I’ve gotten a few questions about the rest of our ceremony and what it was like to undertake such a big task as writing your own ceremony. I’m not really a write, and I used a lot of sources for our ceremony to gather some inspiration, but there were two main ones: Mrs. Cherry Pie from Weddingbee (LOVED her ceremony!) and our officiant’s personal collection of ceremonies.
You see, we were lucky enough to be married by our friend, who just also happened to be a minister. It made the whole ceremony VERY personal, and you know that I liked having free reign to write up whatever I wanted and he would comply. No rules to follow or suggestions for improvement. He had three different scripts that he typically used for weddings, and gave me copies of those to choose from or told me that we could come up with something totally our own. He would just follow our lead. In fact, when I sent him the finalized ceremony script about two weeks before the wedding he emailed me back and told me that he and his wife cried when they read it! I was touched that he liked it that much.
Like I said before, I knew that I wanted to incorporate a hand fasting ceremony in lieu of a unity candle or sand ceremony...so that was set WAY before we knew what we wanted from the rest of the ceremony. And I won’t lie here...reading and following along Mrs. Cherry Pie’s wedding recaps and finding out that they too had chosen a hand fasting kind of sealed the deal on possibly using parts of her ceremony in ours! Instead of re-creating the wheel, and in an attempt to stay completely honest and not plagiarize anyone else’s work, here’s a link to her post about their ceremony...where she got certain parts from, how she wrote it and the whole ceremony in detail. Her ceremony was definitely a BIG inspiration for our ceremony!
I don’t have links to Dwayne’s ceremonies...or I would post links to them too. How frustrating!
In the end, I wasn’t 100% happy with Mrs. Cherry Pie’s ceremony, and I wasn’t 100% happy with our minister’s ceremonies. So, taking the best of both worlds, I combined the two (or three or four) sample ceremonies that I had found (though most came from the two sources that I’ve mentioned) and my own words and phrases and made something that was completely 100% US. B loved it. I loved it. That’s all that counted in our book.
In case you’re interested, here is our ceremony, broken out by segments:
I. GREETING/WELCOME
Family and friends, we welcome you today to witness the marriage of B and S.
Marriage is a promise, made in the hearts of two people who love each other. This promise takes a lifetime to fulfill. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and husband are each other’s lover, teacher, listener, critic and best friend.
Today, B and S demonstrate their devotion to each other by dedicating themselves to a life together. And they show their respect for each other by setting forth to honor the vows they have created. Today, their lives, which began on separate paths, will be joined as one.
Who gives their blessing to this union?
Dad: “Her Mother and I do”
II. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FAMILY/FRIENDS
Today represents not only the joining of B and S, but also the joining of their families and friends.
On behalf of B and S, thank you for joining us. They are delighted that you have come to share their joy during this special day. By your presence, you celebrate with them the love they have discovered in each other and you support their decision to commit themselves in a lifelong relationship. You have shared and contributed to their lives in the past, and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, B and S ask you to share in their future.
B and S would like to recognize their parents on this occasion. They offer profound gratitude for all the love and care their parents showed in raising them. Parents, the unconditional gifts of love and support that you have continually offered have inspired them to become who they are today, and they thank you, from the bottom of their hearts. Without you, this day would not be possible.
They are blessed to share their wedding day with you, their family and friends, and thank each of you for making the effort to be here.
B and S have also asked that we take a moment to honor those loved ones who are not with us today.
Please take a moment of silence.
[Moment of silence]
III. STATEMENT OF INTENT
S and B, do you, with family and friends as your witnesses, present yourselves willingly and of your own accord to be joined in marriage?
B & S: “We do.”
B, do you take S to be your wife? Will you love, honor, and cherish her, in good times and bad, and do you promise to stay true to her as long as you both shall live?
B: “I do.”
S, do you take B to be your husband? Will you love, honor, and cherish her, in good times and bad, and do you promise to stay true to her as long as you both shall live?
S: “I do.”
Deep abiding affection, the magical and compelling shared impulse that makes us seek each others company, is among the greatest gifts of the human experience. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to find and express the kind of loving devotion that we are celebrating here today knows that it is an awesome and beautiful thing.
This understanding brings me to a few suggestions for you, B and S. First, be constantly grateful for the presence of this precious person who has chosen to make a life with you. For it is a choice that each of you have made, to combine your lives with one another.
Secondly, make each other the recipient of daily kindness. The world can be a tough place and any of us can be subject to rough handling. Be generous with compliments. Be attentive and helpful.
Last, but perhaps most importantly, make truth the unfailing bedrock of your lives together. A happy, loving marriage is built on trust and respect. That trust and respect can only be sustained if you are both deeply committed to always being open and truthful in every exchange, no matter how small.
My hope for you is this; that you have many long years to delight in each other’s company, to feel gratitude for your great good fortune in having found and loved each other, to make a home together that is both sheltering and welcoming, to each do meaningful, productive work at home and in the world and to love and be loved by the friends and family who have come here today to support you…
May you pledge to each other to be loving friends and partners in marriage. To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate one another; to respect and cherish each other’s uniqueness, and to support, comfort, and strengthen each other through life’s joys and sorrows. May you promise to share hopes, thoughts, and dreams as you build your lives together. May your lives be ever entwined, your love keeping you together. May you build a home that is compassionate to all, full of respect and honor for others and each other. May your home be forever filled with peace, happiness and love.
IV. VOWS
S, B – please face each other and hold hands.
[bouquet hand off]
B, as you look at S, please repeat these words after me:
I B, take you S to be my wife / to have and to hold, from this day forward / to love, honor, and cherish / to comfort and respect, in sorrow or in joy / in hardship or in plenty, so long as we both shall live.
S, as you look at B, please repeat these same words:
I S, take you B to be my husband / to have and to hold, from this day forward / to love, honor, and cherish / to comfort and respect, in sorrow or in joy / in hardship or in plenty, so long as we both shall live.
V. RING EXCHANGE
The ring is a symbol of unity into which your two lives are now joined in an unbroken circle, in which, wherever you go, you will return to one another.
B do you have a ring for S?
[B gets S’s ring and takes her left hand]
B, please repeat after me:
I, B, give to you S / this ring as a symbol of my commitment / to love, honor and respect you.
S, do you have a ring for B?
[S gets B’s ring and take his left hand]
S, please repeat after me:
I, S, give to you B / this ring as a symbol of my commitment / to love, honor and respect you.
VI. HANDFASTING
S, take B’s hands palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you:
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love. They are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.
Now B, take S’s hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you:
These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and carefree. They are holding yours on your wedding day, as she promises to love you all the days of her life.
Now, please join hands so that they may be fasted in the ways of old. Remember then as your hands are fasted, these are not the ties that bind…
[Cords are held aloft by Best Man]
The love already shared by your hearts has been strengthened by the vows you have taken.
You will be bound by your love as you are bound by your clasped hands from now until the end of your days.
[As the following is recited, the couples hands are wrapped with cords by Best Man]
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as you build your future together.
These are the hands that will hold you whenever illness, fear, or grief may find you.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.
These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.
These are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.
[Binding is finished and cords are knotted]
Bless these hands that you see before you this day.
May they always reach out with love, gentleness and respect.
May they build a loving relationship that lasts a lifetime.
May they always be held by one another.
If you follow these words and heed this sacred binding, your hands will heal, protect, shelter and guide.
Now, you may remove the cords, but remember the knot as a lasting symbol of your binding and commitment.
[Cords are removed and stored]
VII. PRONOUNCEMENT AND PRESENTATION
S…B, may the love that has brought you together continue to grow and enrich your lives. May you meet with courage the problems that arise to challenge you and may your relationship always be one of love and trust. May the happiness that you share today be with you always and may every word that you have pledged here be a living truth in your lives.
May your home be a haven of peace and your relationship be one of truth and understanding. May you enjoy length of days, fulfillment of hopes, and peace and content as you, day by day, live and fulfill the terms of this covenant you have made with one another. May God bless and honor your lives together.
And now, for as much as you have made your vows, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving your rings, in recognition of the above, and in accordance with the laws and statutes of the State of Texas, I pronounce that you are husband and wife.
Groom, you may kiss your Bride.
[Kiss]
[B and S turn to face family and friends, collecting bouquet back]
It is my honor and privilege to present Mr. and Mrs. B.
[Bride and Groom go back down the aisle, followed by attendants and parents/grandparents]
The Bride and Groom would like to invite you all to stay for the reception that will begin shortly just across the way in Redbud Hall. We do have some quick pictures to take first, so we will ask the family to remain seated for those pictures, but the rest of the guests can go ahead and make your way across to the reception hall.
Thank you for coming.
In the end, the ceremony ran right at about 30 minutes...Dwayne was a little nervous and made it through the ceremony faster than any of the times that he had practiced at home. It was the perfect length, not too long and not too short.
I hope that this answers some of the questions that you might have had regarding our ceremony. Like I said, a lot of this came from Mrs. Cherry Pie’s ceremony and our minister’s own ceremonies...I hope that it helps some of you brides out there!
Showing posts with label wedding planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding planning. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Two More Special Dances…
After having our first dance as man and wife, it was time for the Father-Daughter dance. In reality, I wasn’t really sure that this was something that my Dad really wanted to do. I’m not being mean by saying that, just honest. I mean, this wasn’t my first wedding (as he kept reminding me), so I wasn’t sure if he’d want to do all the things that he didn’t do the last time…and I had to just swallow my pride and ask him about it. And don’t you know that when I did that, he acted like he’d never been anything but supportive of the idea for us to have a big wedding and of course he wanted to do a Father-Daughter dance with me.
We could have easily have left it out, but I’m really glad that we did it. There was no Mother-Son dance, so it wouldn’t have been that odd if we’d left this one out…but like I said, I’m glad that he wanted to do this tradition this time around with me. I know my Dad well, and knew that he would really only be comfortable doing a waltz. With that in mind, I selected Natalie Cole’s version of “Unforgettable” as it’s one of our favorite songs and a great song to waltz to.
Except that when we took the floor and the music began playing, there was another song playing at the same time. Right now, six months after the fact, I can’t recall what the other song was. But basically the problem was that we had given the DJ a burned CD for the songs that we wanted played that weren’t already in their library of songs…and of course, our First Dance song wasn’t in their library. So she had just played the Black Keys song off of the CD and then was switching to her library of music for the Natalie Cole song…but somehow the CD wouldn’t stop playing. It wasn’t really a big deal, other than there we were, my Dad and I just standing out in the middle of this dance floor waiting…and waiting…and waiting.
Of course, I made good use of the time and reminded my Dad (repeatedly over and over) that I couldn’t go backwards like normal in our waltz. With my bustle, the dress was up off of the floor, but just barely and I was really concerned about tripping and falling flat on my face. Call me Grace…but if it was going to happen to someone on their wedding day, it would be me!
Luckily, the music finally started and we moved into our motions. Without me going backwards. But leading me in the wrong direction kind of threw my Dad off a bit and we ended up doing a cross between a waltz and a two-step…it was cute though and no one but us could probably tell. But apparently we don’t take good pictures together, as this was the only really decent picture of the two of us dancing…
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great picture of the two of us – the joy and laughter on my Dad’s face is just priceless. I just wish that we hadn’t been making such awful faces through the rest of the pictures!
After that song ended, I got a small surprise. J came up to me and asked if it was her turn to dance with me now. I have to tell you that I nearly cried. If I had though ahead to plan this out, I couldn’t have done it better, but honestly it never crossed my mind that she would want a dance all on her own with me. Silly mommy! I quickly caught the DJ’s eye and requested what at the time was “our song” – Taylor Swift’s “Love Song.” We played this CD out in my car – at top volume and to this day, she still requests it on random days.
I’ll let the pictures show you this special, unplanned dance…
And of course, she wanted to be spun around and around…
And like the “little lady” that I’m trying to teach her to be, at the end of the dance I bowed and said “Thank you!”
Like I said, I couldn’t have planned this better if I’d tried…it was the perfect ending to the special dances before the dance floor was opened up to one and all!
Did you have any “surprise” special dances at your wedding? Or are you planning on any? I’d love to hear about it!
**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography
Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!
Family Pictures
Now THAT’S Love!
The “Group” Says Cheese!
Now It’s Just Us...
It’s the Smallest Things...
Here Comes the Bride! And Groom!
Raise Your Glasses...
Our Cake Buffet
The Great Cake Cutting Debate
We Danced...
We could have easily have left it out, but I’m really glad that we did it. There was no Mother-Son dance, so it wouldn’t have been that odd if we’d left this one out…but like I said, I’m glad that he wanted to do this tradition this time around with me. I know my Dad well, and knew that he would really only be comfortable doing a waltz. With that in mind, I selected Natalie Cole’s version of “Unforgettable” as it’s one of our favorite songs and a great song to waltz to.
