Alternatives to The Wedding Cake

With each wedding I attend, I think about how mine can be different. One part of the wedding that is always unimpressive is the cake! Brides spend sometimes thousands of dollars on a dessert that is often tasteless. In addition, by the time the cake is cut, the guests are either too tired or drunk to care what it looks like or tastes like!

So....I have decided against the cake and am thinking of other ideas instead. So far, the cupcake idea is all that comes to mind. I have also found the doughnut "cake" online as well. Anyone have any other non-traditional ideas instead of the wedding cake?

Website Woes

I had this brilliant idea that my fiance' could whip up a website for our wedding since the freebies that The Knot or Brides.com give you don't provide enough space for everything we need to include for our "destination wedding". So we picked a name, bought the site, and we were off; Doc (the fiance) is really quite savvy when it comes to technology so I figured this little bitty website would be no big deal to set up. I selected a inspiration website something to model our site after, and I compiled all the information to be included such as travel & accommodations links, scheduled events, even a link to RSVP online! I handed this seemingly simple project over to Doc with high expectations. 48 hours later were at each others throats after I reviewed his idea of a "cool" website complete with bachelor colors and our names written in the Time's New Roman font! How did this happen? I gave a model site which should have eliminated all "creative" input. It looks like were opening a billiards hall! I did try to mask my disappointment and gingerly request that we change the font to something softer more wedding appropriate however, this apparently is no small task because in the world of flash there is no such thing as a small change! So now he's pissed and snapping at all my "little" changes but I can't just let it go. I feel like this website will set the tone for our wedding and it's all about the details! I hate to say it but that website template at the wedding channel.com is looking pretty good right now!

As if planning my wedding was'nt enough...

Of course my older sister would get engaged three weeks after me and make a mad dash for the alter to secure her position as the first to tie the knot! Whatever, she's the oldest so everything is as it should be:) My sister settled on August 23 as her wedding date and since it's right around the corner I figured I'd better get the ball rolling on her bridal shower. I decided to throw her a lingerie shower because she has all the crystal and china she wants and there is really nothing she needs (she's the type to see something she likes and buy it; it makes Christmas shopping difficult.) Anyway, while looking for my own wedding invitation inspiration I came across Wardrobe Stationary which offers custom stationary inspired by fashion! Wardrobe Stationery has a collection of reasonably priced high-style, fashion-inspired patterns and design elements that you customize. There design/patterns could work for any occaision and even satisfy the most couture bride. For the shower selected a sexy but tasteful stationary with a design that resembles a black lace garter on raspberry paper. It's perfect! Now all I have to do is decide on which games to play... oh and a menu...and location; I'll keep you posted!

Photos courtesy of Wardrobe Stationary

Money, Money, Money!

I'm a local gal and therefore my newspaper of choice is the Washington Post. I have a few columns and live chats that I'm quite addicted to, one of which is Michelle Singletary's personal finance column, "The Color of Money."

Michelle has a real no nonsense approach to debts, mortgages, credit cards, any personal money matter. Her advice is, IMHO, pretty rock solid (though as she often says, she is a columnist, not a financial advisor). She's authored a few books in addition to penning her regular column for the Post, and running her live chats several times a month.

My new favorite Michelle book is "Your Money and Your Man: How You and Prince Charming Can Spend Well and Live Rich." Michelle covers the many aspects of personal finance with a view to helping the reader (and her man) deal with one of the most common topics of couple disagreement: money. I've actually started making this my standard shower gifts for my close girlfriends because I found it so helpful for Mr. Fairfax and I. So, if you're looking for good advice on combining your finances this is a great read!

Pic from Amazon.com

Michelle ran a wedding related column today with some great links to articles on how to talk about your finances with your intended and what topics to cover. Check it out!

Making a List and Checking It Twice

You'd think it was Christmas from all the people who want to be on the wedding guest list.  It's amazing how long-lost people who knew you when you were six months old are suddenly all excited to see you get married.  

