Bring it On!!!

I am so antsy! I have a million DIY projects I want to start, like NOW! Again you see I don't do the waiting thing well. Alex said we could hit Ikea this weekend to pick up candle stuff and frames for me to make for the memory table. Unfortunately we have like 10 people that need to be on there, and so I am making it extra special by having a framed photo of each of them, 4x6 with a name plate so everyone knows who they are.

We are going to check out the table linens this week and figure out with set up I like and I can't wait for that either. I feel like I'm stuck in a wedding planning rut and can't get out. I know it's the calm before the storm and in a few weeks I'll be begging for some down time - but as of now....I WANT PROJECTS!

So, I'm sorry for the dull posts....they will get better and more informative I promise!

Sand Ceremony

Alex and I are skipping the tradition of the Unity Candle. We both find it a tad outdated and, though humorous at the other weddings we attended, we do not want one to blow out or not light on us. Not to mention, the candle would eventually simply wind up in my attic fighting off the sweltering heat of summer and sub-zero of winter never to be seen again.

In it's place I found a great alternative - the Sand Ceremony. A lot like the Unity Candle it signifies the joining of two hearts becoming one - though instead of uniting a flame, we will unite different colored crystalline sands. One the the best parts is we can include my 3 year old daughter by giving her a small vase filled with her own color to signify the joining of our family.

You can buy the materials for a unity sand ceremony at Wedding Star which is where we plan to get our sands from, Black for Alex, White for me and Pink for Paige. Instead of buying the monogramed vase set from them like we initally planned to, I am going to DIY (go figure) our vases by picking up some square ones and decorating them with ribbon and crystals in our wedding colors. This way it will be much more personal and save us some money.

The Sand Ceremony though thought to be new , is in fact a very old and honored tradition thought to have originated in Hawaii when couples would marry on the beach. At the right time in the ceremony they would reach down and take a handful of the sand from beneath their feet and join it together to signify their unity.

Of course here on the main land, we had to adjust it a bit, as not many places have sand as nice as Hawaii! Wouldn't it be funny if someone here in Minnesota were to join together piles of snow? Or gravel from the construction going on in their home towns! And if we were to get even more into that..what about Wisconsin folks joining together soy beans fro their crops, or milk from the dairy cows. In Hollywood they could join together real diamonds with rubies. In New York, subway tokens - it could go on and on!

And you don't have to feel compelled to use glass vases to pour from - use seashells, bowls and other items. Get creative, find something that is sentimental to you - if your a fan of tea, use cute little tea cups! Love baseball? Use those little plastic hats they give you ice cream in at the game with your favorite team on it, signify that you'll both try to like the others team while loving and honoring each other! The possibilities are endless!

Are you doing unity sand? If not what are you doing and how are you making it unique to your wedding day?

Save The Date!

Before I get too far ahead of myself, since I started this blog several months into planning I do want to share with you my Save The Date postcard I made and mailed out in October.

Yeah, I'm getting married in August...I could have waited a bit to send them out but I don't wait well. In fact I try not to wait at all. Hehehe.

I make custom photo cards on the side a business I run mostly by word of mouth but I do have a small website that's not much to look at - www.pinkyellowblue.com.

When it came to my Save The Dates I knew that I was going to design my own. By the wonderfully good graces of my friend and phenomenal photographer Kari Layland, I was able to add the most wonderful element to this card - one of our engagement pictures.

I wanted something rather simple, to the point, and eye catching. It took me forever to figure out what I wanted, I searched the net for ideas, inspiration anything! And in the end, with Photo Shop and me I came up with this:
I had the card printed at Print Pelican something I only suggest because the quality was great and they offered not only good prices, but 5x7 post cards which I couldn't seem to find anywhere else. However on the customer service scale they were a bit annoying. I had 50 people ready to help me, until I had an issue/question in which case I was practically ignored.

