I went from not being stressed at all to feeling constantly anxious. Hooray! I know logically things are getting done and everything is okay. In my head though it's a constant Drag Race Lip Syncing for My Life/Don't F*ck it up level however. Quelle surprise for someone with an anxiety disorder. I think that I'm working more and writing more and working on my business doesn't really help. The last time I got married I worked like 28 hours a week and now I'm easily working 45+.
It's going to be okay/ that's what's going to happen/ everything's okay . . .
Bridal Outfit
I just need to get the dress altered and I want to wait another couple weeks on that. We're going to go for Jow's suit in another week or so. All of my foundation garments are square and my honeymoon frilly things are squared away as well which is a huge relief because going the non Spanx route/having huge boobs does not make this stuff easy to make happen. I've decided against the cage veil route and instead will be using a really glittery hair piece and I'm still working on getting a little jacket to go with. Worst case, I'll get a pashmina which works because of my connection to the fiber arts I think. Fae came up this weekend to teach me to do my hair and makeup because she can't make the wedding for v. understandable reasons and I can't justify spending the kind of money that's required for bridal hair and make up. We went to Sephora and got the needed items for my look, I just need a couple odds and ends.
As for Jow, we'll be getting his suit shortly.
We also purchased our wedding bands.
Church
There was an exciting snafu where our priest changed parishes but he will be coming back to marry us. The wedding time is 3p just as an fyi. We need to have a final meeting with him and do our last precana.
Decorating/Invitations
We just ordered the stuff we need to make favors last night. Our printer of course chose to die unceremonously this week so I'll likely be printing the invitations at my mom's house. We just ordered the last of the decorating items last night and have most of them already (I just need to get one more centerpiece bowl). I need to start, like, making the stuff the weekend after next.
We're going to order the flowers next week.
Venue
We made our last decisions last night about food choices. My mom and I will be going to the venue on Saturday to do a quick walk through and have a look at the space one last time pre-wedding as well as deciding on a "signature cocktail" that will be offered during cocktail hour and other details. It will likely be at least partial cash bar so keep that in mind! Also remember that we have a website with details. There will be an optional brunch the morning after the wedding that we need an rsvp for so we can make a reservation.
Bridal Shower
It was a really lovely venue and so great to get a chance to get to know some of Joe's family. I enjoyed having a really nice tea with my closest friends. My mom and sister did a really nice job and everyone was so kind with their gifts (thank you cards are coming, I promise!). Pics can be found on my sis' Facebook page and my Facebook page too.
I think it's making the decorations along with continuing to craft for the summer/holiday seasons that has me a bit stressed, it's hard for there to be enough hours in the day!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Almost There! (a post by Deb)
Everyone keeps asking us how the planning is going and there's always a long pause on my end before I say, ". . .good?". Because so far this has been a pretty low stress process, honestly.
The Dress, etc.
David's Bridal gives me hives to be honest. I went because they're in my price range and because they (obv) specialize in wedding dresses. I wasn't really in love with anything there. I then ordered some retro style gowns online that I knew could be returned but I wasn't impressed with the material or the tailoring (same with DB). I'm super sick of the wedding upcharge for crap. I managed to really luck out when Joe's friend April (not to be confused with my April! We call my April - April1 and his April - April2 for sake of ease and they put up with it) had bought a white knee length satin Layfette148 gown on sale to wear to the opera or another formal event at Neiman Marcus and it didn't fit her quite right because she's a head taller than me. Nothing ever fits me right because of my boobs but I majorly lucked out and it fit me perfectly! The tailoring is gorg, the material is lush and April1, my mom and my sister all loved it which *never* happens. April2 then kindly lent me a pair of crystal encrusted silver strappy Manolo Blahniks and some vintage jewelry pieces to wear with it.
This has freed me up to spend time doing fun things like figuring out what to wear under the dress (so far I'm thinking a blush colored full slip from Nearly Nude and a yummy bra set from Wacoal) and frilly things to wear on the honeymoon (I've been ordering things from Bloomies and having my own private lingerie parties in my house trying things on). I have enough time that if my foundation situation doesn't work out, my mom found a woman who does custom underthings in Basking Ridge, so that's my plan B.
I just need to get a sash with some bling, a lace bolaro shrug and my fascinator/cage veil which I'll either do on Etsy or the Garment District in NYC depending on time. And get my dress altered and pressed of course.
Faelyn has always done my hair and make up for big events for me so she generously offered to do it for me for the wedding which I'm looking forward to. I def want fake eyelashes! We'll get someone to put those on for me because we both have trouble with that. I think I want Joan Holloway (from Mad Men) hair and make up.
