flowers

If only daffodils were still in bloom in July (they're not, sadly), this would be my ideal bouquet.


It was created by Ez from the blog Creature Comforts using flowers from Trader Joe's and a velvet ribbon from a craft store and a thrift store earring. I love how simple, elegant and sunny it is. Even if I can't replicate the flowers, I'll still keep the monochromatic, hand-tied look in mind.

Paper Goodness

Our RSVPs have started arriving in the mailbox (!!), so I think it's finally safe for me to post about our invitations. I should warn you, Jesse already thinks I'm completely crazy to take so many photos of pieces of paper, but what can I say, these were my babies for the last few months. He already knows he's going to be marrying a very crazy lady.

(click any of the photos to enlarge)

Our save-the-date postcard, which we mailed a few months back

Jesse and I discussed the imagery and he kindly let me be the one to do the drawing. I *heart* the stamps we used (and you guys know my love for stamps).

Invitation envelope

After a mix-up with some envelopes we ordered, we just decided to make our own out of card stock and use the others for thank you card envelopes. Jesse was less than thrilled to add another home-made project to our plate, but I think it was worth it. The calligraphy was an experiment for me, but turned out to actually be very relaxing (after some horrendous first attempts).

The whole invitation suite

Of course I had to lay it out like a fake Martha Stewart magazine spread

A detail of the invitation and RSVP card

Yep, they're drawings of us drawing each other........cause we're illustrators. I did the one on the top left and he did the one on the top right (but made himself look so much less attractive than he really is, shame on him).

All lined up and ready to leave the nest


.......and pretending to be synchronized swimmers.


But this post wouldn't be complete without the obligatory photos of Jesse and I looking completely disgruntled while we put these together.


It wasn't really that bad, we just have our "concentrating" faces on. Notice how messy the rest of the room is while our supplies are so neatly stacked - house cleaning unfortunately took a back seat during this stage of wedding planning. And before I end this post, I must give a shout out to my beloved paper trimmer and corner rounder, the c0- MVPs of our crafting tools. They made the process so much smoother...along with a very patient fiance.

**update: larger images and more detail shots can be found here on my flickr wedding planning site.

Registry Info

Having our friends and family attend our wedding is gift enough, especially since most are flying in from all over the country - which is already a super luxurious gift to us. But, Jesse and I thought we'd register at one store anyway. So, now there's a new link on the right side of the page with the beginnings of our target registry. There are still a few more things we're going to add to it, but since we're now in *double digits* until the wedding day, we thought we should post it as soon as possible. If we decide to register anywhere else we'll add it to the list, but we probably won't...because we like to keep things simple like that.

ties for guys and a little tease

We finally found five matching ties for all of the male members of our wedding party (Best Man, both Fathers, and our two wonderful ushers). Jesse and his Dad stumbled upon the perfect color that I had in mind (a light silver/grey) for only $13 each while at T.J. Maxx. They're Donald Trump brand, and I have no idea if that's good or not, but they look like they're good quality to my untrained eye so I don't care. We just need to press or steam out a couple of wrinkles and they'll be set. The men are going to pair them with white shirts and their own suits (in either black, navy or grey). It doesn't matter to me if all of the suits aren't the same color - we're not going for an extremely matchy-matchy wedding scheme. The ties should help create a simple, cohesive, classy look (hopefully!).

Jesse agreed to model again as long as I promised not to show his face (but why, it's so nice?).

with a black jacket

with a navy jacket
(Jesse doesn't own a grey jacket, so you'll just have to use your imagination for that one)

And I'll leave you with a sneak peak of what occupied most of our weekend. We put these babies in the mail today, and after we know that most of our guests have received them, we'll post a few more details.

it's getting very real now

Sorry for the complete lack of posts lately. It's because we've actually been getting a lot of wedding things done. Exhibit A in my defense:

Our wedding bands!

I can actually see the end in sight. Only about 3.5 more months until we're actually able to start wearing them (but just between you and me, every once in a while I like to try my band on and forget to take it off....for a couple of hours).

Our fake plastic dog likes them, too.

We've also picked out our cake and are about to mail our invitations! But, those deserve their own posts. Now that so much is going on, I'll just have to remember to write about it.

my seamstress is a superhero

You know how in my wedding shoe post, I described all of the klutziness precautions (ankle straps, thick heels, etc) my shoes had to have? There is a reason for that I constantly have to be prepared for falling down, spilling staining liquid, and breaking priceless objects. Here is a story to illustrate why.

While at my wedding dress alterations appointment a couple of weekends ago, everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Karen, my seamstress, was very pleasant and confidently started pinning up the sides as soon as I put my dress on. Well, no more than five minutes passed before atrocity struck. While chatting with Karen about whether I wanted my hem one inch off the floor or floor length (I opted for 1 inch due to our outdoor ceremony), I felt a wetness on the thumb and index fingers of my right hand. Looking down, I saw that they were covered in blood! Without even wondering what had happened, I immediately checked to see if any had fallen on my dress. My heart almost stopped. My once snow white silk dress now had two bright crimson exclamation points of horror running along the side of it!!

When Karen had pinned the sides of my dress, some of the sharp ends of the pins were facing up and because I gesticulate wildly when I talk (and have the deadly combination of poor coordination and lack of perception), my thumb brushed against them without me even noticing. As soon as I alerted Karen, she sprang into superhero mode, wrapping my thumb in a kleenex while blotting out the blood with a damp paper towel at the same time. Amazingly, the blood spots came completely out! The water dried without leaving a mark! That is why I love my seamstress even before I've seen any of her finished alterations to my dress.

That is also why I'm going to have to wrap may hands completely in cotton and avoid all dark liquids and messy food on my wedding day. Me and white silk just don't get along.

p.s. - Sorry I can't post photos of the alterations process. my future mother in law was awesome and took many, but Jesse is still determined not to see my dress before the big day.

Photographer!

Last Friday Deanna and I ventured into the depths of New Jersey to find ourselves a wedding photographer. We met with Mariano at a Starbucks in Princeton to look at his portfolio and to discuss wedding photo things. He was a very kind and talented gent who lives outside of NYC. After talking for a while we felt very comfortable with him and confident that he could get the job done. So we finally found our wedding photographer after months of searching. (most of that credit goes to Deanna) Here is a link to his site if you'd like to see his work:
http://www.artbydna.com/delgado/