June 29, 2006
Just got off the phone with Mom; she's really been
taking charge of the wedding planning--in a good way! I get the big
ideas (such as, "I want all the servingware at the reception to be
cobalt blue glass and silver!") and Mom goes and finds it. So far she's
gone to all sorts of thrift stores and antique shops and found gorgeous
silver and blue dishes and platters and bowls perfect for serving all
manner of dessert deliciousness. She's also found several great little
candleholders--we're going to use those to remember relatves who've
died, just set the candles and small photos together on a mantle
somewhere.
Today we talked about my outfits for the events surrounding the
wedding--day-after brunch, bridesmaids' luncheon, rehearsal, etc. I
already have one great dress I got at Filene's last summer and a
strapless little black and pink number that just screams "bachelorette
party!" but I need a white one for the rehearsal dinner and one cute one
for the shower (assuming I get a shower of course, lol). It's the
perfect time of year to hit end-of-spring clearance sales, especially
because by the time we get close to the wedding date all the cute stuff
will be at full price. And of course I'm always willing to go shopping,
so while I'm in St. Louis I might go see what I can find there--maybe an
excuse to go to the Galleria? lol.
I know this isn't a good thing, but I've lost all track of where we are,
budget-wise. Since my parents gave me the revised budget I've had a
good idea of the price range we're working in, but beyond the cost of
the site and my dress I don't know how much we've spent on other
stuff--Mom's glassware, what the ultimate cost of the bead bouquets will
be, etc. All I know is that we're trying to do things as inexpensively
as possible but not have anything come across as tacky, cheesy, or
cheap--and that, my friends, is the story of my life, and a challenge I
always enjoy pursuing. I really like how this wedding seems to be
coming together and think it's going to be fantastic. Anyway, I need to
be getting Mom's receipts and everything together so we can stay on
track for the budget. I know she hasn't spent much on all this stuff,
but it still adds up.
We got the proofs for our engagement photos back yesterday, too. I
think some of them turned out pretty well--it took me 45 minutes to do
my hair right and I think it looks good. The setting and light is just
right, too--now if only I weren't so funny-looking! Jeff thinks he
looks bad in the pictures, too, but I think he's crazy--I wouldn't be
marrying him if I didn't think he was hot! We'll take the proof book
down to St. Louis and Kansas City when we go so our parents can choose
which ones they want prints of. Of the 30-odd poses we have, I only
"approve" of six or seven of them. What it really boils down to is, I
don't think I'm at all photogenic, and I'm already worried I'll look
like a goon in all our wedding-day photos, too.
Hopefully we'll get the photos scanned soon and can add them to the
photos section of the page.
In the meantime, I asked Jeff to add a couple of other links I like to
our links page, and have added to the timeline just a bit.
--Katie
June 26, 2006
I'm pretty messed up on the matter of flowers. I'm glad to know I'm not
the only person who doesn't really care about flowers, but it still seems
so...un-bridal! So much of the wedding industry is about convincing
hapless young brides-to-be that they absolutely must have this season's
flowers in the perfect shade, imported from a tiny island off the coast of
Australia on the backs of specially-trained albino herons. And maybe I'm
pro-animal rights, maybe I'm crazy, or maybe I'm just apathetic for once,
but I just plain don't care about flowers.
So yesterday while reading the WeddingBee archives (a shockingly common
morning routine for me), I stumbled upon the idea of
crystal bead bouquets. The ones pictured in that link are by no means
the prettiest I've seen--I think they're rather sparse-looking, actually.
But I found an incredible site with
step-by-step directions for making them, and a picture of that bride's
finished product:
Mom isn't at all enthused about it--she
rather had her heart set on a big spray of roses or something--but after
researching prices and looking at several bouquets online, I simply cannot
get enthused about spending hundreds of dollars on a few blooms--if I'm
going to spend money on a bouquet, I want BLING! lol. But no, seriously,
with the step-by-step directions and that gorgeous image to model mine
after, I think that I can make great bouquets for myself and Katie
(bridesmaid Katie, that is!) and maybe even boutonnieres for the guys.
