Friday, January 30, 2009

"Honest Scrap" Award



I've been tagged from at A Match Made in Heaven with the "Honest Scrap" Award. Thanks girl! This brightens my day. So now I have to tell you 10 random facts about me. Well, lets see....

1. I vow to only use "real" Christmas Trees, never artificial

2. Getting my nails done is amazing therapy. My nail guy Alex is such a good listener and no matter where he goes, I'd follow.

3. I am the Director of the youth ministry at my church

4. I am like the only person in the world without a face book page.

5. Forensic Files is my favorite TV show.

6. I am the only girl and the youngest of my parents children.

7. I am in love with those DNA pictures that you can get as art.

8. I can't live without my to-do list.

9. I own a company that I love.

10. I can't imagine life without you all, my beloved blogger buddies.


And now I have to pass this on the 7 other blogs, so here we go ladies:
Since so many of my blog friends have received this award, I'll just give it to my seven most recent followers. They all have fabulous blogs!!
Kristin at Something Blue
Brandy at Something Weddings
Brenn at Where Preppy meets Hippie
Jane at In the Waiting Line
Goldie at A Brides Golden Moments
A Biltmore Bride
Chrissy at 3. 2. 1.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Just in case.......

you missed my seven random facts, here is the link to that post!

I re-read it again today to make myself laugh.

I really, really need to laugh right now.

Have a great day ladies!

Going through a storm.........


Please forgive me for not posting in a while (about a week, I think, I've lost track of the days) but I have just been going through a minor storm in my life.


Please keep me in your prayers and know that I think about you gals often.


I'll be back next week.


God never puts more on us than we can bare............................

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Yellow Inspirations!!!!!!!!

The ever so lovely "Once a Bride" has an amazing yellow flower inspiration board for you all to check out!!!

YYYEEEAAAA!!! It's beautiful!!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

It's another first!!! Yea, I've been tagged!!!

My buddy, The Relentless Bride, has tagged me......................



So here goes my seven random facts!


1) I am obsessed with the action of speedometers turning to a "thousandth". From back in the day when they would roll over to now when they change digitally, I love when the speedometer is on an even number in the thousands. it's gotten so bad that my friends will pull off to the side of the road and take pictures with their camera phones & text them to me to make my day. I get so excited when mine rolls over! There is something magical when it says 43,000. hahahaha
Photo Source

2) I love hospital food! Absolutely love it! When I was little I used to beg my parents to take me to the hospital to eat hospital food when all the other kids wanted to go to McDonald's. Even to this day, I don't like a whole lot of seasoning on my food and prefer hospital food. Photo Source


3) I am a shark fanatic. I belong to seven different organizations that are for shark protection and preservation. Sharks are not horrific creatures, they just get a bad rap. Even the guy who wrote the movie jaws, has now spent his life trying to educate people on this amazing animal. I'm not surprised they come inland to try to feed with all the trash and pollution we dump in the ocean, millions of pounds a day. Cruise ships just sail out a little ways (only 3 miles to be exact) and open the hatch and there ya go! I'm not surprised sharks are hungry enough to bite since we are extremely over fishing and robbing them of the food and resources they need to survive. They have been around since the age of dinosaurs so I doubt they are not going to use their survival skills to continue to exist. Plus, people kill these creatures to make soup out of their fins and throw the rest of the body away. The killers don't even recycle it to "half-way" justify the killing! They just freakin' kill them! We treat the oceans like God will just give us another one when we finish abusing this one. But I digress. Not cool, not cool at all people!

Photo Source



4) I usually keep about 3 jobs at a time. I am not sure if I am afraid of commitment or what but I do not want to just have one main job and leave it at that. However, I usually keep about three different gigs that all take different talents to give me some excitement and variance to life. Maybe, it's a generational thing. I know lots of people my age that are like me. Photo Source



5) I HATE shopping, any kind of shopping, especially clothes and groceries, even if it's with YOUR money. E'nuf said!


Photo Source


6) I love to take pictures. By no means am I a photographer or am I good at it, but I love it. I truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words. Plus, looking at pictures, helps you develop analytical skills, creativity, reasoning skills, and a whole host of other things that are good for you.


Photo Source


7) I have a terrible memory/I'm a "post-it note" queen. people even buy me post it notes for Christmas and my birthday. This "random fact" kind of stems from number 6. That's one reason why I take so many pictures. Because my memory is bad, I need proof that it happened the way you said it did.


