Rya & Tyler's Wedding

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Rya and Tyler chose the pristine, local ranch estate of Rancharrah as the place they would always remember where they said "I do." Bill Harrah's estate grounds never looked so amazing, in preparation for 250 of their closest friends and family members. Rya and Tyler's adorable little boy, Wesley, took part in the procession, riding in a little red wagon, pulled by the two flower girls.


  

 
In preparation for Rya and Typer's wedding and reception, Rancharrah's Crummer Grove was embellished with peacock feathers, and kelly green linens. Ceremony chairs were placed and guests gathered and watched as Rya made her walk down the aisle, on the arm of her brother.

 Guests thoroughly enjoyed the photo booth, which provided Rya and Tyler with images of all their guests in attendance.

 Candle-lit bird cages decorated each table, and a single peacock feather, placed under each place setting, continued the peacock theme.
 Inside the Rancharrah Mansion, Rya and Tyler pose for the camera...great shot!
 

   
 Rya and Tyler, It was such a true honor to assist you with your wedding coordination needs. It was wonderful getting to know you, and your sweet little Wesley. He has the most adorable smile of any little guy I know! Your wedding was a terrific memory for me, and I will always remember the beautiful glow on your faces, as you exchanged your wedding vows. My love and happy wishes to you as you begin your married lives together....xoxo Liane

Contributing Vendors:
Liane McCombs Wedding & Event Planning
Darby Ann Weber Photography
Rancharrah
Camelot Party Rentals
Pic Box Photo Booth
Mountain Event Productions DJ

For Rancharrah booking information contact Liane McCombs Wedding & Event Planning775-786-1730lianemccombs@gmail.com Voted Northern Nevada's #1 Wedding Planner2013 Bridal Choice Award Winner

Let's Get This Party Started

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[This post is part of the January Cure project. Read more here: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11]

DAY 7: Get Your Get-Together Together - Date, Guests, Invites

Thursday, February 7th

Plan Your Get-Together for the Weekend of February 1-3

I'm taking a bit of liberty with this one. Instead of planning for a random get-together to celebrate my somewhat more organized apartment, I'll be using this task to get ready for Harrison's first birthday party! Only two months to go - when did that happen? Didn't I just pop this kid out?

I have lots of ideas for his first party, and I'm going to try not to go overboard but I promise absolutely nothing. I like to plan, this is my first child's first birthday party, and I like to plan. Did I mention I like to plan? As in I've already been planning this party for a month. You should see the monstrosity that is the Pinterest board I've set aside for the occasion. Except you can't, because I made it invisible muahahaha. Anyway.

I already have the (tentative) date, the guest list, and a rough idea for the invitations. In fact I just got side tracked for about an hour looking at inspiration invitations to nail down what I really want to go with. I briefly thought about doing an online invite - there are sites like Paperless Post that have a lot of insanely adorable designs. But in the end I just like the idea of sending out a hard copy. Plus, it's always fun to get real mail.

I'm keeping the details a secret because it's way more fun that way, but I will say that I'm tying it in to his nursery theme (Little World Traveler). And I totally plan on having a smash cake because nothing makes me more giddy than the thought of Harrison in a diaper, completely covered in icing. Think of the glorious photos! I mean look:

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swoon

DAY 8: Weekend Chores - Flowers, Kitchen Cleaning, & Make Yourself a Meal

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, February 8th - 10th

Kitchen Organizing & Cleaning, Find a Recipe and Try it Out

So apparently when there's a day labeled "weekend" it actually means the entire weekend, not just one day in the weekend. I got confused the other day when I took a look at the entire list for January and there were only 23 days listed and I was almost positive there are 31 days in January. At least I'm pretty sure that's what we learned in elementary school. But it actually works out perfectly through the end of this month, so we're on track.

I'm not going to lie, I totally dropped the ball on the kitchen overhaul this weekend. Partially because we were gone the entire day of Sunday and partially because I kind of forgot about it completely on Saturday. I still plan on making it up down the line, but for now I don't have anything to report. Oops.