Lots of people think that they're really pretty, so I know I'm not alone
in that--I think that it will look very nice, and with almost 11 months to
go until the wedding, I'll definitely have time to assemble them
beforehand--once they're made I can put them in a box and store them until
the big day, worry-free! Plus, I'm already excited about having such a
gorgeous and lasting wedding souvenir--after the wedding I can set the
bouquet in a vase and display it for years to come--no expensive drying or
preservation needed! I absolutely love that for the first time in
planning this wedding I'm excited about "flowers"--I really think this can
be a fun and beautiful project!
When I'm home in July we're going to hit Michael's or Hobby Lobby with the
force of a tornado and get all the beads and wires necessary to make this
vision come true. If it truly is do-able, I should probably cancel the
appointments we have with florists--I must say, I'm absolutely thrilled
about the prospect of getting to forego the florists altogether!
I really don't want to come across as anti-flower though--because I'm not,
not by any means! I love coming home to a $4 grocery store bouquet
sitting on the counter, getting roses for my birthday or after a high
school orchestra performance, and taking pictures of the tulips all over
campus. But that doesn't translate to a $300+ (and that's on the cheap
end of things!) bouquet to carry down the aisle and $40 apiece
boutonnieres (wedding boutonnieres are somehow much more special and
valuable than the ones you pick up for $6 at Hy Vee before prom). So
yeah, it is anther way that the wedding is going to be nontraditional, but
hey, maybe everyone will be talking about flowers so much they won't
notice the Greek wedding cookie "cake" and civil ceremony. Maybe.
EDIT: It would seem that the geocities site with the directions for
assembling the bouquets is not currently working, but never fear!
Yesterday I printed out the whole thing and have it safely stored in my
BFWB.
--Katie
We're now almost exactly 11 months before the wedding, and while I think we've accomplished a LOT, the planning has really only just begun! We're meeting with vendors in mid-July, and while I think we're definitely ahead of the game in many respects, I'm not ready to kick up my heels and relax. Here's a comprehensive list of everything we've accomplished so far:
- I have my dress and veil
- Mom and Dad gave us our budget; we determined what can be done on said budget
- We've selected the site and decided how to decorate it
- We have a "dream" guest list--but we have to cut it by almost 50%!
- We have a vision for the wedding--color scheme, theme, etc.
- I have selected my bridemaid; Jeff, his groomsman
- I've selected my designated honor attendants, but have yet to meet and talk with all of them
- We've chosen our flower girls and are waiting to hear about the ring bearer
- We've created preliminary gift registries, but need to update them (I just learned we don't have nearly enough items on either of them)
- Mom has begun purchasing the serving dishes for the dessert reception (she just picked up a bunch of lovely cobalt blue glass while down in Osage Beach!)
- Jeff has created the wedding website (obviously!)
- We've chosen what to have at the reception: a big dessert buffet, coffee bar, and limited variety (but lots of it) of liquor
- We've determined to forego the traditional wedding cake and instead have one made of Greek Wedding cookies--delicious!
- Jeff's groom's cake is going to be three tiers of solid fudge!
- We've made a list of the various foods and desserts to have at the reception, as well as where to obtain them
- We've decided what type of ceremony we're going to have
- We have chosen the time of day for the ceremony and reception
- Jeff came up with the idea for the guest favors and I've found inexpensive sources online
- We get our engagement photos taken today
- I have a system for organizing all wedding-related matters, in my Big Fat Wedding Binder
- Mom purchased tulle for the archway at the site
- I've come up with ideas for wedding party favors, baskets for out-of-town guests
- Mom and I figured out what we'll include in wedding day emergency kits
- Dad offered to board the cats at the kennel the whole time we'll be in KC and on our honeymoon
- Mom and I have determined to make our own invitations and have several good ideas for how to do so
- Jeff's parents reserved Wynbrick for the rehearsal dinner; we've decided to combine that with a decorating party
- We've decided to have the dogs present and I've found collars, leashes, and maybe tutus for them to look their prettiest
- I'm working out four times a week and have goals for toning up my arms and back, especially
- We've decided what's important (food, ceremony, decorations, liquor) and what's not-so-important (cake, flowers, bridesmaid/honor attendants' attire (as long as it's blue and tea-length and they're comfortable and feel gorgeous in it, I don't care what it looks like!!!
