In the Mail!

On Sunday, I picked the envelopes up from the calligrapher, and surprise, they're fabulous!

Yesterday was a flurry of stamping, stuffing and sealing, but this morning, there was a stack of 100+ invitations ready to head to the post office.

Here they are, in all their final glory:



The completed "invitation suite":

You can see the DIY envelope liners that I did (with the help of my lovely sister Nicole) back in January. I think they turned out quite smashing! :)

Knowing what I do now would have saved me some time, money and aggravation, but the truth is, this probably wasn't as painful as it could have been. And, when all is said and done, the final product is really close to my original vision (and hey, maybe even better?).

I'm so glad to have this done! Now, onward to tracking the responses! I know this will be a fun task, because I was already handed back a blank one from one of my coworkers where he wrote in that there were 148 people attending...haha.

Grateful.

Today's my 23rd birthday (I know, I know...I'm young. My coworkers affectionately call me a zygote). In honor of this, I thought I'd do something a bit different. So, without further adieu:

23 Things I'm Grateful For (and a surprise at the end!)

1. Thomas. There are not enough words in the world to demonstrate how grateful I am to have this wonderful specimen of a man in my life.
2. My family. Through it all, they encourage me, keep me grounded, smile with me, laugh with me, cry with me...Whether or not it's a late night or early morning phone call because I just need to talk, or it's just a lazy Sunday morning thumbing through the Sunday ads while eating Mom's pancakes, they're always there.
3. My nieces. While certainly a part of #2, their smiles, hugs, sloppy kisses, giggles, and sweet words bring me more joy than I ever knew possible.
4. Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Starting now, these are in no particular order. But seriously, I love this coffee.
5. My job. Everyone has moments of frustration, but overall, I love my coworkers (who I'm grateful for, too! Yay for bringing me cookies today!), have great flexibility, and pretty much enjoy what I do. And I get a paycheck. Not too shabby.
6. Our house. More specifically, the whirlpool tub that I used for the first time last night. (Side note: I'm not particularly grateful for the muscle pull in my back that required me to use the tub. Stupid working out.)
7. My puppy. Once you get past his crazy barking fits and his occasional temper tantrum, he's a sweet, sweet boy who loves to cuddle with me at night. More than once I've woken up to find him sleeping on the other half of my pillow...haha.
8. My friends. I'm so very grateful that they haven't ditched me after all my hair-brained schemes...you know who you are, girls! :)
9. A sense of humor. Seriously, people are boring without one.
10. J.R. Watkins Apothecary Lemon Cream body cream and hand lotion. These 2 bottles are within 6 inches of my hands at all times at work. True love, people, true love.
11. Fresh flowers. I pick up a bouquet weekly at the store, and they just make me smile.
12. Sweet Iced Tea with Lemons. Constantly chilled in my fridge --- yum! :)
13. My BlackBerry. I'm connected ALL the time, and I love it. I told Tom last night that I would never, ever have a normal phone again.
14. My past. It's shaped me to who I am now, and brought me to where I am, and I'm always grateful for that.
15. Love Actually. If this movie had never come about, my life would be less rich.
16. The opportunity to travel. I'm so thankful that I can go where I'd like and experience what I want. Not everyone has that opportunity!
17. New clothes. I got a bunch of new clothes yesterday (an early birthday present). There's something about putting on a brand new outfit that just boosts your self-esteem. :)
18. Flip-flops. My life would not be complete without these.
19. My ability to write. Whether or not I'm making one of my crazy lists, writing for work, or just blogging for fun, writing has always been a creative outlet, and I'm so grateful I've discovered it and used it to my advantage.
20. Chocolate. What list would be complete without it?
21. Manicures and pedicures. A guilty indulgence that I'm most definitely grateful for.
22. My GPS. I'm grateful that I never have to worry about getting lost again.
23. My finished wedding invitations. Yep, you read that right. They surprised me and arrived yesterday. Ta-da!

Oh, sweet, sweet love.

Happy Birthday to me!

Shipped!

My invitations were shipped today, with 3-day shipping, which should put them on my doorstep on Friday.

What's so exciting about that, you ask?

Well, Friday's my birthday, and I couldn't ask for a better birthday present! YAY!

