my new favorite

Ken and I are planning our wedding, and as with any event there are a ton of decisions to make.  Although sometimes there is tension, in general, we have our true values in common.

One thing we have in common — is a love of technology.  There are a ton of sites & vendor to choose from, including paid and free options.   As a social media & events consultant I was excited to use all of these resources to celebrate my own event on and offline. Here are social media tools we are using for our wedding:

Building a Wedding Website.

Tool: Google Sites.

Why?

Well, luckily I’m tech savvy, but even more important — my fiance is a web designer.  We wanted an easy site structure that we could just add content too.  So there are lots of great wedding site vendors to use if your not in love with someone who knows html.

Extra hint: Treat yourself to a custom domain name. We’ll use it for our wedding blog and then continue to update it as our personal blog site.

Buy a domain at: Dotster or Go Daddy

Social Group for your wedding party or intimate family

Tool: Facebook Group

Why?

Our Facebook group is private and includes just our parents, and my bridal party.  This is a group that will allow me to deal with more specific details of planning, and to get advice from a small group to help me make a decisions.

Also, I’m planning a wedding in upstate NY when I live in Seattle, so social media is a great way to involve several people in conversations.

Couple’s Twitter Feed

Tool: Twitter

Why?

We’ve had a twitter handle for quite a while, but this will be a great way to ping our guests with last minute details & instructions.

Dance Mixes - First Dance.  Dinner Music.  Reception.

Tool: Spotify

Why?

There are a great number of sites (like here & here) to get lists of wedding songs for every moment of your special day.  Spotify is a great way to find all of the songs, create playlists, and choose your favorites.  Give it a try.

We will give you a sneak peak of all our sites once they are completed.  Stay tuned.

Last night Ken and I went to a concert at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. I have seen the band — by my calculations — at least 25 times in my life. My first show was while I was in high school. One of my favorite things in the world is to bring a great picnic, sit in the grass & watch a show.

I went early to stand in line before the gate opened.  At first, I felt a little silly.  I’m not a kid anymore.  I couldn’t help but wonder, is waiting in line for a band something a grown woman should do? [Note: last week, we waited in a line for a movie about a wizard school, so…]

But then I thought, what else is there to do in the world, but get excited.  

We should all have things in our life that are worth: 

• Getting up early for
• Staying up late to see
• Driving a long way just to spend the day
• Paying too much to experience an expert’s work
• Losing your cool to make someone laugh
• Breaking something apart to put it back together as something new.
• Crying because it makes you so happy.
• Running home to tell someone about it.

Enjoy your life.  Have a great weekend. 

Well, Ken is not new to me, but he is…by far, my favorite guy. 

After 7 years, my partner Ken & I are engaged.  He proposed in California over the 4th of July, and I am thrilled. 

So now I’m trying to learn how to keep & create multiple blogs that I can update:

• My New Favorite
• A new professional consulting site (TBA)
• A New Laura & Ken wedding site.  (TBA)

Advice is welcome. How do you manage multiple blogs with work, life, & love?

Happy Memorial Day.  Ken and I enjoyed a lazy weekend with our new grill, and a lovely meal of lamb & beef burgers w/ caramelized onions and goat cheese, corn on the cob & grilled veggies.  Delicious.

Then, we went hiking yesterday at a local park, just outside of Seattle in Woodinville called Lord Hill Park.  It was a muddy walk, but nice to be outdoors.  Then we stopped by the new Novelty Hill winery.  A beautiful modern space.  We will be back for a glass of wine out near their bocce court this summer.

A beautiful pic, Ken took of our sweet snail friend with one antenna!  Everyone has obstacles to overcome.  Let the summer begin!