To-do by July 24:
- Select florist
- Select DJ
- Select harpist (those two seem a bit at odds, no?)
- Select chocolate fountain source
- Select wedding photographer
- Research videographer
- Decide if we're going to have a day-of wedding planner or not
- Sit Mom, Dad, and Jeff down with my Big Fat Wedding Binder, show them how I have it organized so that on the big day people won't have to find me in order to find, say, the contract with the site or the florist's phone number
- Pare down the guest list extensively
- Order wedding shoes from zappos.com, in order to have plenty of time to ensure fit and match, and time for breaking in
- Hit the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale for bridal undergarments
Of course, anything I can accomplish beyond that will be amazing, but hey...we'll still have 10 months to go by that point!
My ideal is to get most of the big and big-ish stuff taken care of by the end of summer, and take care of most everything else during Christmas break. While I know that there's some stuff that simply CAN'T be done until a certain time (gown fittings, hair trials, purchasing the food, etc.), I'd like to have as much taken care of as far in advance as possible. Really, what's the problem with assembling the favors in advance and sticking them in a closet until next May? Is it ever too early to start addressing the invitations (except for people who are planning on moving, of course!)? And isn't it better safe than sorry when reserving vendors?
I honestly can't imagine trying to plan a wedding without the Big Fat
Wedding Binder. I got it for free when we registered at JC Penney, but
it's available for purchase via
Amazon (check out the most recent review on there---I'm a published writer
now! :-P). My review on there pretty much says it all; that big binder
is sure a gem! I highly recommend it to any future brides--it's great
for keeping my thoughts and ideas organized--personally, I tend to print
out a lot of Knot articles and file them for quick reference, as well as
obvious things like correspondance with vendors and pictures of ideas
I've had.
--Katie
I've accomplished a lot even since yesterday's entry. I spent almost all of yesterday morning on the phone with various vendors, scheduling appointments for consultations. I talked with a great DJ with Soundworks; we're meeting with him while Jeff and I are in KC next month. I also talked with two florists and emailed with another one--I can't believe how much flowers cost! More on that in a moment. Finally, I spent a while on the phone with a really great photographer; he's going to meet us at our house (in KC) to talk about that. His site is http://www.brianlawlissphotogra
Last night I talked on the phone with Jeff's mom for a good long while; I filled her in on all my progress (or lack thereof) and we talked about flowers. Like the cake, I don't really care much about flowers. They're good to have, I suppose, and I'd like it to look nice, but I'm really pretty neutral to the whole thing. I got an estimate from the florist I'd emailed, and we're talking over a thousand dollars just for the most basic corsages and bouquet. I just can't justify that cost--I'd really rather be spending that money on food at the reception, guests' favors, even a harpist at the ceremony. I'll wait to see what my mom has to say on the matter, but I think that's one area where I'm more than willing to just step back and carry whatever flowers they hand me before I head down the aisle. I just hope that one of the meetings with florists turns out better, or else I'll seriously consider getting my wedding flowers at HyVee--that's how little I truly care about it. Is that weird? Am I the only bride in the history of weddings to not give a damn about her flowers? I will say that one idea I just read and am rather fond of is just carrying a single flower rather than a huge bouquet--it'd give me something to do with my hands rather than let them swing at my sides (can you picture that?!).
Today I talked with a really great harpist; I'm hoping we'll be able to book her. We love the idea of harp music playing quietly in the background as guests are seated, and of course during the actual ceremony as well. Jeff and I are also toying with the idea of doing something pretty offbeat for the recessional music--if we go with it, it'll be a fun surprise for sure!
--Katie
June 21, 2006
Catering Woes
The past few days haven't been fun wedding planning, but stressful wedding
planning. The other day I emailed a caterer recommended by the Knot to
see if the caterer could provide what we wanted. She emailed me back and
said, none too politely, that she had no interest in helping me fulfill my
unique requests, nor would any other caterer, and to try contacting a
personnel office, good DAY to you ma'am. I'm starting to get the idea
that all wedding-related people (fellow brides, vendors, etc.) are either
really really great and sweet (Alice, the Wedding Bees, and Susie, who I'm
about to talk about) or total bitches (Ms. caterer, the bridezillas on the
Knot boards).
