Inspired madness

I despise details.

2010-06-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I am thinking that title, me the queen of detail and all kinds of party planning nonsense. yet that's where I am right now. I'm ready for the details to be done and over with. I'm almost worried I can't enjoy it anymore now that these little things that gave me so much joy to plan and create and obsess over are now just another thing to worry about! But I'm not finally doing a post just to complain when there is plenty more obsessing to do over wedding details =)
First of which: my jewelry. You may recall me finally saying screw it with the necklace and finding something nice, but then I realized it was me talking and changed my mind. Cause thats how I roll. And I found these bad boys:

Love them! So honest opinions~ do you think these would look ok with my dress? I still get the bling earring factor I love, but with a simple necklace and matching bracelet for some extra sparkle (minus the grown up pearls I can't seem to pull off). I really hope this matches cause I don't really have much time to find anything else!

Next on the list~ update on projects-
Felt pomanders are done~ I finished 24, so we'll have one on every other pew. And anyone who doesn't like it can just make sure to not mention it to me cause its too late to change my mind~ I am done, done, and done with those!

Programs~ this was a project I ended up passing on in favor of my sanity (I know, loose thread already), so I found an awesome seller on etsy (my wedding savior, or nemesis to Sean) who is custom making me these bad boys:

Obviously, this will have our names on the front, but you get the idea. Love them even more cause all I had to do was type up the info and she formatted it and will print it all out for me at a very reasonable price (at least I think my sanity is worth much more than she charges!) =) I only got 150 so some people just won't all get one~ once again boo hoo and go away if you don't like it~

And no I'm not getting irritable before the wedding, why do you ask?

One very special project that I've been trying to figure out for some time is how to incorporate Nico into the ceremony. First I wasn't even sure if the church would let us do anything, then I had to figure out what we wanted and what Nico would even do! Once again, etsy my love to the rescue:

It's called a family union medallion (and will be on a thicker more boyish chain by the way). It has 3 rings melded together to make a pendant and what will happen is after we do the ring exchange and our vows, Father will call Nico up and Sean will recite a short thing to Nico (Sean only cause I wouldn't be able to get through it without crying) and then Father will bless the necklace just like our rings and then we both put it on Nico. Sounds kinda cheesy but I know I will lose it then, so girls I will need tissues for sure at this point...

Two quick more things before I leave, one happy and one not so much:

First, the bad, which includes the bad, the ugly, and the hated: I wish guest lists and RSVPs and seating charts would go away and never come back- They better hope they never meet me in a dark alley cause they will not make it out in one piece, and I hope I never have to worry about anything like this again. Ever. This alone made me wish more than anything else so far that we had up and gone to Vegas. Vegas doesn't worry about seating charts and RSVPS and people changing their mind on how many people in their family is coming. Seriously, IF you really have to change the amount of people coming, there is NO need to change it more than once. Or twice. Or at all. Cause at this point, you're lucky you have a seat and a meal. Yep I just went there.

Ok, now for the good~ my sisters threw a super fun bachelorette party and we got some cute pics (courtesy of Lindsey):

Who can top that?

I changed my mind on something

2010-05-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

What?!? No way~ me? I can't believe it!!...Oh yeah that's right- I've changed my mind on EVERYTHING so far...oops. (Except for Sean~ didn't change my mind there!) =)

So what's the latest change? The tables at the reception, of course. I've been wavering back and forth and at our venue walkthru last Friday, I wanted to have a decision made~ so here it is:

Obviously not the best picture but you can see we are going with the venue's white tablecloths, my purple runners and damask squares along with black napkins (one is folded on the left side with our candy bag sticking out)

Final decision? Yep, locked in. I think the purple pops so much more against the white, and project 862 looks much better too. Project 862 is my newest torture device, which is sticking black trim around all 4 sides of the damask squares. Looks sharp though doesn't it? I totally love it even though it is so much different than the original plan. But I've strayed so far from the original plan, who really cares? And as seen in the picture, all the paper flowers are done and boxed in their vases ready to go. And the kids bags are all put together (minus the last minute goldfish baggies we will have to throw in there so they don't get stale if we got them ready now!) and in this super cute matching bag:

These turned out cute, I hope the kids like them! =) Now I need to figure out how to make sure the kids know to grab one...Any ideas?

So what else have I been doing the past few weeks (after my finals of course, cause before those I was too busy to sleep!) ?? Take a gander at my living room:

Yep, that's my house. and I couldn't even get far enough away to see the bags packed on the other side of the cutouts on the left! I think I have some organizing to do...

Any other changes? But of course, you think one new project is enough? I finally figured out the aisle decor at the ceremony~ still sticking with the idea of pomanders, but staying a little non traditional and using purple felt (to match the bouquets!) Now I had no idea what a pomander even was before wedding world, and mine are imperfect just like me, but here are 3 completed ones:

They will hang on the side of the pew to decorate the aisle, either every 2 or 3 pews, depends on how many I get done! There are 24 pews on each side, split in half with a walkway, so I have a few options for the layout. For now, I'm just trying to find all the felt I need and cutting away at these circles. As opposed to the dreaded squares from the paper flowers, these are 4" circles cut out of the felt, which I have to say is not really any easier. But the folding/gluing is SO much easier!! Let me know what you guys think of these babies and also when you can come help me trace circles and cut out felt!!

One more question I would love some feedback on here is jewelry. I'm not a huge jewelry person, and I'm finding it hard to decide on wedding day accessories. Is this because I have no sense of style and matching? Possibly. Also possible I am an obsessive bride to be who can't make a decision on anything...Either way, I am having doubts about the jewelry I loved with the first dress and if it actually works with the new dress! So I bought some new earrings to play around with and these are my fav so far; what do you think? The plan would be wear these bigger earrings and no necklace:

And they were only $7 at Kohls, much better than the $50 earrings I was checking out online...

I will leave you with one last piece of eye candy~ I bought this little dish to hold my jewelry (whichever I end up with!) while getting ready the day of and I'm totally in love with it. Can't wait to see it in pictures =)

New Addition!!!

2010-05-05T10:30:00.001-05:00

Look who came to join the party on June 19th!!!

Reminders for the boys (and an update for the girls!)

2010-04-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

Not that any of the boys check this, but I wanted to throw out a reminder to all the groomsmen, as well as the Dads to go to Mens Wearhouse and get fitted for their tux. The kids should wait until 1 month out (at least thats what I was told from the tux place), so they have some time still, but the deadline is fast approaching for the men to get this checked off my list =)

As for an update, just a quick one that we will be getting ready at the hotel instead of our house! I booked our suite for the night before as well, and I use the work suite only because thats what they call it~ really not that big or that fancy, but it should work fine (I hope!). This is at the Courtyard Marriott, and there is a link from our wedding website if anyone needs more info on that, like directions or anything click here for the link . I'm thinking if we can plan on the girls meeting there around 8 am, then the boys can all meet at our house where Sean will be whenever they decide on a time! Hopefully this works for everyone!!

2010-04-18T12:11:00.001-05:00

My hair person will be there to help too she blocked it out in her book already so that makes 3 people total.

I'll check with mom about mani/pedi I think she was going to as well.

I am completely in for the airbrushing/make-up i'll need it! haha

Want me to come over Friday( this week the 23rd) and help with things? I'm free and would love to come help. Let me know!!!

I also have someone who can alter dresses for cheap(if its length not drastic of course) so let me know I am calling her to meet for mine this week.

Beauty update:

2010-04-13T13:29:00.000-05:00

This one's for the ladies (and boys I suppose if you want your nails done...)
NAILS:
I have a spa booked for Mani/Pedi's the friday before the wedding (the 18th) starting at somewhere between 10 and 11. They are able to do 4 at once, so we'll have to do some rotating. We can start at 11 with 6 booked, but if any of the moms get in on it, we'll push it up a little earlier. And we can being wine and snacks as I guess they only supply for the day of packages =( So if everyone brings a bottle of wine we'll be set =) And Katie~ I've got Katelyn down (and paid for) for polish on her fingers and toes, so I hope thats ok! I've only booked myself, Katelyn, and Niki, Sara, Jennie, and Caurie, so if anyone else wants in, no problem I just need to let them know we'll be there earlier! They have the "no chip" polish which I got as a trial (sorry I don't have a pic!) but it kicks so much butt- I got it done last Wed and it still hasn't chipped or faded or anything~ I'm pretty sure there is an upcharge for it but well worth it in my opinion! The salon is AbFab and its right by Lino's so super close to my house and everything (yeah I know- convenient for me!) =) My favorite part is AbFab stands for Absolutely Fabulous, which we will totally are.

MAKEUP:

I finally found it!! I booked an airbrush makeup artist who will come to us wherever we are and do makeup. I really need a head count on who is in so I can let her know, she does regular makeup ($45)and airbrush ($65) and I think will go cheaper if we get all the girls in on it. This is also option for moms if they want, so spread the word! At this point, she's meeting us at 8 am to get started, and I have to figure out if the hotel suite is large enough otherwise we are going to all meet at my parents house. I decided I don't want to have to worry about space and cleanliness at our house that day, hence the different location =) I do have a pic of my makeup trial (don't mind the hair- its a long story and I don't want to talk about it...):

What do you think?
The best part is, over 5 hours later it looked the same as it did right after it was done! I had to get some sleep, so I didn't get to test it any longer than close to 6 hours.

HAIR: still a work in progress. I've got Lauren doing mine (I think) and Katelyn's but I'm not sure how many others, so a friend from work (Michelle) is coming to help. We may need 1 more, so I'll keep you updated as I know a few of you have your "people" =) We may need to borrow one of them for the day.

SO let me know interest in these and I'll make sure they are booked =)

Finally an update!

2010-04-05T17:36:00.000-05:00

I have hit a serious lull here in wedding land but there is always time for me to get distracted from schoolwork, so here it is: an update. I know you've all been waiting at the edge of your seats, right? =) ha- I'm sure.
A kindof work in progress is the table setup at the reception. I realized I have bags for the candy, bookmark sleeves for the photobooth favor, photo sharing cards, along with trying to figure out how to set up a list of all the candies available and let people know to take it! So here is what I came up with (along with help from a friend at work who is a genius with stuff like this~ so practical whereas I am more and more flighty. It would be perfect if I can figure out how to combine all of these elements into one specific area, and that's where my awesome friend Jan suggested the napkin fold. Such as this one used for a menu:

But we would use it to tuck the bag, favor sleeve, card, and whatever other junk I have to have...=) Such as this (but with a napkin around it...so it looks like the picture...)

Another bright idea that is completely unnecessary is a flip flop basket at the reception, such as this inspiration pic:

I had a coupon for Old Navy and ordered a bunch of purple, black, and white. Yes I have 2 different shades of purple as I already had some pairs from Target's $1 aisle...I figure I can split the purples up between the baskets and it will be fine, right?

Check out all these flip flops!

Yeah~ I think I go overboard sometimes too...But Everyone can use a pair of flip flops, right?!?

For an update on these darn paper flowers, we are over halfway there (only?!?) as I have 17 vases filled and I need around 30 (depending on final guest count...)

I'm putting the vases together rather haphazard like just to get a feel for how many more I need, and here is what I have so far:

This is how they are put together and then the pic with 2 boxes is showing the flowers from the top view...

I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but I put a rhinestone in the middle (ish) of each flower, so there is a little big of bling for the tables =)

I had a few seconds of panic and terror when I realized I will be mailing out the invitations this month...THIS MONTH...Ok breathe...yes I have less than 3 weeks to finalize everything and get together late additions and make sure they are all still glued together and nothing is missing... I have a bunch put together and mostly done except for the final check:

That's around 100 in there, looking down into the bag I bought special for the wedding (its in our print, and has a C on it) Yes I am a dork, and I love it =) And here are my stamps, bought from Zazzle~ you can't read the writing, but our names and wedding date are in the black part at the top. I call it subtle, some might say difficult to read...

And I will leave you with a final piece of eye candy; probably one of my favorite wedding purchases here. Lots of this wedding has been things I like and things I hand picked. Granted I hand picked this one too, but this is all about Sean. Those closest to Sean know he never leaves the house without a few choice items in his pockets. I won't go into details but one of those items is chapstick. Not the brand necessarily, just a lipbalm of some kind. I love it cause I can always borrow if I lose mine, but otherwise its just one of those things that make me smile cause it is so Sean. =) So here it is:

I had to get 2 in the pick so you could read all the wording, and Yes, these are custom made chapsticks with a mint flavor/smell and they are 100% all natural, too =) And even in our wedding colors, how awesome are these?? LOVE them! I'll have a bunch for the ladies and then some in each bathroom basket too in case anyone needs some chapstick!

I'm off to kickboxing class~ woohoo (I'm trying to get myself pumped for it...)

Coming up....

2010-04-02T16:15:00.002-05:00

And the parties begin! For all the shower on April 23rd is at JMK Nippons, I believe only the address was on the invites (or the 3 I saw only had the address). Just incase you all were looking for a house or something it is not. It should be a fun and delicious day! Games will be figured out too haha I know you love them Candice. I am on break until the 12th so any help you need I am available. It is time to buckle down and finish things so whenever we are all available to work on projects we should probably do that.

Candice your dress is beautiful and you don't need to change. The anxiety thing is all a head game with stress and such. Remember you have been working out and eating different so of course things are going to fit differently. It's all okay!! Besides I don't think you could look more gorgeous in another dress!!

Anyone ever heard of this phenomenon?

