Recaps: Reception

I’m moving on to the reception today. I know the pictures are still completely on hold, but I have seen a slideshow preview of our photos and I am BLOWN AWAY. I can’t wait to show them to you.  It’ll be a few weeks before I get my photos (on disc) back from my photographer. But, I wanted to recap with words so that I could move on to finish tutorials and then just focus on pictures.

Our reception was really wonderful. We had Christmas music in the background. We had all our friends at one table and our family in front and behind us. We got to sit down and talk and eat our wonderful pizza (seriously, if you are ever in the area hit me up… sailor pizza is where it’s at). We got to talk to every single guest at least once. We mingled, we smashed cake in our faces.

Even though, to be honest… there was a ton of things we didn’t do. We staged garter and bouquet tosses. There was no first dance. None of that. We cut the groom’s cake instead.

The grooms cake… Neyland stadium of course. Jonathon, had really wanted a Neyland stadium cake. So, Marsheena and I conspired to get one secretly. 

Our “real” cake?  White chocolate and peppermint fudge in orange and white! It was delicious and unique.  Although, it was really beautiful I didn’t even get to try it until 2 days later at a family gathering. But it was wonderful and perfect.

Then, Jonathon disappeared for awhile and took his dad to see his bookstore (Jonathon runs the one on campus) and Nikki and I took some fashion shots.

We did do something fun. Our (I can say that now) Nanny Gail decided we needed to kiss whenever someone tinged the glass and we kissed… a lot. And laughed. And the apple pie we cooked ourselves… yeah, we put WAY to much apple jack in it. It was strong… and so punk rock.

And just like that it was over. We were loading up the car and heading home to the after party. Which turned into taking pictures with the photographer and then Amy falling asleep in the recliner, but it was still a blast.

Recaps: Tutorials - Programs

I thought I would share a few things that I DIYed for the wedding. I thought I would start with the programs since we are talking about the ceremony.

First off, excuse my messy table. I bought heavy card stock from the paper store in town and then borrowed the cutter from my husband’s book store. Then, I trimmed off about 2 inches.

  I had printed the programs out (about 5.5 x 5.5 inches) and then I had to trim them.

Then, I used a single hole punch (actually I went through 3 of them because of the thickness of the cardstock with the 12 pages of program) to punch out two holes. Then, I took a length of ribbon and tied to two together.

After, I got the ribbon in. I glued on an envelope (the same ones we used with our Save the Dates and our inner envelope of the invitations) to the other side of the inside cover. I then used our paisley stamp we used on all our paper stuff and stamped orange metallic ink over the envelope flap. Then, I tri folded 3 kleenex squares and put in the envelope.

    After that I put in the bookmarks I made  (I used the left over cardstock, printed a couple sheet of a bookmark design I whipped up, punched a hole in the top and then tied it with ribbon). Then, I added to the front cover a design I made, printed, and cut. I attached it with scrapbook black photo corners and was done.

  There’s a better image of the bookmark. It was so much fun (and time consuming) making these programs. But I’m not going to lie. I don’t think I ever want to do that again.

*All photos are author’s own collection. 

Almost there

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying and how quickly all the planning will be over. It’s bittersweet.

BUT I have to be honest with you. I am ready for a break. I am ready to not think about weddings and to do lists and worry solely about my hubbie and to do normal married things like clean house, cook dinner, and just hang out.

Last weekend, we went home to taste test our main treat at the reception that we are doing instead of a cake. I would love to tell you about it right now, but I can’t.

Mostly, because there is some question about whether or not it will be put in the local papers. Apparently, my seemingly innocent request was incredibly unique and there is some buzz going around. Let’s just say it is exciting.

The taste test went well and I am excited about the whole thing. I can’t wait to tell you. I’m horrible at secrets!!!

Suit Hunting is OVER!

I loved the idea of going hunting for a suit for Jonathon. But I also knew that it was just one more thing (actually a few more) to add to my already overloaded to do list.

I assumed (and wrongly) that it would take weeks and several shopping excursions to find a suit. Really. I thought that. I've never bought a suit before and not for a wedding. So, I did a ton of research (thank you GQ.. seriously) and prepared myself to determine fit, form, function, and mostly beauty. I wanted to make sure we had a high quality suit that didn't cost an arm and leg. It also had to look nice, be altered to fit Jonathon perfectly, and it had to last him for not just our wedding but to work functions as well.

So, we go to a store in Jonathon's home town over the weekend that sells suits, knows him personally, and is a locally owned establishment. (We like to support our local resources as much as possible.) Let me say I was stunned. I stopped at a rack of black suits. Jonathon lagged behind at the UT apparel. I picked up a jacket that looked to be approximately the right size. He tried it on. The fit was a bit off in the shoulder. I handed him another.

