Lo Siento

Yes, I know what day it is...and it looks nothing like Saturday (or Friday or whenever it was I promised to come back and clear up the mysterious origins of that rather large picture). I'm sorry. Really, I am. Weekends kinda fly by on me, and I find myself trying to ride the ebs and flows that becoming an increasingly anxious person inflict on me.

I digress.

Im back today and I've come prepped to clear up a bit of controversy. What you have been looking at is a mock-up..mood board so to speak of my proposal for man wedding day attire. It occured to me on last Thursday that perhaps a tux was a bit formal for our morning wedding. Yes, tuxes are traditional but I think that sometimes tradition is motivated by people not knowing their options or being too lazy to look into some (sorry, stepping down from the soapbox).

I cant remember who I mentioned it to first. I'd love to say that I went to Jase with it first...but come-on, realistically I probably mentioned it to mom. I know Dani heard about it after I told Jase. Well mom was completely on board. Not only did it mean that Jase could get a pretty nice suit (I'm envisioning one that is tailored so perfectly that the only way to get it off would be to peel it off his sexy frame....ooops...sorry...re-focusing back to the topic...), but the groomsmen can wear black suits that they already own and we'd maybe do their ties as part of their groomsmen attire. And since all of the groomsmen have travel plans to add to their wedding budget, this may infact save them a bit of cash. Most men our age own a decent black suit...if they decide to get a new one for the occasion, thats totally on them.

Now I'd like to think that Jase is a relatively open guy. But this suit thing was an uphill battle. What you may fail to realize about JS is that his initial impression of things (esp. wedding related) is a bit of resistence...not because he is truly against the idea, but because its so new. And I know that about him, so when I prep myself to present a novel idea, I know I may have to do some fast talking and have some citations/sources/examples prompted and ready to throw out at a moments notice. Not to pop my own collar, but I usually do a good job of at least explaining myself, and alot of times he is completely on board when I'm done. And after my looong and fast (I talk/tpye a little faster when I'm trying to explain myself partially to combat being shut down....wanna get all my points out - lol) explanation of my seemingly brilliant idea, what did he say?

He still didnt get it. My baby needed a visual.

Again, not surprising. He is PHInominal (I made that up...cute huh) but he is still a man. And most men I know need to kinda see it before they get it. I've gotten around this with Jason in a variety of ways. Most of the time I actually show him something (email, in person, whatever), but when I cant give him a visual because it really only exists in my minds-eye, I have used an experiential approach (a la "imagine you are a guest at the wedding and you...) - which also works.

My baby is very smart :)

But anyway, enough of the how to handle JS lesson, I kinda anticipated him wanting to see it and had already started working up a plan. The result? That mysterious picture featuring suspiciously coincidental green and white attire! The plan is for Jase to be in the white (I love love loooove the white damask stripe tie -is the exact tie I had in mind) including a vest, and the guys will be in some sort of green tie. Although the wedding colors are a kiwi green, I'd be okay with another shade of green. Like I love the pin dot tie, but I know #1 the green is a clover rather than kiwi, and #2 the men-folk may reject a dotted tie. So I'm prepared for that...I'll get my polkas in somewhere! What will probably happen is the guys wear one of the lighter green ties. And I'm okay with that.

Really I am.

Plus, it will be very nice with the ladies in their plum. Maybe some kind of green/purple boutenieere (sp?) for the guys. Idunno, I havent gotten that far yet. What I do know is that im not feeling the groomsmen wearing vests, so I hope Jase isnt really married to that (pun intended- lol). If we were going to go the coordinated vest and tie look for everyone, we'd be better off getting tuxes. And the point is not to be quite that formal, but still stylish, sexy, comfortable, cool, (literally and fashion-y), and coordinated. So we'll just have to see.

So there! I've cleared up the controversy and you managed to learn a bit about how to communicate with my [PHInominal] future-husband in the process. I'd like to think that was worth the wait...but we already know my mind works in mysterious ways. So I'll just continue to think that, and you're welcome to think what you want.

♥

A Lil Sumthin Sumthin

Okay, since I've completely talked this up to at least 2 people (one being the PHI), I have to post this up, and I promise I'll come back later to explain. Now, how much later...Idunno. But I promise it will be today :)

Toodles!

xoxox

Who's Hungry?

