Category Archives: Weddings


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One Year Ago Today…


… I married my best friend, and a year later we still haven’t killed each other! I think this is quiet an achievement!

And to celebrate my 1 year wedding anniversary on my blog, here is some advice/wisdom I learned from my wedding:

1. All I cared about was getting my guests fed, seriously! That’s why there was bacon wrapped stake on the menu!

2. Another thing I tried my best to do was keep the wedding under 10 grand, and we were able to accomplish that as well!

3. I wanted a really good photographer. And I found one, on Craigslist! You never know where good things in life come from!

4. I didn’t stress out over anything, well maybe a little, but things seemed to have somehow fallen in place, I found a hairstylist/makeup artist, an extra bridesmaid (thank you Annemarie :) you were a rock star ), did my own flowers, nails, and toes, rocked a pair of 5 inch suede heels, which I still have and wear.

5. Here is the TRUTH, all I wanted from that wedding is for it to be over, so that normal life could begin. And that’s the most important thing to remember – one day is nothing in comparison to a lifetime spent together. I still have wedding photos that need to be framed!

Call me lazy, or boring, or weird, but a wedding is a wedding, but marriage is way WAY more important. So enjoy your day, but don’t get too obsessed!

xo,

Zhenya

PS. Please show it to all the brides you know!

And as a bonus and for all of you who missed it, here are some of my favorite shots from that day!

Check out my hot penguin pants :) Yes, I am that trendy!

The ceremony and the picture taking got the best of me, and I was really tired by the time we got to this point:

But we still pulled off this Hollywood style kiss:

My favorite part of the reception was the cake:

Needless to say this cake ended up in my nose, my eye, my hair :) But it was exceptionally good!

It’s important for the bride to stay goofy – so here is an asparagus mustache for you :)

I liked the little place cards too, and yes my real full name is Evgeniya, though I rarely go by it:

And did I tell you I did my own flowers? And that they came from Costco and that I paid less than $120 for them???

Oh wait, I did, so never mind :)

Thanks to my heels I was taller than Doug

And almost as tall as Sam

Would I want to live through my wedding day again? Probably not, but I am loving every day I spend with my husband, so there :)

Also here is the original post from a year ago, feel free to check it out as well!

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The Wedding Weekend and my OOTD


Last Saturday my friend Sarah married her best friend Ryan, a guy she’s known for about 7 years. It’s been a long journey for them, but I remember back in 2006 when I first met Sarah at Decision Hills UMC, she made it clear to all of us at staff training who Ryan was and that she called dibs on him ;)

I was more than honored to be there to share her special day! She looked gorgeous. And I am sure she won’t mind me sharing some of the pictures with you guys, because I know you all are dying to see the wedding dress and maybe, probably, hopefully (?) what I wore to the wedding as well :)

Since the wedding was taking place in Willmar, about 2 hours away from the Twin Cities, Sam and I left around 1.30 pm to be there for the 4 pm ceremony. Now my husband has a thing for driving, he isn’t really fond of it, but we took route 12, which went through all these cute little towns, and that kept him entertained ;)

This is the church where the ceremony took place.

Having been to Willmar plenty of times before, I have to admit that I’ve never been to the UMC there (oops, my bad)

At least I got it taken care of now :) Here is the inside of the church:

Some shots from the ceremony during which the pastor mistakingly referred to Ryan as God :) That was a joke for the rest of the night, and I am sure will run in the family for many years!

And Ta-Da – they are married:

There is nothing better than sharing the joy of a newly married couple, I tell you! Here is Sam and I outside the church:

And here is just me:

So here is what I wore: Via Spiga shoes, the most comfortable heels ever! Necessary Objects Dress, that was a gift from Mia, I used to baby sit for her! The little black bolero is some unknown brand and came from a swap in NYC. I also have an Etra clutch, pearl necklace, and faux pearl earrings. And imagine that – I did my own hair! How awesome is that? I really didn’t think I could do it! If you are wondering what the dress looks like without the bolero – here is a pic:

Make up wise, here is a close up I posted on Instagram on the way to Willmar:

I used Physician’s Formula tinted moisturizer SPF 15, Lorac Social Beautifly palette eyeshadow, Maybelline gel liner, Clinique mascara, Mac highlighter, Sally Hansen cream blush, a little of the Revlon Photo Ready pressed powder, and Clinique chubby stick on my lips!

After the ceremony we went to the reception, and what kind of roadtrip is it without getting lost? Google maps totally googled us over :) But we found Holiday Inn, after pulling a U-turn somewhere on the outskirts of Willmar!

Look at the adorable favors:

And here is the couples first dance:

Me, bride, and the made of honor, the two are sisters, if you can’t tell ;)

I also realized what a city girl I am :) Sorry small towns, you are simply not for me!

Hope you had a fun weekend! A refashion post is coming up tomorrow!

xo,

Z

 


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Etsy: Yay or Nay?


