Utterly Engaged } The 1st Online Wedding & Bridal Magazine. Inspiring Brides with Style.

Hello there! Fall may be here, but we wanted to remember the carefree summer days with this issue!

In this issue, be prepared to get inspired to go on an exciting adventure by couples who’ve gone to honeymoon in different parts of the world and shared what they loved about their travels, relive young romance through high school sweethearts Chris and Cait who just celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a gorgeous shoot in Dominican Republic, and have a secret getaway with the one you love in a beach elopement.

This past June, we got to witness the marriage of our past intern Connie who tied the knot with her college sweetheart Tommy in Santa Barbara. Their quirky personalities and story will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Their wedding was one of the most beautiful, God-centered and heartfelt celebrations we’ve been to and we were truly honored to be featuring it in this issue. We hope you enjoy this article!

Even though summer’s ended, doesn’t mean you can’t take that last dip in the pool, sink your feet in the sand, or go for a drive with the top down. Let’s end Summer with a bang (and a good issue in your hand)!

xoxo,
Henny & Lucia

So I’m sure you’re all familiar with the sexy photo session called Boudoir, where we tap into our inner sex kitten and get into things that our moms would be shocked we own and get in front of the camera so we can give our future hubby a surprise album on the wedding night (or wedding morning as a teaser? ; D)

But lately, there’s been a new term that’s been thrown around that involves our male counterpart – Dudeoir! At first I thought it was a joke, but I’m finding more and more photographers offering this service to their clients. And when I think about it, hey, I wouldn’t mind seeing my hubs baring his tattooed arms and back and get some tasteful photos done. Maybe keep the briefs in the pants though, no bare all for me, thank you. But I’m dying to see what you ladies out there think of this new trend! Would you make your man do it? And would you like to get this kind of surprise from your future hubby on your wedding night?

Photo by Damien Lovegrove

Photo by Barrie Downie Studios

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DUDEOIR - YAY OR NAY?

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Okay, NOW get your mind out of the dirty dishwasher! It’s not what you think! As a follow up to our blueberry cobbler post last week, we want to talk about cakes! Naked cakes have been appearing in weddings lately and we spotted some of our favorite ones.

via Green Wedding Shoes

via Southern Weddings

via Rustic Wedding Chic

via Grey Likes Weddings

We absolutely love the fact that we can see what we’re eating and don’t even mind the slightly messy look to these cakes (just makes cutting into it that much less painful). But I know some of you may be married to fondant cakes and how pristine and beautiful they can look. So let’s take a poll!

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NAKED CAKES: YAY OR NAY?

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This post is inspired by one of our commenters MacKenzie on my post last week about the perfect recipe for a happy marriage. First of all, thanks MacKenzie for sharing this great link to Lydia Netzer’s blog post on 15 Ways to Stay Married for 15 Years. She makes awesome points, some I’m already implementing (yay!) and some I still need to learn and adapt to my marriage. After 4 years of marriage, I have some of my own pointers to add that maybe you gals can adapt into your own new marriage as well. (Disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert at relationship nor do I claim to have a perfect marriage, but this is just from personal experience and what’s working in our relationship.)

1. Own That Kitchen

If you’re like me, I was raised in a home where my mom is the best cook ever and I would never stand a chance cooking in that same kitchen while I was living there. So when I entered my marriage, I knew only the basics of cooking by theory (from my mom talking about it and from watching my mom cook). But as you all know, you can’t really know how to do things until you start doing it. Now, I was lucky enough to marry a husband who cooks (in fact he’s used to cooking for hundreds of people in the homeless shelter where we met!), so technically I could survive not knowing how to cook. But that doesn’t mean I should let him do all the cooking all the time. As a wife, I think it’s important to own that kitchen. Starting this year, I made a commitment to actively learn and practice and explore cooking and baking in my kitchen. So that I can finally own up to saying that I do cook and bake for my husband and family. And there’s something about a woman wearing an apron holding a plate of hot-out-of-the-oven cookies that turns a man on. There’s not a time when I have my apron on that I don’t get my ass spanked. Lol! Which brings me to the next point.