Its official: Jase and I have a wedding date: October 3, 2009. Its goin down..I hope youre ready!

So on Friday, I sent an email to the caterer re-initiating contact with her (we met with her the day after our engagement to talk about getting married at the Harriet and what the food costs would be). Well, today she wrote me back! And we've been emailing back and forth about setting up the catering, deposit amounts, etc.

Thats not the point though. The point is that I'm sharing our tentative brunch menu with you.

Passed Hors d’ oeuvres
Cheese Blintzes
(Served with Sour Cream)

Mini French Toast Drizzled with Maple Syrup
(Served with a Dollop of Crème Fraiche and Pear Compote)

Assorted Mini Quiches

Tropical Punch Fountain

Brunch Menu
Display of Fresh Sliced Seasonal Fruits & Berries

Mini Assorted Muffins, Danish and Breads

Eggs Benedict

French Toast and Waffles
(Assorted toppings to include, chocolate chips, maple syrup, raspberry syrup, strawberries, apples & cinnamon and whipped cream)

Apple Smoked Bacon & Turkey Sausage Links

Home Fries
(Served with Sautéed Onions and Peppers)

Ham and Cheese Frittata

Vegetarian Frittata

Scrambled Eggs

Dessert
We will cut and serve your Wedding Cake on a Raspberry Painted Plate

An Assortment of Miniature Pastries and Freshly Baked Cookies

Beverage
Fresh Brewed Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee
International Herbal Tea Selection
Sweetened and Unsweetened Iced Tea
Raspberry Flavored Iced Tea
Orange Juice

Whatcha think? Jason ♥'s breakfast, so I knew he would love the idea of a brunch reception (the wedding is starting at 11AM), but it was important to me that there be enough of the breakfast things I eat on the menu. And as you can see, there are!

Mmmm, sounds delish doesn't it?
xoxox

Graphic Designer I Am Not: Website Update

Hola!

So ever since a couple nights ago (geez, its been that long? Maybe it feels like last night because I didnt really make it to sleep last night...I'm okay I think...no, I dont know what was going on but I have an idea).

I digress.

The point was, ever since mentioning that I wanted to do a site for the PHI...

Pause. Sorry, lemme explain. Jase read the blog about calling him FI and instead of pronouncing it "fee," he pronounces it "phi" which I actually thought was pretty cute. I told him I'd do him one better: if were going to call it phi, we may as well spell it that way. And for him, its double the joy because his fraternity has a lovely Phi in the middle, and now he'll get a PHI as hi moniker...if I remember to use it, lol.

Anway, after blogging about using a blog for our wedding website, I hit the ground running. Essentially, the theme is "simply stated, I heart u" and I created this header thingie last night that incorporates some of the fonts from the invites. Earlier I went in and souped up the blog to look far less bloggy - took off the nav bar, adjusted the margins of the main post section and the sidebar, made the posts a navigation menu, added drop caps to the first paragraphs of the posts, and added a guestbook...which mom has already signed (love her).

Right now I'm kinda stymied on the banner. And I want to do a footer as well. I emailed my cousin who is our resident knower of all things computer, graphic, and graphic design to see if she could point me in the proper direction. I know she is very busy, so hopefully she can help me get something worked out between now and September.

Long story short, its coming along quite nicely and I am pleased. I'm also fatiuged, but I think thats mostly a function of little to no sleep. Ooh, lets not focus on that...

xoxox

What A Girl Wants is a Wedding Website

I always knew that I wanted a wedding-website. Long before I even got engaged, I just knew that I wanted one. I figured one of us (us=bride or groom) would have out of town guests (OOTs) that would need to be accomodated , and that a website is an excellent way to handle that. I've just been struggling with it. There are lots of options, both free and paid, and subsequenty ALOT of ways you can go with it.

No offense TK, but I cant do it. Ya'll really need to step it up. Same with the weddingchannel, and a whole bunch of other peoples services. I'm not against paying for it, but it needs to be a pretty awesome set up, and so far, I am unimpressed.