Except that when we took the floor and the music began playing, there was another song playing at the same time. Right now, six months after the fact, I can’t recall what the other song was. But basically the problem was that we had given the DJ a burned CD for the songs that we wanted played that weren’t already in their library of songs…and of course, our First Dance song wasn’t in their library. So she had just played the Black Keys song off of the CD and then was switching to her library of music for the Natalie Cole song…but somehow the CD wouldn’t stop playing. It wasn’t really a big deal, other than there we were, my Dad and I just standing out in the middle of this dance floor waiting…and waiting…and waiting.
Of course, I made good use of the time and reminded my Dad (repeatedly over and over) that I couldn’t go backwards like normal in our waltz. With my bustle, the dress was up off of the floor, but just barely and I was really concerned about tripping and falling flat on my face. Call me Grace…but if it was going to happen to someone on their wedding day, it would be me!
Luckily, the music finally started and we moved into our motions. Without me going backwards. But leading me in the wrong direction kind of threw my Dad off a bit and we ended up doing a cross between a waltz and a two-step…it was cute though and no one but us could probably tell. But apparently we don’t take good pictures together, as this was the only really decent picture of the two of us dancing…
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Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great picture of the two of us – the joy and laughter on my Dad’s face is just priceless. I just wish that we hadn’t been making such awful faces through the rest of the pictures!
After that song ended, I got a small surprise. J came up to me and asked if it was her turn to dance with me now. I have to tell you that I nearly cried. If I had though ahead to plan this out, I couldn’t have done it better, but honestly it never crossed my mind that she would want a dance all on her own with me. Silly mommy! I quickly caught the DJ’s eye and requested what at the time was “our song” – Taylor Swift’s “Love Song.” We played this CD out in my car – at top volume and to this day, she still requests it on random days.
I’ll let the pictures show you this special, unplanned dance…
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And of course, she wanted to be spun around and around…
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And like the “little lady” that I’m trying to teach her to be, at the end of the dance I bowed and said “Thank you!”
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Like I said, I couldn’t have planned this better if I’d tried…it was the perfect ending to the special dances before the dance floor was opened up to one and all!
Did you have any “surprise” special dances at your wedding? Or are you planning on any? I’d love to hear about it!
**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography
Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!
Family Pictures
Now THAT’S Love!
The “Group” Says Cheese!
Now It’s Just Us...
It’s the Smallest Things...
Here Comes the Bride! And Groom!
Raise Your Glasses...
Our Cake Buffet
The Great Cake Cutting Debate
We Danced...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Rehearsal Dinner
So I’m a really bad bride. I have not ONE single picture from our rehearsal dinner...yeah, I’m flogging myself you don’t have to do it for me. I’m sure that there are pictures out there from family and friends, but I don’t have any of them that I know of...so we’ll do the best that we can.
Since the rehearsal itself went off without even the slightest of problems, you had to know something was coming sooner or later, right? Getting to the rehearsal dinner is where we ran into problems.
And here’s some words of advice that I can offer future brides: Don’t trust the map that you pull off of a restaurant’s website. Look at it closely, if you’re familiar with the area, and make sure that everything is right. My new map was NOT correct, and two cars ended up getting “lost” in San Marcos.
I went to the Johnny Carino’s website and pulled directions that they gave me, so I didn’t think to double check anything. Unfortunately, their directions had people exiting two exits too soon, and from there the rest of the directions led them nowhere. Luckily, most of the guests lived in or around the San Marcos area and were at least a little familiar with where the restaurant was in town. Unluckily, it was my Mom that got the most lost! They found their way eventually, but I felt SO bad about the map being wrong.
So double check, even triple check, directions that you get from someone else for accuracy, especially if you pull them off of the internet!
After that little snafu, the dinner went off without a hitch. The food was great, the drinks flowed, and conversation filled the room. We laughed and joked and just relaxed together on our last night before getting married. Right at the end of dinner, B’s dad got up and made a toast to us...I wish that I could remember exactly what he said because it was so sweet! He actually got a little choked up on it, and ended up shortening it quite a bit from what he intended to say...we didn’t care though, it felt so good to be surrounded by so much love! After that toast, we got up and thanked everyone for being there and being in our lives supporting us in our marriage and we proceeded to pass out some gifts.
My girls got their gifts and ooohed and aaahed appropriately, and B passed out his gifts to the guys. We only had one parent gift to give out, and that was to B’s parents for hosting the rehearsal dinner. If you remember from here, we had intended to pay half of the cost ourselves, but in the end they wouldn’t hear of it. So in return, we got them tickets to the last home UT football game against Kansas. They were thrilled and so touched by our thoughtfulness and they really appreciated our gift. (I know because we watched the game that they were at and B’s dad texted us every 5 minutes to see if we could see them on TV!) They had a blast at the game, and we were glad to give them something that they enjoyed SO much!
After the gifts were given, it was time to go. B and I took a few moments alone to say our goodbyes...it was the last time that I would see him until the ceremony the next day...and I’m really glad that we took the time to have a moment with just us. The whole day had been spent running around and being in a big group, so it was nice to have 5 minutes alone.
Once back at the hotel, the girls and I had some more work to do, but with all three Maids helping and my wonderful Mom pitching in as well, it all got done within the hour and we headed off to bed. After the stress of the day, I needed a bubble bath to help me relax (and to help with those cramps!) so I made sure to take advantage of the time that I had and relaxed for a bit. I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of how tomorrow would unfold...
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Setting up the Venue
Practice Makes Perfect
Since the rehearsal itself went off without even the slightest of problems, you had to know something was coming sooner or later, right? Getting to the rehearsal dinner is where we ran into problems.
And here’s some words of advice that I can offer future brides: Don’t trust the map that you pull off of a restaurant’s website. Look at it closely, if you’re familiar with the area, and make sure that everything is right. My new map was NOT correct, and two cars ended up getting “lost” in San Marcos.
I went to the Johnny Carino’s website and pulled directions that they gave me, so I didn’t think to double check anything. Unfortunately, their directions had people exiting two exits too soon, and from there the rest of the directions led them nowhere. Luckily, most of the guests lived in or around the San Marcos area and were at least a little familiar with where the restaurant was in town. Unluckily, it was my Mom that got the most lost! They found their way eventually, but I felt SO bad about the map being wrong.
So double check, even triple check, directions that you get from someone else for accuracy, especially if you pull them off of the internet!
After that little snafu, the dinner went off without a hitch. The food was great, the drinks flowed, and conversation filled the room. We laughed and joked and just relaxed together on our last night before getting married. Right at the end of dinner, B’s dad got up and made a toast to us...I wish that I could remember exactly what he said because it was so sweet! He actually got a little choked up on it, and ended up shortening it quite a bit from what he intended to say...we didn’t care though, it felt so good to be surrounded by so much love! After that toast, we got up and thanked everyone for being there and being in our lives supporting us in our marriage and we proceeded to pass out some gifts.
My girls got their gifts and ooohed and aaahed appropriately, and B passed out his gifts to the guys. We only had one parent gift to give out, and that was to B’s parents for hosting the rehearsal dinner. If you remember from here, we had intended to pay half of the cost ourselves, but in the end they wouldn’t hear of it. So in return, we got them tickets to the last home UT football game against Kansas. They were thrilled and so touched by our thoughtfulness and they really appreciated our gift. (I know because we watched the game that they were at and B’s dad texted us every 5 minutes to see if we could see them on TV!) They had a blast at the game, and we were glad to give them something that they enjoyed SO much!
After the gifts were given, it was time to go. B and I took a few moments alone to say our goodbyes...it was the last time that I would see him until the ceremony the next day...and I’m really glad that we took the time to have a moment with just us. The whole day had been spent running around and being in a big group, so it was nice to have 5 minutes alone.
Once back at the hotel, the girls and I had some more work to do, but with all three Maids helping and my wonderful Mom pitching in as well, it all got done within the hour and we headed off to bed. After the stress of the day, I needed a bubble bath to help me relax (and to help with those cramps!) so I made sure to take advantage of the time that I had and relaxed for a bit. I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of how tomorrow would unfold...
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Setting up the Venue
Practice Makes Perfect
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Practice Makes Perfect...
Where were we? Oh yeah, the hall was decorated as much as we could get it done, my mom and step-dad had gone to pick up plates and little J, B had left to get ready and then meet his brother to pick up the rental chairs that I had to have, and I was off to the hotel to get cleaned up and try to relax for a few minutes before the rehearsal started.
The girls and I were good about staying on time and got back to the venue about 5-10 minutes before rehearsal was set to start. Already there were people there waiting on us, and B and his brother were hard at work putting the chairs into rows and sections like I wanted. I tried to get people to help them out, but they had a good system going, so I let them work their magic. In the end, this is what I saw...
Once the chair rows were established, we went ahead and put up the shepherd’s hooks (minus the flower balls) so that all we had to do to the ceremony site the next day was to hang the small pomanders on the hooks, line the aisle with rose petals and hang the large pomanders under the pavilion. It was beautiful, and exactly what I had pictured in my head! I was SO excited.
We had some introductions to make as neither set of parents had met the other one and introductions went all around. Our minister and good friend was already there and he and I spoke for a few minutes before getting the show on the road. Rehearsal was short and sweet. We placed everyone up under the pavilion and then we worked out the logistics of who would walk in and from where and when. D (our minister) didn’t read through the whole thing since he wanted to keep some surprises for the big day, but he skimmed through it to get to the end so that we could practice our exits. He didn’t let us practice kissing. Boo...
After going through it the first time, everyone said that they would like to run through it again real quick, so we did. After the second time, everyone felt comfortable and was ready to go eat. We stayed behind for a few minutes with our minister and our best man to practice the handfasting...since there were cords and wrapping and all, BM really wanted to practice that part in more detail, but B and I didn’t want everyone seeing it all ahead of time. In order to do this in semi-privacy, I “released” everyone from the rehearsal and told them to make their way down to Johnny Carino’s. I made sure and passed out the new maps since I had this snafu with the Rehearsal Dinner venue changing places on me at the last minute, and we practiced in quiet for a minute.
When we left the venue, there were still people milling about, so we herded everyone into their cars and go on the road. I was starving by this time since I really hadn’t eaten much of a lunch since I was running around like crazy trying to decorate and I couldn’t wait for some good food! I hopped into B's truck and away we went...
I think that the rehearsal was a success. I've tried to think of tips to give other brides out there, but I don't know that I have any. I didn't have it all mapped out on paper with a clipboard to keep everyone in line and moving along...I didn't have to continue to gather people up so that I knew that they would know what to do the next day...I don't have any horror stories that you sometimes hear about rehearsals. Sorry.
I guess that the best advice that I can give you would be to have great friends like we did! Our friends and family were there for US...doing whatever needed to be done to make sure that our special day was perfect, making suggestions to improve the process along the way. I can't be more appreciative of them if I tried. They all worked so hard on our wedding...and they were perfect angels during the rehearsal. They went where we said, made adjustments when needed, and probably because they could tell that I wanted them to do it again, they ran through it all a second time for me (without complaints) when they probably didn't need to do it again at all! So that's my adivce: pick great friends to be in your wedding party!
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Setting up the Venue
The girls and I were good about staying on time and got back to the venue about 5-10 minutes before rehearsal was set to start. Already there were people there waiting on us, and B and his brother were hard at work putting the chairs into rows and sections like I wanted. I tried to get people to help them out, but they had a good system going, so I let them work their magic. In the end, this is what I saw...
Once the chair rows were established, we went ahead and put up the shepherd’s hooks (minus the flower balls) so that all we had to do to the ceremony site the next day was to hang the small pomanders on the hooks, line the aisle with rose petals and hang the large pomanders under the pavilion. It was beautiful, and exactly what I had pictured in my head! I was SO excited.We had some introductions to make as neither set of parents had met the other one and introductions went all around. Our minister and good friend was already there and he and I spoke for a few minutes before getting the show on the road. Rehearsal was short and sweet. We placed everyone up under the pavilion and then we worked out the logistics of who would walk in and from where and when. D (our minister) didn’t read through the whole thing since he wanted to keep some surprises for the big day, but he skimmed through it to get to the end so that we could practice our exits. He didn’t let us practice kissing. Boo...
After going through it the first time, everyone said that they would like to run through it again real quick, so we did. After the second time, everyone felt comfortable and was ready to go eat. We stayed behind for a few minutes with our minister and our best man to practice the handfasting...since there were cords and wrapping and all, BM really wanted to practice that part in more detail, but B and I didn’t want everyone seeing it all ahead of time. In order to do this in semi-privacy, I “released” everyone from the rehearsal and told them to make their way down to Johnny Carino’s. I made sure and passed out the new maps since I had this snafu with the Rehearsal Dinner venue changing places on me at the last minute, and we practiced in quiet for a minute.