I looked at him from behind, the sides, the front for about 20 minutes. I couldn't find a single flaw in the whole thing. I made him lift his arms, asked him if he was comfortable, etc. The jacket was PERFECT! Even the sales clerk/tailor was blown at how well it fit.

Then, he put on the pants that went with them. Uh-oh. Far too long! (I was thinking man we are going to have to order this suit, wait for it to come in, and then I'm going to have to take it to the tailor, let him hem them and take in the "break" so they aren't baggy, then find time to drive 2 hours back up here and pick it up.) BUT!! The man (tailor) says I can hem those up for you by Monday if you like.

Immediately my mind pauses: I don't have to order it? I don't have to take it someone else to be fixed? I don't have to do anything? Seriously?

Turns out they don't have to order they have enough stock to sell off the rack as it were, they have a tailor in store who fit the suit to perfection and altered for $20! And the suit? It cost less than renting for one day the tux we had looked at.

How does it look? Well, let's just say my man will look as good as I do on our wedding day in no ill fitting rented generic tux.

*PS. Yesterday, he tried the whole shabang on for me. He looked incredibly handsome (and so very much like himself!!) that I almost burst in happiness. He looked like the guy I have loved since we met... a goofy, UT Vols obsessed guy... who just happened to be in a swank suit.

Sacrifice to the Wedding Gods/DIY Recycle of Glass Candle Jars

Theatre is one of my true loves. My director for most of the plays that I was a part of through college and high school was an incredible lady. She never thought that a play would be a success unless by some accident (never on purpose) blood was shed to the theatre gods. Sometimes it was the tech team, the makeup crew, the actors, or the set builders (mostly) that gave their blood sacrifice.

Well, Monday, I gave my sacrifice to the wedding gods.

See, I have been saving old glass candle jars after we use them and recycling them to use outside the chapel to light the dark winter night. (And because I believe in reusing and recycling, so reusing the glass jars sounded pretty smart.)

So, here's a DIY tip for doing this. If you would like to reuse a pretty jar that has a candle in it (but the candle has burned away so much that it no longer stays lit):

1. Let it cool over night or about 12 hours.
2. Put it in the freezer for a couple of days.
3. Take it out of the freezer and let it thaw for a few hours (to a few days or months.. whenever you have time)
4. Take a butter knife (you can use any moderately sharp object, but this has been the best for me) and crack the wax so that it comes up from the bottom. (This can be done in one go if you are lucky. Normally, I find myself digging out pieces.)
5. Dump out the old wax.
6. Let it soak in hot water for a few minutes. Wash. Dry. Done.

It was the digging out part that ruined me. I was apparently pressing far too hard on the candle in question with my little butter knife and stabbed through the glass and into my hand, shattering the glass.

The cut isn't large and no major shards of glass were in my hands. I'm thankful it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But as it was I bled to the wedding gods.

DIY Projects Galore

There are still many DIY projects that we are working on. We have done quite a few already (Save the Dates, RSVPS and other components of our invitation suite, etc), but like any bride I am still work on quite a few of them.

1. the cards I am doing instead of a bouquet toss for the single ladies
2. place settings (calligraphy cards and pockets)
3. wreaths (2 evergreen with elegant bows, 2 golden christmas wreaths)
4. bridesmaids carrying books
5. makeup
6. photobooth
7. packets (material and ribbon) for our exit toss
8. the jars/vases for candles outside the venue
9. cards to help people understand the formal photography after the ceremony
10. calligraphy signs for everything
11. pew decorations
12. programs
13. thank you cards
14. second reception invitations
15. food (not all of it just desserts)
16. seating chart poster
17. pedicure (mom got me a certificate for the mani)
18. decorating the chapel and dining room
19. flowers (just for the centerpieces)

I really am drowning in projects. We have dropped quite a few projects from our radar (the digital scrapbook as the guestbook for example) because of lack of time. It seems like these will be doable. I can probably wrap up the signs, cards, and place settings in the next few weekends. Then, the books and wreaths will come next with the aid of my mother. The pew decor will be easy. So.... we will see if they all get done or we have an f*** it moment closer to time.

3 months tomorrow!!

These days I’m sifting through ideas left and right. Things that are small that have been put off until a later date and that later date is now. We have about 4 months (okay and a half) left to go before the wedding and I am picking up ideas and putting them down like shirts at Macy’s looking for the right ones. There are many ideas that we have held onto and will take them with us when we check out, but others that we liked have been replaced with ruffle tops we like better.

Ideas we looked at and put back on the shelf:
1. Digital scrapbook/guestbook – we loved the idea of this, but I just don’t have the time to devote to it and make it wonderful right now with all the other diy projects we have going on, my job, life, planning my sister in law’s wedding, and grad school.

