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I know that our programs were yet another element in our ‘unnecessarily complicated’ DIY wedding tapestry, but I can’t help but love them. The covers probably didn’t need to be screen printed, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’d fallen in love with the color combination and the intensity never would have come through with regular ink jet printing. Plus, the paper had a slight sheen to it so the ink stayed on top and created a 3-D effect. I’m really thankful that I had the sense (for once!) to keep it to one color because thick layers of ink take forever to dry.
I’ve never received an out of town bag, but I decided to give them out because everyone loves tiny gifts in bags, right? They are a fun way to welcome guests who traveled far, but due to the flurry of activity before the wedding might not get to see the bride and groom until the big day. Nothing says love like a nice note and a snack when you can’t be there.
It wouldn’t be a gift bag without a bag. I screen printed canvas totes with an image of a ticker tape machine:
There has been a renaissance as of late in the crafting world. Old techniques have been reborn thanks to new technology and a renewed sense of humor. Craft fairs like Handmade Arcade, Craftin’ Outlaws, Bazaar Bizarre, and Renegade Craft Fair feature handmade items that are fresh, inspiring and found no where else. Plus, with sellers numbering into the hundreds, there is bound to be something that will knock your socks off.
These fairs are fabulous for finding unique, clever bridal party gifts. Less obvious is that they are also fantastic places to check out local stationers. Many of them will sell greeting cards, calendars, or stationery. It is a good chance to look at the quality of their workmanship up close, discuss pricing and compare vendors. Also, keep your eyes peeled for knick-knacks that can be used as unusual favors or cake toppers. If you can’t find exactly what you want or enough of what you want, many crafters will take custom orders.
I’ll be a vendor at this weekend’s Handmade Arcade. I won’t be selling anything really wedding related, but please don’t let that stop you from saying ‘hi’ if you plan on attending. It’s always nice to meet bees in real life.
The prospect of a post-wedding crash is scary, isn’t it? Planning and preparation for my wedding seemed to occupy all of my free time for the entirety of my 13 month engagement. I didn’t even like weddings before I got engaged, but overnight they became my obsession. I could see that feeling on the horizon, the “What do I do now?” feeling that would ambush me after the honeymoon.
So, stupidly/smartly I signed up to participate in a local art/craft show as a vendor. I do this show every year, but I usually take the preceding six months to make/test prototypes and build up stock. With only six weeks between the end of our honeymoon and the show, I thought I would take a year off. Two days before the wedding I realized how bored I would be and sent off the application on a whim. I found out I was accepted during our honeymoon and upon arrival back to our abode I have been in non-stop production mode. The show is this weekend and I am finally ready to get off of this DIY roller coaster. I am ready for a break.
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I didn’t change my name when I got married. I did this for a variety of reasons, the most important being that I didn’t want to. Mr. Lollipop left it up to me from the beginning, and even more so when he realized that my first name with his last name would rhyme just like ‘Julia Guglia’ from the Wedding Singer. My in-laws and my parents have been supportive of this decision as they have been of all of our other decisions. (They rock!) Finally, we have a baby naming plan that satisfies all concerned parties. Really, I had the least controversial name non-change, ever.
I prefer to be called Ms. MyLastname or Ms. MyLastname-HisLastname. Both work just fine for me. Collectively, we are the MyLastname-HisLastnames, and that was exactly how we were announced at the end of our ceremony. To further clarify matters, we added a note to our program indicating the non-name change and were announced under our own names at the reception.
Some of you might remember that I fired our original photographer one month before our wedding. In hindsight, it was probably one of the best things I could have done to make our event less stressful, mostly because we ended up hiring a wonderful photographer, Mike Purvis. Instead of fighting us about how/when/what of our pictures, Mike listened and did his best to give us exactly what we wanted. While his services and those of his partner, Summer, are more expensive than our original guy, I feel like it was money well spent on two photographers who really clicked with us.
Plus, as a bonus, Mike did a walk-through with me for both of our venues. Both were new to him and there was a good possibility that the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Aquarium, our reception location, would be a challenge to photograph. So, I met him one day last August and we spent an afternoon at the zoo.
More than anything, it was good practice for me. I am not used to being photographed and it was nice to have a chance to get used to being in front of the camera.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
I didn’t save many things from my wedding, but my dress is one of the things I wanted to preserve for the long term. I was a little sad that my mother didn’t have her own wedding dress, so I wanted to preserve mine in order to give future offspring the option.
However, I was unprepared to deal with the complications of the wedding gown preservation industry. It turns out that cleaning a gown is nothing like cleaning a coat or a blouse, the beading and embroidery require extra care…and extra money. This Martha Stewart Weddings guide is particularly helpful in providing information for selecting the right cleaner.
