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The theme: a bridal tea party! Look at this lovely spread of cucumber & mint; chicken salad and tuna/pesto tea sandwiches paired with an assortment of hot & iced teas(not pictured), fresh fruit, Greek pasta salad & desserts!
Another labor of love; our postcard sized programs. Although I appreciate it, please refrain from pointing out any mistakes, because I’ve already had to remake 50 of these babies and I’m not about to stress over them anymore. 
I initially wanted to make a photo guestbook. I figured it would be a great way to put those e-pictures to use.. but time passed by and it just didn’t happen. Instead, I’ve decided to make a wish jar. A jar to hold all our guests’ wishes, advice & blessings to us!
The jar actually has a dual purpose. It serves mainly as my ribbon jar. (I have tons!) For the sake of my wedding, I am borrowing it to hold all the little cards I made.
The wooden clip is actually a giant size clothespin. Neat huh? I used the same scrapbooking paper here as I did with other wedding related DIY projects and simply cut and pasted to the clip. Tied it with a pretty brown ribbon and that was it. The sign was printed on 80lb cardstock, then inserted into a cellophane sleeve for protection. Bird stamp as accent. The cards were made on Microsoft Publisher. Each card is either entitled, “blessings”, “love” or “cherish.”
I knew that we had to have favors, but what? I’ve been thinking about favors since we were engaged, that’s almost 1.5 years ago! Some contenders included chocolate truffles tucked in a box and tied with a ribbon, a sachet filled with lavender to remind us of Paris where we were engaged and miniature tins of tea. Finally, I had an epiphany. I’ll use my crafty skills and to make some altered altoid tins instead. A sweet mix of fruit flavored Japanese candy and a handmade momento to store things. In case, you’ve never seen altoid tins altered, google it and you’ll find a plethora of amazingly handcrafted altered tins. Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for it. Believe it or not, these tins are great as storage and even better when they’re embellished with a bit of craftiness.
The beginning… I actually bought 250 empty altoid tins on Ebay for $70.
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I am constantly teased for being a shortie (I’m 5’1″) but I honestly don’t care…. except that I do sort of care for my wedding. I wanted some height and when I found this cheap find from Chinese Laundry ($40 from Amazon!), I thought it would be perfect with my Champagne colored wedding gown and my 2nd dress (burnt orange). The only problem? I’m not used to wearing high heels.
Photo taken on my entryway table.
I must confess. I’m not that laid back or calm, but during this whole wedding planning I’ve willed myself to be that way because I can’t be a good planner otherwise. As Mr. Violet can attest, when I have a nervous breakdown, I literally break down. I’m pretty much helpless, that is, until I get over myself and bring myself to get up and move forward again. With that said, I have been pretty good so far as a bride who has gone through a few breakdowns in my life. After I wrote my post yesterday, I thought I got whatever stress I had off my chest.. but I really didn’t. I only added more to my stress.
Mr. Violet and I had a conversation (borderline - argument) right before I left work. I told him that we’d talk about it when I got home. Through our 8 years together, I’ve learned the key to a succesful relationship is sometimes silence. Giving each other time to breathe in what has transpired. During my time of silence, I became more enraged at what was happening. Shouldn’t he realize how much stress this could add to me the day before the wedding. What if something does go wrong, am I to handle it alone? Even if I do have help, there’s only so much they can do for me. They can’t replace him. And when did this became my wedding and not our wedding? And for goodness sakes, what is in Montreal that they can’t do much closer to home? On the way home, I called one of my bridesmaids for advice and to vent, and it really helped. By the time I reached home, I was calm again and not ready for an argument.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
The boys have planned their bachelor party. I don’t have any details, except that they have rented an 8 passenger van to pick up Best Man #1 at the airport at 6am (he’s flying in from San Diego) and head straight to Montreal. The roadtrip is estimated to be 7 hours going and coming. That’s 14 hours of driving time in 2 days. Upon arrival, Best Man #2 has plans in the works, which are a secret to both Mr. Violet & myself. I’m not worried about what they’ll do when they’re in Montreal, I’m just worried about them getting back in time in a fairly presentable state (not haggard & drunk or even sick from the drive), as our wedding is the following day!
Coincidentally, they are getting their tuxes two days before they leave. Unfortunately, Best Man #1 will not be able to try it on for changes because he’s not coming until the day they leave for the trip. And if the other boys need to alter anything on their tuxes, they’ll have to make sure they get back in time the day before the wedding to pick it up.
Not only was it Mr. Violet’s birthday yesterday, but it was also the day we went to get our marriage license. We got to the courthouse at 8:20am (doors open at 8:30) and there were already people lining up, but it wasn’t as bad as we imagined. We were done and out in 45 minutes. It was totally worth the $35 licensing fee. No blood test or even a birth certificate; fill the form, sign, pay with money order and that was it!
Summons to the left, and marriages to the right..
