from Hello to Hitched

Hitched @ Hitched: Jasmine & Scott

Another one of our fabulous Hitched consultants is now a bride-to-be, and we're thrilled to have Jasmine do some guest blog posts for us during her wedding planning process! First up, an introduction to Jasmine and her groom, Scott!

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Scott and I met on a Sunday afternoon on a cold day in November at a coffee shop in Arlington, VA. Our first date consisted of a wonderful conversation and me admiring Scott's short stature- being 4'11" myself, I was pleasantly surprised to find a handsome man who wore 5'3" better than anyone else I had ever met.

Scott broke the "wait a few days to call" man rule and called the following day proclaiming that he was disregarding the rule and needed me to know how much he enjoyed our date. We started dating regularly and soon were as inseparable as a girl from Arlington and a boy from Reston could be :) Although there were a few hurdles early on in our journey, we both fell into a love built on respect, friendship and laughter.

Fast-forward nearly 2 years since our coffee date and we were planning a trip to Iowa to visit my family and attend my Alma Mater's Homecoming in October 2011. Scott wanted to propose during the trip and realized that the ring  was going to arrive to the house 6 hours after we flew out. So, instead of proposing during our trip home, Scott asked my Dad for my hand in marriage instead.

Scott and I were flying home from Iowa when he asked me on a date for a Friday night date when he returned home from a business trip. I agreed and the following day asked Scott if I should make reservations for the date. Scott said no because he had something planned for us, which made me wonder if he was going to propose that weekend (I had a feeling it was coming soon!). However, I was asked to a Haunted Forest by some friends during the week, which clearly would have screamed "romance", and asked Scott about changing our plans. He said it was no problem because he hadn't actually made any reservations. I figured nothing big was going to happen on Friday anyway, so our plans changed. We were about to head out for a fright-filled night when we decided that something low-key would be better after a long week of traveling.

We decided to keep our original date plans and headed out to the nearby Reston Town Center. We parked and started walking toward the restaurant when Scott stopped at a fountain to tell me how much he loved me. I told him that was very sweet, but that she was freezing and wanted to keep walking, and then he kissed me. Scott then attempted to wipe the "sticky lip gloss" off his face and complain about my recent application while I told him to stop being a baby. Scott laughed and told me that there was a tissue in his coat pocket that he needed me to get for him since his hands were covered with lip gloss.  I reached in and found a box holding the most perfect ring I could have imagined. I then quasi screamed, "what are you doing?" and he proposed. Needless to say, I said "yes!"

Camera phone photo moments after the proposal!

It was surely not the idealistic engagement story that Scott imagined when he bought the ring, but it showed that even though our plans had changed (and changed again,) the outcome was just as sweet.

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Thanks so much to Jasmine for stopping by! We're excited to continue to hear about your journey to the altar with Scott!

Inspire Me, Hawaii

Our dear consultant Ileana is in Hawaii this week knocking some of the big to-do's off of her wedding planning checklist! We can't wait to hear about everything upon her return but until then, here's a bit of awesome Aloha in the form of a Hawaii-inspired board from Snippet & Ink!

Hitched @ Hitched: The Gown Search Begins!

So sorry for our little blog glitch yesterday-- we accidentally had a couple posts go up at the wrong time! Hopefully today's installment of Hitched @ Hitched, featuring our bride Ileana's first dress shopping experience, will make up for it! Take it away, Ileana!

Ileana: Of course when you work at a bridal salon and are recently engaged, you're bound to get asked one particular question over and over again-- "Have you picked out your dress yet??"  So for the record, my answer is no, but I have tried them on!

I've been working at Hitched for almost two years now and have definitely tried on my fair share of gowns [many long before I was engaged]. Who wouldn't want to slip on the form fitting Anna Maier "Joan" dress or the flirty "Chateau" gown by Lela Rose? I can honestly say that I think my decision will be particulatly hard because I want a little bit of EVERYTHING! I want a ball gown to walk down the aisle in, a fitted gown for the reception, a short dress for the after party-- and at this point, why not throw an A-line silhouette in there just for fun!?

I had the pleasure of trying on gowns at Hitched over the weekend with a nice clan-- my mom, sister, two future sister-in-laws, cousin, and a good family friend. I am the first one in my family out of the 19 cousins, to have a "traditional wedding". No pressure or anything.