Mr. Lollipop’s family is less centralized than mine, so I had met only a few in the 7.5 years of our relationship. We wanted to organize some time so that I could meet all of them before I married into their clan. While both Mr. Lollipop and I had wanted to throw a welcome barbecue, a quick calculation of the guest list led us to conclude that we couldn’t afford the time or money to throw what would essentially be a second reception.
Rowr! No barbecue for us…
Previously: Our Favors Require a Degree in Botany
If I had all of the money in the world, I would have sprinkled our reception venue with dozens and dozens of dense, exotic flower arrangements. But as someone interested in having a wedding without going into debt, we had to think of something else that would have a similar impact, but with less cost. There is a quality to fresh flowers, the glow of living, breathing things, that I love.
So, in lieu of silk flowers we decided to go with live plants, namely wheatgrass. I’ve been growing the stuff for years and I love how each plant breathes and perspires, furthermore, the bright green fit right into our color scheme. Plus, the our third try at finding the right variety of wheatgrass did the trick! It grew up thick and the blades were new-leaf green. I wanted to give the impression of a lawn so I added random yellow chrysanthemums to some of the containers. We used our little containers of wheatgrass to add a little to our table settings and as companions to our guest table centerpieces.
I love Isaac Mizrahi and admire his skills both as someone who makes and wears clothes. I own both copies of his Stylebook; PDFs of both issues are available for free on his website if you are in the mood for some fashion inspiration.
I have been a fan of his discount line at Target from the beginning. I have largely been impressed with the quality of the designs (so many with pockets!) and fabric used for his dresses, and now the summer clearance has brought deep discounts on already inexpensive dresses. For brides marrying next spring and summer this might be the perfect opportunity to find bridesmaid dresses, rehearsal dinner dresses and honeymoon outfits on the cheap. If we need to choose dresses months in advance, why not shop off-season?
Previously..
I survived making my own wedding cake and ended up with some pleasing results. The fondant didn’t work as perfectly as I would have liked, but we managed to hide most of the flaws by rotating them to the back.
I admit it, we totally stole Ms. Lemon’s idea to collect photos from friends and family using flickr. We printed our account information on the back of our seating cards, and while they weren’t as pretty as Madame Lemon’s, they did the trick. Well, it helped to have a bridesmaid willing to cajole people by email. (Go Aileen!)We ended up with some wonderful photos that have a slightly different perspective than our professional ones. My favorite is the shot below of us immediately after the ceremony.
The one bad thing about getting married on a Sunday is that all of the independent, super-fancy-pants salons are closed. (Rats! No temple massages!) I wanted to give all of my ladies a chance to get their hair done, but that would be impractical time-wise if we hired someone to come to us for hair and make-up. Despite being a DIY bride, I knew that I was too incompetent to even do my own eye-liner, so we turned to a local chain for our prettification needs.
Here are the final results. Photo credit goes to my Maid of Honor and her fashion photography skills.
Getting married on a Sunday on a holiday weekend has its benefits. One of the biggest was that Mr. Lollipop and I had a chance to have our bachelor/bachelorette parties the Friday before the ceremony while most of our friends and family were in town. Perfect.
My party was planned by my Maid of Awesomeness, Saralinda. She borrowed a giant SUV and stocked it with water and snacks and drove us all in one car. I requested two things from her: to go to Friday Night Improv, and a total ban on all penis-related novelty items. Both of my wishes were granted.
Friday Night Improv is a weekly show held at the Studio Theatre in the basement of the Cathedral of Learning. The format is similar to the show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but audience members are invited to participate in sketches. August 31st happened to be opening night for the season, so the show was extra packed and we ended up sitting on the floor in front of the bleachers. It was extra convenient for those times where we held each other and laughed so hard that we rolled on the ground.
Okay, I will admit that I am a huge fan of Arrested Development. I own all of the DVDs, refer to each episode by its title, and force friends to watch whenever I get the chance. So, I have been following the official prop and wardrobe auctions since the beginning on ebay.
So, why am I posting about this? Well, this week there is a wedding dress for sale, one worn on screen by Charlize Theron as she played the part of Rita in the third season. And while Charlize might have worn it over her clothes, it’s still a cute dress by the designer brand Melody Of CA and a steal at $103 (as of this posting). Plus, it comes with a fuzzy pink crown. How could anyone resist?
There isn’t any size information available, so be prepared to invest in a good seamstress.
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Mrs. Lollipop, Pittsburgh Age and Occupation: 26, Computational Linguist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager Engagement Date: August 2, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2, 2007 Blogging Since: July 17, 2007 Venue: The PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo About Me: I'm a Pittsburgh transplant who grew up in the deep south. I have a weakness for exotic alphabets, DIY projects, mobster movies and international travel. My fiance and I are both non-native Japanese speakers and we have a bullfrog named Skinny.
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