Photo Source


Now I must tag one person. I had a hard time choosing so I decided to go with whoever my newest follower is, hold on.......let me go take a look..........okay, I'm back......It's:


Jane in the Waiting Line

The Secret Code..........

for anyone planning to attend one of the "Great Bridal Expo" in your city. You can use the promotional code BGWS (or KNOT) and get two free tickets. Click here for the tour schedule!!

Below Copied From Bridal Guide:




Check the schedule below to find out when The Great Bridal Expo, Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Shows and The Wedding Salon luxury bridal events will be in your area.

Bridal Guide is proud to be a part of the best bridal shows in the country:
The Great Bridal Expo, the nation's largest touring bridal exhibition; Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Shows, dedicated to brides and grooms for over 15 years; and The Wedding Salon, a luxury bridal event showcasing high-end products and services.



These shows feature aisles of top wedding professionals, fashion shows with the latest in bridal attire, and chances to win fabulous giveaways such as honeymoons, gowns, home furnishings and more. Find the show nearest you and start planning the wedding of your dreams today!


Special offer: Get two free tickets to any Great Bridal Expo show! Just click here to register and enter promo code BGWS.


Click here to register for any Perfect Wedding Guide show.


To register for The Wedding Salon luxury bridal events, click here.

Let's Help "Broke Ass Bride"! She's worth it!!!!

LET'S HELP "BROKE ASS BRIDE" OUT!!!!!!

BELOW IS HER RECENT POST FROM HER BLOG......................

Green Wedding Contest Update - only 6 days left to vote on Facebook!

We just got an update, and while we're still in the lead (woot) there is a couple with a church-full of supporters hot on our tails. Eek!

Please hop on facebook and vote once each day for us - Facebook voting is only open for 6 more days... until the 20th.

Here's the info:

On Facebook: *TROUGH Jan. 20*

Follow the link below, clicking "join group" and leaving a message on their wall stating that you vote for us!http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22482072281
Once you've joined, all you have to do to vote is leave a wall messages with our names each day!BUT, you can still also vote once a day through Jan. 29th on the Trees Instead website!

On their website: *VOTE THROUGH JAN. 29*

Go to http://www.treesinstead.com/Green_Wedding_Contest.htmland answer a few easy questions from their site.Note that the questions change up every day or so...

Usually, they ask for:

Our names: Hunter Stiebel and Dana LaRue

Our wedding date: May 24, 2009

The location of one of their planting grounds - all of which can be found here:http://www.treesinstead.com/Tree_Locations.html

Their toll-free number: 1-866-972-8733

Any other answers are usually quite easy to locate.

*BONUS: You can vote extra once from work and once from home... only 1 vote per IP address daily!

Voting on Twitter open through Jan. 20th...Follow Trees Instead, and You can also vote once per day on Twitter!

Just post the following link, along with our names:http://www.treesinstead.com/Green_Gift_Valentines.php Dana LaRue/Hunter Stiebel @TreesInstead

Special thanks to all those who've been voting regularly.

You are amazing and I appreciate all of you so very much!

Thanks to all who supported the contest!!!

Good Morning Sunshines!!!!!



Photo Source


Thanks to all of you fabulous Diva's (and male friends/male relatives who are certainly not diva's), it appears that I have won the motif design contest. Kendra posted the results Saturday morning. It "appears" that WE are winners!

{Place your name here} is a ........

Photo Source

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You all for placing your votes and being supportive!

I look forward to showing you all my brand new wedding logo!

A toast to a host of new DIY projects soon to come with a new logo!!!!

And a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to those who left a comment on motif's page with cheering and support!

An Atlanta Bride
Jesse
Crystal
My Dream Ring
Once a Bride
Sara E. Cotner
Wedding Corner
Broke Ass Bride

And a VERY, VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO Mr. Authentically U!
He went through his fair share or effort to get me some votes!! Thanks love!!

Luv ya all!!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Because I'm lazy..........

and a little drained from a rough day, Today's post is an inspiration board: Hope you like!