How weird is it going to be HOLDING my wedding invitation? Ahh...so strange!!

I just can't believe how soon everything is creeping up. It feels like just yesterday I was complaining to Tom that we wouldn't be married for another 2 years and pricing out a huge outdoor tented affair...and now it's 2 months away and couldn't be more perfect!

I still have moments where I kick myself for not coming up with clever favors, or not renting a photobooth (I priced one out over the weekend before coming to my senses), but then I have my moments of clarity, too. For being so detail-oriented, I find it funny that my vision of the wedding day no longer includes any details. All I see is Tom, waiting for me at the end of the aisle, and blurs upon blurs of family and friends smiling upon us. And then it hits me --- that's all that matters anyway.

Success!

The invitations are ordered!

It took a few polite but pressing emails, and then wouldn't you know it, I was quoted, checked out, and processing within 15 minutes! I was really happy with the quote, too. The paper for the white part of the invitations, the green mat, the green RSVP cards, and all the printing (both color, double-sided, and full bleed) cost me $110. Including priority shipping. Holla! That brings the total, with the envelopes and blue paper to about $140.

For comparison sake, this invitation below, along with the envelope and a response card would cost me $316.28 to order.


(via WeddingPaperDivas.com)

Despite the frustration of dealing with these, I think we have by far, still made a good decision.

I hope to have these in hand by the end of next week, which would mean that I'll be spending my birthday assembling and stuffing envelopes! :)

My Semi-Productive Weekend...

Well, I'm not going to bother copying my weekend checklist here --- the important thing is that yes, I did get all of our gifts unpacked, cleaned, and organized! It felt SO good to have that done and have our dining room back! Unfortunately, the invitation nonsense STILL hasn't been cleared up yet. I was able to get the designs to the printer, and they promised me a quote ASAP, but I'm still waiting. I sent them a polite email today asking for an ETA since this was supposed to be urgent, and I'm still waiting. (Common theme here, apparently). I told Tom that I was going to give them until mid-day today before I scrapped that and found someone else completely. We'll see. I may turn to my always trusted Etsy.com...

While I didn't complete some of the more craft-intensive projects I thought I would, I was able to get more stuff done around the house, which is more important to me now anyway. I spoke with the calligrapher today...she's making lots of progress on the envelopes, and we should have those back soon!

So, back to the waiting game. I'll update when I know more. Until then, I'll just be working out and sitting by my email...

A Weekend of Tasks...

With the holiday weekend, I have much more spare time than I'm used to. So, I plan to take full advantage of it all and accomplish some of the smaller tasks that I've been ignoring.

What I need to do this weekend:

• Pick up and paint dowel rods and accessories for the girls flower wands
• Pick up, paint & assemble ribbon wands
• Unpack & organize all our new kitchen toys from the shower!
• Mail shower thank-yous (they were finished Wednesday, but I'm just now getting around to getting to the post office)
• Finalize invitation nonsense

This last one, the invitations, have obviously been killing me the last few days. But as always, I think I've found a solution that I'm happy with and won't break the bank.

Before I go into specifics, here's a visualization of the new invitation with my oh-so-lovely Photoshop skills.

Using the blue invitations I still have, I'll be layering green and white mats, the white containing the printing. The text will be black, and our names and the design will be blue to match the backing. I'll be returning the original RSVP cards I bought (luckily they're all still in the package!), and having the company custom cut and print the new ones to match the green of the mat. The printing on that will be black.

Despite all the new paper, and the double-sided and color printing, this will probably only run about $100 or so total. The company I've found is absolutely fantastic, and has promised me a 2-day turnaround on printing, and 3-day shipping! So, if all goes well, I'll still have the invites a week before I wanted to send them. Awesome!! :)

Even though these have ended up costing more than I originally planned on spending, when you add in the cost for the Gocco, this new route, including the professional calligraphy, will probably only end up costing an extra $50. Not too bad, right? When you take into consideration that the average invitation costs $3.50, and ours will end up right around $1.15, I don't feel so bad!

Knowing When to Throw the Towel In - THE FOLLOW UP

It's official -- we're definitely going the professional route on the calligraphy.

