Kids.

No, I'm not prego, nor will I be for many years.  (Calm down, mom.)  This post is about kids in weddings.  I love watching kids in other people's weddings - they trip, they dance around, the kick things, they yell, they get paid to stand still.  It's hilarious to watch these little humans go nuts after putting on a cute and tiny outfit.  They're sent down the aisle with such freedom..."No one is holding my hand, OH MY GOSH I'm going to sprint now!  Then drop-kick this pillow!  Then probably scream a little bit!  YES!"  It is great.

Another darling thing about kids in weddings is this:

VIA Style Me Pretty

Those dresses are absolutely gorgeous.  What sweet little kids.  EVEN BETTER, you can have the kids in your wedding dress according to your wedding venue.  For example, my sister, Kelly, got married in sunny Mexico.  What better ring bearer to have than a pirate?  Yes.  A pirate walked down her aisle...sword attached.  It was genius and really special.  Everyone laughed. What a hoot.

Jeff and I had considered having kiddos in the wedding.  They could wear little Ray Bans and be rock 'n roll - a nod to our venue, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.  We're just not sure if we'll do it - yes, we have some really cool kids in our lives (cousins' babies!) and yes, they'd be awesomely cool.  Just one of those little decisions that is in the back of my mind!  Anyone have any thoughts??? 

 

iPhone

Anyone know if there is a blog app for the iPhone? I'd like to update this thing right on my phone.

Dude Rings.

Lately I've been exploring the fun possibilities for kickass rings for Jeff. He gets a little circle of trust. Can't wait to give it to him.

Anyway, Jeff's in construction. He builds things. He gets dirty. His hands are man-hands with either paint, blood, glue or dust on them...always. He doesn't need/want anything fancy.

But look what I found today. This might be the most perfect ring for him. It's made of concrete. Yes, concrete. That says "man ring" all over it.

Best Sounds.

One of my all-time favorite songs.  Ryan Adams does a marvelous job covering Alice in Chains...that steel guitar just kills it.  Ah, I could melt every time I hear this.  Love it.

Engagement Photos

First off, I have the best sister and bro-in-law ever.  Really, ever.  Kelly and Carl gave the coolest, most thoughtful wedding gift to us the day we got engaged.  Jeff and I were floored when they told us they'd set us up with Chris Humphrey to shoot some engagement photos!  Jeff and I weren't really planning on doing these since we're on a budget.  It was such a sweet, darling surprise to us!  So thankful for them!

So, the day finally arrived (after being reschedule due to sunscreen-inflicted rash...yeah, that was fun) for us to take the engagement pictures.  Jeff got some new costumes, I did my hair and, let's be honest, we looked good.  We were psyched and ready to get shot.

We decided it would be special if we went somewhere with meaning, somewhere with neat backgrounds and somewhere outdoors.  So, we decided it'd be great to shoot at Jeff's grandparent's land east of Edmond.  With our boots on, we wandered in fields, got mosquito bites, climbed on trucks and had a blast.  I'm really happy with the outcome - Chris did a great job and I can't wait to get a few of these puppies printed and hung in our little casa. 

Here's just a little taste.  More to come later!

Not about the wedding.

I know, basically all that's on my brain right now is the wedding, but I also have LOTS going on in other departments.  My professional life, for example, is wonderful.  I'm enjoying my job with the arts council and I'm getting to do some wicked good freelancing work.  I'm LOVING it. 

I just met with my (second) cousin, Mallory McCormick to discuss her future business venture - Fit to Be Bride, a personal training business that gets brides in shape for their big day.  We're working on a trade deal where they'll shape me up (hello, testimonials!) and I'll design their business suite, logo, etc.  I'm eager to get this on the ground since I've done more wedding suites than business identity work.  It'll be a very welcomed change of pace.

One thing I enjoy when meeting with a client is to discuss what they think their business should "feel" like.  For example, I ask the question "If your business were a ______, it would be..."  Insert the word "animal," "song," "character from Arrested Development" and you've got a great idea of the vibe the business is going for.  Let the business owner really steep on this idea.  They'll start understanding that designing an identity isn't all about the fonts and colors...it's about what feel they're trying to convey.  It's a fun little exercise I use often...even for the wedding! :)

Blah.

This blog needs a redesign.  I'm thinking about options.

Date.