When we left the venue, there were still people milling about, so we herded everyone into their cars and go on the road. I was starving by this time since I really hadn’t eaten much of a lunch since I was running around like crazy trying to decorate and I couldn’t wait for some good food! I hopped into B's truck and away we went...
I think that the rehearsal was a success. I've tried to think of tips to give other brides out there, but I don't know that I have any. I didn't have it all mapped out on paper with a clipboard to keep everyone in line and moving along...I didn't have to continue to gather people up so that I knew that they would know what to do the next day...I don't have any horror stories that you sometimes hear about rehearsals. Sorry.
I guess that the best advice that I can give you would be to have great friends like we did! Our friends and family were there for US...doing whatever needed to be done to make sure that our special day was perfect, making suggestions to improve the process along the way. I can't be more appreciative of them if I tried. They all worked so hard on our wedding...and they were perfect angels during the rehearsal. They went where we said, made adjustments when needed, and probably because they could tell that I wanted them to do it again, they ran through it all a second time for me (without complaints) when they probably didn't need to do it again at all! So that's my adivce: pick great friends to be in your wedding party!
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Setting up the Venue
Monday, December 28, 2009
Setting up the Venue...
I woke up a little earlier than I had intended to on Friday morning. I was anxious to make sure that everything would get done in the four hour window that we had to work with at the venue and I was kinda hungry. Not wanting to wake up and rush MOH or Maid Britney, I tried to sneak off to the breakfast room at our hotel quietly. I didn’t manage to do it, but it’s the thought that counts, right? I left them to get ready and I headed off for the lobby, following my nose...
I found not only a waffle machine with make-your-own waffle batter, but I found my Mom and our BM all enjoying breakfast, coffee or a newspaper – take your pick. We all fixed our plates, started chattering away and settled down to eat. I was kind of worried about eating, not really sure why, but I was. Turns out that I didn’t have a thing to worry about, I polished off my plate with ease...
Once we were done eating, my Mom and I headed to the room to find the other girls and get to work. We had scheduled to be at the venue at noon for set-up and we needed to make sure that the flowers got arranged, the rose petals got packed into their packets and lots of other little tasks needed to be done before noon rolled around.
For all the madness that I thought that it might be, things really went smoothly. Maid Britney and my Mom got down to business mixing the rose petals and stuffing the petal bags...they set up an assembly line and got the process done really fast. While they did that, MOH and I started working on the artificial flowers and Mason jar arrangements. I had some fresh flowers to mix in with the artificial ones, and each table needed three Mason jars of various sizes put all together. Luckily, I had worked ahead of time and prepped the Mason jars by putting floral foam and moss all in there ahead of time.
At least I thought I was being smart. It turned out that we had to take some of my prep work apart and start over, but I couldn’t have known that before we got down to business anyway, right? So I didn’t let it bother me. We worked and worked, snipping off buds and leaves and stems...placing the flowers in the jars and working up combinations so that each one was kind of unique all on it’s own. At some point, my stepdad came in to be the muscles of this operation and we put him to work cutting the long stems off of the artificial stems. He thought he was getting an easy job, but truthfully some of those were pretty hard to snip! We were happy to have the helping hand, and it made our work get done that much faster.
Before I knew it, the petal bags were all done, and Mom and Maid Britney started helping us with the remaining flowers. Then, almost as soon as we started, we were done. I looked up in a panic at the clock to see how late we were running...imagine my surprise when the clock showed only 10 o’clock! Yes! We were AHEAD of schedule...and ready to go. We loaded up the boxes and supplies that we would need to take with us from the hotel to the venue and started getting ready to go. Before we left, Maid Britney gave me her lingerie shower gift (which had gotten packed in her suitcase since when she packed the girls hadn’t decided on the final schedule for the day yet) and we had a few minutes for me to “model” my new wares...
I found not only a waffle machine with make-your-own waffle batter, but I found my Mom and our BM all enjoying breakfast, coffee or a newspaper – take your pick. We all fixed our plates, started chattering away and settled down to eat. I was kind of worried about eating, not really sure why, but I was. Turns out that I didn’t have a thing to worry about, I polished off my plate with ease...
Once we were done eating, my Mom and I headed to the room to find the other girls and get to work. We had scheduled to be at the venue at noon for set-up and we needed to make sure that the flowers got arranged, the rose petals got packed into their packets and lots of other little tasks needed to be done before noon rolled around.
For all the madness that I thought that it might be, things really went smoothly. Maid Britney and my Mom got down to business mixing the rose petals and stuffing the petal bags...they set up an assembly line and got the process done really fast. While they did that, MOH and I started working on the artificial flowers and Mason jar arrangements. I had some fresh flowers to mix in with the artificial ones, and each table needed three Mason jars of various sizes put all together. Luckily, I had worked ahead of time and prepped the Mason jars by putting floral foam and moss all in there ahead of time.
At least I thought I was being smart. It turned out that we had to take some of my prep work apart and start over, but I couldn’t have known that before we got down to business anyway, right? So I didn’t let it bother me. We worked and worked, snipping off buds and leaves and stems...placing the flowers in the jars and working up combinations so that each one was kind of unique all on it’s own. At some point, my stepdad came in to be the muscles of this operation and we put him to work cutting the long stems off of the artificial stems. He thought he was getting an easy job, but truthfully some of those were pretty hard to snip! We were happy to have the helping hand, and it made our work get done that much faster.
Before I knew it, the petal bags were all done, and Mom and Maid Britney started helping us with the remaining flowers. Then, almost as soon as we started, we were done. I looked up in a panic at the clock to see how late we were running...imagine my surprise when the clock showed only 10 o’clock! Yes! We were AHEAD of schedule...and ready to go. We loaded up the boxes and supplies that we would need to take with us from the hotel to the venue and started getting ready to go. Before we left, Maid Britney gave me her lingerie shower gift (which had gotten packed in her suitcase since when she packed the girls hadn’t decided on the final schedule for the day yet) and we had a few minutes for me to “model” my new wares...
Once the cheese-fest was over, we loaded up the cars and caravanned over to my house. Once there, we made short work of the remaining items that needed to be loaded and taken to the venue and got the boys up and about and moving along with their list of things to do as well.When we got to the venue, MOH, Maid Britney and I all grabbed some boxes and walked into the hall. It was as I remembered it - totally rustic and gorgeous! I got a little shiver of excitement going down my spine in anticipation of the upcoming days ahead. The girls were a little dismayed to find that we had to set up all tables and chairs...the venue was literally a blank slate...but once we got the truck and car unloaded and got down to work, we had all the tables pulled out, set up and started to place in their right positions by the time that the first of the guys showed up. B’s dad came to bring me some smaller folding tables that they had for the cake table, gift table, etc. and my Mom and stepdad arrived with their carload as well.
Before I knew it, we were spreading tablecloths, placing chairs, setting up centerpieces...and really decorating. It was all coming together and it looked so good. We had LOTS of helping hands, for which I am grateful, and when the guys got there with their crew about an hour and a half later, we had even more hands. I was really kind of worried about handling all of this on our own (no DOC or wedding coordinator fit into our budget) but it really went smoothly. It just goes to show what having a great group of friends and family wanting to help make your special day go smoothly can do for you.
Now, I won’t lie. It was VERY difficult for me to be the only person that really knew what was going on. Bless his heart, B tried to help direct people, but he really didn’t know exactly how I pictured things in my head and was pretty much just tackling the tasks that had been “assigned” to him. So every single person that was there to help us set up needed direction on what to do, where to put things, how things were supposed to look...and they all needed it from me. At times it was overwhelming. I got a bit frazzled the closer to 4 o’clock we got as I was trying to finish up everything, with someone calling out my name, needing my attention every two minutes. I really, really, really wanted it all done that day so that no one had much to do the next morning. Especially since I would be tied up and not available to direct!
I also didn’t feel good. Like I mentioned before, Aunt Flo was there with me in full force and I was popping Midol left and right. I don’t always have bad cramps, but don’t you know, this month was one of the months that I was going to be in pain...and I was. Which probably didn’t help my short fuse. I tried REALLY hard not to be all Bridezilla and not to bite anyone’s head off, but I’m sure that I was still short a time or two. Or forty. J I meant to do better, that’s what counts, right?
All in all, I had several creative people there with me helping that could take a little bit of direction and run with it. When they were done, I was consulted, made my suggestions for improvement, and they went back to work...in the end, having those hard workers there by my side putting it all together along with me made it all happen. When we left, the hall looked SO nice...and the ceremony site was almost done too...and all the extra stuff had been stored away out of sight...and all the trash and mess that we made had been picked up. It was truly amazing to see.
Oh you want to see what we saw? Allright, twist my arm...
An overall view...the guest tables
Our head tables...
Some close ups of our centerpieces...
The Cake Table
The Bar Area
The Sign In Table...Along with Kid's Activity Books
The Seating Chart Area
Not to mention that we did it all and only stayed over our limit by about twenty minutes. Not bad, if you ask me! Once we left the venue, we all went in twenty different directions...my Mom and stepdad went to pick up J from school and then to get the plates that we rented. B’s parents went to pick up T from his school. They were each responsible for getting the child that they were in charge of cleaned up and ready for rehearsal on time. The girls and I left to go back to the hotel to get ready and the boys had left to do the same at our house a little earlier. And B left to meet his brother at the other rental place where we rented the ceremony chairs to pick them up and get them back to the venue.We had rehearsal scheduled to start at 6pm...and about an hour and a half to get cleaned up and ready before it started.
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Bachelorette/Bachelor Party
Oh goodness, has it been a week already? Is Christmas REALLY on Friday? Not only have I not finished my shopping, there are no ornaments on my tree and no presents underneath...I need to kick it into high gear, huh? J
Let’s see...where did we leave off? Oh yeah, the girls had spent the most fabulous day at the spa getting slightly buzzed and relaxed before the big day. Now it was time to meet up with the guys and rest of the bridal party (and their spouses) and get the party started! Not really, it was really a low-key event. Neither one of us wanted to go out without the other one, and having a combined event really tamed the whole thing down quite a bit! We knew that we wanted to end up at this little jazz bar on 6th street in downtown Austin, but other than that, we had made no specific plans.
After the girls were done at the spa, I called B to see what the plan was. Like the good planner that he is, he had made an “executive decision” to eat dinner before going out at Mamacita’s in San Marcos, since that’s where the gals were located for the spa. Since we had about half an hour before we were supposed to be there, do you think we went there right away and waited? NO! Of course not! We did what any normal, gal would do the day before her wedding – we hit the Outlet Mall! LOL. I needed to pick up some make-up for the next day, and MOH’s sister had highly recommended going to the Bare Minerals outlet store and letting them “do” my face for a trial. And what better night for a trial than my bachelorette party night? None that I can think of!
Unfortunately, the girls at the store were a little slow and instead of being early or just on time for dinner that night we were about 30 minutes late. But our guys love us lots and forgave us quickly. We met up with the guys, their wives and the husbands of the girls that we’d been with all day long and settled in for some drinks and laughs. With such a big party, it’s hard to talk with everyone, but we managed just fine! And the food was YUMMY!
After finishing dinner, we headed off to the hotel to change/shower and get ready really quick before our limo got there. Oh! Did I forget to mention that our BM insisted on taking us downtown in style? Yep, he was great! I hurried through a quick shower and freshening of my make-up…trying to practice as much as I could before doing it for real the next day...and hurried out to the lobby of the hotel to wait for everyone else. The limo was going by B’s house first to pick up those that had stayed there, and then came to the hotel to grab the rest of us.
Imagine my surprise when while waiting in the lobby in stroll my Mom and Step-Dad! I was SO excited to see them and talk to them for a few minutes...and it turned out to be really lucky that I did, because my Mom was the one that had to remind me that the flower petals were supposed to have been delivered that afternoon. Yeah, I needed to know that because they needed to be refrigerated! Silly me. Luckily they were right there behind the desk and we were able to get them all stuffed into the small fridges between my Mom’s room and the room that MOH, Maid Britney and I were sharing. It was a tight fit, and I’m not doing to deny that I might have picked up an open package and thrown rose petals all over my Mom’s room in my rush...but in the end, they got stowed away and we got on our way.
Now, I’ll be totally honest here and admit that this was my VERY first limo ride. Ever. I never rode in one my previous wedding, or for any prom or social event that I had been to in high school or college. Amazing, I know. So needless to say, I was really excited and pushed all the buttons and controls that I could, and even talked to the driver on the phone (he was a friend of ours!). Here’s some pictures of B and I hamming it up for the camera...
We got to 6th street safe and sound, and found our way to B.D. Riley’s fairly easily. We snagged a larger table towards the front and settled in for the live music. I have to admit that I have heard better bands there. The group singing that night was not the best. Really, they weren’t all that good at all, but that didn’t stop us from having a great time. 
