The Good STDs: The Arrival

I like to think that I just have a good sense of humor instead of saying I'm immature. C'mon you can't pretend that you don't find it hilarious when wedding obsessed brides call their Save the Dates "STDs".

I'm happy to say that the Save the Dates have made it safely to their destination. Some a little more beat up than others, but they made it! I guess that's the risk you take when you send them postcard style. To be honest, I assumed that this would happen but it doesn't break my heart. Now, if the invites arrive and are torn I'll definitely be a little sad.

Like I said before, we were lucky enough to have Mr. O's sister take our Engagement Pictures, which was amazing. It saved us money and the pictures were great! I, initially, planned on using only one of the pictures but that changed after I talked to Mr. O about it. When I was designing them (Whoop! Whoop!) I made several different drafts and then emailed them to him so that he could help me narrow down which one to use. His response, "Use them all and then everyone can trade them like Pokemon cards." I'm not kidding, he really said that. So, I did. It made narrowing it down a lot easier and I loved them all equally.

Since Mr. O isn't stateside, I sent him all 4 cards in a care package so he could see how they turned out. Next thing I know, he's passed them out to his buddies! I bet those guys never thought they'd get a Save the Date in Afghanistan. One of his GM, Mr. J, even has his hanging up. Adorable!

{Sorry for the oddly shaped/bad picture. You can thank my iPhone.}

I used Catprint.com to print them for a little more than nothing. The beauty of that is they have a "Postcard" setting in their templates. That made it easy because I didn't have to pick what kind of paper to use. That's the part that I think is the hardest. After I printed them it was easy peasy! I just had to get everyone's address and make a pretty little label. I chose the label route becaue my handwriting is atrocious.

{Professional iPhone picture}

Oh, what's that you see? Beautiful stamps? Oh-em-gee. Let me just say that I have no preference as far as stamps go. At first, I was doing some stamp research to see if I could get them personalized and stuff like that. Then, I was thinking, "Why in the heck am I going to waste  budget money on stamps that no one really cares about?!" So, off to the Post Office I went for some "Postcard Stamps" - I love that they are cheaper! The lady working the desk turned around with these babies and you would have thought she handed me a $100. I was so excited! See, if you don't "care" then it'll work out... at least that's what I keep telling myself.

{Aren't they purdy?! Professional iPhone picture}

Funny side story: While I was adding all of these to the cards a guy was filling out his mailing slip and said, "Wedding invitations?" I told him they were the Save the Dates. He responded, "I knew with how pretty those stamps were it had to be for something special." Thank you stranger for making my day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRETTY LADY!!

It is my mom's birthday!!! She's so cool it's ridiculous.... she's also really pretty. I guess I get all of my qualities from her. haha -- I literally just made myself giggle. If you know her - tell her happy birthday. If you don't, tell her anywayyyyyy!

{Get it girllllll - My mom being awesome.}

{My mom & I at our fave restaurant ever!}

Love your face, Momma.  

Easy as Pie

... but it's cake. Wedding cake to be more specific.

When I met Mr. O's parents for the first time he and I made the trip to South Carolina. The O Crew live right off of this long, hilly road. Well, the one thing that stuck out in my mind was a bright pink sign. It read, "Jennifer's Cakes" and it intrigued me. We tried to stop on our way back, but the shop was closed. Oh well, why do we need a cake anyways?

{How cute is this cottage? It's even "sweeter" on the inside. Professional iPhone picture.}

It wasn't until Mr. O proposed that I revisited the idea of stopping in to see what was happening inside that little bakery cottage.  Let me say this: The area where The O Crew is from isn't necessary hip to the idea of the Internet. This statement isn't even about Jennifer's Cakes (I, eventually, found her on Facebook) but it's been really hard to find ANY vendor by Google searching. I digress...

Once I found her, we talked back and forth via email and set up time to talk about wedding cake right before Mr. O left. I'm pretty specific about what I want with a lot of the plans that have been made and this is no exception. Mr. O and I walked in with my binder in hand and tried some cake. I'm not really a baked goods eater - Lets be real for a second: I love me some cake, but I love to bake it more than I love to eat it. So, this was Mr. O's job - Was it good enough to be our wedding cake (because apparently there's a difference between regular bday cake and wedding cake... jk I KNOW there's a difference)?

{Love the tower of flowers, but we want icing. Source}

{Love the square tiers, but we think fondant is gross. Source}

We talked about what I liked, what we didn't like, what I invisioned, and she gave her input. Mr. O's requirement was simple: Did it taste good? The meeting was awesome and very friendly. She understood exactly what I wanted and that was that. She filled out a form for the two of us to have so we were all on the same page and then said, "Whenever you get a chance can you give me a swatch of the color green that you want?" Bam! I whip out my wallet and grab my trusty swatches that I'd been carrying around since I first started planning & let her cut a piece off. Mr. O and Jennifer thought it was hilarious! What can I say, I'm prepared.

