Friday, February 27, 2009

Not So {Picture Perfect}

****ETA: I have finally gotten around to updating the ole' bloggy blog... Just a few days later...but hey it's better late than never....****


I am not sure what's going on with the photos that I posted in the entries below and I don't have time to figure it out today... I have a million and three things to do today before 3... I will clean up and update the ole' bloggy blog on Sunday... Until them enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Prayer: Our Life Line

This weekend I will be extremely busy....... My mother and little sister are both coming in town and we will be attending the 2008 Prayer: Our Life Line Conference at New Birth Ministries.



If you are interested in attending this conference or an upcoming conference please visit for more details...

Have a blessed weekend!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wedding Programs: Part II

Yesterday, as I looked for templates for wedding programs I came across these beauties... Enjoy!








Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Wedding Programs

as found on

http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/WeddingPrograms.htm

Wedding programs are one of the little details that add that extra special something to your big day. They are not only a record of your ceremony; wedding programs help guests feel included and understand what is happening, and they introduce your bridal party. And of course, they'll look beautiful in your scrapbook!



Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know, but as a 5 time bridesmaids maid and a 3 time maid of honor, I must come clean..... I really dislike the wedding program.... Why? Well, because, it is always the very last thing that you do and most of the time it is done just a few days shy of the ceremony.

I always try to get them started early or at least get it formatted... but it never fails.... something always changes at the last minute. Someone is added to the program, someone is removed from the program, someone's name is misspelled and etc.

Don't get me wrong... I love laying them out {maybe it's the yearbook editor in me}, but I absolutely dread printing {for the first 3 or 4 times}, folding, and adding embellishments...

Does anyone know of a less stressful way of creating these beautiful wedding mementos without outsourcing?

Monday, February 23, 2009

Interviewing the Photographer

My friend finally found and {booked} a photojournalistic photographer.... I found a list of questions on line for her to ask the photographer... She said that they were really helpful during the interviewing process.... So I thought that I would share a few of them with you...




They were questions like...

Will there be backup equipment available? And what happens if the photographer is ill?

What styles do they specialize in? Do they do any creative shoots?

I'm looking for a photojournalistic photographer. What is your definition of "photojournalism"?

Does he or she shoot digitally or with film?

Does the photographer use an assistant? Is there an extra charge for this?

Can other people take photos while you are taking photos?

Will they accept of list from you, for specific photos to be taken?

How long after the event will the proofs be ready?

Will I get a disk of all the photos taken?

What is the photographer's rate or package options?

You can find more question like these on the following websites:

www.weddingphotousa.com/questions.htm

www.blissweddings.com/wedding_planner/photo_chart.asp

weddings.ivillage.com/receptions/vendors/0,,bxlhdsc8-2,00.html

Happy Interviewing!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Photojournalistic Photography

I have been seeing these wonderful, magazine quality wedding photographs popping up everywhere. What is it? It is referred to as photojournalistic wedding photography. For those of you who are in the dark about photojournalistic photography, like myself, here is some wonderful information that I would like to share with you that I found on www.danharrisphotoart.com/traditional.html and www.southwindphoto.com/Articles/Photojournalistic.html.



photo source: © 2009 Robert Winton

Photojournalistic wedding photography is a relatively new form of wedding photography. Similar to the way a photojournalist covers an event your photographers covers your wedding as a news photographer would cover an event. Instead of staging or setting up posed pictures, your photographer records the events as they are happening. Thus seizing the monument, by capturing the mood, lighting and events of the day.

However, you must be very careful about choosing your photographer for you big day especially when you are looking for soemthing special such as a photojournalistic photographer. Just like the dollar menu {orginated by Wendy's}, when something becomes popular, everyone wants to offer it.{which can sometimes be to your advantage}

With popularity comes all kinds of variations, knockoffs and even imposters. Due to its high demand, some form of photojournalism is offered by many of todays wedding photographers. When you book an appointment with your photographer be sure to ask if they have a website and check out their work prior to your appointment. This is the only sure way of knowing if they have a gifted photographers {eye}.

A few weeks ago my friend was in the market for a wedding photographer. Being the good friend that I am I agreed to screen some photographers for her... One of my conversations went a little like this....{this is a really edited version, he went on and on for about 20 minutes in between each question}.

