wedding

Sep052010

Life Update

I debated long and hard about not posting my dress online. And I lost... to myself. So I present you with my wedding dress. Kindly ignore the super-fab hair turban. I was fresh from the shower. =D

I know, you probably miss my wedding chatter, right? (I didn’t think so.) Are you enjoying reading the 30 Days of Becca? I’m having fun writing it.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of wedding-related stuff happening lately. Hopefully you’re following my antics over on TweetMyWedding, though I do cross post my entries here. This week, I had my first (and only) fitting of my wedding dress. All it needed was an adjustment to the straps. And, well, a larger bust section*, but that’s not happening.

After contacting several Vegas hair and make-up artists about a month ago, I realized that my time is ticking down quite rapidly. I finally booked Storybook Brides after checking their reviews on WeddingWire, Facebook, and even their web page. Yes, they were the cheapest and I’m hoping that doesn’t bite me in the butt. I’ve emailed the owner several times and she seems very nice and responds quickly. All her reviews on WW are really positive. For an updo, it is $80 and they’ll come to our hotel room. I’m doing my own make-up, which means I need to practice! It’s been a while since I’ve worn make-up and even longer (never) since I’ve put on photo-worthy make-up.

The problem now is that I really need some awesome pictures of updo’s that can hold my heavy-ish veil. This is where all y’all can help me. Thrilling, yes? My hair is a few inches below my shoulders. In October, in the middle of the afternoon, the temperature should be roughly 70 degrees. During October, temps fluctuate between the low 50s and the 80s. Holy gorgeous, Batman! What was I talking about? Right, hair. I tend to get very hot and always put my hair up. Add to that about 5-7 pounds of yarn. Basically, as beautiful as a half updo would be, I think it needs to be totally up. Sooooo, feel free to post me links or pictures of hair you’ve seen that you think might work. Thanks!

I ended up re-branding myself 6 weeks before my marriage officially change my name. I changed my Facebook name, my LinkedIn name, and even reserved a twitter name. Everything is set and pending for all my networking tools and websites. I’ve also created a new website (BeccaCreative.com) as I am changing my last name, which means everything branded as RIB-Art Designs is now outdated. The timing couldn’t be better as ribartdesigns.com is set to expire on 9/18/10. For the first time, I am letting a domain expire!

Tweet: I need a job. MBA, social media fiend.. loves marketing/ PR/ whatever. i’ll even do admin work. i’m not picky. is your Miami company hiring?
In non-wedding related news, I kinda need a new job. By new, I mean either part-time or full-time with somewhat flexible hours. I do have a job, sure, but it’s extremely part-time. When the work is done, I have to leave which means extremely diminished hours and paycheck. Yes, I am blessed and thankful to have a job, I just need more money to be able to pay our joint and my personal bills.

Ideally I’d love to do social media, marketing, graphics design or even admin work. Preference for work is south Kendall, Homestead or anywhere easily accessible from the turnpike since we’re literally right off the pike. I have been using both Twitter and Facebook to find personal connections in my network that work at companies I’ve found with ads. It’s my own version of LinkedIn’s network… sorta. I’m really not picky. We just need the extra cash. Steve just started a great new (and well-paying!) job, but I still need the money for my half of the stuff.

Tweet: looking for place to have a bday dinner near the Falls on 9/17 or 18. suggestions please! & consider yourself invited if you’re in SoFla =D
In other other news, my birthday is coming up! It’s not a milestone or anything, that’s next year. This year I’m turning 34. Next year we’ll hopefully have a big party for my 35th. I’ve trying to find a good place in a place central to Homestead and Ft Lauderdale, which somewhat seems to be The Falls area. PF Changs was suggested, which is amusing as I’ve celebrated at the Durham PF Changs for the last 2 birthdays. I’d like to try something different, something very Miami, and not a chain place. Any ideas?

So how are you doing? What’s new in your life? If you have a blog I should be reading, feel free to link it up here. I’m an avid Google reader girl and can always use more blogs to check out.

Aug312010

Aug 31 TMW Post

Tweet: i so want to change all my screen names now to make sure i get them after i print them on my business cards. 42 days left..

To go along with last week’s TMW post, I am designing business cards. Well, more like personal calling cards as I don’t really have a business. Yet. Anyhow, I changed my Facebook username (yes, already), reserved a new twitter name, changed my LinkedIn profile name and am debating changing my Foursquare name to my married name. I also reserved and started using my married name Gmail address. The only thing I wasn’t able to change was my Etsy username, but c’est la vie… nothing I can do about that.

What steps have you taken to change your name after marriage, if you are changing it, that is?

Tweet: my mom described my wedding as “a bunch of 30somethings romping around Vegas for a few days” which i think is quite amusing & accurate.