Rings
Our orignal vendor wasn't getting back to us as quickly as we would have liked so we found another small business that was much more attentive. We'll be getting a set from here.
Decorating/Invitations/Paper Goods
Joe's friend Athena is an artist and she graciously offered to set our decorations up for us. We're going to take a trip to a local craft store soon and I will start making the things I can make that are on our Pinterest and buying the things I can't make. We have our invitations and we have some of our paper goods as well. We'll start working on getting our invitations sent out next month.
Reception Location
Nothing really new to report. We got the hotel for overnight guests situated. We're still having it at The Lambertville Station. I want to take April1 there to see it soon and I want to go in August to get a good idea of the layout.
Church/Precana
We had a small heart attack because we were able to do the first part of Precana but our parish's second part filled up. We were able to snag the second part right before the wedding at an adjacent parish. We'll need another meeting with Father Damien before the wedding of course. Even though we're having a v. simple Mass in the chapel, I still want a rehearsal the night before.
Stag and Hen
Joe’s not much of a party guy, we sort of met each other at the right phases in life. I was slowing down (I get hung over now and don’t really hit the clubs much anymore) and he wanted more of a social life so we sort of met in the middle. It was my second time around but not his. I told him he could do anything he wanted for his bachelor party – Vegas, Miami, AC, strippers, race car driving, whatever it was that he wanted to do. He informed me in his typical manner that he wasn’t terribly interested in any of that.
I wasn’t particularly interested in a bachelorette party redeux so I thought about what we could do and I thought doing a party at our house and inviting our closest friends and having a theme would be really fun. I started with Tarts and Vicars as our theme but somehow landed on The Jersey Shore ultimately because I thought it would be fun for our primarily Jersey friends to get out of their heads a bit and just really get into the theme. To my surprise, everything went really smoothly. The party prep went exactly to plan, we stayed in our budget and the party itself went really well.
The kitchen witch secret to seeing if the party went well is simple. How much booze, food and water was consumed? Did people leave at a reasonably hour or did you have to throw them out at 2a? For about 20 people, 4 magnums of champagne were consumed, half a bottle of Hendricks, a whole bottle of Mojitos, a shaker of kamikaze shots, a case of beer, several pounds of antipasto meat and cheese, three boxes of pasta, two pounds of Italian cookies and three gallons of water.
The party was really good. I had glitter temporary tats for everyone to paint onto each other, everyone socialized and nothing was spilled on the new carpet. I really enjoyed this bachelor/ette party. As a thirtysomething, I was really happy to have this party at my house. I’ve had lots of parties at my house. I didn’t expect this to be the wildest night of my life. I just wanted to have fun with my friends. And I did. And I got to do it together with Joe, making it even better.
There are pics on my facebook of everyone in their Jersey Shore best.
Bridal Shower
Generally in my family a bridal shower is a surprise but with this being my first year as a crafter, I didn't want to do that because my weekends get so booked with shows I didn't want to accidently double book myself. My mom and sister are throwing me a tea at the Cosy Cupboard which is exactly what I wanted. It's a tea room I haven't been to before so I'm looking forward to going. I picked out a lovely tea party dress for the occasion and will likely wear my Prada heels to start getting practice for the big show with the Manolos.
Honeymoon
Again, nothing too new to report. We plan on making a road trip out of it up to Tanglewood with stops at wineries and other fun places and plan on foodie-ing it up there and spending lots of time cuddling by the fireplace in our villa.
Wedding Activities
Since our wedding is reasonably low key, it gives us time to do all the fun things there never seems to be time for. Like having a girls' spa day the day before to get our nails done and having a BBQ with our friends the night before so we can spend time with out of towners and in towners alike and Joe and I getting a couples' massage the day of the wedding at his clinic and having a fun afterparty at the wine cellar bar with the fireplaces and leather easy chairs at our reception location.
So that's what we've been doing!
The Dress, etc.
David's Bridal gives me hives to be honest. I went because they're in my price range and because they (obv) specialize in wedding dresses. I wasn't really in love with anything there. I then ordered some retro style gowns online that I knew could be returned but I wasn't impressed with the material or the tailoring (same with DB). I'm super sick of the wedding upcharge for crap. I managed to really luck out when Joe's friend April (not to be confused with my April! We call my April - April1 and his April - April2 for sake of ease and they put up with it) had bought a white knee length satin Layfette148 gown on sale to wear to the opera or another formal event at Neiman Marcus and it didn't fit her quite right because she's a head taller than me. Nothing ever fits me right because of my boobs but I majorly lucked out and it fit me perfectly! The tailoring is gorg, the material is lush and April1, my mom and my sister all loved it which *never* happens. April2 then kindly lent me a pair of crystal encrusted silver strappy Manolo Blahniks and some vintage jewelry pieces to wear with it.
