Argh! Seating Charts!

With 98% of the RSVP's in I decided to tackle the seating chart. Don't ask why I wanted one, I know they are not totally necessary. But, besides the fact it would be really hard for the waiters to know who's eating what with out them as I'm having 2 mean choices, I suppose my control freak is taking over and it makes me feel better to know it's there.

I wrote it out at the cabin, with a copy of the guest list and a notebook, plus copy of the room layout. I did pretty well, all things considered and it only took a few hours. Although I must admit when I got home and laid it all out, seeing the names physically in front of me made things a lot easier. Not only did it show me that I have quite a few places cards to make yet, I was able to see a huge family placement no-no and switch out some cousins before I had a real Beverly Hillbilly's blow out at my reception.

On top of the achievement of avoiding blood shed, I realize we only need 17 of the original 22 tables. This lowers my linen costs and WOO HOO, because it's like $300! At this point in the game, as far over budget as Mr S and I are, every penny counts!

Here's what my living room floor looked like after I got everything laid out. I have to stop sitting on the floor when doing everything, my back hurts! LOL.


Now all I have to do is print off the rest of the place cards, and then cross reference everything to make sure I have all the guests accounted for. Which I'm sure will be another 2 hour project, but well worth it. I'm giving myself 2 weeks to finish the remaining projects - after that if it's not done, it's not getting done. I will not over stress about this!

24 Days!

The countdown is on, tomorrow I can say "I'm getting married this month!" The vacation was MUCH needed! I spent most my time floating around on a raft having a cool drink catching some sun. I admit that I did do some wedding stuff, I got the seating arrangements done and I'm happy to say that we will be saving a ton of money by only needing 16 tables. I know that spreading people out from 10 to a table to 8 to a table would make things a wee more comfortable, but saving over $300 is worth it. The tables are made for 10 to a table, so I'm not feeling too bad about it.

Every thing else is going really well, I have to assemble the programs and the fact that I ordered pre cut squares for the monogram sticker from Cut Card Stock, will make things move a lot faster. If I had to cut another square that size I was going to SCREAM!

I also have to reconfigure the amount of candles that are going on each table, with less tables needed the amount will go up per table which I'm actually really happy about because I was worried they may be a little small for the large table size.

Well I'm off to unpack, figure out where to put all my new gifts from my shower last Saturday and get the kiddo into bed :-)

A Much Needed Vacation

You won't be hearing much from mt until Wednesday eveing, I'm at my familys lake home in Northern Minnesota for a few days. 25 days out from the wedding and Mr. S and I needed a break and our kiddo really deserved to get up here for some fun as well.

The weather is great, family is fun, and the internet connection is slow and splotchy! I havnen't ventured into town yet to sit at the coffee shop to do some stuff because - I'm on vacation and I don't want to over stress before the big day.

I'm starting to get a little worried about the wedding....all eyes on me walking down the asile. I don't care if I fall, I just panic easily. (No! LOL) When people ask us if we are getting excited about our big day, we say "Eh".

ALl in all it's been a lot of work. A lot of fun and totally worth it all. But as of this week at least, we're really just left feeling drained from the preperations. Not to say we're not excited to me be married and start our new chapter in life together!

Well I have dinner to help with and I think there's a cool beer waiting for me in the main cabin...so I am off. Pictures to follow soon I hope!

Lame-O Bride

There's not much going on for me right now, it's like I've leveled off and I feel like there's not much to do. I don't know if it's because I was obsessed with getting everything done about 10 seconds after we got engaged or what.

I'm calm (though Mr. Zoloft might be helping that) and I'm sorta like "Eh, whatever" when I think about things that could be done, might be nice, and need to actually be completed.

I have a birdal shower tomorrow morning at my house, I'm looking forward too and that will give me something to blog about. Which will be nice because if I don't start having something fun to say, you'll all leave me for another bride with interesting things to say :-)

Until tomorrow!

Becky + Stephan

I meant to get this up a long time ago, but things just got away from me. It's another design I did for a really sweet girl out in Oregon, Becky.

She wanted pink, and one of the designs I had already done - which made my job a little bit easier :-) She was so much fun to work with and I LOVE how she added to her pocket fold by:

• Using an engagement photo to add a personal touch (or help relatives remember exactly who you are again..hehe - I should have done this!)
  
• the ribbon around the pocket
• using brads to hold the pocket in place instead of adhesive! (way cheaper I imagine PLUS it held it in place really well!!!)
  

I fell in love with this invite when it arrived in my mail box! It must have taken forever to assemble these but I can imagine the response she's getting from people - and it's nothing to do with my design! This girl really made her invite - HERS!

Check it out!