As far as planning a wedding goes, I have little to no experience. If anything, I 'assisted' my sister with her Mexican beach wedding by offering my opinion on whether they should move the wedding indoors to avoid certain rainy weather. I gave my advice, "Keep it on the beach," she did and things were peachy keen. Not a rain drop.


So, there is my wedding planning background. Sure, I design invitations, programs, save the dates, etc., but no clue on planning. Thus, I'm presented with a challenge: plan the coolest wedding for Jeff + Emily. The Grob-Trotter wedding. Make it epic, unique and insanely special.


With the assistance of my creative genius mother, we have a few things nailed down. All of which I'm THRILLED about. First, our date. May 21, 2011. It's not too soon, not too far away, and it's in spring (my request). I'll be swamped at my new job all of March + April while we plan + execute the Festival of the Arts...it's huge and I'm told I'll be a little busy. No need to throw wedding stuff in the middle of that, so late-May won the battle of the months. Plus, the wedding is the weekend before Labor Day. Extra vacation day for the honeymoon? Yes, please.


Second thing I'm pee-my-pants happy about is that we booked the fabulous Sarah Rhoads + her hubby to shoot the gig. If you're not familiar with her work, do some jaw-dropping on her blog. She's an Orange Peel friend of mine, and she's the best in the biz. Can't believe we've got her booked!


Thirdly, we wanted our wedding/reception venue to be very personal to us, something funky and with an awesome vibe. We found it. Jeff + I are getting married with our favorite Okies at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee! It's an old, rickety train depot with exposed brick walls, green cargo load-in doors and a hardwood floor that has seen many years of wear and tear. It's perfect and I can't wait to transform it.


So, there you have it. Three things down, about a million to go! Jeff has his little list going too - find us a killer band, do some woodcutting and drilling for centerpieces, get a costume suit, etc. It's gonna be a DIY wedding with lots of personality. I'll be sure to share my adventures on here from here on out. I can't wait to marry this guy!

Moving!

And even more news comes down the pipe. Three days after Jeff proposed I was offered a job in Oklahoma City! I had applied and interviewed for a gig with the Arts Council of Oklahoma City...and I got it. It's working out, baby!

Oh, and I'll be the communications director. Director. Crazy!

My last day at the BOK Center is this Friday. It certainly is bittersweet, and let me tell ya, it was a tough decision to leave. I cried. A lot. But, I know in my heart that the OKC thing worked out insanely perfect for a reason. I'll certainly miss it here...all the action, all the coworkers, all the awesome shows.

But, it's time for me to take my new knowledge/experiences and trek on to the new job. I'm nervous and excited all at once...just one big ball of "AH!" but in a good way. If you work in OKC, please, let's do lunch! I'm eager to find my new favorite lunch spots. :)

Now, life, no more news, OK??? I think I've reached my quota for this year.

Sparkly.

I am soooooooo happy to blog that Jeff and I got engaged last Sunday!!!!! (I give 5 exclamation points there because the usual 3 won't do for this news.) Here's about how it went down. A few things to know: we bought a scooter a few weeks back. It was around 12:30am Sunday, May 23. I had a headache and was wearing my pajamas. Jeff kept asking why I didn't want to go out. Headaches aren't the most fun accessory when going out, Jeff. Our dogs were being so loud and 'fighting' all around the apartment. Basically, I never saw this conversation coming...

J: We need to get you something to wear while you're riding the Vespa.
M: Like a costume?!? Ha ha!
J: .....or a ring.
M: *in complete shock* *crying* *laughing at the conversation* *trying super hard to concentrate on everything amazing Jeff was saying*

Of course, this is the only part of the conversation I can remember besides him asking me to marry him. I've heard this from many people, "I had NO clue what he said, but he asked me!" Therefore, I was realllllly trying to concentrate on the poor kid who was pouring his heart out to me. At least I tried!

J: Will you marry me?
M: OF COURSE! *more crying/laughing*
J: Well, will you look at the ring already?
M: *more complete shock at how freakin' awesome this ring is*

So, there it is! I'm engaged to my sweetie pie! Jeff is the shaggy-haired kid I had a crush on freshman year, thanks to our mutual friend Clark, who introduced us back then at OSU. That was 7 years ago, people. 7 years. I always said that Jeff was the nicest guy I ever met at OSU...and now he's gone and topped his niceness. We rekindled our friendship our senior year, and Jeff pursued me again. This time included taking me on dates!