I'm not buying flowers again because the ones we bought last week are still looking perky-licious. In fact I decided to spread the cheer by clipping off a few stems and putting them in a small bud vase in the hall bathroom. Want some tips for keeping your blooms all pretty like? The following is a winning combination of my previous knowledge, common sense, and the internet.

• Trim the stems just a tad every day (at a 45 degree angle) and change out the water every other day
• After all this trimming if your bouquet starts to become too short for your large vase, split it up into several smaller (shorter) vases and spread them around the house for some bonus decor.
• I used the flower "food'' that came with the flowers, plus an extra packet I snagged from the bowl at the store. When that ran out, I started adding a dash of vinegar and a small spoonful of sugar to the water instead. 
• I put a copper penny in the vase? Apparently that's a thing, according to the internet. Not sure if it actually does anything.
• Keep them out of direct sunlight
• Smell them often (this is more for you than the flowers, though who knows, maybe flowers like to have their ego stroked a bit)

As for the "make yourself a meal" portion of these tasks, I basically do this every night now, thanks to a meal planning Groupon I bought from a company called The Fresh 20. $24 for the entire year (usually $48) and every Friday they send you the next week's list of meals, a shopping list, nutrition information, and even tips and suggestions for preparing stuff ahead of time so that cooking times on the night of are reduced. You have no idea how much stress this has alleviated. I essentially used to rotate between 8-10 recipes over and over again so we never went more than two weeks without repeating a meal. Plus, they weren't always healthy. And I always had a lot of leftover ingredients (or not enough). Most of the meals have been pretty dang good and I'm even eating (and enjoying!) things that I never would have picked out myself (cod! salmon! shrimp! basically all seafood!). And we're eating lots of veggies. The health factor of our meals has increased tenfold since we've started giving Harrison whatever we're eating for dinner. I love that we're making balanced meals that I feel good about serving him (and us).

I didn't have to make dinner Saturday or Sunday but Friday we had Teriyaki Chicken Burrito Wraps. YUM.

Grandma's Mustache In Wedding Photos

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Photo and tutorial at Etsy Weddings Stories and Advice Do you love this idea? Originally from Paper + Craft, a great book available on Amazon or from your local independent bookseller, it was published online on Etsy's link (see below the photo).  Can't you just see the great photos of you and your groom? Not to mention your guests and grandmothers! Add lots of fun to your wedding without adding a lot of cost. You can make these yourself and just add them to your drinks! This one is perfect for pink lemonade! Get some great color straws and get to work! Click the Etsy link to get the tutorial.  Go and pick up your copy of Paper + Craft by Paper+cup Designs, Minhee Cho at your local independent bookseller or order from Amazon. Your independent may not have it in stock but they can order it for you and you'll be supporting your local economy.

A Smart Bride's Way To DIY

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DIY Butterfly Cloche courtesy of Country Living Magazine Have you considered making centerpieces out of glass for your wedding day? The Butterfly Cloche above from Country Living Magazine would make a great highlight for a wedding featuring butterflies or nature themes. For the tutorial (and other great craft ideas) go to Country Living Magazine.  Mini dome DIY project from Country Living Magazine No bride wants to get so bogged down in a diy project that her wedding planning starts to become work. For a bride planning a DIY wedding, choosing extremely difficult or time consuming projects takes away the fun factor!  If you are looking for a less formal look, try these mini domes. They are made using glasses (turned upside down of course) with tiny keepsakes inside. Personalize your guests' wedding tables with 'a few of your favorite things.' To find the tutorial go to Country Living Magazine online. I love the personal look these give you. You don't have to use them for all the tables, but they would be cute added to your guest book table or other side table.  The best part of these DIY projects? They are rated EEEBCDI (easy enough even Bill can do it).  For those of you just starting to read my blog you may not realize I am not crafty, but my husband is worse. I mean he's great at some things, fixing things, putting things together, but not tiny little projects like this. So I test out the ease of the tutorial by having him try them out. If it's rated EEEBCDI, your groom should have no problem either, which makes these projects all the more fun. Or if you are all thumbs, they will be easy enough you can do them without the stress no bride to be needs during her wedding planning! Have fun, that's the whole point of this!  

