that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet

Poll:
I'm changing my name after I get married, but to what?!
1. Katherine Marie Lovett
I like this because it keeps my middle name, without taking a whole 60 seconds to write. I love my middle name!

2. Katherine Sadler Lovett
I like this because being a Sadler is so important to me. It is so much of who I am!

3. Katherine Marie Sadler Lovett
This is great because it has all of the names I love in it, but it's sooooo long! should that be an issue???

AAAAH. I guess this may be one of those decisions that is made at the last second...(i.e. as I'm filling out the paperwork.) such is life.

update?

well, i know that i've been slacking in the blogosphere, but here are some updates:

1. Engagement Photos

2. Bridal Photos

3. Apartment: We are leasing one in American Fork, just 5 mins from the freeway and the Park-n-Ride. Which is good, since we're both going to become besties with UTA.

4. Furniture. We are now the proud owners of a washer and dryer, a mattress set, and a bed frame.

5. Family: Stephen's farewell, Robert's court of honor. We loved Thanksgiving and spending time with our families.

6. Wedding plans: well, if it's not done now, chances are, it's not going to get done. I'm excited, ecstatic, just soooo excited to get to marry the love of my life.

7. School. Sometimes i forget about this one, mostly b/c i'm so excited to get married. i don't particularly care for the lab i'm working in right now, and i'd much rather just skip the next two weeks so that i can be married!

8. THANKS. In this time of gratitude, we are so grateful for all of our friends and family. for their love, support, and encouragement. Thanks, all y'all!

i think i like it....

a cute condo in Lehi.

now, don't steal it from me!

never-fail chocolate chip cookies

part 1
once upon a time, i had a wonderful chemistry professor named dr. wood. he one day made cookies for the WHOLE class (250 students!) to help them think about the different things we eat and how we metabolize each part of them.

part 2
one sunday evening, i was craving chocolate chip cookies, and i was willing to forsake my ghiradelli's recipe if i could get a hold of dr. wood's. luckily, i had his cell phone number, so i called him up, and he gave me the recipe. i've never gone back.

Dr. Wood's Chocolate Chip Cookies
mix together:
1 c. white sugar
2.5 c. brown sugar
1 lb. butter

add one at a time:
3 eggs

mix in:
2 T. vanilla
1 t. salt
1.5 t. baking soda
6 c. flour
12 oz. chocolate chips (i like milk, but semi-sweet work too)

bake at 350 F for 7-9 minutes. (i like 7 minutes, they come out soft and just a little gooey. it really depends on your oven.)

i make them small, and usually get about 6 dozen cookies. delicious!

cupcake inspiration

sorry. i forgot where all of these pretty pictures came from :(

inspiration

I decided after seeing many an inspiration board, i should create one of my own. It has some pictures that have done some serious inspiration-work, and hopefully conveys the warm, fun, and somewhat unique wedding I plan to have.

Next inspiration board: more color--i'm missing the red accent color somewhere in here, and i hope to find it soon!

Also...good thing i have picasa--it does picture collages in a snap! perfect!

oh what you find when bored at work...

i discovered these little toys (1 2) while reading martha stewart weddings' blog, the bride's guide.

they take your favorite inspirational photograph and pull the colors from it and voila! instant color scheme! so i put my most recent favorite photo of the bouquet in


and it gave me a dull color scheme

and a bright color scheme


perfect! this bright color scheme is exactly what i'm going for! beautiful reds, a warm white, and the most amazing shade of mustard yellow. the dull color palette is also just exactly what i was looking for, with lots of earthy browns--very warm and very fall-like (even though the weather on December 19th will be very much not fall-like).

what a fun little toy to play with! have fun looking at color schemes in your favorite inspirational photos!

flowers

at first, i dreamed of a bouquet that looked like this:

photo courtesy of Maura Brewer, my former VTee, on facebook

tight, composed of roses alone, and tied with ribbon. in my youth, the roses were always white, and the ribbon navy blue.

when my color ideas changed from navy blue and cream to a warmer red, brown, and yellow, i envisioned red roses and yellow calla lilies, with twigs coming out--not unlike this:

source: anna page photography

sans the white ribbon--a yellow or brown ribbon perhaps instead.

but then, i came upon more and more bouquets that looked like these:

via the fantastic melissa jill

from stephanie williams' fashion shoot
this series has really provided me a ton of inspiration

source: a great wedding by kate benson

found on elizabeth anne designs

full of beautiful variety and so fun and whimsical. i looooove it.

and then, i found this one, on martha stewart weddings:

via martha stewart weddings

I love this bouquet. it looks wintery and it has beautiful variety and is soooooo lovely. i think i picked a bouquet. i know it won't look just like this, but i can dream, right?

and...as a lovely picture that doesn't fit in bouquets, but does fit in the flowers. if i was a spring bride, there is no doubt i would be a tulip bride.

