Wedding: T&C Engagment Pictures - Picking A Theme

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I always get asked about our engagement pictures and how I chose the theme and style for them. To tell you the truth, it kinda just came to US.  Cody hates taking pictures so I really had to make this comfortable for him and in his comfort zone or who knows how our pictures would have turned out. I always tell brides-to-be to pick a theme, or even a location and base your style around that.  This really helped me stay focus and not have my ideas wonder off whenever I found something on Pinterst. You will tell from our two different sets of pictures how the theme is very similar but still different in it's own unique way.

The first set was taken by our wedding photographers Jade and Kaitlin Ehlers at our condo in Downtown Seattle.  We were trying to go for the J.Crew, Hamptons (but with a Seattle) vibe. I love Cody's  jacket we focused our outfit and theme for this shoot around it. We used these pictures for our Save The Dates (click here to view how they turned out, I have to say I am so proud of these!)

Now you can tell the second set was completely different from the first but still has the J.Crew/ Hamptons vibe with a vintage twist. I focused the wedding on a vintage theme (will post pictures of all the details very soon). My navy dress was purchased on Modcloth.com and the vintage truck and suitcase were bought at an antique store in Downtown Tacoma. These pictures were taken by Paul Maranan of  P&M Productions at Discovery Park in Seattle. I actually met Jade and Kaitlin through Paul because they were their photographers for their wedding. So funny how things work out! Paul captured the vibe that I wanted perfectly!

I will be focusing some Friday posts on more personal things such as the wedding (since I didn't even blog about it when it was happening) and other things.  Did you have a theme for your engagement pics?

Wedding: T&C in Asia - honeymoon edition!

Hello loves! I know I haven't been posting for a very long time, I always neglect my blog! Hopefully, I can jump on blogging/reviewing and sharing pictures with all of you on a daily basis again (this will include new YouTube tutorials as well) . Thank you all for being so patient! 

After 6 months of being married my husband and I finally went on our honeymoon to Hong Kong and the Philippines (Manila, Cebu and Boracay). It was such an awesome vacation and happy I was able to share my homeland with my new husband.  I've been to the Philippines 3 times already but for the MR.  It was his first. I was scared to see how he would react especially in the Philippines but to my amazement he LOVES it! He wants us to find a condo as our vacation home. Yay! We had a great time and didn't want to go back home. 

Here are some highlights from our trip 

Our first stop for 3 days was Hong Kong. 

Skyline of Hong Kong - the day was overcast with some scattered showers. Major jet lag here!

Being a beauty junkie my favorite part of Hong Kong was Sasa!!! Oh my goodness. Literally every city block had a Sasa. If you don't know what Sasa is it's best described as an Asian Sephora - different Asian beauty brands (Japanese,  Korean, Chinese) skincare, haircare, makeup, nails, etc. it was so much fun going into each one everywhere we went. The MR. was so amazed how many there were in a short radiance from each other. The picture shows some of the products that I picked up. I wanted more but knew that I had to limit myself since we still have to make it to the Philippines. 

For a week and half we spent the majority of our time in the Philippines

The view from our hotel room at the Sofitel Manila Plaza. Such a beautiful hotel outside of Makati. Can you see the Ferris Wheel? That's Mall of Asia- one of the biggest malls in Asia less than 5 min from our hotel via taxi. The big building in front is the Manila Film Centre. 

The MR. and I like history and culture we spent some time at Corrigdor and Intramueros. 

Time for some fun times on the beach! 

Cebu Movenpick beautiful grounds and hotel! It was nice to lay out on the beach and enjoy the weather. 

The last stop was of course Boracay! 

Boracay Regency Lagoon was our home for 3 days. If you stay here make sure you get the 1st level rooms so you have direct access to the pool from your balcony. It is also a short walk away to the beach. 

Look at the beautiful water and sand! The water was so warm! Spent 2 days just lounging on the beach drinking fresh mango shakes.  

Back to Manila! 

Our last night in the Philippines the Sofitel upgraded us to the top floor with a few overlooking Manila Bay and a beautiful view of the pool. 

That's our trip in a nut shell! So sad it had to end but we enjoyed every second of it. We are already planning our next trip to Europe. Can't wait! 

Wedding Tiffany and Cody Video Trailer by Solefire Films and wedding thoughts

Hi everyone!

Just received our wedding video trailer by our videographer Nolan from

Solefire Films

.  Wanted to share it with all of you! It was such a magical day and Nolan captured it beautifully.  All the details that are included in the video were all made by me.  So happy how it turned out.  Can't wait to see the whole video. 