This wasn't our only cake appt, but we'll just say it was the best one. We really like the idea of using a more local vendor, too! Did I mention that she has some amazing property and is allowing us to take some wedding photos on it? Oh I didn't? Well, I'll talk about that later.

Tweets, Pokes, and Status Updates

The beautiful world of social media is one that I'm very familiar with. I have a Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare account. I've participated in Meetups, have a Flickr account, I've been blogging since I was in middle school and was cool enough to have MySpace. Oh yeah, I said it, MySpace.

How does this relate to my wedding? Well, I've been wondering how "connected" I'll be on the day of our wedding. Will I be updating my Facebook Status? Checking in when I arrive at the church? Tweeting about how nervous I am that I'm going to fall on my face walking down the aisle? I really don't know.

{source}

I do know that, once the ceremony starts, I don't want our vows to be exchanged by reading them off of our smart phones or iPads (Hopefully by the wedding I'll OWN a iPad). I want it to be a special, between Mr. O and I, lovey dovey, disgustingly cute ceremony.

{Isn't this cute? source}

With that said, I told you how I'm completely photo motivated. So that presents another issue. How do we handle those guests that want to get some great pictures throughout the ceremony? I have no problem with people taking pictures (and actually look forward to seeing what people can capture), but I'm worried about someone stepping right in front our photog as she's about to capture the best picture! I'm completely guilty of trying to get a picture of THE kiss or of the bride walking down the aisle with her dad and I apologize right now if I've ever screwed up a professional picture. Honestly, I didn't even think about it. I know, how terrible of me! It just didn't cross my mind that I was going to be in the way until I read a post from Offbeat Bride.

I'm not nearly as bad as the guy behind the officiant, but I may have leaned into the aisle to get a good photo, maybe. That, my friends, will no longer be happening. I have a greater appreciation and, hopefully, our ceremony will be as "unplugged" as possible.

A Callus Builds Character: Invites Part II

I mentioned last time that I did some "serious trial and error" when trying to figure out the best process for the invitations. When I say serious, I mean serious! I, initially, bought some pretty big poster board-like paper and was going to do pocketfolds. Well, the craft demons stopped me in my tracks not long after I started.

{Thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?!"}

First of all, pocketfolds are difficult. Yes, there are some great tutorials out there but they just weren't cutting it for me. I think there are a few reason for this: 1) I'm crafty, but I also want it to be as easy as possible (read: I'm lazy) 2) When there is so much cutting, attaching, etc... I start to get anal about wanting straight lines and when it comes to a pocketfold I just couldn't get it perfect, which drove me insane.

These problems weren't all my fault. For example, my bestie (BM Coach), was in town and we decided to tackle this project. Well, we bought the poster board stuff and then proceeded to run into a brick wall. No, not a real one, but a "this paper isn't cut straight to begin with," wall. We had intended on using the outside edge of the poster board as a guide to assure that our other cuts were straight. Turns out, that wasn't going to work. Seriously!? Someone please tell me a instance when they bought poster board and every single piece was cut at an angle. Yeah, that would happen to me.

 {Off by a lot. Ugh!}

At this point, I decided that pocketfolds weren't going to be in our wedding future so I moved on. Since then, I've ordered the correct cardstock (it's cut straight, yay!) and have working diligently on our new style of invites. It's going great and I love them!

Flower Power: Part Uno

First of all, I love flowers. I don't think I can really express how much I love them. I don't know when my love for them started, but it started and hasn't stopped. They smell amazing, they look awesome, and you can't deny that they don't cheer up a room. Okay... I'm going a little overboard. Sorry.

 

{I'm not sure where I got all of these photos because I did a random Google search long ago.} 

Flowers also mean a lot to me. Not just because they're pretty, but because of all my great memories associated with them. When I was growing up my grandma always loved tiger lilies and I've carried that love on with me after she passed away. She even told me a story once about how her and my gpa, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, had planted some outside their house. Then, after he passed away and she moved into a new house, the lilies just bloomed right outside her door. 

They also mean a lot because throughout our relationship Mr. O has gone above and beyond by sending me flowers -- lots of flowers. Just a little way of saying that he loves me and misses me. Once, when we first started dating & he was away, he sent me flowers. The card said "I miss you." - Not signed. Nothing else. Just three happy (kinda sad) words. This was the first time that he'd ever said he missed me. Small victories! He's so awesome and thoughtful that it's out of control, but a nice bouquet always makes me think of him. 

