Menu Idea.

I can't take credit for this idea, Groom and I were talking about the favors and centerpieces (mostly his frustration of wedding stuff ad nauseam) but he thought we could print small menus and put them inside the tea tin tops and put those on the tables. That way people have to interact to look at them (there will only be two per table). We're looking to do small centerpieces with votive holders and possibly a tall interesting looking vase for a candle.

Groom had a tonsilectomy so I'll either write a lot or nothing at all in the next week. It all depends on how he's dealing with the aftermath. So far, he's doing fine and just dealing with the pain. I'll see if we have any more genius moments this week.

Oh Adobe, How do I love thee?

Thanks to my buddy, RJ, I have a link to all kinds of fun brush strokes for Adobe. You can download a variety of swirls, floral and block prints to embellish your stationary. I am going to play around with a few things and post the results.

In other news, I recently visited I Do I Do bridal shop on North Damen in Chicago. It's a trip. The store smells a little funky. I can't quite place the scent...it's kind of like a lot of body odor and mustiness from an attic. The couple who owns the place is hilarious but not funny ha-ha, more like funny are-you-for-real-around-brides-to-be? The lady runs the show and her husband kind of does what she says. They're not the traditional sales personalities, they follow you around and insist that they handle the merchandise. There are signs every few feet to indicate that they want to preserve the quality of the merchandise to perfection for the 'right bride' to enjoy. It's weird. Almost like it should have been a part of Seinfeld. If you know what you want, you can find it, but browsing isn't recommended. They have beautiful tiaras, headpieces, and jewelry. They also have favor tags, place card holders, favor boxes. It is a great place to find little gifts for your bridesmaids and she has a TON of ideas for you. There's a whole corner of ring bearer pillows, unity candles and stationary like you wouldn't believe. I am just probably too OCD to enjoy the store the way one should. I might take my dress with me next time to pick out jewelry. One fun tip of the day, she's got a bunch of stuff on sale (potentially discontinued) on line at www.ido-ido.cathysexpress.com through the end of the year.

Menu Card

I have a while before I have to think about menu cards, BUT, I randomly saw an add for paperandmore.com so I clicked and found this Morrocon inspired "Eccentric Menu" They are about $1.50 a piece but I'm thinking I can make something like this for much less. Maybe using the same stamps from paper-source.com as I'm using for the invitations to tie it all together. Ideas welcome.

Favor Bags

I went to my first "Baby Sprinkle" (baby shower for baby number 2, for those of you wondering). The baby's name is going to be Sophia so I made "Sophia's Snacks--Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice". My sister and I made favor bags for the guests with Strawberry Shortcake stickers and two inch favor tags with curling ribbon tied to a bag trimmed to be 8 inches tall. We put spice drops, strawberry rice krispie treats, pink iced sugar cookies, Dove Chocolate (Carmel and dark)I was pretty happy with the results. It was a good chance to test the template I plan to use for the tin tags I'll be making for the reception. The favor bags would be a good application for a bridal shower or even a Mendhi party. Instead of sugar and spice (although Brides are made of the same stuff!!!) It would be nice to put some indulgences like chocolate turtles, truffles, iced wedding cookies or even iced sugar cookies or any Martha recipe cookies.

Bachelorette Party

I apologize for slacking on the posts.  My Bachelorette party is coming up (along with Bridal Shower).  I am hoping to knock them out in one weekend so my traveling friends don't have to travel twice and still get to have fun.   I must say I love being a woman right about now considering that Groom's 1/2 of the bridal party hasn't seem to got their act together for his big night out. It appears he'll be going to Vegas with a few peeps, but no all out bash that a younger version of me might worry about.  At this point, I almost want him to have a big night out so he can just be a dude. I totally trust him (that's why I'm marrying him, among other reasons).  

