Set in Stone...

Remember WAY back in March when I mentioned that our wedding ceremony includes a memorial brick in the garden? No? Refresh your memory here. So I took a ride over to Wilder Park yesterday to scope out our brick location, what plants were in bloom, and the overall parking situation. I can report only good things!

Plus, I can prove photographic evidence!

Hey look! That's us!!



Sorry for the stinky picture, but seriously, how cool is this?!?!?!

Adventures in Wilder Park

The beauty of getting married 10 minutes from where I work is that I can steal away on my lunch hour to complete wedding-related tasks.

Yesterday, I met with my lovely florist, Kristen from Kio Kreations, to view the ceremony site in full bloom and decide if we need to add any more arrangements. We decided that we really need nothing besides petals, and a piece of fabric for the arch. I'll explain that once we hit the right photo...

The entrance to the park, with the ceremony tent peeking out:



This looks like the same shot, but I really just walked to the other side of the garden (so the tent is at my back, and took a picture of the entrance.

The tent! Straight ahead is where we'll be standing, with chairs filling up the grassy area...

This is where we'll be standing in less than 8 weeks!

The black arch you see has been primed for clematis growth, but it doesn't look like it will fill up completely in time for the wedding, so we're going to secure green sheer fabric (that will match the sashes on the chairs) and stretch that across the top of the arch. It won't be draped, as Kristen thinks that will take away from the simplicity of the garden itself.

There will be large amounts of petals, however. They will line the aisle, outline the circle, and then fill it to create the "pillow carpet" that I had talked about previously.

Magic, I tell ya.

Oh, and the flowers planted behind the "altar" are white lilies, and there's a very good chance that they'll be in bloom just in time for the ceremony!

We'll just have to wait and see!

I absolutely LOVE this space!! Now, if only I can figure out the processional...

Making it Official, With Stone...

I'm sorry I keep dwelling on the same subjects this week, but I'm just super excited that we are FINALLY making some headway in the planning. Besides the rings and ties (which I'm still patiently waiting on), I'm finalizing the ceremony site today.

While it's still a little early to be making our last payment, there's a reason for the madness.

This bad boy right here:



Part of the ceremony "package" with the park district is a free engraved brick to be placed in the garden where the ceremony takes place. Tom and I thought it would be more fun to have the brick there the day we were getting married, instead of after. So, we have to pay the money and choose our inscription this week to meet the deadline before August.

I am sooo excited about this brick! I've already decided that we're going to make a big, obvious sign with an arrow pointing towards it that says something like "Look Down" to point it out, and I want to get a picture of our rings with it. :)

Some DIY Details...

So unfortunately, this is the best picture I have of our ceremony site. Once the weather warms up, I plan on taking a run over there with my florist, so I'll be able to report back with better pictures.

Until then, bear with me and use your imagination...



So the paver walkway extends past the staircase, and then splits around a small flower bed, then meets again. The path continues for a distance to the parking lot, I believe. The garden is actually tucked behind a building, so it is not visible from the parking lot.

As a dual-purpose project, I'm thinking of creating some path markers. I saw this featured on OnceWed:

Ribbon wands:

Pinwheels and ribbon wands:

Now picture these ribbon wands, with a bit thicker stem and thicker ribbons, spaced every two feet or so, lining the path to the tent. As a project that will cost less than $20, I think this is something that would make a big impact with little effort (similar to the sheer sashes being tied to the chairs!).

Ribbon is on sale at a few craft stores right now, so maybe I'll talk a gander at the selection, calculate it, and make a final decision tonight...

Ceremony Details and Whatnot...

Update: Totally bought the coat yesterday! Thanks for the advice!

So below is a picture of the setup of the ceremony site. My apologies for the pixelation and blurriness --- it was originally a small 75x75 size shot, so I enlarged it...

As you can see, this setup has an aisle runner (which we're foregoing) and subsequent petals on the aisle (which we're also thinking of nixing).

Our florist, creative genius that she is, has tons of suggestions and ideas for me! Her first thought was to line just the sides of the aisle in white petals. It's a little different than the traditional scatter, but for some reason, I'm just not in love with the idea.