2010-03-30T21:03:00.000-05:00

It's a little thing called "Dress Anxiety" and I think I have discovered this new and terrifying term this week in a not so fun way. I had my dress fitting Sunday, supposedly my final fitting, but the dress wasn't ready. No biggie except when I put it on, the thing fit different than I remembered. Is this all in my head, or has my trainer/torturer Nicole changed something in my body shape. My slightly curvy (I like to say voluptuous) figure that seemed to look great in the dress when I bought it, seems to not fill it out quite the same anymore...
Do I screw the training and eat oreos and pizza until the wedding? Nicole and I think not. Do I get the dress adjusted some for my hopefully even slimmer profile by the wedding? Or is this all a big subconscious ploy of my glutton for punishment brain to make me second guess my dress?? I've seen this on "say yes to the dress" and it never works out the same; one girl got a new dress and one just tweaked hers a little. Oh what I wouldn't give for Randy to pick out my dress...
I love my dress, right? I tried on others and kept going back to this one, right? Surely I can adjust this dress to fit the way I want, right?!? I can't stop thinking about this and I'm not sure what to do. I'm thinking I need to go to the store and try on my dress again to see what the hell I'm talking about~ they have to let me even though its in alterations, right?
And why do I feel like every post is a "freak out" post and not an actual update? I hope this doesn't become a pattern...

Not much new here in wedding land

2010-03-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

Hi all~ thought I would check in but I don't really have any updates. Had my second fitting today, which was fairly uneventful as my dress wasn't ready to take home yet...And I can't post pics because Sean looks on here, so no fun visuals or anything either! Yeah I'm boring today. We decided on which of my 2 pairs of earrings I will wear (the bigger blingy ones won out) and which veil I will wear (the simple longer one won out here) so that was good to have those decisions out of the way.

Everything fits well, maybe a little looser at the top than it used to be which is good but worries me slightly. Don't get me wrong, I want to slim down, but not too much cause I don't want to play around with my dress too much more! Brings me back to my original idea of switching out the zipper to a corset tie back; that way it has some room for adjusting (and can be tightened to help me suck it all in!) =) My plan is to wait another month and if I feel like I may need it changed, my next fitting in the first week of May and I can figure it out then. Talk about waiting till the last minute~ I'm sure I will be freaking out if it really has to happen less than 6 weeks from the wedding, but no use worrying about it yet, right????

And I just realized our invites will mail out in about 3 weeks~ ALREADY?!? Yeah I gotta finish those babies....And we have got to get together for another project night sometime, as I still feel like there are a million things to do. Mad rush at the beginning and then a huge lull~ gotta start back up again soon!

Somebody PLEASE remind me!

2010-03-21T19:04:00.000-05:00

Please remind me that there is no need to go crazy over the paper not matching and that it is not the end of the world if one flower is folded crooked. Please remind me that this is a celebration and that I'm supposed to be excited to have fun and not stressed about the details. Please remind me that the wedding photos are still just pictures and 99% of them will be stored away in an album forever anyways, even though everyone says they are all you have left.
I will have more left~ I will have my husband. If I have a hair out of place, or not perfect makeup, it doesn't matter and I'm probably the only one who will notice. No one will see the quartz paper isn't exactly the same as the opal, even though they are both white. No one will remember if there is any decoration on the pews at the church and no one will care if I don't have extra bling on my belly band for the invitation.
Why does it seem like 3 months isn't enough time to find a dress for the rehearsal dinner and have my hair/makeup trial, and learn our first dance?
I am trying to figure out why I've been so anxious about this whole thing and I can't explain it. I've learned after planning Nico's parties that I like planning and personalizing parties to who we are. I guess that's what I want to do with the wedding. I want it to be beautiful and fun and unique, but most of all I want it to be an extension of who we are. Since we are pretty boring (some would say modern, some say lazy) people in general, I guess I need to work on minimizing the excess.
Am I going to be more laid back now that I've realized this? Probably not. But Please remind me of this when I am freaking out.

Drumroll Please

2010-03-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Introducing our table mockup:

Ok- Yes my camera blows, and no, these aren't the squares (they are the runners) and yes, there are supposed to be hydrangeas on top of each empty glass holder...But still- its a mockup =) Notice the black satin overlay with the awesome purple runner =) Ok, so it's a rough mockup, but you get the idea! And here is a pic with the white vases (which I've found the rest of by the way~ so I have over 20 now just in case I break any or something crazy!):

This shows a better idea of the table size as well as the lovely chairs we will not be putting chair covers on...And I'm not bitter at all about that...
Once again, you'll notice not every vase has the paper flowers in it, but I was already lugging this box into giovanni's to the tasting, so I had to bring as little as possible! Here is a better pic of the chairs:

I swear they are blue in the ballroom, but the worker swears they are the same as these, so at least they are purple...trying to make myself ok with them, so humor me!

Now both of these pics have my votives with the damask, but the venue provides plain votives pictured here:

I threw one of everything in this pic, but it won't really be that mixed up! Which candles do you think look best? I guess if I use both styles, it might look too busy and have too much around the candy for people to get to...My plan is to get some hydrangeas before the next walkthrough , along with having everything else ready to put on the table,so I can actually have all the pieces and play around with it some more. Hopefully I can make up my mind by then!

Any opinions?

"don't let the details become bigger than the purpose"

2010-03-12T21:07:00.000-06:00

This is my newest post it note by my computer (attached right under my screen actually). Pretty self explanatory I think =) In my mess around my desk, and the whole house recently, this is one note I'm going to keep up so I can remember it. I kinda feel like that's what this whole wedding is becoming; just me working on 50 thousand details and completely losing sight of the reason for the whole thing in the first place! And believe it or not, this little post it note with a quote (I found randomly on one of the many wedding blogs I check regularly) is helping keep me grounded.

On that note, I'd like to share news about a HUGE meeting we had with Giovanni's today~ our tasting! I wasn't sure what to expect or how they were going to serve anything, but I came armed with my gigantor wedding binder as well as a box of pieces for the table setup so I could play around with how the centerpieces and overlays would look (more on that later!).
I didn't get any pics, so you'll have to believe me when I say almost everything was YUMMY =) I searched to find good internet representations for your viewing pleasure:

First off, the sausage puff (will actually be italian sausage so much better than this pic, but you get the idea!

Next is the crab cake, which Sean knew he wanted before we even tasted:

Then we tried this fancy sounding pastry filled with things I didn't think I would like, but actually turned out delicious: called a spanakopita (or as Nico called it: spankopita!) :

The next choice was mine and most likely mine alone, but it had to be done. We are officially serving mini grilled cheese during cocktail hour:

Oh Yeah~ totally perfect as I could eat grilled cheese every day =)
They will be mini triangles, like if you cut it into quarters at an angle (just like I do for Nico!) and just like my grandma always did for me....Wish I could get grandma's grilled cheese for the reception but I don't think that would work...

Then we moved onto entrees, and without tempting you with our non-choices, I'll let you know what we ended up with as our main course:

Actually a horrible pic, but once again it is all I could find quickly~ chicken de jonghe, ours has one bone sticking out fancy like and a good sauce drizzle too =) It was the favorite by far, so it won even though I thought for sure the fish would be better (other options included chicken marsala (my usual fav) and crab stuffed orange roughy (Sean's original fav)!) Along with that will be the julienne veggies:

And roasted red potatoes:

So what do you think? Are you as hungry as I am??

Anything new?

2010-03-10T14:30:00.000-06:00

Strangely, I feel like my updates are about less and less actually getting done~ but yet I feel so much busier every day! I came across one solution to my problem with the paper flowers, and the answer may lie in yet another form of paper flower. This one much easier and quicker I swear!
So I was searching through "aisle decor" and "per decor" and such for inspiration and its amazing how few options there really are to go non flowers and non bows. The majority of images were of pomander balls, which I have to admit I had never heard of before wedding planning so don't feel bad if you have no clue what these are! The paper flowers that were going to be a ball (but now may be reception decor) could be one form of a pomander of sorts, but many are made with flowers, either real or silk. These babies can get expensive! I saw everywhere from around $10 to $60 just for the fake flower ones~ and theres no way I can justify that on aisle decor for the church! Enter the tissue paper flower pomander. Here is my first attempt (or I guess I should say my second since I took the first one apart...:

Now this was SO much quicker, but I'm still unsure if I like the look of it. My plan is to bring the finished product to the church when we meet with the musician next week and just try it out and see what I think. I feel like it's missing something~ and I did add one rhinestone inside each paper flower, but they just seem kinda blah~ what do you think??
I am also debating ivory tissue paper with purple ribbon to maybe alternate or just throw a few small ivory ones in the mix...Maybe I just need to shell out the money and buy some made with silk flowers. At least it won't look like a big ball of paper...

I'm sure the UPS man is getting very tired of coming to my door but we got yet another package a few days ago, something rather small and insignificant in the scheme of things, but I still love it and am super pumped:

It's our guest book pen. Yep with a huge black ostrich feather on it! Ha- completely unnecessary but totally worth it. =) Makes me smile just to see it

I've had to take time to work on Nico's upcoming birthday parties (thats right I said parties as in he is having 2!) so hopefully more to come later!

Now....

2010-03-09T19:34:00.002-06:00

Okay now that I am moved in and mostly unpacked, but stealing internet still I can check the site. I think another day is in order for us to pow-wow together instead of via blog. I'm basically free anytime I have to coach some nights but am always free after 6(except mon when I have yoga) hah I'm doing my share for the weight loss-no back fat- pictures too. The vases are cute, I think they will work. I hear you about not finishing flowers we have a ton still. Let me know anytime I'm needed I will come help!!

Decisions, decisions

2010-03-05T11:11:00.000-06:00

First things first, I keep changing my mind and need some opinions please!
I've posted pics of the generic table mockup, so you have an idea of what I'm thinking...Here's the deal~ I'm estimating 20 guest tables, and these are the huge 10 person tables so I need a centerpiece that won't get too lost, right? Half the tables will have the 8-10 inch cake on a stand and the plan was to have the square cube vase under to hold the hydrangea and everything. Then the other 10 tables have the giant vases/jars of candy with candles and/or hydrangeas around that. Problem? It's me so of course!
First, I only have around 35 of the squares. This is of course after deciding I wanted to put 3 of these on the tables (or at least the tables with cake). So either there are no flowers on the candy tables or I have to come up with another 30 of those holders which are conveniently no longer sold at the dollar store (cause I checked!)
Enter solution number 1:

A small white vase with Love in purple~ totally perfect and I bought all they had (only 6 of them!) =( Guess where I found these babies? Target, in the dollar aisles of course~ so love them even more! Want to see what I did with it (just a mockup, not complete or anything!):

Remember the paper flowers for the aisle decor at the church?? Well the church may just have to go undecorated cause I don't know if we can make another million of them- which I still haven't finished enough for even the church yet (kindof joking, kindof serious here...the church is really beautiful all on its own...)!! As for the mockup above, I glued a rhinestone in the center and stole a few of Nico's pipe cleaners to use as stems and those were SO easy, they just slide right in the middle with no glue or anything!

So- the question is~ do I use the cube/hydrangea combo for the cake tables or the candy tables and this white vase/paper flower combo for the other? Or is there some awesome idea I am completely missing here that should be done?

Option 2- I have a TON of glass jars and containers for candy, so do I scratch the whole idea of the cakes on the tables and just put candy as all the centerpieces? I'm feeling like if I am mixing and matching the hydrangeas with the paper flowers it might be too much to mix and match the cake/candy also...What do you guys think?? I'm on overload and can't seem to make a decision!!! Also, if you ladies wouldn't mind hitting up your local target for these white vases, I will reimburse and pay shipping and everything if needed!! I would need at least 24 more I think...

As for other news, I had these pics on my camera the night I was playing around with the flowers and just had to share them. This is how Nico terrorizes our poor dog Sophie:

Top picture is Nico's toy that has velcro arms and legs that he wrapped around Sophie and she kept growling at the poor stuffed toy! 2nd picture is Nico putting popcorn on top of Sean's head knowing Sophie would climb on him to get it. Yep, that's popcorn sitting on his head...And Nico wonders why Sophie doesn't like him! =)

But I'm wandering~ back to a few new things that I'm super excited about:

Ordered these for the boys (Connor, Nico, and Zach) with this awesome fabric I found~ if you look close you will see it is a damask print with a rock and roll mixture of guitars and speakers and what not, but thats not even the best part. Look at what's inside

Its got crayons and a pad of paper stashed inside. I almost want one for myself! Think they will like it??

I have a few more pics, but I'm thinking this is long and I really want feedback on the centerpieces and what you guys think, so I'll save the rest for another day =)

I'm going to be...

2010-03-04T11:50:00.000-06:00

a buff bride!
No, seriously, you think I'm joking?!? =) I have realized I am completely letting myself go. Pants are fitting a little bit tighter, my bra is even less comfortable, and I'm stressing about how my arms are going to look in my dress. Will anyone else notice my arms or the back fat I feel I have when I wear my dress? Probably not, but I will and I don't want to have to deal with seeing that in 80 million pictures after the wedding! So I have a plan, and her name is Nicole.
Everyone, please meet Nicole:

She would probably drop me immediately for posting her pic, but shes got it on her website, so it's not like she was hiding it =)
Who is Nicole, you may be asking by now~ well she is my new personal trainer. Yep, I signed up this morning for a 12 week session of 3 day a week workouts one on one with either Nicole or her equally buff husband. She's really awesome and is completely flexible with my schedule. Even said I can bring Nico if I need as long as he entertains himself and doesn't A-screw up my workout or B- play on the equipment =)

I start tomorrow with a complete evaluation, which means, weight, measurement, and pictures (UGH)~ but then the workout begins and hopefully much better pictures in my future!! Though I will never rival Nicole's picture, I am looking forward to some much needed stress relief as well as taking care of myself and hopefully getting rid of the back fat issue =)
And the second best part? Sean gets to do this with me (if timing works out!) So he will get the same eval and can join me for workouts and go on his own 1 day too. I don't have a buff bride and buff groom picture...

anything...

2010-03-02T15:43:00.001-06:00

that can be shipped to me that i can help with?