Tie Bows Like Tiffany's

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Photo and tutorial link courtesy of Roxanna at Everyday Treats Wrapping a wedding gift? Have you always wanted to duplicate those simple but elegant bows that Tiffany & Co. adds to their signature 'little blue boxes?'  Roxanna at Everyday Treats, The Art of Living Well Every Day has the perfect tutorial to help you execute the perfect Tiffany & Co. bow every time. So now you can go into Bed, Bath and Beyond and when you head over to their self-wrapping station with that slippery ribbon you can wrap like a pro and duplicate Tiffany's basic but beautiful bows, taking the look of  your package up several notches. As someone who always fights the 'wrapping battle' especially with satin like ribbons, this tutorial will turn you into a pro in no time.  So thanks to Roxana and Tiffany's for these beautiful bows! Don't forget to take the time to browse through the rest of Everyday Treats to find other special nuggets that you are sure to enjoy as well. (One of my favorites is the one about Coco Chanel.)

Black and White Washi Tape Tricks

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Photo courtesy of  Pinterest It doesn't get much easier than this! Washi tape on plastic cups. If you can't pull this one off ... Face it, if I can do it, you can too! This project is an EEEBCDI! For those of you new to my blog it stands for 'easy enough even Bill can do it' (Bill is my non-crafty husband who tests our my diy projects to see how easy they are to make.  These cups are perfect for a picnic wedding or a bride with a black and white theme. Add some black and white straws to pull the look together. Takes the look from ho hum plastic cups to WOW!  You can find washi tape in any craft store, just look for your favorite designs and colors. Or shop online.They even sell colored straws.

Survivor's Guilt...

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Gayla and the Gang at Dave Matthews Summer 2010

I spent an amazingly fun and love-filled day with my "Gang" Saturday. We had a cake tasting for the up-coming wedding, we drove all over creation looking for linen suits for the grooms, and we laughed to the point of tears on several occasions (Think Sling Blade sings Call Me Maybe and One Direction). It was the perfect day. So I chastise myself for spending the entire trip home feeling like my friends would prefer that Gayla were there instead of me.

It makes no sense if you break it down. My sister Gayla and I shared our beloved friends so much so that our family just thinks of them all as our brothers and sisters of the heart. There has been much said about how the family we choose is just as important as the family to which we are born. So why do I question my placement in this family? Why do I berate myself with the taunts of, "They wish it had been you"? Why does part of me believe the taunt while the other part of me yells, "THEY WISH IT HAD JUST NOT HAPPENED, YOU GOOB!"

I spent much of Sunday reading about grief and survivor guilt to try to make my whole self understand. Not that all apply to this particular situation and feeling I am having, but here are some of the most profound thoughts to stick with me:

• This Psychology Today article states, "Even though bereaved people share much common ground, every bereaved person is different, experiencing each death uniquely, grieving uniquely, struggling uniquely, coping uniquely, adjusting uniquely, and healing uniquely."
• Dr. Phyllis Silverman wrote, "We no longer think of grief as following a formula such as suggested by Kubler—Ross (On Death and Dying). I agree that grief doesn’t express itself in a step by step manner but it does unfold. It may look different for each of us depending on who died, our own experience with grief, and where we are in our own life cycle. ... we need to recognize that grieving is a complicated part of living that changes us and from which we do not 'recover' as from an illness."
• Kathleen Nader writes about survivor guilt following a tragedy and states when "good people die, survivors may reexamine their own goodness."

I think that last one hits the nail on the head. Gayla was everything good in a friendship. She was giving of her time, her patience, her understanding, and her heart. Sister was that friend who would be standing right by your side in all situations even if you weren't aware of it. Gayla put her friends first. She was fun at all times, always being ready for adventure. Gayla wanted what was best for you, and she went out of her way to make it possible if it were within her control. She was better at being a friend than I am so I guess my feelings of inadequacy are the culprit. Enemy number two is that I have no idea how to change this or how to emulate my beloved sister's ability in this arena.

Share with me how you are a friend. Teach me your secrets for being "good".

P.S. Sosie, no worrying about me or lecturing me. I know this is only in my perception and not reality. I love you.