Not that you want to see a picture of my butt, but you can see how cool the bar is in the background...
We had agreed earlier on that MOH would follow the limo in her truck so that the girls (MOH, Maid Britney and I) could leave when we were ready since we needed to be sure and get an early start the next morning. I really hadn’t thought that we would stay out past eleven or so since we’d had such a busy day, so imagine my surprise when I looked up and it was 12:30 already! We quickly decided to leave and headed towards the hotel. We settled to sleep fairly quickly...or at least the other girls did. I wasn’t really feeling well, and got up to go to the bathroom.
And wouldn’t you know what I found? I hope that I’m not sharing too much here, but I said that I would recount the events from my perspective so here you go...Aunt Flo finally decided to make her appearance. Two. Nights. Before. My. Wedding. I was NOT a happy camper, but in hindsight, I couldn’t have picked a better time to start and be able to remember the exact date...which I would need a short month later for my pregnancy test! Too funny.
Trust me, I wasn’t laughing at the time...but now looking back, I can laugh it off. It happens. It’s not what I had envisioned, or planned on, but it’s life. Oh well. I took care of things, popped a Tylenol PM for the cramps that were starting and feel into an exhausted stupor onto my bed. I mean, I did need to get an early start the next day...
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Let’s see...where did we leave off? Oh yeah, the girls had spent the most fabulous day at the spa getting slightly buzzed and relaxed before the big day. Now it was time to meet up with the guys and rest of the bridal party (and their spouses) and get the party started! Not really, it was really a low-key event. Neither one of us wanted to go out without the other one, and having a combined event really tamed the whole thing down quite a bit! We knew that we wanted to end up at this little jazz bar on 6th street in downtown Austin, but other than that, we had made no specific plans.
After the girls were done at the spa, I called B to see what the plan was. Like the good planner that he is, he had made an “executive decision” to eat dinner before going out at Mamacita’s in San Marcos, since that’s where the gals were located for the spa. Since we had about half an hour before we were supposed to be there, do you think we went there right away and waited? NO! Of course not! We did what any normal, gal would do the day before her wedding – we hit the Outlet Mall! LOL. I needed to pick up some make-up for the next day, and MOH’s sister had highly recommended going to the Bare Minerals outlet store and letting them “do” my face for a trial. And what better night for a trial than my bachelorette party night? None that I can think of!
Unfortunately, the girls at the store were a little slow and instead of being early or just on time for dinner that night we were about 30 minutes late. But our guys love us lots and forgave us quickly. We met up with the guys, their wives and the husbands of the girls that we’d been with all day long and settled in for some drinks and laughs. With such a big party, it’s hard to talk with everyone, but we managed just fine! And the food was YUMMY!
After finishing dinner, we headed off to the hotel to change/shower and get ready really quick before our limo got there. Oh! Did I forget to mention that our BM insisted on taking us downtown in style? Yep, he was great! I hurried through a quick shower and freshening of my make-up…trying to practice as much as I could before doing it for real the next day...and hurried out to the lobby of the hotel to wait for everyone else. The limo was going by B’s house first to pick up those that had stayed there, and then came to the hotel to grab the rest of us.
Imagine my surprise when while waiting in the lobby in stroll my Mom and Step-Dad! I was SO excited to see them and talk to them for a few minutes...and it turned out to be really lucky that I did, because my Mom was the one that had to remind me that the flower petals were supposed to have been delivered that afternoon. Yeah, I needed to know that because they needed to be refrigerated! Silly me. Luckily they were right there behind the desk and we were able to get them all stuffed into the small fridges between my Mom’s room and the room that MOH, Maid Britney and I were sharing. It was a tight fit, and I’m not doing to deny that I might have picked up an open package and thrown rose petals all over my Mom’s room in my rush...but in the end, they got stowed away and we got on our way.
Now, I’ll be totally honest here and admit that this was my VERY first limo ride. Ever. I never rode in one my previous wedding, or for any prom or social event that I had been to in high school or college. Amazing, I know. So needless to say, I was really excited and pushed all the buttons and controls that I could, and even talked to the driver on the phone (he was a friend of ours!). Here’s some pictures of B and I hamming it up for the camera...
We got to 6th street safe and sound, and found our way to B.D. Riley’s fairly easily. We snagged a larger table towards the front and settled in for the live music. I have to admit that I have heard better bands there. The group singing that night was not the best. Really, they weren’t all that good at all, but that didn’t stop us from having a great time. Not that you want to see a picture of my butt, but you can see how cool the bar is in the background...We had agreed earlier on that MOH would follow the limo in her truck so that the girls (MOH, Maid Britney and I) could leave when we were ready since we needed to be sure and get an early start the next morning. I really hadn’t thought that we would stay out past eleven or so since we’d had such a busy day, so imagine my surprise when I looked up and it was 12:30 already! We quickly decided to leave and headed towards the hotel. We settled to sleep fairly quickly...or at least the other girls did. I wasn’t really feeling well, and got up to go to the bathroom.And wouldn’t you know what I found? I hope that I’m not sharing too much here, but I said that I would recount the events from my perspective so here you go...Aunt Flo finally decided to make her appearance. Two. Nights. Before. My. Wedding. I was NOT a happy camper, but in hindsight, I couldn’t have picked a better time to start and be able to remember the exact date...which I would need a short month later for my pregnancy test! Too funny.
Trust me, I wasn’t laughing at the time...but now looking back, I can laugh it off. It happens. It’s not what I had envisioned, or planned on, but it’s life. Oh well. I took care of things, popped a Tylenol PM for the cramps that were starting and feel into an exhausted stupor onto my bed. I mean, I did need to get an early start the next day...
Need to catch up? See how I got here...
Girls’ Spa Day
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Rehearsal Dinner Dilemmas...
Since even well-oiled machines don’t always run smoothly, I need to tell you about a little “snafu” that we ran into about a week and a half before our wedding. From the title of the post, you can probably guess that it had to do with our Rehearsal Dinner. I wrote about the triumphant booking of our rehearsal dinner here, and here I showed you the super cute invitations that I made to invite our family and friends to the dinner.
Well, all was going along well...until October 13th or so. You see, we were supposed to call the Johnny Carino’s that we booked to have our RD at two weeks before the event to secure the date. And then we were supposed to call them back the week of the event and place our order for food. Knowing the time line that I was working with, I mailed the invites and had an RSVP date on there of October 16th...a week out from the RD. But one little thing happened. I should have called Johnny Carino’s on the 9th to secure everything. But I was busy on the 9th. So I didn’t think about it again until the 12th, and I was busy again, so I asked B to make the call for me.
He forgot to do it, but remembered on the 13th...and then called me in a panic. Never fear, Johnny Carino’s had not taken us off of their schedule, but somehow it never came up when B was booking the room there that the room only holds 30 people. Hmmm...there were 45 on our guest list for the RD. Bad news, huh? Oh, just wait, it gets worse. On further conversation with the guy at Carino’s, B was told that the guy that had promised that this would be no problem to secure and hold was no longer there and they had no record of our event. Not that big of a deal, since the room wasn’t booked for anything else and we could just re-book the room. But the seating capacity WAS a problem...
We were getting RSVPs in the mail for the RD, but hadn’t heard from half of our guests yet. So we didn’t know for sure that we needed space for 45 people. And to my recollection, the room wasn’t a separate room with doors or anything, there were just low half-walls separating that area from the general dining area. So how hard could it be to seat the remaining “overflow” guests at tables right on the other side of those low walls? I would think not that hard.
That’s what I get for thinking. The guy from Carino’s that was slowly destroying my carefully laid out plans further informed B that since this was a Friday evening at 7pm, he was not included to “hold” seats for our party in general seating. Pretty much, they just weren’t working with us.
I tried to calm B down, a pretty hard task let me tell you! I saw several options:
1 – verify our guest list – maybe we wouldn’t even have 30 guests say yes
2 – if there were just a few more than 30, a table for 6 might be easier to “hold” next to our low walls than a table for 15
3 – change venue – either pick another restaurant in the same shopping center (there are several) or change to the Carino’s in San Marcos all together. Most of the guests were local, but the others could be given a map at the rehearsal.
4 – last, but not least, have Carino’s cater the event and hold the dinner at the venue. Which wasn’t the best option, because at this point we didn’t even know if we could rehearse, let alone dine, at the venue.
I quickly listed those options, but B was being stubborn and he didn’t like any of them. We finally settled on option 1 and started calling our respective family and friends. After an hour of phone calls, we were down to 36 guests...YEA!...but no real solution on the seating problem. Carino’s was being firm on not holding tables and not putting more than 30 in the room.
So I took matters into my own hands. I called the Johnny Carino’s in San Marcos and surprisingly got the catering manager, Casey on the first try. She was MORE than accommodating, being quick to assure me that their private room was an actual room by itself and held up to 50 people. We worked on the menu while I had her and within 10 minutes she sent me an invoice for an estimated cost. Whew! That was WAY easier. I quickly re-worked the maps that I had made for the RD, and felt settled by the time that B called me back. He wasn’t really thrilled that I handled the situation that way, but what could we do? There were several guests that we couldn’t reach and I saw no other alternative.
By the time that I got home that night, he was fine with my “executive decision” and the world was at peace again. Now I just needed to change my maps...and spread the word about the last minute change. No problem, right?
Well...just a small problem...more to come about the actual night soon! Hopefully with pictures, since I took NONE during the entire rehearsal dinner! I’m a bad bride...
Well, all was going along well...until October 13th or so. You see, we were supposed to call the Johnny Carino’s that we booked to have our RD at two weeks before the event to secure the date. And then we were supposed to call them back the week of the event and place our order for food. Knowing the time line that I was working with, I mailed the invites and had an RSVP date on there of October 16th...a week out from the RD. But one little thing happened. I should have called Johnny Carino’s on the 9th to secure everything. But I was busy on the 9th. So I didn’t think about it again until the 12th, and I was busy again, so I asked B to make the call for me.
He forgot to do it, but remembered on the 13th...and then called me in a panic. Never fear, Johnny Carino’s had not taken us off of their schedule, but somehow it never came up when B was booking the room there that the room only holds 30 people. Hmmm...there were 45 on our guest list for the RD. Bad news, huh? Oh, just wait, it gets worse. On further conversation with the guy at Carino’s, B was told that the guy that had promised that this would be no problem to secure and hold was no longer there and they had no record of our event. Not that big of a deal, since the room wasn’t booked for anything else and we could just re-book the room. But the seating capacity WAS a problem...
We were getting RSVPs in the mail for the RD, but hadn’t heard from half of our guests yet. So we didn’t know for sure that we needed space for 45 people. And to my recollection, the room wasn’t a separate room with doors or anything, there were just low half-walls separating that area from the general dining area. So how hard could it be to seat the remaining “overflow” guests at tables right on the other side of those low walls? I would think not that hard.
That’s what I get for thinking. The guy from Carino’s that was slowly destroying my carefully laid out plans further informed B that since this was a Friday evening at 7pm, he was not included to “hold” seats for our party in general seating. Pretty much, they just weren’t working with us.
I tried to calm B down, a pretty hard task let me tell you! I saw several options:
1 – verify our guest list – maybe we wouldn’t even have 30 guests say yes
2 – if there were just a few more than 30, a table for 6 might be easier to “hold” next to our low walls than a table for 15
3 – change venue – either pick another restaurant in the same shopping center (there are several) or change to the Carino’s in San Marcos all together. Most of the guests were local, but the others could be given a map at the rehearsal.
4 – last, but not least, have Carino’s cater the event and hold the dinner at the venue. Which wasn’t the best option, because at this point we didn’t even know if we could rehearse, let alone dine, at the venue.
I quickly listed those options, but B was being stubborn and he didn’t like any of them. We finally settled on option 1 and started calling our respective family and friends. After an hour of phone calls, we were down to 36 guests...YEA!...but no real solution on the seating problem. Carino’s was being firm on not holding tables and not putting more than 30 in the room.
So I took matters into my own hands. I called the Johnny Carino’s in San Marcos and surprisingly got the catering manager, Casey on the first try. She was MORE than accommodating, being quick to assure me that their private room was an actual room by itself and held up to 50 people. We worked on the menu while I had her and within 10 minutes she sent me an invoice for an estimated cost. Whew! That was WAY easier. I quickly re-worked the maps that I had made for the RD, and felt settled by the time that B called me back. He wasn’t really thrilled that I handled the situation that way, but what could we do? There were several guests that we couldn’t reach and I saw no other alternative.
By the time that I got home that night, he was fine with my “executive decision” and the world was at peace again. Now I just needed to change my maps...and spread the word about the last minute change. No problem, right?
Well...just a small problem...more to come about the actual night soon! Hopefully with pictures, since I took NONE during the entire rehearsal dinner! I’m a bad bride...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Adding a Gift for the Guys...
