All Coming Together!

This week is my wedding and it is all finally coming together. Today we finished the programs, dropped the welcome bags off at the hotel and took care of some other small details. Tomorrow I am going to work on one more project but after that it is all down hill! I can't wait for Friday to get here.

I thought I would be better at blogging this past week or so but I have just gotten caught up in getting everything taken care of. I don't think that I will be able to post in between now and the wedding so this will be the last one until after I get back from the honeymoon. I will leave you with some last minute detail shots. I will be back at the very end of July and will be able to fill in all the details I left out the past few weeks in all the craziness.

The table numbers all ready to go.

Programs completely done!

Items in the welcome bag. A cookie for each guest, welcome letter and brochure on local areas and transportation. I forgot to take a picture of the bags completed but they were put in purple bags tied with orange ribbon.

Official Songs for Ceremony

We(or I should say I) have picked the final music for our ceremony. It was important to me to have beautiful, classical music that I hadn't heard a million times at every other wedding. So despite the fact that Pachabel's Cannon is a great song you won't see me walking down the aisle to it. Here are the final choices:

Seating of the Mothers: Bist du Bei Mir, J.S. Bach
Attendants' Processional: Salut D'Amour, Edward Elgar
Bride Processional: The Swan, Camille Saint-Saens
Recessional: Selections from Water Music, J.S. Bach

All of the music is being played by a local piano/cello duo. I think it is going to sound Beautiful!

Today's Dilemma

Today's Dilemma is whether to have a smaller bow or a bigger bow on the programs. I realize this is such a silly problem but these are the kinds of things you ponder 2.5 weeks away from your wedding. I will trim the tails, but you get the idea from the pictures. Which do you think is better?

We are Legal!

We picked up our marriage license today! It was extremely easy since we did the online application first. From the time we got out of the car, walked in, signed the papers and walked out it only took 15 minutes. Now we can legally get married!

Program Time

This week one of my big projects is to get the programs designed and going so that they can be sent off to the printers and assembled way before crunch time. I plan on using the same paper from the invitations along with the same graphic and font in order to have continuity. We are going to do a booklet fastened together. It is going to be similar to the program below however customized for us.

Ceremony Planning

Today we met with our pastor for a second time to plan the ceremony some more. He walked us through the traditional ceremony. I am very excited that we have decided to do this because to me there is something about saying vows that others have been exchanging forever. We also chose our readings. Ultimately we ended up with all Bible verses. Initially I wanted at least one reading that wasn't from the Bible but to try to find something that spoke to me and Andy was difficult. So in an attempt to simplify things we went only with bible verses. The verses we chose are: Colossians 3: 12-14, Mark 10: 6-9, Ecclesiastes 4: 12.

Ceremony Planning

Today we met with our Pastor for the first time since we booked the church. It was exciting because planning the ceremony means the wedding is around the corner. And it was fun to start to making real decisions. While we spend so much time planning the party it was refreshing to work on the meaningful, important part of the day.

Luxurious Details

I love, love all the candles. Too bad at 5pm in July it will be completely bright and candles will have no effect.

NonTraditional Quote

I wanted to share the quote I used as part of my toast for Lauren's wedding. There aren't many good quotes out there. By good I mean not trite, not over used and not overly sappy. Call me a cynic but that's just my opinion. I found this quote originally on A Practical Wedding, she was doing a series of possible wedding readings.

excerpt from Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and the vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. Loving makes love. Loving makes itself. We waste time looking for the perfect lover instead of creating the perfect love. Wouldn't that be the way to make love stay?

I love it because people can be crappy. We don't mean to be but at times we are. Love is the redeeming part, the part that corrects all the wrongs. I wanted to pass it on for those of you who might not of otherwise find it.

DIY Crystal Bouquet

While Lauren wasn't into all the details of a wedding one thing she did really want was a crystal bouquet. After searching out people who sold them and finding out how much they cost she decided to take the plunge and do it herself. The end result was gorgeous, better than I imagined!

THE PROCESS

Lauren followed directions she found that are very similar to the ones that you can download off of DIY Bride online. She did however make her stems a bit different than the online directions. Instead of placing the beads in the drill she attached a hook in the drill bit because not all the beads would fit in. Instead she placed the hook at the base of the bead around the wire and then spun away.

In the beginning it takes some practice to get down how fast you have to spin the drill and where to hold the wire in order to get it to twist properly. I attempted to help make these straight stems but I was crap at it. Lauren had played around enough that she was a pro.

Lauren did not make stems that looked exactly the same. She used may different sizes and shapes of crystal beads. She also varied the amount and types of beads she put together. Some stems had only one bead and others had varying combinations. For some of the very large beads she had to string multiple strand of wire to support their weight.