Plus, although it's a good shipping procedure - I had to be home to sign for this package when it arrived and as I'm running around some days - getting home with a wiped out 3 year old and finding out I have to go get my package (like I said - can't wait...don't wait well, have to have it now) is annoying. Luckily I was home the second time they delivered.

The fonts are P2P Corinthia, which I had to buy for $20 off of FontFinder.com but was in love with. The other is simply Arial, a standard font on all computers.

Note: These post cards do not qualify for the .26 postcard stamp. I figured this out when I went to the PO to find out postage....after already getting them....I was a bit cheesed to say the least. All this bending over backward to DIY to save money and the post office always bites me in the butt!

In the end I was very happy with the outcome. I would have normally printed these as regular photos, on photo paper from a high quality professional printer and sent them out as photo cards - but wanted to give a new company a shot and have something that didn't require an envelope.

Like what you see? Want the same one? I'll make you a mad deal!

Okay enough self promotion - get back to blogging lady!

The Verdict Is In

I got my orders from Vista Print today...well they actually came yesterday and I never checked the mail. Talk about L-A-Z-Y!

I ordered their folded note card in both the matte finish and linen finish. They offer glossy as well, but I hate all those fingerprints that show up because of the coating...blech!

I was on the "eh" side with the matte. They were nice, usable. Martha would probably ripped them up, dyed them, dried them and then made some type of centerpiece with them. Never would she have mailed them out...lol

The linen on the other hand was exactly what I was hoping for. Clean, crisp, classic, with a hint of formality and with my uploaded design (plus a heck of a lot cheaper then those fancy pants catalogs.)

Only one downfall - on the back of the card, printed near the bottom is their web address. Not to thrilled about this and seeking out ideas for covering it up. I am possibly thinking a small sticker that says something like "Created by Amber Sweeney" or something....

I certainly will not skip ordering from them because of it, I'm sure I'm the only one who will really notice it in the end anyway. Isn't that they way it always is?

Check them out at www.vistaprint.com They have al ot of great deals and often give things away for free. And if you're in the market for a new design of some sort, don't forget this is what I do on the side to make a meager living and I'm more then happy to discuss creating something for you at a reasonable price - seriously reasonable....catch me by responding to this post with a way of contacting you!

Chaio for now!

Wedding Planning No-No #1

I'm not good at math. I'll never claim to be. In fact I'm pretty sure my math teacher retired after I graduated because of the many class disturbances I provided with the ever classic "Yes, but honestly...when will I really be adding A to B? Generally I like to use numbers..."

So when I realized I was primarily in charge of the budget I panicked a wee bit. Ok, a lot a bit...alright back off so I spazed...happy now?

I have 2 budget sheets going, one to make sure we stay on track, the other to make sure that I am using the first one correctly. Not to mention ever trusty Mr. Calculator who I think will be due for a battery change once this wedding is over.

Now, as bad as I am at math was about as prepared as I was to plan a wedding. Ah, some of you laugh because you know me, and know I have been solidly addicted to wedding anything's for the past, oh I dunno....5 years. Yeah well read all you want about dresses and crazy mother-in-laws....noting get's you ready for it. Nothing.

There's no list of "Don't forget this stuff because it will bite you in the ass later" anywhere. So when I started making my beautiful invitations, I didn't stop to think for one minute about how much it might actually cost to mail them.

With my beautiful (I'm not biased or anything!) invitation I walked into the post office ready to hear I was going to need .58 stamps. Wrong-O! I need both a .58 AND a .41 just to mail it! No to mention that I will need yet another RSVP .41 stamp (so help me God if you do not RSVP to this wedding I will hunt you down....) That's a grad total of......(insert crappy drumroll) $.99 to mail each invite.

Here's where I try to do math -

.99 x 120 (the amount of invites I anticipate actually sending) = $118.80
now add in the extra .41 for each RSVP - .41x 120 + $118.80 = $168.00
FOR POSTAGE!