Before I get too far into it, let me explain why the caterer was unwilling
to help: since we're having a dessert reception, and are getting most of
our stuff from stores (mini cheesecakes from Sam's, single-color M&M's
from Mr. Bulky, baklava from Mr. Gyros, and other such masculine-named
places), we really don't want to pay a caterer to prepare food. The
caterer's baklava wouldn't be nearly as good as the stuff I know and love,
and I don't like the thought of paying someone to go buy things that I
could just as easily go purchase myself (like pounds and pounds of blue
M&M's!). We do know, however, that we definitely need someone at the
reception to make sure that the trays of food stay full, cousins don't
jump into the chocolate fountain, etc. Alice's daughter is going to clear
the tables and pick napkins off the floor, stuff like that, but we also
need someone actually physically manning and maintaining the buffet. So I
was trying to find someone to do that, as well as advise us as to how much
of things we'll need.
On with my journey: I called a personnel company at the rude caterer's
suggestion, and the people at the personnel company seemed confused as to
what I was even asking--they obviously weren't used to doing weddings.
They can give me a bartender, and are going to get back with me about that
pretty soon. I then called a party planner, a really great lady named
Lynette. I called just to get her advice about who I would need to
contact to get what I want. We ended up talking for a while, and I'm
going to talk to Mom about maybe hiring Lynette just for the day of the
wedding. She suggested that even for a DIY bride such as myself, it's
great to have someone there to make sure everyone is where they're
supposed to be when they're supposed to be there, to make sure the vendors
all show up, that the DJ/Emcee knows what's going on, etc. That sounds
incredibly helpful, and if there's room left over in the budget I'd
definitely like to hire her! She's with
Bliss Weddings. Anyway,
Lynette recommended to me a great chocolate fountain vendor she knows, a
friend of hers named Susie, who owns
Chocolate Splurge.
Susie was also incredibly sweet and helpful. We talked about my vision
for the wedding and she thought it sounded lovely and was very
supportive. She said she'd be glad to help us figure out just how much of
each kind of food we'll need, and will even cut us a discount if we bring
our own things for dipping in the fountain. She said she'd be glad to
help maintain the dessert buffet tables, and was overall just really
great--I look forward to working with her! We scheduled a meeting for
July 14, while Jeff and I will be in KC. Hopefully at that meeting we can
decide which size fountain we'll want, how much food we'll need, etc. So
I feel greatly relieved to have that in the works....it's obviously not
finalized yet, but we're one step closer!
Cake woes
So there's another thing that's been weighing heavily on my mind as of
late, and on this matter I really would appreciate helpful feedback, as I
can't find any helpful info online. Please drop me an email or an IM if
you've got an opinion or suggestion. Thanks. Anyway, on to the
dilemma...
First off, I should say that I'm not at all enthused about the traditional
big white wedding cake. I know some people are, and that's totally fine
with me, but I've never really given wedding cakes much thought. I looked
at some online, on the Knot and on other sites, and while some are pretty,
I just can't get worked up about the perfect big white confection.
They're very expensive, and we're going to have tons of other delicious
desserts and sweet things there--I don't think guests will really miss
having a wedding cake, even if they do notice it. Moreover, we've already
decided to have a big solid-fudge groom's cake--we all know how much Jeff
loves fudge! So we're already going to have a large block of fudge, maybe
even with a cake topper, available for the ceremonial cutting and feeding
to each other.
Also, I was reading online that the cutting and serving of the cake
usually indicates that the reception will soon be drawing to a close.
