Our invitations were a labor of love for me, even if I didn’t do most of the work!

I knew I didn’t want to try and design them, or even print them, myself, so I spent a long time online researching my options. I ordered samples from a few places, which I highly recommend for online invitation shopping. You really don’t know exactly how they are going to look until you see them in person. Case in point, a lovely lady who got married two weeks after me that I know from my old job ordered invitations online, and while they were done to her specifications, she was unhappy. The invite was supposed to have a background of different ‘marriage and love’ words in all kinds of sizes and fonts. The problem was that on her computer screen, the background was a very visible gray. In person, it was so light you couldn’t read them, which wasn’t what she wanted.

In the end, there was a clear winner that matched the rest of our theme: the Butterfly Love invitation from Wedding Paper Divas.  They were perfect:

(picture by Tammy Martines Photography. Details blurred by me)

I don’t have a picture of the whole invitation suite, but we went with a mix of formal and informal elements, as the vibe we wanted to give off was classic but casual and fun. We chose the main invitation, reception information card and RSVP card. We paid a little extra to have Wedding Paper Divas print return addresses on the envelopes, which saved some headaches.

I also got really obsessed with envelope liners. WPD doesn’t do them for all of their invitations, such as ours. I was able to find an almost perfect match for them though. Mountaincow stationary offers liners in tons of colors for both rounded and square envelope flaps. We got a light purple shimmer that was a nice complement to the deep plum.

I also really liked this set because you could get a matching wed site at Nearlyweds.com. I paid the fee to have this matching site, and used it to put a lot of additional helpful information up for our guests. It was really simple to use, though I am a bit jealous because it seems like they have a lot of new features that weren’t available when we were engaged!

All in all, I am very happy with how everything about our invitations came together. I started early and it gave us a lot of time to think things over, make mistakes, and change our minds. We got tons of compliments on them, and they’re still one of my favorite projects from our wedding day.

I took today off to run errands and we got a lot accomplished. Our menu is chosen, and we met our florist and pretty much decided on all of the flowers! I don’t necessarily think I need an inspiration board now, my vision for our wedding is getting pretty clear as NEPA Groom and I visit a lot of vendors, but I was cleaning out my wedding folder today and found some old copies of my inspiration photos. What’s nice is that now we have a bridesmiad dress, and a wedding dress, so I tweaked my board over at Polyvore with these updates. Check it out:

(Once again my dear, this has dress photos. No clicky)

Purple, Black & White Wedding by jeannie21284 featuring D&G brooches

This is the one totally completed wedding project I have done so far. I picked it because it was fairly easy to do, plus I had a $100 target gift card that I was lucky enough to receive so it helped defray the costs a lot. I think the idea is cute and simple, and is one of those small extra touches we can do for our guests. Plus, it didn’t require crazy artistic talents to pull off.

These are all my ribbons and some tiny little flowers I picked up at various sales at Michael’s. I’ve realized that any concerns I have about matching purples have gone out the window. Just as long as it’s not lavender we’re good!

I got these baskets for $1 each at Michael’s, which I’m totally proud of. Also, please enjoy the view of the all the boxes of junk I’m saving up to move once we get an apartment. My first step was to cut some ribbon and glue it to the baskets. I put a few dabs of hot glue as I went along so it wouldn’t slide.

Next, I measured the width and length and cut some paper for making signs on each one. I got a sweet little paper cutter that makes those rounded corners, because lord knows I’m not that neat!

I have to say, my printer really impressed me with this one. The cardstock I had was too big to put in as is,so I cut these pieces out first and then ran it through. If you play with the paper sizing options and margins, you can get it to work. These are only 2 inches high and it still printed!

Next up, I made it all floofy pretty with flowers and a butterfly paper punch. Whee!

The finished basket for the ladies.

The finished basket for the fellas.

Overall, I’m guessing these cost around $35 each to put together, counting all the coupons and gift card cash I used. I don’t have a step by step tutorial because I just kind of did what felt right. Neither is busting at the seams with stuff, but it’s enough for all of the typical emergencies you’d face on a night out. They’re safely tucked away for now, and I hope our guests make good use of them!

Have you done any easy projects for your wedding? Are you doing them well in advance of the wedding or waiting until the last minute?

These came in the mail the other day:

Yay! I actually got them from The Knot’s wedding shop when they had a sale. There’s no way I was paying $35 for 100 matchbooks, but I ended up getting 200 (100 in each color) for a total of $30 after a sale they had plus a coupon code. They came out really well, though I’d advise anyone thinking of doing it to do it well in advance of their wedding. They estimated they’d ship in 5 business days, but it took almost 15 business days before they were shipped out!

Either way, they’re a nice little detail to have for the reception. Are you doing any small favors or extras like these for your guests?

I’m curious and I thought maybe the answer would lie out here on the internets with my dear friends. Have any of you ever used a decal on the walls or dance floor of your reception space. I’ve been eyeing up the decals at Ten23 Designs for a while now:

They’re supposed to be easy to pull off, but I wonder how they perform in real life. Do they stay stuck for the whole evening and not get pulled up as people walk on them? I’m not sure if our venue allows them yet but I plan on asking. Can anyone weigh in on if they are worth it?

Wedding registries are supposed to be one of the “fun” wedding tasks you have to complete. But I’ve seen a lot of posts griping and moaning about how uncomfortable it makes people or how they don’t need anything. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but I do think it’s practical thing to do. Most guests expect it, and appreciate knowing that they’re getting you something you want and need. At the very least, you can always register for lots of sheets and towels, extra glasses, and maybe a few fun things, right? Right.

