Weddingbee

I was thinking of special things we could have as gifts for our guests (either as part of a OOT welcome basket at the hotel, for the wedding party members, or for all the guests). One idea I am toying with is a mix CD.

When Mr. Peppermint and I first started dating, he made me a mix CD. For any holiday or birthday or roadtrip we take, he makes one (complete with one of his drawings!). I was thinking we could either theme the music to be desert-palm-springs-retro or maybe hip-fun-wedding (granted, I’m not sure what songs fit in either category, but we could figure that out later…) Mr. Peppermint and I could design fun cover drawings. It could be a nice, personalized gift (and relatively cost effective).(picture credit: the first CD cover Mr. Peppermint made me…October 2002)

After seeing all the recent budget talk, I thought I should chime in on the hot topic. While I’m far from knowing our final verdict of what the wedding will cost us, I can let you in on how my family approached it.

Much like Miss Corn’s post, our number has been evolving ever since we got engaged. The way we found the sweet spot was to jump in headfirst (research-wise, that is) and see the broad range of costs. Once we saw all that was out there, we were able to narrow down our vision and thus hone in on a general figure.

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As a self-proclaimed shopaholic (but I’ve been working on it!), I would think that the registry would be one of my favorite parts about wedding planning. After all, you’re basically sending everyone a giant wish list. Yet, as I read articles about them and even search stores to register at, I just can’t seem to get excited. Part of this has to do with the fact that I’ve been living on my own for about three years now and have a toaster, a Cuisinart, a blender, ice cream maker (it comes in handy!) and even a bread maker! Add that to Mr. Peppermint’s juicer, coffee maker, and pots and pans, and it seems that not only do we have most of the usual things that people register for, but we don’t have much more space.

Nonetheless, so far, we’re registering at two places: Macy’s (for all the usual suspects) and Honeyfund (for the Honeymoon registry). At Macy’s we managed to find a china pattern, silverware (okay, stainless steel-ware), and a bit of glassware. I’m surprisingly excited about the china (Kate Spade’s June Lane)–I had seen it featured in a few magazines and looked at it online. It comes in both gold & platinum. I was sure the gold was what we wanted (so perfect for holidays), but one of the reviews online said to make sure to see it in person because they had wanted the gold until they saw both in person. I’m really glad I read that because it completely changed my mind, platinum it is.

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I love music. I love to sing. But, I’m not what you call a musical person–I can decipher sheet music as well as I could make sense of a hieroglyphic. That being said, it still is something I care about at our wedding. When first faced with the question of who would play at our wedding (DJ vs. Band), I was coming up empty.

Then, it dawned on me: the night Mr. Peppermint proposed we were staying at a place outside of Joshua Tree. It was an adorable, quaint, secluded hotel called the 29 Palms Inn. We had dinner at their restaurant (delish! They have a garden where all their veggies come from–I never thought I liked cucumbers), and there was a musical act that performed.  They had a jazz feel, playing old standards like “Blue Moon” (I can remember them playing it that night…) and “Come Fly With Me”.

So, I emailed the hotel to get the name of the act: Beverly & Bill. They’ve been performing together the last 8 years (on cruise ships and nightclubs) and each had long careers before that. I contacted them shortly and it all started to fall into place. My parents were a little wary of what the cost may be for a band (vs. a DJ), but boy did we get a deal. It definitely came out cheaper than a DJ. I think because they’re local and because it wasn’t through a company we were able to get such a great deal. I’m so excited, though, because it really will be special having them play (and they sound so good live–I much prefer it to their music that’s available online).

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So here it is, the STD rough draft. We still have to design the back - it’s going to be a postcard backing - and we just need to figure out the wording. We’re thinking it will be hand-written as if it’s a postcard, but just tell all the pertinent details:

Our full names
We’re getting Married
The date
It will be in Palm Springs

Any suggestions on how to word it? As for the front, it is a rough draft so we are still adjusting colors and things. I don’t know if you can tell at this size (and the quality suffers since I didn’t want the file size to be humongous), but these are all photos from trips of ours to Palm Springs (and the surrounding areas), that Mr. Peppermint then colorized to look like vintage Postcard images. The photo in the “M” was taken right after Mr. Peppermint proposed–I’m holding up my hand to show off my ring (yes, I had put it on the wrong hand!).

