3 Months and 2 Weeks, But Who's Counting

Tonight I pick up our wedding invitations at the printer in Oakland! I bought envelopes and some stamps for reply cards last week, but need to still go to the post office, weigh the complete package, and buy additional stamps. Our invitation is a postcard-esque design with us holding a California "postcard", which is the item in focus, on the front side. The printer thought we had a low-res file because our image was blurry (on purpose). The backside is designed like a postcard you would send, the info for the ceremony on the left, and the addresses for the sites on the right. Included in the envelope will be directions and the reply cards, which are regular postcards.

Also in the works are the bachelorette shower plans for the last weekend in July. Beach picnic in Atlantic City, anyone?

Bridesmaids have all ordered their dresses so now we really need to start thinking about accessories and shoes for them. I got my hair cut yesterday and the lady told me how this one wedding party she did had the bridesmaids wanting to go all out with hair and makeup while the bride was more laid-back. While I don't really care how they wear their hair, I guess I do need to consider it so it doesn't look more done up than mine, which at this pojnt I don't really feel like doing up at all....

Last week I ventured to New Jersey to discuss with my church there the ceremony in November. I want that to be short and sweet. We'll walk in together, a sutra will be chanted in Japanese, we'll use some incense, and then go downstairs for the lunch. I am hoping a local Japanese drum group can perform, too, as our entertainment. We'll have pizza, sub sandwiches, birch beer, and hopefully, a cake from Century Bakery. YUM!

Invites Designed, Photography List Estimated

This week has been full of ups and downs. Our friend Taya designed our wedding invitation to my specs and used a photo our friend Kristy took for us. It turned out great! Now we need to find a place that will print the postcard invites (they won't be mailed as postcards, but were designed to look like one) for a good price. We only need about 75 really, but most places start at 250 or 500! 4by6.com I found had options for 100 and 75, but haven't checked out rocketpostcard or psprint yet.

This week also had us meet with Bob O'Magic, our officiant, to go over the wants of our wedding day. It was a nice dinner and productive meeting with Bob. In addition to the day's outline and timeframes, I thought more about the photos I wanted taken at the ceremony, before it, at the reception, and after the festivities were over. Then on Thursday we met with Jamey to discuss lighting at different spots in the grove, garden, and reception hotel. Another productive meeting!

We also found out a little more about the sound system at the Bancroft, and I measured the railings at the grove site. 18 sections on the top, so we'll need to only use 14. Instead of 5 cranes per strand as originally envisioned, the railing isn't that high so only three will probably fit and look fine. So that means instead of 50 strands of 5 cranes to be hung, I think 85 strands need to be tied to the railing. Good times ahead for the wedding party... :-)

128 Days to Go!

The wedding website is on The Knot and every time I go on to check the checklist, it reminds me just how little time we have before the big day. It's just a little over 4 months. Which is a third of a year, and that makes it seem not so close after all.

A few weeks ago, J and I went to look for flowers for my bouquet and the corsages. I am pretty much decided on hydrangeas and maybe white roses. I think the bridal party will carry white roses (single stem). Aside from the bouquets, there won't be any cut flowers at the wedding. Wedding flowers are EXPENSIVE. Of the four places we visited, two said the price is $175 for the bride's bouquet. That's $125 for two hours labor and $50 for the flowers. Yikes! One place said he wouldn't charge for a labor if it was going to be a bunch of hydrangeas but the cost per stem is $15 and you would five of them to be full enough. Still $75 seems more reasonable. I guess I could wait until the last minute to get my flowers (and just order the boutonnieres and corsages) and wrap up some random stems.

We've hit a lull with the planning it seems. We've folded about 500+ cranes. We booked our photographer, Jamey Thomas, and are in the process of getting our invites designed by Taya Harden. We plan to have our initial meeting with our officiant, Mr. Bob O'Magic, this week to discuss the ceremony. But nothing seems pressing (well, getting the invites coordinated, addressed and mailed is, but I'm not worried about getting it done immediately) and that seems odd.