You know, for a guy that pinned me down to no more new projects way back in August – TWO full months before our wedding date – this guy likes to throw me for a loop every once in a while!
About 8 days before the wedding, B comes up to me and shows me a flask that he’s had for a while that he loves. He has this look on his face, and I know he’s going to ask for something...sure enough, he’s wondering what the gifts are for the boys. So I remind him that we got them their ties, socks and shoes for the wedding. I can see by the little twinkle in his eye that my answer played perfectly into his master plan...
“But that’s all stuff FOR the wedding. I want to get them something just for them.”
Since I kind of did feel bad about that their gifts all revolved around our wedding, I gave in quickly and agreed to find another gift. What’s that? You already had one in mind?
This is what he was holding in his hand.
About 8 days before the wedding, B comes up to me and shows me a flask that he’s had for a while that he loves. He has this look on his face, and I know he’s going to ask for something...sure enough, he’s wondering what the gifts are for the boys. So I remind him that we got them their ties, socks and shoes for the wedding. I can see by the little twinkle in his eye that my answer played perfectly into his master plan...
“But that’s all stuff FOR the wedding. I want to get them something just for them.”
Since I kind of did feel bad about that their gifts all revolved around our wedding, I gave in quickly and agreed to find another gift. What’s that? You already had one in mind?
This is what he was holding in his hand.
It’s something that his sister’s boyfriend had a few years back during a visit. When B commented on liking it, FSIL made her boyfriend give it to her brother. Not in a mean way, but still. The reason why B likes it so much? Jack is his liquor of choice. If he’s going to do a shot, it’ll be a shot of Jack. If he’s going to mix something in his Coke, it’ll be Jack. If he’s going to drink a liquor over ice, it’ll be Jack. Are you catching on to the pattern here?
He immediately retells the story of how he got this flask and is worried that we won’t be able to find them anywhere, since he thinks that it was a promotional thing. I assure him that you can find anything on the internet if you look hard enough. Sure enough, the next evening when I remembered to do a search, I found them right away.
I quickly placed an order for 3 with Amazon and moved on to search for a Jameson flask that was similar. (One of the Boys doesn’t like Jack, he prefers Jameson) I quickly found what I was looking for on ebay, bought the item, paid for it, and worried no more. 
The week of the wedding, the Jameson flask arrived at our house on Monday. Perfect condition, fast shipping, a girl can’t complain. The wrinkle in our plans? On Wednesday before the wedding, when I tried to track the shipment of the Jack flasks...saw that only one had shipped from Amazon so far. And we hadn’t received it yet. Hmmm...this hasn’t happened with me and Amazon before. Amazon is one of those online retailers that I can normally count on to bring what I’m looking for to me in record time. Not so in this case.
So what did we do? We went ahead and gave the Jameson one to the groom that would want that one...and we showed the others their gift by taking B’s along with us to the rehearsal dinner. Fortunately for us, they all understood and B was quick to take the blame for thinking of doing it so late in the game. I felt bad, but what could you do? By the time that we realized that they weren’t going to be here in time, it was too late to order them from elsewhere...
Did you add a last minute gift to your wedding party just to have it backfire on you? How did they take it?
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Drama of Picking Music...Part II
With the drama of the reception music settled on and picked out (for the most part), I turned my attention on to the ceremony music. This was a bit trickier for me to do, and truth be told three days before the wedding I wasn’t finished with it! Shhh...don’t tell! I knew what I wanted to do, but pulling it all together (encountering unforeseen problems with iTunes) was another story.
The main problem, that I tell myself anyway, is that our DJ just covered the reception. I’m sure that we could have opted to pay extra and have him cover the ceremony too, but it seemed silly to do so since there wasn’t any music other than processional and recessional involved in our ceremony. Or that’s what I initially thought. Then I remembered that sometimes (especially if they’ve travelled from out of town) guests arrive early. And when the wedding is in a church for example, there’s always music playing to “entertain” the guests. Hmmm...so now I have to find more music? Jeez, this is getting to be a pain – a thought that ran through my head multiple times while trying to figure this out.
So what does a bride do in times like these? Well, I don’t know about most brides, but THIS bride turned to her trusty side-kick – the internet. In the past my good friend Google has been able to solve several problems for me, so why not this too? Sure enough, there are websites out there that post popular wedding music, which you can download for a price. Nice. That helps a lot. Except that when I start listening to the samples of what they have and going through it all, I just don’t feel it. You know, the “it” feeling when you know you’re onto something good. It just wasn’t happening for me. The songs were too...classical...not enough us, if that makes sense.
I was thinking the problem through without really thinking about the problem at all, if you know what I mean, when the solution came to me like a bolt of lightning. I could pick some of our favorite songs and find a low-key instrumental version of the song and play that for our waiting music! Hmmm...let me do a quick search...yes, that could work. Armed with this idea, I jotted down some of my favorite love songs of all time and clicked over to iTunes to search for instrumental versions. Wouldn’t you know? There is a full library of karaoke songs via iTunes. All of the songs that I could think of could be found and downloaded for at most $1.29 per song and played. This would be perfect! We could burn a CD of our picks and just have a trusted family member/friend start the CD about 30 minutes before the ceremony. Nice.
I called B to go over the idea with him. He was on board – which was nice – and told me that he already had a song in mind. I reminded him that this would be his opportunity to possibly get some of his favorites played at our wedding since no words would be used and most would be acoustical in style at most. He was excited. I was excited, and the “it” feeling was there. I quickly found my favorite songs, we had each agree to pick 6 or 7, and I downloaded them.
Enter problems stage right.
I don’t know what was going on, but iTunes was just not liking me. Three of my songs downloaded fine. The other three songs? Wouldn’t download to save my life. I tried it on my laptop at home. My desktop at home. Shhh...don’t tell, but I even tried it on my work computer. Nothing worked. I was very frustrated.
A week passes. Nothing works still. And B has not given me any song ideas other than the one that he thought of immediately when I talked to him about it. arrrggghhh.
Now, here I am at three days out. Luckily, the gods that run iTunes took pity on me last night and decided to download my last three songs. B still hasn’t given me any selections. So, I’ve decided that I’m burning the CD tonight whether he gives me songs or not. Too bad, so sad – you had your chance, buddy!
So would you like to know our selections? I don’t have time or energy to find links to the songs, but I hope that you’ll still love me.
Waiting Music:
At Last – Etta James
I Can’t Help Falling in Love (with you) – Elvis Presley
Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
Songbird – Kenny G
Where Were You (on our wedding day) – Miles Davis
Imagine – John Lennon
The Wedding Song
Smoke in Your Eyes - Soundtrack of "Always"
Seating of the Grandparents/Parents:
Main Title – Soundtrack of “The Notebook”
Processional:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Martina McBride (yes, I know it’s a live version – I don’t care)
Recessional:
Oops! So there’s one more that I have to find!
But that’s the gist of it. I listed the most popular artist that sings the waiting music, but know that it will all be instrumental. Some of them are more jazzy, while some are piano and orchestra versions. I like the mix, so I’m keeping it.
A HUGE sigh of relief has escaped me just now. Yes, I know that I still have one more song to find, but that’ll be easy...famous last words, I know! Now I just have to burn the CD, make sure it plays (always double check) and find someone to slip it in and play them for me. Easy, peasy...let’s hope!
The main problem, that I tell myself anyway, is that our DJ just covered the reception. I’m sure that we could have opted to pay extra and have him cover the ceremony too, but it seemed silly to do so since there wasn’t any music other than processional and recessional involved in our ceremony. Or that’s what I initially thought. Then I remembered that sometimes (especially if they’ve travelled from out of town) guests arrive early. And when the wedding is in a church for example, there’s always music playing to “entertain” the guests. Hmmm...so now I have to find more music? Jeez, this is getting to be a pain – a thought that ran through my head multiple times while trying to figure this out.
So what does a bride do in times like these? Well, I don’t know about most brides, but THIS bride turned to her trusty side-kick – the internet. In the past my good friend Google has been able to solve several problems for me, so why not this too? Sure enough, there are websites out there that post popular wedding music, which you can download for a price. Nice. That helps a lot. Except that when I start listening to the samples of what they have and going through it all, I just don’t feel it. You know, the “it” feeling when you know you’re onto something good. It just wasn’t happening for me. The songs were too...classical...not enough us, if that makes sense.
I was thinking the problem through without really thinking about the problem at all, if you know what I mean, when the solution came to me like a bolt of lightning. I could pick some of our favorite songs and find a low-key instrumental version of the song and play that for our waiting music! Hmmm...let me do a quick search...yes, that could work. Armed with this idea, I jotted down some of my favorite love songs of all time and clicked over to iTunes to search for instrumental versions. Wouldn’t you know? There is a full library of karaoke songs via iTunes. All of the songs that I could think of could be found and downloaded for at most $1.29 per song and played. This would be perfect! We could burn a CD of our picks and just have a trusted family member/friend start the CD about 30 minutes before the ceremony. Nice.
I called B to go over the idea with him. He was on board – which was nice – and told me that he already had a song in mind. I reminded him that this would be his opportunity to possibly get some of his favorites played at our wedding since no words would be used and most would be acoustical in style at most. He was excited. I was excited, and the “it” feeling was there. I quickly found my favorite songs, we had each agree to pick 6 or 7, and I downloaded them.
Enter problems stage right.
I don’t know what was going on, but iTunes was just not liking me. Three of my songs downloaded fine. The other three songs? Wouldn’t download to save my life. I tried it on my laptop at home. My desktop at home. Shhh...don’t tell, but I even tried it on my work computer. Nothing worked. I was very frustrated.
A week passes. Nothing works still. And B has not given me any song ideas other than the one that he thought of immediately when I talked to him about it. arrrggghhh.
Now, here I am at three days out. Luckily, the gods that run iTunes took pity on me last night and decided to download my last three songs. B still hasn’t given me any selections. So, I’ve decided that I’m burning the CD tonight whether he gives me songs or not. Too bad, so sad – you had your chance, buddy!
So would you like to know our selections? I don’t have time or energy to find links to the songs, but I hope that you’ll still love me.
Waiting Music:
At Last – Etta James
I Can’t Help Falling in Love (with you) – Elvis Presley
Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
Songbird – Kenny G
Where Were You (on our wedding day) – Miles Davis
Imagine – John Lennon
The Wedding Song
Smoke in Your Eyes - Soundtrack of "Always"
Seating of the Grandparents/Parents:
Main Title – Soundtrack of “The Notebook”
Processional:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Martina McBride (yes, I know it’s a live version – I don’t care)
Recessional:
Oops! So there’s one more that I have to find!
But that’s the gist of it. I listed the most popular artist that sings the waiting music, but know that it will all be instrumental. Some of them are more jazzy, while some are piano and orchestra versions. I like the mix, so I’m keeping it.
A HUGE sigh of relief has escaped me just now. Yes, I know that I still have one more song to find, but that’ll be easy...famous last words, I know! Now I just have to burn the CD, make sure it plays (always double check) and find someone to slip it in and play them for me. Easy, peasy...let’s hope!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Drama of Picking Music...Part I
Hmmm...well, I’ve mentioned several times that I’ve been having music problems. I don’t know why this process has been so difficult for me...probably because I “assumed” that it wouldn’t be that hard to do, huh? That’s what I get! The reason that I thought that it would be easier is because we’re big on music. There’s always music playing at home or in the car (I cannot drive my car alone without singing out loud!) and we both have a wide selection of music that we both enjoy.
But what I’ve discovered is that music that you love isn’t always the best music to play...at a WEDDING. There are some great artists that we really like that just aren’t wedding appropriate...and I don’t care what you all tell me, I just can’t play my favorite Fergie song to get me out on the floor to a nice round of dirty dancing with grandmas in the audience. I just can’t do it. I’d like to, I really would, but we can’t. And B is in full agreement on this point.
The other thing is that I was trying really hard to do was to mesh our music tastes so that the reception music was a good blend of both of our tastes along with some of our mutual favorites. But that didn’t work either. You see, B’s favorite music selections are all angry, loud, metal grinding music about death, violence and other non-wedding-appropriate subjects. So right away we ran into a road block. But that’s ok, because he likes other music, right? Yeah...easier said than done. And if you look at my CD collection you’ll see a vast majority of country music. Which is the extreme opposite of Rage Against the Machine or Godsmack. Somewhere in the middle you find our pop rock collection, jazz collection and my instrumental favorites. So...we really are all over the board on music.
The DJ that we booked has an online catalog of music to pick from and he’s got a really nice set-up for planning your event. When you send in your deposit to reserve your day, he gives you a log on to the Client Area of his website. From there, you can fill out a Planning Form, Wedding Timeline and submit your Music Requests. Depending on the length of time that you booked him, the system is pre-set up with how many songs you need to select, and lets you categorize them into Must Play Songs and Play if Possible songs. I quickly scanned through some of his library early on in the planning, saw a bunch of artists that we like and just forgot about it.
