10 Fun Facts About Hawaii

1) Hawaii has eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and the “Big Island” of Hawaii.
2) Hawaii is the most isolated population center on earth. Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.
3) Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee.
4) More than one-third of the world’s commercial supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii.
5) From east to west, Hawaii is the widest state in the United States.
6) The Hawaiian Islands mountain range tops are the biggest in the world.
7) The first Asian-American in the U.S. Senate was Hawaii’s Hiram Fong. Senator Fong was descended from Chinese immigrants.
8) Hawaii was the 50th state admitted to the U.S. union on August 20, 1959.
9) Hawaii has its own time zone (Hawaiian Standard Time). There is no daylight savings time. Hawaiian time runs two hours behind Pacific Standard Time, and five hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

and the number 10 fun fact......

Mr. Marshmallow and I are going to Kauai for our Honeymoon!!!! Mr. Marshmallow did all the research and got a great deal on flights. More details to follow....

Exciting Engagment Photo Experience

Mr. Marshmallow and I took Engagement Pictures this past Friday and boy it an experience! First off, I was quite a wreck. I have been looking forward to these pictures for such a long time and I wanted them to turn out great. I was nervous about what I was wearing, I checked the weather forecast a hundred times, I got a manicure/pedicure and I had my wedding make up artist do a little touch up session so that I looked and felt my best. I could have never prepared for what actually happened next.

Shortly arriving at Crissy Field, meeting the photographer, Jen and her assistant MarLou ,we all turn to start walking to our first spot and we to see a tourist, riding a bicycle, and flip over a curb and land on her head. She was wearing a helmet but it was a fairly bad fall. We called 911 and the local park service. The bicyclist was bleeding, crying and in a lot of pain but at least she was conscious. We got her the medical attention she needed and we proceeded to start our pictures We were all a little shaken up!

Jen was able to calm me down quite a bit and Mr. Marshmallow and I became fairly comfortable with being photographed. I eventually forgot about all the people walking by and had a lot of fun. Jen was excited about several of the shots so I think it went pretty well overall.

Oh... and I ended up wearing a white cardigan and t-shirt, jeans and flip flops and a bright necklace. Mr. Marshmallow wore a blue t-shirt, with jeans and flip flops. My hair was all messed up by the wind but I had it half up in an attempt to keep it out of my face. We also did a second location at the ice cream shop where we had our first date. I wore a dress and heels and Mr. Marshmallow changed into a long sleeve button up.

I am very excited for Jen to be the photographer at our wedding and can not wait to see the results of our engagement pictures. More to come later!

All the single ladies (put your hands up)

I am not really interested in doing a bouquet toss at our wedding. I have never really felt comfortable being at the receiving end or how awkward is it if you catch it and your date runs the other direction!


That means the garter toss is out too (talk about embarrassing anyways!) Mr. Marshmallow seemed pretty okay with this when I presented him with it.


There are some other traditions that sounds like fun. Perhaps presenting the bouquet to a single girlfriend privately or even having an anniversary dance where all the married couples dance and the couple who has been married the longest receives the bouquet.





Are they any other traditions that you've seen that would be interesting to incorporate?

Signed and Sealed

I saw these great escort cards on knot.com today. You can start with tear-away place cards from Target and print guests' names and tables from my computer. Then the stamped the cards with different colors depending on what meal the guest chose. I love it and I think it fits in with our venue perfectly. Ellie used a candle lighter to melt a stick of sealing wax, letting it drip onto the cards until the wax was a little smaller than the stamp diameter. After the wax set for a few seconds (the cooler it is, the thicker your seal will be), she stamped it with a hand stamper custom-designed by her husband at wax-works.com.

In addition, Mr. Marshmallow has started his very own DIY project. With over 300 corks to choose ,from Mr. Marshmallow is using a dremmel to create this fabulous table card holders. He has already started and they are turning out fantastic!

Official Officiant

Mr. Marshmallow and I have been approved by the Catholic Church to have a Catholic priest officiant our outdoor ceremony!

