Ceremony Decor

One thing Dave and I talked about was how to create a defined 'aisle' at our ceremony venue, and draw the eye towards the alter which will not have any kind of arch or chuppah. I looked through photos of our venue that florists had posted on their websites, and liked the idea of lining the aisle with Shepherd hooks.

I contacted a florist in Estes Park, who rents the hooks out for weddings and quoted me $2.75 for small ones and $6.75 for large ones. In photos you could tell that her hooks were used.

Brides beware: shop before you rent! I went to JoAnn's, where all of their summer garden decor was on sale for 40% off. I bought 6 small Shepherd hooks for $2.25 each, and 6 large ones for less than $6.00 each! They are brand new, beautiful, simple, and I can use them after the wedding. It cost less to buy them than to rent them!

Since we're not doing fresh florals (especially not for the ceremony where they'll only be seen for a short time) we found some 2 qt buckets online and bought 12 of them (for much less than flowers). One ribbon bow tied to the handle, and a few programs thrown in make for a really elegant, rustic, inexpensive, and simple decoration! I will re-sell the buckets (which are popular wedding decorations) after the wedding, since we didn't hot glue or attatch anything to them.

We'll also have two large hooks at the beggining of the aisle (one on each side) with the pomanders on them, two hooks on either side of the bridge as you walk onto it to get to the ceremony (a bridge crosses the St. Vrain River), and two out from of the venue entrance.

DIY Menu Cards

I realize that menu cards are not only superfluous, but a serious waste of paper. It's one of those little details, though, that to me was an inexpensive way to add both elegance and formality to our reception dinner.

Instead of using a separate card, on the reverse will be printed: 'Did you get some great photos of our wedding today? We would love for you to share! Upload your favorites to our community photo album at www.Shutterfly.com' (Also included is the screen name and password.) This satisfied my mothers desire for us to put disposable cameras on every table (no thank you!), and it's a great way to get some of those candid shots the photographers might miss.

Hopefully, people will find our note on the back and take them home, making further use of the paper!

At any rate, the cards themselves were a clearance find (yup, another one!) at Michaels - I got 60 cards for less than $5.00. They are a nice weight of ivory cardstock, have a beveled (not sure if that's the correct word) edge, and came with the word 'Menu' pre-printed in an elegant font in black.

All I had to do was decorate! We took the photo crop of the Columbine on our invitations and 'stamped' it next to the word menu, then typed out the menu text using 'aramis', the same font we used on our invitations and will use to create our programs.

The menus will be tucked into a brown napkin at each place setting, and in another DIY project later each guest will have a large river stone with their name on it for their place setting.

Thinking about our yummy dinner choices is making me hungry :)

It's Official!

The invitations have been mailed!

After two long weeks of printing and assembling, calling for addresses, and addressing each envelope by hand I turned them over to the care of the Post Office. We even got our first RSVP returned yesterday (an 'accept with pleasure!'. No mind it was from my Matron of Honor. . . ahem. . .it was still exciting!)

Less than a week previously, we had the Post Office weigh one of our invitations so we could find out what to expect postage-wise. We were quoted $1.00 each (ouch!) which was to be expected because we made the mistake of using square envelopes (odd size = extra postage) out of heavy card stock (extra weight = extra postage). What we found particularly strange, however, was that in a return trip to the post office to buy the stamps we were quoted $1.17 each.

This was before the postage rate increase. The same invitation, weighed by two different employees, and a $.17 difference? It really makes me wonder how 'accurate' their scales are, or if there was a gap in one or the other employees training.

I politely mentioned this to the employee who quoted us the $1.17 (who was also the manager!) and he looked at me like we had made the story up and were trying to scam the Post Office out of $.17!

It wasn't worth the argument, although I'm glad I had it re-weighed (otherwise all of our invites may have hit mailboxes around the country with 'postage due'. Talk about a major etiquette blunder!). I also brought up the argument about one of our invites hitting another scale in their system; how do we know it won't come up with yet another (potentially higher) rate? The manager didn't appreciate my comment!