What are your thoughts, guys?

To have an engagement photo session or not to have an engagement photo session, that is the question. Yes, this is what my life is coming to. Major dilemma.

So, it seems to be a huge trend to have your wedding photographer do what is called an engagement session. Basically you go to a favorite spot or just plain scenic and romantic place to take photos of you as a couple. These pictures are often used at the wedding (guest book cover, framed photo to sign, etc.), on a wedding website, to be sent in to newspapers with the announcement of your engagement, or just plain to have as a keepsake. As an added bonus, it gives you time with your photographer and get to know them, so you feel the most comfortable on the day of the wedding.

These are all great things. Of course I want one! However, the cost (approx. $450), while not unreasonable, makes me wonder if it’s worth it. I’d hate to look back and wish we had photos of this time–but would I really do that?

What are your thoughts, guys??

Back in May, I brought three of my lovely bridesmaids (the other three are out-of-towners) and my wonderful mom to Renee Strauss to try on as many dresses as possible with the hopes of finding what they’ll all be wearing come December–okay, not the whole month, but just one of the most important days of the month!

When I first started thinking about my wedding and what I wanted, I settled on the idea of all-matching bridesmaid dresses. Now, if you’ve been reading wedding magazines and recent books, you would notice a shift away from this trend. More and more brides are opting to dress their maids in the same shade, but letting them pick the dress (or sometimes not even confining them to a single color!). I considered this option, but favored a more uniform look. After all, what if their dresses are just slightly off? What if they each interpret the color differently? I didn’t want surprises (read: control freak). And yes, I suppose I’m a bit traditional, too. After all, my mom had the matchy-match bridesmaids and that’s always what I envisioned for my big day.

Of course as dresses were being modeled and my friends were sharing their thoughts, I kept thinking how easy it would be to throw my hands up and let them pick individual dresses of the same color (though it would be easier if they all liked different dresses within the same line of a given designer). Fortunately as the final dresses got modeled, we were able to narrow it down to about five. That five then became four. Four to three. And then there were two.

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Mr. Peppermint is a low-maintenance guy. Miss Peppermint is not. While Mr. Peppermint has not gotten his hair cut within the last year, I dutifully get mine trimmed every six to eight weeks. As the wedding day approaches though, he’s been discussing with me his “wedding look”. He’s come to the conclusion that he wants to get his mane cut (the length is seriously down to his shoulders by now). First, though, he wanted to wait until after his bachelor party–it’s very symbolic, you see. I think it’s actually so he can one day show our children how long it was and say how Miss Peppermint took away his strength a la Samson. This is coming from the same guy who wore the same t-shirt in all of his school photos so he could tell his children he only wore one shirt.

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Mr. Peppermint and his squad of groomsmen just got back from his big ol’ bachelor party. You may be wondering why the party is so early–we’re getting married in five months! Mr. Peppermint’s brother (and Best Man) is in his senior year of college and is taking the first semester abroad in Denmark this fall. That means he won’t arrive back until a few days before the wedding (I’m a little nervous about jet-lag!), so this was the perfect time to get everyone to go.

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A fun pastime Mr. Peppermint and I have developed since we got engaged is to play the Ultimate Wedding Band game. The name pretty much says it all, but just in case, here’s a basic rundown: If you could have any band (or solo act) perform at your wedding regardless of cost, dead or alive, who would you pick?!

You’d think this game would get boring quick, but you’d be surprised. Often times our favorite singers don’t cut the bill because I don’t want to have a night of rock ballads. Or whiny chick music. It’s important to think of versatility–can they perform both upbeat, get-people-on-the-dance-floor sort of music as well as romantic, lets-sway-until-morning-love-song? Read more…