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By taking such a budget-oriented, low-key approach to wedding planning, I’m fortunate to be able to avoid a lot of big stresses. I don’t have to deal with big bills, with unresponsive vendors, or with choosing favors. A lot of people have told me that if they could do it again, they’d do what I’m doing. But let’s think about that for a sec. By tossing traditional wedding ideals to the wind, I’m also missing out on a lot of the fun stuff…
Engagement pictures.
Why would we get them? We have no paper products in which to incorporate them, and we won’t be displaying them on any reception tables, table-number cards, etc. We already have a ton of photos of us on various vacations and such, so we don’t need them. They’re an unnecessary expense. It might have been fun though, anyway.
Invitations, STDs and other fun paper products.
I love paper products! I love being crafty! The single biggest thing I’m sad to miss out on is designing a sweet save-the-date and a stellar invitation suite. I am really looking forward to our wedding announcements and thank-you cards, though.
Bridal showers, bachelorette and other wedding party shenanigans.
I have no wedding party, and hardly anyone knows when I’m getting married. So, I’m not expecting any showers or parties in my honor. It’s one of many things you have to let go when you’re planning to basically elope*. I’ve never been anyone’s bridesmaid, but I have a couple of good friends getting married in 2010 for whom I’ll be the photographer… so I hope to vicariously get my girlie-time on with them while photographing these events in their lives.
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Please excuse me for not writing an interesting post today. You see, I was busy all night making one of these.
A 20’ long teal taffeta table runner (how’s that for alliteration?). One down, twenty more to go. They are kind of a pain to make, but look at how shiny they are! Please excuse the random threads, the fabric frays easily so I need to clean up the edges.
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Before Mr Frenchie and I knew where or when we were getting married, we were able to answer at least one of the most popular questions being asked: “Where are you going on your honeymoon?” However, we always get mixed reactions to our answer: French Canada, more specifically, Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa. Everyone says, “Oh, that is nice,” but only about 20% of them mean it. I don’t know why most people have such a hard time with us not wanting to go to Hawaii or Tahiti. It’s not like we have anything against those places, as they look lovely and relaxing.
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Sometimes I look at my skin and just sigh. What am I doing wrong? I drink a lot of water. Sure, I’m still weaning myself off the junk (and by “the junk” I mean Diet Coke), but I wash twice a day and moisturize as much. I take vitamins. I take EFAs. Hell, I even exfoliate! What’s a gal gotta do for a darling, dewy ’dermis?
A couple of weeks ago, I had a makeup trial from a woman with skin you wouldn’t believe. She is dewy, radiant, positively luminous, and she specializes in skin care. I mean, she’s so healthy looking, you kinda want to lick her to see if she tastes like kale; and she’s so adorable, you want to put her in a Baby-Bjorn and carry her around (but that’s another story). Her background is in cosmetic dermatology, but she’s moving toward a holistic approach. She also happens to be dating Mr. Murad’s son, so you know sister’s got an ’in’ with the best of the best.
She saw right away that my skin was stressed. My pH balance was off, she claimed. When I told her I was using Neutrogena acne wash, she went white as a ghost. Apparently, the little bumpies on my forehead weren’t zits from too much oil, they were a reaction to a too-harsh cleanser!
I’ve always loved to pamper myself with good skin care products, but for the past year or so, we’ve been buying the bargain-basement, bottom of the barrel drugstore brands to save money for the wedding.
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Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Today’s photo of the day was uploaded by strickward. She made her own birdcage veil with vintage veiling and flowers from Etsy. It only cost her $9!
There have lots of great uploads to the Weddingbee gallery recently, so go check them all out! And don’t forget to upload and share your own pictures from your wedding as well. We’d love to see them!
… I do it for you.
You’re welcome for getting a cheesy Bryan Adams song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Now we’re in the same boat. The Cheese Boat!
So, it’s 1AM and I’m sitting in a hot, musty, fluorescent-lighted man-building (you know, the kind where only men work and the smells of metal and yucky hand soap mix with sweat and grease?) on the world’s worst office chair.
Why?
Because Mr. C’s been working all night on a side gig — with proceeds going to our honeymoon — and I’m the support crew. I’ve made two caffeine runs, picked up crappy (yummy) fast food, and smiled each time he walked by for the sake of morale.
If that’s not love…
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Okay hive, take out those #2 pencils, it’s scantron time! Keep your eyes on your own monitor and take your time answering these questions. There are no wrong answers!
Question #1:
A girl and boy (but mostly girl) hunt for pink suspenders for the boy, his 4 friends (let’s call them his “men”) and his 2 little “men”. They finally find them from suspendease, and quickly purchase 7: 1 adult size in dark pink, 4 adult sizes in light pink, and 2 child sizes in dark pink. Upon receipt of the suspenders, the boy tries them on and is left confused. (See girl’s co-worker/model, aka Exhibits A and B, below.)
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Before I jump into showing pictures, I wanted to talk about how I chose our photographer. Ashley and I were in the same Girl Scout troop for almost 10 years. Yes, we struggled through getting our Silver & Gold Awards through middle school and high school. After high school, we both went off to college, and about a year ago, I discovered that she had become a very talented wedding photographer (you can visit some more of her great pictures here). As soon as I discovered this, I knew I wanted to hire her for our wedding if she was available, and she was! I am so happy to be working with someone who I feel very comfortable around and who is so good at what she does. So now, without further ado:
One of the biggest things about a wedding are the memories. My photographer told me she is going to take hundreds of pictures of the big day. Hundreds? I don’t think I have a Facebook album from an event with hundreds of pictures! Heck, in my college days, I thought I took too many pictures… but this just takes the cake (in a good way)!