At first, I was hesitant to have Catholic officiant as I am not tied to any particular religion. Mr. Marshmallow and I had several long discussions regarding what we want our marriage and wedding to be and also how we we felt about religion and and it role in our relationship. In the end, we decided since Catholicism has played a large role in Mr. Marshmallows life and having a Catholic priest officiate was important to him, it was important to me. Therefore we would pursue the process to obtain approval to marry outside of a church with a Catholic priest to preside over us.

Mr Marshmallow approached a family priest and explained our situation, that we are having an outdoor and non denomination ceremony and I am not Catholic. Our officiant was happy to oblige; however we need to obtain several approvals from the local priest where our wedding was taking place and similar archbishop approval. In addition we needed additional approval from the Cana tribunal, a group of high regarded parishioners. We received the last approval on Tuesday of last week and signed the respective papers on Thursday.

It was quite a process but I feel very comfortable with the priest presiding over our wedding and that Mr. Marshmallow were able to handle a major decision in our relationship. Next up Pre cana!

I saw the sign...

I love these handmade signs so last weekend I decided that I would make a few of my own. I got some primer paint from the hardware store (including a drop cloth, stir stick ), I found the wood in the garage at Los Gatos (the older the better works best), a few small paint brushes from the arts and crafts stores (I liked the brushes that were less than an inch). It took me four hours but I made six signs in total. I needed to go over the paint twice so that it really showed up on the wood and few pieces i sanded so that I could paint the surface easier. Well, they turned out great! I am very excited about them! Now I just need to figure out where/how I am going to hang them...

Receipe for Success!

I saw this on my photographer's website from a couple she shot last year. The couple set up a side table to have guests write their "secrets to a happy life." I want to do something like this and add the comments to a wedding scrap book that I plan to make with pictures from our wedding. Do you like this idea?

Can you do me a favor?

What wedding would be complete without wedding favors? I have come across a wedding favor idea that Mr. Marshmallow and I really like. Food! Big surprise, I know.

After all that dancing, you will definitely get hungry. So how about a little bag of baked goods and munchies to snack on en route to your comfy cozy bed. Here are some packaging ideas; a little baked goods bag and some some do it yourself label ideas that I can print up and myself. The bridesmaids and I can throw this together the morning of the wedding (or the day before;). Yum!

What (NOT) to WEAR

Engagement Pictures are absolutely, positively one of my favorite things about a wedding. Most of the time pictures of a couple are taken at a party or while on vacation. While these photos are great memories, they are not always the most flattering of pictures of both people. Sometimes the lighting is bad, something distracting in the background or someone is squinting. I love looking at professional pictures my friends and seeing how they interact with each, to show the loving, affectionate side that is not often displayed in front of others. And with so many shots there is bound to be a great picture of both people!

Mr. Marshmallow and I will be taking engagement pictures next week and I have been looking forward to them since we have booked our photographer. I have to admit he is actually pretty excited as well. As usual, I'm really nervous about what to wear (or what NOT to wear). Here are some things you are not supposed to wear.

-Avoid Black, Stripes, White Shirts

- No Khakis

-No Logos

-Limit Jewelry

- Don't Match Outfits Exactly

We will be doing pictures in two locations, one outdoors and one urban setting. Right now we are thinking Crissy Field (So many options) and Swenson's Ice Cream where we had our first date. I think I am going to have two different outfits one casual and one dressy. For the casual outfit I am thinking T-shirt, Cute Jeans, and Flip Flops and maybe a small necklace, stud earring and the Tiffany bracelet Mr. Marshmallow gave me on our one year anniversary. The more dressed up look I am having trouble with. I'd love to wear a casual dress but I really do not like dresses unless it is sunny out and who knows what the weather will be next week.

Here are some shots/poses that I really like, Perhaps I will copy some of them. OK now I'm getting excited :)

Ruby Press Bridal Soiree

This week I am attending the Ruby Press Bridal Soiree here in San Francisco. This is my first bridal event and I am not sure what to expect. I think the event should be fairly small and not one of those big convention centers. I also think it will be pretty modern based off the venders that are attending. There is going to be food, drinks and free goody bags so I think it will be a good time. Here's the invitation. Wish me luck!