Deep in the trenches!

Hey hive, sorry I haven't been around much this week. I'm at that stage in wedding planning where all the big stuff is sorted out, and in the middle of last week I felt like I hit a wedding wall. I couldn't wrap my head around anything I needed to do or wanted to do, I made check lists, contacted some vendors, and felt like I was doing nothing and getting nowhere. I could feel myself starting to go wedding-crazy. So I took a few days off, thought I was all better, and then I spent half of the day on Sunday working on a SINGLE flourish for our invitations.  I proceeded to get mad at Mr Ly because he just didn't "GET" it (I was being really ridiculous, and he was being really great, I was just super cranky due to no progress with the flourish...) and decided maybe a few more days off were needed.

Anyway, we are one week away from our engagement shoot.  Mr. Ly has both of his outfits set, ready to go.  I am between two for our formal shoot, and have the casual shoot ready. I'm really really nervous about our photo shoot.  I remember reading Mrs. Eagle's tips for nervous brides and engagement shoot phobia, it's for real. I re-read her post, and think her photos are absolutely breathtaking... so I'm going to try to deal with my anxiety head on.  I am deathly nervous about looking like an idiot, like the theme of our shoot won't come through - or we'll look like we're playing dress up, or I'll just end up hating our photos.  Mr. Ly is SUPER excited for our shoot.  It's doubling as our mini-vacation this summer, and he's looking forward to staying in a penthouse, having a day off of work, and taking some cool photos.  I need to take a page from his book - just relax, trust our photographer, and it will all be fine. I plan on doing my hair and make-up trial one more time, trying on the outfits with all accessories before the weekend, and then try to put my anxiety to rest so I don't stress the entire weekend.

I did DIY a gold pen necklace for our photo shoot, it was sooooo easy.  It doesn't even get it's own post.  I followed the tutorial found here.

The model paint was the only thing I had to buy, so all in all, this project cost me $2!!

Gold model paint & a free mini sharpie with jump ring already attached. 

A thin layer of paint is all you need (don't over-do it on the layers of paint - it will dry uneven) 

Creative drying techniques - suspended in a plastic cup so it doesn't hit any of the sides.  Also, this allowed me to paint the jump ring.

Let dry overnight,  attach a chain, and it's ready to be worn.

Ta-da! The final product in action! 

Super easy, super cheap.  I may try to find the pen used in the original tutorial, another $2 isn't too bad to add to the cost of this DIY.

Just be forewarned, once you start painting things gold - you will want to paint EVERYTHING!  I have a plastic cosmetic mirror that I may also paint to use a prop for the shoot.

So, anyone have any last minute tips or tricks or words of wisdom before our engagement shoot?  Any advice for getting around the wedding wall without ridiculous hissy fits if it hits again in the next 5 months??