Weddingbee Blog

I blogged about a random purchase a few months ago. Here’s the explanation, copy & pasted from that entry, for the lazy.

I wanted to honor deceased loved ones in a quiet way. While, the lit candles, reserved chair, etc. work for some, it’s still not subtle enough for me and Mr. Lime. I want to honor Mr. Lime’s grandmother, who pretty much raised him, my grandfather who passed away not too long ago and with whom I was pretty close despite a gap of two generations and thousands of miles, and my father. I’ve seen bouquet locket images out there, so I found the above earrings to somehow integrate into my bouquet. There are four slots for photos, so I’ll have one extra. While searching for lockets, my treasure troves were Etsy, eBay, and Red Envelope.

Here is the finished product:

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Momzilla* is insisting that the city’s signage is not clear enough [it’s pretty clear, easy to spot, and it’s off of a major road] and that guests will get lost trying to park.  The parking lot is about a one hundred foot walk to the entrance gate of the estate.  She wanted me to ask my venue to provide parking attendants to direct people to the parking lot and then to the walkway that leads to the estate.  Um, no.  The venue does not include that, nor does it have the manpower to provide an extra two people or so.  And I am not sticking any of our guests with that chore.

So as a compromise, I had a carpenter friend saw up a few 1/4″ thick pieces of masonite and 3/4″ x 1-1/2″ stakes. In order to keep the venue’s lawns intact, I will stick them in those silver pails (99 cents each on clearance at Ikea!) and use dirt and/or some of the river rock to weigh it down and keep the sign upright.

[Please excuse all the boxes of wedding junk in the background.]

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Lamest table mockups.  Ever.

- 57″ rounded corner-ed square table instead of 60″ round.
- Random red chair to stand in for my red napkins and flowers.
- Coffee can to stand in for centerpiece. It’s about the right diameter, but totally not the right height or shape.
- Absence of votive holders in 2 heights that will also surround the coffee can centerpiece.
- Vinyl wallcovering remnants used for the mockups.

I thought I liked the runner better (Yeah, it’s too short. Remember, I was using a remnant.) . . .

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Miss Lime
and
Mr. Lime

request the pleasure of your company
at their marriage
on Sunnyday, the unshaded day of August
two thousand and seven
at sweat o’clock

An All Outdoor Venue
Hothothot, California

We [me, Mr. Lime, and the wedding party], will be under the cool shade of some enormously tall bamboo. Unforutnately, about four-fifths of our guests will bear the full brunt of Southern California, August sun beating down on their [mostly dark-haired] heads.

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Mr. Lime and I have been working on our song list.  Well, I started it (with the help of past lists on Weddingbee and a few friends’ lists), and Mr. Lime put his all into it, rocking out and groovin’ with his headphones on into the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning while I snoozed away.  Hey, I wake up about 3 hours earlier than he does.

You’ll see a sharp contrast between the ceremony music [traditional], cocktail hour [loungey], and the reception music [almost all hip hop with a little bit of gangsta rap and pop thrown in]. We did want to create a distinction between each part of the event, and moving people physically plus change in music is our method, rather than spending a ton on differing decor between places.

Our ceremony is pretty traditional, and we want it to be both worshipful and respectful toward the seriousness of the commitment we are making. Plus this square nerd had only listened to classical and liturgical music until, oh, about age 11. Yes, I am finally publicly admitting it. From my preteen years until the present, I’ve been pretty mainstream with a little underground hip hop and indie alternative thrown in.

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Apparently, you’re not supposed to call guests who have missed your deadline.  You are supposed to have a parent, other family member, or friend call on your behalf.  For us, that was about half of our guest list.  Yes, half.  220 invited, about 115 replies as of the RSVP date.  Of course I found this out AFTER I had already called, emailed, IM’ed, and Friendster/MySpace messaged [hey, it was an unholy hour on the east coast when I was making my calls] the 50 or so non-replies on my list.  Etiquette schmetiquette. 

Five days after the RSVP deadline, and we still need about 35 responses back.  I’m trying to look on the bright side.  While time consuming, it’s been great to actually talk to people I haven’t talked in awhile on the phone, hear old voices [boo and yay to the ’net which makes this phone hater use it even less], and catch up. 

What percentage of your RSVP’s did you actually have back on or by your RSVP deadline?

cookies only [no ice cream ] self-sealing bags

dotty, food-safe waxed tissue home printed labels

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I’ll start where we left off.

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I guess it’s more just architectural hand lettering done with pen and ink.  As sort of a preface to my invitation post, I’ll show you the invites’ clothing and all that went into it.

