Here is our Video trailer for our Disney Wedding. It was a magical day with all of our friends and family! The day was beautiful and filled with love and happiness. It was the first day of our Happily Ever After. Also the beginning of us starting our next chapter in life as Mr and Mrs Rios. I will be doing more posts in detail of our Magical Day!
❤︎ Alyssa Renee
With the happiness I had on my Wedding day. It reminded me how lucky I am to have had shared such an important day with all of the important family and friends in my life. My bachelorette trip was definitely a trip to remember, I had so much fun. Things happen for a reason and I have always believed in that. We did so much while we were there; it was tons of laughs and so much fun.
Walt Disney World was so much fun and I loved getting to plan everything out. It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to plan another girls trip again since it was a great time to bond with everyone. For the rest of the girls it was there first time going there so I was the one who helped guide us around. It was so hot though, I have never been to Florida in the summer but it was hot. Like sweating your own sunscreen hot.
On our first day we went to Epcot it was so much fun and so much to see. It was a long day though we rested for a bit and changed as soon as we got off the plane and headed into the parks. It was a long day but so much fun. We were all exhausted from the plane ride but we made the most of it and still had a good time. We were able to explore and see what Epcot had to offer. My favorite part was getting to explore the different countries. We were so tired though we didn’t get to see all of them. I loved getting to go on the Frozen Ever After ride it was so cool to see them bring the movie into real life and turn it into a ride. Test Track was a lot of fun. I love that you get to design your own car and get to test out all the different aspects of it. But it was a lot of fun the time we were there.
The second day we went to the Magic Kingdom, it is my favorite park. I loved getting to got there and see Cinderella’s Castle. We actually had breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We were able to see the princesses and take pictures with them it was so much fun. I love that the Princesses all walk by and you get to see them. We also took some cute and fun pictures in front of the castle. We had fast passes for a few different rides my favorites though had to be the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. That ride is so much fun and so cute to see all the added details. I was actually surprised on our trip and Esmeralda from Home Grown Citrus made us light up Bridal party ears. They were gorgeous and so much fun to have on our trip. Everyone loved the ears and getting to see all of the unique details she added on them they were amazing! My favorite part of the day was going to dinner at the Be Our Guest Restaurant. Everyone was so sweet there and so kind they made it so much more special for me. They brought me a special desert to celebrate my bachelorette weekend with a candle it was so sweet. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant and it was so cool to be the last to leave and see everything all empty. It was completely magical.
Our third day we went to Animal Kingdom it was so much fun getting to see all of the animals and going on the safaris to see the animals up close. I know there were some of the girls who were super excited to see the animals. We also had a buffet breakfast and it was so cute we saw Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, and Donald all dressed in the cutest safari outfits. We also ended up making a trip back to the Magic Kingdom to do some shopping and we actually got caught in a storm. It was actually a lot of fun everyone else was running and hiding and we actually had a blast. We made the most of the storm and it was honestly so cool even though we ended up soaking wet afterwards. It will always be a fun and special memory I will cherish. We went back to the Animal Kingdom and went to Pandora at night and went on the rides there and it was honestly so cool and so much fun to see it at night. It was totally different from the daytime. Both of the rides in Pandora were the coolest and felt so real and so pretty to see all the different aspects they added to it. We also ended up going to see the Rivers of Light and it was so pretty to have all the animals in the show on the water. It reminded me a little bit of Fantasmic.
The last day was eventful but honestly so much fun getting to spend time with the girls we had an amazing lunch at Enzo’s Hideaway. It was delicious and I loved the view it was gorgeous. The lunch was so special to me and the girls were so sweet and said the sweetest things to celebrate our last day of the trip. It was a special day for me and to be with girls who would be there for me on my Wedding day was amazing.
I definitely need to plan another Walt Disney World Trip it is always so much fun!