Instead I helped out by using some of my jewelery making experience to make tear drop stems that she placed along the outside edges of her bouquet. To make these I took one of the pieces of wire and strung on a tear drop bead leaving it about an inch from the end of the wire and then folding the wire up.

I then strung another bead on from the other end making sure that it went over the folded piece of wire. Next I strung on a crimp bead the same way making sure it was flush with the last bead and using flat nose pliers flatten the crimp bead to secure the two beads and wire in place.

Then I strung another crimp bead on but secured it a little bit higher on the wire leaving a bit of room followed by another crystal bead and crimp bead. This process secures another bead a bit higher on the wire so that it looks like it's floating. I repeated this process one more time. On each stem I varied how many beads and the position of the beads, sometimes putting a couple beads together. I finished the stem by bending the end with the beads to make a candy cane shape.

Once all the stems were made Lauren used a vase to arrange them the way she wanted. At the top of the vase she used scotch tape to make a grid to place the stems in so that they would stay and not fall to the side. When all the stems had been placed she used floral and duct tape to hold them all together. Finished off by satin ribbon, rhinestones, and a brooch. Here is the finished product:

Lauren bought some pre-made stems for floral arrangements and made a few extra stems to make a similar but different bouquet for me.

Flower Girl Basket

Today I was catching up on reading some of my favorite blogs since the holidays are over and "normal" life has resumed. Earlier this week on Vintage Glam, Amanda, posted about a flower girl basket that would fit perfectly in our wedding. The "basket" uses only lavender stems and ribbon. Since we are going to have a lavender toss as we leave the church the use of lavender during the ceremony seems like a natural choice. Instead of cream ribbon I could use orange. This project seems simple enough and is really making me reconsider my original choice for the flower girls.

This idea has also gotten me thinking about the candelabras that will be at the end of every third pew. I had thought about tying bows on the candles and calling it a day but maybe we could also include a few stems of lavender along with the ribbons.

Ring Bowl

Previously I had posted about a white ring bowl for our ring bearer to carry down the aisle instead of a traditional ring pillow. I never bought the bowl and the etsy seller for the time being isn't carrying the bowl. Additionally the bowls have become more popular and thus more expensive and as you know by now I don't see the point in spending money on some of these things. Doing a little bit of searching around I found this one instead from etsy.com. It looks a little bit crafty but I especially like the fact that it says we do.

Arrivals

This has been a week of arrivals.

First the lavender I ordered off of Bravo Bride from a woman who ordered more than she needed for her wedding arrived. Needless to say the transaction was simple and easy. I payed her through PayPal, she had the lavender shipped the next day, and in my hands just a few days later. It's exactly what I needed at a great price! I will definitely be regularly perusing this website to find other items I don't necessarily need brand spanking new or want to pay full price for.

The other arrival was the Calvin Klein dress my sister ordered as a possible bridesmaid dress. I posted about this dress a week or so ago and had high hopes for it. She came over to try it on and all I have to say is, "Hello boobs!" The front is just cut a bit too low that it would showcase any size bust big or small a bit more than what is tasteful for the church. Also while shape wasn't awful it didn't do anything either. The color was GORGEOUS but it seems it's back to the chopping block.
I am only posting a picture of the back of the dress because when I was taking pictures I caught my sister off guard so she wasn't smiling and since I didn't get her blessing to post this I don't want a phone call or email saying, "Ugh, I look awful take that picture down." This way at least you can see the color. Oh how I wish this dress had worked out!

Planning for the Marriage

Often in the wedding planning process we focus on the centerpieces, table cloths, clothing, accessories, invitation fonts and all the small details. But the whole point of the wedding it to join to people together and often people spend too much time planning the wedding and not the marriage. We are attempting to also properly plan for the marriage even though planning for the wedding can be so much fun!

Andy and I have been together for a long time, 8 years so of course we have discussed many of the big things, but you don't always discuss the little things that can have just as much impact. It has been very important for me to find premarital counseling that would address the differences between the two of us as individuals and not just problems of marriage in general. With the help of my future mother in law I believe we have found the right person who will give us each a personality test and then discuss the differences in our tests and how they will affect our marriage in the long run. I am really excited to talk to this woman the problem is I have to actually call her even though I have been sidetracked by the impending holidays and day to day life.