I digress; My 1/2 of the bridal party kicks arse...but in general women do, don't we? I do not want exotic dancers of any variety and would like to remember the night, those are my top two requests.  In my research, I've found a few places/programs/things of interest:

Pampered Bride is a network of vendors in Chicago that host events for brides to check out local vendors. One of their sponsors is Flirty Girl Fitness with locations in Toronto and Chicago, they're an upscale women's social club. While I have no idea what kind of bachelorette party I have in my future, I know I do NOT want to do things that require a checklist with strangers and shots. Flirty Girl has packages available starting at $40 per person AND you can add on things like manicures and pedicures for an additional fee. You and the girls can take lessons on lap dancing, pole dancing, belly dancing....you get the point. How fun is that? 

There's also Ethyl's Chocolate Lounge, with locations in Nevada (mostly Las Vegas) and Illinois. You and your girls can rent out the whole place and throw a chocolate party complete with truffles, chocolate and cheese fondue! Who doesn't like chocolate? 

I personally like the idea of going to Boys Town in Chicago and hanging out with catty drag queens at the Kit Kat Lounge. Dining with Madonna, Brittney, and Cher (impersonators, of course) sounds like a riot.   

Any other ideas for a fun girl's night out? Thoughts welcome. 

Naperville Stuff

I want to include some Naperville items in my bridesmaids totes. All of them grew up in town anyway, but we're never tourists of our hometowns, right? I found a great little listing of random things like the Mayor's bobble head doll, charms, even a Naperville snow globe. I don't think any of these items quite fit the bill for what I'm looking for. I might opt to get some treats from a local candy store or even one of the general stores that have been around since Joe Naper settled here....well maybe not quite that long, but you know what I mean.

English Wedding Traditions

I've been reading up on English wedding traditions to find a way to incorporate the majority of Groom's ethnicity into our wedding plans. I have learned that it is traditional for the bride to receive a decorated horseshoe (a charm might do these days) as a sign of good luck. I think the Irish have borrowed that custom as well (good thing he's part Irish!).

It appears that most English customs are what have influenced American wedding customs, so I probably won't have to do that much by way of finding something 'English'.

My latest dilemma is place cards. I originally planned on just escort cards (the guests need to know where they're sitting, right?) Then I learned that I have to indicate EACH guest's entree preference not how many want what dish by table. So far, my best thought has been to color code the favors. This will be time consuming....so would place cards though. I am guessing I'll just either order square tins for the tea and customize using my computer or use stickers on the back of the escort cards to indicate meal preference. Groom is not a fan of all the stickers I seem to want to use. I think he tunes in and out while I'm talking about these 'problems' in the first place. Any ideas?

Centerpiece

I've been doing more research on the tea tin center piece idea. Martha Stewart published an article this past April for a more garden variety look. I think if I use all of the same tea tin and a more 'formal' flower, I'll be able to match the level of formality of the reception. I plan on lining it with plastic or maybe an extra wide mouthed votive holder to keep the blooms in water. Here's a link to what I'm aiming for, kind of. This bride used the Harney and Sons Wedding Tea tins while I'll be using Mango. Since things look good in threes, I have to add a third element to the table. I will have two tea tins, multiple votive holders and maybe a tall square jar with a floating candle. It might be a little to modern though...still thinking through it. Ideas always welcome.

Wedding Tea Favors

Adagio offers personalized wedding tea favors in organza bags for as low as $1.60/ tin. It's a small sample of a tea of your choosing and you can also select the organza bag color. The 'directions' on the tags are a nice touch. If I weren't using tea tins as my center pieces, I would definitely have explored this option.

Progress Update...

We're making progress on favors/centerpieces/reception decorations. I plan on enlisting the help of my family to make garlands out of carnations and other hearty flowers to frame the entrance way to the pavilion. (it's a glass encased pavilion, but that's what they call it). Then we'll have large framed fabric boards with tags indicating each guest's table assignment. I saw something in a magazine that has served as my inspiration. I found some poppy and red specialty paper from India at Paper-Source which is also where I ordered all my paper for the invitations. I'm making those myself and spending under $250 for 175 invitations. I will put up a picture once I have a complete suite ready. I want to use tea tins from Harney & Sons and the tea as favors for my guests that I'll put into little tins with the help of my bridesmaids. A good friend of Groom's is also a beekeeper on the side, so we'll treat our guests to locally grown honey to sweeten their tea! If anyone has ideas on what flowers will work in an orange tea tin, please let me know!!!!