❤︎ Alyssa Renee
Things got so crazy busy, that I got sidetracked and was not able to post like I had hoped. So I wanted to finish updating you on the bridal shower and after that about my bachelorette trip to Walt Disney World. Then I’ll have to update you on My Wedding it was definitely a dream and I am now Mrs. Rios! I am still waiting on more photographs from our photographer. But I will definitely share all of that! 🌹
My Bridal Shower was originally themed A Parisian Affair. It ended up reminding me of Paris in the springtime. I had planned this all out on my Pinterest board for what feels like forever. I had so many ideas it was hard to do everything but I loved how it all came together. I went with black and white stripes, and a variety of different pinks. Plus the added touches were of course rose gold and sparkle.
I had a cute yard sign made for the Bridal Shower for everyone to find the house. It was a cute sign that I put together and it came out better than I expected. I actually ordered it from Office Depot. I attached rose gold balloons that I found on Amazon. They were the cutest addition to the decorations and they added the cutest girly touch of rose gold to everything. We used them all around the bridal shower for decorations. I loved the combination of solid and confetti balloons.
The photo booth was made by Vincent’s Dad and it came out amazing we added the flowers and letters to it. The paper flowers added the pinks to the green and made it pop. I then found the pink glitter letters for the backdrop that spelled out Miss to Mrs. It was what I was looking for and were already painted and had the glitter so I didn’t need to do anything extra. I found them at Hobby Lobby. We also bought different props for the photo booth area. For the photo booth I actually found it for my iPad through the Apple App Store and it is Babeland. It was so cool and so much fun, I was even able to create the template below and it did GIF’s it was so much fun and so cool to have set up for everyone to use.
We also had found the cutest signs that were perfect for all around the bridal shower. It was a set and they had many different ones with it, it included: a welcome to the shower, gifts & cards, drinks, sweets, and food signs. They were the perfect addition to the decorations.
For the floral arrangements I had already planned out that I wanted a mix of peonies, roses, and baby’s breath. They were a mix of different pinks and it created the prettiest centerpieces I could have imagined. We went to the LA Flower Market and found all of the flowers there. They have so many choices it made it so hard to pick. We went the day before and found the perfect flowers and they lasted even longer since they were so fresh. I definitely recommend going there if you are looking for flowers for any event they have so many good choices and good prices and so many options. We even ended up using roses and hung them around my table and it was the cutest. It was so pretty to have the flowers hang on the canopy it added a cute touch. I saw it on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect to have that same idea somewhere at the bridal shower.
The flowers went perfectly with the Eiffel tower table decorations that I found and they were rose gold. I also found the crystals for the tables on Amazon that complimented the Eiffel towers. I also found the cutest little glass perfume bottles that tied in the theme of my Bridal shower invitations. The linens we chose were these beautiful silk black and white stripped tablecloths. They added to my theme and I loved them so much. The chairs we went with were white chivarri chairs with black seat cushions. It was so pretty that it all went so good together.
I found these adorable pink paper lanterns that had a variety of pinks and it added the cutest touch. We added them on the trees and the patio overhang it was so pretty. In those areas as well we had rose gold balloons. On the bushes near the gift table I found these adorable white glitter butterflies we added them to the bushes and it was the perfect touch. I also found a cute rose gold love balloon and pink engagement ring balloon, I loved how they could be used for photo props as well.
I had so many different ideas for the food, drinks, and desserts. I wanted it to all tie in together but at the same time be a really good mix that would all go together. We wanted to do a lunch with the options for more appetizers and desserts.
So for the appetizers we decided to do a mix of some of my favorites. I wanted my grandmothers delicious crab dip. She seriously makes it and every time it is amazing. We also did some different cheeses, assorted meats, with crackers. Of course we also had different fruit for everyone to snack on. It was all so delicious I loved it all. It definitely helped to have those appetizers while the lunch was still being set up and put together.
For drinks this was one of my favorites. I wanted to do something fun and cute that gave everyone different options to choose from. So I decided to do a mimosa bar so everyone could choose their own juice and mix it with some champagne. It came out so good since we found so many different delicious juices to choose from. We wanted some fruity and sweet ones and some that were less sweet. The champagne we used was the Frexinet extra dry brut. It was delicious and went perfect with everything. I know some people were just having champagne since it was so good. Plus I just loved having the options. For non-alcoholic drinks for everyone we had pink lemonade and peach bellini tea. This tea is one of my favorite options for a peach tea.
