Cue a few minutes of panic, cause I really really hope I managed to complete last month's goals! With two jobs and diving back into class full time (and my car dying...) it's been a busy month.
1. Invitations: I need to get the invitations printed, start assembling what I need, and working on getting addresses in place. Oh DEFINITELY!
I totally finished printing the invitations, assembled all that I could (until I ran out of ribbon), and got all the addresses. I have the first batch of about 70 completely done, and I only have about 15 more to print and stamp. A few things I do need to do: finish assembling the invites that will go to shower attendees and decide on a date to mail these things.
2. Flowers & decorations: Make progress on the table flowers (I don't need to finish these yet!) and figure out how many more books I need. EHH.
Ok, so I didn't really do anything on these last month. The good news is I'm far enough ahead that it's not a huge deal. Actually, it's not a deal at all. But I probably should work a bit on this next month.
3. Registry: Fill out with some more items. YEP!
I think we have everything on the registry that's going to be on the registry for now. I'm not sure if we need anything else on there, but if so it's going to be added on a case by case basis.
4. Programs: Print, cut, & organize! MADE PROGRESS.
I printed these, had them cut, and they're sitting waiting to be assembled. I decided how I want to wrap them but I haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Again though, no rush.
Goals for next month:
1. Invitations: Finish the last few and mail these babies!
2. Flowers & decorations: Same as last month. Just make some progress on creating/assembling decorations.
3. Programs: Assemble and put away not to be touched until the wedding.
4. Dress: Get dress altered! (As long as I still fit. If I don't fit, this goal becomes "Fit into dress.")
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Heel Height
Nathan is definitely taller than I am. In this shot from our engagement pictures, you can see he easily has four or five inches on me—taller but not towering over me.
If I wear a normal-sized heel, I'm just shorter than Nathan by an inch or two. I'm totally comfortable with this, and wear heels often. Would I wear a pair of shoes like this with a 6 and 1/2 inch heel?
Well, probably not. I mean, I'm not even sure I could walk in those, but that's beside the point!
Now look at this picture of my whole family at Lake Superior this summer...
Ok, so maybe it's a slight incline. But it gets my point across—I'm definitely the shortest in the family! And Nathan is pretty close in height to both of my sisters.
In fact, throw a pair of three or four-inch heels on either Emily or Abigail and I'm pretty sure he'd be looking up at them. Nathan's brothers (the groomsmen) aren't necessarily tall either. Now, I'm not saying it would be a huge deal if they wore heels, but we're definitely think of going with a flat sandal. I'm pretty sure they'd be more comfortable like that anyway!
If they wear a more casual sandal, what should I wear? I was leaning towards heels at first, but now I love the idea of being able to walk around all day no problem, not trip on my dress, be comfortable, match my sisters...
Image via Niki Marie Photography / Photo by Niki Marie Photography
If I wear a normal-sized heel, I'm just shorter than Nathan by an inch or two. I'm totally comfortable with this, and wear heels often. Would I wear a pair of shoes like this with a 6 and 1/2 inch heel?
Image via Zappos
Well, probably not. I mean, I'm not even sure I could walk in those, but that's beside the point!
Now look at this picture of my whole family at Lake Superior this summer...
Personal photo / Nathan, me, Emily, Dillon, Abigail, David
Ok, so maybe it's a slight incline. But it gets my point across—I'm definitely the shortest in the family! And Nathan is pretty close in height to both of my sisters.
In fact, throw a pair of three or four-inch heels on either Emily or Abigail and I'm pretty sure he'd be looking up at them. Nathan's brothers (the groomsmen) aren't necessarily tall either. Now, I'm not saying it would be a huge deal if they wore heels, but we're definitely think of going with a flat sandal. I'm pretty sure they'd be more comfortable like that anyway!
If they wear a more casual sandal, what should I wear? I was leaning towards heels at first, but now I love the idea of being able to walk around all day no problem, not trip on my dress, be comfortable, match my sisters...
Friday, January 25, 2013
Flashback Friday: The Ring
I've already talked about my perfect proposal and the jealousy that inevitably creeps in when you compare yourself to others. Because what's right for you is almost certainly not right for someone else. Even when someone tells you "Oh, that's the exact ring I want!" (that happened this weekend), that doesn't mean their story is anything like yours—or should be!