Fast forward to three weeks ago when I realized that we have not done anything other then fill in the Planning Form and select our First Dance song. Sometimes, that’s the hardest one for couples to select, but that was easy for us – we’ve known all along that it would be “You’re the One” by The Black Keys. It’s the rest of the music that we struggled with...and don’t even get me started on the ceremony music!
Having decided that the looming deadline needed to be addressed, we set out some time to sit down together and go through our DJ’s library of music page by page until we had our required number of songs. And this is where we noticed that just because you like a song, or an artist, doesn’t mean that that song or artist HAS to be played at your wedding. The DJ’s list is sorted alphabetically, and we got to the letter “J” and reached our maximum number of Must Play Songs. Hmmm...this isn’t going to work, huh?
Well, I’ll make a long story short and tell you the ending only. We finished the list about a week before it was due to the DJ. That’s the good news. The bad news? It doesn’t really reflect B very much. In fact, he keeps thinking about it and laughing about the reaction of his friends who will be at the wedding talking about how the music isn’t much of B’s style at all. But I swear to you that he helped, that he had a say in each and every song that we picked.
Our reception music ranges from timeless classics like Frank Sinatra to new country artists like Taylor Swift and classic country singers such as Hank Williams, Jr. And just for kicks and grins? Vanilla Ice and Sir Mix a Lot might be making an appearance as well. What? You can’t blame a girl or guy for wanting some good booty shaking music to bring back fond memories, right? Of course not. We hope that our guests like our selections as much as we do...and we hope that the dance floor stays packed all night long.
Next up...ceremony music. Because that’s a post all on it’s own!
Did you struggle with music selections or did it come easy for you? Did you find that the music reflected one of you better than the other?
But what I’ve discovered is that music that you love isn’t always the best music to play...at a WEDDING. There are some great artists that we really like that just aren’t wedding appropriate...and I don’t care what you all tell me, I just can’t play my favorite Fergie song to get me out on the floor to a nice round of dirty dancing with grandmas in the audience. I just can’t do it. I’d like to, I really would, but we can’t. And B is in full agreement on this point.
The other thing is that I was trying really hard to do was to mesh our music tastes so that the reception music was a good blend of both of our tastes along with some of our mutual favorites. But that didn’t work either. You see, B’s favorite music selections are all angry, loud, metal grinding music about death, violence and other non-wedding-appropriate subjects. So right away we ran into a road block. But that’s ok, because he likes other music, right? Yeah...easier said than done. And if you look at my CD collection you’ll see a vast majority of country music. Which is the extreme opposite of Rage Against the Machine or Godsmack. Somewhere in the middle you find our pop rock collection, jazz collection and my instrumental favorites. So...we really are all over the board on music.
The DJ that we booked has an online catalog of music to pick from and he’s got a really nice set-up for planning your event. When you send in your deposit to reserve your day, he gives you a log on to the Client Area of his website. From there, you can fill out a Planning Form, Wedding Timeline and submit your Music Requests. Depending on the length of time that you booked him, the system is pre-set up with how many songs you need to select, and lets you categorize them into Must Play Songs and Play if Possible songs. I quickly scanned through some of his library early on in the planning, saw a bunch of artists that we like and just forgot about it.
Fast forward to three weeks ago when I realized that we have not done anything other then fill in the Planning Form and select our First Dance song. Sometimes, that’s the hardest one for couples to select, but that was easy for us – we’ve known all along that it would be “You’re the One” by The Black Keys. It’s the rest of the music that we struggled with...and don’t even get me started on the ceremony music!
Having decided that the looming deadline needed to be addressed, we set out some time to sit down together and go through our DJ’s library of music page by page until we had our required number of songs. And this is where we noticed that just because you like a song, or an artist, doesn’t mean that that song or artist HAS to be played at your wedding. The DJ’s list is sorted alphabetically, and we got to the letter “J” and reached our maximum number of Must Play Songs. Hmmm...this isn’t going to work, huh?
Well, I’ll make a long story short and tell you the ending only. We finished the list about a week before it was due to the DJ. That’s the good news. The bad news? It doesn’t really reflect B very much. In fact, he keeps thinking about it and laughing about the reaction of his friends who will be at the wedding talking about how the music isn’t much of B’s style at all. But I swear to you that he helped, that he had a say in each and every song that we picked.
Our reception music ranges from timeless classics like Frank Sinatra to new country artists like Taylor Swift and classic country singers such as Hank Williams, Jr. And just for kicks and grins? Vanilla Ice and Sir Mix a Lot might be making an appearance as well. What? You can’t blame a girl or guy for wanting some good booty shaking music to bring back fond memories, right? Of course not. We hope that our guests like our selections as much as we do...and we hope that the dance floor stays packed all night long.
Next up...ceremony music. Because that’s a post all on it’s own!
Did you struggle with music selections or did it come easy for you? Did you find that the music reflected one of you better than the other?
Making it Legal...Getting our License
Wow. I’m a little behind on posts, huh? I’ve got a running list of post titles in a Word document...and the list just gets longer every day! Yikes. So here we are, making it legal. We actually went and did this one morning last week, not waiting until the last possible minute to get our license – although we did cut it close!
A funny pre-post story...for some reason, I wasn't really thinking things through and when B asked me when do we go to get our license, I told him anytime after our 30 day mark had passed. I told him that he could come into Austin and pick me up and then we'd just go downtown to get it. Ummm...works out great, except that we're getting married outside of Ausitn, in Kyle...which resides in another county. Hello, Hays County! Silly bride! Lucky for me, Hays county offices for records opens to the public at 8:30 so I was just able to go in a little late one morning.
A funny pre-post story...for some reason, I wasn't really thinking things through and when B asked me when do we go to get our license, I told him anytime after our 30 day mark had passed. I told him that he could come into Austin and pick me up and then we'd just go downtown to get it. Ummm...works out great, except that we're getting married outside of Ausitn, in Kyle...which resides in another county. Hello, Hays County! Silly bride! Lucky for me, Hays county offices for records opens to the public at 8:30 so I was just able to go in a little late one morning.
It’s so easy to get a marriage license...something that I don’t remember about my previous ones...simply show up, show some identification, pay the fee and get a license. Sure, you have to wait 72 hours but that’s not a big deal with good planning in place. And yes, you do have to raise your right hand and solemnly swear that you’re not blood-related, but that’s just funny. Yes, the clerk actually had us swear several things that day:
That neither of us had been divorced within the last 30 days
That neither of us had back child-support due to the courts
And that we were not blood relatives
Yep, apparently that’s the checklist in Texas. Don’t be recently divorced, don’t owe money to the Attorney General’s office and don’t be direct kin. And yes, B and I both snickered at answering that last question.
Even though he laughed at me, I brought my camera along for the ride. The building that we went into wasn’t that pretty, and the office actually smelled like pee (probably just musty from all those records), so no photos were taken inside. We snapped these shots ourselves just outside along the sidewalk.
That neither of us had been divorced within the last 30 days
That neither of us had back child-support due to the courts
And that we were not blood relatives
Yep, apparently that’s the checklist in Texas. Don’t be recently divorced, don’t owe money to the Attorney General’s office and don’t be direct kin. And yes, B and I both snickered at answering that last question.
Even though he laughed at me, I brought my camera along for the ride. The building that we went into wasn’t that pretty, and the office actually smelled like pee (probably just musty from all those records), so no photos were taken inside. We snapped these shots ourselves just outside along the sidewalk.
Doesn’t B look so serious?
Please pardon the make-up-less face that morning. I think that I worked late the night before and was tired! On a side note: I’ve threatened B with bodily harm if that hat shows up in ANY wedding pictures...no, we didn’t buy it like that, one of the dogs did that...and B wears it proudly every where he goes!
I took this picture once we got home just because the license itself was SO pretty. I was disappointed to see that the county of Hays in Texas does NOT require two witness signatures...we were planning on having each of our kids sign as our witness to make them part of the legal side of things...oh well. Picking up the license was really a breeze, took less than 15 minutes, and we were officially ready to get married. I dropped the license of with our officiant just a few days later and he’ll be the one bringing it to the ceremony and keeping up with it. Just one less thing for me to have to worry with, right?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A Major Accomplishment...
I have to admit it...and I’ll be honest here and say that it feels a little disloyal to say it aloud...but it felt kinda good packing away my embossing gun last night. I mean, REALLY good. My gun and I have had a close, personal relationship these past 7 months or so...and in fact it has not been “put up” in the formal sense since sometime in August. Wow. That’s a LOT of embossing time, huh?
But it wasn’t alone. There were other tools that have been out and about these past few months, getting sometimes daily usage that also got put away. There was my large paper cutter, my small paper cutter, the bone folder (LOVE that tool!), the double-sided tape reel, and my hot glue gun. All good friends of mine...these past few months anyway.
So I guess that you’ve deduced by now that by putting away my tools yesterday that it means that I finished all of my crafty projects, huh? Yep, I did. And it felt good. I finished them up yesterday after two straight weekends of working on wedding stuff. Along with a couple of late weeknights. There were actually a few nights in there when B just assumed that I wasn’t going to work the next day or that my plan was to work all night long because I worked past midnight! But, I’m proud to say that I missed no work, and everything got done on schedule. I can sleep this week, right?
Well, maybe. But maybe not. Just because the crafty projects are done, doesn’t mean that I’m ready to go. There’s a lot between finishing a project and getting married still, but we’re taking it one day at a time. knowing that I don’t have to stay up late on nights this week folding programs, embossing name tags or picking out reception music is a relief! But there’s still plenty to do.
This week is dedicated (according to the Master Plan in my head!) to packing up and organizing. And I actually jumped the gun on this too over the weekend since I had a great helper in B with the last of my projects. I was finally down to projects that didn’t involve separating layers of delicate tissue, or tying super small knots over and over again in twine...those manly hands of his don’t like projects like those. But tying names on the Mason jars – done! And he was happy to do it, which was a blessing for me.
I cleaned out the large craft box that has occupied a corner of our living room for as long as I can remember and starting organizing. Packing ceremony décor into a separate box all on its own, and getting all the parts and pieces in there that need to accompany them. Getting all the components to certain projects gathered up and grouped together and placed in tote-able boxes. Putting all the groomsmen and bridesmaids gifts into their pretty-fied bags that I whipped up Friday...it’s just all coming together.
I’ve tried to pre-write some posts for this week, but since I’ve been working so hard at night, I’m not doing so good. I hope to be able to keep posting at it’s normal 1 post each day while I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off...but we’ll see if that happens. I’ve definitely got some photographer eye candy saved up for you, so if there is a lack of posts about me and our wedding preparations, please be patient. I’ll be back next week...especially since our honeymoon isn’t until two weeks after the wedding!
But it wasn’t alone. There were other tools that have been out and about these past few months, getting sometimes daily usage that also got put away. There was my large paper cutter, my small paper cutter, the bone folder (LOVE that tool!), the double-sided tape reel, and my hot glue gun. All good friends of mine...these past few months anyway.
So I guess that you’ve deduced by now that by putting away my tools yesterday that it means that I finished all of my crafty projects, huh? Yep, I did. And it felt good. I finished them up yesterday after two straight weekends of working on wedding stuff. Along with a couple of late weeknights. There were actually a few nights in there when B just assumed that I wasn’t going to work the next day or that my plan was to work all night long because I worked past midnight! But, I’m proud to say that I missed no work, and everything got done on schedule. I can sleep this week, right?
Well, maybe. But maybe not. Just because the crafty projects are done, doesn’t mean that I’m ready to go. There’s a lot between finishing a project and getting married still, but we’re taking it one day at a time. knowing that I don’t have to stay up late on nights this week folding programs, embossing name tags or picking out reception music is a relief! But there’s still plenty to do.
This week is dedicated (according to the Master Plan in my head!) to packing up and organizing. And I actually jumped the gun on this too over the weekend since I had a great helper in B with the last of my projects. I was finally down to projects that didn’t involve separating layers of delicate tissue, or tying super small knots over and over again in twine...those manly hands of his don’t like projects like those. But tying names on the Mason jars – done! And he was happy to do it, which was a blessing for me.
I cleaned out the large craft box that has occupied a corner of our living room for as long as I can remember and starting organizing. Packing ceremony décor into a separate box all on its own, and getting all the parts and pieces in there that need to accompany them. Getting all the components to certain projects gathered up and grouped together and placed in tote-able boxes. Putting all the groomsmen and bridesmaids gifts into their pretty-fied bags that I whipped up Friday...it’s just all coming together.