For lunch we had it catered by one of my favorite places Olive Garden. We of course had, salad and bread sticks. Which I love and could live off of since they are so good. For the main entrees we had chicken parmigiana, fettuccine alfredo, ravioli, and baked ziti. The food was delicious. It worked out perfectly to have a lunch at my bridal shower.
For desserts we had so many delicious options. I saw some ideas on Pinterest of different things I wanted to do. I wanted to do something cute and creative. I really wanted to have donuts from California Donuts so I found some cute and creative ways to have them. What I ended up doing was making a donut tower. I did this by stacking the donuts on top of each other with a big base to get smaller once it got to the top. This worked out perfectly since I ordered custom mini donuts that fit the colors and theme of the bridal shower. For my cake it was the Pink Champagne cake from Crème & Sugar. It was delicious and of course so pretty look at. I loved how it looked with my cake topper. We also had a candy bar with some different candies that are some of my favorites. Olive Garden also gave us some extra desserts that we were able to add to the dessert area. Everything was delicious and everyone loved everything it was all gone at the end.
My Bridal Shower was so much fun and I loved the whole day it was amazing!
Some of the things mentioned above will be linked down below.
https://www.beau-coup.com/wedding/pink-gold-bridal-shower-signs.htm
https://www.etsy.com/listing/239142524/custom-future-mrs-cake-topper-bridal?ref=shop_home_active_24
❤︎ Love Alyssa Renee
My bridal shower was filled with amazing and creative custom favors, decorations, gifts, and Snapchat filters.
I found the cutest invitations that went with the theme I had in mind they were beautiful. The whole look was perfect it was the first thing anyone was going to see before the actual bridal shower and this was the perfect first impression of what was to come. I loved the invitations they were definitely perfect for it all. I even found a pretty chunky glitter to go in the envelopes of all the invitations. They had that extra sparkle and matched all of the colors.
My mother’s best friend made the favors. She would be my Godmother if I had one. She put together the cutest bags with an assortment of candy. There was also a bookmark, with my photo from our engagement photos. The candies had cute stickers with cute little sayings that tied in the theme and colors of the bridal shower. The favors were the cutest addition for my bridal shower and I loved how they came out. It was definitely the sweetest thing that she made all of the individual favors to give to everyone.
For the bridal shower, I made a custom sign my own and made it unique. It was my Bride to Be sign for my chair. It was a natural wood sign but I had to make it unique and put my own twist to it. I painted it a rose gold color and added pink glitter on top of it. I wanted it to scream me and I love rose gold and glitter. It was a messy process but it was so much fun to make. I loved getting to paint it and add the sparkle. When it comes to decorations you can always make it unique by adding new and special touches. It is always a good idea to put your own spin on things and make it one of a kind. Especially for parties so no one else will have it since you put it together yourself.
Some of the other decorations we made for the bridal shower were paper flowers for the photo booth backdrop. My bridal party, our family, and myself, all individually made the paper flowers. They were all made using different shades of pink paper. We worked all day to make sure we had enough flowers for the photo booth backdrop. I am so grateful everyone helped so much with them and we had more then enough and they came out so cute. The paper flowers all are individual and unique since everyone made them all differently and put their own twist on them. They were a beautiful addition at the bridal shower.
I had special gifts made for my bridal party. Esmeralda the owner of Home Grown Citrus. Took my idea for these special ears and made each one so unique and beautiful. The ears were made based off of the princess buttons I gave them when I asked them to be in my bridal party. The maid of honor and matron of honor ears have velvet bows. The bridesmaid ears have sequins bows. The ears are all based off of different princesses. They are gorgeous and unique; they are perfect for each one of the girls. They are perfect for my bridal squad. My ears were amazing and she made me Belle inspired ears with rose gold accents since she knew I love the rose gold and sparkle. It has a beautiful rose veil that matches the ears. I am amazed at how perfect they are and I am so excited to wear them at Walt Disney World next month. Definitely if you want beautiful unique ears reach out to Esmeralda.