One of my best friends, also my BM, came over yesterday to do a first trial. It was very exciting as I’ve never been made over before, nor am I a big make-up kind of girl. On most days, I leave the house with nothing on… and on less lazier days, I add a bit of eye shadow and powder. My BM did the whole works on me and it took a little less than 20 minutes.
Before…
Last night I went shopping for makeup with one of my BMs. As we were in the middle of discussing my wedding plans, she blurts out, “Are you sure you don’t want a bachelorette party? You know you’re going to regret it!” To that I replied again, that I do not wish to go to a strip club of any sort, or go dancing at a nightclub or anything like that. She looked at me intently and without saying it, told me that she thought I was nuts.
I honestly don’t think I’ll regret it because I’m really not into that kind of stuff. I’ve been to parties before and I’ve tried to enjoy the night scene but it’s really just not me. I’ve been to a bachelorette party before and I really didn’t enjoy it too much and in fact, I don’t think the bride did either.
Miss Lollipop listed some very helpful Q&A’s yesterday and I thought that this tip was especially useful. Less trash and more substance. Just a girls night out without the degrading fluff. Call me a prude, but I’d much rather do something else. But what is that something else? It must be fairly affordable, simple and just fun. We also don’t have much time left. Most of our weekends up until the wedding are occupied with errands and next week we are having a housewarming/engagement BBQ. Perhaps I should just scratch it and call it a day since I’m still having a bridal shower.
Are you doing a non-bachelerette party in addition to your bridal shower? If so, what are the plans?
It all started with this 12×12 scrapbook paper. Actually this piece of paper was my inspiration for the entire wedding. My main wedding colors are lavender, green, brown & rustic white. The pale pink & blues are just accents.
As with most brides, I didn’t love the ring pillow choices available, nor did I want to pay for something that I didn’t truly love, so of course, I went the DIY route. I bought the raw silk fabric & batting for the pillow from Joann’s, and the ribbons were from Michael’s. The vintage button was bought on Etsy. Hand sewn and stuffed by me. My FSIL did the rest with the ribbons. (She’s just as crafty!) She took the ribbons and created this elegant-looking ring pillow. I totally love it! The rings are her and FBIL’s wedding rings. In total, I spent about $15 for all materials (with lots of extra fabric and batting leftover).
When I first heard about engagement pictures, I thought it was a very silly idea. Lo and behold, 3 months before our wedding to be, I decide that we need e-pics. Despite all the pictures we’ve taken over the last 8 years, Mr. Violet and I have never taken professional pictures before and there are very few pictures of just us without doing the extended arm pose (which I know many of you couples out there can relate!) Also, since we’ve decided not to have Sam (our dog) at our wedding 
, I really wanted to have her included and pictures seemed like the perfect solution.
I initially wanted to hire a college student photographer but we didn’t have much luck with craigslist. My last shot was with Duet, the same people we are using to shoot our wedding. I was expecting it to be expensive but to our surprise, it was only an extra $200. I immediately signed up and here we are.
Oh and the reason we picked Central Park, well I did anyways: not only is Central Park beautiful, it also holds a very special place in my heart. My childhood was spent here every weekend and looking back, those precious years of my life were unspoiled, free and without worries. Enjoy!
As previously posted, we purchased the Calphalon Contemporary Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set. I do most all of the cooking at home. I’m not an expert in cookware at all and obviously Mr. Violet isn’t either, but he has a way of always knowing the best products out there. So, itsn’t a surprise that when we were first trying to decide on cookware, we registered for All Clad. Unfortunately, we need our cookware before our wedding and I was really fretting that no one would buy us any before then. So I did a little bit of research, and although All Clad seems to be the best, and what professionals use and recommend, Calphalon is an affordable alternative. Besides, All Clad is super expensive and I figured since I’m not a professional chef, and barely more than an amateur cook, I don’t need All Clad.
I decided to choose the stainless steel set for the following reasons:
- I love the look
- it’s affordable (especially after all the discounts we got)
- it should last us for a very long time (I won’t say forever because I can be rather clumsy) Read more…
We picked up the 10 piece Calphalon set at Bed Bath & Beyond today. Not only were we able to use our 20% off coupon, we received a bonus Casserole set and a $50 gift card. We saved $100 and got freebies! The deal ends on June 30th so make sure you grab your coupon and head on over to BB&B. Oh, but don’t go to the one in Jackson Heights because we took the last set. You can order this online too but you’ll only get the gift card. See here for details.
I can’t wait to use my new cookware, but I will resist the urge and wait until we move.
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Mrs. Violet, New York Age and Occupation: 27, Executive Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: May 13, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2007 Venue: Westbury Manor About Me: We've been dating since college. In our spare time we enjoy the city life, playing with our dog "Sam", eating our hearts out, and traveling. I also love to DIY. Check out my crafty creations at http://www.waisze.etsy.com.
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