Bridesmaids & Groomsmen Outfits

So when thinking of what kind of dresses to have the girls wear and what kind of suits to have the guys wear, I thought why not have all the girls wear different style dresses but the same color, and the men wear either Gray or Beige.

Some of these photo's had helped me really make a decision on that being what I wanted to do.

We searched, some of the girls had a harder time finding a dress considering I lived so far from them that picture messages didn't do justice, but at the end of the day, it all came out BEAUTIFUL and went together. Im happy with the decision that I made. And to make my Maid Of Honors stand out even more I had them wear an accent color of red. It was awesome!

His & Her's Wedding Bands

 Till Death Do Us Part

Why do men have it so easy!? We went to look for his wedding band because we were in the area, and he found his right away! I wish it was that fast for me to find my band. Lucky goose!

He thought he was a professional looking at diamonds.. ;)

Cant forget the fact that 2 days after we got married, his ring fell off in the ocean! GENTLEMEN, make sure your ring fits you snug!

<3

The Dress

 Having to find a wedding gown was really emotional for me. I had gone a few times because I just couldn't find THE ONE. I was excited to go with my mom, sisters, and maid of honor but the search had to continue on. We went to about 4 different bridal shops and not one dress gave me that warm feeling in my heart. I got upset and very quiet which made me wonder if maybe I was being way to picky or maybe I just really didn't find "the one". 

Then finally I went to a Bridal Store called La Soie Bridal. It was a random woke up one morning and my best friend called me and said "hey! lets go look at this store just to look" so I was up for it! We went and I seriously fell in LOVE with the first dress I tried on. It was exactly what I had thought I can see myself in. Lace, mermaid, thin material, strapless, just beautiful. But the problem was the price. I didn't want to spend more then $500 on a dress, and this dress was over $1,700. Made me really sad. But, I was happy to have found something that I wanted! So I knew I needed to find that dress, but a knock off cheaper version of it.... That wasn't so easy.

After all this fuss, buying a cheaper ugly dress and settling, and not being able to sleep (yes, not being able to sleep because of a wedding dress), I decided to just do it, and buy the dress of my dreams. So I did. And I worked hard for it thats for sure! 

blue by enzoani casablanca~ the dress that made me look stunning on my wedding day<3

Vegas Vegas Vegas

Why is it that when people think of Vegas, they think of getting wild and waisted and not caring about anything but having fun? Well, maybe because it's true, and Vegas is definitely a crazy amazing place. But when you go for a whole 8 days, don't forget to rest and sleep for one full day to really get back into the game. Us girls unfortunately, didn't rest and we got extremely emergency room sick... So, I don't recommend doing that.. Haha!
But this was definitely a Vegas trip I will never forgot. It became our home. And Cesar's Palace is our Vegas Home<3

"Who do I'v got to talk to, to get to Cesar?!"-British Accent

Bottle Service Anyone?

Dont forget your medicine!! Just in case.... And WATER

Finding the Perfect Venue

Having to find our venue was probably one of the easiest things we did. We had no idea where to begin. People had been telling us to not pick a date, and just find a venue first, and depending on there availability, we would have a date. To be completely honest with you all, I didn't want to let some place choose the wedding date for us, I wanted to have a date that meant something to us, an "important" date, a date that was fun to say I suppose. So we made a list of places to go look at. Mostly barns, and outdoor settings since I had envisioned a "country/rustic themed wedding".  Finally tired of going to 15 plus places in one day, Chris decided to look at this one last place, (which I personally was not having it and wanted to eat and sleep). So we went anyway, last minute, while they were closed and the wonderful wedding coordinator met us for a last minute view of the place. WE FELL IN LOVE. We both had the biggest smile on our faces we wanted to give her our information on the spot! I'm pretty sure she knew it too! But my Fiancé (at the time) gave me a look like "shhh, don't say anything yet!" We got the info on the place, everything was included: linens, food, bartenders, DJ, utensils, cake, flowers, a pianist to play during the dinner, and even a horse carriage for me to ride down to the ceremony and for everyones use if they wanted to ride also! I mean how much easier can that be! That knocked out a whole lot of meetings and finding the perfect vendors for our wedding! It was awesome! All I wanted was a view of something beautiful during the ceremony, and I got that, plus more! DEFINITELY recommend Serendipity Gardens in Oak Glen. California.