One of my friends made me a special and unique Snapchat filter for my bridal shower. It was designed specifically for me, I gave them the ideas I wanted and they took it and made them perfect. I wanted the girl to have specific roses and have the Eiffel tower in her glasses. My theme for the bridal shower was Paris in the springtime. So it tied in the theme in perfectly. It was so cute and added the perfect touch to everyone’s photos. They also added the saying on it as well since it was a major theme at my Bridal Shower. If you want anything unique and special you should reach out to them and you will not be disappointed.
Also Snapchat has a custom lens builder now and I made one for the bridal shower and it came out so cute. It was a beauty filter and gave you a pretty pink flower crown it was so cool to be able to have this to take photos with. It was definitely so cool to see it used on everyone’s personal photos.
There is more to come about the bridal shower! Some of the things mentioned above will be linked down below.
So with my Wedding planning even though I have a wedding planner through Disney. Things still get chaotic since I’m handling all of the outside vendors. It’s been a lot to go through and remember what you need to do. But what I have been finding super helpful is making lists of everything I need to do and take care of. Making lists and doing check marks of what has been completed has helped me be aware of what I still need to do for the big day.
It is so crazy how fast everything is coming. It’s at times like this I start to feel a little stressed out about it all. For the Wedding I have even decided to use small businesses to make special things for the wedding and I am so excited to see it all completed. I wanted our wedding to be us. I wanted it to be personalized and feel like and be like what we like and who we are as a couple. It’s exciting to find all of these unique things and get them custom made for us personally. Majority of the items came from Etsy or I found them actually though Instagram. Also another tip is if your not sure if they do customs just make sure to ask it doesn’t hurt to try since you never know what the answer might be. I did that a couple of times and that is how I ended up with the perfect personalized things for the wedding.
Also when it comes to planning the wedding it definitely helps to have others around to help you out. It’s not always good to try to do everything on your own since you might go crazy. It’s not always easy but you have to ask for help plus if you ask for help you might get some great suggestions. As well as some new vendors you have not heard of. Plus if you need help to put things together having others will help you get it done faster as well as have fun with your friends and family doing the project for the wedding.
The most important thing though that I have been doing while wedding planning is enjoying the experience. Remember you are marrying your best friend and planning your next chapter in life. Take the time to soak all of it in and no go crazy about it all. It may be stressful and frustrating at times. But remember what it is all for. You get to marry the love of your life. I will stop thinking about planning and just remember how much I love my Fiancé and how lucky I am to be with him and get to marry him. And that in less than 4 months I will be his wife. Things like that make me so excited and happy to be planning our wedding. So enjoy every second of planning your Wedding Day!
❤︎ Love Alyssa Renee
So last week it was a crazy week. We ended up seeing our engagement photos on PopSugar. It was totally unexpected and so cool to see. They shared some of our engagement photos from our Beauty and the Beast inspired shoot. I loved how our photos came out so it was so cool to see them in this article. Our photographer took amazing photos and we are so lucky to get to keep these photos forever. I’ll share the article link below so if you want to check it out you can.
https://www.popsugar.com/love/Beauty-Beast-Themed-Engagement-Shoot-44706322#photo-44706323
❤︎ Alyssa Renee
Has there ever been that time in your life when you felt you need an extra boost? Feel like you need help getting where you want to be? You’re not alone. I was in the same position until I found two amazing self-love books. Though it took a while before I read them both I enjoyed taking my time to soak in all the helpful information. It’s crazy how instances in these books fit into day to day situations I found myself in.