I already mentioned I knew the proposal was coming—well, I also knew what the ring looked like. Way back in June I went and tried on rings with a friend. I told the lady at Kay's I was looking for a princess cut solitaire with a cathedral setting, and she showed me this ring.
The jeweler wasn't pushy necessarily, but she definitely encouraged me to try on some other rings. I did, and each time I kept gravitating back to the simple solitaire. For me, once I figured out what I wanted, trying it on didn't make that much of a difference. It simply solidified how I had felt while looking at rings online, on other people, etc. So I sent the pictures to Nathan—not subtle at all, huh?
Nathan ordered the diamond and band separately from a jeweler friend, and I may have gotten some pictures along the way. Shh. I don't think people are supposed to know he sent me the original ring pictures!
Somehow, though, when I first saw the ring I wasn't thinking "Yep, this is the one I picked out." I was thinking "We're getting married!" And having a gorgeous ring was pretty cool too.
I already mentioned I knew the proposal was coming—well, I also knew what the ring looked like. Way back in June I went and tried on rings with a friend. I told the lady at Kay's I was looking for a princess cut solitaire with a cathedral setting, and she showed me this ring.
Personal photo—The ring I preferred is on my right hand. In the second picture I'm wearing a similar but slightly bulkier ring on my left hand.
The jeweler wasn't pushy necessarily, but she definitely encouraged me to try on some other rings. I did, and each time I kept gravitating back to the simple solitaire. For me, once I figured out what I wanted, trying it on didn't make that much of a difference. It simply solidified how I had felt while looking at rings online, on other people, etc. So I sent the pictures to Nathan—not subtle at all, huh?
Nathan ordered the diamond and band separately from a jeweler friend, and I may have gotten some pictures along the way. Shh. I don't think people are supposed to know he sent me the original ring pictures!
Somehow, though, when I first saw the ring I wasn't thinking "Yep, this is the one I picked out." I was thinking "We're getting married!" And having a gorgeous ring was pretty cool too.
Personal photo—I think this picture turned out pretty well for a quick shot on my iPhone in front of the waterfall where we got engaged! Good memories.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tangent Tuesday: A Moment of Silence
This post is in honor of my little red Honda Civic.
Born April 25, 1995.
Died January 20, 2013.
Dear Honda,
You lived a good, long life. Eighteen years is a long time in car years. Fifteen years of winters in Minnesota and Wisconsin—I know those were tough on you. And yet all you did was rust a little in complaint. I appreciate it.
You taught me how to drive stick. I actually don't always remember how to drive an automatic now after so many years of driving a manual. Now when I drive an automatic I always reach for the stick and occasionally slam my foot on the brake thinking it's the clutch. Oops. Sorry about that, Katie.
You didn't die at the greatest time. Sixty miles from Greenville or Charlotte in the middle of nowhere? On a Sunday morning when I'm standing on the side of the road in heels and a skirt? But you know what, I figure that's just payback for everything I put you through. You probably didn't like carrying four or five people all the way to Charlotte every Sunday, so it's only fitting you would die on one of those 240 mile trips.
Yes, I'm looking to buy another car right away—but it's not because I don't appreciate everything you did! After 210,000 miles I could never forget you.
The guy I'm selling you to is a good guy. He'll take care of you. I promise.
Love,
Laura
Born April 25, 1995.
Died January 20, 2013.
Dear Honda,
You lived a good, long life. Eighteen years is a long time in car years. Fifteen years of winters in Minnesota and Wisconsin—I know those were tough on you. And yet all you did was rust a little in complaint. I appreciate it.
You taught me how to drive stick. I actually don't always remember how to drive an automatic now after so many years of driving a manual. Now when I drive an automatic I always reach for the stick and occasionally slam my foot on the brake thinking it's the clutch. Oops. Sorry about that, Katie.
You didn't die at the greatest time. Sixty miles from Greenville or Charlotte in the middle of nowhere? On a Sunday morning when I'm standing on the side of the road in heels and a skirt? But you know what, I figure that's just payback for everything I put you through. You probably didn't like carrying four or five people all the way to Charlotte every Sunday, so it's only fitting you would die on one of those 240 mile trips.
Yes, I'm looking to buy another car right away—but it's not because I don't appreciate everything you did! After 210,000 miles I could never forget you.