Standing there, jaw agape, I take back the envelope and then even more stupidly - BUY ALL THE STAMPS right then and there. What was wrong with the next 7 months we have until the wedding? I'm still unsure of anything other then, my bank account is crying right now.

So learn from me - please God don't let my mistake go with out a lesson to follow, when you make your invites at home to save money - take into consideration the price of postage as well. The invites that started out to be money saving and come in under $2.50, now cost me over $3!

Ugh.

Good bye Dear Friend, you will be missed.

It had to happen, I just didn't realize how sad I'd be when it did. I had to sit down with a very old friend, someone I've know nearly all my life and tell them, "You're no good for me! It's time we took some time apart"

It took me a few days to get ready for the talk, I paced and thought about it. But when the big day came I pulled out the chair at the kitchen table, sat down and looked my friend right in the eye, and I said

"Mr. Salt Shaker, You're just no good for me. And I know, I know, I knoooooow we've had so many good times together. All the trips to Little Italy, swinging through Burger King Court, that week we spent over at Granny Smith Apple Orchard. It's just that you're killing me here, I can't support your bloated needs anymore!"

With that said a tiny sodium filled tear drop ran down his face as I carefully placed him on the highest shelf in the kitchen cupboard. I promised to visit, he knows my dad will never turn him away. And just so he wouldn't be lonely, I talked Mr Pepper Shaker into hanging out with him for awhile.

I thought for sure this news would shatter Mr Salt Shaker, but I showed him a picture of my wedding dress, and told him how little time to the wedding and he said understood, though I could see the sadness reflected of his shiny glass side.

He is so brave to live in a cupboard so high in the kitchen. To take this hit, all alone. There's so much I still wanted him to see, people to meet, for instance my friend Mr Weight Watchers.I don't think those guys have EVER met! It sure would be nice if they could just hang out once or twice! Seriously

Dueling Engagement Rings

A few months back I attended a local wedding fair with my Future Husband and his mom (you'll learn through out this process my mom isn't as detail oriented as I am, so most of my planning is done with my Future MIL..Mother in Law)

As I entered the atrium of the wedding fair I saw an old friend, someone I knew through an ex but was still very very sweet nonetheless. We did the typical screaming-girlie-jumpy hello and then it happened, the worst and stupidest thing I've done in all my engaged days at the time....

We both showed off our rings, together.

Don't sound bad? Well, no I'm sure in most cases it's not - however our rings were very similar. Very similar, except for one little detail. Her ring was obnoxiously huge. The kind that makes you wonder if there's a hand under that rock.

Well I just had to do it, couldn't keep my big mouth shut - I said excitedly "OMG our rings are the same!"

Idiot.

Any fool could see that they weren't. And though I love my ring and it's exactly what I dreamed about having one day, size and all - she obviously had that "Big Ring Big Head" syndrome and rolled her eyes at me and said "uh, yeah" in the most uncertain and awkward tones possible.

Suddenly this sweet old friend of mine became the "I'm better then you because my ring is bigger" type. I was mortified. I could have said anything....why did I have to say that?

I think that people too often these days base the status of their relationship on the size ring they are lugging around. Sure hers was bigger, but why did I suddenly feel so intimidated by that? I hand picked the ideal design of my ring, my future husband had a designer create it exactly how he wanted it, he hand picked each and every diamond in it. He didn't walk into some store and pick one off a shelf. My band is made of platinum. My ring can't be matched in quality.

And my relationship was as perfect and pure and unique as the ring I had on my hand. How that ring came to be on my hand was the most amazing thing of all.

It makes me feel so stupid to think that the glimmer of an obnoxious diamond could make me forget all the things that made my ring the most perfect ring for me, even if it was only for that split second

So, before you let anyone make you feel like less of a bride because your ring is smaller then theirs remember this: The diamonds are not the most important part of your ring, it's the story behind them that makes that ring amazing.