A lot of time I’d be walking through a store and then spot something totally cool and handmade looking! I’d look at the price tag and think to myself – why are they charging so much for it? And then I have the second thought – I can totally make this myself! I know I am not the only genius out there who has had the same thought before, but I just don’t see why someone would charge almost $200 for this knit throw (which is only 15% wool and 85% acrylic)

So the question of the day is – should I open my own Etsy shop? Please vote and comment below!

xoxo,

Z

PS. On the other note – congratulations to Johnny Weir, he is proof that Americans don’t only marry Russian women, they also marry Russian men!


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My Wedding DIYs


This will probably be the last post about my wedding. And I am sure a lot of you will let out a sigh of relief, because “How much longer do we have to sit here and listen to you blabbering?”

Anyways, this is going to be a tip that I read in “Priceless Weddings Under $5,000″. And the tip is going to be about flowers!

I know every bride wants her wedding to be a place where flowers come to die. As sarcastic as I may sound now, this was a true fact about me as well. I wanted flowers, loads of them, and I knew I couldn’t afford to pay more than $200 dollars for them. So off to Costco I went. (If there is a Sam’s Club in your area that works too) Now, Sam and I don’t have membership, but his parents do, so we convinced his mom to take us a couple weeks before the wedding, so that we could buy some food and also scout for the flowers. In Minnesota Costco carries bunches of roses (24 count) for $16.99. Needless to say I got the woman’s phone number (because there is a separate person who is in charge of the flowers!) and called her a week before the wedding to place an order for 7 bunches of red roses. We came to pick them up on Saturday morning, and I also got a bunch of ivory ones.  So there we go 8 x 16.99 plus tax came around to about – $140! And there we go – I didn’t go over budget or anything. Now I made my own bouquet, and the center pieces. Here are some pics of what I managed to put together the night before the wedding:

Now for the center pieces:

I got the smaller bowl-like vases at my favorite Salvation Army (Yes, the one in Warehouse District) and they were all either 99 cents or 50 cents. The vase fillers came from Family Dollar – clear ones were 60 cents a bag and red ones were a dollar a bag – I got 2 bags of each. Ribbon cots 50 cents and came from Michael’s, I used 2 spools.

Now about the pearly while inserts I used in the girls’ bouquets. I made them all by myself. Here is what you need:

1. Beads – I used Crystazzi from Michael’s – there is a ton in the pack for only $3.99 and I knew I would use them for my future craft projects.

2. Then I used floral wire in silver – I think it was $1.99 from Michael’s

3. All you got to do is cut the wire into pieces (about 10-12 inches long – or depending on the hight of your bouquet), pull it through the bead and wrap it around a few times. Now the wire will either give you blisters, or you are gonna end up scratching yourself a few times. So I suggest either truing to be very careful, or making these a week before the wedding – so that your hands have time to heal! And you are done!

Now for the bouquets I also used floral tape (3 spools for $1.99 and wide ribbon – 2 spools – one red and one ivory – $2.99 and pins – the ones I am now reusing in my sewing projects :) )

So here you have it – I have told you all about my DIYs for the wedding. I can honestly say that from all the wedding experience that I had, I can’t help but agree with my friend Bri – Always, I repeat ALWAYS, hire a good photographer!


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Rehearsal Dinner Outfit


So it’s been a few days since the wedding and the rehearsal dinner, but I kinda feel like bragging about my rehearsal dinner outfit. I apologize for bragging in advance, but if you are a vintage lover like me, you’ll understand why :)

So here is what I wore (I am the one on the right, in case you were wondering):

So let me break this down for you: top – Banana Republic – freecycled in NYC, belt- also freecycled in NYC, skirt – vintage Sophisticates by Pendleton – $1.99 – Salvation army. Too bad my Etra clutch isn’t in any of these pics, but it’s in my previous post. Now I wore all this with this pair of shoes from Target (these were my emergency shoes that I bought when my sandals broke in the middle of the street, and they go amazingly well with this outfit)

The shoes were on Clearance for about $13, I believe. Now the total outfit comes down to $16, not bad for a rehearsal dinner, I think :)

Tomorrow I will let you in on another secret about the skirt!

 

 

 

PS. Our rehearsal dinner was held at Buce di Beppo – amazing place if you ask me!


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Our Wedding Day


“Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and a carriage”

I have talked to many people, asking them questions about their wedding day and how it all went. Some people don’t remember anything, some only remember the emotions, well I remember everything! Lol

I loved everything about my wedding day, from hair and make up in the morning, to taking pictures in the Sculpture Garden and by St. Anthony Falls, to dancing, and then coming home and crashing.

I loved the fact that Sam and I smeared wedding cake all over each other’s faces (pics to come I promise), and I loved watching him have fun!

The other good thing about my wedding is: I now have enough ideas for blog posts for the rest of the week. Sadly, I broke my – A post a day rule, but I will catch up, I promise :)

For those of you who can’t see my Facebook pictures, I have attached some below:

Enjoy,

XOXO,

ZhenyaH


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I have 2 words for you: Shoes and Hair


This is what a bride should care about the most. Shoes have to be comfortable and hair – well the higher the hair the closer you are to heaven!