The guy I'm selling you to is a good guy. He'll take care of you. I promise.
Love,
Laura
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tissue Paper Flowers
Just a quick post today to show you a preview of a project my sisters and I worked on over Christmas. I knew from the beginning that our budget wouldn't allow for a huge flowers allowance. I toyed with the idea of buying flowers wholesale and just arranging them myself—but I discarded the idea after realizing that one, I'm not a florist and two, the week of the wedding is already going to be insanely busy with graduation. In fact, in the entire planning process, we have the most non-wedding events scheduled for the week of the wedding. Also known as—we need to get everything done ahead of time.
There are a lot of different ways and materials to make flowers. First up were crepe flowers.
I actually tried making these beautiful crepe flowers. Mine didn't turn out quite like the ones in the picture, however. First off, I couldn't find crepe paper sheets to experiment with, much less anything in coral. Second, I couldn't get the hang of manipulating the floral tape and wire. Basically, I'm lazy and this was too hard.
There's also paper flowers, which are beautiful (especially out of pages of books or music) and incredibly time consuming.
Fabric flowers fall into the same category, although if purchased are more expensive than real flowers sometimes—check out the price on this one!
That leaves tissue paper flowers. There are lots of tutorials out there, but we used this tutorial from Martha Stewart. Honestly, it was so, so easy. And it didn't take up days and days. We did both bridesmaids bouquets and my bouquet in less than two hours (two and a half episodes of Leverage). We also made some extra flowers and started on bigger poms for table and hanging decorations.
Do they look expensive and fancy? No. Is our wedding expensive and fancy? No, so it looks like they'll fit right in! Tissue paper flowers were perfect for the time we wanted to put in and the money we wanted to spend (about twenty dollars including way more tissue paper than I needed and floral wire). This is my sister modeling her bouquet. We used coral, light blue, and light yellow tissue paper. I think I'm going to add some green as well and wrap the stems nicely.
Oh, and my dad pulled out his electric drill to twist the wire on the handles. When my dad participates in wedding planning, he does it in a big way.
There are a lot of different ways and materials to make flowers. First up were crepe flowers.
Image via Design Improvised
I actually tried making these beautiful crepe flowers. Mine didn't turn out quite like the ones in the picture, however. First off, I couldn't find crepe paper sheets to experiment with, much less anything in coral. Second, I couldn't get the hang of manipulating the floral tape and wire. Basically, I'm lazy and this was too hard.
There's also paper flowers, which are beautiful (especially out of pages of books or music) and incredibly time consuming.
Image via Etsy / Photo by annemusingdesigns
Fabric flowers fall into the same category, although if purchased are more expensive than real flowers sometimes—check out the price on this one!
Image via Etsy / Photo by Katie Reim
That leaves tissue paper flowers. There are lots of tutorials out there, but we used this tutorial from Martha Stewart. Honestly, it was so, so easy. And it didn't take up days and days. We did both bridesmaids bouquets and my bouquet in less than two hours (two and a half episodes of Leverage). We also made some extra flowers and started on bigger poms for table and hanging decorations.
Do they look expensive and fancy? No. Is our wedding expensive and fancy? No, so it looks like they'll fit right in! Tissue paper flowers were perfect for the time we wanted to put in and the money we wanted to spend (about twenty dollars including way more tissue paper than I needed and floral wire). This is my sister modeling her bouquet. We used coral, light blue, and light yellow tissue paper. I think I'm going to add some green as well and wrap the stems nicely.
Oh, and my dad pulled out his electric drill to twist the wire on the handles. When my dad participates in wedding planning, he does it in a big way.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Dressing up the Dress
Remember, my dress looks like this:
Photo credit.
Gorgeous and classy! I do want to accent it though—without taking away from the elegance of the dress. I've seen a lot of pictures lately that look something like this.
Photo credit.
I'm looking at the necklaces, not the really awesome veils! I actually love the bling of these, although it might be a little too over the top. I'm looking for something that will bring a little color and excitement to the dress without screaming look at me. So maybe something in the wedding colors?
Necklace 1, Necklace 2, Necklace 3.
Unfortunately the first and third are sold out, but the middle one is only fifteen dollars. But is this really what I want to do? In my mind I can see it looking fabulous, but maybe I should stick with a traditional strand of pearls or diamond necklace...