NEPA Groom and I have lived at home since college and won’t live together until we’re married, so we’re almost like the stereotypical couple doing the registry stuff. We need just about everything. Both parents have gifted us a few things already, like a coffee pot to keep my homicidal urges at bay wake me up in the morning, knives that I can’t touch before coffee, and a few other kitchen things. We also have some furniture we’ll inherit, along with some never used plates and flatware.

That being said, we still needed lots of stuffs, so I did the research and decided we’d hit two places, Target and Macy’s. We’ve been doing the Target stuff all online, though I want to hit up their scanners in store for a few furniture pieces. After our pre-cana adventure that’s soon to be chronicled, we stopped at Macy’s to start one there. The consultant was super helpful and got us started with no problem. And I got a free bag:

Yay <3<3<3<3 It carries my wedding pretties now. We spent about an hour in Macy’s scanning things like sheets, towels and some kitchen gadgets. We generally decided the things we wanted to be nicer, and in a higher price point, would go on the Macy’s list. Their sheets looked better than Target’s, though there are cute ones at both stores. Macy’s also wins with their Martha Stewart collection! After about an hour though, we were both pooped. It’s a little stressful trying to pick the right things all at once, so we called it a day and added more stuff online later.

My tips for choosing where to register would be:

• Check return policies. Make sure you’re ok with it before you commit.
• Check availability for guests. Older guests don’t want the intarwebs. They want to go to a store. Is there a retail location near the bulk of your guests that they can visit.
• Try to add more than the number of guests you have, but don’t feel pressured to “double” like they want you to. I can’t imagine needing all the stuff that I’m supposed to need. We’ll probably have a ratio of 1.3 items per guest on our lists. It’s a little extra to choose from, but not crazy big.
• Register for what you’re comfortable with. They’ll push you to bigger and better and crazier but if you don’t need fine china, by all means don’t register for it.

And finally, I’d say DO register for a few things, even if you’re against it. It’s a good thing to do, it provides your guests with some direction, and it’s not greedy. I hear a lot of brides have all this guilt over registering. Forget that. It’s a given rule that if you’re getting married, someone somewhere will get you a gift. They want you to like your gift. Hence, the registry.

How was your registering experience? Did you find it fun or exhausting? Did you go in store or do it all online?

I just wanted to share this in case any of you wonderful NEPA brides out there were interested. There’s a bridal expo happening next weekend, on Sunday the 21st, down at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. I won’t be attending since I’ve already had my fill of bridal expos, but brides early in the planning process might find it useful! They’re doing a big giveaway too, and that’s always fun.

If you attend, let me know how it went and what parts you loved. I also recommend creating a new email address just for signing up with vendors at the expo, because some of them can occasionally be pretty spammy. Better safe than sorry!

I’m not a huge fan of the traditional guest book. Everyone signs it, maybe they write something nice, and then you read it and…. put it on a shelf? Stick it in the attic? Never see it again? Boo to that. The mister and I were discussing the guest book a while back and I remembered something I saw at a wedding a couple of years ago.

Our friends Ashley and Gerry had one of their engagement photos set out next to the place cards at their reception. The glass was taken out of the frame, and the extra wide matting was open for all of their guests to sign with cute gel pens in their wedding colors! I loved the idea of having everyone help decorate our new home, so I decided to make the idea mine.

We ordered an 8 x 10 of one of our pictures, and then I got to work looking for a frame. They had ready made frames for this purpose online, but most of them were $60+. Yikes! My next option was our dear friend Michaels. They do custom framing, so I thought maybe that would be the answer. However, some research online showed me that their custom framing prices can be insane, which is how they always manage to offer a 60% off custom framing coupon. 60% off $300 is still a load of cash.

Despite all of this, I headed up to Michaels to see what I could find. Maybe I could build it myself. I had picked up some matting and was walking around to check out the frames when I saw it:

This is from Michael’s Portrait Collection, and retails for $30. Waaaay better. And guess what else! This week it was on sale for $15. SWEET! I grabbed it up right away, and when I got home it was simple to open – I centered our engagement photo in the frame and taped it in place. All I need to do is buy a couple of Sharpies and we’re set:

I left the corner covers on to hopefully avoid any damage to the frame while I store it and move to to the venue in the fall. One quick tip – the stickers on the glass left a big mess. You can see it a little bit in the upper right corner of the picture above. You won’t need the glass for the wedding day, but why not clean it now while you’re thinking of it? I highly recommend:

YEAH! Like the label says, Goo Gone is full of CITRUS POWER! My frame is done and the glass is all clear. Let’s do the cost breakdown:

Frame: $15 on sale

Engagement Photo: $25 from our photographer

Total: $40

Not too bad for a piece of art we’ll get to hang up after the wedding. It literally took me less than 15 minutes to put together, so I think even the most DIY challenged brides can handle it! Are you doing a non-traditional guest book? Was it a lot of work or simple to do?

Ugh. It’s been a long weekend friends. It’s days like these that I’m thankful to have NEPA Groom by my side. He lets me cry and act crazy and tell him I need space then get mad at him for sitting so far away all in the same breath. This song is for him.

I also have realized that I’ve gone through just about every song that I feel is special to both of us or would be something I’d really really want played at my reception already. It certainly didn’t make it the whole year until our wedding, did it? This was a fun series for me to do, but I think if I take it much further, I’ll really be stretching it and picking songs that I don’t really love, soooooo I’m closing this chapter of the blog and moving on to bigger, an infinitely more complex things -  my issues with wedding dresses, finding an apartment, and not tweaking out completely as the The Knot reminds me we are now at t-minus 9 months and counting. Eeeep!

This is another really great song that I like, but it doesn’t quite fit in with our musical style. I’ve heard of a lot of brides using this Alicia Keys song as a recessional. That’s really perfect because of how passionate it is. We’ll be using more classic selections during the ceremony, probably, but maybe this will inspire someone else!