I also asked him that, since their wedding stamps don't add up to $1.17 and I'd be paying $1.22 for each invitation (two wedding cake stamps at $.61 each) if they would mind hand canceling each envelope (instead of getting the machined red bar on it they use a rubber stamp. . .it looks much nicer) and he very curtly told me he'd do it if he 'had' to and only if they weren't busy. He also said that the machine stamp isn't going to 'ruin' my invitations and didn't understand why I was worried about it.

Good grief. Anybody that knows me knows that I'm the farthest thing from a Bridezilla. I don't know if this guy had some bride in there making a fuss once and now he hates all of us, but I definitely think he needed an attitude check.

I wanted the hand cancel because we spent a lot of money on these invitations, and it's proper etiquette to have them hand-canceled (just like they are hand addressed).

But I digress. The invitations are out, and things are moving along! Two months from today we'll all be together at our venue, and I'm still in disbelief that we're already this close.

Details details. . . .

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

I decided to send out invitations for our rehearsal dinner so that our guests can plan their weekend in Colorado accordingly. The city where our wedding will take place is a two + hour drive from Denver International Airport, and while I trust everybody to know there *will* be a rehearsal dinner, I thought sending an actual invitation would be a nice touch.

Not only that, but I needed a way to use up left over paper from the wedding invitations!

Our venue recommended a few restaurants, among which was an Italian restaurant known to locals. In my research, I found that they had hundreds of fabulous reviews, not to mention the fact that they were incredibly affordable. Other restaurants wanted to charge us a room fee for our rehearsal dinner, which is ridiculous considering that it really is just a large group like any other meeting they might have. The staff was very nice and accommodating on the phone, and I couldn't believe the fabulous quote they gave us.

They will serve our guests salad, rolls, drinks, and family style Italian entrees (great! Just what I need, a plate full of pasta the night before I have to fit into my wedding dress. . .oh dear. . .) while the river rushes by the patio where they host large parties. It is the perfect combination of mountains and great food!

Dave and I both agreed that we wanted the rehearsal invitation to have a lighter, less formal feel than our wedding invitations but still tie in with our mountain theme.

I found a velum paper with pine printed on it, and paired it with leftover 'Galvanized' and 'Opal' metalic paper to create this invitation.

The velum can be lifted up to make the text more readable, and reads the following poem:

Dave popped the question and Chris said 'Yes'!

Now all the planning is over from the dinner to the dress.

Only one thing remains for this day to be great

'Practice Makes Perfect' and (date) is the date!

We'll practice the ceremony
And iron out the kinks

Then it's off to (restaurant) for some dinner and drinks!

Please join the Bride and Groom to Be

(Time and location information)

First Un-Official Fitting

Dave doesn't read this blog, so I'm safe posting this.

As many of you know, I bought my dress on Ebay from a bridal salon that sells their samples online. While I was able to get a gorgeous expensive dress for not so much cash, I sometimes think that I've really missed out on the whole bridal shop experience. Unlike other brides, I don't have scheduled fittings, a seamstress, or that long wait for my gown to come in from the designer. I also do not have pictures of myself in the store sample gown to show friends and family who ask.

That aside, people ask me a lot about my dress, and I don't mind sharing unless their name is, well, Dave! For a brief time, I considered psyching him out by dropping hints about my dress; a 'fake' dress that is. I thought about making him think that I had some giant, poofy gown with lots of jewels, a corset back, and pickups in the skirt (no offense to such brides, it's simply not our thing). It might have been fun to make him imagine me showing up on July 12th in a mermaid gown and veil (two things he not so much as said 'don't even think about it' to), but I decided to play nice. While he doesn't know what my gown looks like, I'm pretty sure he knows that it's not a poofy princess dress.