Well, since I’ve heard from so many former brides that the day just flies by and you don’t really see it all, I decided we should ask for more perspectives from our guests.
So, Mr. BF and I were on the look-out for the infamous disposable cameras. We didn’t care if they said wedding on them, because we are going to have cards on the table explaining what they are for anyway!
So, in our adventures to Target, we found a bunch on clearance for half off. Even better, they are good for action shots. I know our families will be going nuts on the dance floor, so this will be great to capture those random moments (just in case my photographer has too much to capture on her own… you never know with my family, trust me!).
I decided to pretty them up with some invitation scrap paper and pretty ribbon I found at Michael’s. I also Goccoed on some Martha Stewart teal-ish looking “recipe cards”. They will make great cards on the table, in my opinion, and were on clearance for $1! SCORE!
My main motto is “let the family member deal with it”. For example, if it’s a problem with my family, I’ll deal with it, and vice versa for Mr. D. I’ve always echoed this advice to bees on the boards, but honestly, we’ve never really had to deal with the issue of in-law politics until recently.
What I failed to realize when I responded to people on the boards is that it can be so darned hard to keep your mouth shut! At least for me, that is. When family drama starts to affect you and your relationship, how do you best deal with it? I still think it’s best to allow the person who’s family it is to deal with the problem, but how do you deal with it on the DL between the two of you?
We recently had an issue arise, and I wish I could tell you all that I immediately supported Mr. D, never questioned his approach, and generally supported him during the incident. But… I didn’t at first. I was angry, hurt, and so very, very confused. I just couldn’t understand why everything was happening the way it was. I wanted to lash back, fight fire with fire, and stoop to the same passive-aggressive, childish level. But, Mr. D? Well, he wanted to take the high road.
The whole situation made me even more grateful (if it were possible) to be with my future husband.
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After I posted about my China Conundrum the other day I still had no idea what I was going to do (even after all my lovely reader comments), so bring on Part Two!
As I mentioned, I will not be inheriting china from my mother or grandmother – this is because they don’t have any. Therefore, it goes without saying that we never used it at holidays or special occasions growing up, which makes it difficult for me to see myself using it. My grandmother has great old pewter plates and my mother has some fabulous whiteware that we use for ‘special occasions’. My mother offered to give me the whiteware, but she doesn’t have a complete set, she just has the plates (which I LOVE). The line (and manufacturer) is discontinued, and I would have to scour eBay to find the rest of the pieces, which I foresee getting expensive… fast. But, this led me to thinking that maybe my china doesn’t have to be FINE china… maybe I could just get some great white china.
The Benefits:
I know the wedding is supposed to be the best weekend ever, but after the bachelorette weekend MOH/Sister Peep planned, there are no other words to describe the weekend.
Let me start by saying that I cringe at the thought of having to drink a shot of tequila. I’d kill my friends if they made me wear a veil with condoms or penis paraphernalia. And I’d run from the room screaming if I had to ’dare’ a guy to give me his underwear, or really, anything else, for that matter.
But I love the idea of spending a weekend with my best girlfriends. While I am not a total girly-girl, I love my girls.
So, here is a recipe for you to have your own Best. Girls. Weekend. Ever.
1. A fun city: Seattle (7 out of 11 of the girls live there or have family there) was an easy choice.
Progress on the Obagi Nu-Derm system has had its ups and downs, but overall I am really excited to be on it, and am so glad I decided to take the plunge! While there hasn’t been DRASTIC improvement yet (a full cycle of the program takes 18 weeks), I’m actually noticing an improvement in my skin, even in the short time I’ve been on it.
The most drastic improvement has been a definite evening-out of my skin tone, and my skin is visibly smoother and tighter. I went into the program unhappy with how my skin was noticeably darker in some spots, and with how my cheeks were bleached and pink looking. I can definitely tell that my skin is starting to even out. You know how right after you moisturize, your skin feels “plump”? Mine is starting to feel like that for longer periods of time. I’ve also noticed that my acne scarring is becoming more faint. I wouldn’t consider it a huge “problem”, but there is no doubt that it’s fading, which is pretty exciting!
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Over the weekend I finally got my act together and made a list of everything that needs to be done for the wedding. Although it was long and quite daunting, it kind of made me excited. I was eager to tackle some fun new crafts, and really, the list meant that the wedding was fast approaching.
The first thing on my list to tackle were table runners. I did a few Sunday night, and planned to do a few more Monday night after dinner. I don’t think table runners are going to get made today or tomorrow. I’m just not in a wedding mood.
This afternoon I got an email from a friend saying he had to change his RSVP status to decline. The deadline for a big project he’s been working on has been moved to the week after the wedding. Things are going to be too crazy, and he’s not going to be able to take time off from work.
Yes, it’s just one decline, but it’s one at the end of a long list of others. A few people got laid off, some had their salaries cut, 3 are having babies (yay!), and a handful can’t come because they can’t get time off. I can’t complain. Seattle is really far away for a lot of our guests, especially those who would be coming from DC, New York, New Zealand, and Singapore. The economy is tough, and even I’ve had to skip a wedding this month and just sent Mr. Joey alone. But all the same, it’s really hard to get excited for the wedding when some really important people aren’t going to be there.
Before Mr Frenchie and I were engaged, we used to throw around ideas about where to get married. Very early on in our relationship we talked about The Labradors’ city of Savannah, GA. Like I said, I’m a Southern girl at heart, I was born in Atlanta, GA, and used to visit my family just outside Baltimore, MD once a year. We dreamed of a wedding with “Southern Romantic Charm”, in a beautiful location such as this.
Look familiar?
But, alas, when it came down to it planning a wedding across the country, in a city neither of us had ever been to, while we both worked full-time and while I was in school, just wasn’t realistic.
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