First, my workstation:

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I’m so excited, and not in the least bit scared (sorry, Jessie Spano, I don’t feel you this time). I just got an evite (yes, you heard right…that’s just how we [procrastinators] roll) from my bridesmaids for my bridal shower coming up in a mere 11 days. It’s one of the many wedding-related things going on these days that’s making this whole thing feel more and more real.

They oh-so-considerately did ask me for some general preferences (absolutely don’ts, musts, level of formality, guest list) and ideas since I am a lot more in tune [obsessed] with wedding things than they are. Since I keep subconsciously overcompensating for the rapid spread of Bridezilla-itis out there, I told them that I honestly did not want or care if they threw me a shower, bachelorette party, et. al. at all. Despite their student budgets and one of them being in Japan for the summer, the two locals insisted and finagled some information out of me.

Out of all that information, they decided to go with an idea I got from my friend, Nanette. Her shower had a “date night” theme for gifts - so gifts were things that would make a nice date night for the couple. It looks like my bridesmaids put their own spin on it, indicating “entertainment” as the theme and gifts in the direction of “things that would make for fun dates for the married couple,” and requests to bring movie clips in. I’m usually not a fan of themed parties, but I know they can be awesome when pulled off properly. It sounds low-key and perfect for the ladies that will be there. I can’t wait! Read more…

So there is this sad pool/fountain thingy at our site, directly adjacent to the dance floor. We are not allowed to float anything in it. My budget and the city say I cannot surround it with candles (even if in proper holders) since they’re kickable.

I was just going to give up on doing anything in its vicinity (we’ve got the luxury of tons of space at our venue), but then a friend who got married last month had a great idea of purchasing some lounge furniture together from Ikea. It ends up being cheaper than renting it from most companies around here. We have yet to determine the fate of the furniture after our wedding is over. In the meantime, it’s living in our living room.

I present to you, The Lime Lounge [of course not as in the color]!

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We ventured downtown this past weekend to get the guys their suits (more on that later) and get our wedding bands.  All in all, it was a successful trip - suits bought, altered next door within two hours, rings bought and brought home, engagement ring steamed/cleaned/polished, and cheap dim sum inhaled - all in half a day.

This is what happens when the on-call Mr. Lime has to bust out his internet-anywhere-in-the-world-ready laptop to resolve some emergency at work while sitting in a random parking lot downtown. I get snap happy.

his [4 mm brushed white gold band]

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+ =

Much to Mr. Lime’s chagrin, I registered at not three, as we had previously agreed upon, places, but four. The ‘plus one’ being at Fitzsu Society. The designerd in me could not resist.

“Just a few items that will only increase in value over time! But they’re classics!” I exclaimed.

Alas, one key to a successful relationship is compromise. Because of our laziness, we agreed to leave it but not widely publicize it. I’d spread it by word-of-mouth to my special fellow designerd friends with deeper pockets (yes, I know that’s an oxymoron).

My greedy giftmongering paid off. Imagine my surprise when about a month ago, I called Boule to track some oh-so-pretty-and-overpriced chocolate I had ordered to be messengered to my bosswoman for her birthday, and they asked me if it was the package being UPS’ed to [insert FIL’s address here].

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Honestly, for most wedding purchases and selections, I haven’t had any “THE One” feelings. I got pretty excited when I finally found our venue, but even that didn’t move me to tears…just utter joy that the long venue search had finally borne us some fruit! I guess I’m just a picky, practical, unsentimental lime.

But then…I got that feeling, twice, over shoes of all things. That which no one, except maybe the photographer and my bridesmaids, will see or care about on the day of. That which really should not have taken me as long as it did to select. That which when others agonize over it, I get impatient and say, “It doesn’t matter! Just buy anything that you are comfortable in.”

I first bought these simply because of their height and because they were dressier wedges that weren’t cork or espadrilles (I’m fine with those materials for casual summer wear, but nothing about my wedding says “cork” or “strawlike ropey stuff”). They were a bit pricey, very high (4″+ heels), and not quite right. I had plenty of time, so I returned them. Read more…

Last weekend, I scheduled an appointment to get a quote for alterations to my gown.  Because this tailor is located so far from where I work (over 50 miles) and live (over 20 miles), I just wanted to get a quote while I was in her ’hood.  However, she was so knowledgeable, sweet, and reasonably priced that this lazy bride ended up leaving her dress there.  I am so over doing thorough research for each vendor and each purchase, especially as the date is creeping up on us way too quickly.  I had planned on getting quotes from two others, but I’m over driving all over SoCal just to find the best price.

Because it was so unexpected and I was alone, no pictures of the fitting. Sorry! It pretty much still looks like this, just with the bodice (especially chest area) pinned to fit.

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