Until now, nobody has seen me properly in the dress; going back to the bridal shop experience I never had that 'first fitting' when my dress came in. Instead, I've been at home with the gown tucked neatly away on the guest bed, laid out flat in a white sheet waiting for the day when I felt I had done enough workouts to actually look good in it.

I fell in love with this dress when I found it online, and while I never expected to land myself in a strapless gown we found that it really was the best neckline for my narrow shoulders. The caveat? It was a good size or more too small, and yes, I bought it anyways! Something about this dress begged me to bring it home; it was the perfect combination of simplicity and elegance.

So I've spend the last 6 months running with my dog and doing weight sets. I've really enjoyed getting back into great shape and it was so rewarding when I was able to put the whole thing together for the first time.

I found 'pearl' jewelry on clearance at Kohl's (A necklace and earrings that I would have paid full price for) which are an amazing match for my dress. Not only that, but after budgeting $100 for a strapless long-line bustier I was able to find one for much, much less. The dress fits and I couldn't be happier with how it looks!

I love how the color of the fabric photographs, and the silk satin looks so rich. In June my mom will help me make any alterations (right now it's a perfect fit, if I lose any more weight it will need to be taken in, wow!) and we'll decide on a bustle for the train.

The sash presents a unique problem as far as bustling goes. While it can be removed after the ceremony, the sash is 90% of the reason I love this gown so much, so that's not an option. The only photo I could find of this dress all bustled up on another bride is very tiny, so I did a Google Image search for bustle photos of Amsale's famous blue sash gown (of which my gown was inspired, I'm sure). I loved the way this bride bustled her sash gown: a simple french bustle on the train with the sash tied up over it, leaving a small sweep train to brush the floor.

I really like bustles on wedding gowns; it's very interesting to see how brides pick up their train off the floor. It's important to me that in doing the bustle, it makes the dress. The bustle is worn longer than the train is down, so it has to be something that makes sense visually and design-wise, rather than just be a way to get the train out of the way!

Miss Indecisive

Family and friends successfully convinced me to order a cake from a professional bakery and forgo making it myself. End the end I realize this is a smart decision, but as somebody who likes to keep a tight grip on money I had a hard time justifying $400 for Betty Crocker! Now I'm glad I ordered it, of course, but letting go of control to that project was difficult.

That aside, most other things have remained DIY projects and for all intents and purposes we've saved money and really been able to personalize our wedding this way. Our DIY invitations are beautiful, I love my hairpiece, and even small details like our table numbers are coming together.

One of our DIY projects never really set well with me, and at the time I liked the result but started changing my thoughts after Dave and I spent one evening stalking photos of beautiful weddings on our photographers website (www.SharberPhoto.com).

The more I thought about it, the more I liked some of the floral arrangements I had seen. Although the bouquet and pomanders I had made are very nice, I decided that I could either do better, or shell out the cash for real flowers. We're spending a lot of money on photography, and I want to make sure that in our photos we like the way things look. (The first bouquet, right).

Something about the bouquet I had made felt like it was missing something, and after putting several different extra little flowers into it I wasn't able to find the look I was going for.

Well, on Wednesday I went to Michaels to buy another vase for our centerpieces (I've been buying them one per week using the weekly 40% off coupon) and snoop around in the bridal area for inspiration. That's when I happened upon a gorgeous arrangement, sitting along by itself on clearance because it was missing a few flowers. It was all the inspiration I needed!

Not only was it less than $5.00, but the colors were perfect. I brought it home and added two stems of green hydrangeas, some of the same purple berries that are in my hairpiece, and a purple ribbon. I cannot believe how gorgeous it is in person, and when Dave came home he said 'WOW! That's cool, where did it come from?'

The sticks around the stem were a major selling point for me, and really go with our mountain 'wildflowers, pinecones, sticks, and river rocks' theme.

Brilliant :)

I will have a photo of the bouquet with the dress soon, in the next post actually. . .because I finally have pictures of me in my dress!