Bling Bling

2010-02-27T16:31:00.000-06:00

We went ring shopping today and found Sean's wedding band =) Now that we have both our sets, it feels closer somehow~ which once again makes me freak out that I don't have enough time!! Before I get to that, though~ Another project I've had on my mind had to do with the jewelry store as well; but this one kindof a different purpose. If you haven't seen my "right hand" ring- here it is:

This was my dad's pinkie ring and I love it but as I get older and have a beautiful ring on my left hand, I've been wanting to take the blue stone and put it in a more girly, grown up type setting. Basically a setting that isn't a man's pinky ring setting =) So I asked the jeweler about it today (and Busch is totally amazing by the way~ they have been SO nice to us!) And Sean had a great idea, which totally surprised me but I love it: Our plan is to take the stones out and reset them in whichever setting I choose, which apparently can be done pretty inexpensive, then (this is where Sean's idea came in) they can melt down the gold (the band is white gold) and form it into whatever type of band Sean picks and it can be a "right hand" ring for him. If it works out, I have another ring of my dads~ you gotta see this cause words can't describe it:

We can take out some of the diamonds and put them into both of our new rings. Sean said something sweet about it being like out gift from him for the wedding and like his blessing even though he won't be there. Regardless of the fact we didn't get along before he passed, I still like to think he would be happy for us and it means a lot that Sean thinks about that too even though they'd never met. So thats the plan and I'm pretty excited about it and hope we can get it done before the wedding!

As for Sean's wedding band, it gave me an excuse to try some ring shots. This was much harder to do than I thought, especially cause of the shape of my ring and since there is a band on either side, it doesn't really want to sit properly...

Yes my photography skills are sadly lacking...but these showed Sean's ring the best I could. And I got another look at my full set which I totally love and can't wait to wear it all together! Don't mind the ugly ring guard piece on my ring either~ apparently my finger shrank some over the winter so I got that put in so I don't lose it or anything. I'm super paranoid at work since I am constantly washing my hands and taking gloves on and off. After I have the full set together and in the summer I'll have to see if I am going to resize or if it will work better.

I have absolutely no further progress on any wedding projects whatsoever...productive aren't I?...but I did make a wedding related decision this week. Wedding and sanity related I suppose~ I'm meeting with a personal trainer this thursday to discuss a bridal bootcamp style training session. It will be 12 weeks of 3 days/wk workouts to help me feel better and look better by the wedding. I'm hoping this works like it is supposed to and is a stress reliever instead of causing more stress for the 3 hours it will take away from school/wedding. I am looking forward to it though, and Sean laughed because it is basically me paying to be held accountable and have someone make me schedule my workout in. Otherwise I just won't do it; if I've learned anything at all, its that I won't follow any sort of workout program on my own. And its one on one training so I can work specifically on the areas I need/want to, so I am excited however also scared out of my mind that I'm going to get my butt handed to me on a platter!!

Hopefully by the next blog entry I will have some progress on at least one wedding project...

Deep breath...

2010-02-24T13:58:00.002-06:00

This is me:

What am I doing, you ask? Beating the crap out of my computer. Long story short- I had to restart my Pharm exam over halfway through because of my POS computer. Not a happy camper right now, but I am taking my deep breaths and trying not to have a full blown breakdown right now. I just want someone to tell me what the hell I was thinking when I thought I could take all this on this year. ?? Anyone? No? Yeah- I don't know either...

In other news, March is full of appointments and checking with vendors to finalize, so it will hopefully pull everything together. We meet with the DJ next week, ceremony musician and the priest the 2nd week of March, I have my second dress fitting, my first makeup trial, and I still have to schedule something with the florist, cake baker, and Giovanni's for our food tasting. But projects are coming along- The table runners are here:

I'm still obsessed with these runners~ they are much heavier fabric and better quality than the previous ones and I think they look nicer. I have to figure out what I'm doing with the square glass cubes- I have around 35 of them or so, so not enough for 3 on each table like this has....These were the original hydrangea vases, and I'm still doing those for the head table but I'm not sure what to do with the tables that will have the candy. Or should I just take them away and only have the candy and candles on these tables?? And ideas are appreciated~ I am having a hard time picturing what will work..

My candy collection is growing (and hopefully I can keep away so my waist doesn't grow along with it!):

So far we have oreos, purple chocolates, grape licorice, airheads that were supposed to be white packaged but are tinted blue, purple laffy taffy, riesen candies, truffles, kisses, m&ms, life saver mints, pop rocks, purple peeps and blow pops. Still need more but definetly coming along. Here is one idea I had for the candy containers:

And here are the cards I am working on to label the candy jars:

What do you think? The stamp/embossing is the same as on the cake letters =)

Another project almost done are the bathroom baskets. These are pretty much just an extra thing for me to worry about, certainly not necessary and definitely are just an extra added touch. But its those little things that I love and that I notice, so I really wanted to do these. "what are bathroom baskets" you might be asking? Well let me explain by a picture:

Basically there is one basket in each the mens and the women's restroom and they are filled with a bunch of "might possibly need at some point if I have an emergency" junk. I love stuff like this and I am partially famous for my overpacking just in case style. So there is everything from bandaids and mouthwash to spray deodorant and tylenol. I'm not even going to list everything as it would be a long list and I still have some items to get! But check out the boxes:
Oh yeah- love it =) And the napkins with the P in front will be in there too. I still have to make signs for these but they are close to complete.

Sean helped me finish the candy bags (for leftover candy so people can take some home. I bought purple and black bags and printed some thank you labels and here we go:

The label says "thank you", our names and the date. Simple and kinda cheap but I think it will work ok for the purpose. I did buy a border stamp if I feel the need to jazz up the bags a little, but we'll see...

Another project in progress are the sleeves for the photo booth pictures- I'm printing out the wording on scrapbook paper with a damask design in either purple or black and then we'll slide that into the plastic sleeves I bought (bookmark sleeves to be exact) and then some ribbon at the top and that should be done. Here is what we have so far:

You can see the purple printed paper in the back and all the sleeves are tucked in the basket for now. Only a few in the back have the ribbon attached~ that will be a process having to cut all that ribbon and tie them onto these~ anyone up for fun ribbon projects? =)

And I did finish the memory poem I wanted to have at the ceremony and reception~ I can't remember if I showed you the frame I bought for it:

Not really a good pic, but you get the idea. I found this baby at Hobby Lobby for only $6. The poem is just a standard "in loving memory" specific to a wedding day, so I thought it would work fine. I don't feel it's about the message, for me it's more the symbolism that those we have lost are still there with us for the wedding.

I guess that's all for now~ hopefully I will have some "finished" stamps to put on projects soon!

well...

2010-02-20T15:19:00.003-06:00

I am out next weekend because it is MOVING WEEKEND!!! So excited. Painting Friday, then boxes moved Saturday, and furniture Sunday. Anywho I just got on here 2 days ago and poof all of a sudden 3 new posts! haha. I think Candice may need an intervention with the internet and buying stuff. I dono how many more projects can be fit in and finished! Poor Sean haha. The letters look good, and the candy idea is nice for those w/o a cake center piece. V-day candy on clearance most places check those out first before custom M&M's or something those are about 10 bucks per 6oz bag or something ridiculous like that. I'll keep my eyes peeled for candy wrappers of the correct colors. Dove had some purple heart choloclates I know so those would be good to have. I'm good on future weekends for the most part, just let me know!!

Addition: I found www.candywarehouse.com you can pick purple candy or black and it gives you options and -lb bags that they come in. hope it helps...

help?

2010-02-20T10:41:00.000-06:00

Anyone up for another project night?? I have next weekend off and lots to do, so anyone up for stamping, taping, or general labor, please apply for date/times....=)

Never ending projects...

2010-02-18T22:11:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to fit in time to work on more projects, but my free time is basically non existent this week with school and an exam next week. I have a bad feeling this will be pretty consistent until my finals week in May! I'm not sure what I got myself into this spring, but its definetly not fun! What is fun though are finished projects! Check out my "i do" letters for the cake table:

The close up one shows the pattern a little better. My original idea was to paint them, but they were already white, so it turned out much easier to just work with that! The "i" is the only one I couldn't replace, so the stamp/embossing didn't work as well on that one. You get the idea though~ I love them and I think they turned out pretty good =) A cheap table decoration for some $2 wooden letters!

Another "project" or really a purchase of the week were these super cute purses I got for myself and Katelyn. I told Katie I am using Katelyn as my substitute daughter as these were "mommy and me" purses but they work awesome for bride/flower girl I think~

Sorry I forgot to flip the picture...

Aren't they so perfect? And Katelyn's is all tiny and cute- I love it =)

Another box that came in the mail this week (lots of packages coming recently...) were these photo storage boxes I bought to use instead of baskets for things like the bathroom baskets and possibly for some other things at the reception. Here is one without the lid on-

I also was working on a mockup of the table linens- here is the beginning set up:

This has a splash of purple from the runner. And actually, I found new table squares (Baby- if you actually read this- I'm sorry and don't be mad they were really inexpensive and totally worth it!) so these squares will be replaced with this:

(source)

The reason for the square change? Check this out:

Check out that table runner....Yep its the same print, and check out that AWESOME purple liner on the sides!!! Totally fell in love with these and bought them from a bride whose mom made them for her so they are one of a kind. Did I tell you how much I LOVE these?!? So yes I had to get table squares to match them. The inspiration for why I was looking at runners in the first place? :

I love the look of a damask swag instead of tulle. I'm learning I'm not a big tulle person (except for poof under my dress apparently!) and this just looks so unique. And with the purple trim- ooh la la I LOVE it =) It is fun to get excited about this stuff- way more fun than schoolwork which is part of the problem!

And last but certainly not least, I had some great news to share and am SUPER excited about this..I came across an ad on a wedding board (which I am completely addicted to by the way!) for a day of coordinator. I haven't really thought much about one because it just wasn't in the budget and I thought only people with super lavious affairs got a helper besides family...Not so, as this day of coordinator (hereby referred to as DOC) is starting up and is offering free services to a few lucky brides.

Well guess who gets to be one those lucky brides?!? Little ol me thats who =) And all I have to do is pay for travel fees and give a testimonial and pics and things after the wedding. Her name is Sam and she actually lives in Chicago (so much closer to Niki and Sara if anything comes up where you guys can help...!) We met up last weekend to talk and kindof get the ball rolling~ now I don't know how I ever thought I could do this without a DOC!! Seriously though, Sam is awesome and will be there to help set up all my crazy projects and basically keep me sane, which is priceless. Between a bottle of wine and her, I will be all set to go the day of! =)

Needless to say, this will be SO helpful for the wedding and I'm already starting a log of sorts to be able to give the best testimonial ever!! I figure I won't remember this far away by the wedding, and its only fair for all the work she will be doing and helping me with! I gave her the link to the blog too so she can get an idea of what the heck I'm doing. And no this is not for her benefit- I've been talking to Sean about how awesome this is for days~ =)

OK- I really have to go work on something for school; I guess thats enough wedding distraction for tonight...

Candy, candy, candy, candy....

2010-02-18T06:17:00.000-06:00

I love candy...most everyone is well aware of that right? And I entertained the idea of a candy buffet but quickly lost the idea as we had already agreed on a chocolate fountain (YUM!). But get this- I was tossing around ideas for centerpieces; for the tables that will not have cake on them, of course. As I realized that the hydrangeas would most likely be dwarfed unless I did a bigger arrangement which was going to cost closer to $20 per table. Not a big deal, but as our budget has gone completely out of control, I wanted something with more purpose than sitting there and looking pretty. Thats what I'm fot that day, right? =)

So, to make a long story short, I decided (and Sean agreed!) to do candy centerpieces. I'm still working out details, but I went to Marshalls and TJ maxx and cleaned up~ they had a TON of huge glass containers starting at like $4. How awesome is that? So here is my new collection~

Think I got enough?? I didn't take pics of the sample ones I made up, but I bought a few bags of the kisses that come in the dark purple foil and filled one of these bad boys up~ it looked awesome if I do say so myself! So if anyone comes across any candy (with either itself or the wrapper) in purple, black, or white, please let me know or pick up a few pounds of it....=) Now I get to collect the candy part, which will be even more fun (although more expensive!) My thought is to have a sign somewhere with all the tables that have candy and what they have and then each jar will have some kind of sign as to what it is. Hopefully, this will serve as out snack throughout the night too so I don't have to worry about getting a late night snack sort of thing...I do feel kindof bad for all the parents that will have to deal with kids on a sugar crash, but such is life =)

More post coming later, just wanted to get started before I leave for work!

progress!

2010-02-13T22:54:00.002-06:00

I felt like we did get a lot done, seeing it listed makes it seem more accomplished! Much more to finish...notice how a break was taken from flowers? haha tackling those again next time but kudos to heather for the progress she made on them at home!! we are almost there isn't it a great feeling? I was at a shower today and found games that will be fun haha i know you love games candice! jennie you were missed! see you next time!

Why is it that for everything I check off my list I add about 5 more??

2010-02-13T19:05:00.000-06:00

I'm supposed to be listening to my online lectures right now, but get this: the one section where they tell us to focus on the narrated powerpoint is the one part (3 lectures total) that doesn't open! Its almost like it was on purpose just to make us sweat. There are about 20 people freaking out on the class discussion board about it and all the instructor is saying is it must be our own computer because she can open the file just fine ~ that's right folks; I guess when you have a doctorate everyone is wrong and you are right cause thats the only reason I can come up with...

Anyways~ since I can't seem to get that to work and I'm not motivated enough to do any actual textbook reading right now, here I am with another update! Heather, Nina, and Caurie were all over last night to help with projects, and between the wedding brains and the baby brains we were quite the group! We did get a lot done though, and here are some updated pics:
Kids coloring books are done:

Also, I found these goodies at the dollar store to put in the kids bags: Yes these are glow sticks, hearts (or stars/butterfly) for girls and swords for boys, all purple glow fun~ =)

Also, I found some black/silver damask lunch size bags that I think everything will fit in so I don't have to worry about sewing kids bags; hope they work out! And I got some clear cello bags for treats for the kids (of course not just clear, they have the black damask type print on them as well) =) I have boxes of 8 crayons and labels with a cute wedding print and our names to put on those and then the kids bags are good until closer then we can get the cameras and snacks and what not.