Necklace 1. Necklace 2 is my grandmother's—this is my cousin's wife wearing it at their wedding.
I'm going to be honest, my preference is to wear a chunky but tasteful coral necklace. I feel like the casual day and simple dress call for something different than a pearl or diamond necklace, but I don't want to go overboard either. So tell me, what should I do?
Photo credit.
Gorgeous and classy! I do want to accent it though—without taking away from the elegance of the dress. I've seen a lot of pictures lately that look something like this.
Photo credit.
I'm looking at the necklaces, not the really awesome veils! I actually love the bling of these, although it might be a little too over the top. I'm looking for something that will bring a little color and excitement to the dress without screaming look at me. So maybe something in the wedding colors?
Necklace 1, Necklace 2, Necklace 3.
Unfortunately the first and third are sold out, but the middle one is only fifteen dollars. But is this really what I want to do? In my mind I can see it looking fabulous, but maybe I should stick with a traditional strand of pearls or diamond necklace...
Necklace 1. Necklace 2 is my grandmother's—this is my cousin's wife wearing it at their wedding.
I'm going to be honest, my preference is to wear a chunky but tasteful coral necklace. I feel like the casual day and simple dress call for something different than a pearl or diamond necklace, but I don't want to go overboard either. So tell me, what should I do?
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Invitations Part I
Wow, could I make this post title any more boring? Sorry, I only have limited creativity and I think I already used up all of today's.
Before we actually talk about the invitations, I want to talk a little about what we're not doing. We're not doing a fancy invitation suite—that means no inner envelope, no cool pocketfold, no embossing or letterpress, no envelope liner. Am I a little sad about that? Maybe. There are some really cool invitation suites out there!
Mrs. Gloves, Mrs. Genie, Mrs. Turkey, and Mrs. Treasure.
For us though, I know this wasn't the way to go! I didn't have the time or energy to invest in a complex project myself or the money to pay someone to do it—or even to buy the supplies for a complicated DIY project. Instead of taking on something that would end up more work and stress than I could handle, we decided to go the simple route, although I do get to do a few small touches!
The next post will talk about the actual invitation, but I do get to share the part I'm really excited about now. I decided to order Mini Moo cards to include the RSVP information (we're using our wedding website to RSVP) and just to direct them to the website in general. Several brides have done this in the past, and it seems to have worked out well for them. Plus they only cost $19.99 and Nathan found a coupon for free shipping—always check Google before pressing submit!
They even came in the mail a few days before I expected!
I loved how cute the packaging was. We ordered four different pictures for the front. Just for fun—it's not like anyone will know they got design three or whatever!
They're half the size of a business card—I put the pencil in the picture for comparison's sake.
The back directs them to the website and of course credits our photographer.
So there you go! Part I. And maybe in the really cleverly named Part II maybe I'll get beyond the cute little cards...
Before we actually talk about the invitations, I want to talk a little about what we're not doing. We're not doing a fancy invitation suite—that means no inner envelope, no cool pocketfold, no embossing or letterpress, no envelope liner. Am I a little sad about that? Maybe. There are some really cool invitation suites out there!
Mrs. Gloves, Mrs. Genie, Mrs. Turkey, and Mrs. Treasure.
For us though, I know this wasn't the way to go! I didn't have the time or energy to invest in a complex project myself or the money to pay someone to do it—or even to buy the supplies for a complicated DIY project. Instead of taking on something that would end up more work and stress than I could handle, we decided to go the simple route, although I do get to do a few small touches!
The next post will talk about the actual invitation, but I do get to share the part I'm really excited about now. I decided to order Mini Moo cards to include the RSVP information (we're using our wedding website to RSVP) and just to direct them to the website in general. Several brides have done this in the past, and it seems to have worked out well for them. Plus they only cost $19.99 and Nathan found a coupon for free shipping—always check Google before pressing submit!
They even came in the mail a few days before I expected!
I loved how cute the packaging was. We ordered four different pictures for the front. Just for fun—it's not like anyone will know they got design three or whatever!
They're half the size of a business card—I put the pencil in the picture for comparison's sake.
The back directs them to the website and of course credits our photographer.
So there you go! Part I. And maybe in the really cleverly named Part II maybe I'll get beyond the cute little cards...
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