via anna page photography

kicks

now, i must say that it's true. i'm currently agonizing over a very tiny teeny tiny detail that i really shouldn't be worried about until my dress is done--or at least the fabric is purchased. but, i must be honest in the admission that i care about my shoes. a lot. especially since my dress is short, the shoes must be striking and beautiful, but not so much that the focus is on my feet the entire day. this being said, i'll walk you through some of my shoe-searchings.

first, i found these:

kate spade's "Lora" via Nordstrom, $285

and these:

Gentle Souls' "Ruper Star", also via Nordstrom, $139.90

i really like them. the style is just right, but the color is a little bold--i want to match my color scheme (red, cream, and chocolate brown), but i'm not sure i want red shoes with a short dress. also, they may be a little too informal...

also, both a little pricey. hey why not top it out at these:

Stuart Weitzman's "Crissy", via Nordstrom, $325

i liked all of these, minus the price tags. also, i'm getting married in December. and if you're not familiar with Utah, you won't know that December usually includes large amounts of snow (you know, that white fluffy stuff that is wet and cold?). this means that the shoes i pick have to be slightly reasonable, that is: not too high of heels and not too exposing--i do want to have feet at the end of my wedding day. this probably means 1. no sling-backs, 2. no sandals, and 3. no peep-toes.

so, i continued my search, finding some more un-winter-friendly shoes that i loved nonetheless.

from jcrew:

hitting home with their elegant and simple "Ginger", $198, in ivory and golden cypress

the pretty, feminine "Ella", $225, in ivory (also comes in golden cypress, but may be a little much.)

and the knotted-goodness of "Carmen", $265, in ivory (comes, excuse me, came in navy blue, until featured by the knot, when all of them were eaten up by navy-blue brides).

there seems to be a pattern here: 1. all non-winter shoes and 2. all expensive. so i kept looking:

from zappos, Gabriella Rocha's "Ginger", $65

cute, right color, but not formal enough. definitely closer to what i'm looking for, though. sturdy, reasonable heel, but not uncomfortable. so i searched for some mary janes and found these:

nina's "Seeley", $49.95

and i was soooooo excited! they're sturdy, perfect, inexpensive, and beautiful. just what i was looking for! look a little closer, though :(. these are made only for girls, not women.

so, i kept looking on nina's site, and created these:

nina, design your own, $199.95

which is when i decided that i wanted golden shoes (not to mention that gold is the color of shoes i originally saw in the photo of the perfect dress). They will still pop, but they won't be obnoxious or distracting. so i went back to the jcrew website. and these popped up:

jcrew, "Charlie" in warm maize, $228

mmmmmhmmmm. these are beautiful. and the price is hideous. but don't worry, i'm determined to drag a. to jcrew and try on a pair, just to make sure they aren't too tall.

to keep with the color theme, i decided that the color was "mustard" yellow and started to search out more "mustard" colored shoes. didn't have much luck, but did find these:

Merona's "Madalena" at Target, $19.95

not very dressy, and no heels, but still the perfect color. whether i wear them on December 19th or not, a pair is arriving on my doorstep. i'm sure i'll find a use for them :)

to Heaven

I'm not actually sure where I first heard this piece of music, but I know it was in my high school days, and I'm almost positive I didn't participate in the performance (which leads me to believe it was the mens' arrangement that I first heard). Either way, the lyrics and beauty of the song have stayed with me since. The song is full of depth and requires time for pondering. The lyrics are potent, and so profound. Enjoy!

In my heart's sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets' gloss
Words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute
In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices
And my soul finds primal eloquence, and wraps me in song

If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God,
sing me a requiem, sing me to Heaven

Touch in me all love and passion, pain and pleasure
Touch in me grief and comfort, love and passion, pain and pleasure

Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem
Love me, comfort me, bring me to God
Sing me a love song, sing me to Heaven

words: Jane Griner
music: Daniel Gawthrop

they're gonna put me in the movies

this makes me want to hire a videographer.

but only for a second. then, i realize that good, solid photographs will do, and they will do quite nicely. it's not like the videographer can capture me walking down the aisle, or the looks A. and I exchange while making our vows. ---just because, well, that's something we aren't doing. the temple is one of the most sacred places on earth, and there is no videotaping or photographing inside, which is fine with me.

and, let's be honest, most of those shots by the videographer could be perfectly captured in a photograph--if the photographer is good. and ours is.

the dessert dilemma

i loved the idea of cupcakes at weddings--hopefully less expensive than a traditional cake, but also cute and delicious.

martha stewart weddings

My friend Kelsy had them at her wedding:

from facebook, courtesy of Nicole

from facebook, courtesy of Amy

and I've seen some other cute pictures of a cake/cupcake duos:

source

the knot

or as part of a dessert bar:

source: steve depino

...but I'm starting to have second thoughts. I'm seeing tons of cupcakes. tons and tons of them. It's very trendy. and now, I'm perhaps wishing for a simple, traditional wedding cake--just because I don't want to feel toO trendy.

thoughts??

i <3 Gaelin

**updated: wording and font. this, i think, is the final draft.

not shoes, but still wedding.

