forget the guest book

i bought this beautiful poster instead, from etsy seller fancyprints.  guests sign the leaves, and then you put it in a frame and hang it up in your house.  hooray!  i can't wait for it to arrive. 

the kids were nice enough to come with me to the party store yesterday and pick out decorations for the reception.  today i'm hoping to put together a "sample" table and then decide once for all if i'm going with the brown or green tablecloths.  i'll be honest: i am not doing real linen.  i'm not even doing paper.  i'm going plastic.  i know it's not as nice at paper or fabric, but it's also a million times cheaper, doesn't have to be returned (if rented), and can all be thrown away at the end.  the plan is for us to do the clean-up the day after the wedding, and i don't want to spend all day doing it.  i think i've come up with a way to make plastic look cute, so we'll see!   

brass tacks

when i first saw these tissue paper pom poms, i knew they would be perfect for my wedding reception.
for one thing, they are crazy pretty, for another, they look like dahlias, which are my favorite flower.  unfortunately, dahlias won't be in season in may, so i can't use real ones; these pom poms kind of make up for that.  month ago i ordered a ton of tissue paper from dick blick (they have great paper!), and made a test pom pom that's still hanging up in our living room.  they're fairly easy to make, but i learned early on that you do have to be kind of fiddly with them.  you need to use a bone folder to make the creases sharp, and unless you have the most amazing pair of scissors EVER, you need to use an xacto knife to get the points sharp.  i made about four pom poms last night, and by the time i was done, my back was fussy from bending over, and i was shocked to realized i still have TWENTY TWO more to make, at the very least.  all this homemade wedding stuff is delightful and charming, to be sure, but sometimes i could kick myself. 

i also understand susan's pain quite a bit better now...

going to see the caterer today!

wedding plans are moving forward at an amazing clip.  for a while there i really felt like we were not getting anything done, but i think we were just percolating ideas.  the invites are 85% done (if we hadn't had printer and computer issues, they would be DONE and not giving me a headache), my dress is here, we have a plan for the PA system and decorations, our rings have been settled on (and will be paid for this afternoon), we've got an officiant, and it feels like most of the big ticket items are covered.  whew.

it probably feels like there is never enough time to plan and throw a wedding.  also, i really want a soda bar that is all rainbow and crazy cute.  if we're going to have soda for our guests, then it can double as a cute decoration.  

wedding underwear is kind of pricey

however, having all your bits and bobs held in place and looking just right is going to be worth it.  plus, i never have a good reason for buying fancy underpants!  or rather, i rarely have a good reason.

i've gotten my internet orders for decorations this week; lots of tissue paper, some acorns, a nice paper cutter.  now of course, i just need to get down to the business of making the pom poms and embellishing the votive candle holders.  tonight looks like it will be kind of quiet, the girlchild will be out babysitting, D will be at work, and the boychik will likely be engrossed with the internets, so i can set up a station on the kitchen table and get to work.

for our invitations, i think what i would really like to do it hand-draw and letter them, then convert the images into PDFs for printing.  however, past the drawing i'm at a loss.  if some of you get emails asking for help, consider this your warning.

i bought another dress!

changing the venue and season of our wedding meant the dress i'd bought before wasn't quite right.  it wasn't terrible, don't get me wrong, but i realized i didn't want to wear a short dress, and to be honest, that dress was $50, so i wasn't worried about not using it.  looking around on-line i found a beautiful dress at david's bridal that is super, super simple, very pretty, and not crazy expensive.  i showed it to my mother this morning and she agreed that it's pretty.  she also bought it for me.  i feel kind of bad about that, but she insisted...and i did pick a very economical one.  i'm so excited for it to show up! 

i also bought the votive candle holders for the tables, the flickering LED tea lights (the grange is really old, no open flames!), the paper for the invites, and ordered some acorns for the centerpieces and tissue paper for the pom poms.  whew.  my brain hurts.