Oh wow… this made me SO happy! We’re just over 6 weeks away from our weeklong trip to Vegas with about 10 of our friends and my younger brother. My brother’s amazing girlfriend and I have been discussing the various shows we want to see. We’re also planning a day trip to the Grand Canyon and, of course, casino hopping. She also wants to find and ride all the roller coasters up and down the Strip. I, on the other hand, will be perfectly happy taking pictures of her on said coasters. =D

We’re staying at the Luxor, so the far south end. I’ve already checked out the monorail and shuttle system to get us around town without a car or too much walking. Steve and I both have bum right feet (self-diagnosed as Plantar Fasciitis) so we’d really like to not have to hike the full 4+ miles of the Strip.

I haven’t looked too much into restaurants to be sure to eat at, but Emeril’s Steakhouse is a must visit for us. And the Flamingo buffet. We want the unique to Vegas places. No chains for us! That’s actually my rule of thumb for almost all my vacations; to get the full experience.

Are you a Vegas fan? What are your favorite must-see shows? What about favorite restaurants?

Aug292010

42 days

It is 42 days until 00101010 (or binary 42) aka our wedding date #wowimageek

um, what, Becca? Why is 42 such a big deal? Here’s why.

00101010 = 0+0+32+0+8+0+2+0

Yes, I did learn to count in binary in my final semester of my MBA degree. We picked 10-10-10 because we’d both only have to remember one number! (Shush, Mitchie, 10 is a single number. Double digits, single number.)

In other news, have you seen my Binary Bride line on CafePress?

Aug242010

August 24 TMW Post

Tweet: i’m having a major crisis of uniqueness.. my name goes from being 100% unique to utterly common in 50 days. 100s have my married name..

So, @celestialaxis and I were discussing this the other day. My name is currently 100% unique. I’ve checked. If you google my name, every result will be me. When I googled my married name, I found 38,100 results of hundreds of different people. Do you know how horrible that is? Yes, I am taking my fiancé’s last name. No, I do not want to hyphenate. Basically, I’m having a crisis of my identity. But no, not an identity crisis. I know who I am.. but, well, you know what I mean. I will become Mrs. Rebecca Maiden-name Married-name in a mere 47 days.

A big part of this crisis stemmed from my latest business plan. I am crafty (hello DIY bride!) and wanted to revamp my etsy storefront. Along with that revamping, I was creating new business cards for myself. Up until now, I never gave my personal brand a second thought. Since the moment I was born, I was MsRIB. My name has special meanings to me, not because I am the last of the line (I have 2 brothers) but because my father named me after himself. He signs his artwork MrRIB. MrsRBF doesn’t have the same ring to it. By the way, I’m not changing my twitter name.

Did you/ are you changing your name after marriage?

Aug222010

Busy Week in Review

Hello friends!

There is so much going on these days… and by so much, I mean wedding/ reception DIY projects, uploading listings to my etsy site, revamping my website, tweaking my business cards (and trying to find the money to pay for them), making jewelry, browsing online for jewelry findings, etc etc etc.

So yeah, DIY projects: I’m trying to make jewelry to wear for the wedding, but the beads I have at home are slightly lacking. I’ve been scouring several websites (Beadaholique, Fire Mountain Gems) for new beads, Swarovski pearls, and findings for both my personal jewelry and also for stuff to post to Etsy.

Personal Picture

Also, I’m now contemplating these adorable favors, alligator cookie cutters! Or rather, buying these and making them into favors for Vegas. I am currently obsessed with baking and, well, I am a Gator for life. Perfect, eh? After posting them on Twitter, my friend suggested mini alligator candy molds. That might make it as Miami favors: little chocolates. Although, the be fair, Steve has already said he wants to do M&M’s for the Miami favors.

Image source

I did a test run with the canvas boards I bought. Using BIC-MarkIt markers and drawing right on the untreated (by me) canvas was perfect. It looks like I’ll be taking an 8×10 canvas board with the bag of markers to Vegas. I feel so good knowing that at least this part has been resolved. And since it’s 8×10, it’s easy to frame.. yay!

Personal photo

Right now my Etsy site only has 2 items posted. It will, eventually, have a lot more. I’m kinda bummed that Etsy changed up their site design since now my profile, with a whole lot more information than before, only shows a few lines. Boo!

Wanna see my full profile? I thought so…

Hello and Welcome!

I am a graphic designer and recent bride.

As a designer, I thrive on unique and creative to market my business. I create custom business cards (both standard 3.5″x2″ and square 2″x2″ or 2.25″x2.25″), print and web logos, letterhead, and just about anything else you can dream up.

As a recent bride, I struggled to find the perfect paper products for our wedding and decided to create my own. Our package included announcement cards, reception invitations and RSVP cards, along with Photo upload cards. Check out all the sample images in this shop to get an idea of what I can make for you.

Also, I was never truly satisfied with the necklace, bracelet and earring sets I found online, and so I made my own. I have several individual pieces and sets available for purchase. I use all sorts of materials and can easily get whatever your vision requires.

Along with the paper products, I designed several stamps, cupcake flags, water bottle logos, favor bag logos for iron-on transfers, and much more.

Do you have a specific vision for your wedding or special event?
Does your business need branding or re-branding?
Custom orders are always welcome.

Cheers!
Becca

You’d be intrigued to buy from me, right? What other design products would you want to see posted?