Tulle Overdone

Here comes more of my wedding cynicism. Tulle is not always overdone but most of the time I feel like someone went a little overboard when decorating with tulle draping it from the pews, pulpit, candelabras and yes the ceiling. A simple tulle veil is beautiful but a big pouffe veil is overdone. Small accents of tulle can really add an element however huge pouffe pew bows are overkill. Most of the time when I see tulle it makes me think of weddings from the 80s with the big shoulder pads, hair as high as the ceiling and just all over fluff. Being that we are going for a more understated, classic feel tulle isn't part of my picture.

Alternative Guest Book

Originally I thought I would make a Blurb book using our engagement pictures and include plenty of white space for people to sign and write messages. It would in a sense be like a wedding yearbook only with pictures of just us. But I came across this idea on snippet and ink that another couple recently did for their wedding. Instead of pictures of themselves they included ticket stubs, receipts, and other artifacts from their six year courtship. Being that Andy and I have been together eight years and it will be nine by the wedding we have plenty of things to include in such a book. Additionally I actually have a box where I have stowed away such artifacts that is brimming with ticket stubs, cards, notes, momentos and such. This is definitely a fun idea worth considering!

Floral Covered Initials

I finally was able to find a picture to show the ceremony decor idea I was talking about. For us we would do the same thing but with a V and an A and hang them from the pulpits in the front of the church. The only difference is that we would use the tissue flower idea like in the pomander below instead of silk flowers.

Not Really Getting It

There are some wedding things that I have completely fallen victim to but there are other things that I just really don't get. One being an aisle runner. I understand that they are used to protect the aisle if petals are being tossed. An aisle runner also is used to define an aisle in places where there really isn't one such as conference rooms, outside locations, etc... But in a church if you aren't doing the petal thing what is point? This is one of those items that I just wonder what the heck you do with after the wedding and is it really worth the money?

I can understand slightly if the church has dingy old carpet and you want to try to make the sanctuary a bit more classy. I will say aisle runners can add that bridal/wedding affect. Aisle runners just aren't my thing and I would rather spend the money on something else. Luckily for me I can't be suckered or pressured into buying one since they are explicitly not allowed by my church. Why? I have no idea, but it was good news to me.

Even though I'm not crazy about them, aisle runners can be pretty and a way for you to include your monogram or personalize your ceremony location. For those of you who really enjoy the look an aisle runner adds here are step by step instructions to five different DIY aisle runners.

Wedding Rice

Nothing is more nostalgic when thinking of weddings than to think of throwing rice as the couple leaves the church. This long time tradition started as a blessing of fertility and prosperity for the couple. Somewhere along the line an urban legend started that throwing rice was not environmentally friendly and people started throwing birdseed, flower petals, or blowing bubbles. Flower petals are beautiful but expensive, bubbles are also pretty but they just float away they don't have the same effect, and birdseed just doesn't have the same feel.

Now that rice is acceptable again I was excited to participate in a long standing tradition but our church will not allow rice or seeds to be thrown. Most likely this rule is in place so that rice isn't left all over the entry way to the church that people could slip on. One option we had been looking into was the designer rice in heart shapes that easily disolves when wet and is flat so it won't roll when walked on. However we still would have to clear this with the church.

Recently I came across a solution that I think will solve the rice issue: lavender. Lavender is the exact same shape as rice and has the same effect when thrown. Lavender would easily blow away in the wind, is a plant so environmentally friendly, and is slip proof since it crushes when stepped on. Additionally lavender is wonderfully fragrant so as it is being tossed into the air and when crushed under people's feet will release its wonderful aroma around everyone. Lastly the icing on the cake is that lavender is purple and fits perfectly into our color scheme.

You can buy lavender wedding rice but I am hoping to try to find bulk lavender somewhere to dry for the wedding toss and also maybe for extra details in other places.

Church Decor Changes

Yesterday I returned all the silk florals. The pew decorations I had in mind won't work and to try to use them in other ways just might look pitiful and well just not worth the added expense. I would rather not do decorations than have something that looks well, cheap. We will have the wrought iron candle sticks at the end of the pew provided by the church and might add a simple bow which I think that will be enough.

For the idea of the letters on the pulpits instead of the silk florals I am entertaining the idea of using the method that many have used for tissue pomanders. This method will be a bit more cost effective and since the letters will be far away and not up close people most likely from the pew will not be able to tell that its tissue paper. And even if they do notice I still think they look good. To see what I am talking about you can check out one of my new favorite blogs VintageGlam. She has directions on how to make the tissue flowers and pictures of how she used them to make pomanders, originally from Martha Stewart. I can use the same method but just to make a different shape with the same effect.

Here is the result from Vintage Glam and the same method but in a wreath shape from knottie likefrankiesaid to give you an idea that they can definitely be used to make various shapes.