Giveaway!!!

Hi bloggers! As mentioned in my last blog post I am a giddy girl excitedly starting a new venture as a wedding/event consultant. I recently created a Facebook page to spread the word. In it's first few weeks 109 people have already clicked that cute little 'Like' button and I couldn't be more flattered or excited.

To thank all of the sweet people who have decided to like my page I am hosting Sparkles & Charm's first giveaway! The prize is a birthday themed gift hand crafted by yours truly!

A drawing to determine the winner will be held on Saturday, September 1st. Saturday my husband is turning 31. In honor of his birthday I am naming not one but TWO winners!

Want to enter?! Here's what you do:

1. Head on over to Sparkles & Charm's Facebook page. *click here*

2. Find the giveaway photo posted under 'Wall Photos' (pictured below)

3. Follow the instructions

Easy right?!

An extra entry will be given to those who are subscribers of this blog. Just be sure to write an additional comment : "Subcribed".

Good luck everyone!

New Adventure!

As I mentioned in my last post (found here) there are some exciting things going on in our household. The last few months have been busy but fun. Since our wedding I have been pleasantly surprised with compliments on the decor from our big day and have received requests from friends and coworkers to assist in planning and crafting items for other weddings and parties. These requests have left me beyond flattered and utterly excited!

I think I have found my calling!

Sparkles & Cheaterpants the blog will slowly be making its transition into Sparkles & Charm Wedding & Event Planning!

It is definitely in the beginning stages but I'm excited for this new business venture!

Be sure to check me out at the Sparkles & Charm Facebook page!

More details coming soon!

Our Wedding Video

Hello to all of my readers out there...the ones that are still left! I haven't forgotten about you or this wonderful blog of mine that kept me sane throughout the whole wedding planning process. Things have been crazy these first three months of marriage and I have been moving non-stop. Don't worry, its's all been an exciting, good, crazy....nothing bad. There are some fun things happening in the Chapman household which I'll reveal a little later. (No, it's not a baby.)

In the meantime, I am excited to say that in addition to some beautfiul pictures captured by our amazing photographers over at Van's Studio of Photography (featured in a little sneak peek in this post), we have also received the highlights reel of our wedding day from our videographer, Ahwahnee Films!

You might remember from a previous post (here) that we were looking around for a videographer. Then last summer we discovered work from Ahwahnee Films (read in this post) and in November we decided to hire them to film our big day (read about it here).

From the first time Zac and I met Aaron at Starbuck's we became excited about our choice to hire a videographer. Aaron seemed laid back but professional. He was clearly passionate about his work and really wanted to get to know the two of us as a couple before showing up the venue on the our wedding day.

In addition to filming our wedding, Aaron and his filming partner Kevin were also able to capture our rehearsal at our venue, Wolf Lakes Park, and our fiesta themed rehearsal dinner at our home the night before the wedding.

The next day they arrived bright and early and filmed all the fun until Zac and I left the wedding reception late that night. They were with my girls and me as we rode to the venue in a gorgeous Jaguar Limo from Royal Coach Limousine (read in this post), spent the afternoon with Zac and his groomsmen at a local brewhouse and restaurant and of course caught all of the beautiful moments of our ceremony and fun times during our reception.

I have watched this highlights reel more times than I can count and I tear up every time. (Yes, there may have been an ugly cry here and there on days that I was extra emotional.) We couldn't be happier with this 10 minute and 48 second summary of the day that we became husband and wife.

I hope you all enjoy! (Be sure to buffer before watching!)


Cristina+Zac Highlights from Aaron Mendez (Ahwahnee Films) on Vimeo.

We're Married!!!!

That's right!!! Zac and I became Mr. and Mrs. 1 month ago today! The day was amazing. We love everyone that was able to come and join in our celebration. I haven't smiled so much in all of my life. :)

The next day we had a fun post wedding day brunch at our home and a few days later we left on a 10 day honeymoon in Maui.

Now that we are home and are settling back into our normal lives, I look forward to sorting thorugh all of our photos and catching you all up on the fun events that made our wedding so special to us. In the meantime here is alittle sneak peek at some of the pictures our photographer captured.