2. Wishes jars or similar – I didn’t want to overwhelm my guests with hoops they had to jump through. I really wanted our reception to be a laid back, family dinner. I wanted to be able to see my guests, talk to each of them, get pictures with them, and be able to spend time with the people we love.

3. How we know everyone chart – I liked the idea, but I wasn’t sure how to display it. Although, now I am reconsidering this and putting it in the program. Okay, maybe, but only if I have time.

4.Games – for the guests to play… see my answer for 2.

5.Traditional Wedding stuff – no unity candle, that didn’t resonate true to either of us instead we have opted for a candle light ceremony. No ultra cheesy heard a thousand times songs (ie: Bless the Broken Road!). In fact, my entrance song is so unique… I’m waiting until after the wedding to tell you. No real bouquet or garter toss. Instead we are giving those items (or something similar) to friends that we know should have something special. No punch!

Ideas we loved and kept to wear on that day:
1. DIY photobooth – We work on a college campus and JRock runs the bookstore. So he has college kids working for him. One of my favorite employees of his is a blast to be around. She’s fun, spunky, crazy awesome. She is doing the camera manning for pizza. Seriously a great deal and it will be fun to see those pictures of our family and friends.

2.Quaker style marriage certificate – We really wanted something special for our marriage certificate that was beautiful, one of a kind, meaningful, and had some sort of resonance for our guests and us. It lets them know that we are accountable for this marriage. They know we have said we would go through the trenches to make this marriage last and not be a statistic and says to them… we know you know and you have to be our support community and help us through all the trials. It really meant quite a bit to us.

3. Knowing our officiant – JRock and I both had our officiant in class. He was my work study advisor. He really connected with me and he is someone we both know, love, and admire. We were glad that he accepted our request. He really is a great man.

4. Good food we LIKE – We went with foods we already know we love. Regional favorites that make our mouth water. True northern Italian pizza from a local pizzeria, desserts made by the hands of our family, true comfort lasagna, handmade breadsticks, cookies and milk. It’s not fancy, but it sure tastes good.

5.Small guest list – we have a max of 60 and we like it that way. It means we get to spend time with our guest rather than smiling across the crowded room at them. Plus, we are having a big reception in our home town for our family and friends who couldn’t come and that is pot luck and wonderful.

6. Cultural Elements - Menhdi, UT football (it is cultural in the South), books, and things. It is a truly unique and personal wedding.

Invitation Suite

I am putting the finishing touches on our invitation suite. I was torn. I really wanted to diy our invitations, but I really wanted letterpress. So to save money and compromise…. I ordered our main invitation and envelope in letterpress. You have seen them.

Then, I made our hotel and area information sheet, the RSVP, the RSVP instruction card, the photo upload information card, our rehearsal dinner invitation, and finally our after party invitation.

It’s taken me months and I’m still not done. Everything is done but the RSVP which is taking forever since they each have to be hand typed. Our RSVP mimics out Save the Dates.

I have had a blast doing them, but I seriously want to warn brides. If you do not have the time or patience to print, design, cut, and man handle all your invitation pieces…. get the set.

Sorry for the horrible quality of the picture. I’m waiting to let Nikki get the best picture of all of this madness.

Cleanup

I also wanted to give you a list of things I have been working on  the past few weeks.

- We went to look at tuxes. We found some that we liked. I think Jonathon will get it even though it is about $160. We think that we will put the boys in classic black suits (except Jonathon) who will wear ivory.

- I have taken care of my videography problem. Jonathon’s family friend is going to do it for us. It won’t be professional, but we can get it edited later.

- We are ordering a Quaker style marriage certificate. I am having it made, but I’m not sure by whom yet.

- I set out some feeler emails to some henna artists. I just have to find one that I like now.

- I have all of my wedding jewelry. I have my earrings, my necklace, my bracelets, and all that jazz. I still need to find lingerie, gloves, and hose.

- My wedding dress should be here in a few weeks. I am pretty excited about that.  And my rehearsal dress should be here next week. I’m pretty excited about all of that.

Wedding earrings

These beautiful little orange and white cameo earrings are my wedding earrings. I got them from etsy for $4! Quite a bargain. I wanted to mimic the cameo in my necklace with my earrings and I wanted them to be dainty.

Plus, they are so cute? Ne sais pas?

My garter

My mother got my garter for me for my birthday. And I love it.

I don’t think I have showed it to you yet. It was on sale at One Kings Lane a couple of months ago.  I really didn’t want to invest too much into a garter. But I did want one that was nice and not flimsy. It needed to be pretty and make me feel sexy, but not be strange. I saw this one and I had to have it. I’m glad I got it. Thanks mom!

 

Rehearsal Dress

Cindy from lookylu clothing is making my rehearsal dress as you know.  And this was some of the options.  I have opted for no trim around the bottom, just a normal white trim and the plain orange ribbon in the ruffle. There were actually many more options, but I just wanted to get the whole dress and the ruffle I like on it.