2. Sex is Sweet!

I truly believe sex solves all problems (unless sex is the issue, which I won’t be qualified to get into). When things start getting tense and you feel like things that your spouse does annoys you or gets you upset, most likely it’s because you and your partner haven’t done it for a while. So make time! Get creative! I know it’s easier to do this before you have kids, but hey, I’ve got 2 young kids and we still make time. Sure, some days you just don’t have the energy for it, but when you do, go for it! And don’t think they have to be asleep to do this (this is a recent discovery for me). There are surely ways around it *wink wink* (email me if you’re interested in how). I noticed that usually after sex, you tend to be more relaxed, become better listener, more ready to share and open up, and so on and so forth, which prepares you for the next point.

3. Shower & Share

Usually, after sex, you need to take a shower. Instead of taking turns, why don’t you jump in together? This is the perfect set up for sharing time and doing your communicating bit, like “Hey, you won’t believe what happened to me today at work!” or “Did you see that funny Youtube video with the talking animals?”, etc. You’ll find that you’re more open and less defensive when you’re butt naked with your partner (especially right after sex).

4. Say I Love You Often

There’s no question that you love your spouse. I always end our calls with “Love You.” Even when you’re in the midst of being mad or upset at your spouse and you don’t feel it at that heated moment, it’s important to say it. When you hear it, and he hears it, it reminds the two of you why you’re in this together.

5. Pray & Listen.

Even if it’s just a short prayer before a meal, always make a point to pray together, hold hands, all that good stuff. Sometimes only in prayer that you truly hear what your spouse is thinking about, is concerned about, or is happy about. I cherish this time a lot. If you can do this before bedtime, that’s golden.

So there you have it, my 5 secrets to a happy marriage, and I’m sure I’ll be developing more as I go through the years. Hope you enjoyed these tips!

xoxo, Henny V.

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WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE?

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Happy Monday! Today’s a new day to a new week and I’m feeling good! I put a little extra effort to look good today too, did my hair different, and instead of going to my same ol’ stuff, I actually put together an outfit. Got more pep in my step today. Until I look down and realized the one thing I forgot was what my feet was stepping in. Flip flops!!! Yikes! I just went into work with flip flops on! If this were Friday, I might be able to swing it, but it’s Monday! Doh!

It’s days like this when I wish I have my Solemates with me. If you’re not familiar with Solemates, they’re these super flexible, ballet-looking flats that fold and go in a little bag that fit in practically any purse (unless you have a skinny clutch). They’re super comfy and compact, and forms to your feet like gloves! I just can’t rave enough about them and can really use them right now, before HR finds me walking around in flip flops in the hallway. So today’s plan is to hide behind my desk, which is a shame since I look so damn good to be hiding. Oh well. Maybe I’ll strut my stuff just a bit, and if I run into HR, I can come up with some lame excuse that my feet have this condition where they need to be aired all day (okay, that’s a bit gross).

Anyways, Lucy apparently loves hers too. When we went to our intern Connie’s wedding last weekend, she brought hers along and couldn’t be happier she did. Here’s what she has to say, “I was at an outdoor wedding (imagine grass, dirt, uneven ground – a girl’s nightmare in platforms). But after all the hard work of looking good and keeping my balance, my feet was killing me! I needed my feet to breathe and slipping them into the Solemates was like slipping into bed with clean sheets! What a big sigh of relief and an alleluia!”

Like Lucy said, this would be awesome at weddings! For guests and the wedding party! ‘Cuz we all know how much looking good is important to us girls, but if we can slip into something that’s equally as cute and be comfy, that’s even better! The only thing I’d wish for is that they’d come out with more fun colors. But they are available in basic colors like black, silver, gold, pink and red and affordably priced at $19.99 (at that price, you can get a couple pairs in different colors!).

So that sums up my Monday musing. Here’s to a lovely, feel-good-and-look-good Monday!

xoxo, Henny V.

This post has been written in courtesy of Solemates