Then I found this picture:

(Via StyleMePretty)

As Kristen (the florist) put it, it's like petal carpet! I just think it lends a very ethereal, romantic look to it...

Then, she had another brilliant idea: adding chair sashes to the unfortunately ugly chairs we'll be working with. Like this:

(From the archives of Kio Kreations)

Our sashes are being custom-matched to our "apple green," by the fabulous Czarina at The Chair Couture. Coincidentally, this is the same fabulous linen place I referred to for the '10 wedding plans. To cover all of our chairs, it will cost about $100! Plus, we're not even being charged for the custom color!

So, with all that in mind, does anything strike you in terms of petal decor or the arch (in the top picture)?

PS - Here's a picture of the conservatory at Wilder Park. Talk about fabulous picture opportunities!!

Save the Date! (No, Really, Save It!)

So I'm happy to report that our crazy date saga has come to a resolution! We are pleased and sooo excited to announce that our wedding will be taking place on Sunday, August 9th, 2009.

Our lovely photographer, Kara, who has been with us since the beginning, has saved us the date. I will be meeting with our prospective florist, Kristen with Kio Kreations, on Monday to discuss options and sign the contract. Our ceremony will be held at a lovely park/garden/conservatory in Elmhurst, IL, called Wilder Park. We will be hosting a brunch reception to follow at the always delicious and sophisticated Maggiano's.

We are also extremely excited to announce that one of Tom's good friends from school has agreed to marry us! We have the utmost faith in him to write and officiate a fabulous ceremony that will be tailored to us.

So while we have the big things out of the way, we still have a few more things to check off the list, including:

• Purchase wedding rings (I've been eyeing a few, just haven't jumped yet!)
• Finalize brunch menu
• Choose ceremony music and figure out logistics
• Choose and create reception playlist
• Choose & book rehearsal dinner location (we're leaning towards a good old-fashioned BBQ at our apartment, or possibly a fab "crosstown classic" themed dinner @ Harry Caray's)
• Register!!
• Take engagement photos
• Reserve convertible for the wedding day (one of Tom's friends works at a rental place, so he was more than eager to take this task on!)
• Decide on favors. (Do we bother?)
• Design invitations, programs and menus.
• Print invitations, programs and menus.
• Assemble invitations, programs and menus. (I think you get the picture!)
• Research and book honeymoon! (We're deciding between a Mediterranean cruise or a land excursion of Scotland, London & maybe Paris!)
• Apply for marriage license
• Buy ties & pocket squares for the groom, groomsmen and fathers
• Assemble the bases for the flowergirl flower wands (PS - Congrats to Becca and fam -- we're officially adding little Charlotte Joanne to our wedding party in May!)
• Create seating chart and have it printed at Kinko

I can't really seem to think of anything more, though I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting! Anybody else have any suggestions about what I've forgotten so far?

A Logistical Nightmare (Sort of!)

In light of the wedding move, Tom and I have had a fairly frenzied approach to planning. Our motto? Get it done!

Even though I had put hours of thought, research and effort into the '10 wedding, planning this one is more time-consuming than either of us had thought. Since we are so very in love with our photographer, finding a date which worked for her became a priority. We had more date issues with some family obligations, most of which are turning out to be immovable. We were hoping to have a June wedding, but have pushed back to August. With Tom starting school in late August, our choice of dates are significantly narrowed. Add in a few graduation parties, birthdays, medical issues, cousins returning to college, and we have a bona fide mess.

So, our approach to the date has become this: We're not going to please everyone, so we might as well figure out when our vendors are available and take the winning date. I'll let you know how that one goes.

Our other major issue is the guest list. (Who doesn't have problems with the guest list??). The ceremony site we're attempting to book holds 130 guests. If we really squish everyone together, we're up to 150. With our current list inching close to almost 220 people, we're facing some serious chopping. People keep mentioning that not everyone will attend, but the fact is, the majority will, especially since more than half the guests are family. It's unfortunate that we can't make any decisions in regards to dates or ceremony sites until we have this list finalized, since that will take at least another week.

I'm very much looking forward to taking care of the logistics, so I can spend much, much more time in the future planning the details.