let the people eat...

Picture yourself at a beautiful, romantic winter wedding. The server gets around to your table and runs down your choice of entrees. You clarify the sauce on one and the filling in another and then, make your choice. The server goes on to the next person at the table. That person wasn't listening to the initial run-down because he was talking to Chatty Cathy next to him. So, the server lists all choices again. And, repeat. 140 times.

Yeah, we're not doing that. Instead, behold our beautiful (I designed them so, I get to say so) MENUS...

Love them! And, luckily FI and my mom agree. Attempt one and we are a go! My next mission: finding white or platinum Stardream paper at the best price. (UPDATE: Priced it out and it's so not worth the Stardream. Found white stock for a song on sale at Michael's that will be just fine for this).

weekend checks (part 2)...

On Saturday night, we hosted a dinner in our home for my mom and FI's parents. We had great food and a really nice time together. Before we served dessert, FI and I decided to do a centerpiece trial to show them what we had decided on. And, this is it:

The silver leaf charger is 12.5" diameter and the glass is about 11" high. Around the glass, we are using a clear and colored glass pieces and a mix of large and small acrylic gems to refract the light. Here's a close up: We turned the lights down low to see how it would look and were happy with it on the wood table so, I think we'll be thrilled with the final result when they are sitting on the white linens with green runners. Just a few more bags of crystals to purchase and we'll be good to go! CHECK!!!

Then, last night FI and I had an appointment with another D.J. company. After our last one bailed out on us, we were cautiously optimistic (mainly due to all positive knottie reviews). We ended up hitting it off with them right away and booked them. CHECK!!! We have music and lighting!!!

And, because I hadn't quite done enough this week (ha!), I went on an internet search for a brooch for the back of my dress. I entered a low bid on e-bay for one that I thought might work and...I won! So, we'll see what I think of it when it arrives. If it's not quite right, it only cost a little over $12 including shipping and I'll find another use for it (maybe as cake jewelry?). No harm and a possible CHECK!!!

To top it all off, my sister (MOH) called me last night to tell me that she and my bridesmaids have scheduled a date for my shower - January 17th, exactly six weeks before the wedding! I'm so honored and excited!

weekend checks!!! (part 1)

My mom came to town for the weekend to help with several wedding related things, as well as shopping for her MOB dress. We ended up getting a LOT taken care of - so excited!!!

We started Friday at the florist. I loved the florist we met with - he understood exactly the look we're going for and, we're getting more than I thought we could for our budget. While I was looking through the flowers when we arrived, I nearly fell over when I saw they carry chartreuse roses! A few of these beauties will be in my bouquet, along with ivory roses, green hydrangea, green berries and white stephanotis with crystal centers - all hand tied with white ribbon. The girls will carry small hand tied bunches of ivory roses. FI will have a white stephanotis and green berry bout and the rest of the guys will wear green berries. We also decided to have a large, elevated arrangement on the place card table (one of the first things people will see when they walk into the venue), a large arrangement for the bar and pew bows with two small pew arrangements at the ends of the center aisle. CHECK!!!

Then, it was off to search for the perfect earrings. I had been looking all over online and just couldn't find something that I loved. A knottie on my local board (danigirl715) recommended a boutique a few towns over from me. It turned out to be just two blocks from the florist so, that was our next stop! As soon as I tried on these art deco beauties, I knew they were it! They sparkle like crazy in the light, are the right length and are comfortable. CHECK!!!
On Saturday, we went back to the bridal shop. I was having some second thoughts on my gown and needed to see it again, talk it over with my mom and reassure myself. In the end, I do know it's the one and that I chose it for a reason so - that's that. I had already decided to make a modification to the back by adding a sash in the same color/material as my dress so, we ordered that. CHECK!!! The back will look similar to this pic (photo is not my dress) but, it will be sewn into the side seams, rather than wrapped around the front. I'm still looking for a brooch to attach to the knot for some detail. Any suggestions?
While we were there, I found my shoes! Relief. Finding white comfortable flats has been near impossible. But, these are perfect and I couldn't believe how good they felt (walked around the store in them for about 15 minutes). CHECK!!!
If that wasn't enough, after trying on over 20 dresses, my mom found hers at Lord & Taylor. She looks absolutely beautiful and is thrilled with her choice...yay Mom! CHECK!!!

And, yes, there's more...I'll be posting pics of our DIY centerpiece trial tomorrow!

ah, irony...