M'shonta: Hi, my name is M'shonta and I am in the market for a photographer to shoot a May 16th wedding and you were referred to me by {XYZ} vendor...

PhotoGuy: Well, thanks for calling M'Shonta. {XYZ} vendor told me that I would hearing from you pretty soon... What can I help you with?

M'shonta: Well, it's actually not [me], but I am calling for my best friend. She is looking for someone who does photojournalistic photography and is available on May 16th... I would like to know if you have a website or any other information that you could send me...

PhotoGuy: No, I do not have a website and I will tell you right now about this {photo} whatever you called it photography... These young people are just taking your money... They are just.. well... lazy... I have been shooting weddings for the past umphteen years and this here {what did you call it again darling}

M'shonta: Photojournalistic Photography?

Photoguy: Photojournalistic Photography..Yeah that's it... Well, it's just the easy way out to me... I'll tell you this... I can do what they do; but they can not do what I do...

M'shonta: So basically your telling me that photojournalistic photography is not your speciality? You would rather do more traditonal wedding shots???

PhotoGuy: Yes, that is what I am saying....

M'Shonta: Okay,thanks for your time and I have enjoyed talking with you... I will pass this information along to my friend and if she is still interested she will give you a call..

PhotoGuy: Thanks hun.... and ..... hey

{dial tone}

Bottom Line: Ask for what you want and if they don't have it... Move on to the next one... Don't feel bad and don't bend... This is your {moment in time}.

******ETA********(No, I did not hang up on him intentionally. I called back and he informed me that he was talking to someone else...)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Overjoyed {Stevie Wonder}

Over time, I've been building my castle of love
Just for two, though you never knew you were my reason
I've gone much too far for you now to say
That I've got to throw my castle away



Over dreams, I have picked out a perfect come true
Though you never knew it was of you I've been dreaming
The sandman has come from too far away
For you to say come back some other day

And though you don't believe that they do
They do come true
For did my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me

Over hearts, I have painfully turned every stone
Just to find, I had found what I've searched to discover
I've come much too far for me now to find
The love that I've sought can never be mine

And though you don't believe that they do
They do come true
For did my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me

And though the odds say improbable
What do they know
For in romance
All true love needs is a chance
And maybe with a chance you will find
You too like I
Overjoyed, over loved, over you, over you

This song, is responsible for my desire to have or attend a wedding in a castle... Are there any songs that sparked the theme or location for your big day?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Unity Ceremonies

The wedding unity candle is an significant visual presentation of the establishment of your new family unit. However, are there other options out there???

I thought you'd never ask.... Here are some other alteratives that I found to the unity candle ceremony on http://weddings.about.com/cs/style/a/unityceremony.htm.

Rose Ceremony: A simple unity ceremony where the bride and groom exchange roses. Other variations: the families exchange roses, the bride and groom exchange roses with their families, the bride and groom exchange roses, then present their mothers with the roses.



Wine Ceremony: The bride and groom each take a carafe of wine and pour it into a single glass, which they both drink from.



Water Ceremony: The couple each pour a different colored water into a single glass, creating a third color.



Sand Ceremony: similar to the water ceremony, the bride and groom both pour different colored sand into a glass.



Salt Ceremony: Indian weddings often include a salt ceremony, where the bride passes a handful of salt to her groom without spilling any. He then passes it back to her and the exchange is repeated three times. She then performs the salt exchange with all the members of the groom's family, symbolizing her blending in with her new family.

Broom Jumping: An African-American tradition that has its roots in slavery times when slaves couldn't marry. Typically the family places the broom on the ground, and the bride and groom jump over it together. The broom can then decorate a place of honor in their home.



What type of unity ceremony will you and your finance be including in your special day?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I am Feeling a Little {Tiffany Blue}

My best friend has finally found another color to incorporate into her Tiffany Blue theme...



Can you guess what it is??????????????



Pink??????



Red??????



Gold?????



Poppy????????




While all of these are equally inspiring she has decided on.........................

Chartreuse.... Tiffany Blue and Chartreuse.... What a refreshing look! I {love} it!

You wanna see???















I am so excited for her!!! I am so happy to be a part of this wonderful day!