Meaning, it should be cut and served near the end of the reception. In
our case, with the dessert buffet, that'll mean that our guests will
already be full of delicious sugary treats, and then we're going to have
them eat cake on top of all that! I can't really see people wanting to do
that--I know if I were a wedding guest I'd think it was kind of odd. The
other option would be, of course, to serve the wedding cake at the
beginning of the reception, but like I said, I just don't really care that
much about having a wedding cake. With all the other delicious things
we're going to have, who would choose boring old white cake over baklava,
mini cheesecakes, chocolates, fudge, decorated fruit, candies, cookies,
etc.? In my humble opinion, you'd have to be pretty crazy to do that!
As long as we have something for the ceremonial cutting and feeding, and
lots of delicious sugar available, will anyone really miss a
thousand-dollar, tiered monstrosity?
It recently came to my realization that with as many desserts as we're
going to have, our diabetic friends and relatives could potentially be
left out. I know of at least four diabetics on my side of the family, and
I don't even know about Jeff's side or some of our friends. So here's
what I've got worked out that will be sugar-free: fresh fruit (we're
thinking about serving it in big old watermelon bowls!), mixed nuts,
sugar-free chocolates (from a candy store), and maybe a batch of cookies
or something made with Splenda. And of course, everything that's
sugar-free will have a little card next to it explaining that, and I'm
even thinking about including an insert in their invitations letting them
know that there will be sugar-free things available--since we're going to
note on the invites themselves that it'll be a dessert reception. Would
this be enough? I really don't want diabetics to feel left out!
--Katie
Just realized our wedding registries still had the random, non-correct date listed--the one we used when we registered, before we knew anything about our actual wedding plans. Well, they're all better now, with the correct 5/25/07 date. I was browsing them today, too, and I think that next time we're in "the big city" (lol) we'll go revisit our registries in person and add more items--there actually isn't much expensive stuff on there, and all the sites say to have several expensive items for people who want to go nuts, or for several people who want to chip in on one gift.
Also, today is our official day of Not Talking About the Wedding. It's hard, but I'm trying! I really am! I'm failing, but trying. I just want to give Jeff a bit of a break from the incessant wedding discussion, even if I don't want to take one. So I'm reading sites and obsessing over details like usual, but just keeping it all bottled up inside (beside my 1/2 hour conversation with mom about the merits of homemade invitations versus ordered ones).
My favorite wedding site lately is the WeddingBee blog--I've read about 50 pages of archives and it's been a great source of inspiring, great ideas! I think I'm definitely turning into the DIY (do-it-yourself) type!
Anyway, about the invites. I mentioned before that I was really disappointed in the sample I ordered from the American Wedding Album, and wasn't impressed with the other samples I ordered, either--the cardstock was very flimsy and cheap-looking. So now Mom and I are talking about making the invites ourselves--she's heavy into scrapbooking and has all the fancy tools and accessories, and with my creative eye and her patience, we can make some really incredible invitations! I really don't care about thermography or anything, so we're thinking about printing them on the laser printer here at home, and decorating them with a Cricut that they just bought with grant money for Mom's school (no, Mom's not embezzling--it really is the school's!) and Mom's various other fancy tools. Heck, we could even make an invitation-assembling party of it at some point in the future--Mom's got lots of crafty friends and so do I. If this is the route we decide to go, we'll probably finish the invites over Christmas break and mail them in early February--I don't want to be exploding with wedding details during the semester, so the remainder of the summer and Christmas break is really the only good times I've got for wedding planning, aside from the occasional weekend home. I'm just glad that Mom is so willing to help me!
Well I'll see if I can persuade Jeff to bend the no-wedding rule for today and post this online.
--Katie
June 17, 2006
I'm starting to second-guess stuff. I suppose that's inevitable when
you make as many decisions as we have as quickly as we have. No, I'm
not reconsidering Jeff, :-P. Just silly stuff like the invitations.
There's a link on our links page to an invitation design I really liked,
but now I'm not so sure--we ordered a sample and the cardstock is very
thin and not even folded correctly. Mom and I are now talking about
perhaps designing the invitations ourselves, based on a designer
invitation I saw and rather liked. More on that to come, I suppose.
