Menu Meal Choices...

My mom thought of this, but we couldn't find it at the time and leave it up to Paper-Source to read my mind. I wanted to use little stamps of animals to designate meal choices for the wait staff to know what to serve my guests. It would have been a lot cuter and more 'me' than stickers that said 'lamb' and 'fish'...I don't know how this would work for all cultures as they don't include lamb/goat, BUT that's for another day. Check out the link to purchase and see scale, etc.

Trend Setting....

I love Paper Source....I love Paper Source....I love Paper Source.  Of course they'd roll out a whole India Collection 11 days before the wedding.  There's even a Rajastani paisley print that would have been PERFECT for our big day.

I have also noticed a lot of coral this season and the one shouldered dresses are making a strong statement.... Maybe I should have considered working in wedding fashion planning.  

This week has been tough. I've been up really late most nights and getting up early since I am gainfully employed.  We're hoping to get the last of our projects completed this week.....

Still left on the list:

• Memory Locket
  
• Escort Cards
  
• Ceremony Programs (Thank goodness for Kinko's and Adobe InDesign)
  
• Wedding Day/weekend Timeline tweaking....Special Thanks to Luci for spending A LOT of time on this project with us.
  
• Final Meeting with the Venue on Sunday!!! 
• Politely explaining to friends why we're not encouraging non relationshippy date bringing
• Sanely attempting to arrange tables so that all the screamers (read small children under 5) are in the same spot, far and away from the sweetheart table, bar and speakers.

We're also trying to finalize songs...we had a good list of stuff but then we heard something new (well not really new) just new perspective.  

Sister Hazel's "In the Moment" from Lift for our parent/child dance... I was driving in the car today and heard it and I literally got goosebumps.  

Escort Card Display

Here's the escort cards we made.  I'll post other pictures when I'm not running around like a crazy person!

Escort Cards

You know how they say "it takes a village" to raise a child? I think it takes one to prepare for a wedding.  I am very lucky to have the greatest friends and family (and future family) coming together to make this event a very personalized, memorable and creative part of our lives.  

Groom, MOG, MOH and I got together to make escort card holders for the reception.  We got the idea from a bride in California that made paper accordion holders for her guests.  We enlarged the idea and made them fit the look of our wedding and got to use the paper that's in my inspiration board.  I can't wait to do a comparison of the two to see how everything in my head actually plays out.  

We don't have too much left to do. I'm going a bit crazy this week with the goal of being done by Memorial Day weekend so we can enjoy the week leading up to the wedding.  Our last 'large' task is writing out the escort card envelopes and assigning guests to their tables. Most of that's been done, but we're in final stages of approval from MOG, my parents and one another!   

Pictures coming soon.

T Minus WAY too soon.

The wedding is coming up quick!  We celebrated Easter with family and then took a little time to ourselves today.  Groom has officially moved out of the big city and is now in suburbia...I think he's still wrapping his head around this lifestyle change.  We're officially house hunting (well I am house hunting, he's studying for the GMAT) 

As the wedding approaches, we find ourselves getting into the most ridiculous arguments. Sometimes we take a step back and ask, 'Are we really fighting about the text direction on the escort cards?"   I think some alone time is in order when we're on each other's nerves like that. At least we're not fighting about Money, Family, our Relationship, or other important issues. This is always a good sign, right? 

I'm now working on the remainder of the stationary for the ceremony/ reception.  I have designed escort cards to be the size of business cards. I'm printing them myself on cover weight paper that I used for the directions card in the invitations.  I bought 250 sheets, so I have lots.

 

The ceremony programs are stumping me currently since there are so many things I can do with it. I currently like the idea of a simple sheet of paper folded in half with a strip of vellum or decorative paper for effect.  I am also weighing that against the possibility of cover weight stock w/ an insert allowing me to go stamp crazy!  

Will post pictures soon. 

My Wedding Inspiration Board UPDATE!

Here's a part of my Inspiration Board. I change it from time to time as I find things that catch my eye or as I refine my thoughts.   As of now, we're STILL negotiating flowers.  Technically I'm on 'break' til January 1, so it's fine.  I put this together using Picasa which made it very easy. 

I found a bridesmaid dress style I LOVE, Bari Jay 810.  I am giving the girls three choices, in the event the MOH wants to go with the other style (the deep v w/ open back shown in purple) It comes in every color imaginable, and I've chosen coral. It's not Bears Orange, it's more subtle, so I can play up the tangerine with the flowers, cake, and stationary.  

  

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.

Indian Inspired Invitations!

I am attempting to be productive while Groom is away at a golf thing this weekend. I am looking for invitations and stumbled across Wedding Paper Divas. The Modern Paisley Invitation (pictured left) and the Woven Paisley Invitation (not pictured) are my two favorites. They're reasonably priced at under $8 for the set. They have samples available for $5.00/ea. Groom really likes the first one (he's been in contact via his super duper phone). He seems to get most excited about the invitations and the reception. I bought a paisley stamp that I can use to make my own thank you cards. The simpler, the better for me.

Paper Source has embossers with three styles of plates to choose from with a myriad of fonts for a variety of purposes. Most relevant to my needs of the moment: the return address plate. I can literally press it into my envelopes! There's a circular one that could make an interesting seal. The embosser is sold separately from the plates, but will come in under $60 for both! Not sure if that will go with our day, but still a neat texture for any invitation.

Maps!

New favorite for wedding mapping is Wedding Mapper!!! You can set your ceremony & reception venues as well as points of interest for your guests to explore. There's also a DIY feature for printing to include them in your invitations. This is just what I was looking for to create a map for the day. YAY!