We also finished the tape on the votives, so here is the finished product:

I think they turned out pretty awesome and so much cheaper than buying "damask candles" at like $2 a pop. These ended up being somewhere around 75cents each. And I can completely sell these after~ yes I'm completely a dork but if I can recoup any of these costs, all the better~ and the more I can save the more money towards the bar bill...

Another package I rec'd this week (almost an every other day thing, these packages!) :

For pictures on the wedding day that we can use for thank you cards!

Totally love this- premade and cheap since it was just used by a bride for her wedding this winter. Much easier than tackling another DIY project!!

Another project checked off the list was my "i do" letters in blue on the bottom of my wedding shoes~ Caurie was awesome enough to tackle this one:

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this =) Makes for a cute picture, don't you think??

We also got some ribbon cut (purple of course!) to wrap around the cube vases on the tables~ that project will probably have to wait to get finished as its not nearly as fun as bedazzling things...Which Heather helped with, and now all the invites are dazzling with bling (or at least just a touch!) I have to decide whether I want to add a little sparkle to the monogram seal or just leave it be; it may end up being decided for me if I don't have time!!

In other news, I got my jewelry in the mail and I LOVE it~ kinda ordered it blind from an etsy seller (pookafan) she is totally awesome and made everything just the way I wanted it and was completely affordable! I already emailed her to get a matching necklace too, so I don't have pics of that, but here is the bracelet (my Fav piece!):

And the earrings:

I don't know if the pics do these justice, but they are incredible and look like I should have paid WAY more than I did! =) I also got Katelyn a set:
This was kinda hard to get a good pic for some reason, but she has the ivory pearls just like mine but then purple crystals throughout. Its a bracelet/necklace set and she is working on stud earrings for me (all hers are dangly right now and I was a little scared to give a 5 yo dangly earrings!)

Katie- make sure you hide this from Katelyn if shes looking! Also this next part too; as this is so cute I can't help but show it:

Once again, no justice served by my horrible photography skills, but you get the idea!

It also has her initials at the top and the same decor on the other side. Then I have some pieces of jewelry to "fill" it with =) Hope she likes it!!!

This post is long enough already so I'll save the best news for next time, but I'll just say that I had a meeting today and am so excited that I finally feel I have someone in charge for the wedding day besides me! A weight has been lifted and I don't have to worry~ YAY =)

The plan

2010-02-12T07:09:00.000-06:00

Ok so I'm a list girl and I'm doing this post basically as a list for me on some projects we can work on tonight~ is it that obvious I'm trying to get out of listening to my online lectures?~
I've saved a few things for tonight hoping someone is more artistic than myself-
1-stickers for jewelry box (sorry if you're reading this Katie but the surprise is now gone~ I found this cute white jewelry box for katelyn and these awesome black decal stickers to put on it but I'm not sure how best to do it, so thats where my creative ladies come into play, right?!?
2-putting together the coloring books for the kids~ I've got cardstock to be cut to size for the covers, most of them hole punched, and the new word search ready to be switched in as the old one I messed up a letter when I threw mine and seans name in it- all fixed and ready to be made (I do have 1 sample one done to see what the heck I'm talking about!)
3-tape on votive holders~ I'm about half done with this, goes pretty quick actually; all I did was buy damask print tape and put a strip on either side of the glass vertically~ I will try to get pictures of all this up at some point (probably later today when I am still trying to avoid schoolwork!)
4-folding/gluing flower ball~ Heather took a bunch home and we'll have to start putting some together to see where we're at with numbers~ should be good with church ones and have to decide if I want to do them for the tables or what!
5-put together more invites!
6-attach ribbon to cube vases
7- attach ribbon bow/knot to photo sleeves (for photobooth favors)~ also need to print out inserts...
8-saved just for Heather! rhinestones glued onto 2nd batch of invites and on monogram seal for bellyband, so lots of bling to work on!
9-Finish card box- paint P and attach, use damask sticker letters to put "cards" inside black frame and put on top of box, also "thank you" sign!

Yeah- this is only the start too, but thats alright, we have a list to work from and we'll go from there!! I'm not a slave driver or anything... Look forward to seeing my girls tonight =)

Moment of silence, Please!

2010-02-08T18:32:00.000-06:00

Sad news today, of sorts, but mixed in with a big healthy dose of happiness so I'm trying to just be happy and no bad feelings! Huge change to the wedding, which was somewhat expected to be honest as theres no way I could have done it: We've lost a bridesmaid!
Heather will officially be on bedrest before the wedding, so in order to take care of all those babies (3!!!) she will need some much needed R&R and will not be able to walk, be wheeled, or in any way make it down the aisle for the wedding. As I said, sad, but so much happiness for her soon to be family, I'll get over it! Sucks to not have her there and not spend that day with her, but Heather~ you now are going to be in charge of so many projects I'll get to do now =) You have all kinds of time on bed rest to work on things, so you'll still be super involved and a bridesmaid in spirit!!

trying to catch up! bad MOH!

2010-02-08T10:25:00.000-06:00

Hey,

ok, trying to catch up. First, if you love the purple shoes, wear them all day! Mom will not be upset, if she says something, just tell her firmly its what you are doing, and that is it. she really just wants you to be happy and your shoes, in the grand scheme of things are not that big of a deal.

Second - are you going to make a T too? Or are you just making a P? Love it!

Third - I have all of the invites that i had left done. I will send them to you - i just keep forgetting to bring them to work!

Third - and what is really on my mind - do most of the bridesmaids have their dresses and can I see pictures?
I haven;t scrolled through the 2010 posts (that is how far behind i am) but I do't want to get the same one. I am going to a shop tonight (I had a terrible dream on saturday that it was 2 hours before the wedding, iw as in woodfield and there were no black dresses, any where!) Also, so, are they supposed to be plain? can they have sparkles what not? Are people doing full or straight? Ladies - help!!!!!

OH - and I have my summer schedule planned for school. I have to miss the bocce tournament if Iwant to go to the wedding, so Can, not even a choice. I will be out of town the last 2 weeks of may (16-28). BUT, i don't have to start school until early june, and I have all my weekends "free" until late june. So...let's find a date for the bachlorette party! I will send an email to sara and candice with a list of weekends and then we can go from there. but ladies, can you post/send me the best weekends for you?

I'm such a slacker...

2010-02-03T09:34:00.000-06:00

I've been slacking in all areas recently....I haven't been able to really put 100% into anything, just kinda coasting at work, just doing what I have to do for school, not keeping up with my wedding projects like I mean to, and most certainly not keeping up with this wedding blog! Alas, I have failed miserably at this multitasking, but such is life. As I am once again slacking from schoolwork and avoiding studying for my exam later today, I figured it would be a good time for an update!

Shoes: I am 99% sure I've found my wedding day shoes, and of course in true Candice style I have 2 pairs to wear:

And yes, these are the awesome bling shoes from a previous post! For some reason, my camera turns these shoes a funny color but one pair is a true purple and the other is ivory. SO in love with these and very excited to wear them for the wedding! At this point, I don't even care if they match, they'll just have to work or I'm going with flip flops.

Rehearsal night:

I've been looking into cute things for the kids for the rehearsal and ended up finding some awesome etsy dress for Katelyn:

The ribbon is purple, but for some reason my camera doesn't like to show purple very well... When I ordered this, I thought there would be a strip of purple along the bottom too, but its still cute I think~ I hope its not too busy of a print...And then (yes I am this much of a dork!) I got these adorable ties coming for the boys:

Yep thats the same print. One for Connor, Nico, Zack, and Sean. How adorable will they be? =) I don't know if I can get everyone to actually wear them, but oh well, at least they'll have it for another time... And I found this dress for super cheap on a wedding board, so I thought I would get it for me for the rehearsal, but its a little big:

I'm much shorter, so it comes way too long on me, but I'm debating having it altered...I got the name/number of a little old lady who does alterations here in town for Super cheap, so I may look into that. Worth a shot, I just love this dress for some reason (and at $30 I loved it even more!) And of course, I will wear one of the many purple shoes I have purchased in my wedding shoe search. I feel like it is really early to be worrying about the rehearsal, but I have a sinking feeling this is all going to creep up on me and I have WAY too much to do before them!! Do you feel its too early, or should I be thinking of all these details?

Project updates:

We had a crazy busy friday get together with a ton of folding going on (thanks ladies!) and Dave and his crafty...I mean Manly self...helped me cut and put together the card box. Building, not crafting. =) I don't have any ribbon or anything attached, but here is the box so far:

And the P is a work in progress, it needs more paint! And my glue gun didn't hold the boxes together, so I ended up using duct tape on the inside and its working so far! =) I figured its on the inside of the box so no one will see that! Thanks Dave~ its perfect!

Sean's projects:

Sean has been helping with some various projects as well...mainly cutting the squares to be folded. Also helping me put labels on the back of our picture sharing cards :

These are cards I got free from vistaprint, on the front have directions for people to upload their digital pics from the wedding to a shutterfly account so all pics that people take are in one community and everyone can see/get prints/whatever from shutterfly. He did a good job putting the labels on right? =) As for the tissue packs for the church, that was a struggle...

Me: "Here is a length of (black ribbon), can you cut pieces this size for me?"

Sean: (while watching TV and cutting ribbon) "what do you mean they're too short- its the same as this (purple) piece you gave me..."

Me: (holding 2 pieces, 1 about 3-4 inches shorter than the other)

Sean (throwing away pieces that won't work cause they are too short)

Yep- Sean 1 (labels on cards), DIY projects 3 (pinwheels, ribbon cutting, paper folding)

Table numbers:

My mom picked up these pretty glass frames at bergners on clearance (from $20 down to like $2.99 and then she had extra coupon too!) to use for table numbers:

I hope I can make it work with the Italian table numbers, but if not, I guess it'll just be the numbers themselves. I thought it would be cool to put black paper in the framed area and have the number cut out of the middle so it shows up in white...But I will have to get handy with an exacto knife for this idea to work, so if anyone can help with this~ please do! The frames are actually 3 or 4 different sizes and patterns but are all black and white glass, so they should look nice.

I guess thats about it for now...At least there are a few things checked off the list:

Elvis: in the house, no worries

Card box: built, just need to decorate!

Invites: Envelopes almost all addressed, and around 115 done, only about 30 to go and the bands to wrap around all of them

Tissue packs: almost done, just need more labels for the front

Pinwheels: done but need to work on what they will be placed in (thanks Jennie for those containers, I'm going to spray paint them someday and then try to find that floral foam or something!)

Kids activity books: printed and wordsearch fixed, just need to put together!

Crinoline: dyed and ready to be tried on with my dress!!

"i do" letters for cake table- have 1 coat of paint, need at least 1 or 2 more!

Origami flower balls- we are trucking through them! And thanks to Heather taking a bunch home, we'll knock these out in no time =) Thanks for all the help with those everyone~ I never would have finished them on my own!!

So plans for the next friday/weekend crafting night: fold/glue more flowers =); finish decorating card box; bellybands for invites. Anyone interested?

Kids books

2010-01-26T21:01:00.000-06:00

While listening to my pharm lectures last night, I worked on a new project (new in that I hadn't started it yet, but was an idea I saved a while back!). Personalized activity books for kids at the reception. I had a bunch of pictures and random things saved, so I printed everything out last night! I don't know how to attach the document, so I'll just show you a few of the pages:

So I couldn't get lots of the coloring pages cause they are saved in word, but you get the idea. A few mazes, crosswords, coloring pages, and a mini story at the beginning about the wedding and reception. I covered my sample starter one with purple cardstock and taped a cheesy clip art couple on the front with the words "Sean and Candice's wedding activity book"

It was Nico approved, so hopefully the kids will like them (AKA stay busy during all the toasts). Sean's grandma is going to help me sew the kids bags with the damask fabric I bought way back before I just bought the table squares super cheap. And I have boxes of 8 crayons to put a label over then that part is done!

The plan is to put some baggies of goldfish/cheerios/snacks and a juice box or something too. And I bought purple mardi gras beads~ basically just cause I couldn't help myself, so each of the kids will get one of those.

Oh- and of course the kids scavenger hunt! We've decided against the disposable cameras on each table, but I still want to give each of the kids one with their postcard I printed from vistaprint. Mostly cause I think that would be too fun and I love it when kids take pictures =) I guess these bags may have to be slightly bigger than I thought! (See how helpful this blog is for me?!?)

~On another note, one shoe disaster and one shoe victory!! The ivory heels with the bow on the side (picture 1 from below) is a total no go. Too platform and uncomfortable- a shame cause they looked SO perfect online. But the PURPLE with the awesome diamante heel~ totally perfect- and the color is SO much better in person! Slightly big on me, but like my mom told me- my foot will get fat with summer heat, so I should be ok =) I don't think she would have said it if she knew it would support my purple shoes... But I did go ahead and order the same shoes in ivory, so assuming they are the same, they should fit too. And they're suprisingly easy to walk in (and will be SO perfect for those pictures where they put your rings on the heel of the shoes...To die for!) I know my mom will have a mini heart attack from my slip, so I think the shoes might result in a full on hospital visit. Hence the ivory shoes and the purple. I have time to figure it out, right?

Flower Ball....or whatever it's called

2010-01-22T16:36:00.008-06:00

Here are some pictures of the continuing progress on the new pew decorations! More folding to ensue I am sure!

More fun put together, and the purple is hard to see but I think you can get an idea about them now. Or atleast I get the picture now...so to speak! Candice pick another night and I'll be over again for more folding and such!

