The Great Program Debacle*

Programs have been a source of craziness for me. Silly, I know. I wanted to DIY them, of course, but I went back and forth between how to do them, what was going to go in them, and did I really want them anyways???

Well, then I finally calmed the heck down and realized: Yes, I do want them; Yes, they need to be easy as pie, and it had to be at least a little cute. So three designs and a whole lot of indecision later, here's what I finally came up with.

Pretty cute, eh? I'm satisfied. It was super simple. The fonts used are Jane Austen and Hanshand from dafont.com. This whole process has taught me to frikking love that site!

I'm very satisfied with them. Simple, cute, and to the point. That's what I'm all about 16 days until the big day.

*Okay, maybe "debacle" is exaggerating a little

Status Report

With 19 days to go would you even believe that I'm getting calmer? It just feels like things are falling into place. Thank heavens.

One of the biggest things was figuring out what we were going to be serving food wise. I know, I know, we're cutting it pretty close. Last night Josh and I had a "wedding feast" for dinner. Just a mish-mash of the food we'd like to have and figuring out what we like. Our wedding is pretty late, so we will be having cocktail party-like food. I won't reveal what it is yet, but I will say that dinner was a success.

Wedding programs having been a big debate lately, but today, I finalized the wording, design, and starting printing them. They are simple, sweet, and not that fancy but they definitely get the job done.

And, in order to get the programs done, we had to finalize our ceremony music. We were just looking for something to play while we did the unity candle and the signing of the marriage covenant. Josh ended up showing me "All Love Can Be" from the movie A Beautiful Mind (one of his favorites) and I loved it. Another thing checked off the list.

All-in-all things are going smoothly and, believe it or not, I'm becoming more and more confident about our little DIY wedding everyday. Now let's just have it stay that way!

Our DIY Guestbook

We took a neat twist on the traditional guestbook. In ours, guests are invited to write their wish for us on a small card and slip it into an empty envelope. It's a neat way to store sentiments and it gives a special feeling to each note as opposed to just signing your name on lined paper.

I used fabric and paper left over from making our invitations, so everything ties in together. The little envelopes were purchased at Hobby Lobby.

The greatest thing about this guest book is that it's made from a regular scrapbook. I plan to make it into a "guest book/scrapbook/photo album" of sorts for our wedding. Ideally, it will include as many photos as possible, our invitation, programs, etc. A nice way to have everything in one spot.

Traditions with a Twist

Now-a-days weddings are all about reflecting the couple (hopefully not just the bride). The days of all white weddings with puffy white sleeves, white cake with weird fruity fillings, and gifts you give your daughter 20 years later because you never used them (thanks mom) are pretty much gone. Today, an engaged couple can choose from millions of color schemes, wedding styles, and even themes. It's pretty neat. But something that a lot of people look forward to at weddings are the traditions. You know. The cake cutting, the bouquet and garter toss, and of course pelting the couple with rice as they run for the hills. But when weddings are morphing so quickly, it's bound to happen that traditions change as well.

Josh and I are including several what I'll call "traditional traditions" in our wedding but you might find that they have a slight twist that makes them more enjoyable to us.

Numero Uno: Ceremony music. This I'm pretty excited about. The Bridal Chorus and Wedding March are beautiful, but it's no longer mandatory that they make an appearance during the ceremony. I'll be walking down the aisle jamming some Frank Sinatra and Josh and I will be announced as Husband and Wife to the retro sounds of the Platters. You just couldn't do that 10 years ago.

Two: Cake cutting. For the life of me I cannot find the Real Wedding post I found this on, but it is an amazingly cute idea. Josh and I will (most likely) be cutting and plating our own wedding cake. Crazy? Maybe. But I have a stellar apron that I'll throw on over my fancy dress and we will be able to get more face-to-face time with guests as they come on down and get some cake. Yum. Plus it's a cost saver.

Tres: We decided to have only a Maid of Honor and a Best Man stand up with us on that day. This decision was slightly dictated by the size of the church (teeny-tiny but oh-so-adorable), but it also made sense to us because we are having an intimate ceremony and it seemed as though 2 bridesmaids would have led to twelve if you know what I'm saying.

Of course, I'm sure there are a lot more traditions we'll be twisting but those are definitely the top three.

Now for traditions we're skipping:

• Bouquet and garter toss. No thank you.
• Tossing anything for the exit. I'm really hoping just to hug everyone, since a lot of family is coming in that I haven't seen in a while.
• Formal dancing. Including first dance, dancing with parents, etc. That just takes up too much time and guests are expected to stand and watch us for 3-6 minutes while this goes on? Boring.

It is completely acceptable to take traditions and make them your own now. Wouldn't it be interesting to see what our parents and grandparents had done if they had the freedom to forego traditional traditions? What traditions are you skipping and which ones are you twisting?

New Use for Christmas Ornaments

One of the goals for my wedding is to have as few flowers as possible. Seeing as my budget is $5000.00, lots of fresh blooms are not an option. It might seem crazy, but I really don't see the point. Yes, they are gorgeous... but they die. Quickly. So, for all intents and purposes, you spent how much for decor that only lasts a few days?!? No thank you.

I've seen a few pictures of wedding receptions that have gorgeous ceiling drapes and paper lanterns lit up for a 'glowy', starlit effect. It's beautiful! Though they are less expensive, the cost of paper lanterns can add up! So, I though it would be really neat to use Christmas ornaments (the spherical kind) to hang . Last year, after the holidays, I hit up the sales at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, and Target to get some gorgeous ornaments in my colors. These will be used outside on the deck of our venue as well as inside to add a little extra detail.

Cost:

• Gold, 40 ct: $7.50
• Blue, : $22.50

Lists, lists, lists

We're at 28 days until the wedding and I'll admit that I'm getting a little frazzled. There are just so many details. So many things to think about at the same times.

