My DIY Rustic Wedding

Hello!

Yeah, I’m still alive. LOL I know, I know… it’s been a while. And I’m always saying this but I really do miss blogging and writing fiction. That said, I miss reading more. I miss looking at everyone’s photos, those gorgeous images taken from all over the world, taken by different people with different personalities and perspectives. I’ve never seen the northern lights. But I’ve seen it through your photos. Always through different lenses, always through different perspectives. And I will forever remain in awe at how beautiful that sight is when seen through your eyes, and his eyes, and her eyes… It just never looks the same way. Someday, I’ll get to see, no… experience… it for myself. But right now, thank you for letting me see what you see… For letting me in on the experience that is so uniquely yours. Thanks for sharing a little piece of yourself with me.

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I never said this but your photos here at the weekly challenges have gotten me through some pretty tough times. Somehow, they’ve provided me with  sweet, sweet escape from the mundane. Your images to me are like multiple windows and doors to different worlds and dimensions that I can just peer into, step into, and get lost in. More than that, your photos have given me inspiration. They’ve made me more ambitious, more eager to see the world. Knowing you has pushed me to travel more, to see more of the world, to taste more of life. So for all that, I’m grateful. I”m glad we connected via WordPress, that we became friends through photos.

Now, I get to return the favor big time. As you may already know, I tied the knot a few months back. I promised some blog followers photos and photos you shall get. 🙂 Here are personal pieces that only I can share with you. As much as I value my privacy, I’d just like to share with you a little idea of what the most important day of my life was like.

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The rustic theme is super trending so my fiance, now husband, and I really went for it. More importantly, we realized that it suited our personality as a couple. We wanted something simple but elegant, down to earth but generous… We toiled for months and months DIYing everything from the invitations to the souvenirs. Ariel designed the crates to be used as rustic decor and spray painted the wine bottles. I spent afternoons wrapping jute strings on more wine bottles and late nights sewing lace on burlap for our wedding invites. Together, we stamped wax seals on the envelopes. Together, we dressed up the little jars of homemade pineapple jam in burlap and jute. I plotted the seating arrangement like it was a battle plan. And I’ll never forget the sight of him steam ironing my dress the night before the wedding… Just remembering all that craziness paints a smile on my face. Neither of us have done anything like this before. It was his first time to make wooden pallets. It was my first time painting varnish on wood slices and wooden boxes. Our wedding organizer, who was fabulous btw, was really amazed at how much energy we put into the wedding planning. I can tell that he was super blown away by how OC I was about everything. LOL I gave the wedding suppliers printed handouts as thick as a baby thesis. hahaha I got backups of backups. I printed labels for everything

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Our organizer always be like: “Where did you buy this?” and we be like: “Oh, we made it ourselves.” Okay, it’s probably not wise to be experimental on your wedding day. For us, there was always this option to hire a stylist and then there’s always the risk of suffering DIY disasters. I mean, you only get married (for the first time) once… Ideally. If you screw up that photo wall, it’s screwed. But that’s the whole point. We only get to do this once. We only get to enjoy this once. So we figured, hey, if we make mistakes, we’ll make them together. And then we’ll just laugh at them together. It was kind of the same with this decision that I made to rock a face veil. I had a traditional church wedding and everyone urged me to wear a long veil. They said it looks better in photos and that it’s more appropriate for a Cathedral wedding. I was like: Screw appropriate. I’ve always envisioned myself walking down the aisle with my face bare and me smiling at everyone.

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In the end, the wedding was everything we wanted it to be and more… An intimate affair with us surrounded by our closest friends and family. It wasn’t perfect. It never is. But the feeling was.

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It was my husband’s idea that we should have tokaji (tokay) Hungarian wine for our wedding toast. Coz champagne is overrated, he said (though the ladies and I drank champagne at the bridal suite while getting dolled up). I said yeah, brilliant idea. My fiance didn’t know this but fans of horror will recognize it as the wine that the Count Dracula served to his guest, Jonathan Harker. It’s delicious.

Planning the entire wedding may have been experimental for us but our love is something that has been tried and tested over the years.

 

xoxo

K.Z. ❤

 

 

 

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Gettin’ to know you, Gettin’ to know all about you… :)

I realized that I have new followers. Hello!!! And if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, thank you ❤ ❤ I know I have an About Me page and you’ve probably already read that. But I’d love to be reacquainted. So, here goes…

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My name is K.Z. Morano.

All I want for Christmas is a pet dragon and a time machine.

Will Work For chocolate.

A real woman is strong and wears her battle scars with style.

My strangeness is the sexiest thing about me.

I have a passion for life, and for all things weird and wonderful.

My art is about telling stories that would make most people uncomfortable but at the same time encourage them to appreciate the beauty in dark fiction… to allow them to recognize that horror is an inevitable part of life and that it’s not something to run away from. Horror fiction is beautiful in such a way that it captures people’s capacity for love and hope and courage. It shows people’s will to survive under seemingly impossible circumstances. In the end, horror shows you how precious life is and it leaves you with the question of how hard are you willing to fight just to cling to life.

I take inspiration from life.

My heroes are my favorite writers: H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Neil Gaiman, and Clive Barker because they showed me the beauty in horror.

In my free time, I write dark and disturbing things, curl up with a book, spend time in the kitchen cooking, hang out with my grandma to bake cupcakes or to get our manis and pedis done, oh… and I shop… a lot. 😉

My life is crazy. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

The thought of a good breakfast inspires me to get up in the morning. lol What can I say… I have a healthy appetite. 🙂

The most important thing to me right now is reconnecting with myself.