This has freed me up to spend time doing fun things like figuring out what to wear under the dress (so far I'm thinking a blush colored full slip from Nearly Nude and a yummy bra set from Wacoal) and frilly things to wear on the honeymoon (I've been ordering things from Bloomies and having my own private lingerie parties in my house trying things on). I have enough time that if my foundation situation doesn't work out, my mom found a woman who does custom underthings in Basking Ridge, so that's my plan B.
I just need to get a sash with some bling, a lace bolaro shrug and my fascinator/cage veil which I'll either do on Etsy or the Garment District in NYC depending on time. And get my dress altered and pressed of course.
Faelyn has always done my hair and make up for big events for me so she generously offered to do it for me for the wedding which I'm looking forward to. I def want fake eyelashes! We'll get someone to put those on for me because we both have trouble with that. I think I want Joan Holloway (from Mad Men) hair and make up.
Rings
Our orignal vendor wasn't getting back to us as quickly as we would have liked so we found another small business that was much more attentive. We'll be getting a set from here.
Decorating/Invitations/Paper Goods
Joe's friend Athena is an artist and she graciously offered to set our decorations up for us. We're going to take a trip to a local craft store soon and I will start making the things I can make that are on our Pinterest and buying the things I can't make. We have our invitations and we have some of our paper goods as well. We'll start working on getting our invitations sent out next month.
Reception Location
Nothing really new to report. We got the hotel for overnight guests situated. We're still having it at The Lambertville Station. I want to take April1 there to see it soon and I want to go in August to get a good idea of the layout.
Church/Precana
We had a small heart attack because we were able to do the first part of Precana but our parish's second part filled up. We were able to snag the second part right before the wedding at an adjacent parish. We'll need another meeting with Father Damien before the wedding of course. Even though we're having a v. simple Mass in the chapel, I still want a rehearsal the night before.
Stag and Hen
Joe’s not much of a party guy, we sort of met each other at the right phases in life. I was slowing down (I get hung over now and don’t really hit the clubs much anymore) and he wanted more of a social life so we sort of met in the middle. It was my second time around but not his. I told him he could do anything he wanted for his bachelor party – Vegas, Miami, AC, strippers, race car driving, whatever it was that he wanted to do. He informed me in his typical manner that he wasn’t terribly interested in any of that.
I wasn’t particularly interested in a bachelorette party redeux so I thought about what we could do and I thought doing a party at our house and inviting our closest friends and having a theme would be really fun. I started with Tarts and Vicars as our theme but somehow landed on The Jersey Shore ultimately because I thought it would be fun for our primarily Jersey friends to get out of their heads a bit and just really get into the theme. To my surprise, everything went really smoothly. The party prep went exactly to plan, we stayed in our budget and the party itself went really well.
The kitchen witch secret to seeing if the party went well is simple. How much booze, food and water was consumed? Did people leave at a reasonably hour or did you have to throw them out at 2a? For about 20 people, 4 magnums of champagne were consumed, half a bottle of Hendricks, a whole bottle of Mojitos, a shaker of kamikaze shots, a case of beer, several pounds of antipasto meat and cheese, three boxes of pasta, two pounds of Italian cookies and three gallons of water.
The party was really good. I had glitter temporary tats for everyone to paint onto each other, everyone socialized and nothing was spilled on the new carpet. I really enjoyed this bachelor/ette party. As a thirtysomething, I was really happy to have this party at my house. I’ve had lots of parties at my house. I didn’t expect this to be the wildest night of my life. I just wanted to have fun with my friends. And I did. And I got to do it together with Joe, making it even better.
There are pics on my facebook of everyone in their Jersey Shore best.
Bridal Shower
Generally in my family a bridal shower is a surprise but with this being my first year as a crafter, I didn't want to do that because my weekends get so booked with shows I didn't want to accidently double book myself. My mom and sister are throwing me a tea at the Cosy Cupboard which is exactly what I wanted. It's a tea room I haven't been to before so I'm looking forward to going. I picked out a lovely tea party dress for the occasion and will likely wear my Prada heels to start getting practice for the big show with the Manolos.
