Rehearsal Dinner Video

So as you all wait patiently for our wedding photos to be posted, I decided I'd post the very cute rehearsal dinner video that my sister made for me. Samantha put together this slideshow for us. Make sure to stick it until the end, because my sisters had a very creative approach to the ending (around 7:30). Haha.



The Story of Danielle & Val from Danielle Wenzel on Vimeo.

Final Days Before the WEDDING!!

I haven't posted as often as I would have liked to, but I figure better late than ever. I want to document how I'm feeling right now. Mainly I'm feeling like I threw 10 balls up in the air and I'm frantically trying to make sure I catch them all as they come back down. Know what I mean? Haha. Emotionally I'm super excited and not worried at all about marrying the love of my life. I can't wait actually. ;) On the event planning side, I'm much more confident today than I was probably this past weekend. I've gotten a lot done in the past couple of days. I'm mainly trying to organize now.

I'll be leaving on Wednesday to head up to my home town to help with the final preparations for the wedding. I am a little scared to leave San Jose only because I don't want to forget anything. Val won't be coming up until Friday, so it's nice to have a little buffer just in case.

Everything is coming together! I'm finding that I have a lot of last minute errands to run, but besides that I think all of the craft projects are pretty much done. :) If anything, I feel pretty wiped out most of the time. Aruba's pearly white beach is calling my name! I can't wait to just relax!

So many fun things have happened over the past couple weeks, including my bachelorette party and the bridal shower. :) Here are a few pictures:

Bachelorette Party - 8/17 & 8/18

Bridal Shower - 8/24/13

30 Days Until the Wedding!!

I haven't posted in forever! (How silly of me to think that I was going to have time to document everything I do as a bride preparing for her wedding day! Haha.) It's been a whirlwind of a past couple of months. Lots of things have been accomplished and a lot of things are still on the docket.

What's happened in the past couple of months?

- invitations printed, assembled and SENT out (addresses blurred for security)

A big THANK YOU to my mom who helped me assemble and mail out the invitations while I was busy at work.

- wedding bands were purchased and received!!

- had my first wedding dress fitting

- bridesmaids received their dresses

- flower girls received their dresses

- tuxes ordered for the groomsmen

- wedding programs designed 

- wedding menus designed

- centerpieces confirmed

- honeymoon hotel and flight confirmed 

- bachelor/bachelorette parties scheduled (a big THANK YOU to my MOH and bridesmaids for organizing/planning ... can't wait!)

- bridal party scheduled (a big THANK YOU to my MOH for planning/organizing and Yolanda -- my new aunt -- for letting us use her home for the event) 

- day of schedule drafted up (down to the minute), working with day of coordinator to finalize
 

What's next??

- final dress fitting 

- print and assemble wedding programs, menus etc.

- the dreaded SEATING CHART

- meet with the DJ to finalize music (tonight)

- finishing up all the little decoration details (there is a lot more to this than it sounds)

- attending bachelorette and bridal parties :)

- pack for honeymoon

- rehearsal dinner

- WEDDING DAY!!!

Okay, I know there is a lot more on my list than that... but I don't want to overwhelm you. Haha. ;) Realistically I have way too many lists all over the house, on my phone and on my computer. I need to consolidate.

I will try to make a point to post (appropriate) pictures from the bachelorette party and of course the bridal shower. We'll see if it get's done. You're welcome to follow me on Instagram if you're mainly interested in the pics. @deedub85

Until next time,

The Future Mrs. Sandoval 

Engagement Pictures are IN!

I am extremely late in posting these pictures--it's been such a busy past couple of months! Our photographers for the wedding, Bryan & Vita Hewitt of Hewitt Photography came down to the South Bay to take our engagement pictures at Santa Clara University. Since we aren't getting married at the Mission Church, I felt like it was only appropriate to take our engagement pictures in the Mission Gardens. We thought ahead and brought some props and new outfits and overall really enjoyed our time with the photographers.

We took some photos with the setting sun that were inspired by one of my favorite scenes in my favorite -- Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen. You know the scene, at the end of the movie... the sun is rising, Jane finally admits to Mr. Darcy that she loves him... SIGH **heart melts** OH, okay, I'll show you. This one below:

Okay, so we showed that to our photographer and they totally knew what we were talking about and helped us try and recreate it in our own way.

