Few little updates

Well the invites going out ended up with problems! Of course... I was concerned about the weight of them so I took them to work to weigh them and check the postage. They weighed at 44 cents. I thought all was well. However we got around 40 returned some listing they needed an additional 17 cents and others an additional 37 cents. What the heck?! I also found out that some others were delivered anyways and the postman paid for it. While some were delivered and my guests were expected to pay! What the heck! Yet still at least half were delivered with the 44 cent postage completely normal. Sounds totally retarded to me, especially since they all were the same exact thing. So apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced. Hopefully everyone got their invites and they aren't lost in the mail! We did send out all the returns with additional postage so some may still be arriving. I've already gotten a few responses back!

Also plans were adjusted on my dress and the new mock up is WAY better. I am really happy with it and can't wait to try on my real dress rather than some crazy teal tester! hahaha

Another great accomplishment is that I have gotten pretty much all the cyllinders I need! Hurray! So glad I don't have to hunt for any more on my days off.

Not much else new. I am still trying to figure out flowers. I was leaning towards just hydrangeas, white and green roses, and purple ranunculous. But the ranunculous is probing hard to find so I may have to pick another flower ( purple lisianthus or purple anenome would be my next choice... we shall see!)

Sorry my posts are lacking in excitement!

Invites are out!

The invitations have been mailed! Yesterday to be exact. There are still a handful of people we need to send some to which I am finishing them up after work today. But most local people should probably get their invitations today!

I haven't been updating much, but I guess not too much is going on. I went and picked up some single stem cylinders today at michaels, So I think that I should have enough small ones now. The big fatties are proving hard to come by. I have been to countless thrift stores with no luck. I feel the pressure of time now that there is less than three months until the big day. We may end up needing to order some. Michaels doesn't even have any like what I want.

Ashley B's bridesmaid dress is completely finished. Bekah's.. fingers crossed that it doesn't need any more alterations... has been fixed but we are waiting for her to try it on again. Ashley and Alyssa's need to be started ASAP. Especially after knowing how many adjustments we had to make to Ashley and Bekah's dresses.

My grandma has been working on a mock dress for me to work out any kinks before she starts working with the $33 a yard fabric. I am really starting to worry about how the dress is going to look and hope that my design actually looks good on my body. I kind of feel like cursing myself for not trying on a single wedding dress. What was I thinking!? Usually my ideas turn out good so I am praying this is one of those cases.

On another note, I got Zach's wedding ring!

Pretty crappy cellphone picture but oh well. It is white gold with a satin finish in the middle and polished edges. I spent quite a bit on it so he had better wear it!

I do still need to figure out the whole flower situation. (order the hydrangeas online and go into norfolk florist to order the rest...) That is definately the biggest thing looming over my head, as well as finding a wedding officiant. I still feel a bit like I don't know where to start. Maybe the courthouse? I want a very short and simple ceremony. Not religious. No silly pouring of the sands or unity candles or any of that junk.

Still not sure how the layout of the tent and everything is going to work. Hopefully we can squish everything into Don's yard!

That's pretty much all the new info I have for now.

Few Updates

Well we have gotten the disposable cameras that will go on all the tables at the reception.

And even bigger news my mom and I went shopping on Sunday and found her Mother of the Bride dress! It is very pretty but I am not allowed to post a photo of it on here because she doesn't want everyone to know what she's wearing! Ha!

I have finally started the process of registering. It is extremely overwhelming. I didn't expect it to be as difficult as it is. Trying to figure out what you want and pick a variety of price points. What is too expensive to add? I did add a kitchen aid mixer, not that I expect to get it, BUT I would really love one. Hahaha! Also how much stuff do I need to add??? Ahhh I just don't know!
So far I am at Williams Sonoma, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target. Though I have only picked a handful of things out at Target so far. One being this extremely awesome bookshelf that I want but is probably wayyyy to pricey for anyone to get. its like $330. But It is really cool. I love it.

Looks like we are definately going to order the hydrangeas because they won't be in bloom yet locally by the wedding. Which is what I thought.

I also need to get on finding a wedding officiant. As well as finding the remainder of glass cyllenders. If anyone wants to help in the search I need shorter fat ones/ other larger ones and small skinny ones that would hold like one flower. I almost have enough of the medium sized ones. So maybe this weekend will involve some thrift store hunting. As well as maybe getting Zach's ring. We shall see.

We have 87 Invites totally complete. I am still waiting on a few addresses before I print out the final sheet of address labels, then we probably have another 30 minutes or so of assembling invitations and envelopes. Then they will be ready to mail! Hopefully they will be in the mail by Saturday, so expect them early next week. Definately by the end of the week.

My Grandma also said she was going to start my dress Monday, though I haven't heard anything more about it. But that is another exciting step!

Only 94 days to go. Pretty crazy! But I do feel like I have alot done.

Bouquets

Today Ashley, Bekah, My mom and I managed to assemble all of the invitations. Though we still need to print addresses on all of them.

Tomorrow my mom and I are going hunting for her dress and probably going by my Grandma's to talk about mine...

I've been searching high and low to try and decide exactly what flowers I want. Now is the time I need to start figuring out how many and what all we need to order. Still haven't seen anything like what I want but for my bouquet I am thinking the lighter blue hydrangea, white/ivory roses, chartruse roses, bachelors button and purple lisianthus.(maybe lavendar lisianthus for my bouquet).

(the big purple flower-purple lisianthus)

The Bridesmaids will have the Lisianthus, bachelors buttons, both roses and then the brighter blue, purple, and green hydrangeas.

This is what I am thinking right now. Guess it could still change...

