More Paper Samples

Well, you've already seen the first part of our invitation suite, but what about the rest?  We have decided to do pocketfolds, and while these may not be unique anymore, they are beautiful and easy to put together.  Since this is completely a DIY operation, I needed to decide what to do about paper for the other elements of the suite: response card, accommodations, and directions/map cards.

I did not want to go the traditional route of having everything be on a solid color paper, so I decided to go look at more scrapbook paper since it seems to be thick enough and big enough for me to get multiple of each size card out of one sheet.

In staying with our color palette, I decided to use green and yellow paper for the response card and accommodations card, but since there will be a map printed on the backside of the directions card, that I would just stick with white.

After ordering a ton of different paper samples, we have decided to go with these two:

Bo Bunny Press Double-Dot Paper - Kiwi Green / Image via Scrapbook.com

Doodlebug Design Petite Prints Collection - Dot Grid Bumblebee / Image via Scrapbook.com

Since these are the only pictures of the paper on the website, they don't really show you exactly what we'll be using.  The green paper has a swirly green look to it on the side they only show the corner of, and that's actually the side we will be using, not the one with the dots.  And for the yellow paper, we will be using the side with the grid. We felt that while the dots on both of the papers would make it match, it made it look a little too young, and actually reminded me of a baby shower, which I really didn't want to make our wedding invitations feel like.

So the paper is on it's way, and I'll take more pictures when it comes time to create everything, because I know you will all want to see the whole DIY process.

Anyone else using scrapbook paper or patterned paper for their DIY invitation suites?

Pickin' the Ladies

Picking my MOH was easy.  I have a younger sister, and while we really didn't get along very well in middle school and high school, as soon as I left for college, our relationship turn a great turn, and we had a blast when she would come up to visit and when I would visit home for breaks.  I know that all siblings have rocky roads, and believe me, we've had ours, but there was no way I could ask anyone else to be my MOH.  So, I would like to introduce you to my sister, MOH E:

MOH E / Personal Picture

Now, as I mentioned previously, I don't have a lot of friends.  The group of friends I had from high school all lost touch after graduation when we went our separate ways, and while we chat now and then on Facebook, we don't hang out, and we just don't communicate that often. I think that happens a lot, or at least I make myself think that happens a lot, and that I'm just not a friendless loser.

The girls I was closest to in college were great until my junior year, when my class schedule was so overwhelming that I would rather spend my little amount of spare time with FI than them. They started really disliking that, and ignoring me, and that friendship quickly went down the drain after they asked me to be their roommate the next school year and I told them that FI and I were moving in together.  When this happened, I started reaching out to other friends that I didn't live with and saw on a semi-daily basis - those in my music program.  They were great, but again, we weren't that close.

So, needless to say, the only really close friends I have are the ones that I have made after college, which happen to be mutual friends me and FI.  After FI and I moved out to Indiana, one of my music friends from college got engaged, and asked me to be in her bridal party. I of course said yes, and that made me think about all the times we spent together in college.  I was there for her when she was having problems with her roommates, and she was there when I was having problems with mine. We really bonded over that, but at that point, it was really close to the end of our college years, and we didn't have much time left before we went our separate ways. But, the thing that I didn't mention, was that she was the one who introduced FI and I on that trip to New York in college.  If she hadn't been there and been my friend, I would have never met FI.

I decided that if there was anyone that I was going to ask to be a BM in our wedding, it was going to be her. And so I asked, and she was so happy.  Without further ado, here is BM A:

BM A / Personal Picture

 Did you struggle with choosing your bridal party, or did you know right away who you wanted by your side?

Extremely Untraditional

There are TONS of traditions that are supposed to go hand-in-hand with a wedding, but in case you haven't noticed by now, FI and I are not traditional in the least bit.

Outside of wedding planning, there are a few reasons we are not traditional: we have lived together prior to being married and we will likely be buying our first house before we get married.

As a part of wedding planning, and the wedding itself, there are a lot of traditions that we will not be taking part in:

1. Spending the night before the wedding apart - This tradition really doesn't make sense for FI and I since we live together.  I wouldn't want to spend the night before with anyone else, and I want to wake up on our wedding day, and be able to spend those last few moments of calm with him.  Plus, I tend to sleep way better with him around than without.   
2. Transportation to and from the ceremony/reception - Since our ceremony and reception are in the same location, there is no need for transportation between venues, and I also don't see any reason to spend extra money on transportation when we both have reliable cars that are also really pretty!
3. Post-ceremony planned exit - The planned exit from the ceremony is typically a church tradition, and since we are not being married in the church, I figured we could nix this.  However, we will be having a post-reception planned exit - more on that later!
4. Flower girl/Ring bearer - This goes back to the discussion about the size of the bridal party. Plus, we don't really have family that fall in the typical age range.  
5. Veil & tiara - No, no, no.  This is so not me. I am not really a girly-girl, nor do I want to be a princess on my wedding day, so that means no tiara. In terms of a veil, I typically associate them with church weddings, and since I am not religious, I will not be wearing one.  I will have something else in my hair to embellish it though (DIY!).
6. Something Old/New/Borrowed/Blue - I really don't care for this tradition either, although I'm sure that even though I'm not trying to have the tradition, it will end up being there. I guess I just don't really want it to be recognized or called the "Somethings" tradition. I know, I'm crazy.
7. Matching BM Dresses - I'm not so sure that this is an actual tradition, but I've decided to let my two girls choose their dresses.  They have completely different body types, and I know that it would be difficult to find something that they both like, so I figured same designer, fabric, and color, and then they choose the style.  
8. Announced entrance to reception - The wedding day is going to be hard enough on me as it is with being the center of attention, so I decided that I really didn't want an announced entrance.  This may still be debatable, based on what is suggested by the DOC and the DJ, but I at least know that we will not be introducing the wedding party.
9. Bouquet/garter toss - I hate this tradition.  It is always sooooooo awkward. Single ladies hate being on the dance floor being expected to participate, and while I'm not necessarily a private person, I can't imagine FI getting a garter out from under my dress.  Plus, not so sure that the meaning of the garter applies, if you know what I mean.  