We did a couple different outfit changes and went to several spots around the Mission Church and Mission Garden area. Time flies when you're having fun because I could have thought of at least 10 other places on campus that would be awesome photo ops.

We were a little stiff at first, but it was such good practice for the big day. I'm glad that we worked well with our super laid back photographers. The one thing I noticed was that they weren't "trigger happy" which really made me nervous at first. I wanted them to take a BUNCH of pictures (like I do because I'm an amateur) so that there would be a lot to pick from. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the photos we got, but I actually wish there were even MORE shots to look at. (I'm a picture-holic.) I have no doubt that with just a little bit of that feedback and the list of pictures that we want to be taken on the day of the wedding, we will have wonderful pictures!

Save the Date Video!

It's fiiiiiiinally here! Our Save the Date video! We filmed it back at the end of March not realizing how long it would take to get edited etc. It was part of our videographer package as a freebie. For a freebie -- it turned out great! I admit it is a bit cheesy/corny, but I still think it is cute. :)



Danielle and Val - Save the Date Video! from Danielle Wenzel on Vimeo.

My tumultuous bridesmaid dress journey.... I thought this was supposed to be easy??

The color of my bridesmaid dresses has switched about 5 times. Truth.

When I first thought about my wedding, I wanted the girls to wear an olive green color or some other shade of green. Then after we figured out our venue was going to be outside, I changed my mind and thought I would pick a merlot/plum/wine color. After further thinking I realized I didn't think a dark color was "me." So I thought of colors that I feel represent me and coral/salmon came to mind. I was pretty much set on coral for the longest time over the past couple of months. It wasn't until my bridesmaids started trying on dresses that I realized there are many shades of coral and not all dresses that I like/look flattering on the girls came in the specific shade of coral I was looking for. After lots of Google searches I found out the specific color I wanted was called "tulip." As we looked around David's Bridal, New Things West and BB's Bridal I was disappointed that I couldn't find "tulip" in a non-chiffon sweetheart neckline, tea length dress in matte satin.  Most "tulip" shade dresses were chiffon which didn't fit my vision. In the midst of not finding the right color, I did find the right dresses for the girls. In a moment of exasperation I thought that I would completely change my colors and go with bright turquoise (kind of a cross between Tiffany's blue and robins egg). After pumping myself up and letting my whole office know I had decided on a new color palette, I had the weekend to think it over. By Monday I knew that the turquoise color was not going to work... It didn't fit in my vision and just completely changed my vibe/feel I wanted for my wedding.

As I started describing my wedding to myself there were some important key words that kept popping up... "romantic" and "vintage" and "elegant" were the most common. My whole life I have told everyone that I have never been a "pink" person. I always wanted things in blues and greens and turquoise. I think it was because my mom and grandma both love purple so much and my sisters liked hot pink and such that I HAD to be different. I didn't want to like the same stuff. So I convinced myself I didn't like pink. The reality is that coral is a shade of pink and I love certain types of pink.

It was this revelation along with my description of my wedding that I realized I wanted a shade of pink for the bridesmaid dresses. More specifically I picked a "blush" very light pink. I feel like it fits my vision and overall mood of my wedding and I'm excited to see it with the rest of my decorations and venue. I plan on having accent colors of ivory, slightly darker light pink, champagnes and golds. I am a pearls and lace type of person so I will incorporate a dash of those items in the decor as well.

It was a long journey to finalize the bridesmaid dresses and wedding colors but I couldn't be happier with my decision. The girls ordered their dresses and now it's time for Val and I to start looking at tuxes for the groomsmen.

Everything is coming together!!

Photographer? CHECK. Dress? CHECK. Menu? CHECK. Videographer? CHECK.

February has been such a crazy month! It was here and then now it's almost gone within a blink of an eye. We have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Let's see how much I can remember and recap.

Photographer 

We have put in our deposit and have secured our photographer for the big day. Brian and Vita seem like they will be a perfect fit for our wedding. Brian had a great calming presence that I think will be invaluable on the day of the wedding.

Dress

Growing up I was never a little girl who planned out her wedding -- I do remember having a really cool wedding cake toy from Fisher Price, but I digress. The whole week leading up to dress shopping I was anxious and nervous. Everyone said I should be so excited and it would be fun, but I couldn't help but worry about not finding a dress or being disappointed or discouraged. We had 2 appointments set up for Saturday, February 9th. One at Trudy's and one at BB Bridal. I went with my mom and 2 sisters. We got to the store early and everything went really smoothly. Jess and Sam surprised me with cute score cards that they used to rate the dresses.