Oh and by the way, if you haven't had the chance to vote for me to win the wedding logo on http://motifdesigns.blogspot.com/, (click Authentically! U Bride in the top right corner) you have about half a day left to show your love. Thanks to all those who already have voted. There's a thank you post coming over the weekend. I also plan to talk about my firework dilemma over the weekend. Once again I need your help. I need to know if I'm crazy ( I love the fact that most of you are usually on the "of course your not crazy, it's your wedding, do what you want" side)


Photo Source: Shoes, Tiara, Flowers, Bouquet, Table Display

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Blissful Gratitude................

I couldn't wait to get home today to write this blog! It seemed like my work day would never end! Why? Glad you asked! Because, to my great surprise, a total stranger touched my heart as I read blogs last night. A virtual sista-friend, home girl, blog buddy wrote an amazing post about yours truley.

Out of the blue, Sony AKA Bridal Bliss said some really nice things about me and then put the worst picture I've ever taken up on the post (that's a true friend, the worst picture? hahaha). The love of God shines through you!

So, I went online and found this cute little graphic to show my appreciation!
**************
*************
************
***********
**********
*********
********
*******
******
*****
****
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*
Queen City Bride
Build your own Blingee

Here's looking at you!

Thanks so much Sony for your kind words and encouragement! That's what life is all about! Touching the lives of others and encouraging them to move forward another day, even when they don't feel like it! We never know what's going on in others lives and how our small (or not so small) acts of kindness will last a lifetime in others.

I can't say thank you enough!!!!

And let me not forget to shout out and thank all of those who have left a comment on this particular post on her page! You guys are the greatest group of supportive gals a blogger could ask for.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I feel left out......

because I am enjoying my lovely day scrolling through blogs relaxing when it dawns on me that I want a cute, unique blog name!

I guess it never occured to me that a blog identity would mean so much but as it turns out, people actually remember yu and get to know you in the blogoshere (go figure!)

So, this is where you come in!

I need some suggestions for a new blog name. For those of you that have gotten to know me through my posts, maybe you can use your creative juices to come up with some suggestions. For the new comers, I suggest you weave through some of my post, if you'd like, and get a feel for who I am.


It's crazy but I can't seem to think of anything so I sure hope you guys can help! I'd love a cute new name for the new year!!

(and just in case your wondering, Authentically U is the name of my company. Needless to say, when I'm on here I don't want to think about work so I'd like to get away from that name if possible. We'll see what you come up with)



Thanks in advance for your participation!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Reoccuring Advice......

I've been in the planning stages of my wedding for about 2 months now and I continue to get the same advice from a lot of people so I thought I'd share it on to my blogger family.

It's very simple actually but some brides don't take it to heart.

"When it comes down to it, this is a time in your life that is about you and your FH. Although you should have some considerations for the family and friends that will be apart of the event, Ultimately, you and your FH are most important. Make decisions based on what is a reflection of you two and the legacy that you wish to create as one and take time for yourselves during the process. This is a great time to continue to develop your relationship so don't allow all the hustle and bustle to distract from the fact that this is the time when you and your FH make a vow before God to honour each other as you spend the rest of your life together."

Hope this helps!
Peace and Blessings,
Authentically U Bride

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Let's Eat Cake!!


I just saw this wonderful event over at The Relentless Bride. Melissa from Masterpiece Weddings is donating $1 for every post that mentions her charity event Let’s Eat Cake!

The goal of Let’s Eat Cake! is to donate at least $50,000 to this deserving organization, and 100% of the proceeds will be directly donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Let’s Eat Cake! will include a cake design and taste challenge, as well as a live cake auction. Professional pastry chefs from all over the southeast will be competing, and aspiring pastry chefs and at-home bakers will also be invited to compete in the amateur division. Local and celebrity judges have volunteered their time to judge the event!
If you can’t attend, you can donate online here.

You have until January 12 to repost! :)

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I'm so very honored!!

Greetings all!!!

I am loving every minute of be a blogger and learning/sharing all I can so that we can all have amazing weddings!!

And now it seems my experience here has earned me a reward (although I'm rewarded every day by having great bridal blog friends like you). I just found out today that I am a finalist in "Motif Designs" wedding logo giveaway! (YYYEEEAAA!!! Thanks Motif for thinking enough of me to include me in the final round!)
Now it's YOUR turn to help this Bride fulfill her dream of having a beautiful, custom, personalized wedding logo! WOW, How cool is that? I could really use it considering one of my themes is "monogram". I even choose my reception site because they throw in a monogrammed ice sculpture with most of their packages. :-) LOL


So, I graciously ask you to please go to Motif Designs Blogs and vote for your buddy Authentically U-Bride in the Wedding Logo Giveaway!!!! The winner will be chosen next Saturday.