Both our families have a lot of interest in the guest list, and understandably so.  They want to share details of our wedding with family and friends.  But it's tough to tell excited parents to keep mum about wedding plans in order that their friends' feelings won't be hurt.  Besides, word has a way of spreading around that your kid is getting married.  It can't be easy to deal with people who expect to be invited but simply won't be.  

So, our families want to know, do we have room for these kinds of guests?

Mom and Dad's best friends. Shouldn't parents be able to invite friends to enjoy the wedding with rather than a whole bunch of your friends?  

Random cousins. If we don't invite Cousin Izzy to the wedding, it'll remind Cousin Rosabel about the time that Cousin Ethel didn't invite Izzy's aunt to her wedding, and nobody will speak in our family for years!

We were invited to their wedding and had a lovely time.  They were so nice to us and went out of their way to make us feel comfortable.  We want to reciprocate!

We'd like to keep the numbers down, but we'd also like to keep everybody happy.  It's a delicate negotiation!  

The Hunt for the Dress: The End (Seriously)

When I decided I would check out a few bridal salons, I asked a few girlfriends for salons recommendations. One of the suggestions I received was to visit Blush Gowns. Blush is a bridal consignment boutique in Newport News (similar to I Do! I Do! in Gaithersburg) owned by Holly Yaskowsky. Holly opened Blush a few years ago after she had trouble finding a consignment boutique to accept her own gown from her 2003 wedding.

Since I was headed that direction anyway to visit my mom, I made an appointment to stop and see Holly and see some of the dresses at Blush. As I mentioned in my last dress post, sometimes you just have to find the salon that is the right fit for you, and Blush was the perfect fit for me.

Blush has set policies on the types of dresses they accept, so the gowns in the shop are currently in style and in excellent condition. Many of the dresses haven't even been worn (ever hear of the two dress bride?? Blush is familiar with quite a few). According to the website, there are generally about 400+ dresses in stock in sizes ranging from 2 to 24.

Blush Boutique from www.blushgowns.com

I started off my appointment discussing with Holly my budget and style of dress I wanted. We pulled about 10 dresses off the rack in several styles, most of them in my budget, a few above and even one below! I tried on all the dresses and ended up going back to the very first one I tried. After dancing about the store a bit (yes, I knew I had found a great dress and I had to celebrate), I put the dress on hold to think it over and be sure. I called back the next day knowing I had found my perfect dress (good looking dress+great price=Miss Fairfax's perfect dress).

Inside the boutique where I did my victory dance (pic from www.blushgowns.com).

I had a great shopping experience at Blush and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great dress at a great price, while still getting the bridal salon experience. I have not personally shopped at I Do~ Do, but if you don't want to drive down to Newport News, I would check it out. I Do~I Do also carry some retail gowns (Blush is exclusively consignment).

I plan to return to Blush after my wedding to hopefully consign my dress back. It would certainly be great to recoup some of the costs and also hopefully help out another bride!

New Song for the List of "First Dance" Possiblities

Photo by Stephanie Millner Photography & Design, http://www.stephaniemillner.com/

I was driving down 395 yesterday afternoon (yes, in the crazy storm) and I heard the most charming new song from Jason Mraz, called "I'm Yours." I'm definitely adding it to my list of "Possible First Dance Songs" and at the very least I think it will make an appearance on our play list. If you like Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" or the Bill Frisell version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (from Finding Forrester) you will probably enjoy this song.

The Hunt for the Dress: The Trilogy is Complete (Maybe)

I'm back from the wedding this weekend! It was beautiful and I promise to recap in a few days, but first I've got to finish up my "Hunt for the Dress" tale.

When we left off in Part Dos I had come across a number of great inexpensive dresses at Macy's, Nordstrom, Nicole Miller, etc. However, I didn't want to completely discount traditional bridal salons. Even though I was 99% sure I would find my dress elsewhere, I kind of wanted the experience of going into a salon and trying on dresses (how many times in your life do you get to shop for a wedding dress anyway??). Plus, I thought it would be a really fun mother/daughter bonding activity.

