Candy, candy, candy, candy....

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!

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??

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

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!

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!

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...

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?