I also was/am toying with the idea of doing a freewebs page. Its free (duh), which is great, but it requires alot of legwork on my end, and I am not entirely thrilled with the setup. I could also potentially have my cousin do a site from scratch for me, but ideally, this website would be a situation where I could update it regularly and from my lovely Toshiba (anywhere in the world - LOL).

Fast forward to tonight. Earlier, on Weddingbee (yes, its my new fave hangout), I stumbled across a tag for a website where they used good ol blogger to do it. Blogger! Who would have thought?! And a few other bees have followed suit, so there are at least tips to get you started, and a whole lot of options. Which is good for a girl who isnt 100% sure what she wants.

Like I've said before, there is a plus in having loads of time. I want our site to go live in October (lol, Idunno where I got "go live" from), but when it goes live, I want it to be equipped with bios, pics, our story, etc. All your standard website fare, plus some fun extras just for stopping by. And considering how successful I've been with my past attempts at a website, whatever I do go with will definitely be a process....just like everything else.

So the newest website plan? Blogger. Infact, I'm going to look into it as soon as I post this.

Yes, I'll keep you posted (pun intended) :)
xoxox

Who Cares About Invites? I Do, I Do!

So wedding planning has almost consumed all of my non-existent free time. Wait, no. I probably would have waaaay more time to do things (period) if I werent planning a wedding. The upside of having a good year plus lead time on a wedding? Well duh, the obvious. Theres plenty of time to plan! The downside? Theres plenty of time to plan.

Case in point: I've fallen in love with 2 sets of wedding invitations already, and would love to find some kind of way to incorporate a third type of invite into the "stationary mix."

My first invite love:

(Image courtesy AlaunByDesign)

For a good while, I was sold on this one. I had envisioned ways to put our stank on it (stole that from Jase), and it was going to be cute and cost effective. For the invite, the RSVP, the reception card, a thank you note, and envelopes for the invite, RSVP, and TY note, it will cost me $1.80/set. Yes, you read that correctly, for less than $2 a set, I'd essentially be set stationary wise. I realize I'll probably be writing TY notes until the cows come home, but I could at least announce and get people to the wedding, figure out whose going to come (or rather, who mom wont have to call), and thank the initial set of gift-givers. Pretty sweet, right? Until I purchased my second dress.

Yes, you read that correctly. I am officially on Dress #2, and am stopping with Dress#2. The drama with the dress that I bought and am in love with will have to be saved for another post, but just know that is is a combo that cant be beat: I love it, its good for mom's budget, I wont look crazy in it 20 years from now, and its "simply stunning." But again, more on the dress much later. After I purchased Dress#2, I went back on the hunt for stylish yet classy (think: pretty) invites, and I stumbled across my current invite love:

(Image courtesy AlaunByDesign)

This second invite I love for a few reasons. Not only is it gorgeous: can you picture it with a dark plum background and kiwi satin ribbon? But it is be-ribboned. And in the deep recesses of the wedding planning that I have in my mind, ribbon will work itself to be a very important detail in the grand scheme of my wedding. I'll reveal a little more as the time comes closer (and as I work out the logistics and details), but I can tell you now that unless I cave to a ribbon-less invite for the sake of the budget, my invite will have ribbon...and it will be all-up-and-thru my wedding and reception!

Anyway, my point is that I have waay too much wedding-related stuff going on in my head. I have TONS of ideas about things I want to do/incorporate/make happen for the wedding, and am trying my hardest to be flexible, authentic, and enjoy the process of wedding planning. But...with all things, its a process. So expect lots of longish posts like this with details about things I'm thinking of/purchasing. And yes, I will totally post the pics of the actual invites I end up with. God knows how many invite-related permutations I'll go through between now and when they need to be ordered (sometime Winter 2009).

One final-ish note about invites: Yes, I do infact realize that there is a miniscule group of people who will care about my wedding invitations. Do I care? NO. How do I know that there are people who will care despite Jase telling me otherwise? Because I am one of those people, and refuse to believe I am alone. Thats why people who make notecards are in business...for people like me who believe you should always have a variety of cute TY notes to send out when you need to thank someone and want to take the old-skool route.

So for those of you who are awesome (like me), and give a damn: I genuinely hope you like them.

And for the rest of you...I hope you read them. AND I hope you return your RSVP ontime. Trust me, you will want to do that - more on that later :)

xoxox