check in, check out

I don't know what to think about the guest book, as a concept. I'm a very visual person (have to see it, have to touch it) so I like things in writing, books, pictures, stuff. A guest book with pictures seems like the perfect place to write something nice - and bonus, it's there to read later. But it's also a lot of pressure, as a guest, to come up with the perfect thing to say after you've already exhausted yourself on the card.
So while I love the stuff aspect of our photo guestbook, I have to admit that I don't think our guests will care so much. For them it's the last trial before the bar.

Still, I am in love with the stuff, story of my closets. Silver tray from my grandma, picture frame from Kim, thrifted crystal frippery, Blurb book of engagement pictures (still needing library pockets), and library checkout cards for notes.

Do you feel differently about the guestbook as a guest than as a bride? Did you do anything to make it more interesting for your guests?

Julia Gets Her Comeuppance

Some of you may remember way back at the beginning of the blog, when I decided not to choose dresses for my three bridesmaids. I made a bridesmaid lookbook and was so effing proud of myself for… something. Well, pride goeth before a bridal fail.

One of the dresses was this one. I thought it was a pretty good dress.

A few months went by, and my mom and I went dress shopping. She bought this one, in silver. I thought nothing of it, except that it was a pretty good dress!
At approximately the same moment, Bridesmaid C was looking at the lookbook and thinking she liked the first dress. For a minute I thought that would work, but neither one of them was thrilled about sharing the style. C graciously said she’d keep shopping, even though she would have been totally justified in grouching at me for creating confusion.

A few months went by, and I heard from Bridesmaid M that she’d bought a dress.
This one.
I’d apparently neglected to tell her about my mom. And C. M graciously said she’d keep shopping. So far no one has made a big deal out of my three-dress-pileup, but I'd deserve it if they did.

I think I get the thing about bridesmaids dresses now. You don't choose them so that they match. You choose them so you don’t have to ask anyone to return their dress because your mom is already wearing it.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for matching dresses, apparently that style is quite the winner!

(images from Dillards and Nordstrom)

oh, you shouldn't have!

This invitation came, to my bridal shower. Which I am still nervous about.

But really, isn't that the nicest invitation for a shower? Entirely handmade by DJ's mom and my future sister in law. I know that you brides are noticing the rounded corners. Twelve per invitation, thumbs say ouch. Perfect color coordination, without stepping on the wedding invitations' toes. And the fonts, which are the same ones we used for the wedding invitations.


So, the invitation is awesome. I have a good dress to wear. Any tips on worrying less? I'm a semi-professional worrier, and the wedding stuff is getting the best of me.

somebody loved

A package came this week, full of envelopes. Envelopes addressed by someone else, someone who took a great deal of effort to coordinate her lettering with one of the invitation fonts. Someone I miss very much, and her calligraphy makes me miss her and her husband more. They were my "college parents," bringing me chicken soup with matzo balls when I was sick and scolding me for bad boyfriend choices and inviting me to Jewish holidays even though I'm not at all Jewish. I miss them.

Time is love, and this took some time. The writing is delicious. I'm sure it was done with a nib and ink - you can see where it has depth. Yum.
Look at the whimsical swishes and flair! I don't write this way. This is more than good handwriting.

I'm trying to tell myself that they need to go in the mail. I mean, really. That was the whole point. But they're so pretty, I'd like to keep them all.

Captain Jack

Last week DJ and I met with our officiant. Actually, we took our officiant and his wife out for sushi, since they're our friends. Our friend/officiant always reminds me vaguely of Captain Jack Harkness.
So, Captain Jack. We asked him to do the job partly because of his stage voice, but also because he and his wife seem to like being married.

He's really enthusiastic about officiating, which was surprising and awesome. He already had a tabbed file of ideas, sample ceremony orders, and instructions for obtaining a marriage license. After going through an online ordination process (type credit card, print certificate) he called the Lake County offices to find out what paperwork they needed to legally recognize him.

And... nothing. Apparently unless someone challenges his authority to perform weddings, it's all good. Even better, if at least one of the parties being married believes he has the authority, it's a valid marriage. Cool! I believe, I do.