My number one nemesis is procrastination. It’s a disease and it’s contagious. That’s why I love surrounding myself with people who are productive and passionate about their craft. I love hearing about other people’s success stories. I’m not the kind of girl who gets envious of other people’s achievements (and if I sense that someone is that type, I try to stay away from them). I look at it this way: Their dreams came true; therefore, mine can too.

When I’m feeling lonely, I watch old black and white Hollywood movies to cheer myself up.

The combination of cruelty and ignorance scares the shit out of me.

The most challenging experience I’ve ever had was working with impoverished patients at the pediatric intensive care unit during my days as a volunteer. I worked with children that had very slim chances of survival. It was difficult not to get emotionally involved. In the hospital, you witness everything… the beginning of life, the end of life. It can be beautiful. It can be terrifying. And it’s most certainly challenging.

Having a well-nourished imagination is my secret to happiness.

My most awesome health tip: be meticulous about the food that you eat. Do your research, check food labels, and personally examine the source of your meat and vegetables. I enjoy preparing my own food from scratch. 🙂

I have an unhealthy obsession with pink.

The greatest thing I’ve ever learned is to love and be loved in return. Okay, I totally stole that one from Moulin Rouge, my favorite film. 🙂

I believe in fairy tales. Sure, sometimes I have to slay my own ogres… and sometimes, in the absence of a fairy godmother, I have to rely on my own magic… Still, I believe that I have the power to write my happy ever after.

I feel really sexy when I’m in water.

My ideal wedding is an elopement.

The most daring thing I’ve ever done was to run after a thief. I was a student then and I was wearing my gym class uniform and running shoes and for some reason it made me feel like I was a total bad-ass.lol
Now that I think about it, it was quite a stupid thing to do and it could’ve cost me my life. 😀 Anyway, a couple of guys tried to help and ran after him too but we didn’t catch him…

I really wish I had more time to blog and to visit other people’s blogs. I miss a lot of my blogger friends. Still, I’m very grateful to those who continue to support me despite my frequent absence.

I feel beautiful when I’m happy.

My favorite body part/s are my hands and my feet. They’re small and dainty and blemish-free but that doesn’t mean that I’m weak and idle. On the contrary, these feet have been to places and these hands have created a lot of things and have done a lot of hard work.

My style icons are Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel.

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My fashion style is bohemian chic. I love tunics, chunky jewelry, denim vests, dresses with bold and eye-catching prints, tunics, hats, cardis, and one-of-a-kind purses. But I refuse to be categorized into a particular fashion personality. Sometimes, I enjoy rocking an edgy look—leather and studs– or an eccentric vibe—I adore Betsey Johnson… and sometimes, I prefer classics– I also love Kate Spade. Chloe, Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Burberry.

I think shoes are important because with the right shoes, a woman can be anywhere that she wants to be.

My favorite scent is Romance by Ralph Lauren/ Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue/ Lanvin Eclat D’ Arpege / Thierry Mugler Innocent / Marc Jacobs Daisy/ Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Blush/ Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede/ Jo Malone Basil and Neroli/ Burberry Sheer

I’m attracted to people who are passionate about the things that they do.

I write about strange things and anything that catches my fancy. I write about love, about fear, about people’s capacity for good and evil. I write about monsters—both imagined and real. My first story collection, 100 Nightmares, covered everything from ghosts and psychos to dark fairy tales and bizarre creatures in Japanese folklore.

A short message from me to you:

You’re only as beautiful as you believe yourself to be. ❤ Never forget your worth. ❤ It’s okay to ask for more. ❤ Dream. ❤ It’s never too late to write your own fairy tale. ❤ Strive to be original. ❤ Value your friendships. ❤ Speak up. ❤ Listen. ❤ Find your style and own it. ❤
xo K.Z.

Ligo Haibun Challenge ~ Inspiration

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They say there’s no such emotion like when a mother watches her child take those first precious steps.

I have yet to be acquainted with that feeling. But let me tell you about that time when I almost knew how it felt…

It was a morning like any other…

A movement caught my eye. Everything remained still, suspended in midair as I watched her lift one shaky foot. They touched the ground, seemingly savoring how the earth pulsated beneath them.

Then she let go…

Mama released the quad cane and with a big grin on her face, took one trembling step after another towards my grandma who stood in the kitchen stunned, oblivious of the sharp fragments of porcelain that lay shattered at her feet.

‘Look!’, Ma yelled excitedly, ‘I’m walking!’

‘Praise God!,’ my grandmother breathed. Her eyes were brilliant with tears of joy.

Then it occurred to me… for the second time, she was witnessing her child take those first precious steps.

I giggled at my mother’s stubbornness… her obstinate refusal to stick to the norm.

A month ago on that day, when my mom suffered from cerebrovascular accident (stroke) the doctors said with certainty that she’ll never walk again.

They all said it was a miracle.

I believe it was coz of the stuff my ma’s made of.


pursuing life in
relentless spirit she walks
off the trodden path

thorns on trails
they but urge us to
keep walking

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I thought I was gonna write about fantasy but ended up writing about inspiration which I don’t do very often since I’m not so good with the teary stuff. lol But this one’s a true story and I hope that everyone who reads this gets to learn something about perseverance, fortitude and optimism from my mom. Coz I sure did.

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for Ligo Haibun