**Just a note to anyone interested in invite design from me - I am not taking anymore orders until after I return from my honeymoon in September. If you won't be needing anything until then, but want to book me now to save your place - please contact me at acgrundman@gmail.com as we'll chat!**

The Medicated Bride

Ugh, sorry for the delay in posts. I have been so stressed out lately it's unreal. I actually went in to the doctor to have them give me something to help calm my nerves until after the wedding and it's helping..a bit. It takes a while for it to kick in.

I'm not sleeping. Like at all. Plus, the medication is making my stomach uneasy so I'm not eating a whole lot - which for me is odd. And every time a yawn I dry heave which makes Mrs S laugh.

On the plus side, almost all of my RSVP's are in, all the projects are done except the programs which I have to pick a reading for TODAY so they can start getting printed finally. I'm getting my daughters dress altered today, and things are running smoothly.

Here's hoping that medication kicks in soon!!!

Moms Got A Dress

We went in to the shop today for my sisters' fittings and I hoped my mom would try something on too. She did, though the one I liked she didn't care too much for and just by sight she didn't see anything else worth bothering with.

I was slightly panicking because the wedding is 4 weeks away and if we ordered any dress it wouldn't come in for 6 weeks....not to mention alterations. We were just about to leave shen she saw something she liked. And it was perfect for her!

We bought it right off the rack, and she's having it hemmed on Saturday the day of my last fitting. I'm so excited that she has it, I know she's not picky when it comes to things like this, but she does worry if she puts things off too long.

Here's a peek:
(photos from of Davids Bridal)

Day Of Coordinator

This is Jennifer:

Isn't she pretty?! I snagged this from her Flickr album..so you all could see the amazing girl who is saving my LIFE!

I made Jennifer's wedding invites not to long back, in fact she was my first bride I made invites for after doing my own.

ANYWAY - Jennifer is going to be my Day of Coordinator for my wedding. She's working for a discounted, undisclosed amount of money ;-) And in turn saving my budget and my life with all the chaos that I know is going to go down that day.

I'm meeting Jennifer for coffee this evening to discuss the details. I'm thinking about bringing "mug shots" of the people she will need to keep an eye on. LOL.

I can not wait to meet her! And see all the awesome wedding pics she's bringing to show me as well!

20,000!

Woo Hoo you guys! Thanks so much for all your support and stopping in to visit so much!

Somewhere in the past day or so I cleared 20,000 hits!

You all rock! And here's to 20,000 more!

RSVP's Due in today

The first half of my RSVP's are due in today - I'm as of right now short 42 out of 107, not too bad I suppose.

My task today is to divide up the remaining people into "familes" and give them to the respective sides - each family responsable for their own. Mr S and I will take the friends and if all all do this we will be done in no time.

The mail has yet to come today, I have another hour or so - I hope there's 42 pink envelopes in there, it will make the day a lot smoother.

Dress Fitting #2

My bridesmaid MJ and I had our appointments right after each other, simply by luck! It was a blast going with her, and made picking out my necklace and headpiece much easier because she's always very honest and I knew if something looked like crap, no matter how much I liked it she would tell me.

I did have to have another minor adjustment done to the dress, and buy a new crinoline to keep me from tripping over the front end of the dress. It's actually a two-fer because not only does it keep me from tripping over myself, it's also much more airy - and given how much material is in my dress, I need that! :-)

Here's some shots from the fitting - we had a blast!

Front and back with the veil

And with it bustled

I realized that I didn't try to sit ever in the dress, and as it turns out - I'm not all that good at it!
My Bridesmaid MJ and I

And here's my accessories! I went with pearls (mostly). I'm really excited because FMIL is letting me borrow her diamond and pearl earings she got as a gift on her 30th wedding anniversary. So I'm taking form thsoe and adding: (pictures from www.davidsbridal.com)

Necklace

Bracelet (with white pearls)

As for the headpiece I'll have to get that later, they don't have it on the site. It's a headband and I'm not getting good pictures with my camera...:-( It's all crystals though, so I think I have a good combo of the pearls and the crystals. I have 11 gals at the shop helping me, and I'm happy with it - which is all that matters.

The Sweeneys

We received our first check in both our names :-) It's so cool seeing both our names on the same check, sharing the same last name, that I'm not even worried that the bank might give us some flack while cashing it because I'm really not Mrs S yet.

Woo Hoo!

You ORDERED invites...WHAT!?

I ordered the invites for the Rehearsal Dinner and the "Reception Only" invites from Vista Print to save some time. While I was so looking forward to designing them myself, I just am running out of time and can't catch up. Especially with the new found family drama that has left me in a whirlwind of e-mails and phone calls for the past 2 days.

I have to say, like all the other items I have ordered from Vista Print in the past several years I was very happy! All the designs came with matching envelopes which tickled me pink because I love coordinating stationary!