I visited two salons in Northern Virginia--a friend and I kind of went on a whim, no appointments. Making an appointment is nearly always recommended though!! I also visited two salons in Southern Virginia with my mom. Both times it was a great experience. Trying dresses on turned out to be much more fun than I ever thought, especially with my mom there!

So here are some thoughts I have on salons:

• Just because you're on a smaller budget doesn't mean you have to avoid salons (this is what I thought at the start of my search). Different salons carry inventory in different price ranges. Some salons do carry inventory starting at $3,000, but others carry dresses beginning under $1,000! Do your research and find a salon that fits you. Price ranges are often listed on salon websites (check The Knot too). If you can't find it there, call the salon and ask!
  

• In my humble opinion, one of the top advantages of salons if having a LOT of dresses in one place. Sometimes the convenience factor can trump the cost factor.
  

• Depending on the salon, the owners or management may have the ability to drop the price a little. I fell in love with a dress at one of the NoVa salons I visited, but I knew it was out of my budget. At the end of my visit, I let the sales associate know I really liked the dress, but it was a little out of my budget. She spoke with the owner and they were able to offer me a 10% discount if I decided to come back and order the dress. I can't say if this is common, but it can't hurt to let the shop know you love the dress, it's just a little out of your reach.
  

• Don't discount sample sales (haha, just a little shopping humor). If your budget allows for the purchase of a pricier dress (say in the $3,000), a sample sale with discounts of 60% can be an excellent way to save on your gown. That'd be a $3,000 dress for $1,200! Also if you really have your heart set on a specific designer, and you've made the dress a priority in your wedding budget, sample sales can make it more do-able.
  

• Ask to see the destination wedding dresses! At one salon I visited in Richmond, I saw a wedding dress I just had to try on! It was super glamorous, lots of pleats, these gorgeous roses along the neck line. It was a dress from the destination wedding line of a very expensive designer. The price? $489! Many designers these days are making lines especially for destination weddings. The fabric usually travels a little better than say, a big taffeta ball gown, but that's the main difference. Most destination gowns I've seen are perfectly at home in a garden, a church, or a beach front resort!

Does anyone have other good tips for salon shopping?

Ok, this tale of the dress is quickly becoming quite the epic. Check back tomorrow for the final installment!

You have the ring on....now it won't come off!!

As a nearlywed with a ring that is just about a size too big, there has been much discussion about what size to get it cut down to. Its a 3 3/4 (that's what I was originally measured for) and its huge! Nola of Doubet Jewelers in Wilmington, DE (where we got the ring) recommends cutting it down to an even size 3. My concern is what to do on days that my fingers swell?? (which often happens due to humidity.) Her comment was "Well you just won't take it off that day!" Of course, I panicked, thinking what if my finger swells so much that it gets stuck and for some reason I need to take it off - like I want to work out, garden, etc. She had a great tip for this - Windex!! So, in doing a little research about what to do when a ring gets stuck, I found this great post in Wiki-How. They offer many ideas including window cleaner, dental floss, cooking shortening, among others. Have this problem too? What's your favorite solution?

Saving on Centerpieces

Recently I ran across two centerpiece ideas that I thought could be good cost savers.

The first is from the wedding of Anna and Jere as photographed by Millie Holloman

Vases such as these can be found deeply discounted at Save-On-Crafts, and Starfish, Sand Dollars, and other assorted shells can be found cheaply at sites like Sea Shell Co. and Quality Shells .


The other centerpiece was from the wedding of Vicki and Mike as photographed by Jennifer Dery

^ I have no doubt that this centerpiece was probably pricey if done through a florist, but it seems like something that would be simple to re-create as the use of actual florals is pretty minimal.

I think the key to this look is quantity....the more bowls used, the luxer the look. Your big cost will be the bowls ...but you can find similar styles at Save-on-Crafts, Ikea, and even some pretty nice (but more expensive) ones at target.

