PREPPING & PRIMPING: wedding facial

photo's via the fashion gal.

yesterday i took a little time to skip into the Murad Spa in Manhattan Beach to treat myself to a fabulous  pre-wedding facial! and i have to say... it was MUCH needed! this bride-to-be needed a little bit of a refresher. when i slid under the warm fluffy bedding in my designated spa room i found my mind wandering and was having a hard time relaxing. the wedding was on my mind {BIG TIME} until Rosa ((my killer esthetician)) started my hydrating facial. she broke my facial down into 3 steps {much like their product is designed} and i instantly began to relax. and every time my mind started to wonder again {and i began to review my wedding to-do list} Rosa would use a new & delicious smelling product that would automatically bring my focus back to my facial. i personally LOVE Murad products and their amazing scents! throughout my facial i caught lovely whiffs of apricot, tangerine, eucalyptus, cucumber, and even a little peach! it was the perfect treat to balance all the emotions & work that come with planning a wedding! now, we're 4 days away!

**go here for some more wedding deets!

***my favorite Murad products are the Correcting Moisturizer SPF 15 & the Hydrating Toner! 

(photo above)

Murad Spa, Manhattan Beach CA

spa water... yum.

the relaxation room, genius.

cozy blankets & my new Toms in the relaxation room.

lit candles throughout the spa.

the hydrating products that were used during my facial.

fabulous accessories & gifty items throughout the spa.

i love the "circle necklace".

the signs throughout the spa work as a wonderful reminder.

this one seemed perfect for our wedding week!

 can you believe the fireman & i are getting hitched in 4 days???

eeeeeeeeeek!

6 things: WEDDING WEEK!

one: my wedding earrings... i helped design these puppies with an amazing jewelry designer named Julie! her Etsy account is under construction right now... but if you're in LA you can find her pieces at the Redondo Beach bead store on Catalina. 

well, we're 5 ((yes, 5!)) days away from the fireman & my big wedding day!!! there are about 1,000 emotions running through me right now... but the main one is excitement! i couldn't be more excited and surprisingly pretty stress-free!! i am looking forward to our entire wedding weekend... from bowling with all of our friends & family the night before, to dancing in the barn with my new husband-to-be! but let's be honest, that hasn't been the case for the entire {4 month} engagement process. i did catch myself looking at flights to Vegas to elope about two weeks ago. i was on the verge of a DIY overload-slash-breakdown and thought we should just send a photo of fireman & i in a drive though chapel to our soon-to-be-guests. but now that the DIY wedding projects are 99.9% complete... and the barn is pretty much ready to go, this bride-to-be is feeling pretty great! so here are a few details that will help make up our special wedding day... 

two: my wedding perfume... i never thought i would get suckered into buying a wedding perfume, but when i ran through Nordstroms recently i found a new scent i love. so i treated myself and now refer to my Dolce & Gabbana Rose the One as my wedding perfume!

 three: custom "V + T" labels... these labels were a fun n' fabulous wedding gift from my brothers amazing girlfriend. they match our wedding invitations perfectly! see invites here.

 four: wedding projects... today i will be tying up all the loose ends on my DIY to-do-list!

 five: my wedding {reception} boots... all the gals coming to celebrate our big day ((and myself)) will be changing into boots for our barn wedding BBQ reception! check out my wedding ceremony shoes here! ((any excuse for more shoes!)) wink-wink

six: our wedding bands... the fireman opted for a traditional gold band ((which i love)) and he helped me choose a gorgeous chunky platinum diamond band... which i also love. 

oh, and check out more weddings goodies here:

- our engagement story here & here

- our underwater engagement photo's

- our engagement party

- my wedding dress experience 

- some wedding day DIY's & details here & here

- our invitations

- my wine tasting bachelorette

- my garden shower

eeeeeeek! i'm so excited!!!

what's your go to DANCE SONG?

image via 

hey there party peeps! i have a question for you. a fun question! what song gets you moving??? like, that boarder line embarrassing dancing that you should really only do in the privacy of your own home! ps: i LOVE that kind of dancing!! for me, these songs are the new Call Ma Maybe, We Found Love... oh and probably a little LAFMO too!

**a little side-note: your fabulous suggestions will be playing at our wedding in 11 days!

* want more music... go here!

well, what do ya got?

maybe some Prince, KISS??!

things are getting, OFFICIAL!

image via

after three solid months of DIY wedding projects, vintage (decor) treasure hunting, and a couple dress fittings... the fireman & i are making things official! we're going to the court house! i can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. the light being our big fabulous day that i've been dreaming about for years... and working on for monthes! so today the fireman & i are going to the courthouse to get our marriage license and get this ball rolling! these two people are going to be one little family unit real soon... and i've got to admit, i can't wait!!! just me, my fireman, and our little frenchie will be one teeny-tiny-little-family, yay!

