E-Pics, Part I

Update, 3pm: Think I got the probs fixed, but the photo quality got a little messed up, so I’ll post better versions tonight when my computer wants to cooperate…

Update, 2pm: Just heard that the photo links were broken…will try to get the technical kinks worked out momentarily!

So, after I lost my USB drive with all of our e-pics on it (I know it’s someplace around the house, I just don’t know where that someplace is), T’s cousin Caleb, who shot them and will be shooting our wedding, was kind enough to give me another set last night so I could share them.

This is just the first round — we’re going to do more pics once the weather gets warm, but there were a few shots I wanted for the STDs and whatnot, so Caleb came out with us one VERY cold day and took some pics. I love old photos, so I’ve played around with these in Photoshop to add grain, etc. You’ll be seeing one of these again soon when we get the STDs out!

My Wedding Mantra

Last night, Meg shared that poster Nicole had had a replica Christmas ornament made of the disastrous wedding cake that didn’t ruin her wedding.

Which prompted me to go back and reread the original post.

“Weddings aren’t about stuff” is my new wedding mantra. Which I am going to repeat at least three times a day. Or whenever I get stressed about the wedding (whichever is more often).

The Take Away

I’m feeling a little conflicted about favors. You know me, I want something interesting (not run-of-the-mill) and something “us.” So no Jordan almonds or anything like that.

My original idea, when we first started talking about the wedding (ok, confession, I’d been imagining this for a while,  I just didn’t suggest it to T until we started talking about the wedding!), was to do handpainted stemware. I thought it would be something fun and unusual-and appropriate for a cocktail reception-for people to use and then take home with them. It’s something that’s very personal, but would still be something people could use after the event, unlike anything with our picture, names, or wedding date.

Handpainted goblet from Ryell Design

I still love this idea. And kind of want to use it. But the more I think about it, the more I get concerned with getting 200 goblets painted by June, in addition to all of the other wedding projects we’re going to be working on. Even splitting them up between a bunch of people, that’s still at least 25 or so per person. Can I really ask anyone to paint that many glasses? Argh. So I’m kind of leaning toward scrapping the idea. Am I alone in thinking I may be biting off more than I can chew?

If I’m not, the next question is…what in the world do I do for favors??? My personal rules are no personal information (no photos, names, etc), nothing that won’t be genuinely either a) enjoyable right then or b) useful after the fact (cause really? I’ve never found a use for the admittedly cute tree photo holder I got as a favor once), and nothing that costs an arm and a leg (cause as much as I’d love to do hand-tooled leather books or something, that’s just not going to happen for that many people!!!).

Thoughts either way??

A Few Brave Souls

Well, I just finished the morning trek through the icy conditions we currently have courtesy of the storm that has dumped winter weather over a big swath of the country. For someone who learned to drive in winter weather by being taken out in an ice-covered parking lot and doing donuts until I got the hang of getting out of a skid, it wasn’t so bad. In fact, since everyone else didn’t venture out, traffic was actually pretty light.

Of course, events yesterday made me very glad that those who didn’t know how to drive in the snow stayed home. T’s parents are renting out their basement apartment to a girl they’ve known for a while. Well, since she’s a…hmm…”cautious” driver most days, yesterday’s winter weather (not more than an inch in Delaware) kind of freaked her out. With good cause, apparently.  She borrowed T’s Explorer to get to work, and promptly managed to wreck it when she lost control of the car trying to figure out how to get the 4WD to work. Yeah. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt, and the car isn’t badly hurt. I definitely suggested that she stay safely home today, though…it’s safer for her and for the rest of us!

All the ice is supposed to melt today, and then refreeze overnight, so maybe I’ll get a traffic respite again tomorrow. In the meantime, I am definitely enjoying the snow all over the fields and trees. Call me weird, but I love winter! Yay pretty snow!!

They Did What?

So I just called Smith & Co to reschedule our meeting with Brenda, and got a message saying that they are temporarily closed and “plan” to reopen in the spring. Um…yeah. Ok.