Cute but Comfy

I just got an invitation to a wedding next month that lasts from noon to 11 PM.  An 11 hour wedding!  Wow!  If I'm going to be on my feet for that long, I think maybe stiletto heels might be a bad idea.  So I picked these up this weekend: 

 

They're not quite as comfortable as sneakers, but almost.  I think I might be able to survive.  

Much gratitude to Time Out's feature on comfy dress shoes.   

The Perfect DC Guy's/Girl's Weekend

If part of your wedding festivities include a weekend for "just the girls" or "just the guys" then you should check out the Washingtonian lists for a Girls' Weekend in DC and a Guys' Weekend in DC.

Don't worry it's more then just monuments and museums. Each day is pretty jam packed and I think both lists will leave your out-of-town friends and locals alike with a good experience of DC. Don't be afraid to mix things up...personally I preferred most of the things on the "Guys" list to the "Girls" list!

The lists would also be good for your younger out-of-town guests looking for something to do during the rest of your wedding weekend.

Overexposed

SOTA Dzine, one of my absolute favorite D.C. photography groups has joined the blogging world. Yay! For really creative and unique photos for inspiration you have to add Overexposed to your blog reader. And apparently red balloons are quite the mini-trend now.

All photos below from the wedding of Jeremy's Brother and credited to SOTA Dzine -

Dresses, Designers, Oh My! How to Decide??

Miss Rehoboth with Mother in tow trotted all over DC to try-on dresses for the impending nuptials. We visited Georgetown's Hitched Salon where Sasha helped us through a pile of possibilities and then off to Promise...for the Savvy Bride in Bethesda where Kori catered to my every whim.

It's pretty nice being treated like a real princess, but after about 30 or so dresses I'd narrowed it to three and rank ordered them. I was more than ready to plunk down a pile of cash at Hitched on the very first dress I tried on, but Mrs. Rehoboth (aka Mom) insisted that I take some time to think things over and make the right decision.... A wise idea - or so I thought.

So, now I am left in a state of complete indecision... Help Fairy Godmother - and fellow blog readers!! Which is the right dress for me?!?!

Judd Waddell










Lela Rose









Claire Pettibone

Whirlwind Week!

Good afternoon Fellow brides & brides-to-be! Why has Miss Rehoboth been so silent? Well, outside of a debilitating summer cold, there has been wedding planning in the air! We've nailed down a date and a place! DRB & I are getting hitched on May 16, 2009 at the Lewes Yacht Club. And, I couldn't be more excited!

Adrienne at LYC is just fabulous to work with and the club is BEAUTIFUL, it totally personifies me, us and what I want our wedding to be about. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beach setting. It has parking, great facilities (indoor & outdoor) and a fantastic staff, including their hot-shot new 24 year old chef! His menu selections look DIVINE!

Cue the Mission Impossible Theme Song...

I'm off tonight for my first recon mission...I mean wedding! wedding, since getting engaged. It's kind of a big deal because:

a) it's the marriage of two dear college friends
b) it's the first cocktail wedding reception I'll have ever attended!
c) first wedding at The College

So safe to say I'm be taking TONS of pictures, probably shedding a few tears, and taking lots of notes.

Also, a little UPDATE on my flower experiment: I purchased the flowers around 11am Sunday, had them in water around noon and they looked GREAT! when I went to work yesterday morning, but by the time I got home last night the hydrangeas were definitely done. The peonies are holding strong ( I did pick 3 brown petals of one of the blooms, but with no detriment to the arrangement) and the daisies and roses look like they are in it for the long haul. The roses blooms were about half open when I bought them Sunday, and were full on open by Tuesday evening. Full disclosure: we keep our house at 70 degrees (Mr. Fairfax is my lil' space heater).

Thanks to Gary on Picasa for the picture of Wren

Cute Bridesmaids Gifts

I have been searching the internet for some cute bridesmaids gifts that are little untraditional. Here is what I found so far:

Pretty 'n Pink Travelers Soap Sheets

Lollipop Lipgloss

Hand-Knotted Fringe Scarf

Skull Compact Mirror

Create-Your-Own LongChamp Bag

A Clash of Cultures (and Colors)

I've discovered an interesting wrinkle in planning my wedding--Mr. C-Ville is English, and English and American wedding traditions are pretty different.  How different?  We don't know yet; traditions are something we take for granted, so the differences are popping up as we go along.  