There are PLENTY more where that came from :)

2 Weeks!

We're down to just two weeks before the big day! In fourteen days, at 5pm, our guests should have taken their seats and the wedding should begin. I have to applaud (quite loudly!) all of you wonderful bloggers out there who managered to successfully maintain your blogs right up until the wedding. I have been overwhelmed these days with a change in my job, and the crazy amount of last minute details and projects to be sorted out. My poor blog has quickly fallen on the list of priorities. It appears as though my posts with details and pictures of all of the wonderful events leading up to the wedding (both bridal showers, the out of town bachelorette party, and the rehearsal dinner) will all have to make their debut after the honeymoon. :/

I hope you will all continue to check back in and catch these posts! As for me....its time to work on a few more projects, including a few for my fellow bridey, Samantha's, bridal shower tomorrow! So much to get done....so little time :)

Just One More Month

Only 30 measly days left!!!!!

Feather The Nest Bridal Shower: Drinks and Treats

It's time for part two of my Feather the Nest Bridal Shower wrap up. If you missed part one check it out here.

What would a party be without some beverages and yummy snacks?!

My mom never does anything on a small scale, so we had plenty of drinks and treats to go around.

In the kitchen, she created a few different beverage stations. She covered up our countertops with yellow curtain panels that she picked up at our local Salvation Army. The bright color really tied in with the springtime feel of the party.

On one counter she placed a collection of wine glasses both traditional and stemless. My mom thought that it would great for our guests to have a variety of drink options so she included some wine and champagne for those that wanted a little adult beverage. She also got a few different flavors of sparkling cidar for anyone who wanted a bubbly drink without the booze.

My mom also included some refreshing options including iced tea, raspberry lemonade, and bottles of water. To make the water bottles special for the occasion, my mom had ordered pink labels that said "Zac and Cristina May4, 2012".

Since the weather was a little unpredictable with the clouds rolling in and out and the rain threatening to make the day gloomy, my mom thought that it would be a good idea to set up a hot drink station as well. On another counter she put some hot water in a thermos and placed hot tea packets and instant coffee mixes out in containers. Small ramekins held different sugar packets and creamers. Cups and stir sticks were all that was left to make sure that guests had everything that they needed for a nice hot beverage.

This white owl vase was one of my favorite pieces of decor at the party. My dad found two of these little guys at Ross for Less and my mom used both of them to hold baby's breath as decoration at the shower. One was placed at the hot beverage station and the other could be found at the dessert table in the second living room....but more about that later.

Next to the kitchen window was a table set up with additional cups and glasses. Baby blue champagne flutes were all set for a champagne toast and there were also cute mason jar cups with striped straws for iced tea and lemonade.

The mason jars were wrapped with different colored ribbon and tied with yellow and white baker's twine. In each glass was a grey and white striped paper straw and a cute owl stir stick. (Read more about the stir sticks here.)

After we had played games and enjoyed some time to mingle and hang out, my mom decided that it was time for a little champagne toast.

 She and I gathered in the kitchen and started pouring champagne and sparkling cidar for our guests.

My mom gave such a sweet toast!

Lately she's turned into this emotional sap, and it rubbed off on me a little with her kind words.

I love my mom and she did a fantastic job!

Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoyed a little sip of bubbly after the toast.

It was such a happy day!

In addition to a dining room table overflowing with yummy food (not pictured) our second living room had a table set up with some gorgeous and delicious desserts.

My mom spent the day before the party baking a whole bunch of cake pops, brownie pops, and cupcakes. She also ordered an owl shaped lollipop mold online and made a variety of flavored suckers.

Zac had a great time decorating the desserts the night before the shower. All it took was some melted white chocolate, edible pearls, and frosting to make those desserts look beautiful. Having never decorated cake pops before, Zac had a "few" mistakes that found their way into his belly.

The guests seemed to really enjoy the desserts. The table was pretty much empty by the time everyone left. Not only did everyone enjoy the delicious treats at the shower but many took some home to their families.

The last little treats that the guests were offered on their way out were small packs of candy and tiny silver frames that held a photo from our engagement session. My mom had attached small ribbons to the frames that had our names and the wedding date written in grey.

Stay tuned for part three of the Feather the Nest Bridal Shower wrap up.