I am SO pleased with this decision. I know it's going to turn out absolutely fabulously, and don't regret the price tag!

This is the script we're going with:

Flourished Copperplate:



Our calligrapher, Katie, of Belles Lettres Designs, is fantastic at what she does, obviously. I think it's quite a gift to be able to do calligraphy, and have always admired those that could.

We've opted to go with the white ink on the blue envelope, even though it will cost more. There are still just a few aspects of my vision that I'm unwilling to relinquish.

I'll be dropping off the addresses tomorrow, and in lightning speed, they should be ready sometime next week!! Pictures will definitely follow! :)

PS - I was able to successfully sell my Gocco, so we're not incurring any extra costs here! Holla for the budget!

Knowing When to Throw the Towel In...

So I feel pretty bad about making such a fuss about the Gocco and our invitations only to have it all fail. Or as my coworker pointed out, failed a tiny bit.

I've come to the conclusion that the amount of time it would take for me to fix the problem, however, is not worth the stress and time involved. As an estimate, the invitations and reply cards would probably take 10+ hours because of the embossing involved, and the calligraphy, because it would have to be written twice to show up, would take upwards of 15 hours.

Determined to stay on budget, I've sought out other solutions. It's tough to give up on my vision, as I've always pictured this a certain way. Below is our invite, so you all can see what I'm talking about as I reference it... (some parts of blurry for privacy sake. You never know who's out there...Be assured, however, that we do have last names and addresses on the real invitation...)





(Designed by my trusty graphic design ninja)

I had always pictured the background paper as blue, the swirl and our names in white, and the other text in green. Since white ink won't print with a basic printer (hence why I purchased the Gocco originally), I'm forced to re-think the color scheme.

What I plan to do now is print the invitation on white card stock, and mat it on the original blue invitation panels we bought. The swirl will be printed in blue to match the backing paper. I haven't decided on text yet. I'm leaning towards keeping the text black and our names in blue, but then there is no green there, and it might look a bit jarring to have a green response card...?

I might do all the text green and our names in blue, along with the swirl. I think this would "fit" better, but I just think the text would look "better" in black.

Le sigh. Any opinions?

Now, since I've decided not to do calligraphy myself, but still have my heart set on it, I've been searching for a deal.

I've found a FABULOUS calligrapher who works out of Wheaton, and is willing to give me a 15% discount, due to the recession.

Isn't it dreamy??





She's also willing to do it all in white ink!

The problem comes that it's expensive. BUT, if I sell my Gocco (and I've already had 2 offers on it) and the favor boxes that I bought recklessly (again, already had an offer on those, too!), it won't cost me anything out of pocket. It's still $250, though :(

Another calligrapher based out of Evanston would be about $75 cheaper, but I just don't think her work is what I'm looking for. I figure if I'm going to spend this much money on something, I might as well get what I want.



So, in the end, the invitations aren't turning out to be what I originally pictured. BUT, I think I may end up with something just as fabulous, or even more so! Stay tuned!

Oh, and leave a comment on which colors I should use to print -- blue and black, or blue and green?

Fail.

I'm about thisclose to completely giving up on invitations all together and just visiting people door to door informing them of the wedding.

Seriously. Thisclose.

Yesterday, I had time off work, so I thought I would utilize it by beginning the envelope calligraphy. It sounded easy enough: format the envelope, type in the address, print in a light blue, trace in white India ink. Done.

But really, nothing is ever easy for me. EVER.

I began by formatting the envelope and entering in the address. I was using my parents' address as my test dummy, because I knew (hoped) they wouldn't mind a lame attempt.

Everything was set, the printer was formatted, I hit the print button.

I heard printing. Success!! I was so excited!

Until I saw what was printing on one of my beautiful envelopes that I had spent HOURS lining:



Tom's PowerPoint presentation. Seriously?? Why don't printers automatically reset once they're unplugged and moved 30 miles?? I don't get it. But, I figured I would take advantage of the mistake to practice using the calligraphy pen and white ink.

You guessed it --- another FAIL.



Ugh. I spent $15 on 2 bottles of this stupid ink. WHY is it not appearing dark? And WHY is it so runny?

Whatever. I'll try printing another envelope and tracing it and see how it goes.