Just click the picture to be taken to the full trailer.

http://vimeo.com/78438551

It's been a couple months after our wedding and I miss everything about wedding planning and executing.  Yes, for some it may sound a little bizarre.   I guess when something so big like this takes over your life for almost a year you really don't know what to do after.  Every time I watch this trailer it makes me feel so proud of all the little details that I made for our wedding. Making trips to the craft store almost every other day, antique shopping every weekend, having our condo filled with wedding stuff truly made the whole wedding experience compete.  All my hard work did pay off.  We did well (I did) experience some bumps in the road, but those things don't really matter anymore - it's all about the love our family and friends shared on our special day.

For all future brides/brides-to-be out there here are my tips...

• Enjoy every moment because it will go by so fast.  
• Do things you always wanted to do for your wedding because you don't want to regret it later down the road.  We weren't going to have a videographer but I am so happy we did!
• Be organized!! Put together a binder with tabs for vendors, wedding party, etc.  Always print out invoices and emails to stick into the binder in case something happens.  My binder was filled at the end and I am so happy I was organized it kept me insane. 
• www.weddingwire.com a great online website/tool to help manage your wedding guests and seating chart.  No more doing it on paper it's all on your computer.  Also download the app from the app store to have on your phone so you have it with you on the go.  
• For the first couple of months start getting some inspiration from wedding blogs and pinterest.  Be warned that you will totally get overwhelmed, I did.  After the 3rd month I picked out my colors, theme and elements that matched our venue and us a couple - once I completed this I stopped looking at all the wedding blogs/inspiration.  Its gets to be too much and then you want to change what you have going.  Stick to a plan all the way through or else you are going to go CRAZY!
• If you are DIY bride (like I was) always get your supplies on sale or search the internet for cheaper prices.  Coupons from Michael's and Joann's really help! Look at their weekly ads to see if there's anything you will need.  Your local Craig's List is a great resource too.
• Network around your friends/family members perhaps your sister knows a graphic designer that likes to design wedding stationary.  Or your friend's cousin's fiance works at a bakery.  By networking this really helps keeps costs down, and trust me the expenses pile up each and every week!
• Hire a wedding coordinator and delegate a team to help set up and need be take down.  So happy I hired a wedding coordinator just to make sure everything was organized the day of.  I am very hands on and I always want things to go my way, but on your wedding day you can't be everywhere.  Your wedding coordinator will be you running around while you enjoying everything.  If you can't afford a wedding coordinator ask a friend of a friend who is very organized and has attention to detail. 
• Plan out your budget by listing your important things first.  Pick 3 things that are important to you and then 3 other things important to you and your fiance.

I hope this helps for all you bride-to-be's out there, just a little insight of what I learned. Happy planning!

P.S. I will be posting in depth details of our wedding when I get the pictures back from the photographer.  

I'm now a MRS!

Hello everyone! Thank you to all my beauTIFFul readers and followers out there for being so patient with me these past couple of months while I prepared for my wedding.  Means so much to read all your well wishes and support while I was MIA.  I am finally back and will be posting on a regularly basis.  I will be posting a weekly YouTube tutorial starting next month featuring a MOTD and makeup reviews on some products that I want to share with all of you! 

Here's a little sneak peak of my wedding from my friend Cindy!

 Tiffany and Cody 

Aug. 18th 2013

Seattle Tennis Club 

The day went by so quickly!  I was such a DIY bride and I enjoyed everything about it.  Will post some of my favorite details once I get all the pictures from our professional photographer.  Can't wait to share with all of you! Stay tuned!

Wedding: Tiffany and Cody Save The Dates

I know this is not makeup/beauty related but I just had to blog about it.

If you don't know already I am getting married this year, hence the lack of MOTD's and tutorials.  It has been crazy planning everything but it's going smoothly.

I am very crafty/creative person who love to make things.  I knew that our wedding had to have some personalized touches to make things more "us."

My first project was our Save The Dates.  I am posting this after our guests have received them in the mail so it doesn't spoil the surprise.   I am sooooooooo happy how they turned out! Our family and friends are just loving them!

The T&C cartoon was made by

JordyLuxe Digital Portraits..

  I found Jordan while I was browsing around ETSY.  I am such an ETSY bride! As soon as I saw these cute lil cartoons I knew Cody and I had to have one of our own.  Jordan can customize your cartoon however you want and she can even add pets or backgrounds to your cartoon.

I sent Jordan a picture of our engagement picture for her to copy our outfits in our main picture.  She copied in full detail from the little buttons on Cody’s jacket to my pearl necklace.

I used the cartoon to make magnets I attached with a cutout piece of kraft cardstock (thank goodness for my Cricut!) and placed them on top of the save the date.  I also added a pop up sparkly heart!

 I would totally recommend this if you wanted something personal and unique for your wedding, greeting cards or something just for fun.

Now it's time to work on the invites ... :)

Engagment pictures taken by

Jade Ehlers Photography