Paintings & Some Photography

Who would have thought that picking a wedding dress could be so hard!? I have gone to four stores in the area and now have a top five that I absolutely love, so how do I pick? Most are from a store called Sweet Things, Etc in Rockwell. Jodie, the owner, is super sweet and has been so helpful in the process. I'll probably go with one from her just because of how awesome she's been. This is how it went with every dress I put on:


Me: "Ohmygosh this is so pretty!"
Jodie: "It is! (insert brand) does such a nice job with their dresses. It's really pretty on you."
Me: "I totally love it. Well, I don't love (insert random bow, bustle, strap, etc)."
Jodie: "Oh we can fix that easily! We'll just (insert awesome idea I never thought was possible)."
Me: "I love you guys!"



...



In other news, we met our wedding photographer, Nealy, and we both love her. She is very fun and I think she's going to do a fabulous job. I had (technically am still having) an art show at RAYGUN in Des Moines. The reception was pretty small, but my paintings look fabulous hanging on their walls if I do say so myself :). Here's a few shots snapped on my friend's phone.




They'll be up until August 21st, so if you find yourself in Des Moines, be sure to check it out in the East Village (400 E Locust). If not, you can see the whole thing on my website.

We ALSO had our engagement photos taken! It was cloudy and a little windy in Clear Lake, and I haven't seen the photos yet but I'm betting they turned out fabulous. My college advisor/professor Dave Damm took them, and he assured me they did. Phil was so funny during the photos. He's normally really loud and outgoing, but he was so quiet and nervous! It was adorable. He seemed to calm down towards the end though and not be so self-conscious. I hope that this kind of relaxed him a little, because next year he'll have to spend our wedding day in front of a camera. Maybe I'll start playing paparazzi at our house to get him prepared. :) If that doesn't work, I can always photoshop a smile on him later.

Work, Design, and a Peacock-Themed Wedding

So  I'm pretty new to this whole "blog world".  The only blog I've ever consistently followed is that of my wedding photographer, Nealy, and I've really only known about hers for a week or so.  But with all the exciting things happening in my life right now, I am really feeling the need to share.  

I recently graduated with a BA in Communications-Print Media and a minor in Art.  I set up a studio in the spare bedroom and have been forcing myself to paint so as not to lose my inspiration now that I'm out in the real world.  I put together an art show that is currently on display in Des Moines at a store called RAYGUN.  

I'm recently employed (celebrated my 6 month anniversary last month) and I absolutely love my job.  Although it's not the graphic design job I dreamed of, it's such a good fit for me and I feel rewarded every day which is something I know not everyone experiences.  I'm hoping to continue to do freelance work on the side, because art and design have always been my passion and I really can't see myself ever giving it up.  

I'm recently engaged (May 21st, 6 days after my birthday) to the love of my life.  His name is Phillip and he is caring and supportive and makes me laugh more times a day than I thought possible.  With an engagement comes a wedding, of course, and I've found out that wedding planning is something I really, really enjoy.  Ours will be July 23rd, 2011, and I'm having so much fun getting things together.  So far all I've really done is book the church, reception hall, and photographer, but I've got a pretty thick folder of photos printed out for inspiration.  I'm a pretty artistic person, and plan on doing a lot of the wedding myself (and will try to include some DIY posts on here).  With that, I'll leave you with a few of my favorites out of the wedding folder. I've recently (like 5 hours ago) discovered that I absolutely love the idea of a peacock-themed wedding. We'd already kind of decided on a colbalt blue and charteuse theme with light orange accents, so really this isn't too far off.