busy, busy, busy!

To my faithful readers, I deeply apologize for not writing an entry sooner!  It's not that I've been too busy to write, it's just I haven't had too much to write about just yet.  

I've been spending the last few weeks finalizing my DIY plans.  What began as a simple thought of making my own menu cards has now turned into doing everything myself!  And while I'm still ironing out the kinks, I thought I'd share with you a couple of things I've learned so far:

1. Give yourself enough time.  While your ideas may change along the way, it's really important to leave room to not only decide on your vision but to determine how you're going to achieve it.  Sure, layered programs don't look like much but when I actually sat down and had to figure out the dimensions of the pages, I was relieved to know I had plenty of time for trial and error!

2. Order samples.  Textures of paper or fabric cannot be felt through a computer screen and colors are RARELY represented accurately.  I probably spent $25 on all sorts of papers and ribbons and invitations but it was well worth it.  What appears nice on the screen may end up looking cheap or tacky in reality!

3.  Seek inspiration.  Just because you're doing the project yourself doesn't mean you have to be creative enough to come up with an idea from scratch!  My design didn't just magically appear in my head; I took other creations and mixed and matched them to fit the snowflake vision I already had.  If you have an idea or color, I suggest entering in a keyword into Google images and let it do it's thing.

4. Be organized! If you were to ask my father about my organizational skills, he'd laugh.  My work desk has papers scattered all over it, my bedroom has drawers filled with random junk and my car needs a maid in order to stay neat.  When it comes to my DIY projects, however, I am pretty anal.  I keep track of everything - the color, size, amount, company, cost, dimensions, etc.  And I don't order anything until I consult my spreadsheet.

5.  Ask for help. Don't assume you can do all these tasks by yourself because unless you are a stay-at-home bride, you won't have the time.  There's so much that needs to be done and some of it doesn't even require lifting a finger.  My co-workers have been so helpful with helping me determine paper colors and design layouts that I don't think I'd have the confidence to go forward with these projects if it weren't for them!  And when it comes time to assemble everything, I'll be fine even if only one or two members of my large bridal party can spare an hour or so to help out.

6.  Know when to go professional.  I'm doing a lot of the stationery myself but that doesn't mean I want it to look that way.  So instead of using Momzilla's temperamental deskjet printer, I'm having all of my stationery printed by my local Alphagraphics.  And while I was able to pull off a crash course in calligraphy, there are still some trades I know I will never be able to learn.  Like how to cut in a straight line. As I mentioned above, my program pages will be layered and I really don't trust myself to use the paper cutter in my office to make each layer the exact length it needs to be.  So, in addition to printing my stationery, Alphagraphics has offered to laser cut my programs, menus and placecards as well.  This will certainly cut my DIY time in half!

So there you have it!  Granted, nothing major has been finished yet so I can't tell you if these tips really work but so far, everything has been going smoothly.  I've started the invitation making process and have already begun addressing a couple of envelopes.  I don't want to post up any of my finished work until after the wedding, but I do plan on blogging my progress along the way.  And if any of you other DIY Brides have advice or questions, feel free to comment below!

Happy DIY-ing!

invitation situation

I've heard about it.  I've read about it.  And now I'm thisclose to actually doing it.  That's right, I'm pretty certain I'm going to make my own invitations.

Now before you all start to freak and yell about how I'll want to rip my hair out in the process, let me first inform you that I'm not making the invitations from scratch like some of the really DIY brides do.  Instead, I'm taking a simple design that I liked and recreating it myself with a few minor adjustments.  I'd like to think of my latest invitation decision as a hybrid of professional and DIY -- a DIP, if you will (do-it-professionally).

And I'm not doing this to save money.  While I will save a little bit by doing it myself, it's not the cost that motivated me.  I've actually found several professional invitations that are really pretty and are right in my budget.  No, the thing that pushed me over the DIY edge is the fact that pre-designed invitations won't match the beautiful stationery I've been working so hard on these last few months.  It would really bother me if my invitations didn't match the programs, menu cards, and table names.  And if I'm doing all this work already, why not go all the way?!

So how do I plan on pulling this off?  Well, without spoiling the surprise for my guests, I'll explain:

1. Envision the design.  This was pretty easy for me since I already had an idea from another invitation but I did draw it on paper out to scale so I could get an idea of what the final design would look like.  What makes me really happy is knowing I'll get to incorporate my monogram colors and font!