What?? Paper Jam??? You have GOT to be KIDDING me!?!?!?!?

Apparently the envelope is too thick with the liner to feed properly.

So now we have a few choices. We can trek over to my parents' house who have a nicer printer (albeit a little moody) and give it a shot there, we can buy a new printer (which we've been discussing anyway), or we can just kick and scream and cry, then pay a calligrapher $2 per envelope.

What should we do?

I Haven't Obsessed in a While...

...so I think I'm entitled to devote this post entirely to a very small, insignificant detail.

Postage.

So as of yesterday, the U.S. Post Office decided to raise postage. This is extremely unfortunate, because I loved the 42 cent stamp with the red heart that was out for Valentine's Day. It was bright, multi-color, and sweet without being gag-worthy or cliche.

So, here are my choices for 44 cent stamps:


Uhhh, lame.

Meh. This is part of their "Love" line (you can see it towards the bottom of the stamp). This is probably what we'll go with, but I don't love it.

Even though the envelope only needs the normal 44 cent stamp, we could spend the extra money to a) ensure delivery, and b) get a nicer stamp.


The standard "Love" stamp. Meh. 59 cents.

Wedding cake. Also very blah. 61 cents.

I like the colors on this one, but it has no relation to anything. 57 cents.

And last, but not least, the stamp for the response card:

Lame. Very, very lame. But unless we want to put 14 2 cent stamps on one card, we have to go with this for the response cards.

Crunch Time!

With LESS THAN 3 MONTHS TO GO, I'm really started to feel the crunch! This week/weekend, I'm going to attempt to finish the invitations. If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to go professional with these, as I have 2-3 weeks before they're mailed. Since the cost of stamps went up yesterday, I was waiting before I purchased over $100 worth of postage. I have to begin the calligraphy for the envelopes, and then I can finally relax. Sort of.

I don't perceive June to be much work, just beginning to track RSVPs and I'll have my first dress fitting, but July will be where it all happens!

We are SO looking forward to our first shower on Sunday!! I feel like this pretty much kicks off summer for us -- and it's all downhill from here!

:)

Gocco: Step by Step

So I'm betting that 99.9% of you had never heard of a Gocco before reading this blog. I hadn't heard of it until last summer, either. Once I saw the magic that it produces, I knew I had to have it.

So, I scoured eBay for a great deal, and had this baby shipped all the way from Japan:



As a wedding gift to us, one of my coworkers who is a graphic design ninja, designed our invitation and response card.

On Saturday evening, I got to work:



Little did I know (since the instructions were in Japanese), that this sucker needed new batteries. After a quick trip to the local gas station, we were once again ready to make our screen.


Voila! Now you just peel the design off of the back, ink it up, and begin printing.

Okay, kids, now what have we learned? Now we see that a) the blue ink is too dark, so we'll have to custom mix a lighter shade, b) the white ink doesn't appear well on the green paper, and c) the font is much too small --- it's blurry and doesn't take up much of the card.

Since I was still trying it out, I thought I'd see what the design on the actual invitation would look like:

Aaah. Another "teachable moment." Design too blurry, needs to be sharpened. White still a little light, should probably be embossed. Also, must work on centering skills.

In short, we'll be reworking the design a teensy bit, I'll sharpen it up, and I'll get back to work. Also, I've decided to emboss the entire suite so the ink is raised, which will add many, many more man hours to the project. Good thing Tom's done with finals on Wednesday... ;)

Anything I missed? Questions, comments, compliments??? :)

A Wedding After My Own Heart...

Does any of this look familiar?


Blue, green & ivory bouquet and blue shoes?

Blue & green Gocco invitations?

That might even be the same the same font as our invitations, too!

Moving Right Along...

I feel like we can safely say we're in the home stretch of planning now. Every aspect of planning is decision-making, not just gathering inspiration or narrowing down options.

This morning, I finalized the order for the custom ties (Tom chose to wear "apple" green, put all the boys in the "light turquoise" and give the fathers "apple" green, if you were wondering...). In the next week, I'll be finalizing the order for the favors (more to come on that later --- it's turning out to be awesome!) and hopefully beginning to work on some of the minor stationery elements (napkins, "guest book" cards, etc.). Yesterday, I finalized the wording for the response card.