I have an amazing group of friends, did I mention? My dear, dear friend Gaelin is a very talented artist, and when I asked her if she would help me do an invitation suite for the wedding, she was not only obliging, but so excited. After just one take, this is what she came up with:

What a beautiful concept on both of the images! I am particularly fond of the swirly one with roses. I think we will print them on a very ivory paper with brown ink for the text (to match the swirly branches). My problem is, I have no knowledge of things printing (ink choice, who to get them printed by, paper, etc.), so I'm hoping Gaelin knows more about that than I do!

Break!

okay, enough wedding stuff for now.

i am getting psyched up for the rest of the summer. this week, i'll be leaving to victor, idaho to mentor at a fantastic girls ranch called Quickwater.

when i get back, i'll be super excited to see harry potter and...500 days of summer!!!! 500 days was one of my very favorite films at the sundance film festival, and i'm stoked to see it again. zooey and joseph were dynamite, and marc webb is a fan-freaking-tastic director. if you can, you must must must see this film!



other than that, i'm just wrapping up some stuff at work and getting ready to go to new mexico with the fiance to visit his family, and start grad school at the school that shall not be named.

i'll post at least once more before i head to the wilderness, sans lappy, compy, cell, and ipod. i think it will be a post about...shoes.

hair, per request of Patti.

so, i came across this hairstyle on the blog of the fabulous jennifer skog. i knew i wanted it as soon as i saw it. behold, the perfect hairstyle:

from the back:
from the front (please ignore random other people. i don't know them...)

found on this post

i probably won't have a flower in it (definitely not my style), but i want a veil...i think i'll just stick it underneath the 'do.

isn't it magnificent?

finding the perfect dress

well, that title is a little funny for my situation because luckily, i don't actually have to find the perfect dress. a dear family friend has offered to make a gown for me. she is an excellent seamstress, and i know all i'll have to do is show her a picture of what i want and she'll whip it up.

now, the real question is...what do i want? when i decided on cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake, i immediately took the formality notch down a few levels. i also am not a fan of big, poofy cinderella dresses. another thing that accentuates the simplicity of my ideas is my ring--no center stone, just a simple row of diamonds. when i started my "dress" search for ideas of what i wanted, here is what i came up with.

first dress i loved, courtesy of Stephanie Williams, a photographer who did a killer vintage shoot that can be found here: part 1 part 2



and another dress from the same shoot that is beautiful and simple. i looove the detail on the bodice.
p.s. amazing lighting on this next image, no?



so, using these ideas, i went to brides.com to continue my search and found these beauties. (note, only a smattering of my favorites...i had so many more, but narrowed it down to these, for you.)





and finally this one.

which i immediately fell in love with. i will admit that part of me loves the dress because of the beautiful photograph in which it appears, but i also LOVE the dress--lacy, vintage, modest, etc. etc. the caption describes this dress as an "Alençon lace tea-length dress with a scalloped hemline..., $4,600, by Ulla-Maija Couture, ulla-maija.com". so i scoured ulla-maija.com to see if i could indeed find this beautiful dress or something even like it. to no avail. i found one similar on a blog that lifted an image from your dream dress,

but everything else i found was brides that LOVED this dress and couldn't find anything like it anywhere! so, i emailed the picture to my seamstress, and this was her reply:

"OHH pretty dress. We can totally make something like this...we can do the dress for much, much cheaper!!"

lucky me! thanks, steph!

planning away...

i'm doing some good research on photographers, because while i am not on a huge budget, i'm guessing that photography will be my splurge, and perhaps my biggest expense. I want to get the best bang for my buck and have a fabulous photographer. Here are my top three choices, and a favorite sample photo from each.

what do you think??

rachel thurston
http://rachelthurston.blogspot.com/
probably most expensive of the lot, but also good. $350 traveling fees to utah.
pricing is here http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12217f853e64443f&mt=application%2Fpdf
shoots a mix of film/digital

allison cox
http://blog.allisoncphotography.com
simple, but also fun. seems to match the couple and convey their style in the photos.
pricing is here http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=1217b0bf9c492db7&mt=application%2Fpdf .
I think that she is probably the most bang for your buck, including an engagement session and prints from both sessions.
extra cash for electronic files of the photos, though.
shoots mix of film/digital

duston todd
http://dustontodd.blogspot.com/
a little bit trendier and artsier, but could be more classy and traditional if asked, i'm sure.
pricing here: http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=1217e0d11c0994f6&mt=application%2Fpdf .
i think that he probably has a fun personality and would be fun to work with.
also good bang for buck--includes a print of every image. shoots exclusively on film (= not photoshopped look).
includes engagement and bridal session.

forever.

It's official. Alexander Hale Lovett and I are engaged to be married in December. hooray!