Invite update

So I still hadn't heard anything about the invites on Friday and finally got in touch with someone to find out what was going on. Since I thought they would be printed and here by now. Apparently the paper I ordered wasn't in stock and wouldnt be there for another three weeks! Since I obviously need to send the invites out and didn't want to wait they said they would give me another option which is basically the same paper but just has seeds inside so you can plant the invite and grow some flowers! It even comes with instructions. Pretty awesome. Plus I get this more expensive paper for no additional cost! Hopefully they will be mailed out today! They should be. Fingers crossed.

Also still waiting for the Silver Palate quote. I am getting anxious for it. I am ready to make a decision and I really hope their price will work!

Other than that no more developments on the wedding.

More things to check off the list...

Saturday afternoon/night (by that point it was 5) we went to a stationary place and looked through their invites. I only liked a handfull and they were pretty costly. We were also looking at some print yourself ones at Michaels, but they didn't have enough and i wasn't crazy about them. So we pretty much decided the ones I picked out first online were our best bet.


Sunday morning we ordered the invites. And already got the proofs! They should be printed or printing by January 20!



They added this quote to go on the left hand side. and I totally love it!



So happy to have this done! we also found these really cool Hydrangea Stamps. So we will have to order them for the invites...Not sure which I like best...












One more thing done. Also accomplished on Sunday.. We found bridesmaid shoes!Not only were they (originally $79.00) at Off Broadway for $49.00 plus an additional 30% Off. So they ended up being only $36.00! Great deal.

We also Purchased the larger of the two birdcages for people to put cards in at the wedding.

Back to wedding planning...

After a slight wedding planning Hiatus over the holidays I am back in full swing!
My Uncle Joe and Aunt Becky can't make it to the wedding and want me to move the date back so they can come to be mid June ( prob June 12?). I just don't know about this though. So many people have already been told. I almost think we are in too deep to change it now. We haven't ordered or booked anything yet, so technically it COULD be done. I still don't know though. I would LOVE for them to be there but sometimes there isn't anything you can do. Opinions?

There are some serious big things that need to get done now! First up is ordering the invitations. Pretty sure we are going with this design from invite site. It is called white breeze. This ended up not being much more expensive for the hassle of not having to make and print it ourselves. We will address the labels ourselves and have them print the invite and RSVP card. This needs to be ordered in the next week or so...

Next thing on the to do list is trying to figure out what is going on with my dress fabric. We ordered it about a month ago and it still hasn't come in! They are supposed to call my mom today and let her know what is going on but I still haven't heard anything.

Zach and I FINALLY settled on a song for our first dance! Hold On by Michael Buble. YAYYYY!!!!

This Saturday we are headed to look at tuxes for Zach and the groomsmen. I hope we can decide on something then. It would be nice to have something else out of the way.

Ashley and I need to continue our bridesmaid shoe hunt. I still haven't found anything.

Next Wednesday (no not tomorrow) my mom and I are going to Norfolk Wholesale Florist to look at flowers and maybe pick out my flowers or at least get more of a grasp on cost and what we need.

Caterers is probably the biggest thing looming over my head right now. I have comprised a list of 8 caterers so far that I need to call about. One is standing out more than the others so far based on what I saw online. Catering Concepts seems to have what I am looking for and even better it is located at Hilltop. So it is super close to where the wedding will be! Does anyone know anything about them? Do you have any suggestions on caterers in Virginia Beach? Zach and I are looking to have a buffet style dinner. We also would like for them to provide the linens and such. I am sure I will have a separate post once I have called and gotten more info on this.

I still have SO much to do! It is overwhelming. I totally understand why so many people hire wedding planners who do all the dirty work like researching all these different caterers, tent rentals and such. They just get to go to the appointments and pick what they like! I am sure I can do it myself, and it will turn out just the way I want but that doesn't mean it is an easy process.

Also on my to do list soon will be finding a DJ, continuing my search for various glass cyllinders, starting to make all the dresses, calling around for tent rental prices, ordering favors, ordering the disposable cameras ( we are going to put one on every table) , registering for gifts, planning the Bachelorette party, the bridal party(though this will be more something for my matron of honor to do), I am sure there are plenty of things I am still leaving out too!

Also if anyone knows of any bartenders we could possibly hire for the wedding let me know.. I am assuming we will need 2 or 3. I think we are going to buy all the alcohol ourselves.

One thing is for sure about this though, it will be a great party!

Invitations

It is time to start thinking about invitations!

So far my wedding is turning out to be very DIY and I am trying to be budget savvy.

Its logical of course that I am considering making my own invites as well, but I still have alot more researching to do.

I was considering sending out save the dates, but at this point there is only 5 months until the wedding so I feel like it is pointless... the picture above I made at a site called mypunchbowl. Which worked out great until I realized that I don't really have anyone's email. So I gave up on that and decided I didn't need to do save the dates. The site however was really cool and you can change colors of whatever design you pick. It was very easy to navigate.

I did find this site emmylu through younghouselove's blog which includes wedding invitations where you pay for a pdf file and then can print however many you want. You can change colors of the design for a little extra.. I liked this design the best, and it happened to be the Norfolk one! Although the colors are not right.

I also came across this page which has a list of websites you can go to that offer semi-DIY invites like emmylu. There were lots of good ideas on there. Now I LOVE handmade/interesting paper so I would love to incorporate that somehow into the design of my invitations heres some ideas I found on invitesite (which I found through that previous link)

I think we could easily find some interesting paper at Jerry's to use as the outside layer/ encasing etc. then if we either found/made invites that we could print up ourselves to go inside it could be fairly easy and definately original, and preferably way cheaper than ordering. It is definately something I need to look into very soon!