The first book was Radical Self- Love by Gala Darling. I have to say Gala Darling is an amazing author and gets straight to the point. The book gave me a lot helpful information I feel I can use to improve the quality of life, clear the negativity and let in positivity. Gala teaches you ways to help manifest the life you want to live. I am not kidding when I say affirmations make a difference in changes your whole mindset and helps you feel mentally better. I never really knew what affirmations were until I started reading this book. Now, that I know I will definitely put it to practice. Gala also shares with you ways to keep yourself happy so as to not allow others negativity to bother you or change your mindset. She explains how to let go of the negativity in your life, since it is toxic. I love how she says it is important to take days where you go and do something alone. Honestly, before I would have been sad to do something alone. But now I see it as time spent away to focus on self-love and self-Improvement. She also shows you ways to love others and to have good relationships in your life. Also, manifesting and having daily magic in our lives is important. What I love is that she gives you homework after each chapter to help you actively work towards incorporating more self-love and self-improvement. She teaches you things you may have not thought of before or maybe you knew you had to do but just didn’t want to. Having the Confidence within yourself and the willingness to improve the quality of life is what’s going to help you accomplish goals and ultimately get you where you want to be. Gala Darling is a sparkling person that I aspire to be. She is open and honest and does not care what others think. She does what she wants and is successful. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “The marvelous thing about happiness is that, in a lot of ways, it’s very easy. You can either choose a thought that makes you happy or a thought that makes you anxious, and you can make that choice every moment of every day. “
The second book is You Are A Badass How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness And Start Living An Awesome Life by Jen Sincero. Jen Sincero is definitely a badass and gives you the guidance on how to become a badass and I love it! Jen helps you overcome self-doubt and aim for greatness in your life. She shares personal stories that are very inspirational that have molded her into the person she is today. By using affirmations Jen establishes how badass she is and manifests the life she wants to live. She showed me that affirmations and manifestation make a huge difference in your life when you know who, where and what you want in life. Keep that set in your mind and don’t let it go and you will have the life you want. This book has definitely been a kick in my butt to overcome self-doubt by telling myself specifically what I want to have in life. The book also taught me how to get rid of all the B.S. in my life that is holding me back from becoming a better version of myself. She has showed me and told me what I need to do to change that and reach my potential and keep pushing for a life that I want and it won’t only just be a dream it will become a reality. Jen Sincero is a badass and has manifested the life she wanted and has become an amazing role model on how to let go of the self-doubting and be who you are meant to be and I want to be just like her. I want to be a badass and create the life I want from what I learned from her. One of my favorite quotes is “Going out into the world and trying, yet still deep down believing that you’re ruled by your past circumstances, is like forgiving someone but still hoping they sit in something wet.”
Both books are full of so much, self-empowerment, self-improvement and self-love. I enjoyed reading these books, learning about these two women’s stories and how they have used what they know in life to help others. They have definitely changed my life for the better. I will be using what I have learned from them and put it to practice to continuously improve the quality of life I have now and moving forward in the future. All of the learning and information I have taken from these books will give me the self-empowerment to create the life I want. These two books will definitely be my go to books about Self-Love. I can go on and on about these books but in order for you to understand why I love it so much you should check it out.
❤Alyssa Renee
I have always suffered from extremely dry skin making me feel uncomfortable and super insecure. My skin would be so dry that it would start to peel and to make the matter worse makeup would make it more visible. So, I have decided that it was time to make a change and take better care of my dry skin.
It has taken me awhile to find the perfect combination of skin care products for my dry skin, but I think I have found the best combination of products and routine to keep my skin healthy.
I hope my recommendation will help if you suffer from the same dry skin problem as I do.
My 6 Step Skin Care Routine
The first step to my skin care routine is using a face cleanser to remove makeup, dead skin cells, oil and dirt. I have been using Pixi Beauty Glow Mud Cleanser forever and it really feels like my skin gets a deep clean after each use. I use this cleanser every day. Pixi Beauty Glow Mud Cleanser contains Glycolic Acid and Aloe Vera, which helps gently exfoliate without being harsh on the skin. It also helps combat the oils in my t-zone and even helps clear up breakouts.
The second step to my routine is an exfoliating rice enzyme powder. This process helps exfoliate and keep my pores clear. I use Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder three times a week to remove dead skin giving my skin a super smooth feel. It contains different ingredients to help your skin reduce fine lines, uneven skin tone, and hyperpigmentation. I love the feeling of my skin after each use.
