some afternoon inspiration...

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." -- Henry James

When I first started my blog, my intention was to capture and share all the different aspects of my wedding planning with each of you. As you might have noticed, the blog sort of evolved from a wedding blog to a "life of Katrina & Alphonse" blog, which is okay since many of the exciting things in my life as of late are related to the wedding and looking forward to the rest of my life (as a doctor and a wife!). However, having just returned from a blissful, last-minute summer weekend visit with my honey, I've decided to try to return to the true spirit of my blog and write about a seemingly appropriate theme: blissful summer weddings.

I don't think I've ever been to anything but an evening wedding, so when Alphonse and I were leaning towards an afternoon wedding, I was initially hesitant. But when we visited Nanina's during the daytime, the venue was absolutely gorgeous (from the waterfalls and grounds outside to the natural light coming in to the ballroom), and we knew that we had nothing to worry about. And knowing our guest list, I have no doubt it will be a party from start to finish. Next up, booking the music to make sure you put your dancing shoes to good use ;).

Photos from Nole and Andrew's wedding. Click to enlarge.

Browsing a few wedding blogs, I stumbled upon the wedding pictured above (Click here or here for more details from this wedding). I thought it perfectly captured the light, warm, daytime happiness that I hope is at our wedding.

"God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night..." --Genesis 1:16

they call me mellow yellooooow.

"The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most." -- John Ruskin

Happy June! Lately I've been getting some questions about what colors our bridal party will be wearing. Surprisingly, unlike many girls hoping for a happy ending, I never got around to constructing a picture-perfect wedding in my head. So perhaps disappointingly, for a while my response to such questions was simply, "I don't know." Even up until now Al and I (but mostly just me) have been flip-flopping between different color options. When we were initially planning on a fall wedding I started thinking of long gowns and deep, rich colors -- like a plum or a royal blue. But once we decided we were most likely going to do a summer afternoon wedding instead, we thought it would be more appropriate to do something light and fresh. So without further ado, I'm pleased to announce that we've made some sort of decision: our bridal party will likely be wearing some sort of yellow (this was actually Al's suggestion :) ). And surprisingly this was the one color that I said I wouldn't use when I started doing this whole wedding planning thing back in February. I pretty sure this change of heart had more to do with inspiration from some of the wedding websites I've visited and less to do with the fact that yellow is the "in color" this season... but I cannot say so with certainty.


So alas, I am quite excited about having a warm weather wedding. And for now, it will be yellow-y, but stay tuned... that still may change.

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." -- 2 Timothy 2:20-21

let me see you one, two step.

"It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero

With my bikini-clad cruise days still in recent memory and the weather hinting at the start of summer, now seems like an appropriate time to bring up the dreaded "wedding workout plan." It seems I underestimated how big a role this issue would play in my wedding planning-- but I quickly realized my error after scanning a few websites for brides-to-be. Here is just a sampling of the sites I stumbled upon: theknot and bridal guide. I mean, it does make some sense since I plan to remember my wedding forever (and I'll be paying some photographer a lot of money to help me do so!) And considering my wedding might be the single day when I have the most pictures taken of me, it would be nice to look as fit as possible, so then years from now I can show my kids my wedding album and say "See, mommy and daddy used to be so good looking, right?"... or maybe that was just my parents :) . All that being said and done, I will probably try a little harder to eat healthily and go to the gym regularly over the next year or so, but to be honest, Alphonse and I already try to do both of those things, so it shouldn't be too hard. At the end of the day it definitely helps that we often eat and workout together, since fitness is just one of the many ways we can encourage each other!

I may give more details about a specific workout plan closer to the actual wedding date, so check back later if you're interested. Until then, here are a few photos of us baring a little skin and being as silly as usual. Alphonse looooves taking photos, can't you just tell from his facial expressions?!

"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -- Isaiah 40:31