For example, I'm factoring the cost of RSVP cards into the invitations, but they don't send RSVP cards in the UK.  Mr. C-Ville wants to put the registry information on the invitation, but I would never do such a thing.   I got invited to my sister-in-law-to-be's "hen night," and I had visions of hanging out with chickens until I discovered it means "bachelorette party."

But maybe the biggest difference is that Brits just don't do wedding colors.  Like Miss Rehoboth said, one of the first things people ask you once you get engaged is, "What are your colors?" Now, Mr. C-Ville and I are an egalitarian couple, and this is as much his wedding as it is mine, so I thought I'd discuss this very serious question with him.  Here's how it went:

Me: So we need to think about what colors we're using for the wedding.

Mr. C: What?

Me: The colors.  We should probably decide on our colors so we know what the bridesmaids will wear and what the flowers will look like and so forth.

Mr. C: That's a really American thing.  I don't want to have colors.  Colors are stupid.

Me: But isn't the wedding then going to look like somebody ate a box of crayons and threw up? How are we going to organize everything?

Mr. C: It'll happen naturally.  I really, really, really don't want to have wedding colors.  Really. Really really.  

Marriage is all about compromise, right?  Wedding planning is terrific compromise practice. He gets to have his no color idea, whereas I get the poolside barbecue with pork sandwiches.

But I think planning the look of the wedding without official colors isn't going to be so bad. We're getting married at Clifton Inn in Charlottesville.  The setting lends itself to a definite aesthetic: (photo credit Adam Barnes Photography, via The Knot)

  

Clearly we're going to be going with green and white, and maybe a few touches of pink or even yellow.  Or why not both?  And I love the attendants wearing black cocktail dresses, so I'll probably steal that idea.  But it's not like I need to create a whole new look for the venue. Clifton is what it is, so it's better, and cheaper, to work with it rather than fighting against it.

Have you had any color selection drama? 

Going to The Chapel...

...because my friends J & S are getting married! Yay! I got their invitation in the mail today for their August 8th wedding in Rhode Island. It's a very unique invitation, so I wanted to share it with you. S originally thought she'd like "Paper Source It" as I like to call it, but when time and budget got down to the wire she opted to go to a printer. J & S went to The Write Place in Chantilly and worked with Jill Boddie, the owner, to create their invitations. S is supposed to give me a few more details about the design process, which I'll share when she e-mails me again...apparently she was working today, rather than wedding planning at the office. ;)

Here it is! J & S spent about 2 hours with Jill at her home studio in Chantilly to come up with the design. The Write Place has a great reputation for personal and attentive service and S seemed to be pretty pleased with this aspect of the invitation process.

The invite is actually a tri-fold (see below), which I love because it's quite original. The design, as well as the wording inside is very J & S, warm and inviting! It's a truly personal invitation.




Here's a good view of the tri-fold. The extra "page" in the invite allowed them to skip the reception card and simply add the reception information directly to the invite. What a great idea!

My sister also had her wedding invitation done at The Write Place (I might have passed along the sis's recommendation to S...). My sister and her now husband went for a much more traditional invitation. I like seeing the two invitations together though because it really shows the range of options available.

Do you plan to go the DIY route on invitations or work with a printer? I think since I have a lot of time I may investigate making my own, but I'm still day-dreaming on that, I'll let you know when I decide!

Help Me Find Some Shoes!

So in two weeks Husband and I go to Michigan for the last wedding in our season of weddings this year. I'm excited b/c it's going to be a Palestinian/Chinese/American wedding so it should be a lot of fun.

I bought the below dress to wear to the reception and now I'm trying to find some shoes. I'd love to find some really fun blue shoes that go with the dress, but as that may be hard to find I'll probably have to go with silver. I'm looking for something that is 3 inches or less, has no ankle strap (i'm short, don't want to cut my legs off), and is the $100 or less range (give or take a few) has anyone seen something lately that they think would go well?