OMG

2010-01-21T09:32:00.000-06:00

This shoe thing is turning out to be a huge drag! I had no idea it would be so difficult to find wedding day shoes...The problem seems to begin with my dislike of standard "bridal shoes" and end with my fat foot (some say wide, I say fat). It is impossible to find ivory shoes that are not the traditional strappy very un-cute sandal style wedding shoes. Or so I thought until I found these:

Ok so how awesome are these shoes?? The first 2 are actually from the Paris Hilton brand, which kinda makes me cringe but I can't help it~ I love her shoes! Notice the rhinestone heel on the last 2 pairs? I'm infatuated with these shoes. And I'm convinced all the other shoes didn't work out so I could have all of these shoes. So I ordered the first pair cause they are the most practical, shorter fatter heel so should be easier to walk in and available right away from myglassslipper.com (which is a whole site for wedding shoes- crazy!) . They are on their way and hopefully will be here soon so I can either be incredibly disappointed or super excited!! The snag with the other two- totally sold out! The slide style pair (picture number 2) is completely unavailable in my size ANYWHERE~ trust me I looked! And the third pair is apparently from this UK company that doesn't ship to the US. SO I looked on ebay and look what I found there:

Yep its the same as shoe number 3 but in PURPLE! And yes the heel looks really tall...I think it is like 4"...but I had to get them anyways cause that is how obsessed with that heel I am!! The brand is actually a different UK brand (purple is "chix" brand and ivory above is "faith" brand) so I'm not sure if they have same qualities as the faith brand when I was doing research~ we'll see when they get here I suppose! And so I continue my search for the pair in pic number 2 and hope and pray these are comfortable!! Can I just say thank god for free shipping and free returns?!? Why would anyone buy shoes in the store anymore? =)

Attention all purple fans- Important announcement!

2010-01-18T18:56:00.000-06:00

Ok guys- I spent the better part of my afternoon on this project, and as Sean loved to say I actually finished it the same day I started! OK before, I get ahead of myself, here is what this project looked like as it was in progress:

And here is the finished project (after about 2 hours of sweat and tears...):

YAY for purple crinoline!! The color looks a little off in the picture, but you get the idea! It is pretty purple and I can't wait to see it under my dress! =) I hope no one has a total cow over this, but it stays hidden until the fun parts anyways- Ha! I haven't actually been to a wedding where this was done; has anyone else?

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, look who came to visit with me and Sophie:

Yep its Elvis ladies and gents. Check out the black tux~ he'll fit right in! We will have some logistics to figure out with actually getting him into the photo booth, but maybe he'll have to bend or something...I'll make it work =)

And since I'm doing updates, here are the pinwheels so far (for those who haven't seen): If you can't tell from the pics, those bins are the huge plastic storage bins so you can imagine the giant puff of pinwheels coming out of those bowls...And there are still more to be finished too (almost done, should be less than 50 left!)- I'm doing extra so I don't have to worry about fixing broken ones! Sean laughed when I told him I probably needed craft glue in my emergency kit for the day, but I can totally see myself running around re-glueing broken pinwheels or something! I think I need a coordinator; anyone have a friend who likes stuff like that?? =)

And one last piece of news: I found purple flip flops at Target today (only $1 each!) so I picked up a bunch. Now I need to figure out how to bling them out or something, so if anyone already knows how, let me know... Here is a pic of the bag of them:

I think I ended up with about 8 pairs of purple and I got a few in black too (just in case any of the boys wanted them!) including for Nico, Zach and Connor. They didn't have purple in the smaller size, so keep an eye out for Katelyn if anyone sees little girls sizes in purple!!

I feel so accomplished, and yet now I've added on another project with the flipflops! Anyone want to come help with that?

Party aftermath

2010-01-17T17:30:00.000-06:00

Hello and good morning (if you are still in your pajamas like I am...) Ha- it's been a lazy day to say the least! I missed shopping but I did get a start on Thank you's and homework, so thats ok.

I have a few pics from the party, and I'm going to start with a long awaited Jake and Jeremiah shot as they were finally captured by my camera- so long for now Elvis:

Too cute, right? Just wait till the wedding boys, there will be plenty more picture opportunities...

And here is a pic of the cute couple (right?):

More on my facebook page if you are interested!

Looking back, I should have gotten a girls shot as all the bridesmaids were there (thanks ladies!) and all the boys that are in town were also there (thanks boys!) and all the support ws great with all that family around- Ha!! Dad's tab (thanks daddy!) and good food- it turned out to be a great party =) Hope all of you that were there had fun and for those that weren't- we missed you!

I'm back to work (for school and wedding) so see ya'll

Party- woo hoo (or something like that)

2010-01-12T19:29:00.000-06:00

Jennie's comment to the last post reminded me I should probably do a post on the engagement party- this sat 3 pm at the club...and No thats not the country club, thats the St Ambrogio club in the ghetto of south rockford. Truly. But its a nice place and cheap drinks, so its on.
And I will need those drinks thanks to the plethora (I think thats spelled right) of cheesy games Mom T is coming up with. Thanks for that. I'm sorry but "what first attracted you to Sean" is not something I want to have both sides of the families guessing on. Besides, she didn't like my answer of "he was the only boy in our class!" =) Haha
I have my shoes picked out (purple pair #3) so all I have to do is find an outfit to match...Prob black as I doubt I can find the exact shade of purple. Such is life. And of course I have one day to find said outfit, along with 2 meetings for my classes and getting as much reading done as possible as I don't see myself having time this weekend!!

And if anyone has lots of extra time on their hands (and nimble fingers!) I have a new DIY project I decided to tackle: origami flower pomander balls to decorate the aisles at church and loose to scatter on tables at the reception for some color. The technical name for these is kusudama and they are some sort of good luck charm that ensures happiness and good health. Can't hurt right? =) So what are these you might be asking: first off look at a few pics I found:

So the first pic shows the individual flowers and the ball, the second pic shows one plain example and the third (red/white) shows a really pretty one with beads that would be awesome but probably not going to happen!

Let me tell you what you're in for if you volunteer: The "ball" is made up of 12 flowers. Each flower is made of 5 petals. Each petal is folded out of a 3"x3" square and then glued closed. Then 5 glued petals are glued together to form the flower. Thats as far as I've gotten. I don't have 12 done to even try the ball, but I guess you glue half together to form a half circle then add your ribbon in the middle with a loop (for going over the pew at church) then glue the 2 halves together to form a circle holding the ribbon in the middle.

Totally insane, but I hate the tulle bow alternative, so I have now obligated myself to hours upon hours of cutting and folding~ each ball requires 60 squares of 3x3 paper, and yes that means 60 petals folded and glued. And I love every crazy minute of it and every single petal I've done. We'll see how many pews actually get decorated...
So who's up for helping?? =)

Just thinking about this overwhelms me right now, so I'm off and hope to see you all Saturday!! =)

More Shoes...

2010-01-11T17:13:00.002-06:00

I was out yesterday with my mom and god mother shoe shopping in general. I came across some cute shoes at shoe carnival flats and low heels. My mom bought a pair of higher purple heels just for fun, probably wear them to the engagement party or the rehearsal dinner. If you go hers are by Delicious, dark purple with a snakeskin purple line around the edge. Like I said shoe shopping must end for me, but I am all about helping anyone else! haha

2010-01-09T21:25:00.002-06:00

This is what my shoes look like. Shiekshoes.com has a bunch of cute purple shoes at all heights if you do an advanced search for purple shoes. Also it has free shipping, good sale right now on there! -Candice stay away from it, bc I have to also since I am moving out in March! Time to save money with my shoe fetish haha :-(

A few pics...

2010-01-08T23:17:00.000-06:00

Ok Caurie- I said I would post the purple shoe pics, and here they are~ This is a pic of caurie's awesome purple shoes with the black dress tried on at Davids:

And here is a pic of my purple shoes (not on as it is very hard to get a good picture of shoes when you are wearing them!!) =)

And we went to the tux store today and picked out some awesome tuxes if I do say so myself... Here are the combos we decided on:

For the groomsmen- all black (the pic is kinda light, but you get the idea!) Love this- I think it looks really sharp and I'm SO pleased with it!:

Now for the groom (and Nico and Zach will match Seans, so they will have this same combo: ivory vest and tie but same black shirt:

And for the Dad's, a nice mixture, they will have the ivory tie but with the black vest!:

Ok so how awesome are we?!? I had no idea there was so much that went into picking out a tux!! But I think it went smooth and the guy there was very patient with getting the mannequin down and changing the combinations a million times so we could see everything! I don't have the group number in front of me but I don't think any of the guys actually look at this blog anyways, so they can get the official numbers later!

Alright, I'm off to bed as I have to be at work in less than 8 hours...More updates as they come! =)

Music, Music, MUSIC (and more!)

2010-01-07T20:31:00.000-06:00

Music is turning out to be a giant pain right now! Sean and I realized we are supposed to have done our "homework" before out meeting with the DJ next week, and we hadn't even started...Our homework was to start looking at music and get an idea of what we wanted for certain dances/entrances, and also songs for a "must play" and "do not play".

So far, here is what we have:

Absolutely nothing for sure....=) We have a lot of ideas but none that we are 100% on yet, so any ideas would be more than welcomed. I want to pick songs that are "us" but really we have lots of different tastes in music, with some overlap, but the overlap is not exactly covering all the areas! Here is what we have tentatively come up with (and this is just the reception, I don't think we have much choice for the ceremony as the church pretty much dictates that one!)

Cocktail hour:
both of us like the idea of doing a mix of Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin for this
and this would have to include: Mack the knife, come fly with me, I've got you under my skin, the way you look tonight, my way... as well as Dean's Sway, Volare, Thats Amore

I like these songs for dinner time too though, so we'll have to see what fits best...

Bridal party entrance:
I like either Justin T "Sexy Back" or Pink "get the party started"; Sean's pick is Flo rida "in the ayer" which Nico knows word for word and would be really funny if he would actually dance to it =) Maybe it can at least be the song for him and Zach when they walk in!! I also like Black Eyed Peas "I gotta feeling" or "lets get it started". See- WAY too many choices...=)

Not sure for our entrance but I'm hoping to convince Sean it should be Elvis (maybe burning love...) ha- love it!!
We are having a hard time deciding on a first dance song; originally we had Jason Mraz Lucky, then we changed it to Brad Paisley "then" (which is still my vote) and then as we are looking for music there are a ton of good song possibilities, so we'll see!

One that we are about 95% sure on is the song for the garter (I know, of all the things this is low on the importance list, but we came across this and both died laughing when I said we should use it for that!):
Christina Aguilera "dirrty" ~ awesome~ I figure those that may not appreciate it won't know the words anyways, so oh well!

I kinda like other Christina songs for the bouquet toss too, like Lady Marmalade or Aint no other man

Random songs we'll have to play at some point include: Pink "so what" (for Nico), Shakira "hips don't lie", some elvis classics, Miley cyrus "party in the usa"- don't knock it, its a good song =) And we'll have to play some Jason Mraz and Brad Paisley whether they are for specific dances or not.

So thats kinda where I'm at right now. I do have a few songs on my Do not play list including the macarena, chicken dance, and others I'm sure I'm not thinking of for a reason! Ha

Let me know opinions on the music and if you have any suggestions/requests~

Also, real quick, I have a few updates!

-Bouquets are in and fluffed and carefully stored, but can be taken out and admired at any time so please stop by and see (I can't stop getting them out and looking at them~ I'm kindof obsessed with them and TOTALLY LOVE THEM!)
-Pinwheels are coming along, most of paper in pinned on, just need to add the beads to cover the pin poking out of the wood in the back, and thats the easy part! Less than 50 I would say to still be put together completely- and I think I have way more than I need, but this way I can just toss the ones that get crushed or ruined and not freak out day of because I don't have enough nice ones! See- I'm thinking ahead to prevent bridezilla...
-Speaking of bridezilla, she reared her head along with (because of?) my monthly stress time and I had complete photography meltdown! As you know, or don't know, we hired a super inexpensive photographer really early on and she is the one that did our engagement photos. Well, I've had a few nights of sleepless tossing and turning freaking out slightly (tons!) about the whole "you get what you pay for" with the photography.
To sum up my craziness and not go into the insane thought processes my mind went to, I ended up asking Sean if he was ok if I switched photographers. To which he replies something like: "No, I'm not okay with it, but if it is what you want, then ok" Thats why I love him =) He really does want me to be happy, and hopefully I can be happy without him having a heart attack from the expenses!
So anyone interested can check out our new photographer, deposit paid today!, ae photography at http://www.photographyae.com/ They also have a blog thats pretty sweet and shows more picture examples. I'm totally in love with them and an SO excited to have made this decision. The only thing now is I have to break up with our previous photographer (who actually has a refundable deposit if we cancel early enough- which this is, and it was only $75 anyways, so we'll see!)
And I am at peace once again =) My sanity is worth the extra cost, right? What do you guys think of the photographer switcheroo?

Candice

hair and such

2010-01-06T19:06:00.002-06:00

Hey guys I have 2 others I am going to ask about doing our hair for the wedding and what they would charge. I know who is doing Candice's hair and 1 person can't do all of us in the time before the wedding so I have a couple friends that might be willing to help for a decent price. Did we find out anything else about make-up? I think I will start tanning in April so I can be golden-toasty by June. How has the shoe hunt been for everyone else? Any luck? Candice let me know when you are ready for some help call me up it's only a 3min drive max. and I'll be over to bruise my thumb or whatever is needed!
Bachlorette party....I'm up for anything spa's are nice, so is bar hopping, whatever you figure out will be a blast I'm sure! Can't wait.
I also want to say Heather I continue to hope for your multiple blessings to continue! Good luck with everything, you deserve it!
Anyone else get their dress besides Jennie? I should be getting mine in the next couple weeks so I can have time to shorten it. I dono how to get my picture of the dress with my shoes up here yet so I will work on that before the next post I hope!

pinwheels!

2010-01-06T15:44:00.002-06:00

Candice-I don't know why I forgot to tell you this when I talked to you yesterday but I had an idea on how to store/display the pinwheels. Last summer I had a container garden and have 4 long rectangle flower pots that we could spray paint and put the pinwheels in. They would look like flowers!!! They are plastic so I don't know how well the spray paint would work but if you want to try it they are all yours!!!