Here is a link to there website if you are planning on having a wedding anytime soon. Or maybe even a party. Its breathtaking.
Serendipity Garden Wedding

Rustic Vegan Bread Lasagna

Are you ready for your home to smell like Italy?? This is some yummy goodness in your mouth. Its like fireworks going up and down your belly its so delicious! Not only are Chris and I total Carnivores, but this meal is total Vegan and we loved it! Im all about trying things. Never be afraid. Be ready to take about 2 hours of your life making this simple meal. 

Patients is beauty<3 

I found this recipe off of Pinterest of coarse. So it was my first time making something off of the pining. 

Now here is where things get off the bang and get good. You will surprise yourself at how easy this is. The making of this yummy Vegan Lasagna. 

Ingredients:

5 Tbs olive oil + 1/4 cup for drizzling
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
2 (28-oz) cans Muir Glen Crushed Tomatoes with Basil, blended
2 tsp salt
4 tsp Italian Herb mix
2 eggplants, sliced to 1/2" thick
2 pounds fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped
12 slices of day-old rustic sourdough bread
Olive oil nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 large tomatoes, sliced very thin
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to medium then toss in about one-fourth of the garlic cloves. Cook for 2-3 minutes in the hot oil, stirring constantly to keep the garlic from burning. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and Italian Herb Mix and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Place the eggplant slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper, then slide pan into preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until eggplant is tender and slightly golden brown around the edges.

While your eggplant is roasting, spray each slice of sourdough bread on both sides with nonstick olive oil spray. Cook in a heated grill pan until toasty and golden brown on both sides.

In a large saucepan or wok, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, sweat the garlic in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes, then add the chopped spinach and cook until wilted.

To assemble: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a large casserole pan. Layer with bread until the dish is completely covered. Add half of the tomato sauce mixture on top. Layer all of the eggplant and spinach on top of the sauce. Add a second layer of bread over the spinach layer. Top with remaining sauce, making sure that you've covered the bread entirely with the sauce.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place sliced tomatoes across the top of the breadcrumbs. Salt and pepper generously.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes, sprinkle fresh basil. Serve with one of your favorite salads.. I of coarse had an avocado salad since for some reason iv been addicted to avocados. But yum! With a little Tejava.. Talk about goodness!!!

Enjoy<3 Bianca

Total Time: 1 hour 40 min

Prep: 1 hour

Cooking: 40 min

Yield: 12 Servings

Engagement Photo's

One of the best times yet through out this wedding planning process...I cant even begin to explain how thankful we are for Chris' Best Man Nick for helping us with these images. THANK YOU!!! It was such an awesome experience.. Most of you know how much of a goofball Chris is, and for him to act so serious and sentimental during the shoot made it so funny! I couldn't keep serious, It was like our personalities switched! All I wanted to do was lick the guy's face! But here are a few from the shoot. ENJOY<3<3<3

174 Days To Go!

Xoxo Bianca

Rustic/Vintage Inspiration

So we have a date!

September 7th, 2012

As you you all know, all I have been doing lately is wedding planning. Sometimes staying up till 4am pining things, saving pictures of ideas, decor, all that jazz. Its actually very fun and exciting that time goes by so fast and before you know it I have to be up for class/work. Thats the only draining part of it.

Finding my colors was probably one of the hardest things iv had to do so far. I started out by looking at pictures of weddings and which I personally think is a bad idea because they make every single color look amazing together. So I thought, I want something plain, creams, beige, browns etc... I looked and looked then finally came across this picture..

It has every color I want. The red wasn't on my list. But when I looked at it like this I fell in LOVE. I looked online for a ton of Vintage Rustic ideas. And here are a few ideas of what Im looking forward to having in the wedding. Vintage/Rustic Themed Wedding. <3 PERFECT.

Im so excited for all these fun projects!! <3

Xoxo

Bianca

Bacon Wrapped Spring Stuffed Chicken

This was something super last minute and I basically invited it and used whatever i had in my fridge to make it.. Im sure there is already something with a name out there like this... But id like to call this  Bacon Wrapped Spring Stuffed Chicken! I know super long but whatever.. Its SO DELICIOUS! And the best part about it is... Chris loved it! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Stuffing:

1/4 cup of Cilantro

1/2 cup of Red and Green Bell Pepper

1/4 cup of Onion

1/2 cup of Spinach

1 medium sized Tomato

1/4 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles

1 baby Lime (squeezed)

Chicken:

2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves defrosted

1/4 tsp of Sea Salt and Ground Pepper

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Toppings:

1/4 Avocado thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º. Next you want to get your Chicken and slice a few areas in the middle of each Chicken so that you have space to stuff your Chicken. (Don't cut too deep). Then put your Sea Salt (or normal salt if you prefer), Pepper, and your Minced Garlic in the palm of your hand, and rub both Chickens with the mixture.