2. Create the invitation.  I'm having my invitations printed through Cards and Pockets and in order to do so, they ask for your document as a PDF with the exact paper dimensions that you plan on using.  This has been the trickiest part so far, mainly because I couldn't convert my Word document into the appropriate PDF size.  Luckily, I had my graphic designing uncle do it for me.  Thanks Uncle Al!

3.  Create the RSVP/enclosure cards.  Like the invitation, the RSVP and enclosure cards need to be a specific size so while I already have the design created, I need to have my uncle resize them for me.  He's certainly earning the boutonniere he'll be wearing on the wedding day!

4.  Submit designs for printing.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  I just email the PDFs to Cards and Pockets and they'll print it all for me on their pre-cut cards.  The pricing is reasonable and it doesn't require any paper cutters on my part, which makes me happy.

5. Order the paper and envelopes.  I plan on backing my invitations on cardstock also ordered through Cards and Pockets.  Cards and Pockets does a good job of informing you what sizes you'd need for each type of invitation you can design.  And they have a lot of really nice colors that can also be matched on envelopes from the site as well.

6. Mount the invitation.  I'm anticipating this to be the most tedious part.  I was told spraying two invitation backs at a time with adhesive would do the trick.  Haven't decided who will help me with this task - MZ?  Groomie?  Or the fair maidens of mine?

7.  Address the envelopes.  Thanks to my wonderful instructor, I'm feeling pretty confident about my newly acquired calligraphy skills.  My regular italic lettering is decent and I'm set to start learning copperplate, which is nice and fancy if done correctly.  The only thing for which I want to give myself time is the spacing.  Most of my guests are probably not reading this blog and will therefore not know that I will be doing the addressing myself so I want to make sure it looks semi-professional!  The good news is by doing it myself, I can order the envelopes even before the invitations so I can get a head start on the addresses.


Here's an example of italic calligraphy:

And then here's copperplate:

So I know this is going to require time and patience but I'm up for the challenge.  My only fear is that I'll screw it up somehow!

Has anyone else made their invitations?  If so, any advice you can give me?

if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

Remember when I posted about Enzo Bridal, a bridal shop that was offering free airline tickets to any bride who tried on dresses?   When I had gone with my mother, sister and grandmother, I had tried on a beautiful dress that was at a really reasonable price.  Momzilla fell in love with it and tried to convince me to purchase my gown there.  I, being the researcher that I am, had read terrible reviews about the salon and refused to comply with MZ.

Thank goodness that I did.  According to this article and the furious brides on The Knot message boards, Enzo Bridal has suddenly closed its doors.  Brides who have put their deposits down may never see their wedding dress and some of these women are getting married in just a few months!  I couldn't imagine.

I hope this teaches brides two things:

One, you should always do your homework before you use any vendor.

And two, if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

let there be WHITE!

Three of my bridesmaids are getting married just a few months before I am and lately there has been one common aspect of the wedding with which we all seem to be frustrated -- FLOWERS.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't plan on having many flowers for my wedding.  My bridesmaids will wear white muffs in lieu of bouquets and the reception centerpieces will be white birch branches in a tall glass vase.  Since bridesmaids bouquets and floral centerpieces are usually the bulk of the florist cost, not having them will be a load off my budget.  But there are still some flowers that are necessary - like my bouquet and the guys' boutonnieres.

I don't really know much about flowers and honestly, I don't really care.  All I'm really looking for is a white bouquet with some pinecones thrown in (see picture below).  And for the guys, just give them a white flower to pin on their jackets.  I don't think I'm asking for too much so it's a little surprising when the florists do.  

I've shown this bouquet example to four different florists and have gotten four different costs, ranging from $100 to $200.  And the difference in prices is what really frustrated me.

First of all, aren't they looking at the same flowers?  With the exact same "product," wouldn't I just automatically choose the cheapest one?  I don't know; maybe I missed Flowers 101.  Even if some florists have magical greenhouses where the flowers live forever, I only need them for the day.  That's all.

Secondly, can you tell what each of those flowers are?  Cause I can't.  All I see are white flowers but supposedly there are roses and peonies and lisianthus and ranunculus and that, my friends, is what makes or breaks the cost.  Peonies, especially in winter, cost more than roses, which cost more than lisianthus.  

 White peony:

 White rose:

White lisianthus:

I'm glad I researched this before I went to the florist because if I just told them to replicate this bouquet, I'd be spending a fortune on flowers that I can't even recognize.  Instead, I was very clear to mention that I wanted to replace the expensive peonies with the more affordable lisianthus.  And honestly, I bet no one would even notice a difference.  Would you?