Need help finding shoes??

2009-12-28T20:50:00.000-06:00

I was at Kohls today and saw some super cute purple heels if anyone is having trouble finding shoes (*cough- Candice-cough*) you should check them out =) I actually found 2 pairs that I loved but they didn't have my size, so I'm thinking of heading over to the Machesney Park store just to see if they have them! These wouldn't work with my dress but I'm thinking they would be awesome for a shower or rehearsal type event...And I couldn't even find a pic on the website, so I guess you'll just have to go see for yourselves...=)
I'm hoping this is just a sign of more purple to come- what do you think?

I'm such a slacker

2009-12-26T19:31:00.000-06:00

Hello ladies- I have been a major slacker over my break from school. It's like as soon as my semester ends my brain decides to shut off for a little while...I think it got fried at the end and needs a break... Anyways I don't really have much new to tell anyone except I did order my shoes (finally decided!)- what I did was order the Nina shoes I have pictured below, but I got them in purple and in ivory so I don't have to decide yet which to wear for what parts of the day...
I love the idea of wearing the purple all day but I don't want my mom to be spazzing the day of. (Is spazzing even a word?? I think it should be if not...) So I have both and maybe I can wear the ivory at first and then change immediately after the ceremony. And if I decide to do that- its only fair to give you ladies a chance to wear black shoes to the ceremony if you want. But I def want some purple shoes for pics (Caurie found Old Navy has purple flipflops 2 for $5 so I may be picking those up in the near future...Awesome reception shoes anyone? =)
The only other update I can think of was an awesome end of the year clearance at this linen website where I picked up black satin table overlays (I think they are 85" square) to go over the white and make me feel better about the whole white linen thing. Less than $3.25 a piece and Free shipping- I can sell them for more than that after the wedding so I'm super pumped about that purchase!
We are still searching for a limo so if anyone has any insider connections let me know! The one I thought we were decided on now has not responded to my call or email, so its kinda up in the air for me now.
Beauty update: I did a "trial" spray tan (and eyebrow wax!) for the first time, and while the eyebrows make me feel more grown up and polished, the spray tan not so much. I like being tan and all but it feels kinda funny to be bronzed in december when I haven't been on vacation...So I'm going to search around for other tan options, maybe more of a build my own or not so dark at once type thing. What do you ladies do for tanning?

Shoe Check...

2009-12-22T20:31:00.002-06:00

I hear all are in for finding purple shoes. Mine are darker purple with a little lighter bow on the toes, peep toe. They are kind of higher heeled, but still comfortable for the day...and we all know we will take them off during the reception so I think I can survive a couple hours. Candice and myself went to check my shoes to my dress today and they looked lovely! Candice liked them so I hope you guys can find some cute shoes too! I have a link to the shoes in an earlier post if anyone wanted to check them out. I also continue to look at different shoes so if I come across other that you may like I will post them.
I am def in for some airbrushing make-up, flawless pictures please! haha
I may also have another hair dresser (or two) to come do our hair, I have to ask for sure though.
Can't wait to see everyone for our invite/cootie catcher/kleenex things/ drinks get together whenever we can!!

Busy busy

2009-12-18T22:39:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would give an update...I have been busy working on invitations- with the pocket cover, invitation mat, invitation itself, 3 inserts each with a backing, that is a hell of a lot of paper to cut!! Everything is printed and cut (I hope!!) barring any disasters where I need to redo or if my counting was off! I am now working on the folding of the pocket cover and glueing that together, and I've been working on the best way to stick the backing paper to the ivory paper inserts. double stick tape seems to work the best but I keep placing them slightly crooked and then I can't adjust it without ripping it, so I'm going back and forth with methods...
I have to say they are coming along, and as much as I feel like I'm getting a lot done, there are SO many more steps to do, so I'm trying to keep trucking along on them!

Also to update, I've been getting pics of the bouquets as they go through the process of being put together and I just got a new pic I thought I would share as they show the bouquets in our style (not the smaller toss style I had a pic of before!)

From left to right- Brides, MOH, BM

What do you guys think? I'm totally in love with them!! =)

I also made up some cards for a photo scavenger hunt type thing for the kids- my plan is to put together some sort of kids activity bag where I will put things like snacks, juice box, personalized coloring book (I have tons of pages saved from different websites that I can personalize with our info and then just put them together myself!) some random goody bag toys, and a disposable camera with this printout:

Hope you can read it ok! I thought it was cute and would be fun for the kids to take some random pictures to keep busy- any thoughts/ideas? I also have an adult photo scavenger hunt I haven't decided yet what to do with it, but our initial idea was to put disposable cameras on the tables with these signs:

But as I'm sure you can tell, it is rather small print and might not work out so well, so I need some suggestions for this...I have another list, slightly different, but you get the idea. I had wanted to try to get as many pics as possible, since we are saving some money on a less expensive photographer, but now I'm thinking the cameras might be too much...Oh well I have some time to figure it out I guess!

Besides getting as much of the invitations done as I can, other projects I wanted to plan/start/complete/work on over my christmas break are:

Card box (have supplies but haven't started yet!)
Tissue packets (started but not complete)
Pinwheels (at least get rest of paper cut- started already but lots left!)
DJ list of Must play/Do Not play (haven't even thought of- any suggestions?)
Inserts for photobooth pic sleeves (kinda started)
Table numbers (started planning)
Gather pics for slideshow (barely started!)
Format for place cards (need to pick questions/layout for cootie catchers!)
Pretty up baskets I bought super cheap for bathroom baskets (have supplies)

I'm sure there is more, but its late and my brain is fried! Ambitious, yes; Likely, no. But at least it helps me get an idea of how much more I have to do! Keeps me motivated to work on the endless piles of invites. 127 x invite x mat x insert1 x insert 2 x insert 3 x 3 mats for inserts x pocket cover x bellyband x monogram squares = LOTS OF HOURS
Ha =)

shoes/hair/makeup

2009-12-15T16:33:00.003-06:00

I am in for Caurie's purple shoes but if they are the ones with the huge heel I need to get them now so I can practice (I'm not worried about falling, I'm worried about staying upright in general). Also, I will def need to have my hair done as I am hair challenged. My cousin does hair so if need be I can have her do it. Next-Nikki's airbrushing makeup person sounds awesome!

Finally-are any of the ladies planning on tanning before the wedding. I am shockingly pale year round so if everyone is planning on tanning I will start looking into sunless alternatives.

Candice- I am so excited Katelyn got her ears pierced! That jewelry will look so cute with her dress!

I'm in! I'm in!!

2009-12-14T15:45:00.001-06:00

Ok. I just figured out how to become a contributer to the blog instead of just a follower. woohoo!
So, I love the idea of the purple shoes! LOVE IT!! I am also in for getting my hair done. And just let me know about a get together - I am pretty open and pretty flexible.

Not sure what people (or Candice really) was thinking about jewelery - I found this cool site that has crystals - although they only offer copper chains . I really liked the simple one:
http://wedreamincolour.com/jade/chandelier_000.html

Candice, if you don't like it - I am not offended at all! I just wanted you to know that I am taking an active role here!

:)

wow.

2009-12-14T10:28:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I thought it would tell me when there were new posts, but I guess not! I finally caught up. Here are my thoughts...
Shoes: purple shoes sound really cool, I am for it. Just tell me which kind and I will get it. Candice, for your shoes, you may want to get something with a strap, it will help you feel more stable and minimize the chance of falling, which you won't.

Get together - I am for it, its just a matter of finding time to get to rockford! I believe I have weekends booked through January at this point! But since the engagement party is on the 16th, would anyone like to get together the day before?

Hair - Candice, sign me up, I will get my hair done by whomever. as for Makeup, my friend Angela did Lindsey's makeup and I believe she was only 25$ more (or maybe even cheaper if we have more girls do it) and would come to your house. She also can do airbrushing, which makes you super photogenic - its used on runway models to achieve the flawless look. Trust me, it is not easy to run around all morning long. Also, I have done the makeup counter before and it depends on the counter, some only require that you buy something, not a set price.

Since things come up so fast, can we try to set a tentative date and plan for the bacholorette party? Candice, what would you like? Did you want to do vegas, or a crazy night in chicago? A spa weekend somewhere? Stay in Rockford? Let me know! Ladies, are there any weekends that don;t work? I will have class on some weekends, but by March I should have an idea of when classes will be so I can be free for both the Bacholorette and the wedding!

OOPS

2009-12-14T06:18:00.000-06:00

I just realized that I posted about the flower girl just then, but I never officially did any sort of intro for the little ones in the party, so here is a brief (hopefully) update on the good looks of the wedding party:
Katelyn (as seen in pics below) is my niece who will be 5 for the wedding. She is such a girl, and I think she'll just love wearing a dress and getting all made up for the day =) Here is a better pic (not in her pajamas!)

Katelyn's Dad, Kris, is one of the groomsmen and my only brother. Kris's other child is Connor, who will be 6 for the wedding, and he will be out ringbearer! Here is a pic of Connor that I have on my computer (These are older pics of Katelyn and Connor but it is all I have handy- maybe I'll get new pics for X-mas!) =) Anyways here's Connor- he'll look so cute all decked out in a tux

And I can't forget about our 2 special Junior Groomsmen! One of which is my son Nico- I think everyone here knows Nico, he will be 7 for the wedding (way too old to be a ringbearer...) =) But here is a pic anyways:

He was quite toothless when we got our pics done this fall!!

And the other Jr man is Sean's little brother Zach (I think most of you know him, also too old to be ringbearer...!)
Well I can't seem to find one of Zach that I like, so his will be coming shortly...

Thats it for the kids- hope you enjoyed =)

Important announcement! (and shoe update...)

2009-12-13T21:38:00.000-06:00

I have received some exciting news tonight everyone- our beautiful flower girl (my niece and Kris's daughter) Katelyn agreed to get her ears pierced just so she could get some pretty earrings for the wedding! How adorable is that?!?! I love it and am so excited to get her some pretty jewelry now...Sorry Kris for introducing your 4 year old to jewelry at such a young age, but it will totally be worth it for the wedding =)

Here are the pics my sister in law sent of little Katelyn

SO cute =)

On another note, I have another shoe update...

I wanted to get some feedback on how the ladies feel about wearing purple shoes...I have been dying to wear purple, and if you can't tell from previous posts, I've been very indecisive and not having a fun time looking for ivory...SO Caurie got these awesome purple shoes, and I thought if you all wear purple then I can wear purple and it will look SO awesome for pictures! Let me know what you think- if you aren't reading this like you're supposed to then you just have to go along with whatever decision I make...=)

For the Ladies:

2009-12-13T16:18:00.000-06:00

I feel like I never really learned how to put on makeup. And now I am trying to decide if I am going to pay someone to do it for me for the wedding. I'm thinking it's completely a no brainer that Yes I will pay someone to do something I do everyday (ok not everyday but most days!) and apply makeup. However, it seems to be quite pricy to have someone come to the house to do it, so is anyone else up for hitting Macy's that morning and getting makeup done with me? I got a referral for a girl at the MAC counter there who I stalked out as "the one with the tattoos" cause I couldn't remember her name. And she's really cool, so I def want to use her! She couldn't give me an exact quote on price (I don't know how many people wanted it done!) and said it is usually a minimum of $200 but never over $500 regardless of how many. But if we set up an appt that day and go to the counter it is free with a $50 purchase. So price could be comparable but if we go there we get to keep something- lipstick and powder or something I'm guessing would cover the 50 pretty quick! I'm going to do a trial a few months beforehand, so hopefully I'll get a better idea then, but can you guys tell me if interested at all in getting makeup done? They have all the other make up counters there too so maybe others are less expensive...
Wow that seemed like a lot about a little thing, but let me know what you think and if you would like to be able to get your makeup done or just DIY...And since I know everyone will be reading and responding to this, let me know if you want to get your hair done too- I have Sean's cousin doing mine and will look into someone else if needed!! Thanks =)

shoes

2009-12-11T10:27:00.002-06:00

Wow that new pic of shoes is the lower heel? Can't wait to see the rehearsal dinner heels-yikes! I am not a good blogger, sorry. Going with Candice today to order my dress. Caurie, I'm going to make her stand next to me in the one you are getting to make sure they don't look goofy. I'll let you know!

More shoes drama

2009-12-11T08:09:00.000-06:00

Ok I thought the dress was supposed to be the hard part, not the shoes!! I went shoes shopping with mom yesterday and found they carry the nina brand at Bergners (way excited to actually try on some of the other styles as I LOVE my purple shoes) Since I really don't want to faceplant down the aisle, I thought I would find some lower heels and maybe more comfortable...and I found these:

What do you think?? Much more comfy and still cute right??

2009-12-10T16:43:00.006-06:00

Here are a couple I have, my dad is not as easy to get a picture of so I will keep hunting!

Pictures: Sean and I's mom

Sean teaching me the right way to deal with pain in the butt guys, haha or just sibiling love!

By the way my shoes came, they are lovely!! I can't wait to try them with my dress and get the bride's approval!

How is everything going for the rest of the gang? Candice and I are chatty on here...what's new with everyone. When should we get together to do invites and such??

Help with pictures please!

2009-12-09T21:59:00.000-06:00

Ok Ladies and gents- I need your help! I am trying to get updated pictures of everyone in the wedding party and this is proving to be more difficult than I imagined! Please email me or post on the blog a more recent pic (or really any pic of you that you like!) and also if anyone has good pics of someone else in the wedding party or any of the parents, that would be helpful too! Thanks in advance =)

Sad day...

2009-12-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

It is a sad day here in wedding land, as the shoe I always wanted became the shoe I can't walk in...Yes its true, my lovely purple shoes I put a pic of in a previous post are not going to be my wedding shoes. I'm holding out that I can wear them to the rehearsal, but we'll see! I told Caurie and her mom tonight that if I do wear them, maybe I can get my fall out of the way and then I won't have to worry about it on the actual wedding day! I will miss you, my perfect shoes, and I will practice to wear you someday as I just can't seem to return you just yet...
And now my search for wedding shoes continues, purple or ivory? Low heel or high? Is there a shoe that is comfortable and not too "bridal"??

