Some things to check off the list

To do list:
choose a photographer
talk to florist
find an officiant (!!!)
buy wedding bands
honeymoon (!!!)
select tuxedos/men's attire
make a veil
nag three of the bridesmaids to get their dresses
select and purchase attendant gifts
buy hanging lanterns
visit the site again
address and send invitations
select songs
buy 100 plastic champagne glasses
choose neckties for the groom's dudes
reserve rooms for Matt's family members
finally get a passport
start the liquor stash

The items in italic are only 1/2 way done. I got Matt a ring in South Carolina on Monday, but we still need to buy mine. And the invitations are all addressed, and will go out this week!

Here are some new items to add to the list:
purchase three more ties for the dudes
get ribbon for the flowers
make a cupcake tower
talk about price with florist
make bouts for the dudes
plan the rehearsal dinner menu

DIY hell

Many people have cautioned me to "not do it all yourself." But anyone who knows me knows that I am a big DIYer. There are so many cool wedding crafts, but I have to limit myself. As much as I'd like to crochet cardigans for the BMs, I have a full time job and other things to do. So, here's my DIY list, posted mainly for my own benefit of keeping track of things.

DIY:
Cake/cupcakes- This is a HUGE task, but we're enlisting the help of my mom's very talented friend who used to do this for a living. I assume that I'll just mainly help with the baking, and doing things that I can't screw up.
Decorations for the cake & cupcakes - we are crystallizing pansies for this. Yup, they're edible. The pansies are currently growing in my grandpa's garden and my mom's planters.
Veil -- I'm sure my mom will do this for me, but I have to choose a style and get the materials.
Program -- This should be easy, because it just involves a bit of designing and then printing, which I will do at my parents' office. Plus, it can be done ahead of time.
Jewelry --I wrote about this on another post, but I'll be making jewelry for the BMs. I will start this sometime this week.

Invitation Sweatshop

Matt and I spent our morning yesterday assembling the invitations. Matt got really good at tying ribbons, which is a skill that every man should have.

I had addressed most of the envelopes last weekend, which wasn't an easy task! Doing calligraphy on 70+ invitations takes a lot of patience. But now I'm really good at writing "Mr. and Mrs. -- ------." I was opposed to addressing the invitations that way, since it seems sort of old-fashioned and a little sexist, but tradition and etiquette took precedence. I'll finish addressing the rest of the invitations when I get some addresses from Matt's family.

We'll be mailing them out on May 1, so watch your mailbox!

My tasks this week are limited, because we're flying out to South Carolina on Saturday. Here's what I hope to accomplish:
buy 100 plastic champagne glasses (probably from Zurcher's)
choose neckties for the groom's dudes
find a photographer
reserve rooms for Matt's family members
finally get a passport
start the liquor stash

The liquor task sounds funny, but we're providing our own bar, so I'm going to make weekly trips to the liquor store so I can buy the booze when it's on sale. Don't worry, Ash. I'll be sure to get us some Tarantula or Patron.

hair do

I found my ideal wedding hair today:

Light it up

I've been searching the 'net (does anyone call it "the 'net" anymore?) for a few months for some paper lanterns for the wedding, with these stipulations:
1. must be battery powered--I don't want to run extension cords to each and every lantern.
2. must match the wedding colors.
3. must be cheap.

Yesterday, I met all of my criteria--especially #3--AT THE DOLLAR STORE. I was ravenously digging through the shelves to find every last lavender lantern, and a fellow bargain-hunter started helping me. Thanks, random dollar store shopper!

This is what they look like, except mine are a prettier shade of lavender:

words and dreams and a million screams

I had a nightmare last night that a group of "mean girls" (for lack of better term) in Moab came to the wedding, and I got into a fist fight with the leader of the group. I was punching her in the head and slapping her, and my dad had to act as a wedding bouncer and kick the girls out. It was weird, because I've never been in a fight in my life, but the dream felt so real. I woke up feeling horribly guilty. The mean girls aren't invited to the wedding, but if they crashed it, I'd have someone kindly ask them to leave, and I wouldn't punch them in their heads.

In the non-nightmare sector of my life, Caitlin and I want to make these bracelets for the BMs:


I also want to make some necklaces, but my fear is that I will be one of those brides who gives the BMs jewelry they hate but are forced to wear. I know I appreciate hand-made jewelry, but will others? When I was in my friend Rebecca's line, she made us jewelry, and I still wear it to this day.

I like this one, but maybe it's too chunky:
I would make it with cream or light brown pearls (the color of the sash), and a lavender or chocolate brown ribbon. The beadstore by my house has a gazillion colors of glass pearls, so I could match the colors almost exactly.

Feedback?

20 hot wedding trends for 2008, aka: 20 hot wedding trends for those who have unlimited funds, crappy taste, and no common sense.

I saw this article, and have to wonder, where do they come up with this shit?

Some examples of horrible wedding advice:
1. Black Orchids. Uh, do I really want my wedding to look like a funeral/haunted house?

5. Imaginative Favors. If I bought iPod Nanos for each guest, I would exceed my wedding budget by about $8,000. Really, who can afford that?

13. Superstar Arrivals. I'm the princess, it's MY freaking day, and I want you to carry me into the ceremony! Oh, and can you feed me some grapes and fan me, also?

16. Woodland Fantasies. Number 14 recommends a "green wedding," and just two spots down is this tasty bit of advice, which includes spray-painting trees purple. Nothin' says "I love nature" by covering a living tree with toxic chemicals.

The article also included these lovely photos...
For the bride who wants to look like the old lady in "The Others":


















For the stripper bride:

Some details

I'm not going to reveal all of the wedding details (such as my dress), but I'll disclose some of the things we've picked.

Here's the bridesmaid dress my lovely ladies will be wearing:


But, I'll be removing the lavender tie and adding a mocha colored satin sash. I got a slamming deal on the sashes from Ann Taylor.








This is the invitation, which some of you will be receiving in the mail soon. I say "some," because we are keeping it fairly small, and inviting about 175 people.

We chose brown ink and a lavender ribbon.








Oh, and here's the ring for those of you who haven't seen it in person. I couldn't get a good photo of it, but I guarantee that it looks way better in person.

Introductory Post

I started this blog so I could have a place to compile all of my wedding to-dos and ideas, but I'm sure it will evolve into something else. We have less than three months left, and here's what we have and haven't accomplished so far.

Here's what we have done so far:
bought dress and shoes
selected site and paid deposit
selected a menu
ordered invitations
compiled a guest list
asked attendants
bought centerpieces
chosen a bridesmaid dress

Here's what we need to do:
choose a photographer
talk to florist
find an officiant (!!!)
buy wedding bands
honeymoon (!!!)
select tuxedos/men's attire
make a veil
nag three of the bridesmaids to get their dresses
select and purchase attendant gifts
buy hanging lanterns
visit the site again
address and send invitations
select songs

And I'm sure there are a million more things to add to the list. The Knot (aka wedding Web site for high maintenance wealthy brides) told me that I have 125 items overdue--that's an exaggeration.

In the meantime, BM/sister of the groom/my friend Katie is coming into town today, and I know she'll help me relieve some stress. She has a great "f*&# it" sort of attitude, plus she just got married a year and a half ago, so she might have some words of advice.