It's official!

Just filled out our census 2010




If it wasn't official before, according to the US census it will be!!!! :)

Storkie Invitation Giveaway!

When it comes to weddings, the coolest thing to see is how brides and grooms personalize their wedding to make it completely unique to them. Because when it comes to a wedding, you can have the same idea as every other bride and groom, but b/c you make it all about you and yours, it changes the outcome and feel of that same idea... so what better way to personalize your wedding than to start with invitations... And that's where Storkie comes in.

Did you know on the Storkie website you can completely customize your invitations to make them you? For instance, if i were to do my bridal shower all over again,  I'd probably want to use Bridesmaid Gone Styled... Here's the original template:

And i'd customize it to have a grey background, give myself a down do with black hair. I'll stick with the mermaid style dress and give my ladies grey dresses and flowers and multi-colored skin - i left the sunglasses on b/c they are kinda cool... I'll even give myself asian eyes...  and tada....

Some of these customizable cards can even be blinged out with actual rhinestones!!! HOW FUN!

So, I'm super excited to say that Storkie is kindly giving away 20 free invitations to TWO (that's right, two... ) LUCKY Relentless Bride Readers... yup. HOW COOL!

So here's what you do:
1. Head on over to Storkie Wedding Section.  Peruse the site. Make sure to go to the Couture collection Bridal Collection and Play with the customizable features. Note, all invitations are marked recycled paper, blingable, Dynamic Design - so you know which ones you can play with.
2. Come back here and let me know either which one is your favorite style of invitation on the overall site (including Baby, Religious, Party, Graduation, Holiday and of course Wedding Invitations) OR you can let me know which customizable feature is your favorite? For me, I'm Asian and I love Asian Eyes... and of course that even though I am Asian - I am tan, so the tan skin feature is nice too :-) Oh and I love the Blingability!!! :)
3. Make sure to comment here on the Relentless Bride Blog. Ensure there is an easy way to contact you - linkable to your email or leave your email here.
4. Make sure you fan the Relentless Bride Facebook Page AND the Storkie Facebook Page to stay up to date on the winning announcement
5. You can enter once until March 23, 2010 11:59 EST and this is open to US and Canada peeps!

Extra Entry: If you are a tweeter, make sure to follow Relentless Bride and Storkie on Twitter... and Tweet: "I entered the #Relentlessbride @storkie awesome invitation giveaway, Have you? Enter now! http://ow.ly/1l5vO " and leave a comment here!!!

Model Vs. Relentless Bride

Just for fun as i figure out how the heck to recap things... Not that the model doesn't look great, but i have to say i think this dress was made for me... i'm sure you remember my wedding dress search recap. I didn't have the tears, or have that "its your dress" gut feeling, but i know it was the right choice b/c i just loved it...

So here it is... the ultimate truth...

Model v. Relentless Bride

Here I am

Not to toot my own horn ... but i have to say i still love the dress on me more than on her...LOL... So i guess it was the right decision - b/c how often can you say that when comparing yourself to someone who gets paid to model! lol

Seriously though, I think it has to do with the fact of how amazing the dress made me feel more than how i looked...So that would be the ultimate dress advice:... does it make you feel fabulous?

Wedding Highlights...

I'm not sure where or how to start my wedding recap... so bear with me, as i use this week to get back into the grind of things and figure out how best to replay the magical weekend as well as highlight my vendors who had amazing service and products so that other brides can benefit from that... if you have any suggestions, let me know...

if not... until then - don't forget to enter my contest for the free 20 invites... these are the coolest invitations, and can totally be customized - not just for wedding either - so enter now! :)

For now i leave you with a picture of FH and I right after we went and got our marriage license :)

Getting Personal with Deborah Joy {The Wedding Dance Specialists}

I really enjoyed working with Deborah from The Wedding Dance Specialists... and I thought it would be fun to do an interview with her to show you why I think she's just so talented and so much fun to hang out with... It's such a blessing when you find a vendor during your planning that you really enjoy, so you gotta flaunt it when you do! :)


Relentless Bride: Deborah: How did you get into the wedding industry?
Deborah: My husband and I started The Wedding Dance Specialists when we got engaged. While preparing for our First Dance, we sampled many teachers and studios and realized with our dance, business and wedding planning background we could provide superior customer service and insight into the unique needs, budget and timetable of engaged couples.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: What is your biggest piece of advice for a bride?
Deborah: Be sure to ask for help so you don’t feel too overwhelmed.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: For a groom?
Deborah: This is a team project. The amount of energy, creativity, forethought and consideration you put into the planning process is similar to the way you will react to joint decisions, commitments, and adventures you will have during your marriage.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: for the wedding planning?
Deborah: A weddings requires A LOT of time, energy and organization. That is why the event planning industry exists. Whoever is playing a role in paying for and planning the wedding might benefit from a meeting with an event planner to answer questions, strategize, manage expectations, and save you time by providing pre-screened resources.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: wedding itself?
Deborah: Hire a day of planner


Relentless Bride: Deborah: for the marriage?
Deborah: Marriage should feel like each person is helping the other grow and learn. Unexpected hurdles will come your way but as a team you will have the strength to navigate them.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: What do you love best about working with couple who are in this time of their life, high excitement. high stress high chaos?
Deborah: I know I am preparing them for a stronger marriage and a big sense of accomplishment. Plus a couple that dances together, romances together!