Here's the Rehearsal Dinner invites, we're having a Hawaiian theme where proper dress is required and those who do not comply will be made to wear something uncomfortable and embarrassing ;-)

And here are the reception only invites. Now before anyone gets their Thongs in a Tangle - we're not selfish, present seeking jerks who are only inviting people to the reception in hopes they bring us a gift. We have 25 or less of these going out to co-workers of both Mr S and his father, due to the size of my family we can't fit everyone in the hall for dinner.

Only one snag in the Vista Print order - they only sent me 11 of the 30 of these I needed so they are immediately making me 20 more, and shipping them off to me to be here by Tuesday! They honestly have some of the best customer service ever, though it would be nice if the receptionists had some tone to their voices...I felt like I was talking to a very corporative robot...LOL!

John, Paul, George & Ringo

Ah, The Beatles.

I heart The Beatles.

I'm not one of those mega fans that oozes with info about each member, down to their current weight and the amount of change in their pocket. I'm just, a fan. I own most their music, an original Abbey Road record (which my father is currently holding hostage with my 1987 Homer Hankie) and I decorated my daughters room with the John Lennon collection when she was born. Her mobile played "Imagine".

Ok, I'm more then a fan. I'm a bit obsessed but whatever, at least I can admit it.

That being said I knew that I had to incorporate The Beatles into my wedding somehow. Not only was my soon to be father-in-law a one of their concerts (how cool is that!) The Beatles are British, along with the family that I marrying into and my in laws adore their music as much as I. It's only fitting that we bring them in somehow!!!

I got my nod to them in the wedding itself with some music being played. I'll be walking out to Here Comes The Sun. And this is how I got them into my reception: My Wedding favors. Clear Glass LOVE coasters, in pink tulle bags.


"All You Need is Love" is one of my all time favorites, and fit perfectly with our wedding! Since I can't have my dream exit from the wedding (click here to see it) this will have to do.

I made the tags myself, of course. cut them out and adhered them to a piece of black card stock to make it more sturdy and then tied it on using the pull strings on the tulle bag. Again then cutting is the most tedious part - and I've still got about 300 squares to cut, but it will all look great in the end!

ARE YOU SERIOUS!

Really, I don't know how much more of this I can take - I have lost, not one but 2 bridal party members in ONE DAY! UGH.

Okay so, yeah my sister will more then likely come around and is trying to prove a point by saying she's not coming. But the Usher Sam, who incidentally was the back up for the last guy to bail on us...has bailed.

ARRRGGHH!

I don't even talk to my bridal party much, don't ask them for anything other then "Get Tux" which is reasonably priced.

Man. Okay I'm off to find a new Usher. Again.

What's Left To Do?

What's left to do with this little time before the wedding? Well according to wedding checklists all over the place - this is what I have left to do:

• 2 Months Before
  • Mail the invitations. --->Did that last month
  • Decide on your wedding vows or compose your own. ---> Did this last month
  • Finalize the reception menus. ---> Did this in Feburary
  • Confirm the wedding details with the musicians and clergy or officiant. --->Done
  • Have the programs printed.
  • Purchase gifts for parents and attendants. ---> Half way done.
  • Make appointments for nails and make-up. ---> All booked but nails.
  • Schedule final dress fitting. ---> Done that, it's on the 12th!

So knowing I had all that done, I ventured into the 1 Month Before the wedding, hoping something in there would keep me busy for today, no not really.

• 1 Month Before
  • Apply for a marriage licence. ---> Had it for 2 weeks now
  • Plan the rehearsal dinner. ---> That's been done forever!
  • Meet with photographer and videographer. ---> Finished this last month

So I'm ahead, a little. All I have left on that whole list is to pick up some extra bridesmaids gifts and print off the programs....seriously why am I so stressed out half the time?

Here are a few actual things I do need to get done:

• Figure out WTH I'm doing with my hair
• Find pictures of makeup I like to bring to the stylist
• Finish the seating chart
  
• Figure out WTH to give the kids for favors
• Try to figure out how we'll manage to pay for the rest of this wedding.

What's It Worth?

As I affixed a stamp to one of my B list invites this evening, I wondered exactly how much had we spent on postage so far, with all the mailings we'd done.

The price makes me wish it was proper etiquette to send things out via e-mail.

• 120 Save The Date Large Postcards (sent before postal increase) @ .40 = $48.00

• 120 Custom Made .42 cent stamps @ $15.27 set of 20 + shipping = 76.36

• 120 $1.00 Stamps to mail invite = $120.00

• 25 Thank You Cards for Bridal Shower (1st one) @ .42 = $10.50

• 15 extra stamps for RSVP's @ .42 = $6.30

GRAND TOTAL IN POSTAGE SO FAR = $261.16

Holy crap! All I have to say is, I didn't budget for postage when we started this whole process. I didn't find anything about it in ANY magazine, Martha artical or anywhere else for that matter!