I'm always looking for a good read. On the recommendation of anther knottie, I searched for and purchased A More Perfect Union by Hana Schank on half.com for a song. I loved this book. Really delved into the insanity of the wedding industry and how even the most sensible of us can get caught up in it all. I particularly enjoyed the knot.com references throughout. Though the book was written a few years ago, nothing has changed there.
Ironically, as I was reading the memoir and nodding along in agreement with the ridiculous amounts of energy directed at a single day, I have been in the throws of all of my own details: menu design, favor packaging, place cards, table numbers. My free time now spent in front of the computer, PhotoShopping for hours on end to get just the right greens and blues and to find the right mix of fonts to add style but, maintain read-ability. Oh-so-sensible me has fallen victim to the wedding industry. It snuck in little by little but, there it is!

love with hiccups...

It's been an interesting weekend.

No solid plans
+ hot/humid/nasty weather, followed by driving rain
= crankiness.

By the time Hanna hit us, it was late Saturday afternoon and was a tropical storm, bringing gusty winds and a LOT of rain for our severely overpopulated area. Our home is well above the flood zone. Although we are only about 5 blocks from the waterfront, it's five blocks straight uphill. Thankfully. But, when it rains like that, we're still locked in because the highway infrastructure just can't handle the run-off.

We were both hot, tired from a long week and just wanting to relax and/or do something to work off the lingering work frustrations. Not under these lovely conditions. Mainly, I read and he worked on repairing a computer. All was well. Then, a slight temperature battle ensued (a/c vs. stifling humid outdoor air). Aggravating. Thank goodness for my spontaneous friend who happened to call and suggest getting a quick coffee. She picked me up (using the not-so-flooded local roads) and unwittingly 'rescued' me for an hour. Once I returned, the boy made amends and the status quo was re-established. Then, today, a little bit more of yesterdays not-so-nice stuff. It happens, we talk, it's over and we go along on our happy way. As we were sitting watching football a little while later,

FI: "I'm sorry it's not all perfect but, I always love you."

Me: "It never needs to be perfect. Sometimes our love just gets hiccups."

No, there is no such thing as perfect in relationships or in any other aspect of life. I've never excepted it. Not of living together, our wedding or our future marriage and family. What I expect, and what we both strive for is: more good times than bad, to treat each other gently and well and to approach everything we face as a team.

do me a favor...

We decided on our favors very early on in the planning process - monogrammed chocolates packaged in truffle boxes. I found the perfect 2 x 2" boxes at Michael's several months ago (purchased with 50% off coupons) and ordered the chocolate molds online. The question remained: How would we decorate the boxes? I knew I wanted to create a band around the box, using our colors and to have our monogram on top. The search for ribbon was on. I looked in stores and online and just wasn't happy with anything I saw.

Today, FI and were at the craft store for something else and I, of course, had to browse the scrapbook aisle on the off-chance I would find something useful. Bingo! I found the perfect green and blue damask paper (on sale) and the two colors of Bazzill Bling cardstock that matched. It all came together in a minute and I walked out of there VERY excited to do what else? A mock up! Here's the list of supplies and directions:

• 12 x 12" patterned paper - Autumn Leaves "Le Fleur" by Rhonna Farrer
• 12 x 12" Bazzill Bling cardstock, Diamond (white)
• 12 x 12" Bazzill Bling cardstock, Sparkle (light blue)
• Pop dots
• 1 1/4" circle punch, Stampin' Up
• 1 1/2" scallop circle punch, EK Success
• Gift Tag Embosser - Single Initial, Horchow.com
• Scissors
• Double sided adhesive
• Favor Boxes, 2x2x2", Garner Studios from Michael's

1. Assemble box
2. Cut patterned paper into 3/4" wide strip
3. Wrap paper strip around box front to back, anchoring one end to center of box top. Leave excess and trim to a point
4. Punch scallop circle from blue cardstock
5. Emboss initial on white cardstock and punch out with circle punch
6. Layer initial over blue scallop circle, using adhesive
7. Center monogram on box top and attach using pop dot, to add dimension

I am SO thrilled with how this turned out - clean, simple and a with a personal touch. If only every other DIY project goes this smoothly...

the sweetest thing...

My FI that is. His parents are on vacation and he has been taking care of their home and lawn. On Saturday, he went to water their plants and came back home to give me this:

A beautiful rose from his mom's garden, just because. A little dose of romance on a summer afternoon.