 

Next, get your Cilantro, Red and Green Bell Pepper, Onion, Spinach, Tomato, and Chop it. Place it in a small bowl so you can mix Ingredients together. Once ingredients are mixed in bowl, get you one small lime and squeeze the juice on top of the veggies. Mix again. 

Finally, for the stuffing. Place the Chicken on a baking sheet with foil. Then stuff both Chicken Breast halves with the mixture in the bowl. 

Finally you want to wrap your Chicken with the Turkey Bacon (I use Turkey Bacon because it has less fat, and is so much better for you). Wrap 2 strips of Turkey Bacon horizontally and 1 strip vertically. You may use toothpicks to hold the bacon in place. Do for both Chickens. Then place Chicken in oven for 40 min. Until Chicken temp is close to 180º.

Meanwhile that’s cooking, I made some brown rice since brown rice takes about 30 minutes to cook fully. And when finished I sliced up my Avocados and stuffed the Chicken lastly with the Blue Cheese Crumbles. DELICIOUS! 

Nutritional Value per serving: 

Calories: 594.8 Total Fat: 23.6g Saturated Fat: 9.0g Cholesterol: 180.0mg Sodium: 1,295.5mg Potassium: 908.2mg Total Carbohydrates: 29.9g Dietary Fiber: 9.1g Sugars: 10.3g Protein: 63.9g 

Vitamine A: 45.2% Vitamine B-6: 12.7% Vitamine C: 56.7% Vitamine E: 6.8% Calcium: 8.6%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. 98% accurate.Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Total Time: 50 min

Prep: 10 min

Cooking: 40 min

Yield: 2 Servings

Spontaneous 1 Day San Francisco Trip!

Trolly Ride

San Francisco Love

          Having such busy schedules, Chris and I both got lucky enough to have the same days off. So when it comes down to those days, we make the best of it.... every time. This past week we told  each other we weren't going to do anything, and just stay in bed all day and relax. Since we have had so much wedding planning going on we wanted to just enjoy our days off and do absolutely nothing. Come Wednesday, when I got out of class I thought, I really wanna go to San Fran! Super random and spontaneous. So we packed our things, got in the car with a few friends and TOOK OFF! I have got to admit, it was honestly such a fun 24 hours! But if only we were there just a little tiny bit longer But on a bright side, got to spend some time with my uncle too!.... Here are a few pic's from our adventurous 24 hours! Enjoy<3

Yummy Ice Cream Break!

Most of you know how much of a freak I am when it comes to tea.... OH, MY, GOSH! If you could of just seen the things they had for TEA..... I, about, died<3<3<3

TEA TEA TEA LOVE!!!

So Chris and I have been HUGE fans of the show called Alcatraz.. We both have been on this tour before but I was so young I couldn't remember anything about it. Tickets were sold out so we had to buy Stand By tickets and hope that 4 people wouldn't show. Sure enough, WE GOT IN!! It was sooooo exciting seeing everything as an adult, and knowing some of the History of Alcatraz. AMAZING...

Alcatraz "The Big Rock"

This 24 hours trip was so nice.. Love San Fran<3

Xoxo Bianca

Bridemaids

                       Choosing Bridesmaids and a Maid of Honor was actually quiet simple for me. Maybe even easier then Chris. I didn't ask them in any particular order, or in any fancy way. In fact I was pretty simple and asked them straight out. I wanted to do something cute and creative but never came around it. Im sure they didn't mind at all... (right ladies??) Anyhow, my little sister always said she wanted to be my Maid of Honor. So I thought, why not?? She is pretty much my best friend and knows almost everything there is to know about my life. But the minor problem is, she is very young. I have a few best friends. Honestly a lot of people cant say this but I have about 5. And I really can trust them with my whole heart<3, and I wish they can all be my Maid of Honors. So when I asked one of my best friends if she would want to be a bridesmaid in the wedding she right away came over my house, with a folder of "bridesmaids to do list". It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. She had ideas of colors printed, flower arrangements, themes.. all the above. And I couldn't just think of any other person besides my sister to be my Maid of Honor. So I have two, why not, rules are meant to be broken anyway! ;) She was thrilled that she had a bigger list of "Maid of Honor Duties" and has been helping me out the whole way.. till today.