Moorea and Tahiti, Here We Come... in September

J and I are headed to French Polynesia for 7 days, 7 nights for our honeymoon. We will be leaving a few days after our wedding so we can spend some time with our out-of-town guests after we get married. An overnight flight, five days in an overwater bungalow on Moorea (hopefully with the glass in the floor to see below), a day on Tahiti, and back in time for another friend's wedding!

Bridesmaid Dresses and Wedding Invites

This weekend ended with my decisions on bridesmaids dresses from Davids Bridal. All four of my gals will be wearing something difference on my wedding day. I picked the color (marine) and the approximate length (knee), but I am glad I let them try on whatever dresses they liked and felt good in. I know not everybody actually looks good in dresses that say they are flattering on anyone. And styles that one woman might pick for herself might look awful on another body type. So I gave them directions this morning via e-mail to buy the dresses from their ranking. (I had them select their Top four picks.)

This weekend also had J and me taking our wedding invite photo with our friend Kristy. We went to Stern Grove and took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather in the Sunset. Next stop, pick the photo we want to use for the invitation.

Checklist Update

We've folded 350 cranes so far!

What we've completed:
Ceremony reservation
Reception site reservation
Bought bridal shoes
Bought wedding dress
Reserved our hotel room
Submitted agreement for group rate
Selected the bridesmaids
Selected wedding colors (not so much a theme)
Bought rsvp cards
Asked our officiant

Things in progress:
Bridesmaids dresses
Save the Date e-mail
Invites and envelopes
Photography
Crane production
Branch collection
Music for wedding and reception
Event insurance (gotta remember to purchase this for the ceremony site!!)
Reservation of NJ reception/blessing

On the horizon:
Cake selection (cupcakes?)
Flower selection
Groomsmen selection...
Groom and groomsmen ties
Collection of table numbers
Collection of rocks :-)
Honeymoon location/date selection

Still in the distance:
Catering menu
Beverages purchase
Placecard purchase and creation
Car rental to get the ceremony
Hair "design" and veil purchase
Makeup purchase
Jewelry purchase
Rehearsal dinner arrangement
Bridesmaids luncheon
Catering for NJ (pizza and sub sandwiches)
Plane tickets to NJ

How am I doing??

And the Winner is: Forget Me Knots

Yesterday I took a half day and went for round two at Forget Me Knots and La Boutique Des Brides with my bridesmaid Jen. It was a great day. I tried on a sample dress in lace (not me at all) and another one that I don't think I tried on during my first visit. I had been set on not buying my dress there two weeks ago, but the one dress kept creeping up in my mind. It was the first one I really liked and it was what I was comparing everything else to. But it was over my price range (as I mentioned in a previous post).

I tried it on again, mostly to get more information on it in case I bought it online. It fit well, beading didn't bother me, and it looked as good as I remembered. This time was a much better experience. I found out about their one discount that they do give, which turned it into a possible option! Pricing-wise their discount put it in the same ranks as the dress I liked at La Boutique Des Brides.

We headed to Hilda's store for a late afternoon appointment. She is so enthusiastic and proud of her dresses it is almost contagious! The dress I was considering was a lovely Maggie Sottero, classic look with a modern feel. I loved the stitching and long lines of the front. I wasn't a fan of the embellishment or the span of the mermaid/a-line bottom half, but the top looked great. The dress was also too big, so it was hard to envision what it would look like if it fit properly. I decided with Jen's help that it was a little too formal for the time of day anyway and made the choice to go for the dress that had already captured my heart.

This afternoon I called FMK and went back to get fitted for a size. I paid for it, and this summer I will have the beautiful dress that I will marry J in. :-)

I never got the ultimate take-my-breath-away/hand me a kleenex moment as I tried it on. But I felt beautiful. I got more of the nervous, nausea feeling and a little choked up as I headed to the boutique to buy it. I think maybe that is because while you can reserve a place for a party anytime, you buy a dress for your wedding (hopefully) once. That part of me made me sentimental and emotional (the fact that I am getting married to a wonderful man and now I am one step closer to it) rather than the dress itself. Although I am going to look smokin' hot! :-)