Relentless Bride: Deborah: What dance describes you and your personality?
Deborah: Salsa. It’s how I discovered and fell in love with partner dancing in the first place. Just dancing in the DC Latin Clubs.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: What dance would you say describes your husband?
Deborah: Argentine Tango

Relentless Bride: Deborah: What dance describes you as a couple and why?
Deborah: Argentine Tango – It was our First Dance. It’s so incredibly exotic and sensual yet elegant.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: What was the hardest thing for you learning to dance with your husband?
Deborah: Argentine Tango was brand new to both of us and it is a very close contact dance so the chance for injury and discomfort is higher. Practicing without an instructor as a “mediator” was a challenge so we came up with several coping strategies that we now share with all of our students.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: What was your first dance and why did you pick that?
Deborah: Brian surprised me with a romantic trip to see “Forever Tango” on Broadway. That was our first introduction to such an amazing dance. In honor of that romantic date, Brian suggested we choose this dance style and since I didn’t teach it at the time, we went in search of lessons.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: As an instructor, what is the most difficult thing to face in a student?
Deborah: Someone who cannot acknowledge their positive accomplishments, someone who is very critical and controlling of their spouse, someone who wastes their precious class time.


Relentless Bride: Deborah: As an instructor, what is the best quality a student can have?
Deborah: Excitement to learn, trust in my expertise, patience with themselves, respect and humility toward their partner

Relentless Bride: Deborah: As a married person, what quality do you think is the best to have to make a happy and satisfied marriage in the long run?
Deborah: Respect, Appreciation and encouragement of your partner.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: Looking back on your wedding day, what is your biggest regret?
Deborah: Ironically, after a year of preparation for our First Dance, our DJ (who had a lot of prior experience working with professional dance exhibitions) did not ask our guests to clear the dance floor so our performance conditions were not ideal. It was difficult for the whole crowd to see and for the videographer to get ideal full length footage.

Relentless Bride: Deborah: What is the one thing you spent a lot of energy on and you feel was well worth it?
Deborah: We had many fun twists like live doves, ice sculpture, hand made ceremony programs, handmade ice breaker conversation place settings and personalized love song CD favors. I still have to say our First Dance and my Daddy/Daughter Waltz were the highlights of the reception. We’ve been dancing that dance for years ever since….

Relentless Bride: Deborah:  Chocolates, candy, cupcakes, cake or pies? What is your favorite and why?
Deborah: Definitely chocolate! With all it’s aphrodisiac qualities and healthy antioxidants, it’s the next best thing to dancing!

If you want a fun and adorable dance instructor who knows her stuff, not just about dance but about marriage, life and dancing with a partner... definitely make sure you have your First Wedding Dance Lessons taught by Deborah... She is phenomenal. Stay tuned for our He Said She Said Wedding Dance Finale Post :)

Weddzilla.com Rock The Launch Highlight Videos

Weddzilla.com's National "Rock The Launch" Party was definitely a night to remember. And this highlight reel (courtesy of Blue Sky films), captures the magic of the event perfectly for those of us that spent the night meeting and greeting (and much like a wedding) trying to take it all in!



The National Museum of Women in the Arts was an unbelievable venue and it was packed with hundreds of local vendors and Nearlyweds mingling with celebrity guests, drinking specialty cocktails, enjoying inspired cuisine, and bidding on incredible wedding packages in our silent auction with 100% of all proceeds benefiting The Children's National Medical Center.



The event was hosted by Weddzilla's Sassiest Wedding Guru, Steve Kemble, a National TV, Radio and Magazine personality. And when Steve got on the mic, it was just the beginning of our start-studded celebration! Joining him on stage to toast the night were our team of Weddzilla Gurus including: Cake Guru Ron Ben-Israel, Celebrity cake artist and TV personality, Fitness Guru Sue Fleming, Celebrity fitness expert and founder of the Buff Fitness franchise, Etiquette Guru Diane Forden, Editor-in-Chief of Bridal Guide Magazine, Advice Guru Sharon Naylor, Nationally acclaimed author and columnist, Invitation Guru Lisa "Ceci" Johnson, Founder of Ceci New York and renowned graphic designer and Invitation Innovator.

The event could not have been possible without the hard work, dedication, and creativity of our Launch Partners. We couldn't be more proud to affiliate ourselves with these premiere vendors.