Anyone else having a friend officiate? Any stories, advice, warnings?

tech unsavvy

Today I learned how to access alt glyphs in Photoshop, but couldn't figure out how to make a grid. So I went back to MS Word. This document is directly ripping off any number of people who've encouraged their guests to share wedding snapshots, so it's not really worth explanation.

But, um. Does anyone know how to do a table in Photoshop CS? Or something that would work like a table? I'd still like to know.

trousseau

The other day my mom asked if I had my wedding night lingerie yet.* She said when I found what I wanted, she'd like to buy it for me. To wear "in case of fire." Oh yes she did.

DJ said that he really didn't want to know what, if anything, my mom bought for our wedding night. I wasn't planning on letting my mom buy anything... but letting DJ fret about it is way too much fun.

So, if you were me, what would you want ::your mom:: to buy for you? Or, you know, not your mom.

(source) - not at all safe for work, but hilarious.

*I always feel like I ought to add "true story" to anything about my mom. Trust me, it's all true. Hi, mom!

sweet, hot, saucy

I've been doing a lot of not-wedding-related stuff. Enjoying the lull before the big checkbook bleed in September. On Friday DJ and I met some friends at the Naperville Rib Fest for some not-wedding-dress-friendly barbeque.
This was half an hour after the gates opened. An hour later it was completely covered with people.

But it's worth it for the barbeque, served pretty much any way you could want it. Dry rubbed, sauce on the side, or swimming in it. Sweet, hot, or brain-searing.

Contemplating the possibility of another bite.
When I asked how much cash I should bring, DJ said that it's the man's place to buy the pork products. Which is a variety of sexism that I find entirely inoffensive.

moss escort card display

I love when things turn out exactly as I had pictured them. This one was a little iffy, all the way until it was finished. It turned out much girlier than I anticipated, but so far DJ does not seem to mind. The moss and girliness makes me think of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.

I ordered moss on eBay, with no idea what the color or texture might be - or even quantity. I'd recommend the seller I used, although he never did respond to my questions before buying. But it was delivered quickly and packed well.

Quick note on moss: I ordered the dyed green variety, and it is a perfect forest/hunter green. The natural moss would be better for a silvery or sage-y color scheme. It's hard to say exactly what the coverage of a box of moss is, but I used about 1/3 of a box for the bulletin board.

The base is a (thrifted!) bulletin board, the frame painted with pewter-y art paint. I attached the moss using little dots of hot glue. Not too many and not too close together, because I was afraid that too much glue would make it hard for the corsage pins to hold. The moss sort of sticks together on its own, so I didn't need a ton of glue.

That's one of the escord card envelopes, tacked on there with a pearl-headed corsage pin. I went a little embellishment crazy with silk flowers and ribbon. There's a trick to the flowers. Pop the heads off the stems, then insert the head of a sewing pin into the hole left by the stem. Instant flower on a pin. (Yes, I'm sort of embarrassed about the state of our dining/crafting table. I'm a terrible housekeeper.)

The whole thing is sitting on a 12" plate stand from Michaels. It's pretty stable, but if you're trying to fit more than 40 cards then two boards would be better.

room service

Dear Kim,

You've been awfully trusting about letting us put you up in whatever hotel we choose. Especially since The Sticks don't have a ton of great options. No Mariott, no Hotel InterContinential.

Unless you count the Crowne Plaza, which is part of the IC Hotels group.

It has kind of a nice prairie-modern vibe going on, I think. I like the wannabe Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass.
Maybe a little too prairie in the color scheme, but that's nothing a little black-and-white can't fix.

Maybe I'm a little too prairie myself, but check out the texture on that fireplace. Very Brady Bunch homey, I like it. DJ was laughing at me for being critical of the unmatched urns. But really, you would not do that at home.Your room will look a lot like this. Possibly exactly like this. The suite where the girls are getting ready is the same, but with an extra room for sitting. We are very consistent here on the prairie, Kim. But I think you'll be comfortable, and if you're not - well, that's the thing about The Sticks. It's this or a tent in the woods.

Just three more months of this,
Julia