I really wanted something fun, instead of the etiquette-appropriate "Accepts with Pleasure/Declines with Regret." So, this is what I found:



In case you can't read it, the options are "Wouldn't miss it for the world" or "Be there in spirit."

I can't wait to see how it turns out!!

Apologies...

...for my lack of posting, lately.

Between the upcoming holidays, regular bills, and the demand for wedding deposits, our wallet has been stretched pretty thin, which always leads me to feel uninspired.

However, I think a brief recap may help to remind me of all the "good" that has been accomplished lately.

• Still in talks with the caterers. There are 2 definite possibilities for the cocktail reception, and 1 definite possibility for a sit-down affair.
• Met with a florist on Monday. Got a great quote for everything I wanted, proving that small budgets don't necessarily mean giving up what you want.
• Will be meeting with a "linen specialist" soon. She's quoting us 60% less than the caterer. Talk about a markup!
• Both the comb and my earrings arrived. I pulled my trusty dress out of storage (hiding under my bed!), and held them up. They both match perfect and I'm super excited that I bought them.
• On a whim, bought paper to line the envelopes for the invites. It's a small touch that will probably mean a great deal of work, but I don't mind doing it! :) Plus, I got all the paper I need for $2.75. Total spent on invitations so far = $35.00. All I need now is the paper for the programs and I'm done...
• We've almost finished our Christmas shopping, with the exception of one grab-bag for Tom and our parents. I just bought Tom an AWESOME gift, and I'm bursting to tell him. :( I can't wait to post some pictures of his gift after Christmas!!! :)

Paper Cuts...

Well, before yesterday's incident, I had been planning on discussing invitations and whatnot. Well, a little "paper cut" is no reason, not to, right??

Maybe if I share my vision, you will understand the obsession that drove me to Michael's last night.

I want this:



Except the green will be blue, and the pink will be green.

Follow?

And, I want programs like these:



Except I want those to be blue as well. But I'll settle for white/ivory, with blue or green (or both!) ink. I just think they'd be perfect for an outdoor June ceremony :)

Oh, le sigh, I can only picture each one of them sitting perfectly on a white wooden garden chair.

And then, of course, I picture a big gust of wind or rain and I cry.

The High Price of Being a Bargain Shopper...

As I've mentioned previously, I'll be designing my own invitations using the Gocco. And for this project, I've been religiously stocking up on some fantastic paper sold at Michael's. As they tend to send 40% or 50% coupons weekly, I've been making the weekly trek to buy my paper.

Obsessive, yeah, I know.

Fast forward to last night --- the clincher. I was about to buy the last set of reply cards. THE LAST SET!!! I had 120 invitations, 120 envelopes, and 100 reply cards. I only needed 1 more pack. And to help in my excursion, I brought along my trusty sidekick and maid of honor, my sister Nicole.

I had the paper in my hand, and Nicole was grabbing random Halloween accessories, including a foam hat, when tragedy struck. No really, this isn't a metaphor for an out of stock item.

Nicole, who is wearing a walking cast for a fractured ankle, slipped and fell on the tile. Coming down, she somehow clipped the side of her head on a merchandise rack. At first, I was more worried about her ankle and if she had twisted anything. Until we saw the blood. Somehow she managed to cut behind her ear --- a pretty nasty cut that looked like it needed stitches. So the paramedics (who were amazingly nice & friendly!) came and took us to the hospital. As she's being wheeled out on the gurney, Nicole asks me to buy her pirate hat.

Crazy girl. I didn't do it, nor did I buy my paper.

But alas, I've assigned Tom to the mission, as I really don't want to be going back there anytime soon. I'm glad that was the last set we needed!!

Ambulance ride: $200
7 Stitches: $150
200 sheets of gauze: $50

Attempting to save $1.31 on paper?? Priceless.

Here's to hoping the rest of the wedding planning stays stitches free!!!!!!!!!

Somebody, Please, Talk Me Off My Ledge. Or Join Me.

So a few weeks ago, as I plunged into the unknown depths of wedding blogging, I came across a crazy word.

Gocco. (Go - Co). Like Loco.