I can't even tell you how many lists I have going on right now. And the best part? Each list gets edited everyday to add more stuff. Bah!

The great thing is that all the major things have been done or have been planned out. It's the little things that are left and there are alot of them! More posts are coming to feature the little cute details. Now, sleep.

Steal-Worthy Ideas

The whole point of perusing the wedding blog-o-sphere is to find ideas to steal. Plain and simple.

Well, it goes without saying, that I have find quite a few things that were steal-worthy, including this genius idea from Ms. Fancy Pants. It used to be a huge trend to have disposable cameras at each table for guests to take pictures at the wedding and leave for you develop. It's a great way to catch those fun cadid moments. Unfortunately, this doesn't really work for the way our wedding is set up. We don't have assigned seating and not having pictures in digital form wouldn't make me very happy.

Enter this tutorial. Business cards with information leading to a Flickr account to which all guests have access. This way, digital photos can be uploaded and shared with everyone who attended the wedding, and even those who couldn't come.

So here is our version:

It took barely anytime at all at the cost for 100 business cards was $11.97 + $3.49 to have the address update put on the back. These are going to go inside the favor bags (homemade peppermint bark), so that people will already have them. A very creative and useful idea.

What ideas have you stolen from around the interwebs??

Hello Gorgeous!

Mamma's got a brand new bag. Bask in it.

I bought this bag yesterday at Ross Dress for Less. It's a Liz Claiborne carry-on piece that originally retails for $260.00.

I bought it for $49.99. Oh yeah, swoon. It'll be perfect for the honeymoon trip. I'm striving to pack as light as possible and not bring much more than what I can cram into this baby, but we shall see. I mean how much clothing do you possibly need to bring to Mexico?

Creative Ideas for Covering Hideous Walls

Making the effort to keep our wedding costs down and the reception close to the adorable historic church we're getting married in, I would definitely say we settled when it came to the reception site. And by settled, I really mean we said we would deal with the hideousness that is this site.

Allow me to paint the picture for you. First of all, it's kind of a "U" shaped building which isn't very conducive to big gatherings of people. Secondly, there are wetland murals painted on the windows... and doors... each and every frikking piece of glass has something atrocious on it.

Proof:

To put it nicely, it ain't pretty. So while I've done my fair share of bitching and moaning over the site, I'm starting to see it as a challenge. Yes, a month and a half away and I'm just now starting to see this. Awesome, huh? I have literally spent the last 2 hours brainstorming ways to make this pretty. Not glamorous or amazing, just pretty. Another thing you should note, is that we are getting married in a small town, with about 2 wedding resources. So that means no Pipe & Drape, no fake wall to be put up, nothing. Oh, bring it on.

We do have some advantages.

1. The reception will be in the evening, so there won't be much sunlight to shine through the animal infested windows.
2. The site actually has good lighting. It can be dimmed to achieve our desired look. No harsh fluorescent lights.
3. I know my way around the creative blog-o-sphere.

Okay, it's about to get crazy but stay with me. I'm thinking tulle and flower strands.

Tulle is the lightest fabric I can think of which means it can be hung easily and it doesn't have to be hemmed. While it won't completely mask the zoo on the windows, combined with the dimmed lighting it will provide a lot of coverage.

Then I thought that alternating strands of silk flowers (on fishing line so it looks like their floating) would be a great way to get more coverage and make a statement. Here are some inspiration pictures. It's a little tough because there's no common color scheme but it's something.

Do you get it? Does it make any sense? Am I crazy? Maybe... Probably.

Bathroom Improvements

While the rest of the apartment is coming together nicely, both of our bathrooms have been severely neglected. Of course, they are the part of our home I spend the least amount of time in. But I finally decided to end it when bathroom items (still packed in boxes) were crowding and cluttering my favorite room... the bedroom. Not happening.

So, off to Target I went to find some storage solutions. I ended up buying two wall ledges for us to put our frequent flyer products on. I also picked up two small fabric crates, for us to put things in to leave the bathroom feeling more pulled together. I definitely think the new items vastly improve the "room".

Here are some pictures: (Pardon the quality. Bathroom lighting clearly sucks.)

Before:

After:

Mucho better. Our bathrooms will definitely evolve over time. When we registered for our wedding, bathroom stuff was high on the list. So, as those things come in, we will transition the current shower curtain and towels into the guest bathroom (which is completely barren).

A note about the shelves. If you're thinking about getting something like these, be wary. I would not recommend them for holding anything heavier than what I have on them now. They are only supported by a bracket attached to the wall. There is no 'internal' support, which makes them a little shaky. They work well in this situation, but I wouldn't use them for books or anything like that.

Another thing marked off the to-do list! And another project I did by myself! Installation and all!

Happy Birthday to Me

image

Yesterday, I turned 20 years old.

Oh yeah, I'm still a "youngin' ". But I don't feel 20. Honestly, for the last three years I've felt more like 28. My fiance and I live on our own and support ourselves, we both attend school and work, and we are always in the process of building up our home and our relationship. So while I am still very young, I feel like I'm in the right place to get married and take that next step in my life.

Earlier, this week a co-worker asked if I was nervous about the wedding. I explained to him that I was really just ready for the "party" part of it to be over, but that I couldn't wait to be married. "So, you're for sure he's the one and you're not nervous about actually being married?" No way. Being married to Josh is what keeps me calm about the whole thing.

There's a quote from the first Sex & the City movie where Samantha asks Charlotte how often she feels happy in her relationship and Charlotte responds "Everyday. Not all day, every day, but every day." That is exactly how I feel with Josh. I'm not fibbing, exaggerating, or trying to portray my relationship as perfect. This is just how we are and I'm thankful for it everyday.