The third step is to use Pixi Beauty Glow Tonic. Ingredients in this toner, Glycolic Acid, Aloe Vera, and Ginseng, help with complexion and picks up any leftover dirt and oil. I use this product everyday]. It really does make the extra difference in brightening my skin.
The fourth step is to moisturize the skin with Kiehl’s Hydro-Plumping Re- Texturizing Serum Concentrate. This product helps plump skin with intensive moisture, revive dull skin for a smoother look. I noticed a difference right away and it helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, which I was worried about. To test how effective this product really is I stopped using it to see if there was a major difference and there totally was. A few days after I stopped I could see the lines coming back.
The fifth step is to hydrate under and around the eyes. This steps requires two treatments a day, once in the morning and once at night. Kiehl’s Rosa Artica Eye Cream is used in the morning to hydrate under my eyes and Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye is used at night to help fight dark circles, fine lines and puffiness around the eyes. Since you only need to apply a small amount for each treatment the cream will last a long time.
The sixth step is my moisturizer. I have one for during the day and one for nighttime. During the day I use Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer. This product gives my skin the perfect amount of hydration and it also helps my makeup apply more evenly underneath primer. For night time, I use Belif the True Cream – Aqua Bomb. This product has a nice cooling sensation when applied.
And if you need an extra boost of hydration, I recommend Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray. When I feel my skin needs that extra boost I just spray it on my face after my regular routine. This moisturizing face spray can even be used over your makeup.
Majority of the products I covered today can be purchased at Sephora, except for Pixi Beauty. All Pixi Beauty products can be found at your local Target.
Well that completes my 6 Step Skin Care Routine for Dry Skin. I hope the combination of skin care products I have recommended help with you dry skin. I will be testing other skin care products and will be giving my review in a later post.
Here is a more detailed video of My 6 Step Skin Care Routine:
❤Alyssa Renee
So today marks 5 months till our big day! It is so exciting that it is coming. I love that I get to marry the Love of My Life. We have been planning this for so long, so it is so exciting that it is coming so soon! I have officially marked the big things needed for the big day off my list.
❤︎ My Wedding Dress
❤︎ Venue – Ceremony and Reception
❤︎ Photographer
❤︎ Hair and Makeup
❤︎ Photo Booth
❤︎ Music and Entertainment
❤︎ There is probably more I just can’t remember it all..
I love that it is going to be a special day for us and all of our families. I have been doing everything to make sure we are not missing anything. I have been making lists and checking them twice. We also have been using a lot of small businesses for decorations for the wedding and I am so excited to see it all came together. They all have amazing work so I am looking forward to seeing it in person and created just for us. We are definitely creating our special day to be Our Enchanted Fairytale! We are doing a lot of things to make sure that this day screams us and is personalized to our relationship. We still have so much coming up in the next 5 months. It will be such a fun time in our lives and we are enjoying every second that comes with it.
But if you are a Bride to Be definitely do your best to get help from family and friends it helps so much. If it wasn’t for them I would have definitely went crazy doing it all on my own. Also for me honestly do not be scared to be a hands on Bride. I have had a part in all the events that come with a Wedding and I love getting to be there for every step of the way especially since I can be a perfectionist to things as well. But make sure to also make your own personalized lists of what you need for your big day. I know making myself different lists it has helped me determine what still needs to be done. I know there are still little things here and there I need to take care of and order but as of right now they are not major things that need to be taken care of right away.
Also I will be sharing more of the Bridal Shower planning it is happening in May and I am so excited since we are all going to do everything ourselves and I am so excited to do it all together with my bridal party and our families. We both seriously have the best families who are going to be helping us put together big things for it.
❤︎ Alyssa Renee
Sorry for the lack of posts, these past two weeks have been crazy. I am adjusting to having homework and tests again for my economics class. Plus it sucks this past week I’ve been under the weather. So I have had a crazy couple of weeks. But I have so many ideas for posts that will be coming this week. So stay tuned!
❤︎ Alyssa Renee
lovealyssarenee.wordpress.com 