Monday, February 16, 2009

My Obession with Curly Brackets

I am totally in love with {curly brackets}. Why? Well because they do not make me feel as [boxed in] as regular ones. As a was writing a post on last week; I noticed how much I used them. That alone led me to research my obession with {curly brackets}.




{Curly brackets} and I were introduced some time ago in some advanced math class that I took in college. And we crossed paths again during a CIS class in my MBA program. So that confirmed for me that they were mostly used in mathematics and computer programming.

Yeah.... Yeah... Yeah...

But the questions still remained... I am using {curly brackets} properly? What is the main funtion? Why are {curly brackets} so popular?

Answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket

Curly brackets (also called braces, or "squiggly brackets") are sometimes used in prose to indicate a series of equal choices: “Select your animal {goat, sheep, cow, horse} and follow me”. They are used in specialized ways in poetry and music (to mark repeats or joined lines). The musical terms for this mark joining staves are “accolade” and “brace.” In mathematics they delimit sets. In many programming languages, they enclose groups of statements. Such languages are therefore called curly bracket languages. Some people use a curly brace to signify movement in a particular direction.

Presumably due to the similarity of the words brace and bracket (although they do not share an etymology), many people casually treat brace as a synonym for bracket. Therefore, when it is necessary to avoid any possibility of confusion, such as in computer programming, it may be best to use the term curly bracket rather than brace. However, general usage in North American English favours the latter form. The term curly braces is redundant since no other type of brace exists. Indian programmers often use the name “flower bracket”.

Curly brackets are often used in internet communities and through instant messaging to indicate hugging.

So there ya go!!!

Now, I am happy.... Not really sure if I am using them in the right context, but I have no intentions of refraining from the usage of {curly brackets}. I just wanted knowledge.... and now that I have it, I will place a check mark next to this question in my mind!

Until next time............


M'Shonta

Sunday, February 15, 2009

My "DIY" Weekend

This weekend I had a blast!!! It was {jammed packed}... Just the way I like it...

First off Friday night, I had a couple of projects that I had to complete for the weekend... To start off a crystal tree... (I have always adored these, but I just could not envision spending 500-1000 dollars for one of these) So what did I do? I headed to the forest with a friend found a tree, spray painted it and added flowers and crystals... The end result??? This beautiful tree! It made it's debut at a wedding blessing on Sunday. I could not be more proud of it! (***ETA: The crystals were from Spegiel; I ordered them about 7 years ago and never used them. I guess they were waiting for this project!!)





Next on the list... A handmade Valentine's card for Mr. Falsetto with an original poem! He {loved} it! I made it using the Cricut that he purchased me for my birthday last year. He was elated that I used it!!! (P.S. It's not that I don't love it; it's just that I have to lend time to all of my talents)





Finally, chocolate covered strawberries for my god daughters birthday... They were delicious!!!




How was your weekend?? Do you have any DIY projects in the mix? If so what are they?

Honest Scrap Award

I won!!!! I won!!!! I won!!!! Okay, not really, but I was tagged by { A Biltmore Bride} with the {Honest Scrap Award}! Me?!? An award for blogging??' {insert cheering and clapping}




Thank you so much Biltmore Bride....I am truly honored!

The Rules
1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design
2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon :)
3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

Well, let's let the fun begin.... Shall we?

1} I started blogging as a creative outlet and in the process my bf was engaged and I became consumed with all thing related to weddings... {I knew it months ahead of time and was very involved in the proposal and I couldn't tell her, so I blogged instead}
2) In the process of helping her, Mr. Falsetto {my bf's brother and my boyfriend)has gotten the {love bug} and has started to talk seriously about {marriage}... What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you.
3) I get bored easily... I have to always have change in my life; {Mr. Falsetto} is an exception!
4) I have to learn how to manage all of my talents properly {i.e. scrapbooking, writing, cardmaking, event planning, decorating, pageant coaching, corporate training, etc.) Sometimes it all seems to run together... LOL!
5) I do not like being [boxed in]; perhaps that's why I always use {curly brackets} they leave more room for creativity! (Curly Brackets: A post waiting to happen)
6) I love shoes!!! Wow! Can you say many the shoes of Imelda Marcos? I own 75 pairs of sandals, 63 pairs of siletto's/pumps, 30 pairs of boots, 5 pairs of ballet slippers, 15 pairs of flip flops, 3 pairs of slippers and 7 pairs of tennis shoes.
7) I am extremely organized...Border line OCD; but not quite. (Example: All my shoes are in clear shoe boxes/containers, labeled, and organized according to color and style).
8) I live for my purpose and my destiny!
9) I am a woman of faith!
10) I didn't want this to end! I was just starting to have a little fun!