**want to check out some wedding deets?? here ya go!

are you hitched??

do your remember your wedding-license-day?

to SLEEVE, or not to SLEEVE?

image via

well folks, we are a whopping TWO WEEKS away from... the big day! and like most brides-to-be ((i'm assuming)) i have wedding, wedding, honeymoon, wedding on my mind! i am so excited for the big day to come... but not too fast, because i still need every minute of the next two weeks to complete all my DIY's, pack for our Italian honeymoon, and take a quick trip up to SLO ((next week)) to fine tune a couple things at our location. so in two weeks {or so} you'll know my opinion on sleeves vs. no sleeves. what do you think? did you or would you prefer a dress with sleeves or without sleeves on your big day??? check out these lovely brides in their lovely dresses. . .

images via Style me Pretty

so what is it?

to sleeve or not to sleeve??

ps: happy friday!

THE DETAILS.

photo's via Pam & Susy

as i promised, here are the photo's from my bridal shower last sunday afternoon! it was held at my mom's home in Redondo Beach... and was hosted by 7 of her {& my} beautiful friends. and like i said here, it was gorgeous, amazing, fun, and filled with some much love! so without further adue... here are the deets!

*check out some wedding ((planning)) things here! 

**now let the COUNTDOWN begin... we're 17 day's away!!!!!! (eeeeeeek!)

 the happy bride... me!

 my mom . me . katy . judy

 kathy . natalie . me . danielle . melodie . my mom

susan . tawni . christie . shanti . chanel . me

katy . natalie . me . danielle . melodie . meagan

the gals... host's, family, friends included.

the food:

- a salad bar with 23 TOPPINGS! genius. (i'm a veg.)

- a dessert bar with carrot cupcakes, homemade cookies, peach cobbler, and carnal squares!!!

- AND signature cocktails... that cleverly included my name in every drink!

the details:
- big white paper balls
- mix n' matched colorful vases
 - flowers from artichokes to perfectly pink garden roses
- lovely white lunch plates with a sleek silver rim
- bright white linens & table clothes with floral prints
- ribbon adorned chairs for myself, my mom, and my mother-in-law to be!
- sepia-tone photo's of the fireman & i
- and the sweetest party favor... a vintage broach for each guest!

 

my beautiful hostess...

melissa . judi . pam . my mom . kathy . kelly . monica . susy

now do you see why i'm still on cloud 9 from my fabulous shower??
it was amazing.

SHOWERED.

image via

wow. i think i may have just been thrown the most beautiful bridal shower in the history of bridal showers. like, for real. i'm speechless! it was an elegant {outdoor} garden shower filled with beautiful flowers, delicious champagne spritzers, lovely friends, wonderful family, AND a vintage broach for each fabulous guest to wear home! it was beyond!! i feel so so SO lucky to have such an amazing group of ladies that i adore... and that "showered" me with SO much love!

*a special thank you to kelly, kathy, pam, monica, melissa, judi, & susy.

photo's coming soon! yay!!

how was your weekend?

5 things: WEDDING DIY's

//  //  one. mini burlap flags // //

this week was full of bachelorette recouping, sending checks to vendors, and a ton of fabulous wedding DIY's! so many DIY's that there wasn't enough time to take step-by-step footage, but just enough time to reload my hot glue gun & stir my chalkboard paint in between projects. so here are a few of the DYI's we ((as in me & my fantastic assistant, my mom)) did this week... ok , gotta run!

ps: HAPPY FRIDAY!

i'm so so so excited for my big bridal shower on sunday! eeeeeek!

two. ombre watercolored pinwheels

three. chalkboard painted table numbers

four. white silk steamers

five. my favorite new mint & pink flower pencils

i know they're not a DIY, but these puppies were the score of my week!!

have a great weekend!

((one more thing... we're a whopping 22 DAYS from the BIG DAY!!!!!))

a BACHELORETTE RECAP.

that's me!

i know all brides-to-be must say this, but i really do think i had the best Bachelorette Party of all time! it was so so SO much fun. there is nothing better then spending some hilarious let-your-hair-down time with 15 of your closest gals! i felt so lucky the entire weekend to have such amazing girlfriends in my life. AND an amazing mom, who send us on our way with my favorite Trader Joe's Peach Champange... and over night goodies bags ((which included a helpful pack of Advil)) for each of the girls. it was an amazing, funny, and an oh-so memorable girls weekend. i wish we could do it again right now!

a Santa Barbra bachelorette party begins...

the gals: night one.

killer limo rides.

an amazing toast... from my fabulous sister-in-law.

my pregnant beauties.

time to dance.

... and dance.

cowgirl wine tasting: day two. 

it was some goooooooood wine.

me, the bride to be... and what i wore!

a few of the gals.

quality time spend... and yummy wine drank.

 my favorite pic of the weekend.

a little mid-day-nap.

mavericks!! yeeeeeehaw!

boot high-five.

a little side note: the wineries we visited were Melville & Star Lane...

Star Lane ((the second vineyard photographed)) was my fave! 

 it was SUCH an amazing weekend.

go here to check out some more wedding stuff, here.