*Launch Partners*
Venue: National Museum of Women in the Arts
Catering: Federal City Catering
Fashion: Blush Bridal Boutique
Favors and Gifts: Favor Chic
Flowers and Decor: Petal’s Edge Floral Design
Honeymoons and Travel: Perfect Honeymoons and Holidays
Invitations: Seasons Cards and Gifts
Jewelry: Mervis Diamond Importers
Makeup: Carola Myers Professional Make-Up Artist
DJ's and Musicians: Disc Jockeys on Call
At-Your-Service: Professional Bartenders and Servers
Photography: Paired Images Photography
Rehearsal Dinners: A La Lucia
Transportation: Prime Transportation
Unique Services: All Seasons Floral Preservation
Wedding Cakes: The Ritz-Carlton, Tyson's Corner
Videography: Blue Sky Films
Event Rentals:
Event Digital Photography - Photobooth
Exclusively Entertainment - Lighting
Party Rentals Ltd. - Rentals
Cort Event Furnishings - Furniture
Coordinators and Planners:
Cristina Maria Special Events
Elegance and Simplicity
Events in the City

Thanks to our Strategic Partners for their incredible contributions.

*Strategic Partners*
Bridal Guide, MGD 64, AdornBrides.com, Harrah’s Entertainment, US Airways, MissNowMrs.com, Wedding Cakes Across America

AmyJean & Larry: Pro Photo

I've always been quite enamored with Jordana from Hazelnut Photography - but seriously... she totally rocks. She captured what I felt was a beautiful day and made each photo simply magnificent... I'm not sure that you can buy talent like she has... on top of which she's just so dang cute and her personality is SO FUN...

Here are just a few photos that she posted fro our big day! Definitely check out the rest on the Hazelnut Photography Blog... or check out her other shoots - she's completely and totally FABULOUS!

My mom made my jewelery for my big day... using silver and swarovski crystal beading. She also made the bracelets for the ladies in my bridal party and my MIL.

My Flowers were simply fabulous. All done with the creative guidance from Paola, Just Chic Events and Allison from Flower Allie.... stunning. I also had memory lockets on my bouquet (from Aristocrafty )

My custom made stylish garter courtesy of Julianne Smith Garters!

At the St. Regis outside awaiting our first look... Isn't my veil gorgeous? Custom made courtesy of Candi from CG Veils (she rocks btw and is the best around and her prices ... lowest around)

I love this photo...

Our awesome bridal party... The main colors of grey and yellow ... and the navy came in the accents (shoes, ribbon, etc)

In the St. Regis Lobby Bar... normally - i do not look like this, but thanks to Moira from Moira Taylor: Los Angeles Make Up Artist and hair by Chelsey Booth from Chelsey B. Make up and Hair - i felt simply amazing...

OMG. Allie from Flower Allie totally outdid herself... I told her i wanted yellow and the planted aisle look, she took my vision and perfected it... I can't even tell you what a creative genius she is.

My two nieces... adorable.

The long- awaited hand off .. LOL

This image is pretty awesome. It incorporates my fabulous candy buffet from Jackie at Custom Candy Buffet Bar, three of the four tablescapes we had at the reception courtesy of Flower Allie, our delicious four tiered-four flavored cake (Liz - best tasting cake, super duper low price - if you want her contact info, email me) with my awesome Cake toppers courtesy of Caroline from Made with Love CCarolee. The only thing missing from this photo would be the amazing Chocolate fountain from Pure Bliss chocolate Fountains we had later in the evening and of course our awesome photobooth from CheesyPhotobooths!

The lighting from Props FX really nailed the ambiance we were going for... without Brady's hard work, well... the whole feel would have been missing!

Having Dance Lessons with Deborah from The Wedding Dance Specialists helped make our first dance a hit... I won't lie - it wasn't perfect, but it was perfectly us and without Deborah's help, it would have been a flop!

All in all... it was a perfect night as you can tell with the pictures. We got rain. But we also had a clear top tent that let us see and hear it but not feel it... Thanks to Paola's hard work, she snagged the LAST clear top tent in the So Cal area (Oscar weekend made most tents unavailable)... so the ceremony was even more romantic with the rain coming down just as we said our "I do's"...

Oh yeah, and did i tell you Karen Wall Garrison recreated our ceremony through out the day by painting a canvas at the ceremony?

Check out more of our amazing night with photos on Jordana's blog... Hazelnut Photography Blog!

Sweet n Salty By Design Giveaway Winner!!!

I know its late, but i hope the fact that i got married and went on a mini-moon is a good excuse for the delay?... please forgive me...

here is the winner for the Sweet n Salty By Design Giveaway:

Jbaby731 make sure to email me at amyjean@relentlessbride.com asap so i can get these delicious items to you quick... and for those of you who did not win,  Sweet N Salty By Design is offering 10% off (Discount code: SWEET2010) for any custom wedding favor order! Be sure to check out this site...

Back to Reality

Our mini-moon is over... But Im not really sad bc my reality is pretty stinking exciting right now!

6 days in and I love being a Mrs.! Didn't think it would be this easy or fun to fall into this roll but saying "my husband!" rolls off my tongue easily!

Can't wait to catch y'all up with all the details of our exciting wedding adventure!!!

Bye bye Las Vegas! See ya in a few...

Photobooth Props

Some called me crazy... but they were a hit...

To help personalize our photobooth pics and incorporate our pups whom we miss so dearly - my SIL helped me take these photos...

and turn them into these...

Needless to say, our props were a hit - and having Kota and Juneau in our photos was even awesomer.

Our basket was full of fun stuff:

And at the end of the night, someone gave us this:

The pups had taken pics in there just the two of them... TOTALLY FUN!!!