Mom saves the 40% discount coupon from the Michael's ad each week; we're
going to start using those for wedding-related purchases. This week's
was the tulle decorations for the archway--very simple, streamlined and
modern. The only problem is that she bought them in ivory--I don't
disagree with that, as my dress is most definitely ivory. But are we
now starting down a slippery slope where next thing we know, everything
will be ivory and pastel and fluffy and flowery? I'm sure I'm blowing
it quite out of proportion, but I just don't want that to happen--I'm
very fond of the silver and blue theme we're working on and don't really
want to alter it significantly. I'm sure it'll all be fine in the end,
but I'm so anal---I don't want anything to interfere with my perfect
idea of the wedding!
Check out the Links section for some funny wedding-related sites and blogs I've encountered as of late.
--Katie
June 15, 2006
Yesterday I called a whole bunch of local photographers to find one to take our engagement photo (so we can put something professional on the front page of the site, among many other reasons). I talked to one guy who sounds really good, looked at lots of his work, etc. We want to get our engagement photos taken somewhere on campus, as that's where we met and everything, and this guy's willing to do that.
We'd been talking about doing a postcard save-the-date card, but in talking with the photographer I learned that postcard save-the-date cards often end up wrinkled or ripped by the time they reach their destination. He suggested a custom card that is done by a printing company he works with, so we're going to look into that. I know it's a bit early, but they say it's never TOO early to send out save-the-date cards, so as soon as we get the photo taken and cards ordered (if the price is right, of course), we'll send them out--it'll probably be about eight months before the wedding by that time.
I'm also trying to devise the perfect favors, and not the usual little picture frame or bell thing. Jeff suggested something starry to go with our loose "starry night" theme, so what we'd like to do is take those little organza bags and fill each with some glow-in-the-dark stars, complete with a tag that says, "Thanks for joining us on our starry night, now use these to create your own!" or something along those lines. It's a really cute idea, but I'm actually having a heck of a time finding glow in the dark stars online. I'm obviously looking to buy in bulk, but I'm just seeing small packages of glow-in-the-dark spaceships, lizards, etc.--everything but plain old stars! My search continues...
--Katie
Well, here's my first post on this wedding blog! Katie is much more on top of the wedding planning than I am, mostly she digs up all sorts of useful information and then consults me about what might or might not be a good idea. Luckily, she has some sort of sixth sense for finding good ideas for our wedding, and it all seems to be coming together quite nicely.
I finally got around to putting some pictures up in the Snapshots section of the web site, so check them out, unless you find too much adorableness makes you nauseous :).
One aspect of the wedding that particularly interests me is the groom's cake. After looking at some various options, we're leaning towards having a cake made of pure, unadulterated fudge. A fudge-cake, if you will. It will be a massive amount of fudge, and it will be glorious. The mere prospect of that much sweet chocolatey goodness makes me feel light-headed. Here's a picture of one of these fudge-cakes, and ours should be something like it, but probably without the goofy figurines at the top:
Anyway, the wedding planning continues at a feverish pace, and I'll try to keep this web site updated accordingly. Hope you like it!
--Jeff
The wedding planning keeps chugging on along! It's almost always on my mind to some degree...if I'm not thinking about how to make an incredible groom's cake, I'm worrying about finding the perfect shoes or thinking about tuxes v. dark suits for the dads. In short, I really am keeping busy--even 11 months before the wedding!
Don't believe anyone who says wedding planning isn't stressful or can be done hurriedly--they're delusional! :-) It's all great fun, though, and I'm so glad I'm getting to do this!
The most exciting news from the past week is that Mom and I found my dress! On Saturday she and Dad came up to Kirksville for a quick visit. Mom and I went to the local bridal shop in order to look at a particular dress I'd seen in the window and loved a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, when I put the dress on it looked, well, let's just say all I needed was a torch and I could've been the Statue of Liberty. Shawn, the shop's owner, was really nice to me, even as I got increasingly crabbier with each successive, not-perfect dress I tried on. I had sort of "settled" on one with a great shimmer and sparkly spaghetti straps, when I mentioned to Shawn that I'd liked some Maggie Sottero dresses in the past. She went and gathered almost every Maggie dress in the store, including (cue dramatic music)...THE dress. It's a three-piece dress (though I won't be wearing the train so I suppose it's really only two pieces), and when Shawn had only put the skirt on me I was already in love with it! By the time she and Mom got that corset back all laced up on the bodice part, I was jumping squealing in a most un-demure manner. I love this dress--and I think it looks much better on me than the pictures might suggest (though I suppose you'll all have the opportunity to see it in person at the wedding), especially considering it's currently about 6 inches too long in the skirt and two cup sizes too big in the bust.