I’ve tried to pre-write some posts for this week, but since I’ve been working so hard at night, I’m not doing so good. I hope to be able to keep posting at it’s normal 1 post each day while I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off...but we’ll see if that happens. I’ve definitely got some photographer eye candy saved up for you, so if there is a lack of posts about me and our wedding preparations, please be patient. I’ll be back next week...especially since our honeymoon isn’t until two weeks after the wedding!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It Looks More “Real” Now...
Well, not really, but kind of.
Let me explain.
You see, B’s truck has been in the shop a lot in the last two weeks. His power door locks went out one day for no reason, and Carmax can’t figure out what the deal is. So he spent a few days driving around in my car during the day while the technicians were looking things over. That’s the bad news. The good news? Well, the repairs are all covered under warranty (cha-ching goes the money staying in the bank!) and because we live outside of Austin, he was killing a lot of free time in town trying to avoid driving home and back so much when I’m at work all day. Which translates into him running wedding errands for me!
See? It was REALLY good news, wasn’t it? LOL.
Anyway, one thing that I sent him to do the other day was to pick up my wedding band. It’s been at the jeweler’s while he made payments on it since we picked it out, and it was time to make the last payment and bring home the prize. He laughed at me for doing this, but I know that deep down on the inside he was tickled pink that I put it on my finger as soon as he picked me up for lunch that day. I think that it must have looked like true love or something because he accused me of “pretending” to put the ring back in the box and bag when he dropped me off back at work after lunch. Like I would want to wear that extra bling while I worked or something...sheesh, I’ve never even thought such a thing!
I hope that you’re picking up on the sarcasm, because I’m laying it on pretty thick!
No, I didn’t “pretend” to take the lovely off. But I did have to document the occasion that night when we got home...too bad the pictures didn’t turn out so well. I don’t know what my problem was! But here you go! A lovely bag to see...
Let me explain.
You see, B’s truck has been in the shop a lot in the last two weeks. His power door locks went out one day for no reason, and Carmax can’t figure out what the deal is. So he spent a few days driving around in my car during the day while the technicians were looking things over. That’s the bad news. The good news? Well, the repairs are all covered under warranty (cha-ching goes the money staying in the bank!) and because we live outside of Austin, he was killing a lot of free time in town trying to avoid driving home and back so much when I’m at work all day. Which translates into him running wedding errands for me!
See? It was REALLY good news, wasn’t it? LOL.
Anyway, one thing that I sent him to do the other day was to pick up my wedding band. It’s been at the jeweler’s while he made payments on it since we picked it out, and it was time to make the last payment and bring home the prize. He laughed at me for doing this, but I know that deep down on the inside he was tickled pink that I put it on my finger as soon as he picked me up for lunch that day. I think that it must have looked like true love or something because he accused me of “pretending” to put the ring back in the box and bag when he dropped me off back at work after lunch. Like I would want to wear that extra bling while I worked or something...sheesh, I’ve never even thought such a thing!
I hope that you’re picking up on the sarcasm, because I’m laying it on pretty thick!
No, I didn’t “pretend” to take the lovely off. But I did have to document the occasion that night when we got home...too bad the pictures didn’t turn out so well. I don’t know what my problem was! But here you go! A lovely bag to see...
Followed by a pretty box... 
OH! And a bright, shiny, sparkly thing! 
Here you can see the European shank to the shape of the ring. It helps to keep the ring from turning as you move your hands around (or type as I do all day long). I wasn't sure about it at first, but I LOVE it now. 
What’s that? You want to see how it looks with my e-ring? Well, only because you insisted... 
I got accused of jinxing the whole thing by wearing my wedding band long enough to snap these shots. Men. They just don’t get that we want to see it all together, do they? Oh well. He let me do my thing, then promptly took it away for “safe keeping” from me.
My rings came as a set, which I liked best since it was important to me that they fit together as well as possible. I didn’t want a big gap between the rings to show...that’s just me being anal. Although I read about brides having second thoughts – about their dress or their ring choices – there was never any doubt that this was MY ring. And MY wedding band. I offered to look for something a little less expensive, especially after B got layed off, but he wouldn’t hear of doing such a thing. He really is good to me, huh?
So this was the moment where it finally hit me how close we’re getting. Yes, I look at the countdown every single day. And there are people around me at work and family members who remind me how many days are left constantly. But picking up your wedding band? That’s just WAY more real for some reason.
Mentioning wedding bands, B’s isn’t here yet. I’ve contacted the seller on etsy and they assure me that the ring is going in the mail tomorrow with a two-day delivery set up...but you know that I’m sweating bullets on this one!
I got accused of jinxing the whole thing by wearing my wedding band long enough to snap these shots. Men. They just don’t get that we want to see it all together, do they? Oh well. He let me do my thing, then promptly took it away for “safe keeping” from me.My rings came as a set, which I liked best since it was important to me that they fit together as well as possible. I didn’t want a big gap between the rings to show...that’s just me being anal. Although I read about brides having second thoughts – about their dress or their ring choices – there was never any doubt that this was MY ring. And MY wedding band. I offered to look for something a little less expensive, especially after B got layed off, but he wouldn’t hear of doing such a thing. He really is good to me, huh?
So this was the moment where it finally hit me how close we’re getting. Yes, I look at the countdown every single day. And there are people around me at work and family members who remind me how many days are left constantly. But picking up your wedding band? That’s just WAY more real for some reason.
Mentioning wedding bands, B’s isn’t here yet. I’ve contacted the seller on etsy and they assure me that the ring is going in the mail tomorrow with a two-day delivery set up...but you know that I’m sweating bullets on this one!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Things that I have NOT done!
No, this isn't that game that you play where you go around in a circle and tell things that you haven't done...just to be totally embarrased to admit that you HAVE do something that you shouldn't have!
I’ve talked a lot about what I HAVE done for the wedding...the growing To Do List that some days gets shorter and some days gets longer. What I haven’t talked about lately? Things that I have NOT done and don’t plan on doing for our wedding.
When it’s not your first wedding, there’s not any help expected from parental units. As is only fair, I might add. I mean, they’ve already done this party once, right? Right. So paying for everything ourselves helped in some ways (no parents to argue with and kept the guest list down) but it also hindered us on other things that we might have splurged on if someone else were picking up a portion of the bill.
So here are some things that I haven’t didn’t spend my money on (or don’t plan on doing):
Day of Coordinator (DOC) – I would have loved to have spent some money on this, but it just wasn’t in our budget to do so, even though I found a local lady for just around $600. Yes, I would love to have someone totally unrelated and out of the mix there on our special day to make sure that the little details are taken care of. And I know that her fee would be worth every penny. But in reality? It’ll be a kind family member struggling to envision our vision for our day...following orders that someone (cough* me *cough) gives out. And I’ll love that person immensely. Volunteers? Just kidding!
Ceremony Musicians – if I had unlimited resources, I would hire ceremony musicians. I love a string guitar...not to mention instrumental jazz music...but hiring someone to play for just the ceremony wasn’t practical. So what does this mean to me now? On the bright side, it means that I get more control (read ALL control) over the music played at our ceremony. And since it’s not being done in a church, there are literally NO restrictions on what I can play. But that also means that I start from scratch on figuring out what to play. Which I haven’t done yet...relax, I still have 7 days, right? I guess that this would be the ONE exception on my “not planning on doing” statement above!
Relax Mom, I know that I need to take care of this...it just hasn’t been coming together easily for me. But I think that I’m on to something now...I’ll share in a few days, promise!
Appetizers – Here’s the deal. Our caterer doesn’t do appetizers. It’s a bar-b-que place, and I can’t complain with the rates that they’re charging us on per person costs – really excellent pricing! And since we choose not to do a “first look” this means that there is a cocktail hour. We talked at one time about trying to do some appetizers of some kind, but let’s be honest here. With no day of coordinator, that’s probably not going to happen. I might be able to sweet-talk some family members into preparing some cheese/crackers and possible a fruit tray, but that’s pretty much it. And I’m ok with that. To my way of thinking, it just means that our Cocktail Hour will TRULY be a Cocktail Hour. Drinks only. Is that tacky?
Limousine – We have a friend, who is gifting us a driver for the evening to get to our hotel. His brother owns a limo company here in Austin, and originally had told B that he would get us a limo for the night as our wedding gift. Knowing this friend (and how little he thinks about what he’s asking) and knowing that Saturdays have GOT to be a busy night for the limo business, I just sat back and watched this one unfold. You see, if it weren’t for our friend, I would be fine driving off in our own car. Yes, a vintage car or a stretch limo would be nice...but it’s nothing that I can’t live without. Oh, and the saga ended with the brother laughing at our friend...but he is providing a car (think 300) with a driver. Still a VERY nice and appreciated gift!
Special Toasting Glasses – Maybe this one is more because it’s not our first wedding...it’s not really a terribly expensive item to cut from the budget, but it’s something that we’re not doing. We’re Mason jar kind of people. Going out for pizza and beer IS getting dressed up and taking in the town for us! So toasting with our beverage of choice (with no champagne service at all – Gasp!) in our Mason jars suits us just fine.
Special chairs – oh wait, I DID rent special chairs...well, can I say that I used semi-good judgement and didn’t rent the most expensive ones? Will that count? I don’t know, you be the judge.
Videographer – yeah, NOT in the budget at all. Funny side story. At my first wedding, at the last minute my mom and I decided (or was it my ex?) to hire a videographer. I really can’t tell you where we found him, but the price was right and he was available. Now, I’m not trying to be racial or stir anything up, but this was a church wedding in deep East Texas...and he might have been the only African American in attendance. And he wasn’t dressed subtly. Yeah. With recurring nightmares of that happening again, the poorly dressed man who was in your face recording the event not the lone racial attendee, I never even mentioned to it to B. Plus, for a good one, it just wasn’t in our budget. I hired a fabulous photographer instead, splurging a little on my budget with her fee. I like to scrapbook, not watch videos, so pictures were of utmost importance to me.
Dance Lessons – We talked about this one off and on, and in the end just ran out of time. It wasn’t too expensive, so budget wasn’t a concern. Time was a factor. I really wish we had made time for this one...oh well, hopefully we’ll get through it.
There’s probably more that we’re not doing, but those are the ones that come to the front of my mind. I hope think that our wedding will be fine without these extras...and I literally mean crossing my fingers and toes, especially on the decision for no DOC.
What have you decided not to do? Do you regret that decision (if you’re already married) or are you second guessing that decision (if you’re not yet married)?
I’ve talked a lot about what I HAVE done for the wedding...the growing To Do List that some days gets shorter and some days gets longer. What I haven’t talked about lately? Things that I have NOT done and don’t plan on doing for our wedding.
When it’s not your first wedding, there’s not any help expected from parental units. As is only fair, I might add. I mean, they’ve already done this party once, right? Right. So paying for everything ourselves helped in some ways (no parents to argue with and kept the guest list down) but it also hindered us on other things that we might have splurged on if someone else were picking up a portion of the bill.
So here are some things that I haven’t didn’t spend my money on (or don’t plan on doing):
Day of Coordinator (DOC) – I would have loved to have spent some money on this, but it just wasn’t in our budget to do so, even though I found a local lady for just around $600. Yes, I would love to have someone totally unrelated and out of the mix there on our special day to make sure that the little details are taken care of. And I know that her fee would be worth every penny. But in reality? It’ll be a kind family member struggling to envision our vision for our day...following orders that someone (cough* me *cough) gives out. And I’ll love that person immensely. Volunteers? Just kidding!
Ceremony Musicians – if I had unlimited resources, I would hire ceremony musicians. I love a string guitar...not to mention instrumental jazz music...but hiring someone to play for just the ceremony wasn’t practical. So what does this mean to me now? On the bright side, it means that I get more control (read ALL control) over the music played at our ceremony. And since it’s not being done in a church, there are literally NO restrictions on what I can play. But that also means that I start from scratch on figuring out what to play. Which I haven’t done yet...relax, I still have 7 days, right? I guess that this would be the ONE exception on my “not planning on doing” statement above!
Relax Mom, I know that I need to take care of this...it just hasn’t been coming together easily for me. But I think that I’m on to something now...I’ll share in a few days, promise!
Appetizers – Here’s the deal. Our caterer doesn’t do appetizers. It’s a bar-b-que place, and I can’t complain with the rates that they’re charging us on per person costs – really excellent pricing! And since we choose not to do a “first look” this means that there is a cocktail hour. We talked at one time about trying to do some appetizers of some kind, but let’s be honest here. With no day of coordinator, that’s probably not going to happen. I might be able to sweet-talk some family members into preparing some cheese/crackers and possible a fruit tray, but that’s pretty much it. And I’m ok with that. To my way of thinking, it just means that our Cocktail Hour will TRULY be a Cocktail Hour. Drinks only. Is that tacky?