Aug172010

August 17 TMW Post

Tweet: our ketubah wording has been finalized! now we need to create a design… oops #wedding

Tweet: ahhhhh our ketubah [text] has arrived! thank you thank you thank you to the lovely & uber talented @swoonoverit!

Way back in November, we started talking about making our own ketubah. If you’ve seen the prices being charged for even a very basic ketubah, you’d understand why. Anyhow, we tossed around the idea of drawing our own for a while and that’s when I contacted my amazingly talented twitter friend and calligrapher, Amanda. She and I went back and forth for several months over the fonts and the text and finally I got a sample. And then I got major goosebumps and chills. Seriously… this thing is REAL! Here’s a totally artsy pic of it, funky enough that you can’t really read it. I’ll save that for the final version. =D

Personal pic

For the uninformed, a ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. As soon as it is signed by all 5 people, the couple is officially married. A lot of Jewish couples sign their ketubah’s just prior to the actual ceremony, making it more of a formality than anything. Our ketubah is completely in English, which is more common these days. My parents is in half Hebrew, half English.

So there’s your Jewish lesson for the day!

Tweet: Too big? Kinda heavy but I don’t care! 🙂 #weddingflowers http://twitpic.com/2euho8

Tweet: Up close for color accuracy #weddingflowers http://twitpic.com/2euhtf

Personal pictures

This one has orange/ red orchids, white miniature calla lilies, grass “filler” and stephanotis flowers. So basically my bouquet meaning is love, beauty, magnificent beauty, and marital happiness. There’s lots of beauty here apparently.

For the time being, the stems are tightly wrapped with green floral tape. However, mine must be super old since its way less “tape” and way more “green stretchy stuff” and is pinned around the stems. I cannot seem to find the original blue ribbon or sheer star ribbon (no surprise, I’ve moved 3 times since making the mock up) so for now, it’s unwrapped. Unless I buy more ribbon, I’ll likely use the 1″ orange and 5/8″ blue ribbon that I purchased a few months ago. My thinking, to keep the symmetry, is to sew the blue onto the orange and then wrap it. Or, wrap the orange and crisscross the blue around it and tie at the top with the memory lockets.

Aug142010

Flowers… aka my Bouquet

***Finally fixed the images.. sorry!***

Okie dokie… Here is what I put together this afternoon. Well, around baking Red Velvet Cake Balls, Key Lime pie and frying up some Homemade Potato Chips (All the recipes and more are listed here.)

Essentially I quadrupled the sample bridesmaid bouquet. The mock up had 1 stem of the orchids, 2 bunches of calla lilies and a bunch of the Stephanotis’ shoved around. This one has 4 orchid stems, 5 calla lilies, a whole bunch of the Stephanotis stems and a bunch of the grass.

For the time being, the stems are tightly wrapped with green floral tape. However, mine must be super old since it’s way less “tape” and way more “green stretchy stuff” and is pinned around the stems. I cannot seem to find the original blue ribbon or sheer star ribbon (no surprise, I’ve moved 3 times since making the mock up) so for now, it’s unwrapped. Unless I buy more ribbon, I’ll likely use the 1″ orange and 5/8″ blue ribbon that I purchased a few months ago. My thinking, to keep the symmetry, is to sew the blue onto the orange and then wrap it. Or, wrap the orange and crisscross the blue around it and tie at the top with the memory lockets.

Only problem is I must be mental as I cannot find the lockets I could’ve sworn I bought in Michaels several months ago. I guess I’ll be buying some now. My luck? I’ll find the ones I bought in a year or so cuz that’s how I roll.

So……….. what do you think?

Both are personal pictures

Aug132010

Flowers and Favors

With t-minus 56 days until we leave for Vegas and 58 days until the wedding, it’s probably time to start working on stuff to take, right? Yeah, me too. This weekend I’m planning on working on my bouquet and the welcome bags… and hopefully embossing all the envelopes for the reception.

Bouquet

This is my initial mock-up thrown together sometime last year and was for the bridesmaids when we were still having a bridal party. Since I purchased enough for 3 bridesmaids and my own, larger bouquet, I have quite a few to work with to make mine a lot fuller. This bouquet is wrapped with a royal blue ribbon then overwrapped with a translucent white ribbon with silver stars. I might switch it up to the orange and blue ribbons. Or even just the blue ribbon and use the orange to hang my memory lockets from. My what?

Personal picture

Guest bags

I am planning on buying 14″x16″ canvas totes from Cheap Totes and using the iron-on transfer paper I already purchased, putting the graphic below onto it to stuff with goodies for our Vegas attendees. Since I don’t have the bags yet… well or a printer for that matter… umm, OK not much I can do with this project.

In the bags, I’m planning on putting aluminum water bottle, deck of cards, candy, chips, gum, aspirin, transportation maps… what else do you suggest?

Actually, do you have a good printer recommendation for me? It needs to have wifi capabilities since I have a very mobile laptop. If I can buy one this weekend, then I’ll be working on printing this stuff.

The bag: source

Personal picture

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