Check it out

2009-12-05T23:43:00.002-06:00

Groom and Parent Boutonnieres
Originally uploaded by rbkcreations

Got pics today from the awesome crafters making our flowers and bouquets- check out the boutonniers (I still can't spell that word...) and the corsages (bout are bottom 3 and 3 on top are corsages)

The rest are on flickr if you want to see them I can send a link...

So excited for these- I just love how they look!!
Just to clarify- these have ivory ribbon as they are the parents and Seans (mine will have Ivory too) but everyone else will have black ribbon stems. =)

Beef- its whats for dinner...

2009-12-03T20:31:00.001-06:00

Ok- I've been slacking on the guys post, so here is a rundowm for everyone!
Let’s hear it for the boys…

I swear that’s a song, right? It’s completely stuck in my head now! =) Alright, I’m trying to compile on the info on the groomsmen but I don’t think I have pics of everyone so I will see how it goes and add more later! Hopefully I can get more details from Sean- I’m not very good at what everyone does and what not… Drumroll please:

Sean will have two best men to pair up with my two MOH: (In no particular order)

Dave:

Friend of Sean’s, they lived together at college-(NIU), and I’m sure they have stories I don’t want to hear about. The great thing about Dave is he won’t try to tell me! =) Married to Heather (one of my girls), and works for his family business LDR construction. I’m just hoping Dave does the worm at our reception (sorry Heather!)

Jake:

Friend of Sean’s since they were little, I’m sure he has some embarrassing pic of them from grade school and I am hoping to post it as soon as I can get a hold of it… I hope I’m getting this part right- works for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance, I’m not sure what the exact title is (Help me out here guys!) but I didn’t even know for my own sister so what do you expect?!? Also lives and works in Rockford, recently bought a house (YAY!) and has the scariest basement- Seriously these muskies are HUGE!

Obviously (or maybe not to everyone) not Jake but since he has managed to elude any photo op from yours truly, Jake is now undercover as Elvis Himselvis...Real pic to be added at some point- Jake is really much cuter than older fat elvis =)

And for the rest of the men:

Kris:

is my only brother, currently lives and works in Boise, ID. Went to Boylan (like most or all of the rest of the guys I believe) then Bradley U, then moved far far away! Married with 2 adorable kids (my flower girl and ring bearer!) works as an electrical engineer I believe. Kris I hope you get a chance to look at this so you can see who everyone is!! Hopefully we figure out a Vegas trip, even if its after the wedding!

Jeremiah:

Always good to have the law on your side, right? =) Works for the Rockford PD, helps keep us out of trouble…I think- ha. Also friends with Sean since they were young so same deal for the pics as with Jake! Gotta love a man in uniform…

Jeremiah has also managed to sneak away somehow- I will have to dig around and find something- I know I have pictures of you somewhere!! =)

**I am facebook stalking these boys- here is one I found from Blakes wedding of Jeremiah:
You no longer have to be fat elvis...sad day I know!

Tony:

Also a friend of Seans from way back when. Tony was recently serving our country in the US Army, was over in Iraq for a while, now is down in TX (Fort Hood no less), actually off base I believe as he is done officially with the army, but stays in the area with his fiancé! To be married in February I recently discovered- so Congrats on that and I hope Sean can make it!! I know he is SO happy you are able to come and be a part of our wedding!

I gotta say a big thanks to our whole bridal party, especially grateful for everyone who can come in from out of town to make our day even more special!! I know- I’m super cheesy!

So that’s the boys- I will be trying to add any missing pics as I get them- until then enjoy Elvis Himselvis...

Shoes too!

2009-12-01T18:26:00.005-06:00

That is to funny! I was just going to get on here and post about what shoes you wanted for us...whether they should be similar or what color you'd prefer! I'm online looking at shoes and of course I can justify them if it's for the wedding! haha For us I wondered if they should be heels, stappy, and just black..or what color you'd prefer.

The shoes you put up would be great for the reception I think they'd be comfortable and they are very cute!

Found these too if we knew all sizes....they seem like limited avail. though...
Search Kuma Patent Satin Rose Thong Sandals by Michael Antonio (found it with a couple sizes on amaon.com $29.90)

Okay I bought a pair of shoes we will see how they look when they get here.....

From ShiekhShoes.com 64572 is the SKU Candice you might even want to steal them haha although the height is the same as the ones you just got so who knows.

shoes for reception??

2009-12-01T17:47:00.001-06:00

Ok ladies- I may be thinking super crazy as I already ordered 2 pairs of shoes, but I came across this website that is so awesome! Check this out: http://www.ssekodesigns.com/
I love the idea of these shoes (for the reception if nothing else!) as the shoes I ordered both have a 3 1/2 inch heel and I really don't want to trip and fall on my face...

Let me know what you guys think- I put in a request for purple just to see if the cost goes down with more pairs ordered, but they already have black available! And read the story, its really a neat idea and would make me feel better buying another pair of shoes for this one day...=)

Add on:
Ok here is a picture of the purple heels I ordered and am anxiously awaiting to try on!! I was obsessed with these, and then when they had a sweet sale, I just had to get them...Good return policy if they don't work so I had to try!!

get together

2009-12-01T10:16:00.002-06:00

Caurie is right we do need to get together! I love the black linen for the table-it will look great with white tablecloths. The dates Candice listed to get together are good except for the 3rd & 7th I am on call but could come depending on the time (and if I get calls). I penciled in the engagement party on my calender.

There is nothing old lady about knitting and/or crocheting. I can crochet but not well & want to learn how to knit. Its handy! I made my own scarf and many for gifts over the last 3 years.

I do think drinks are in order as it has been far too long since I have had one! :)

Hopefully Heather has nice handwriting since Caurie and I are out.

Quick update:

2009-11-30T20:09:00.000-06:00

In trying to get out of working on my paper (#3 out of 4 this month) I decided to do a quick update...Totally not my fault, I got my box of paper and envelopes today and I just HAD to play around and make up a sample invitation!! Anyways here it is:

So the pic on the right shows the envelope (but the color is a little off!)

And I have to figure out what to put on the top square of the belly band (love that name for the wrap on the invite)...I had a monogram all ready but it has our names and a P and then I read I shouldn't use the P before the wedding... I guess I'll have to play around with something new!

And earlier this week I also got the table squares for the reception...Since linens are expensive and we are poor, I have resigned myself to the white tablecloths at Giovannis and no chair covers, but I did want to do something on the top to break up the white! So I ordered black napkins (which I don't have yet), and these black and white damask table squares that will sit in the center of the tables, as well as runners for the head table! Here is a pic:

Love these! They are around 20"x20" I believe. What do you guys think? This with the cake, some votives, and black napkins...Should work right? And the best part is I can totally sell these and the napkins after to get at least some of my money back! OK- enough stalling, but I wanted to keep everyone updated!!

And mom said she is planning an engagement party for Jan 30th (tentative date) so let me or her know if that doesn't work out!!

Get together

2009-11-25T20:14:00.000-06:00

Caurie- great idea! I have off school for about 4 weeks, so maybe we can all get together at my place for drinks and crafting. Ha- I'm such an old lady...I actually was talking with one of our managers about getting a group together to learn how to knit and crochet- I've always wanted to finish learning how and she offered to teach me (and another girl..) Yeah yeah I'm old, whatever.

Along with being old, I am also completely OCD...I don't know if this is a new thing or just being brought out in full force, but whatever it is, at least some people are getting a kick out of it (not to name any names Sean, Caurie, Dad...) My "binder" that was referred to is my new planning book since I grew out of the old one. Literally, my planning notebook was falling apart at the seams. So I am cutting and taping and organizing so everything is in one neat binder with page protectors and everything. Go ahead, you can laugh. I would.

Se here are some of the evening/nights that work for me (I know not for everyone as some are during the week but I have a weird schedule!): Dec 19th or 27th; Jan 2,3,7,8 If we could figure out which of these works, maybe we can all get together. Let me know what you think!!

Thoughts....

2009-11-24T23:35:00.003-06:00

I love the bouquets as well, and the felt will be lighter than holding all those buttons. They look fuller in the felt, and I think they will look great with our dresses. As for my handwriting....well it can be nice if it needs to be, haha, don't expect calligraphy though! I'm always around to fold as well when you are ready just let me know!

I am hoping for the best for you Heather.

Candice, put the binder for wedding stuff down and back away until the semester is over in a couple weeks. I promise it will still be there when your papers are done!

After everyone is done with school and other things we will have to get together for a pow-wow on things and get those paper projects done...or at least make a dent in them!

Hope to see you all soon!

Felt flowers and envelopes

2009-11-22T17:24:00.003-06:00

I LOVE the felt flower bouquet!! They look so cool! Also, on the centerpieces with the flowers you could put black rocks in the bottom and that would look cool! On to the envelopes-I don't think you have to have 2 inner envelopes (it's more environmentally friendly not to). Also, Heather is right, having the DJ announce photo booth is awesome idea.

(Side note-Heather I hope procedure goes well! Will be praying for you guys!)

Back to wedding stuff-love the invitation paper. Do not have nice hand writing so will not be able to help address-I vote we check school teacher Caurie's handwriting.

Willing to help you fold millions of pieces of paper anytime (will even bring Chloe after she gets her stitches out to help de-spoil Sophie and Chloe).

Candice-focus on your papers! The semester is almost over then you will have a month to finalize and fold!!!

Tissue Paper

2009-11-22T13:37:00.003-06:00

Okay... In my comment to Candice's last update I wondered what the Tissue holders were for. Well, I figured it out (by re-reading the first DIY post). Questions still floating around in my head are the following: When do you give them away? At the church for the ceremony? With the programs? Who will distribute them?

I do like the hydrangeas on the cakes idea. Especially b/c there will remain a centerpiece on each table after the cakes have been removed. Are you doing white hydrangeas on white cakes? If so, how have you decided to tie in purple? Have you thought about table cloths and chair covers? And... maybe if you need something to tie in purple... you could do it with the favors (a little something letting them know about the photo booth). I'd also maybe have the DJ mention something about the photo booth just to keep reminding your guests to take their pictures.

I like the 'full' look of the felt flowers. And I think it's proper etiquette to have two envelopes for your invites...but I don't think it's necessary. Invitations come in all forms. I've gotten everything from an invite on a bottle of wine, to a postcard (yeah...those were really their invites) to a regular "Hallmark" looking card, to a formal invite with all the envelopes and tissue papers and invites. It's up to you...but whatever you choose... I'd really like to help. We're avoiding public places for awhile with all this flu stuff going around (We have our 'procedure' 11/25 and 11/30 which is why I can't risk getting sick). So... I've got nothing but time if you don't have any bugs!

Updates on paper DIY

2009-11-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

Hi again- I guess this is turning into my personal wedding diary, but I'm going to update anyway, at least I'll look at it... =)
I took a few pics of some things I have been working on, so you can see MY versions of the example pics I posted before. The invites will have to wait- I ordered some paper and am working on a template design...who knew it would be this hard?? I am having some second thoughts about doing the invites, but I really like the idea of doing it myself (maybe the same part of myself that had the brilliant idea of grad school...) And maybe I just want to be able to say I did it, but regardless, I ordered $200 worth of paper and envelopes so I'm pretty much stuck now!
For the rest of my projects:
Here is a pic of the tissue packs I am making:

Those are kindof a side job as I get scraps from the pinwheels and everything else!

Here is a pic of the one lonely pinwheel I've made so far. I'm debating whether to keep it like this, or I have some of those different edged scissors I can use to cut into the square which might have a cool effect to it...Stay tuned for updates on that..

I'm not sure why that didn't rotate, but the stick poking out of the left side is attached and that is the holder. I love how these look! =)

Then One last thing I have is the vases for my centerpieces; as you may remember (or forgot) we are doing the cakes on the tables, but not all of them as each cake serves more than 10. The point is, we need some kind of centerpiece for about 1/3 of the guest tables as well as something for after the cake is served on each table, so heres the plan: Each cake will have a white hydrangea on top and the centerpieces will have this square candle holder with a white hydrangea on top so they all match:

Except it will be a real flower and white, not this fake purple I bought. And the cake tables will have the glass under the cake and then when they take the cake away, the hydrangea will go on top of the glass. and then everything will match. We will also have some of these on the head table, in between the vases with bouquets in them. I was pretty excited about these- I'm using Cherry Blossom and the owner Jodee is so awesome. She is giving me a great deal and doesn't even charge any delivery or set up fees. Lovin it!

Ok- well I have to get back to work on my paper comparing and contrasting two different types of theoretical frameworks for group psychotherapy...sounds fun right? And you wonder why I have pages and pages of blog...

Candice

Bouquet question!

2009-11-18T07:43:00.002-06:00

Is anyone even there?? Feedback would be helpful here people....=) I now have a question on the bouquets- I was SUPER excited about my button bouquets and I still absolutely LOVE them, and the problem is now I have TWO ideas I love...Here is a picture of my toss bouquet that Brenda sent me (brenda is one of the duo that makes these) and the toss bouquet was a different style so as not to knock any single ladies out- it has felt flowers with the buttons on top. I will try to get a picture of the sample bouquet I already have in the other style- I will add it later today! These are lighter and more of a full look- here is the pic she sent me:

So this is before the black ribbon is tied on, but I totally love this style too!!! So I need to take a poll and figure out what you guys like! She is shipping me this one ahead before starting anything else so I can decide- no price difference so that doesn't help..
How often do I have problems where I have TWO awesome options...Never, so I can't complain but I am totally stuck here! Help please....

***Update: Here are some pics of the 'sample' bouquet I bought before I made the official order- The main difference will be the wire will be silver (same as Toss bouquet) and the MOH and mine will be bigger. Here are some pics I took tonight:

The color is much more like the one on the left, I'm not sure what happened to the other one...