We decided to make it work while I was in graduate school for 2 years in Austin, and we've made it work the past year while I lived in Tulsa with him down the road in OKC. I'm almost positive we've mastered the art of communication...good communication, and with that, we can survive anything. I'm thrilled that he'll be my hubby!!! We're going to have a great, happy, laid-back wedding with our favorite people in the world.

I am so blessed to have Jeff in my life. The nicest, hottest, most talented builder, creative, loving guy. I love this man and I'm so beyond happy that we're going to be a family. Is he awesome? He's pretty awesome.

Here's the "Ring of Power," as Jeff calls it. :)

Big.

Big changes in the office lately! Casey, our marketing director, has resigned and taken a position with Red Light Entertainment, a freaking awesome artist management company. Don't worry, they manage Dave Matthews. I told Casey she HAS to stalk him a little for me. :) Here is the fantastic moment Dave and I held hands. Man, I'm jealous of Casey's new job!



Anyway, our department has gotten to move on up, so I got my first promotion yesterday. I'm super excited and really happy for what I've gotten to accomplish in my first year of working. I feel extremely blessed to have landed this gig...I worked my tail off getting in this industry, and I'll continue to work hard to prove myself. It's so fun to get validation that I'm doing a good job! I celebrated last night with a cheeseburger and Twix candy bar. I know, I party so hard.

This job definitely has its ups and downs, not to mention all the crazy people I've met/worked with. It's honestly a love/hate relationship most days. I hate the weekend and evening work, but I LOVE watching people enjoy a stellar concert. I love being around music everyday. I love saying that I got the chance to meet some of the brightest in the industry - musicians, managers, marketers and promoters alike. We'll see what the next step brings, but for now, I'm pretty happy.

Stains.

I'm looking back at my blog history and noticed that I post a lot of dog things. Well, let's keep with the trend. Here's another:



I love the crazy stare-eyes that Stains has! So funny!

Ludacris.

Sometimes we have shows at work. This weekend we had the Black Eyed Peas, LMFAO and Ludacris. Yes, the Ludacris. Takes me back to high school growing up in the Gee.

Sometimes at work I also have some spare moments to crudely Photoshop faces in fun pictures. For example, did you know that I'm actually one of Ludacris' backup dancers??? Yes, you can see me there on the right. It's OK to let your jealousy show...I know I would be jealous if I knew one of my friends was Luda's hot spandex-clad dancer.



"Breakin the rules, I shake fools while I'm takin a cruise."

Website.

So, I'm in the process of redesigning my website. I'm wanting to focus more on my wedding design work, rather than weddings, portfolio work (which isn't even up to date!), band work, etc. I want to get in my niche and nestle in. Also, I'm going to start screen printing again...it's been about 8 months since I last printed anything and I'm starting to regret ignoring that craft. Anyone need any cute stationery or wedding stuff? I'm going to bust out the screens tonight when I get off work and I need a project!

So, without further blabbing, here is my website holding-I'm-getting-redesigned page. I like it. I might stick with this theme.



And you can see it on my website link here. Change is coming soon!

Save.

I've been working on a wedding suite for a past customer of mine (I did her graduation announcements a while ago). I gave her 6 save the date designs that I was in love with - this being one of my favorites of all time. Anyone getting married on a mountain and need to hire a stationery designer?



My bride ended up choosing something a little more classic, but still fun and unique. I'll post more on that later. Adios.

Dogs.

I have such a soft spot in my heart for the dog. The dog is a wonderful, cuddly, crazy, drooly, special creature and I'm a happy owner. Also, I've always said that the Pedigree "Dogs Rule." spots are some of my very favorites. Well, this proves my point once again. Enjoy.

Ignored.

Well, in case you live under a rock or don't know what the Internet is, Google Buzz has just launched. A few thoughts: 1. Facebook already kills me (enough with the updates already! And, Farmville? Ugh.), 2. Twitter is great for informative tidbits and short thought bursts - I'm happy I do it, and, 3. Google Buzz - just another thing to keep me 'busy.'

So. What is this all about? I've completely neglected to form paragraphs, to form stories, to form anything longer than 140 characters. Tragedy, if you ask me. I apologize to my former English teachers, especially my grandma, who taught English for many years.

In my frustrations with the brevity of the aforementioned social networks, I'm going to try and write more thoughts, more paragraphs, on my blog here. This thing needs attention, an update and more words. Keep an eye out.