The Gocco, as I quickly discovered, is a home-printing system that is having quite the renaissance in the U.S. Apparently the manufacturer in Japan didn't get that memo, as they decided to stop selling them in the U.S. Then, most cruelly, they decided to stop manufacturing them completely. (Though they'll still manufacture replacement parts and inks for the next 5 years...).

Gocco = magic.

This:

turns this:

into this:

And it makes these:

And these: (much like what I want to do!)

And these:

And even prints on cloth like this:

Is it not magical?????????

Now for the price. I've been offered one for $200 + shipping. Quite a steal when you consider there's several on eBay for $250 + shipping. And upwards.

And at first, I wanted it. And then I hemmed and hawed and looked up my bank account. But I still wanted it. And then, a lightbulb went off!

I can take the money for the gocco from my wedding budget!!!!!

It would be used to create the invitations, right? And probably the programs. And the thank-yous. And maybe placecards. And, well, whatever I wanted, right????? And, since these are only going to go up in value as less and less become valuable, it's an investment that I can re-sell, right???? Right???

Who's with me?

Who thinks I'm crazy????

HELP! Comments needed ASAP because I need to email the seller right quick!

Stinkin' Cute Save-the-Dates!!!

I found another blog "Prom to Altar," and figured it was worth checking out...and boy, was it!!

Check out these save the dates that this crafty woman came up with:


(Courtesy Prom to Altar)


All the little ticket stubs and what not are momentos from their relationship - trips they've gone on, the place where they became engaged, etc.).

I love a few things about this:

1. It's customized & personal. I think many people lose the vision of what their wedding is: a celebration of their love & relationship, not just an excuse to throw a party. I think when weddings reflect the personalities and tastes of a couple, they are more fun!
2. I love the photo-strip. My original idea was to do something similar, but instead, we'd be holding up a sign in each photo, so it reads "Save" "The" "Date" with the last photo being the actual date.
3. How perfect would this be for us? In high school, being that we were goofy 17 year olds, we'd write each other notes throughout the day. I had kept most of them at one point, filling an entire shopping bag. I'm not sure if I still have them, though. We were pretty silly, though. Tom had band class the period before mine, so he'd write me a note while sitting in class, slip it in my music locker, hide it in the grand piano or xylophone for me to find, or slip it to me on the way to his next class. I'm sure they were intercepted a few times, and I'm pretty confident a few of them are probably still stuck in the grand piano in the band room...

What do you guys think of them? Are they too informal? Does it even matter?????

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

The first step to dealing with an addiction is admitting you have a problem, right? Well, I have a problem. Everytime I turn around, I'm seeing ideas/projects for the wedding...I can't make it stop!

This weekend was no exception to that, either. Let's begin with Friday, shall we? A simple, innocent trip to Michael's has become the start of a super-crazy-hairbrained idea. I've decided to make the invitations myself. I know, I know, crazy. I'm not a big fan of DIY kits, mainly because they never turn out the way you envision, and they all have the same format/design. But while browsing through the cardstock aisle, I came across a line of paper/cardstock/envelopes that looks like it's targeted towards smaller parties and papercrafters, as opposed to weddings. All of the colors are bright and bold, no pasty whites or ecrus. The cost? $3 for 10 invites & envelopes. Response cards are $2 for 20. My grand total? $40. The price for the invites I linked to in the last post? $300. I have some experience in graphic design, and even if I decide I can't make these, I have enough contacts from work/school with graphic designers that I can get something simple done fairly inexpensively. Even if I take these to Kinko's and have the printing done semi-professionally, I'll still be spending under $100. Unheard of. Oh, and I also purchased 15 yards of apple green ribbon. Hey, it was only $3.

On Sunday we were able to check into the date snafu, and we're sure lucky we did. It turns out that the 12th is the Saturday of the carnival, so we'll move the wedding a week to the 19th. I should change the URL to the blog to match that, but that would probably create confusion and whatnot, so I'll probably just keep it...

I've also had lots more thoughts on music, decorations, beverages, and whatnot. But if I explain them now, what will I have to post later this week?!? I know the suspense is killing you...

- B

PS - I didn't realize that the links to the bouquets don't work, so I'll be reposting those later today...Whoops!