Trying on dresses at Trudy's was so much fun! I was so surprised after putting on the first dress how amazing I looked and felt. (And that was just the first dress.) Honestly there weren't any dresses that the stylist (Lisa) put on me that I hated. If anything, towards the end of the 2 hour appointment, I felt like I might have a hard time choosing. That is until she showed me the dress she was saving for the end. I tried the dress on and Jessica saw me through the cracks of the fitting room curtain and I told her no peeking. (She later told me that she started to tear up when she saw me because I looked so beautiful.) I came out of the fitting room with the dress on and stood up on the pedestal and looked at myself in the mirror. Everyone was oohing and awwwing and I started to get teary eyed because the reality of the wedding was starting to hit me. I could SEE myself walking down the aisle in that dress. I could SEE myself saying my vows... I could SEE myself dancing at my reception. I look behind me and my mom is crying. Needless to say all 3 of their scores were "3's" because they unanimously loved it. Then Lisa came and put the veil on me and a belt. It made the whole look even more breathtaking. I was in love! 

Despite me being 95% sure that the dress was the "one" we had another appointment that I had to go to. We went to BB Bridal and it was a small shop with one owner who my bridesmaid Irene and my friend from the MBA program Casey both recommended and got their dresses from her. I told the owner, Soni, that I was in love with a particular dress. I showed her photos. She knew the designer and let me know she didn't carry that designer. I was bummed because I would have liked to go with Soni -- she was a hoot and very down to earth. She suggested a different dress/designer that she thought was similar but would look even BETTER on me. She didn't have that particular dress in my size so she suggested we call around to other places to see if they had it. We ended up calling New Things West/Bay Area Bridal and they happened to have the suggested dress in my size. They were accommodating and allowed me to beeline it over there before they closed to try it on. 

Once we were at Bay Area Bridal at Vallco, we were greeted and they brought me the dress I requested. I tried it on. Immediately I knew it wasn't for me. I went out and showed my sisters and my mom and they agreed. The other dress just had that something that made it so me. I was ready to go back to Trudy's and say yes to the dress. Of course things are never that simple. The sales person at Bay Area Bridal told me that they also order from the designer I was considering. They pulled me aside and offered to "beat" Trudy's price and throw in money towards veils etc. I was torn -- my experience at Trudy's was so magical and my experience at Bay Area Bridal was just... not. I felt like I was dealing with used car salesmen. 

I'm not going to lie -- I had a mini freak out. My mom could tell you. It took me a week of debating with myself and follow-up appointments with both bridal boutiques one more time to make a decision. I ended up going with Trudy's and I couldn't be happier! I'm so excited to try on the dress again. I wish I could just wear it all day long and never take it off. Haha.

Menu Setting

Over the President's day weekend we went up to Napa to set our menu with Jason (the manager at Vintner's). It was great seeing him again -- he always makes me feel at ease and that our wedding is going to go smoothly. We were in for a treat that day, we got to taste all of the food that we could consider for the wedding. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end, but are now SO excited for everyone else to eat at our wedding. Let me just say that no one is going hungry at our wedding and the food is EXCELLENT. You guys will not be disappointed. :)

Videographer

This is the most recent thing we have checked off the list. We just booked and paid our deposit for the videographer. We went with Urbane Wedding Company and 1) they fit in our budget and 2) their highlight videos look amazing and fit in line with our style. Chris the owner was so understanding and patient with my thousands of questions. He was also super receptive and communicated constantly. I really appreciated that about him. 

Next on our list is the DJ. We are considering Urbane Wedding Company for the DJ services as well since they fit in our budget, but we still have a couple more questions for Chris before booking. Val also interviewed a bunch probably a month ago or so. There was one in particular that we were considering on booking but wanted to do a little more research beforehand -- who knew a month would pass by and we still wouldn't have made a decision??

Overall the planning process has been pretty smooth. I'm super excited that my good friend Rachel Fino has agreed to be our day-of coordinator for the wedding. :) I know she will do a great job and value my wedding as much as if it was her own! She wants to help even before the day of so I'm glad I'll have even more help with the rest of my planning.