^Maggy London Cutaway Silk Chiffon Halter Dress


For the same wedding, I got this next dress for the rehearsal party the night before (OOT guests are invited). I'm kind of stumped for shoes for this one as well. What color do you think would go well and what style?

^BCBGMaxazria Cap Sleeve Jersey Dress

I've checked all the usual online places (Zappos, Endless, Nordstrom, Piperlime etc.) but still haven't really struck gold. Or maybe I missed something great?

OOT Bags....

After my bridal shower this past weekend ( pictures will be posted soon I promise!) --I wanted to check up on my registry , make sure we still had plenty of options available for our guests. What happened when I opened our Crate & Barrel Registry "95 days to go" that is what greeted me. 95 DAYS TO GO! How did that happen? I started blogging right after FI and I got engaged back in August--I can not believe it has been 10 months, and I only have 3 little months left to go! So now I am over whelmed with wedding planning, and will probably be overwhelming you soon:) However ,with the new edition of all the awesome brides to this site--and also with the fact that My next project up is OOT bags ( out of town bags) I am curious what other brides are putting in them? I will definitely be posting about this again in the near future--because right now my OOT bags are exploding! DC is basically a destination wedding for many of our family and friends, we already have 35 rooms at our main hotel, and I am assuming we will probably have at least 50 hotel rooms--so 50 out of town bags. Not a big deal right? Well so far this is what we have going in our OOT bags

Something From Cincinnati ( where my FI is from)
--We are thinking either a packet of Skyline Seasoning or Perhaps a Graeters Candy

Something From Upstate NY (where I am from)

--We are thinking home made small jelly from a local farm in our area or local home made candy

Something from New England ( where my dad grew up and his whole family is from)

Why Salt Water Taffy of course!

Than hopefully something from Ybor City ( Tampa, fl) where my grandmother and great grandmother grew up. I have to go to Tampa for work in August ( ONE MONTH before the wedding!) So my mom and I will look than on the exact idea.

We are then of course adding
--Water ( with custom labels we make)
--Treats packaged in our own individual bag ( closed with our own custom made sticker)
--- Visitor Guides ( we are already accumulating these)
--Maps ( already accumulating these)
--Other guides ( taking these as we can :) )
--List of wedding activities
--Personalized Thank you note

We are also thinking of including a small bottle of wine/sparkling wine from williamsburg, but that might be pushing the cost too much! Am I missing something blaringly obvious? We had wanted to purchase tote bags for everyone but the cost was escalating too quickly, so I believe we are going with these bags



They are only .50 each--and with 50 plus bags we have to be economical--We are still researching though-- but for now its this bag with our monogram sticker on it, of course :)

Center-Piece Test Drive

Like Miss Mitchellville I 'm not gettin' hitched until October 2009, which by my count is um, oh, a million light years away. One part of long engagements I'm coming to appreciate though is that I can do a lot of wedding day-dreaming, and I don't have to worry about making a decision right away. However, on Sunday, just for fun, I decided to put some day dreams in action and test out putting some center-pieces together

Our reception will be a small cocktail affair, so fewer people means fewer tables. The cocktail part means I'll have a few big 5 foot rounds, but I'll also have small cafe (2-seaters) tables and some cabaret (the tall bar type) tables. All this should give me some flexibility in the number and size of arrangements I'll need. So I've told you, now it's time to show!

Here's the first one I put together. Ignore the jars for right now! And the ribbons! This is just what I had around the house! I'm just focusing on the flowers.

This is a single hydrangea stem, about $3 from Whole Foods. I tucked three little clusters of white daisies at various places in the bloom. The daisy bunch was approx $4 and had over a dozen flowers. Hydrangeas are great because they are in season April to October and a single stem is inexpensive and practically a center-piece on it's own. I'm thinking of testing out something similar for my bouquet.