Etiquette Help

2009-11-15T23:22:00.000-06:00

Ok all I have a really stupid question for you about envelopes (or at least I think its pretty stupid!):
Since I'm making the invites, I of course had to pick this weird shape 4 x 9, and I can't find two sized envelopes to do an inner and outer envelope! Do I absolutely have to have both or can I just make a nice lined outer envelope that one of you pretty ladies will help me address with your nice handwriting??? If I have to have 2, then I basically have to redo my entire invitation to get a different shape and I really don't want to be super bridezilla already...!
Any help?

Hey Everyone!

2009-11-15T22:05:00.003-06:00

I hope this works, as I too am blog illiterate. The invitations look great, Sean showed me one today and I am ready to help fold all the paper. Jennie the dress you like is pretty too, my favorite for all those who don't know is F13573. I believe it is the first picture on Candice's post the one with flowers in her hand. I think Elvis is a must, it wouldn't be Candice's day without him! I look forward to all the updates and such on here!

Errrr???

2009-11-15T15:13:00.003-06:00

I'm not computer savy (hence "No Facebook"). So, I hope this posts where it's supposed to. Great intro's Candice! Your wedding is going to be gorgeous, whimsical, and fun! And Jenny... (a tid bit of info I learned from that there internet machine) the correct term for the chinese-paper-foldy-thingys are...wait for it... waaaaiiiiit for it... COOTIE CATCHERS! Now that's just fun to say! Anyhoo, I love the idea of the button boquets (plus they last forever) and they will be completely unique to Candice & Sean's wedding. I love the wedding dress! I'm pretty excited to pick out the bridesmaid dress as well! Let's keep posted on who gets what. Can't wait to find out more details. Candice: Let me know if you need any help with anything. From picking out questions, to constructing invites, to folding "Cootie Catchers" I'm there for ya.

PS: I'm stoked about the photo booth! That's the coolest thing EVER!

Jennie

2009-11-13T13:40:00.003-06:00

Ok-I'm Jennie and am completely blog illiterate. I attempted to upload a more recent photo and it kept taking forever-technology (my nemesis @ times). I am so excited about Candice and Sean's wedding and am completely willing to help in any way from motivating to dress shopping to folding a million placecards/chinese thingys. I will not however be willing to foot the bill for this as Candice is right, I just bought a house (and puppy). I don't know if Candice wants up to all wear different dresses or some have the same dresses but here is the style I like the best #8567. I liked the one Caurie picked out too but when I put this one on it was amazing!

The photo booth is the coolest thing I have ever heard of (next to the place cards)! I can't wait to see how this all will look because it is going to be AWESOME! Candice if Sean gives you grief about the Elvis cut out I may have to get it for you as a wedding present :)

Jennie

Co MOH signs in

2009-11-12T15:12:00.002-06:00

Hello! I am Niki, Candice's older older sister (but not 'bigger' as the runt of the family, i waved big sister bye a loooong time ago)
First, Can - yea!!!! I am already workign on my speech and can not WAIT to plan the bachlorette. I think Sara and I owe you some hard core drinkin' times.
Second - um, you can come this way too! Nico has been to my place more then you!
Third - you have so many amazing ideas - this is going to be gorgeous. I love the button bouquets and the different black dresses. Question - do you want us to get the same type of fabric to keep the color as close to the same as possible? Do you want them 'plain' black, meaning no sequins, etc? sara and I were at a wedding this past weekend, and the color was purple, and they all got to get different dresses, which was so cool coming down the aisle. Do you think we should let each other know what dresses we get, so we don't duplicate?

I will be happy to help and see what I can do for your variety of questions - and feel free to send some crafty projects my way. Here is one thing I learned - don't forget to count the time you are spending to make things as a cost. Sometimes, it is worth it to spend a little extra to have the time to get other things done.

Ladies - it was nice to meet you all, Caurie, I believe you were at my mom's house when you were little for a bridal/baby shower of some kind and found our cat's offering of rabbit heads on the front walk. Who knew we would be family! Heather and Jennie, I can't wait to meet you in person!
I can be reached at newearth11@gmail.com if anyone wants to talk wedding...

Updating the bridal party! Intros, ideas, and DIY

2009-11-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

SO here is the blog form of the newsletter (already emailed to the ladies, new to anyone else!)

I wanted to start out and let everyone know who else is in the wedding
PART ONE

Cue Intros:

I will have two maids of honor as I have two lovely sisters who both are equally important to me and I need them both up there with me on my wedding day!

Here is a pic I snatched off facebook of them both:

Niki on the left, Sara on the right! Niki lives and works in Chicago for a title company (sorry Niki, I’m not exactly sure WHAT it is you do there…Sales I think!), recently got a sweet apartment I haven’t gotten to see yet! And Sara recently graduated from law school and passed the IL bar, lives in Chicago as well with her boyfriend Josh (who will hopefully be an usher for us in the wedding!).

As for the rest of the bridal party, (the girls at least), we have Sean’s sister Caurie, recent grad of NIU who teaches at a private school here in Rockford. Here’s Caurie (also stolen off facebook- I sense a theme here!):

The final two ladies are two of my awesome girl friends that I can’t wait to party with and will need them to make me laugh when I feel like crying!!

I met Jennie in nursing school- one of a select few good things that came out of that place (besides Sean of course!) =) Also lives and works in Rockford, recently bought a house (yay jennie) and got a puppy and works crazy hours as a hospice nurse. I owe this girl big time as I almost didn’t want to even go dress shopping but Jennie was excited enough for the both of us and I found my dress! (More on the dress later!)

And Heather I met the first night I went out with Sean. She was dating one of his best friends at the time (and now is married to him!) and has been a great example of how awesome married life can be! =) As Heather is not on facebook- I had to crop a picture, so I hope you can see it:

Heather also lives and works in Machesney Park/Rockford with her hubby Dave (one of Sean’s best men) and two beautiful HUGE dogs =)

Ok- so that’s it for intros of the ladies- intros of Sean’s boys will be saved for the next installment…

Now that you all know each other, kind of, I’m going to try to update everyone on what’s going on with the wedding planning and what not.

PART TWO:

I’m going to try to post some pics of my inspirations for my wedding planning. I have a huge book and multiple folders and post its full of random clips and notes I’ve jotted down, so it will be hard to get the full effect just from what I have online. But I’ll try to give you a general idea of where everything is headed so you are all in the loop! Since my dress is ivory instead of white, my “black and white” theme has changed to black and ivory…but I kind of have an assortment of things thrown in, so we’ve figured it is a traditional theme (like the black and white) but with a few quirks, as it wouldn’t be our wedding if it fit completely inside of “the box”. However, I like the damask details that seem to be fairly traditional, and they don’t really come in black and ivory, so hopefully the lighting will be dim and it won’t be noticeable! To start, here is an example picture of the cake design:

I’m hoping she can make the frosting more of an off white! We are doing the cake a little different too- we will have cakes on each table as the centerpiece (all on a cake stand) and then the cake table will actually only have a smaller 2 tiered version for us to cut. This way, all we have to worry about for centerpieces is some sort of décor around the cake stand (I’m thinking some flower petals and maybe some damask votives.

Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas-I seem to keep making adjustments to everything already! I need to make up my mind I think…

To stick with that theme- here is a picture example of the card box I am making- except mine will be purple ribbon and I plan on having a big “P” I’ll paint and put on the top. I found the boxes at Hobby Lobby on sale for less than $4 each in that pattern exactly, got the ribbon for 1.50 and an mdf “p” on sale for $1. Probably the best bargain I’ve gotten for the wedding!

I love it- I just hope I can put it together without ruining it!

This next project Heather is helping me with (Thank you!!) as I was going to buy them but she figured out how to do them herself- (and Heather I promise I will get you those questions ASAP!)

These are fortune tellers (or cootie catchers I have learned is another name) that will be printed on ivory and purple I’m thinking and will be used as place cards- they will have our names, the date, the guests name and their table number. Inside will be questions about me and Sean with the answers under the flap. This was one of the first things I found in my planning and I still love the idea (see- one of those quirky things!) Anyways- here is a pic of the idea:

Other things we are doing for the reception:

Photo Booth!

I’m so excited about this- this guy named George runs this company and he gave me a pretty good deal (which helps because I just had to have this!) He will print 2 strips of 4 pics- one goes to the guest and the other in a scrapbook for us, which doubles as our guest book as he will have markers an pens for people to sign and put their picture in the book. I’ve been thinking about buying a life size elvis cutout to keep by the photo booth as I still want a picture of me with elvis for my wedding…What do you guys think? I can’t decide if Sean will appreciate that or not…But I found one of Elvis in a tux and its only like $35- totally appropriate if he’s dressed in a tux right?

Also for the photo booth, I want to bring a white board or chalk board of some kind for people to write on and can hold up in their pics. George supplies an assortment of other props to be used. We can use it as much as we want, no limit to number of pictures and we have it for 4 hours of the reception.

Also going with the photobooth- I’m looking at getting purple tickets (like a ticket roll) and putting them with a sign on each table to let people know about the booth- I hope I can get everyone in it!

OH- heres one you guys will like to know about- I’m doing something a little different for bouquets as well (another quirk)- they are made out of buttons- they will be a mix of ivory and purple with black ribbon wrapped around the handle. The lady making them for me even did a matching pomander ball for Katelyn (flower girl) and is putting matching buttons on an ivory pillow for ring bearer. Boutonnieres and corsages will all match and be different sizes (grooms and dads bigger than ushers and what not)- here is a few example pics:

I got a sample bouquet in the mail last week and I’m completely in love with it! If you can’t really tell from the pics, the seller has a bunch of pictures on flickr and her id is rbkcreations (I found her on etsy- where I seem to have found most of my ideas!)

I hope you guys like them as much as I do, and if not- I don’t want to hear it as I already get it from mom!

Why is it that I have so much to let you guys know, but I feel like I have SO much left to do still?

Moving on to Attire:

I think everyone is on board with colors and styles right? Long Black dress- that’s my only requirement. I want everyone to be comfortable and happy with it, so please pick whatever you like and from whatever store (doesn’t have to be davids- that’s just what is available here!) I think we’ve already emailed some pics around, but here are a few I saved:

I love all of these, and I think any black would look fine next to each other! I know this seems rather haphazard but whenever you find something and want to order- go ahead! Just remember if you do get it from Davids, they should give you the discount (I think it was $20 off) if you go through my name/account. Let me know as you do order, so I can keep track and have pics and what not!

They will all look fabulous with my dress, which I will not be posting pics of as the boys will also be open to this blog!
Any help with veil ideas would be great- I didn’t even really want one, but I feel like I should at least for the church! I still need to find shoes too if anyone sees anything around- let me know! I thought about maybe getting purple shoes (you can’t see them really anyways) and I thought it would be fun- I don’t really want ivory shoes that I’ll never wear again…

Part Three:

This is where I really need help! I have had the hardest time finding invitations that I love that are in my price range…so I had the bright idea of making my own invitations. Mind you- I will need over 125 of them. So I came up with something I liked and then couldn’t find the paper, so I came up with about 4 or 5 other things I like, and now I can’t decide! I’m going to post some pics of examples, but really mine is different as I’m doing the pocketfold but without the flap that folds over, if that makes sense. Here are some pics I found that are close:

I’ve got one style that has 5x7 on each side and just folds in half- one 5x7 is invite, and other is pocket side with RSVP and Reception card in it. The second style is 4x9 on each side (without that flap on the left) and set up similar to the other size. My outer (pocketfold) is black and then I have a purple mat under the ivory invitation. The cards in the pocket are ivory as well. Hard to decide without seeing but what do you guys think? When folded, I have tried either ribbon with a monogram seal or a paper band with a monogram seal (wrapped around one half only- not really wrapped around to hold closed or anything). Any feedback would be AWESOME- I’m super stressed about this right now and at this point I refuse to buy them- I have almost everything I need to make them at less than $200 and I’m really trying to do this without spending more than I have too! I think my tastes are too expensive for my budget…These pocketfold invites are around $5 each to buy them already made- no way am I going to pay that for paper!

Other paper goods I am making (since I’m on a DIY roll): pinwheels for when we walk out of the church- I have various shades of ivory, black, and purple but here is an example:

I can’t figure out how to get them to spin and stay attached, so they may not actually spin…but they still look pretty! These were super cheap too- the wood dowels to hold them were 0.21 and that will be cut to make 3 stems. And the paper is 6x6 so I got 4 out of each 12x12 scrapbook paper (which was on sale 4/$1 at Michaels!) So besides the time to make them, they aren’t any more expensive than bubbles =)

I also wanted to make tissue holder (sappy like “tears of joy” packets out of paper but didn’t like the tutorials I found online, so I kinda made my own out of my scraps from cutting paper to make everything else! Here is a sample pic that I looked at for shape:

Mine are patterned so I’m not sure if they will have a label or anything, but they are fairly self explanatory, right?

The last (hopefully) project I am doing is the programs. I found this really pretty ivory cardstock and ordered a whole bunch of it – for the covers of the program, and I guess I will do plain ivory paper for the info inside as I think with the mass we will need more than 1 sheet. I’m totally lost as what to do for the programs- I like the tall look (kinda like the 4x9 invite) but if I make them square and do 6x6 size, I can get 2 out of each sheet of cardstock…Here are some example pics:

Any thoughts? As we don’t have anything finalized for the ceremony yet, I’m not too worried about these (yet!). They are lower on my do to list at this point anyways.

Wow this was much more lengthy than I thought…Sorry if I bored everyone- I just wanted to try to keep everyone updated and make sure everyone is in the loop and has all the info. One more thing I’m going to throw out there is if anyone has any connections for linens/chair covers- I am in need of some serious string pulling here!

And last but certainly not least, I want to thank each and every one of you for being there for me and for being a part of this experience! It wouldn’t be the same without you all with me! =)

As Nico would say:

Peace out yo-

Candice