Honeymoon
Again, nothing too new to report. We plan on making a road trip out of it up to Tanglewood with stops at wineries and other fun places and plan on foodie-ing it up there and spending lots of time cuddling by the fireplace in our villa.
Wedding Activities
Since our wedding is reasonably low key, it gives us time to do all the fun things there never seems to be time for. Like having a girls' spa day the day before to get our nails done and having a BBQ with our friends the night before so we can spend time with out of towners and in towners alike and Joe and I getting a couples' massage the day of the wedding at his clinic and having a fun afterparty at the wine cellar bar with the fireplaces and leather easy chairs at our reception location.
So that's what we've been doing!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Alright, alright, alright! Someone's gonna die tonight!
Having been married once before, I knew it was just a matter of time before I would be pushed into a Beatrix Kiddo moment. Of course, riding the crest of the crimson wave, today is that day. Why not!
It's seven months until the wedding. So I thought it would be prudent to inquire about a block rate at the inn where I'm getting married as the current rate and two night stay requirement seemed excessive to me. I queried about that, changing the reception time and when I could decorate. I knew, somewhere in my lizard brain that this was when sh*t was about to get real.
The time change? No prob. You're welcome guests! Now you don't have to wait nine years between the ceremony and reception. You have basically have just enough time to drive from one venue to another.
The decorating time? An hour before. *deep breath* Oooooooooooohkay. I'm not bending on this because I really want the area decorated the way I want. Fine. I got on the Knot (which I hate) and looked up cheap wedding coordinators who do "a la cart" services like decorating. If they want an arm and a leg, I'll then try Offbeat Bride and then whining on the boards of the Knot to find a newb and then maybe finding an art student and then begging some hapless friend or relative. Emails sent for the first part of the plan.
Here's the fun part! There is no room at the inn. Literally. I blew a gasket. Are you kidding! Why do you think we want to have our event there? So we can stumble our drunk butts back to our rooms after the festivities! *biiiiiiiiiiig deep breath* I wrote a polite but sternly worded letter explaining how this is not acceptable. I'm waiting to see what they say and then siccing my mother on them if need be. We didn't sign the contract yet so we can still back out! Also I put in an email to the hotel across the street to see if a block would be available (it's a 4 Diamond hotel so it's expensive of course but everything is around there . . .except the inn).
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
It's seven months until the wedding. So I thought it would be prudent to inquire about a block rate at the inn where I'm getting married as the current rate and two night stay requirement seemed excessive to me. I queried about that, changing the reception time and when I could decorate. I knew, somewhere in my lizard brain that this was when sh*t was about to get real.
The time change? No prob. You're welcome guests! Now you don't have to wait nine years between the ceremony and reception. You have basically have just enough time to drive from one venue to another.
The decorating time? An hour before. *deep breath* Oooooooooooohkay. I'm not bending on this because I really want the area decorated the way I want. Fine. I got on the Knot (which I hate) and looked up cheap wedding coordinators who do "a la cart" services like decorating. If they want an arm and a leg, I'll then try Offbeat Bride and then whining on the boards of the Knot to find a newb and then maybe finding an art student and then begging some hapless friend or relative. Emails sent for the first part of the plan.
Here's the fun part! There is no room at the inn. Literally. I blew a gasket. Are you kidding! Why do you think we want to have our event there? So we can stumble our drunk butts back to our rooms after the festivities! *biiiiiiiiiiig deep breath* I wrote a polite but sternly worded letter explaining how this is not acceptable. I'm waiting to see what they say and then siccing my mother on them if need be. We didn't sign the contract yet so we can still back out! Also I put in an email to the hotel across the street to see if a block would be available (it's a 4 Diamond hotel so it's expensive of course but everything is around there . . .except the inn).
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Half a year left to go . . .
So, we're officially getting to the part of the planning where it's harder to put off reasonable questions about what we've done so far. We're getting measured for new carpet? No, it totes counts! Our Stag and Hen (Bachelor/ette) party is next month and we've got friends flying in from the UK and California so we want our place to look nice for it. Of course, upon further reflection, it would probably make more sense to wait until after the party to replace the carpet but here we are!
We've registered for the first part of Precana, God's Plan (which everyone is a little uncertain as to what it will entail exactly). We both had to take an online compatibility test and have a meeting with our priest on Monday to discuss our Cosmo-like quiz results.
Our joint Stag and Hen party has a Jersey Shore theme which should be fun to dress for and cook for. My mom and sis are planning a small tea party for my bridal shower.
Other than that, I need to stop dawdling and go wedding dress shopping soon I suppose!
<3 Deb
<3 Deb
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