Limousine – We have a friend, who is gifting us a driver for the evening to get to our hotel. His brother owns a limo company here in Austin, and originally had told B that he would get us a limo for the night as our wedding gift. Knowing this friend (and how little he thinks about what he’s asking) and knowing that Saturdays have GOT to be a busy night for the limo business, I just sat back and watched this one unfold. You see, if it weren’t for our friend, I would be fine driving off in our own car. Yes, a vintage car or a stretch limo would be nice...but it’s nothing that I can’t live without. Oh, and the saga ended with the brother laughing at our friend...but he is providing a car (think 300) with a driver. Still a VERY nice and appreciated gift!
Special Toasting Glasses – Maybe this one is more because it’s not our first wedding...it’s not really a terribly expensive item to cut from the budget, but it’s something that we’re not doing. We’re Mason jar kind of people. Going out for pizza and beer IS getting dressed up and taking in the town for us! So toasting with our beverage of choice (with no champagne service at all – Gasp!) in our Mason jars suits us just fine.
Special chairs – oh wait, I DID rent special chairs...well, can I say that I used semi-good judgement and didn’t rent the most expensive ones? Will that count? I don’t know, you be the judge.
Videographer – yeah, NOT in the budget at all. Funny side story. At my first wedding, at the last minute my mom and I decided (or was it my ex?) to hire a videographer. I really can’t tell you where we found him, but the price was right and he was available. Now, I’m not trying to be racial or stir anything up, but this was a church wedding in deep East Texas...and he might have been the only African American in attendance. And he wasn’t dressed subtly. Yeah. With recurring nightmares of that happening again, the poorly dressed man who was in your face recording the event not the lone racial attendee, I never even mentioned to it to B. Plus, for a good one, it just wasn’t in our budget. I hired a fabulous photographer instead, splurging a little on my budget with her fee. I like to scrapbook, not watch videos, so pictures were of utmost importance to me.
Dance Lessons – We talked about this one off and on, and in the end just ran out of time. It wasn’t too expensive, so budget wasn’t a concern. Time was a factor. I really wish we had made time for this one...oh well, hopefully we’ll get through it.
There’s probably more that we’re not doing, but those are the ones that come to the front of my mind. I hope think that our wedding will be fine without these extras...and I literally mean crossing my fingers and toes, especially on the decision for no DOC.
What have you decided not to do? Do you regret that decision (if you’re already married) or are you second guessing that decision (if you’re not yet married)?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Anyone NOT have Wedding on the Brain?
I doubt it, since you’re Google Reader is just JAM-packed with bridal blogs...women who are planning a wedding, women just wanting to be engaged so that they can START planning their wedding, women who JUST got married so you can get more ideas...at least that’s what MY Google Reader looks like!
But what I want to know is how many brides out there are at the point where they don’t want to look/think/eat/sleep/breathe wedding anymore? Anyone? Am I alone in this?
It doesn’t bother me to be the only one...or to be the only truthful one! I’m used to it – I’ve got a LONG history of following my own path and marching to my own beat – I mean, Hello! I’m an encore bride planning a full-blown wedding of our dreams to an encore groom! Talk about marching to your own drum...
Anyway, back to my point. I’m not tired of my wedding, please don’t hear that! I’m just ready for it to be here already. Since I am an encore bride, and a mother, I would relate it to the last month of pregnancy. When the excitement of being pregnant is LONG since past, and you’ve got everything as ready as it’s gonna get before the baby comes and you just want it over already. That doesn’t mean that you’re any less excited, or any less thrilled to meet your new little one, you’re just ready for the culmination of all of your hard work.
That’s where I am now. Things are getting done, but there is lots more left to do. And what am I doing to help all of that get done? Thinking about Christmas cards.
Yep, you read that right. I was walking through Hobby Lobby looking for more twine (Michael’s swears that they don’t carry it, but I KNOW that’s where I bought the last spool!) and I stumbled upon the wrapping paper aisle. Now, I might not get too excited about Christmas decorations for the house in general, but wrapping paper is a WHOLE different story. I’m the kid that wraps her own presents...my step-mom would number the boxes and have them already taped closed. I would wrap and then tell her what number it was and she would tell me the info to fill out the tag with. Nice, right?
So I walked down the aisle (I really WAS looking for twine! It could be on this aisle...) and I started thinking about making our Christmas cards this year. I mean, I’ve had such fun doing the paper goods for the wedding, who’s to say that I can’t make my own Christmas cards? So a trip down that aisle then led to a trip down the stamps aisle which in turn led to a trip down the scrapbook paper aisle...you see how I get into trouble? It’s just SO easy!
And I’ve found that it’s all I can think about today. Yes, the wedding is still there (as always) in the forefront of my mind, only slightly behind the work that was piled on my desk, but hanging steady in a runner-up spot was Christmas cards. The furthest thing from weddings that could be...
But I have to admit that it’s nice to have another focus. I think that I will enjoy not focusing on our wedding. I’ve been worried about having wedding withdrawals, you see. But now I think that I’m excited about post-wedding projects...and you KNOW that I’ve got to have a project to work on! LOL!
Newlyweds, how are you dealing with post-wedding stuff? Are you enjoying free time, doing not a whole lot? Or did you dive right into some other project?
Brides, what are you MOST looking forward to after the big day is over? Got a hobby that you’ve been neglecting?
But what I want to know is how many brides out there are at the point where they don’t want to look/think/eat/sleep/breathe wedding anymore? Anyone? Am I alone in this?
It doesn’t bother me to be the only one...or to be the only truthful one! I’m used to it – I’ve got a LONG history of following my own path and marching to my own beat – I mean, Hello! I’m an encore bride planning a full-blown wedding of our dreams to an encore groom! Talk about marching to your own drum...
Anyway, back to my point. I’m not tired of my wedding, please don’t hear that! I’m just ready for it to be here already. Since I am an encore bride, and a mother, I would relate it to the last month of pregnancy. When the excitement of being pregnant is LONG since past, and you’ve got everything as ready as it’s gonna get before the baby comes and you just want it over already. That doesn’t mean that you’re any less excited, or any less thrilled to meet your new little one, you’re just ready for the culmination of all of your hard work.
That’s where I am now. Things are getting done, but there is lots more left to do. And what am I doing to help all of that get done? Thinking about Christmas cards.
Yep, you read that right. I was walking through Hobby Lobby looking for more twine (Michael’s swears that they don’t carry it, but I KNOW that’s where I bought the last spool!) and I stumbled upon the wrapping paper aisle. Now, I might not get too excited about Christmas decorations for the house in general, but wrapping paper is a WHOLE different story. I’m the kid that wraps her own presents...my step-mom would number the boxes and have them already taped closed. I would wrap and then tell her what number it was and she would tell me the info to fill out the tag with. Nice, right?
So I walked down the aisle (I really WAS looking for twine! It could be on this aisle...) and I started thinking about making our Christmas cards this year. I mean, I’ve had such fun doing the paper goods for the wedding, who’s to say that I can’t make my own Christmas cards? So a trip down that aisle then led to a trip down the stamps aisle which in turn led to a trip down the scrapbook paper aisle...you see how I get into trouble? It’s just SO easy!
And I’ve found that it’s all I can think about today. Yes, the wedding is still there (as always) in the forefront of my mind, only slightly behind the work that was piled on my desk, but hanging steady in a runner-up spot was Christmas cards. The furthest thing from weddings that could be...
But I have to admit that it’s nice to have another focus. I think that I will enjoy not focusing on our wedding. I’ve been worried about having wedding withdrawals, you see. But now I think that I’m excited about post-wedding projects...and you KNOW that I’ve got to have a project to work on! LOL!
Newlyweds, how are you dealing with post-wedding stuff? Are you enjoying free time, doing not a whole lot? Or did you dive right into some other project?
Brides, what are you MOST looking forward to after the big day is over? Got a hobby that you’ve been neglecting?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Getting to the End...
It’s the final two work-weeks before the wedding, and we’re coming down to the wire on our DIY projects. Can I get a BIG and LOUD “Thank Goodness!” from anyone?
Because that’s what I’m yelling on the inside. I’ve worked and worked and worked all along to get things organized and done ahead of time to avoid fighting the “big finish” at the end, and I owe a BIG THANK YOU to my sweetie for “cutting me off” from new projects back in August...because here we are working our butts off, and coming to a close. (Even though when he did it, I was sort of cursing him! Love you!)
My last kinda big project to work on is the seating chart. And I can’t be called a slacker for not working on it ahead of time...you have to get those pesky RSVPs in the mail before you start thing one! So, a few weeks back in anticipation of not wanting to work right up to the deadline, I had made all the name tage/escort cards. I know that some (read a LOT) of them were wasted effort as those guests declined our invite...but it was time well-wasted if you ask me since the project was already done.
What wasn’t done was making the second part of that project – the piece that assigned a guest to a certain table. Now, the actual seating chart hasn’t even been started yet...that’s on this week’s To Do List...but the tags that would assign a table number have been started.
Remember my post about the table names? Well thanks for all the suggestions, because we were finally able to settle on table names...and I could move forward with this semi-last DIY project! Here’s the final list:
1. Live
2. Love
3. Laughter
4. Honor
5. Respect
6. Loyalty
7. Cherish
8. Kindness
9. Forever
10. Friends
11. Caring
12. Hope
13. Faith
14. Joy
15. Dream
16. Wish
With that settled on, it was off to make the table name tags. I decided to make them just like the escort tags...except showing a table name (and number). Same process, so I’ll just link that post here, so you can see how I made them...I'm SUCH a dork! I never really did a how-to on these cuties...just showed them off here! It wasn't hard - trust me - stamp, emboss, cut, mount, trim, punch...and thread with twine.
Now all that we have to do is attach all the name tags to individual Mason jars...and once we’ve settled on our seating chart, then we can find the appropriate table name tag and match it to the right person's jar. Easy, right? I hope so! I’m at my wits end, and the nice bride went out the window sometime over the course of this past weekend!
Because that’s what I’m yelling on the inside. I’ve worked and worked and worked all along to get things organized and done ahead of time to avoid fighting the “big finish” at the end, and I owe a BIG THANK YOU to my sweetie for “cutting me off” from new projects back in August...because here we are working our butts off, and coming to a close. (Even though when he did it, I was sort of cursing him! Love you!)
My last kinda big project to work on is the seating chart. And I can’t be called a slacker for not working on it ahead of time...you have to get those pesky RSVPs in the mail before you start thing one! So, a few weeks back in anticipation of not wanting to work right up to the deadline, I had made all the name tage/escort cards. I know that some (read a LOT) of them were wasted effort as those guests declined our invite...but it was time well-wasted if you ask me since the project was already done.
What wasn’t done was making the second part of that project – the piece that assigned a guest to a certain table. Now, the actual seating chart hasn’t even been started yet...that’s on this week’s To Do List...but the tags that would assign a table number have been started.
Remember my post about the table names? Well thanks for all the suggestions, because we were finally able to settle on table names...and I could move forward with this semi-last DIY project! Here’s the final list:
1. Live
2. Love
3. Laughter
4. Honor
5. Respect
6. Loyalty
7. Cherish
8. Kindness
9. Forever
10. Friends
11. Caring
12. Hope
13. Faith
14. Joy
15. Dream
16. Wish
With that settled on, it was off to make the table name tags. I decided to make them just like the escort tags...except showing a table name (and number). Same process, so I’ll just link that post here, so you can see how I made them...I'm SUCH a dork! I never really did a how-to on these cuties...just showed them off here! It wasn't hard - trust me - stamp, emboss, cut, mount, trim, punch...and thread with twine.
Now all that we have to do is attach all the name tags to individual Mason jars...and once we’ve settled on our seating chart, then we can find the appropriate table name tag and match it to the right person's jar. Easy, right? I hope so! I’m at my wits end, and the nice bride went out the window sometime over the course of this past weekend!
Poor B! He must love me lots!
Mentioning the seating chart, I though that I’d share with you our final acceptance percentages. So here’ the breakdown:
Guests invited: 196 (50 of which were CHILDREN!)
Actual Guests Attending: 129 (29 of which are children)
Which gives us a percentage of 66% acceptance rate. That’s a little below the “average” of 75%, but I figure with the amount of guests that are having to travel (which lowers the normal percentage) and the economy situation that we’re all faced with now, that our number is fairly reasonable. Also a factor could be the fact that Brent did lose his job, and a pretty large chunk of guests were affected by that – either by not being invited in the end or by feeling awkward with our situation. I don’t know why that would be a factor really, but B thinks that it is so it’s being listed.
The good news? After having to track down so many guests to get an answer out of them about the wedding RSVP, the Rehearsal Dinner RSVPs have been rolling in! Several guests who lagged on the first RSVP have returned their second RSVP with great speed! Thanks, guys!
What did you final number end up being? Something close to what you were expecting, or not?
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