My first Inspiration Board!!!

So, I made my first inspiration board. Nothing fancy, no expensive software, I just put some pictures together in paint.

Some of the pictures are not credited properly but I am working on fixing that. If you know where any of the pics came from, please feel free to email me so I can credit you correctly. Now that I am a better blogger and not just a regular wedding fanatic, I promise to do better! :-)



(Clockwise from top left: Classic Ceremony Rental Decor, Fabulous Dress, My Favorite Beautiful Wedding Day Hairstyle, The Beautiful Cake Inspiration, an Amazing Tiera for our "Diamonds and Pearls" theme, Blue Champagne Spritzer, Chair Sashes in Royal, Personalized CD favors with our Favorite Love Songs)

Friday, January 9, 2009

Auntie Role?

I have a dilemma. I am not sure what role my aunt should play in my wedding. My mom has 13 brothers and sisters but I have a special relationship with this one particular aunt. She is the youngest of my mom's 13 siblings and she stayed with my family for a little while when I was a kid. She is also the person helping me plan my wedding because she is the only person I know who lives in the city where the wedding will take place.

I already have a Maid of Honor, Matron of Honor, 6 bridesmaids, and 2 Jr. Bridesmaids. Also, on my "bridesmaid side", there is already 1 more person than the "groomsmen side" so anything else would make it really unbalanced. My wedding coordinator said that Candle Lighters are usually younger people so that crossed that off the list. She also will have a different dress because she has already gotten her fabric to have a special dress made for the occasion in the colors of our wedding.

What types of roles are available for Godmother/Aunt in a wedding ceremony!

Unknown Photo Source
I need your help!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I'd like to thank the Academy..........


My Dream Ring graciously gave me my first Blogger Award!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! There will never be another first!!!

The rules are as follows...
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 7 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.
My awards go to...{in no particular order}:

And last but not least, this blogger is my only blogger friend that is not a bride. He is just a really cool cat who lives in the Atlanta area and is a total icon. He does the best tattoos in the whole world. He's getting this award because his posts are the most grateful I've ever seen. If your ever in Atlanta, you should stop by his shop, CITY OF INK!

Relationship Development

So, today I'll bring over a blog from my other site. I'm glad I was introduced to blogger before I'd written to many on the other site. I think I only have about 5 more to transfer. Anyway, this is "Relationship Development" and That {Engaged} Girl (and fellow Oklahoman) inspired me to bring it over today with all of her "After Wedding" talk! Thanks! Originally Posted on 12/10/08.

Being a marketing professional, a large majority of my job is placed in a category called, "business development".

From what I've learned so far about business development, this is how I've come to define it. Business Development is when you come up with strategic plans and initiatives to enhance your ability to get and retain client relationships. It is creating a group of standards in which to operate so that you are best able to maximize your relationship with the client.

Image: Source

What does this have to do with a wedding and marriage....................?

Well, I recently created my wedding website and one of my dear friends posted a message in my guestbook about making sure we put as much effort into preparing for our marriage as we do into preparing for our wedding. I think that's great advice!!! So I decided that every time I make a move in my wedding planning, I will make a move to better my relationship. I'm sure this will help my marriage in the long run.

Image: Source

So from this day forth, in an effort to keep my head in the right place as it comes to this wedding/marriage planning and not to get too consumed in the EVENT, I will do a "Relationship Development" activity at least once a week. Maybe I'll keep a calendar!

Image: Source

I'll let you know how it goes.....................

This week's activity was a trip to New Orleans for the Saints/Falcons game (It was on Sunday so it counts for this week). My FH was really happy even though we didn't have the best seats, I endured a Football game, and we spent some quality time. Plus we toasted to our 3 year anniversary of dating (although its on the 29th.)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish.....

Hay gals (and guys if there are any reading),


I have a dilemma! It's about my centerpieces.


Since I first begin planning my wedding one of the main things I have always said I wanted were fish in my centerpieces. I really don't have a preference to what is on top of the water or in the water with the fish but I know I want fish. Our colors are Blue and Yellow and I've seen some really cute blue and yellow fish out there.


