not really plan buying a new computer into my wedding budget, so cheap was the way to go). But I was lucky, and they had a crazy awesome deal on this Compaq (owned by HP).
Well, mine is a little different then the one on the website - no webcam, etc - but for $398 it's great. Anyway, even though I may have not written in awhile, does not mean that I have not been keeping up on my wedding plans! :) Here is what Brent and I have been up to:

• My mom and I found all the bridesmaid dresses!! We went on a wild goose chase, but were able to get all of them (at varying prices). They were originally $180, but we got the price down to $133/girl
• We have asked my niece, Mary Jane, and nephew, Zeke...and Brent's niece, Julia, and nephew Levi, to all be in the wedding. We will be sending all four down the aisle. It will be so cute!
• 
  
• Brent and I finalized our Honeymoon Plans. We have an 8-person condo (ha ha - a little big, but that's ok) at the Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando FL, from Sunday June 28th to the following Sunday. Check it out!
• Mrs. Boersma's friends are throwing me a Wedding Shower and it will be held on February 7th, when Melissa, Brent's sister-in-law will be in town. It will be fun that she can be there!!! So, Brent and I are started making our registry list of things that we will need.
• The Guest Lists are being finalized as we speak. This is a difficult one!! It is hard to keep numbers under 200.
• I asked my cousin Sean to play a song (piano) and sing at the wedding, and he said yes! Sean is an awesome piano player and writes his own music. Check out this jingle he wrote for snickers... (I am thinking about having him sing "Marry Me" by Ed Cash, but that is still in the works)
  

• AND, a new theme is in the works! Although, I really like the Pink/Black/White damask look it is getting kind of pricey. We would have had to buy a table runner and cake plate for each table, and can not find very reasonable prices. So check out the new idea!

So, I still want to keep black and different shades of pink, but now I am going for more of an outdoorsy, love-bird look. My mom and I have found some REALLY cute ideas for table decs, favors, invites. Check out all these links... (I know it's a lot...I will break them down in future entries)

Invitations
DIY Impress Rubber Stamps
Vintage Perch
Swirls & Swallows
Two Birds
Love Birds
Sittin in a tree
DIY Martha Stewart
Whimsical Bird

Ceremony
Curly Willow Forest down the Aisle

Reception
Bird Place Cards
Wall Dec for entry way
Bird Cage Letter Holder
Balloon Ceiling
Chic Pearls

Table Decorations
Branch & Birdies Centerpiece
How to Make Bird Centerpiece
Inexpensive Vases
Crystal Flower Stems
Nests
Branches
Birds Nest Centerpiece

Favor Ideas
Blooming Bird Flower Card
Bird's Nest with Candies
Little Bird Boxes
Little Bird Boxes 2

Cakes
Cute Cake Topper
Forest Cake
Love Bird Cake Toppers
Sugar Birds and More Cake Ideas

Extras
Love Bird Stuff
Pretty Bird Necklace
Love Bird Garter Set
Birds Galore

So, what do you think of the new theme?? I hope you like it!