As if that we're cool enough, Michaels' also had similiar arrangements with the same sticks on the stem for $4.99 each. I pulled out the flowers they came with (very bright Gerbera daisy's) and will replace them with others. Once those turn out I will post another blog on them, as they will become the bridesmaid bouquets.

What about the 3 pomanders and original bouquet?

Well, the pomanders will be used as decoration for the ceremony; Dave and I both wanted something like that hung from Shephard hooks on the path to the meadow where our wedding will take place. The Shephard hooks, well, that's another story!

The original bouquet will either be re-purposed into the bridesmaid bouquets, or will stay as-is and will be used as part of my break-a-way- toss bouquet. I may attach two wedding ring charms to it and bunch the carnations around it, toss the whole thing and let it break apart. (See post 'Break-a-Way toss bouquet). We'll see. . .in either case it will still be used and no matter what, our floral budget is still way under what we would have spent if we bought all the flowers fresh (and then let them wilt in the July heat). I love how these will look fresh no matter what.

Children for Dinner. . . .

Over the weekend two of my bridesmaids came over to help me print and assemble our invitations, which are scheduled to be in the mail by May 10th.

Months ago Dave and I bought a really nice Epson Workforce 600 printer; our intention for this machine was not only for business use (the copier and fax features are amazing) but to be the workhorse for our wedding invitations. We were promised by both Best Buy and online specifications of the model that this copy-scan-print-fax device was going to do the trick.

However, in preliminary testing here at home it failed miserably; while being fabulous for business use, it refused to run print on the heavy card stock we would be using for the invitations. Every time we set it to print something the rollers would spit out several pieces of paper before crying out that it was jammed up or otherwise needed to be turned off and left alone to sulk. Fabulous.

Feeling the crunch as of late to solve this problem and get the invitations prepped for mailing we looked at our options:

a. Take the Epson back to Best Buy and haggle for something that *would* actually work. This would be difficult seeing that we've had the printer for several months now. We love the Epson for everything else, so it stays.

b. Go to Kinkos. In my experience, Kinkos is really good at messing up print orders. . .not to mention the $1.00 page fee for color printing. Yikes. My stubborn theory is that I wanted to do the invitations myself, not trust them to any high schooler who would be working the counter that day.

c. Buy another printer. Sounds easy enough, right? Dave said that they have this cheap little HP printer at work they use for cardstock, and never have any problems.

So, I went on the hunt for the cheapest little printer I could find; bonus points if printing was all it did! My search landed Kirstin and I at Staples, where a man who worked there offered to run 110lb card stock through some of the cheapest printers they had. As we were getting discouraged, he remembered a Brother fax machine they had up front on clearance for $35.00.

Yes, $35.00. Half the price of the cheapest printer they had in stock. . .a fax machine that printed in color.

After confirming the 14 day return policy, the printer/fax came home with us. . .and believe it or not it worked without a hitch! Upon closer inspection, the print quality is just as good (if not better) that what the Epson was offering on the rare occasion we could get it to take a piece of card stock. The only caveat? It's very very slow to print - so we have to set it to print 20 sheets and walk away.

Now, the title of this post is 'Children for Dinner,' and for that I shall explain.

I have been meaning to reformat the RSVP cards for months now, never having been happy with the wording. Theresa cut the card stock to size while I made my edits (edits that were meant to make the card much less confusing, as well as some little things that my wonderful future Mother-in-Law pointed out) and in our haste to get started we never really proofread the new card. All 3 of us took a look at it, said 'looks great!' and set the fax machine to print 45 of them.

It took it just over 2 hours to finish the process, and only after we had started on another piece of the invitations did we realize the absolutely awful, yet hilarious mistake that I had made on the card.

We were offering children for dinner.

We were so excited to start printing and assemble the invitations that this was completely overlooked. In addition to fixing that, I'm going to change the date so it reads June 5, 2009 instead of June 5th, 2009, and will set the printer to have at it again.

On a better note, I have plenty of card stock leftover to re-make these, and as of yet our $35.00 lonely clearance printer is still not out of ink!