When I was searching for a florist, way back in February or March, Mr. O named a few local shops that he knew of and we decided to stop in while we were visiting his family. I barely had any inspiration of what I wanted and the things that I thought I wanted I no longer want (shocking). Well, when I walked in with my little binder (that has tripled in size since then) they were so rude! Total Pretty Women on Rodeo Drive moment. 

 

I mean, I wasn't wearing that outfit but now that we're on the topic, have you seen the Toddlers and Tiaras latest controversy??  Whoa, we are way in left field! We were talking about flowers, right?!

Ah, yes... So they were rude to me & acted like they didn't have time to talk. Unless, of course, I wanted to pay the $25 fee for a "formal meeting." I mentioned this was over a year out from my wedding, right? Mind you, they were doing nothing when I walked in. Sitting. That's it. Why in the heck would I pay $25 for a meeting that was 9 times out of 10.. okay 10 times out of 10... not going to mean squat by the time the wedding came around. I left feeling sad. 

{source}

Mr. O took me to the next place. Still feeling discouraged, I walked in and met one of the happiest florists I've ever come in contact with. This lady was so darn nice to me! That's all I wanted. Someone to be nice to me, humor me. I'm really that easy to please. Not only did she greet me with a smile but she went into full blown wedding talk! She was even nice enough to go to the back to grab some stems as examples NUMEROUS times. Sealed.the.deal. I knew that some way, some how I wanted to use them for our wedding.

{Yay! So exciting! Source}

About a month ago, I went to visit Mr. O's family and was able to meet with this lovely little lady again. She was just as chatty and happy as she was when I met her the first time. This time was the more formal meeting and it was free. Yeah, eat that Meanies. Mr. O's sister went with me and was such a big help! I would have forgotten to ask about 5,000 questions had she not reminded me. I left feeling really good about what we talked about. Ahh, it's so nice to feel progress happening.

After I spend the floral budget at Happy Floral Shop* I have an itch to walk into Meanie Floral Shop* and say, "Big mistake. Big. Huge."

*Did you really think that was the actual name of the floral shop? No, it's not. 

Do-it-yourself ADHD

I tend to change my mind, a lot. Just pay attention closely and you'll notice I change my mind about 62 times every 5 seconds, not to mention the 62 projects that I have going at the same time.... and the 62 I plan to start "tomorrow." One thing that I can say about all of these projects is that my main motivation is the pictures that I want to see after the wedding. It might be weird, but I'm more photo motivated than real life motivated when it comes to the wedding (besides the part where I get to marry Mr. O).

This addition of DIY ADHD has to do with the little ones in our wedding. I talked about what I wanted them to carry in the previous post and I mentioned that I didn't love the FG basket. Actually, I find it really fugly (after a few days to think about it). What I really want is an awesome pomander for her to carry that magically dispenses petals. Cue the creative brain. First, I ventured to the wonderful world of Weddingbee Boards to see if anyone has ever seen a "pomander basket." The answer was something like, "No but that sounds cute..." but I did get some suggestions on how to execute it.

{See! Adorable picture.}

{Another adorable little girl w/ a pomander via Weddingbee Classifieds - these are fake flowers!}

I headed to Michaels to get a styrofoam ball and I walked out with over $100 worth of merchandise. I feel a pattern evolving. When Mr. O gets back I'm making him go to the store with my list to avoid any overindulging in craft supplies! I digress...

I purchased the 8'' ball. I was a little afraid that it was going to be too big thatswhatshesaid but then I remembered I made a pomander (reception decoration say whhhattt) a while back and it turned out perfect size.

{personal photo - I know you were wondering who the professional photographer was.}

Then I decided to dig into the project (pun totally intended). Now, I like to think I'm crafty but what you're about to see is mildly embarrassing. Below is my first attempt to scoop out the "bowl."

{Yes, that is a screw driver. Yes, this was a fail.}

I'm really not sure what I was thinking. It probably had something to do with my DIYADHD (I hear they're prescribing stuff for that soon), but at the time it sounded brilliant. I'll just stab the screw driver in there... it'll be great. Um, no. While I was working really hard stabbing and not making any progress I was brainstorming what else I could use. Then, I had my "ah ha" moment.

{I tried to find an ice cream scoop, but apparently we only have very large spoons}

This method of spooning *hehe* worked much better than screwing?? That set up way too easily. Anyways, I ended up with styrofoam all over the place, but I was okay with it because I think it's going to work!

{It looks pretty ugly here, but I promise there's some nice bowl action going on.}

I want to use real flowers, but after seeing the 2nd inspiration photo I'm thinking that fake flowers could give me the same look I want (read: cheaper). I also ordered the petals from Oriental Trading Company that will be concealed in this puppy. I'll test those out and follow up afterwards.