Mom thinks the best part is it was pretty inexpensive (especially compared to some others I'd tried on!), and she was able to get a 10% discount, too...leaving plenty of money for those $300 shoes I have my eye on, lol (Just kidding, Dad. Don't have a heart attack). I also got an amazing veil for a mere $36--nothing like the $200+ horror stories I've heard on wedding websites! The veil coordinates with the dress, of course, and has a wide ribbon all around the edge--very pretty how it frames my face. There's no over-the-face bit, which is just as well, since I have enough trouble walking as it is, without a semi-transparent curtain over my eyes!
So anyway, now that the dress is taken care of, all I have to do is go back for a couple of fttings and the final pick-up before the big day! One less MAJOR thing to be worrying about. :-)
Mom and I are also coming up with a cool idea for the programs--we're not sure what we're going to include in the programs, though The Knot has offered much advice on the matter. But if it'll work out, we thought it would be pretty cool to create the programs as a long printed scroll, each one tied with a bit of ribbon and/or a genuine wax seal. Either our home printer or Kinko's should be able to do the job pretty inexpensively, and if we can find the right paper it should create a really cool effect to hand out at the ceremony!
Hopefully Jeff will post an entry pretty soon here sharing his great idea for a groom's cake-- it will be muy delicioso!
--Katie
June 7, 2006
I'm really getting into the swing of this wedding planning thing now!
These past couple of days I've been reviewing the wedding magazines that
Emily gave me for my birthday in September (thanks again, Emily!!!),
perusing some of my favorite wedding sites and, most importantly (or at
least, to someone with an Obsessive-Compulsive personality like mine),
getting the big fat wedding binder in perfect working order. I'm
currently trying my hardest to resist the urge to buy a big ol' tote bag
to haul all this stuff around in, just in case anyone I meet happens to
want to see my guest-list-in-progress or pictures of cakes I like.
I've also been annoyingly bombarding everyone with emails concerning
every little wedding-related thought or idea I've had. There are
some invitations I've had my eye on for months now, and I'm
delighted to find that they're still available on the publisher's
website. There's a link available in the
links section if anyone's interested. I think the invitations are
so adorable; they really embody my and Jeff's personality. I don't
think they're tacky or too sugary-sweet, yet definitely stand apart from
the crowd. Plus, it embodies our loosely-defined "starry night" theme.
There's also a book that I've found to be extremely invaluable; I
strongly suggest that any future bride buy a copy (or you can have mine
since I'll be done with it in a few months, lol): it's called
Bridal Bargains, and there's a link to it, too, in the
links section.
Until now I've been pretty reserved about posting my possible
ideas/thoughts on things I'd like to include, but since Jeff says that
the site will be just about ready to really go online soon (well, it's
already online, but so incomplete that we haven't really told many
people about it yet), I figure I'll go ahead and put my ideas out there.
The attendant issue has been bothering me nearly since the day Jeff and
I got engaged: I just couldn't bear to choose just three of my friends
to accompany me as my bridesmaids, and felt like a slave to the
three-bridesmaids rule. Rather than hurt some peoples' feelings, which
would inevitably happen, I ultimately decided to just throw the rules
out the window. For the intimate, informal, outdoor wedding that we're
having, I don't think it will be inappropriate to have but one official
bridesmaid. So Katie W. graciously agreed to be my bridesmaid! I'm so
excited about that--we've been friends since we were three (if you don't
count the 11 years that we forgot one anther existed, lol), and I'm just
thrilled that she'll be supporting me the whole way to my and Jeff's big
day.