So that makes me just a tad nervous about keeping them on the list. We may be down to one favorite…

He Lets Me Think I’m Right

Just heard the best random wedding inspiration ever. Back story: I find traditional guest books pointless. We’re never going to look at that more than once. I want a conversation piece, or at least something that we can display on a longer-term basis. A Blurb book is one idea… We went to a wedding where the couple asked each guest to write a haiku, which was definitely very cool. So…

This morning on the way to work, I heard a radio show doing a piece based on the Hemingway concept (featured in Smith Magazine) of a memoir in six words. The show was doing a Valentine’s Day “love life in six words” piece, and I thought, “How interesting would it be to have people write their marriage advice for us like this?!”

So I’m totally excited about this idea!! We can have people write their marriage advice/lessons learned in six words, and then make it into a coffee table book after the wedding. It will be a nice change of pace, and will give us something interesting AND practical to display after the wedding. Yay for random inspiration!

Location, Location, Location

As they say, locations is everything, and now that we have decided on a reception format (and therefore a date, hopefully), we’re trying to narrow down reception venues.

Now that we’re having a cocktail reception, it opens up some possibilities as far as the venue. Unfortunately, we’re talking about Delaware (which, much as I love everyone there, is not exactly teeming with unique venue options), so the possibilities don’t open very far. However, the positive thing about more…out of the way, shall we say?…places  is that there IS still such a thing as a site rental fee that’s in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands. Which is nice!

Still researching a bunch of venue options, but here are some of the possibilities. The top two at the moment:

Smith & Company

Smith & Company is located in the same town we live and are getting married in, so that’s a definite plus. Also, that’s the restaurant where we went the night we got engaged, so it has some sentimental pull for us. It has a fairly neutral, streamlined decor, so it wouldn’t clash with anything we’d want decor-wise (as opposed to someplace that had Victorian florals all over!!). The cons? It’s a little on the small side — it wouldn’t fit our guests for a seated dinner, and we’ll definitely need to use the patio, which concerns me a little weather-wise. And the menu selection seems a little limited. Not lil’ smokies limited-which, not even kidding, one of the caterers had on their MENU!!!-but not haute cuisine. We were supposed to have a meeting with the catering manager last week, but she was sick, so we’re going to reschedule, hopefully for tomorrow night when T is not in class. We’ll see…

Heritage Shores

Pluses: It’s on a golf course, which is a big plus with both of us since we love golf (T is admittedly more infatuated than I am, but I think it’s a pretty great sport too). And it’s lovely. Which is also one of the potential minuses. Their ballroom is rather…hmm…lovely, I suppose, but not exactly the streamlined chic I had in mind.

Still, a lot can be done with lighting and decor, and I haven’t seen their other rooms yet, so it’s definitely workable. And the menu was a little more to my taste. I’m the world’s second-pickiest eater (T takes the cake!), so I really don’t want haute cuisine, but I do want some interesting options. I’m waiting for an email back with answers to some follow-up questions.

Now that we don’t have the same space constraints we did when we were looking for a venue with banquet space for 200, I’m also looking at a few other places:

Hotel Rodney, in Lewes, DE

Silver Lake Guest House, in Rehoboth Beach

Lighthouse Restaurant, also in  Lewes

More to come as I get proposals back from the different venues…

One Step Closer

So I just got off the phone from a long chat with T about the wedding. Short version: he’s ok with my chic cocktail party vision for the reception. In a perfect world, I think we would both want a white tie gala, but it just isn’t a perfect world, even if you’re an incurable optimist!

So, in the absence of luxe…Old Hollywood glam, here we come! Which puts us one step closer to having a date finalized. I don’t want to jump the “yay, we have a date!” gun again, so I’m only cautiously optimistic at this point. But, if our conversation with the venue goes as I hope, I think we *might* have both a venue and a date! Which means I could send the STDs (save the dates, for the future reference of those of you who don’t live on wedding blogs like I do) that I’ve been sitting on since the date started shifting!

Will keep you posted…

Love at First Sight

I have just officially fallen in love with CB2, Crate & Barrel’s more…accessible line.

Their candle holders are great!

Their Whirly candleholders would be gorgeous painted like this photo, via Project Wedding:

Adore! I want them all!!

Crack for Brides

Victory Bird’s comment in response to TTO’s post about weddings taking over your life and conversations:

“It’s like that iconic commercial:

This is your brain. [Fries egg] This is your brain on weddings.”

Too true. Hopefully I’ll be able to unscramble my brain after the big day.