Simply put my advice to any new bride planning - weigh your invites, calculate the postage and budget for it!

The Phone Box

There's a pub in Minneapolis called Britts Pub. It is, as I'm sure you can tell by it's name, a British Pub. No proper English Pub is complete with out a Phone Box, and as you can see by the photo - they have one.

I felt it utterly necessary that we have some of our engagement pictures taken by it since Alex was born and raised in England and because I'm desperate to go back since it's been 14 years since I was there. So one Wednesday back in September of 2007, we went before the dinner rush, assuming it would be a slower time of the day/week and we would have free reign of the area to get the photos.

We were wrong. The series below is awesome but what you don't see is that that patio was packed. I mean the LITERALLY. A hundred people wandering around, there was even at one point a lady in the phone box, which didn't work of course, talking on her cell phone!

I clammed up at the thought of having to pose for a picture in front of all these people, but my photographer - the wonderful Kari Layland, shooed people off at least a little, so we could get this shot. A crowd was still gathered all watching, I was wondering if my smile looked ok of if I flat out looks stupid due to how anxiety ridden I was. Alex was a bit nervous too and didn't want to get in there with a big ol' kiss because of it, and of course the one shot I really wanted was us kissing in front of the phone box.

Kari kept egging us on to kiss and finally someone in the crowd yelled "Do you want me to come over there and show you how it's done" - laughter erupted and suddenly it was all ok, we got great pictures because of how funny the situation was but as you can see by the following photos....people really were pretty close!


It's nice to not only have great engagement photos - but a story to go along with them!!!

FInishing what I started

So I realized while pouring through old posts that I started to talk about my table names but never finished or showed you a photo of them! LOL.

So let's recap, the names of the tables at the reception are named after places that Mr S and I have either been to, or lived in. The majority of the "visited" names are from me, I've traveled to 13 countries since I was 14. And the "where we've lived" options are mostly Mr. S' as he use to live in England and had some really cool sounding places there.

Between the two of us we came up with 24 names, which I printed on 4x6 Rose Quartz Stardream paper I got from Envelope Mall, that I cut myself. I printed them at home on the ink jet and had to lay them out to dry for a bit, as stardream can be fussy when it comes to inkjests.


Then I affixed the crystals...must MUST have the crystals!!!


And lastly I adhered the table name to a black backing piece and - all done! Here it is on my table mock up (never mind the large hand towel where the napkin should be it was all I had pink and small-ish enough to take it's place for color reasons)



I'm really happy with the outcome, and after months of searching I finally found those plate easels in bulk and cheap. They are a little deeper then I would have liked - but the price was right. Find them at Treasures In Display

This is an item that will end up for sale after the wedding, so watch for the blogs about whats up gor grabs in September!

Why God doens't let me have the WE Network

The other week while Alex was away on business I loaded up my trusty Netfix account with girly movies I knew he wouldn't want to watch. One of the movies was Best Of Platinum Weddings. It's a TV show on the WE network, which I unfortunately do not get right now, and after seeing some of these weddings I knew why.

My little heart pounded at the sight of some of the extravagant items at these receptions, dresses so big they barely fit out the door, swans in the pond out front, crystals hanging from everything in the venue that would hold them up. Having a bottomless pocket book of money surely made these weddings a fairy tale like no other.

Not to say my day won't be a fairy tale, but these receptions looked like Miami night clubs and meadows where faeries lived. And to be honest, not everything was "Oh I love it I want it" because I'm reasonable and I know that some things aren't needed...it's a 5 hour party after all.

But one thing, just one....ohhhhh it was the thing of dreams. So trendy and cool and an amazing sight. Every single one of these weddings had one - it must be the new "It" item of high profile weddings....it is

The Martini Louge:

It's simple really, it's an ice sculpture that can really look like almost anything drink related, all with one thing in common. A ice slide/shoot, or in some cases a metal tube descending through the sculpture which dispenses the martini.

You pour the items into a shaker, shake them up and pour them into the top, it's whirls down into your waiting glass - perfectly chilled, and you've also gotten one heck of a show.



I'm not sure why I wanted something that would melt into a puddle of water which no doubt would have an alcohol level of "Dead" by the end of the night. I'm not even sure if many of the guests drink them, I know I do. But it was just that one thing, like asking your dad for a Pony when you were young...you knew you wern't going to get it but it's nice to think about.

At this point it is still a nice thought that will not be at the wedding. I haven't even looked to see what they cost because I'm sure I don't want the sticker shock. So I simply blog about it, mention it's coolness (no pun intended) and maybe one of you will have one and send me photos and I can live my dream through you.

And as a side note: No Auntie Nora....they do not have Bacardi Louges! Sorry love!