And it came to pass...

...that Tifa had a birthday, became a chalk monster, and got things done. Whoot!
Want to see?

On Thursday, Michael gave me an early birthday present (via my awesome mother in-law).

He bought me anemones. They're the flowers I'm using in our wedding, which I had never seen before! They were lovely in person, much better than on google. So pretty! (: 

Also on Thursday, my parental in-laws made me a homemade spice cake. It was wonderful, except the fabulous frosting overpowered the cake structure and it came slowly down. I have never heard Laurie laugh so hard before. She couldn't compose herself enough to catch the cake as it eventually tore apart and made for the countertop. Hilarious fun. It still tasted amazing. (:

Haha. Love the upright candles.

On Saturday, my best friends came together with me to go to the Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork. We got absolutely covered in scented, (yeah, scented like crap) colored chalk. This is my photo. The white balance is completely shot by all the color. For good photos, click here and be friends with Ashley Imlay.

This afternoon, I drove up to meet Jamers in Logan to plan for a wedding sign-in album. (This is a lie, we actually just love each other and wanted to hang out for hours on end.) We planned it on iPhoto, which is actually a really fun process. See photo of me planning my invites on said program. 

Score of the day: a half gallon of Aggie Bull Tracks, only $5. Love.

Later today, I finally bought the ties for the brothers/fathers at my wedding. WHEW! For those of you who have never planned a wedding, this is actually a bigger deal than it seems. We had this huge discussion over red/green... stripes/paisley/silk... price/bulk deals... ugh. And now, it is done! Yeees. Want to see?

I was asking the guy shopping in the tie shop for advice on his "style" for ties. After a lengthly conversation, I learned he was from France and flying home that night. Go figure. I wonder if he'd like the choice I made...
PS: They come in CUUUTE little boys clip ons for Micah (my nephew). Oh so cute. (:

Tonight, after a painful and drawn-out life of service, my face wash finally ran out. *sniffle* It lasted for over a year, and deserves serious credit.

Yes, I do look like that at night. It could be a lot worse.
See photo to the right and slightly above this one for example.

And now you're officially caught up on the life of me. 

Wait, no.

Michael comes on Thursday night! I miss him dearly. Love him. (: 

Okay, now you're caught up. 

Loves!

Artists whom I Love

Planning a wedding is hilarious, and somewhat messed up from time to time. 

Because it's not really me planning my wedding, it's "the family". So far, mostly my mother, Mel, and Kristina. Don't get me wrong, please, I love having their help. They are so uber talented, and you'll see their work when you come to the reception. It's beautiful.
The hilarious part is that I tried to plan my own wedding in the beginning. Like, I was shopping and picking everything out, renting the places I wanted to be, etc. Then there was a slow takeover and usurping of power/opinions/planning duties. I found that no matter what I did, it was likely I wouldn't be planning my own wedding. So I stopped trying. And, really, a lot more work got done.
Our current status is somewhere in between trying to plan and complete abstinence from it. Aka: The things that are important to me, I make sure they happen. The things that aren't, I let "the family" kick trash and do amazing things. They really are good at it.

(Side note! Ashley Imlay is coming (flying.. jealous) up here tomorrow to go to the Festival of Colors with me and I am so excited! Yaay!)

(Impatiently) What does this have to do with the blog title, Tifa?
The quirks of planning your wedding are ingrained traditions. Aka: There are certain people we normally hire for weddings, and you can't choose anyone else. You can try, but it's likely yours won't be as awesome/talented/economical as ours.

Over time I have found peace with their choices and mine, and the wedding will be happening, I promise. I have to tell about some of them. Because they're awesome, and they've featured in the past few days.

Ze Photos:
Russ Dixon

Russ was actually my choice.. though he technically counts as a family tradition because Jamie used him before me. But it's all good. I got a lot of crap for choosing him above free/family photographers, but any complaints were silenced when we got our engagement photos back after the photoshoot. You can see why: he rocks. And I love him. So excited for next week's wedding shoot! (:


Ze flowers: (I wanted to get... zhose flowhers for you. Name the movie please?)
Johnny Ashworth, Traces Inc.
Unfortunately, Joni does not have a website.. but you can read the reviews, if you want... XD
The shop is kind of fun, though. I got a misplaced email from them listing all their different brands of heirloom tomato seeds that will be available for purchase this year. There were a ton.

Joni is a tradition in our family (and for good reason). She did Mel's wedding 14 years ago, Jamie's 1 year ago, and probably more that I don't know about. I love her. (: Want to see what she's doing for me?

1) A white anenome boquet 

Technically two.. photos and wedding day.

2) Michael's boutonniere.. ah, it's so pretty!!

3) My hairpiece.. she made it. She made it. Wow.. for my wedding hair. Like? (:
This is like a rough draft, don't judge too harshly.

While we're on the topic of

Wedding Hair:

Jarom Mair

Currently Jarom is at Salon Lydia.. but this is the third time he's moved in ten years. (Read his review?)

Jarom is a tradition I was set on. He's done my mother, Mel, Jame, Tara, Livia (she's nine...), and I for about 15 years. We follow him when he moves, we bring him toffee at Christmas, and we love him dearly. He's more of a misplaced brother. (He informed me that I didn't have his permission to get married, but agreed to forgive me later... toffee was involved.)
If I had a stalker photo of Jarom, I would post it. He's 30...4? 34? He's very opinionated, and won't let you do anything stupid to your hair, even if you beg... which I have. He's waking up at 6am for me.. because Russ likes early photos.. sorry. I love you Jarom. 

If any of you ever want the most tastefully lovely haircut ever, you should call him. 

and many more. But I believe this has gone long, anyway. I love these people, and really would recommend them to anyone. I hope Tara has a slightly easier job of planning her wedding, though.