The fabulous Katie [who is a consultant at Hitched] came especially to help me try on the gowns so that I could have the true gown shopping experience. As soon as we arrived at Hitched, each member of my group began suggesting dresses they wanted to see on me. I secretly had chosen 5 dresses I wanted to show them but it was actually great that I tried on more than just those I'd picked out. Some of the gowns my crew had chosen ended up being among my favorites!

Believe it or not, I was actually quite nervous to try on dresses in front of everyone! Like many of our brides, I had it in my head that there would be some sort of expectation for a certain look or style, but my group was super relaxed and open minded which allowed me to enjoy the process even more. Lace, poofy ball gowns, sleeves, strapless, fitted, and sparkly [my mom's favorite since she is a jeweler] were all thrown in the mix. In the end I was thrilled to find that the gown I loved the most was also the one my family loved. Win-win for everyone!

One of the perks of working at Hitched is that I get to attend the bridal markets each year. The whole Hitched staff heads off in a few weeks to choose the gowns for next season, and with my wedding about a year away, I can’t wait to see what fabulous gowns our wonderful designers show on the runway! And it's nice to know that I have 3 fantastic front runners at the moment, no matter what.

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For the brides who have been to the store before, can you guess which gowns made Ileana's "YES" list?
 
[Gowns in photos: 1 Amsale, 2-4 Anna Maier, 5 Lela Rose]

Hitched @ Hitched: Asking The 'Maids

Here's our Hitched bride blogger, Ileana, to tell us about the next step in her planning process-- choosing the bridesmaids!

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Ileana: Who to ask was a no brainer for me. Though I never was one who dreamt about my perfect wedding or planned it out before I was engaged, I knew exactly who I wanted to be in my bridal party as soon as Bobby popped the question. I'm still working on so many details of the wedding but figuring out who I wanted in my bridal party was one thing I was lucky to not have to stress about! My bridal party consists of the some of the most awesome and amazing people I know and I'm sure they will provide countless hours of laughter, smiles, and fun-- from the wedding related parties to the stressful moments to the big day itself.

My sister Yvonne takes the title of maid of honor, obviously. She is one of the most honest people I know-- which I'm sure has its pros and cons when it comes to wedding planning, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Her opinion matters so much to me and I just love her to death.

My other maid of honor [yes, I know, slightly unconventional but I could never choose between the two!] is my best friend of nearly half my life, Krystin. She is like a sister to me and is just fabulous in every way. We were sort of fated to be friends-- my mom and Krystin's aunt were best friends growing up, and none of us realized it until years later!

Kara, Casey, and Ileana @ Casey's wedding in Nicaragua

Two of my other bridesmaids are my cousins, Kara and Casey. We have been inseparable since birth and I couldn't imagine my wedding without them next to me.

Rounding out the group is Angela, Bobby's unbelievably cool sister. I am so excited to have her as my sister-in-law!

So then came the question of how to ask these lovely ladies to be a part of our wedding. It actually didn't end up being hard to figure out, either! Bobby and I were shopping around the hotel's convenience store the day after we got engaged when the idea came to us. I looked up from some Hawaiian knick-knacks to discover a rack of all sorts of Hawaiian themed calendars. Instead of a calendar featuring the beautiful scenes of the landscape, we chose one that was a bit more humorous and quirky, and suited our personalities and the laid back feel of the wedding perfectly! I got six of them-- one for each of my bridesmaids and one for myself as a keepsake.

Next, we came across a funny post card with six Hawaiian ladies on it and photoshopped "Bride Ileana"  and the names of my bridesmaids-to-be on it. I wrote them each a personalized note on the back, asking them to be in our wedding and joked to them that they should use this calendar as a countdown to the big day [I didn't know the date yet, otherwise I would have circled it for them!]. We mailed them out to everyone as soon as we got back from Hawaii.

I feel so fortunate that each of them said yes and are more than happy to make the effort to be there for our wedding [more about the location to come!]. They are already going the extra mile to help me make our wedding perfect and I am so grateful for that. I cannot wait to have them all standing by my side when I say "I do" to the most incredible person I know. It just makes it all that much better!

[All photos courtesy of the bride]

Hitched @ Hitched: Announcing The Engagement

We've got another installment from Hitched bridal consultant, Ileana, for you to enjoy today! She's already told us the backstory of her relationship with her fiance, as well as the details of his amazing proposal, and today she'll share the story of spreading the big news to her family and friends. Read on!