Ladies... you have been tagged! I hope you have as fun with this as I did!

http://adrienneslittleworld.typepad.com

http://scrappiepammie.blogspot.com/

http://scrapbookx2.blogspot.com/

http://lousloft-leann.blogspot.com/

http://exbeau.blogspot.com/

http://aprilkay.blogspot.com

http://simplytiffany.squarespace.com/

Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy {Lover's} Day

I found this little verse online... I may use it in a hand made card for Mr. Falsetto.

Valentine's Day Wedding

Getting married on Valentine's Day? Even if you're not getting married on Valentine's Day, some of these images may be your inspiration. {All images were found on www.google.com}

Red & White Wedding...Valentines Day!
Red & White Wedding...Valentines Day! - by Jillyann..Missin Sabre :( on Polyvore.com









Thursday, February 12, 2009

Love Is.................

Love is patient; love is kind

and envies no one.

Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;

never selfish, not quick to take offense.

There is nothing love cannot face;

there is no limit to its faith,

its hope, and endurance.

In a word, there are three things

that last forever: faith, hope, and love;

but the greatest of them all is love.

~ 1 Corinthians 13 ~

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Celebrations for {Two}

Did I ever mention that I {love} planning events? Well, just in case I didn't I would like to now....... Bloggers and Lurkers..... M'Shonta {loves} her some event planning. And this weekend... I will not be around.... I will be in planning paradise.

On Saturday, my god daughter "Claire" turns 1. She will be sharing her birthday with her big brother who will be turning "6." {She was born on Valentine's Day and he was born on the 19th of February. The color scheme for this party will be pink and red and the cake will be half princess and half basketball. I will post pics of the cake later; I am very interested to see how it will turn out.

On Sunday, we will have a couple's blessing at church. A couple's blessing is very similar to a couple's wedding shower, but it is a more spiritual and formal. They are often given prior to the wedding, but in this particular case this couple were recently wedded in a very private ceremony.

Here is my tentative program for the celebration:

**** Opening
**** "His" Story
**** "Her" Story
**** Bestowing a Blessing Upon the Couple {Pastor and First Lady, Mother and Father,
other married couple's in congregation}
**** Dinner
**** Wishing Tree/ Toast
**** Closing Remarks

I also want this poem to make a debut at the couple's blessing...

A Couple’s Blessing

John and Jill may God bless and keep you, may the sun of many days and years shine upon you, may the love you have for one another grow and hold you close.
May the good true light within you guide your way together. May your dreams come true and when they don’t may new dreams arise.
And long, long years from now, may you look at one another and be able to say, ‘Because of you I have become the person I longed to be’.

I think that is enough for now... I will post photos when I return!

Until next time...

M'Shonta

Monday, February 9, 2009

A Blog to Inspire

I found these mailboxes a few weeks ago at Target. I altered several of them to sell at a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. They went over really, really well. Our company goal is to raise at least $16,000 and we are almost there!

Shifting gears.....

While in the process of making {literally hundreds} of these beautiful mailboxes, I was inspired to create a pair for two blogging brides who inspire me on a "daily" basis.


The first set goes to "An Atlanta Bride and Mr. Wonderful" at http://jessicaralph.blogspot.com




And the other set goes to "Miss Bridal Bliss and Mr. Bridal Bliss" at http://queencitybride.blogspot.com




These can be used for Valentine's Day suprises or all through the year to write love notes to your new hubby. Some couples have written love notes to one another from Feb. 1-14 and then opened them on Valentines Day!! However you choose to you them, I am sure that it will keep love and excitement in the air. Just slip in a note or something special inside and raise the flag to let him know that "he has mail."

Ladies, please send me your snail mail addresses or whatever address you feel most comfortable with so that I can send you these lil' cuties.

Thanks for being an inspiration to so many beautiful women!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Music and Lyrics

If you future husband could really sing, would you let him sing as you walk down the aisle? Selah...