In the end, I went with Flowers By Chuck because he not only gave me the best price (by several hundred dollars) but he also received good reviews on Wedding Wire.   For my floral purposes, that was good enough for me.

Of course, there are a lot of brides who want a particular flower or a particular color that may be more costly but if you're like I am and are just having flowers for the sake of having flowers, here's my advice to you:

Visit a florist prepared with two things: your colors and your budget.  Then let them figure out the best way to combine the two.  After all, they're the experts!

bridesmaid dresses - CHECK!

So after much deliberation and many sleepless nights (ok, now I'm exaggerating), I finally made the decision to stick with the Alexia Designs dress I loved so much. 

Last week, Momzilla, MOH, my cousin/bridesmaid Amanda and my aunt met for a day of dresses.  First, we stopped at Dolores Bridal Boutique where Amanda and I got measured for my sister's bridesmaid dresses.  The dress for her wedding is gorgeous - I can't wait to wear it!

Lyn's bridesmaids will be in a latte color (almost a mocha color) and I, as the Maid of Honor, will wear "butterscotch."  She just got the swatches in and the colors are really nice, although it looks like I'll need to be a lot tanner for November than I am now!

After Dolores', we headed to the Park Avenue Bridals, where Lyndsey and I got our wedding dresses.  They offer their brides a 10% discount on bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and flower girl dresses and since the salon is close enough for most of my girls, I wanted to make my final decision there.

Since I was so uncertain about the Alexia dress, I had Lyndsey and Amanda try on this Bill Levkoff dress that I had also liked.  

While it looked great on the girls and had a really nice navy color, it had crinoline underneath the skirt.  Now, the crinoline would keep the girls nice and warm for any outside pictures but may make them really hot and uncomfortable during the reception.  And I would so rather my girls be dancing it up and having a great time than being bundled for the few pictures we may  not even take outside.

So I once again looked back at the Alexia dress and realized that I still really loved it, iridescent taffeta and all.  The taffeta actually makes the dress "glisten" which fits perfectly with my snowy theme.

When I looked at the tiny little swatch again, I was relieved that the color was a pretty dark "royal blue" and the salesperson even helped me find a similar color on another dress.  This tissue taffeta Jim Hjelm dress seemed to be the closest match and I think it looks great!

Then the best part of the day came - Lyndsey and I tried on our sample wedding dresses again!  They weren't fitted of course, but it was so fun to try them on again after a six month spell.  We're going to be such beautiful brides!  And what made it even better was the fact that I fell in love with it all over again :)

 So the dress dilemma has been resolved and two of the 8 girls have submitted their measurements.  With 10 months to go, it looks like I'm really on my way!

*correction*

So I've been telling everyone, including my readers, that the bridesmaid dress I like is tissue taffeta.  I finally double checked the dress description today and realized it's IRIDESCENT taffeta. 

Does this matter?  What are the pros and cons of iridescent taffeta?  What are the pros and cons of taffeta in general? 

I'm a pretty good planner but lately, these wedding decisions are stressing me out!

true blue

So remember the bridesmaid dress I described a couple of weeks ago?  Well, despite how much I love the way it looks on the girls, I'm starting to reconsider whether or not it's the right dress after all.

Since winter/snowflakes are the theme of my wedding, I was planning on putting the girls in dark blue so the white muffs would really stand out.  The dress I've chosen so far (click here for the link) is made out of iridescent tissue taffeta and is photographed in the color "Bordeaux."  

The blue options Alexia Designs offers are "Desert Blue," "Sky Blue," "Peacock," "Turquoise" and "Royal Blue." Even though "Royal Blue" is the darkest of the bunch, when I change the dress color on the Web site, it looks a little bright for my winter wedding.  And while I know the colors on my computer screen are just meant for representation, blah blah blah, I'm still really worried that my girls will look like blueberries as they walk down the aisle!

Since there is no other sample of Alexia Designs dresses in Royal Blue tissue taffeta, I had to rely on Google images to provide me some examples.


Here's one that I think is a little too electric for a snowflake wedding...

This one is not tissue taffeta but is a little bit closer to my vision.  I would still want it just a shade darker:

And finally, this is the color that I hope Alexia Designs' "Royal Blue" turns out to be.  While it's not as deep as my original idea of navy, it's dark enough for the vision I have.

 

I know my bridal salon will give me a swatch but those things are so small that it really won't give me any peace of mind.

So what do I do?  Would even the most electric blue of this bunch be terrible?  Should I look for another dress that has a safer blue?  Or should I realize that no one is even going to notice the slight nuance in the shades, not even I?