Since I obviously can't just ignore all my other close friends, it is
really important to me that my other friends feel involved in the
wedding and honored in some way, even though they won't be standing all
in a line at the front of the ceremony. I still haven't entirely
decided how, exactly, but I am going to ask Jess, Claire, Stefanie,
Mandi, Kat and Rachel to all have a special role in my big day. I would
like one to be in charge of the guest book, attending to it as guests
arrive and ensuring that everyone signs it. Another, I'll place in
charge of helping cut and serve the wedding cake. Since we'll probably
be having a "decorating party" of sorts at the rehearsal dinner the
night before, one will be in charge of that--making sure that the
decorating of the hall goes smoothly and according to plan. I'd like
one to accompany me the morning of the wedding, since we all know how
scatterbrained I can be when I get stressed! She'll make sure I don't
put my dress on backwards or forget to wear the garter. I'll ask
another to perform some sort of entertainment during the ceremony--a
poetry reading or solo, perhaps. I'll put another in charge of the
chocolate fountain (Alice assured me that if left unattended the
chocolate fountain will end up tipped over or emptied) and maintaining
the coffee bar. I'll invite them all to wear coordinating (but not
hideously ugly, overpriced, matching bridesmaids dresses) dresses, and
hopefully give each one a wrist corsage. I want all my close friends to
feel involved and valued on my wedding day, and I want no hurt feelings
because I can't make every person a bridesmaid who I'd like to be. I
hope that this will help the ceremony and reception go off smoothly and
will allow all my friends to feel valued--I really don't want anyone to
feel left out in any way, especially when they're all so important to
me.
I'll let Jeff post later concerning his groomsman and ushers, if he so
wishes. But now, I'm off to install my fancy, pastel-coloured dividers
into my big fat wedding binder!
--Katie
June 5, 2006
Since we got engaged last September there actually hasn't been too much wedding planning--beyond one episode of dress shopping, that is. But now that the wedding is just under a year away we figure it's about time to get our rears in gear and start planning! Yesterday, while I was in Kansas City, Mom and I went to look at a site, fell in love with it, and booked it--just like that!
When I woke up yesterday morning and came downstairs, Mom had a page from www.theknot.com open on her laptop in the kitchen. She told me to look at the site listed and tell her what I thought. It was perfect! So that afternoon we went out and drove around a bit, getting our bearings in the area and checking out the site's grounds. You can visit www.wynbrickcenter.com or our Snapshots page to check out what it looks like. No one answered the phone when I called the site asking to schedule an interview, but later that afternoon as I was readying to leave for Kirksville the Center's owner called and agreed to let us see the inside of the house that very afternoon! Mom and I stayed for over three hours, getting the grand tour, talking about possible arrangements, etc., and eventually setting it down on paper! Alice, the home's owner, was so kind to us, very enthusiastic about my ideas and eager to help us realize our dream wedding! I'm really looking forward to working with her over these next several months.
They will be providing us with tables, linens, use of the kitchen, etc. They are even allowing us to bring Maxie and Molly. We couldn't imagine having our special day without our "little sisters"--laugh if you will, but it will surely be an event to remember with two dogs present!
Our next (delicious) hurdle is finding the perfect caterer to help us plan the perfect dessert wedding, as well as reserving the DJ and photographer.
So far, this is pretty much what we've figured out:
- the site
- the reception will be Viennese-style. Viennese is simply a fancy way of saying "dessert reception"--we're going to have a vertiable smorgasboard of delicious desserts of every variety, as well as a limited bar, a chocolate fountain, a coffee bar, and sodas or punch.
- it will take place in the evening
- it will be relatively informal (basically, just no train on my dress and no tails on the guys' tuxes)
- a judge or justice of the peace will likely officiate
Obviously there's a lot of work to do yet!
Friday, May 25, 2007 will be the big day--almost 30 years after my
parents' wedding anniversary (but ssh...they probably don't want
anyone to know it's been that long, haha). I can hardly wait!
This Saturday my parents are coming up to Kirksville so Mom and I can
look at dresses at the bridal shop here in town. I'm so excited about
that, too--I'm also going to start breaking in my shoes far in advance
so my feet don't hurt with all the dancing at the reception!
Don't forget to stop by and sign the guestbook, and complement Jeff on
his mad website-designing skills!
--Katie