However, my dilemma is what to do with the fish when I am finish with the reception. With 200 guests and 90% of them traveling, I don't think my aunt's idea to give them away would go over so well. I don't think there would be enough people who would want to take the centerpieces home with them.


So, I was thinking of maybe giving them to a children's shelter or children's hospital or something. As a donation, me and FH could supply them with the food and stuff to take care of the fish. (or something to that effect)


The other dilemma is that my FH really wants floating candles somewhere incorporated in the event. Let me first say that he has been great in his participation of this planning process. He hasn't really asked for much but he did identify floating candles as a "must have". I am considering using floating candles as the Unity Candle at the ceremony but he also wants them at the reception. So my question is: "Can fish live in water when a burning candle is floating on top the water?" That may be a silly question but I would hate to kill the fish by burning the candle and have poor dead fish at my wedding reception. That would be horrible!!!


Here are some photos that I found online:
Photo Source
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So please ladies, give any suggestions that you may have about my fish issue. HELP :-)

Here is a nice article about fish centerpieces!

Monday, January 5, 2009

DIY Projects: PHOTO HEAVY

REPRINT from my other blog - ORIGINAL POST DATE 10/20/2008


Okay, blogger family! I need your opinion.

Dues to a few reasons that I will list below, I have chosen to take on some projects as DIY for my wedding. However, my wedding planner who I absolutely adore, respect, and admire doesn't think that it is a good idea to take on all these projects. She keeps telling me that I am going to have enough to do with my time and that I will not want to be worried about such things. Also, she says that if my reasoning is financially related, the projects I have chosen are not the ones that will make the biggest dent in my budget. They are the ones least worthy of my precious time, that it would really make that much of a difference. I'm a little torn and scared. She also tells me that in a few months, I am going to just want to call someone and say is it ready instead of going home after a long days work to look at a craft project.

Please offer any insight that you may have on these projects, my reasoning, and what my planner is telling me about my decision.

Reasons to have my DIY projects:
  1. Because I am a crafty person
  2. I have 18 months, long enough to make mistakes and recreate if necessary
  3. It will be my vision, not someone else's
  4. It will be sentimental
  5. It will calm my nerves
  6. It helps me feel like I am making progress I can see
  7. allows me to use my creativity
  8. Stress reliever
  9. Save money

My DIY projects:
  • Monogrammed Aisle Runner
  • Programs
  • Ring bearer pillow (I love to sew)

This will be one of my latter projects so just in case I don't get to it in time, I can just run out to Wal-Mart and grab a traditional one.

I love this fabric from http://www.hancockfabrics.com/ but I am still very open to this.

and these next few I found on http://www.amazon.com/

and I also found these on http://www.fabrichouse.com/.



And lastly, these two very nice ones from http://www.fabrics.com/.




  • Design and Printing of "Guest Blessings" cards (We are not having a guest book but instead the cards and a large decorated glass vase)
This is the idea for the Guest Blessings table items. This picture is from http://www.myjeanm.com/. I have a vase from my grandmother and it will also serve as a memorial item. I still am not set on a design for the cards but I'm thinking maybe a monogram.


  • favors (Just painting a gold "H" on blue votive holders, wrap in tulle circles with a bow, pre-tied, you just stick it on)
These are the votive holders I am going to order form http://www.candles4less.com/. I am getting a few boxes of the blue ones and a few boxes of the yellow ones. They are only $4.46 for a box of 12 and I am going to paint the H using a stencil from Micheal's.






  • My bouquet and Bridesmaid stems (they are not having bouquets but calla lily stems with draping ribbon.

  • Hotel welcome baskets

I am pretty set on ordering these from The Lucky Clover Trading Company because they have really great prices and quality. I really like the shape of this basket (.55/each) because it is round.......




but since the baskets don't come in color, I am going to have to do something simple like tie a blue and yellow ribbon around it to make it nice. Which means I may need a basket with a handle. Something like this (1.25/each, also from The Lucky Clover Trading Company).






  • Design and print Table Cards (They are going to be very plain but we are using objects instead of numbers to assign tables so I can't just go buy them somewhere)

  • My veil
I want a cathedral length, 3 tier, veil such as this one shown on http://www.atelierolenasveils.com/



I'm also doing my own make up the day of the wedding (I was a make-up artist for 5 years)

I think that's it. So, I'll be waiting for your responses!

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