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Ileana: Getting engaged in Hawaii was really an amazing experience. Calling and letting everyone know about it from Hawaii? Not so much. We got engaged around 7pm our time, which was 1am EST, where all of our family is located. I really wanted to call everyone, but since it was so late back home, I though it would be more considerate to call in the morning. Not being able to contain my excitements though and feeling like I really needed to tell someone, I emailed my little brother, who was living in Paris for the summer, knowing that he would be one of the first ones to find out. I sent him the exciting news, not realizing that with all announcements you want to keep private, you need to preface it with: please don't post this on Facebook.

The next morning we woke up and called our parents to tell them about our engagement. We thought it was safe to continue with the daily routine we'd gotten accustomed to in Hawaii-- wake up, read the Maui newspaper and head down to one of the restaurants for an incredible all you can eat breakfast buffet. We also wanted to go snorkeling that morning before the sun was too hot, so we decided to call everyone else later on in the day. BIG MISTAKE.

We did the snorkeling thing, meandered around our resort, and grabbed a bite to eat. Around 3pm, I decided to head back up to our room to grab my phone and start the engagement announcement calls. 30 missed calls, 40 text messages, and 50 emails later, I realized our engagement must have gone viral... and that most of my family and friends probably already knew.

"So happy for my sister Ileana... she just got engaged!!!," had filtered through everyone's news feed.

Ileana with her little brother, Ian, who spilled the beans!

It's never fun getting a voicemail from your best friend crying on the phone because she found out such big news through Facebook, when she is really someone who should hear it from straight from you. Frantically I begin calling everyone and anyone who was important in our lives to let them know, just in case they didn't see the news on Facebook yet.

Fun Fact: At the last wedding the couple attended, Bobby caught the garter and Ileana caught the bouquet!

Needless to say, everything was fine in the end. I must say, it was kind of nice to come back from an amazing day in Hawaii to find nothing but well wishes posted on your wall, excited text messages, and congratulatory voicemails. A piece of advice, though-- no matter what time it is, find a way to make sure that the VIPs in your life get notified first, and ask that they NOT make the news public until you've given the go ahead! 

[All photos courtesy of Bobby & Ileana]

Hitched @ Hitched: The Proposal

Last week, we introduced you to Hitched bridal consultant Ileana [and her groom-to-be], who will be documenting her entire wedding planning process right here on the blog! This time, she shares the story of her picture perfect proposal... so read on!

The Proposal:

Ileana: It was the first full day of our Hawaiian vacation. We woke up super early, still being on East Coast time, and decided to go on a drive to explore the island. We ended up driving the Road to Hana (a must if you ever go to Maui). It is a harrowing yet breath taking ride along the jagged sea cliffs of the north side. Hiking waterfalls, cliff diving, and eating homemade banana bread encompassed most of our day. It was almost sunset as we made our way back towards our hotel. Most of the road back home wound between sugarcane fields and sea cliffs but a portion of it runs level with the turquoise colored ocean.

The tree where it all happened!

We pulled over on a deserted black sand beach to take a few photos. Bobby is an avid photographer and stops anytime he see's something interesting. Protruding out of the water was this amazing old tree that had fallen over (but was still alive and growing). Gnarled branches and wave worn bark, white washed by the waves, it looked like a huge piece of drift wood. I climbed onto the tree [I never miss a photo shoot opportunity!] and asked him to join me. We set the timer on our camera and proceeded to take 3 pictures together.

The moment caught on camera!

On the fourth, he ran up to me and asked me to marry him right as the picture snapped. It was perfectly simple and very us. So now, the local's beach without a name, just before mile marker 14, will forever be know to us as our beach; and also as one of the best days of our lives.

The Ring:

I'm a lucky girl. Not just because he gave me a beautiful diamond ring, but more so because he gave me my grandmother's engagement ring. My grandmother and I were best friends; we were as close as two people could get. She was the most amazing person I have ever met and I strive to be like her everyday. This ring means so much more than just a union between two people. It represents my family's history and also my family's future.

I am also lucky because my mom is a jeweler. Since I was a little girl, she had set aside a diamond for me, hoping that one day I would use it is my engagement ring. So I am planning to do that, too! I went to her studio the other day to have her see if she could somehow combine her diamond and my grandmother's stone into one ring. In Hawaii, Bobby and I talked about it and thought it would be such a cool thing if we could use my mother's stone in the center, my grandmother's stone on the side, and a new diamond on the other side for me. Three generations on one ring. We're still in the process of figuring out whether it's feasible based on the construction of the ring itself... so I guess you'll have to wait and see!

[All photos personal property of bride & groom]