This was the big surprise on Sunday since I'm not really into roses! I've been saving these Martinelli's Apple Juice bottles because they are so cute and have a little leaf pattern on the top. I put a couple of little daisies and these little pink roses in the little jar and it was just little! And cute! The roses are "filler" roses, I believe, and came in several shades. There were about 12 blooms in the package and it was only $4! PS--If I wasn't sold on my own color combo (chocolate and pale blue) I would be all about the pink and navy. The flashy pink just POPS! off the more conservative navy.

I picked up these pink peonies on a whim as well. They are not in season in the fall, but I was experimenting, right? I'm not using any tricky tricks to get the flowers in the jars, I literally just set them in there. I think keeping the color palette simple and using only 1-2 flower varieties per arrangement made it easier to make them pretty.

I can't think of anything more simple, fresh and unassuming than this! A single peony in a little jar with a bright contrasting ribbon. I kept trying to tie bows around the jars, but found I actually like the simple knots better. Anyone can tie a knot!

Here's three of the different size arrangements on the kitchen table. This is what I would likely want for the couple of big tables. I'd use one small arrangements on each small table. Sorry the pic is so dark, I was having a lighting fail.

All told, I spent $20 on flowers and I have a 18 blooms left over. I had the ribbon from previous crafty stages, but if I'd had to purchase it, I would've spent around $10-$12, mostly because I used two satin ribbons. It took me under an hour, start to finish, to put everything together. We're on day two and all the flowers are still looking good.

Thoughts? Does anyone else plan to try their hand at doing their own wedding flowers?

Splurging

Like most brides, I do not have an enormous wedding budget at my disposal. Advice books all say that when you're on a budget, you've got to deploy your resources wisely by spending money on what's important to you.  Or, as a dear friend once told me, "Only do the things that will add to your joy."

After talking about this with Mr. C-Ville, we decided that we really wanted to provide little touches for our guests that would allow them to have a better time.  Not that we're not going to have good food (we are) and good music (bluegrass, of course), but we wanted to give people some memorable details that would make them smile.  I stumbled on this idea almost by accident, but once I found it, we knew it was perfect (photo credit Charlottesville-Albemarle County Convention and Visitors Bureau):

How great is it going to be when the trolley pulls up outside the guests' hotel, honking merrily away to get people on board?  As Mr. C-Ville says, "People love silly buses."  Of course, this addition to the budget means I probably won't get my beloved letterpress invitations, but I do think that our guests will enjoy the trolley more.  And that adds to my joy.

What are you splurging on?  What's important to you?

Our First Gocco Experiance...

Hello! I'm back from my first bridal shower--and I will post about that soon, but I wanted to share with you my first gocco experience. For our engagement Party back in December my family had custom made invitations made and they were beautiful, so we ended up going with the same designer for our save the dates. Even though we LOVED our save the dates--we realized the cost of having her do our invitations would be VERY expensive, so we decided to look into making them on our own.

So far we have the actual Invitation, which we got designed and letter pressed at Paper-Source ( which I will show you later) and we are in the process of working on the inserts--However, we decided that with my first shower coming up we should work on our Thank You notes--hence the first use of Gocco!





^ There she is looking Beautiful! We decided to do a simple Thank you note on Paper Source Luxe White A6 paper--We Photo-copied one of our invitations, cut out the design and turned it into our "master", along with a Simple "Thank You".




^ There is my handsome FI lining up the Gocco Screen--although I was nervous using the gocco for the first time, he was so good about helping :)




^ Here I am making the copy, do you see the excitement in my eyes ;)




-Thar she is all inked up, ready to be printed!



The First copy!! I loved loved LOVED how they turned out! The design is identical to our invitations---and I love the incorporation in the Thank You Notes! As I have said before, wedding planning has made me a DIY person, I do not consider myself crafty! However, if I can handle a gocco and make professional looking material, I believe anybody can do it!



^ As you can see they started taking over our kitchen! It was a great first Gocco experience, I look forward to using it more. Next up: Envelope Liners.