The choosing of Bridesmaids was very very simple. I just choose the other best friends that I have, and obviously my little sisters<3 they are my heart. I asked all of them and of coarse they couldn't say no to this gorgeous face! ;) 

My decision on these beautiful young women is the best decision yet. (well besides saying Yes to my fiance) ha ha! Cant wait to have some fun ladies!!! And thank you ahead of time for all that you do. I apologize in advance if I become a Negative bride! (so far so good tho!) :)

 Xoxo Bianca

And So It Begins ♥

Hello!

Dec. 15 2011 Los Angeles, Ca.

       Most of you know the story of how it all begin, and how I absolutely just LOVE telling it, but Id like to tell it again for those of you who don't know. It all started about 10 years ago. me being 13, Chris 15. I was dating this boy that had lived down the street from me and Chris happened to be good friends with him. One night they both went for a jog and ended up at my house, Chris not knowing who I was met me for the first time that night. I had just gotten out of the shower a few minutes prior so I was in my pajamas, with my hair wet in a bun ready for bed. I run outside to say hi to my "bf" and I see Chris too. Chris was wearing fire gear that night. He had on the pants, the jacket, and the boots only. No under shirt, and his jacket was not buttoned. (you can only image crazy Chris trying to show off his "manly chest" lol) anyway, I run outside and my bf at the time says "what the heck are you doing go change you" (yeah, he did say this jerk! haha) And Chris right away says "no don't listen to him you look fine.." with a little wink. And at first I thought ew, don't wink at me.. But then I introduced myself to him, and I remember wanting to ask him if he was a fire fighter but he looked so young I didnt wanna look stupid. So I didn't. And I hadn't seen or heard of Chris after that night till I got into high school. I met this girl by the name of Amanda in class, she had came over and said she knew a boy named Chris that lived down the street from me and that we should invite him over before my dad got home, (sorry if you see this dad!) So we invite him over and me being the sweet little innocent cheerleader that I was, was SO AFRAID! All of a sudden this white Mustang turns the corner of my block so fast and loud I was thinking to myself.. oh..my..God. He comes out and says "hey! I remember you! Are you still dating that guy?" And I had told him no and the story of why we broke up. A few weeks later were hanging out everyday. So my parents put a stop to that and my dad had a name for him which we will NEVER forget... and that was Yaahoo. Chris and I were only allowed to see each other 3 times a week, sometimes less, and we were only allowed to talk on the phone for so long. (only there is a little story behind that.. lets not get off track here. haha! ) We made it official sometime in late January. Never really had an exact date because even I being the girl forgot when it was. So we made up a date, and that date was January 12th. I was 15 at the time and Chris was 17. We were so in love. We finally moved in together when I turned 18. It was the best. We were together for 6 SOLID years before splitting up. But this is a love happy story, so lets not go into detail about the split. We reunited, and fell so deeply, madly in love with each other after 6 months of not really talking and only seeing each other 3-5 times total. It was the best but worst thing we ever did splitting up. But looking at how we are now, was all worth it. Being back together Chris joined a company and had finally got accepted to work. It was something he has ALWAYS wanted to do and finally everything fell into place. Upon graduating his wonderful accomplishment, we all went out side to take some family photo's. Chris kept insisting we would stand by the big christmas tree so thats where we stood. We got a picture of our whole family together (which rarely happens) and then all of a sudden everyone started taking pictures of just him and I, which I thought was nice but we stood there for a while. He held onto me so tightly, almost like a stiff tightly if that makes sense.. He kept telling me he loved me and kissed my cheek, as I was turning my head to look at him, he gets down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife! I SAID YES OF COARSE!! Everything we both ever wanted was finally coming into place. It was the first time both of our families had joined together in  a very long time. And to have my family there to experience this with us, was just the highlight of my night. 
It was just perfect<3

Chris is such an awesome energetic person, I honestly can not wait to grow old together next to this handsome man I will soon call my husband. 


Stay tuned for more!....Bianca<3