That's just a small list of what I think will end up being our list of traditions not happening.  I'll get into the ones that we are covering in separate posts, as those are more fun, and will actually have pictures!

No Such Thing as Too Many Colors

Choosing the color palette for our wedding was another one of those things that I have had done for longer than the engagement.  This was actually one of the easiest decisions made in the planning process so far.

I decided that choosing a random color palette would be not really "us," so I decided that nothing was better than choosing my favorite color, FI's favorite color, and a few other colors to help balance it out.

My favorite color is ORANGE:

FI's favorite color is YELLOW:

Those two colors together are a little to close to McDonald's, so we needed to add some other colors in there.  I have really been into the impact that gray has had on color schemes, and how modern it makes it look, so I started by adding in CHARCOAL GRAY:

I loved this combination, but everyone I was talking to was telling me that I shouldn't put my girls in orange dresses.  I have always wanted my girls in orange dresses, but they felt that it would be too much.    That really only left yellow, since gray dresses with gray suits would look kind of drab, even with colorful accessories and flowers. So, I started playing around with adding a fourth color. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to add GREEN:

The color palette was essentially complete, but I thought that since we are not going to go overboard with table linen colors and place setting colors, that I would make everything (including my dress) match by adding WHITE:

So there you have it, our color palette! 

It may be a lot of colors, but there's no such thing as too many, right? Or wrong?

All images personal unless otherwise credited.

The Blooms

A long, long time ago...ok, I won't sing, but really. A long, long time ago, I came across a picture from a wedding related message board and absolutely fell in love.

Image via Rachel Ray / Jello Centerpieces with Flowers

I have been obsessed with this picture since I found in (in 2007) and have had it saved to my wedding notebook since then.  

The reason I am showing this to you now, is because this has actually hurt me in my search for a florist for the wedding. A lot of them don't either have the slightest idea how to do this, or don't have the means of doing this (no stove to boil jello...etc.).  So, I was finally able to find one florist who said she would try to make the centerpieces before I signed a contract. I thought this was perfect.

I got a call a week ago saying that she tried it but it wasn't really that successful, and that she was saving her trial for me if I wanted to come see it.  So, I stopped by her shop after work that afternoon.  This is what she was able to accomplish:

Front side of rectangular vase / Personal Picture

Back side of rectangular vase / Personal Picture

Side view of rectangular vase / Personal Picture

So, as you can see, there was a huge problem in keeping the flowers to stay down in the jello while it hardened, and not to float to the surface.  The florist said that she was going back and forth to try to push them down as it hardened, but the process was too quick.  She also said that it was very time consuming and that she really didn't have the resources to do it in the shop.

She was very nice about it all, but it was kind of disappointing that something I have been so obsessed about for years may not be able to happen for our wedding. 

I let her know that I was very thankful that she tried this, and that it was helpful to know this early that this idea may not work.

The ideas that she had for the bouquets were beautiful, and I loved them, but you will have to wait to hear about those.  She said that she was still willing to do the rest of the flowers for the wedding, but she was adamant about not working with Jello.

So, I have decided to try the Jello centerpieces to see if there is some special trick to getting it to work, and to determine whether or not I would be able to do them on my own for the wedding.  But, in the meantime, I may need to start thinking of alternative centerpiece ideas.  Any suggestions?

Envelopes & Pocketfolds

When I first started populating my Google Reader with blogs, one of the first ones on there was Road to the Aisle.  Heather was a new blogger, documenting her journey through wedding planning and DIY projects.  Her blog, which was retired after the recaps of her wedding in 2009, is still popular among DIY brides all over message board communities.

I am taking more than a few ideas from her blog, as she seems to have great taste!  One of things that I am doing is pocketfold invitations.  I love the look of these and the simplicity of keeping everything together in one place.  The difference, is that I will not be making the pocketfolds, but I will be making the cards to fit inside.  I have so many other DIY projects on my plate, and while making these would likely save me money, I figured that I could find a good deal online.

I came across Cards & Pockets and they had great prices, so I ordered a few samples, and they were shipped off to me.  They arrived in the mail a few days later and looked great!  The paper that I chose had a slight sheen to it, like it was almost metallic, but was sturdy and folded very neatly.  I tested the interior pocket to make sure it would fit a lot of thick paper in it, and then I was sold.

Signature Pocketfold Size Chart / Image via Cards & Pockets

I hopped back onto the site and added the correct number of pocketfolds, the matching envelopes, and the RSVP card envelopes I needed for the invites to my shopping cart, added a coupon (never shop without coups!), and then hit the little submit order button.

Wanna see what I ordered?

A7 European Flap Envelope in Onyx / Image via Cards & Pockets

RSVP European Flap Envelope in Onyx / Image via Cards & Pockets

Signature Pocketfold in Onyx / Image via Cards & Pockets

I can't wait to choose the rest of the paper and then start putting together these invitation suites!