:)

Feather The Nest Bridal Shower: The Decorations

On Saturday, March 17, my mom threw me a super cute "Feather the Nest" themed bridal shower. The party was inspired by my love for all things owl and the theme was reflected in the smallest of details. I owe my mom a big thank you. The shower was so pretty and fun and I had such a wonderful time.

As I mentioned in this blog post, the week before the shower we noticed that the weather was not going to cooperate with our backyard bridal shower plans. As each day got closer to the shower it became more and more clear that there would definitely be rain.

It was unfortunate that we were going to have to move the party inside but there were a few plus sides to having an indoor shindig. Without worrying about the outside elements it was easy to start putting up decorations early. My mom arrived four days before the shower and began setting up banners and hanging tissue. The amount of things that she brought along with her to set up the shower was incredible.

The shower was being held at my house which fortunately has a great layout for parties. Last January we fit three large rectangular tables and thirty people in our living room for Sarah's jungle themed baby shower. We figured that we could easily fit the twenty or so expected guests in our second living room with smaller round tables.

All of the colors were very spring time and bright. Above the fireplace was an arch of colorful pom poms that framed the chalkboard Zac created for our wedding.

The chalkboard read "happily EVER after May 4, 2012" and on either side were our initials.

Zac helped to create a special chair for me. After the tissue pom poms were hung he climbed up on a chair and weaved white Christmas lights throughout the tissue and streamers.

It created a soft glow about the armchair which was covered with a green floral print sheet. A white bedsheet covering one of our bar stools was all it took to set up a little table next to my chair. Since I'm so short and we didn't think that guests sitting across the room would be able to see me while I opened gifts, Zac and his dad propped the armchair up on two wooden pallets. It was the perfect seat!

The table centerpieces all consisted of books, vases of flowers, candles, and a variety of ceramic birds, white owls, and other vintage looking trinkets.

The books used to add heighth to the centerpieces were all in shades of pink, white, and blue and most were romantic and lovey stories.

I loved all of the pops of color in the flowers that were chosen to fill the vases on each table. The candles added a romantic touch.

I thought that the room looked fantastic.

With the cloudy sky outside and the fire roaring in the fireplace, the lighting was soft and created the perfect atmosphere for an afternoon shower.

To welcome everyone to the party, the second of Zac's handmade chalkboards was propped up by our entryway. To along with the owl theme, a feather wreath was hung on the front door.

Stay tuned for more details about food/drinks, games, and guests!

In Town Bachelorette Party

Friday night was my in town bachelorette party. The girls and I hit up Club Habanos for a laid back, casual night of drinking and dancing. I had an absolute blast!

A few of us met up at Samantha's place to get ready before heading out to Habanos.

I rode with my girl Danielle, who couldn't resist getting a "car pic" of us on our way.

So many of my wonderful girls came out that night to share a drink and get a little crazy on the dance floor. It was so sweet to see new faces show up at our table. A big thank you to everyone who was able to make it out!

Miss Samantha had a fantastic time!

I was excited to see that another soon to be bride, Holly, (part of team Bridey) was able to come out. She's going to be a Mrs. in less than a week!!!!

My friend Victoria from work was thrilled to have a night out. Mama just had baby number three only 4 weeks ago! (She looks fantastic doesn't she?!) My poor little size A's were a wee bit envious of her new found double D's. :P

Tiana and I have been friends since November of 2003 when I got hired at Applebee's. When I saw her come in the door at Habanos on Friday, I knew it was going to be a good night. Everyone has one of those friends in their life who are so fun, so sweet, and with whom you can be yourself around. With Tiana it doesn't matter how much time has gone by since the last time we've seen each other, we just fall right back into place. I love this girl and she's stuck with me for life!

Miss Leena! I love when I get to hang out with Leena. She's one of the greatest friendships I've had come out of working my current job.

Our table was full of drinks all night long and everyone was having a good time.

Being the bride and wearing a veil all night will certainly get you some attention and shots kept showing up at our table. My girl Tiana was all about the BJ shots. All the whipped cream and no hands....

...well, what can I say? It was a good night!

Thanks again to all of you wonderful ladies who came out and made Friday night so much fun! I love you all.