I had a hair trial yesterday, and let me tell you – Jasmine is amazing! She is my future parent’s in law neighbor, and a mom to 5 kids! If you are in Minneapolis/St. Paul area let me know if you want her contact info. This is what I looked like after the trial – remember that the real one will look a lot a lot better :)

Now on to the shoes. You gotta go designer, and make sure that your shoes are comfortable. I had a dilemma – my dress is a little long, and the heels that I had weren’t high enough. But I didn’t want to get the dress altered, so the only way out was to go for a higher heel. And I went to a perfect store for that – Nordstrom. I absolutely adore the shoes I got! They are by Via Spiga – a modern interpretation of the 70′s style

They are suede too!

Hope you all have a great Monday! I am looking forward to the weekend already :)

Love you all, from the land of 10,000 lakes (or more?)

Zhenya


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My Cake Tasting Experience


I think I was excited about the cake tasting as much as my dress. As silly as it may sound, that’s what mattered to me the most. I really want the guests to remember our wedding cake.

When the question of the wedding cake rose, there was only one option – Buttercream – a famous bakery in the Twin Cities, that also has a branch in Stillwater. But we decided not to go with them, because another name came up – Fresh Fields, located in Stillwater. Yesterday I went to a cake tasting there, and let me tell you – I was full until this morning! What they did is baked 4 little cakes for us to try and choose from (and when Rachel brought them out on a silver tray, I knew that I was definitely going to order with Fresh Fields). Call me a sucker, but those little cakes were so good, we still have some in the fridge that we are saving for dessert.

I also learned a lot from Rachel, the chef and the cake artist, about the place. They have 2 cake artists at Fresh Fields – her and a French guy. Rachel herself moved up from Denver, CO. So we both found something to talk about, being “Not from Minnesota”. All the fillings/mousses are home made, they don’t use mixes or anything – which is definitely a plus.

Now about the flavors. I was sent a list of flavors, fillings and icings, which I mixed and matched and ended up with these 4:

White/Strawberry mousse/Vanilla Buttercream
Chocolate/Vanilla Buttercream/Chocolate Ganache
Marble/White Chocolate mousse/rolled fondant
Red Velvet/Chocolate Ganache/Vanilla Buttercream

Now I am not going to tell you which one or ones (!) we got. You can vote on the choices here http://poll.pollcode.com/1K8 

 

Hope you are having a great day! Sending all my love to you :)

 

PS. Cake pictures are also to come, but after the wedding! :)

 

 

 


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My 60′s Wedding Rings


Oh yeah, I am going with vintage 1960′s square wedding bands for our wedding. Sammy D would be proud of me. I was originally going to go with my grandma’s rings, but the karat was low, so those are going to stay in the family as a memory.

Now on to my rings. Sam and I went to JB Hudson on Nicolette Mall (for those of you who don’t know yet, we live in Minneapolis) and his mom actually recommended that we go there. I was originally going to go to Kay, and OMG I am so happy I didn’t. JB Hudson blew me away, the customer service, the atmosphere, the friendliness, the everything else that you can ask for from a jewelry store and so much more! I cannot believe we were treated like that!

We got engaged while Sam was still in college, so I never got a diamond, which I was fine with. But we both knew that I was going to get something special on my wedding day, as well as Sam.

When we came to JB Hudson, we only had one reason – to resize Sam’s Grandpa’s ring and resize one of my Grandma’s rings. After I found out that most of my Grandma’s old wasn’t higher than 9k, with an exception of 1 ring being a 21 k, I was pretty upset and kind of at a loss, since I was really counting on those. That’s when the help came and I am so sorry I forgot her name, but she works as a jewelry designer at JB Hudson, and is one of my favorite people in the whole world now. I will be definitely sending her a Christmas card this year :)

I have a very small ring finger size – I am a 4! Last year I was measured as 5 at Kay, so I guess my fingers shrunk :) Anyways the designer pulled out two rings, sort of a rounded square shape, and showed them to me, and that is where I went – YES, YES, YES and felt like crying because I was so happy. Now she didn’t stop there, she told me those were 1960′s vintage rings, and that’s where she had me completely and utterly hooked. And then the impossible happened, they were on SALE, at 50 % OFF. We’ve also added a diamond on the side, for the finished asymmetric look.

I picked up the rings yesterday, and lucky for us, Sam’s rings were ready too (2 days early – we were supposed to pick them up on Friday). But I wouldn’t have minded going there on Friday too, in fact that place feels like home now :)

I bet you are all dying to see the pictures. I have to apologize for the poor quality, as you may know my camera broke the night before I left for the US.

The upcoming posts are going to be about:

- Shopping with my mother-in-law for wedding shoes,

- Cake tasting at Fresh Fields in Stillwater,

- Dance lesson in St. Paul,

- A new – Thrifting for Treasure and DIY project related to it,

- Some wedding decorating ideas.

Stay tuned, I hope you love my blog as much as I love all of you <3

 

 

PS. By the way that D in my signature has a little over one week left to live, and will soon be changed into an H :)

 

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