Cindy is incredible to work with. She listens to exactly what you need, works fast, asks for feedback and is all around awesome. If you want a sexy, flirty, fun and completely custom dress made…. go to etsy and lookylu.

Dress Update!

I am so excited today! I emailed Chrissy about my dress since I was checking in with my lovely wedding fairies. And she got back to me and said that my dress is gorgeous and she should be ready to ship it at the end of the month! *squee*

For those who don’t remember this is my dress and it is being made by the fabulous Chrissy Wai-Ching!

She is also making my veil! I can’t wait to see them.

Nice Things

I’ve been busy on the wedding front in many ways. Jonathon and I went back to our hometown a few weekends ago. We met with our officiant (Dr. Roberts) and took our flower girl and my future sister in law to lunch. (We also got new cell phones, but that’s aside from the point.)

Hannah, my sweet flower girl, is Jonathon’s cousin. She’s 11, smart, precocious, and fun to be around. She actually said to me “I’m glad you’re marrying Jonathon.” Which made my day. I love Hannah. She’s sweet.

I have also worked on other little things, but my mom got me part of my wedding jewelry for my birthday and my garter. I have to share these two things with you.

My garter mom got on sale. It’s a Mindy Weiss set.

I really wanted a nice garter, but nothing really fancy. We aren’t doing a traditional toss, but we are doing a toss. Basically, Jonathon only has one single guy friend and he is going to give the garter to him instead of tossing it.

The necklace, my mom got from an Indie website called Shana Logic. 

I really wanted my something blue (a light blue ribbon choker) to not be wasted or hidden. I happen to love blue and orange together so I opted not to hide it. Instead, I found this lovely cameo (which I love cameos… I have since I was a little girl going through my great- grandmother’s cameos.) So, as another tribute to her and to accentuate my lovely choker I am going to use this. I’ll take it off the blue and put it on my choker. Sigh. So lovely.

So, how are your wedding plans going?

Orange Swatch!!

I got a swatch of the orange material from my dress from Chrissy!!

I thought you’d like to see it.

It’s a bit brighter than you see there. But it’s so soft and so wonderful and so sigh!

The Dress

So, annoyed with searching for a beautiful, cute, but not hundreds of dollars dress… I looked at the one place you ask and shall receive. Etsy!

I placed an order on Alchemy and got several bids. Then, a home town – St. Louis fashionista offered to make a dress. She showed me one that she thought would work.

I agreed! And for $58 you can’t beat it.

Here’s the dress. It will be made in white eyelet with orange ruffles and an orange band around the bottom.

I am so smitten with my dress.

LookyLuClothing on Etsy is making it. I’m so smitten.

Calligraphy

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was working on my calligraphy. I started working on them over the long weekend. It’s a process. I have horrible handwriting anyway. I like them, but I also think that it still looks like a child wrote these. Jonathon and my mother (who love me and are biased) ay that they look amazing.

It’s a process. Jonathon draws a straight line in light pencil for me. Then, I address them practicing each word at a time. Then, going with it. I think I’ll get faster the more I do. Since it’s taking an hour to do each one.

Our envelope with the stamps.  

My practice notebook. I don’t want to violate privacy sorry, no addresses!

Stamps: invitations

These stamps are perfect for our invitations. I saw them and was smitten. I went ahead and ordered 100 of them today. They are perfect.

It plays on the “Queen” and “King” thing that we have going. It says love and it’s got orange in it.

Plus it works with our invitations.

YAY

We finished addressing our invitations this weekend!!!!

I feel incredible, because one time consuming task is out of the way. I had fun. Jonathon helped me keep all the lines straight and we worked our way through our whole list. It probably took about 40 hours this weekend, but it’s done!!

I’ll upload pictures sometime in the near future. I already have a week of blogs lined up for you. A ton of good wedding things happened this weekend. So, be prepared!

Table Names

Jonathon and I debated on table names for many days. We thought about naming them after places we love, places that are meaningful to us, people we admire, things we have done together, favorite books, places in Harry Potter, people in Harry Potter.

Finally, we decided when we found out that we would have 7 tables to name them after Harry Potter books.

Why? Harry Potter could define us. When I first starting hanging out with Jonathon I knew we both loved  Harry Potter. But we went to my aunt’s pool one hot June day and talked about Harry Potter for hours. We’d text each other tricky questions, watch the movies, discuss theories of the last 2 books, and basically just be Harry Potter kids.

So, with Harry being such a big part of our lives we knew we had to include it somewhere. The table names are perfect.  We have them all set out and named now.  I was wondering how to do the table names. I decided I’d print out the book covers on a heavy cardstock and put up. Then, in the book themed tablescape anyway I’d put that book somewhere.

*Image found on google image search. ** Goblet of Fire is my favorite.