World Wide Web

For some reason, saying (ok typing) those words makes me feel all nostalgic for dial up... but then I remember that horrific noise and the warm fuzzy feelings are gone. However this post is not about the history of the internet, it's just about my, well, Mr. Aardvark's and my little corner of the web.

It seemed to me that having a wedding website was and important, but not very interesting things so, as I mentioned before, I put this task in Mr. A's more than capable hands. He is and IT type by profession, so I thought this would be no big deal. Let me tell you, he did LOTS of research on the various free and "free" wedding websites available and finally landed on Project Wedding.

I have to say, he did a fantastic job! He I am not sure how much of it was custom work and how much was pre-set templates but it looks really nice. (if I do say so myself)

There are lots of pre-set templates for pages like registry and engagement photos and, you can add and delete tabs as you wish. But my very favorite part is the map. Its just a plain old google map but all of your points of interest have cute little icons, like these:

How much fun is that? I really like it. AND I feel like it gets me off the hook for making cutesy little maps to put in the invitations! (That's right Miss Aardvark, you do not need those cute little maps. nope. It will be ok if you don't have them. You will regret having to make them... and obsessing over them....you really don't want them.) Sorry, sometimes I need to remind myself of things.

Do you have a wedding website? Do you love it? What's your favorite part?

Novel Idea....

Wedding planning has been rolling right along at the Aardvark house. We have all of the majors out of the way and are somewhere near that "in between" time I've heard so much about. However, there are still little wedding things that pop up now and then that need to be taken care of.

Well, lately work has gotten really busy for me (in a good but still stressful way) and last night I came home and realized I had never actually booked a block of hotel rooms. I had, a few weeks ago, e-mailed back and forth with the hotel we had decided to book with. And then, totally dropped the ball. It was not an emergency or anything, it had just fallen off of my radar and happened to pop back on when I was just too tuckered out to handle it. (Yes, folks, I am saying I was too tired to open my computer and type, "Sounds good, we'll take X number of rooms. Please and Thank you.")

What's a bride to do?! Well, the answer may be very clear to you clever ladies (and/or gents) but it seemed totally novel to me at the time. It went something like this:

"Mr. Aardvark, will you please e-mail the hotel lady?"

And just like that it was taken care of! Like magic or something! Now, I hope you do not get the impression that this is the first time Mr. Aardvark has contributed to the wedding planning, because it most certainly is not! He made our (amazing) wedding website all by himself and he is totally in charge of honeymoon plans. On top of that he has been very helpful with my various crafts and is always asking if I need anything.

However, being the do it yourself type that I am, I sometimes forget to ask for help. Re-remembering that Mr. A is on my wedding planning team, was awesome. Handing something off felt great! I don't think I will type him out a 6 page list or anything but its nice to be reminded someone has your back!

Did you need something to remind you that you were not alone in wedding planning? You do know that you are not alone right? I mean, at the very least you have the hive! ;)

Picture This!

Our hunt for a photographer was pretty simple. From the get-go we had planned on having a family friend do it. Cheap.Easy.Done. So, instead of obsessing over photographers I started to search for videographers. (I wasn't sure if I need a videographer at this point but I had to obsess over something!)

Unfortunately one of the first videographers I stumbled across was WAY out of our (budget) league. They produced videos with the production quality of Titanic with dramatic music and timing that had zero "home video" feel to them. I was smitten. Mr. Aardvark was not. I pouted for awhile about "wanting the best quality documentation" for such an important day. He pointed out that we could get perfectly lovely video made that would not triple our wedding budget.  And, being the sweetheart that he is, looked up a whole heap of local vendors and sifted through them to find his favorite few. From there, there was one that stood out above the rest. Micheal Terri Studios.

They were just what I was looking for. A husband and wife team who had been doing weddings for years and within our budget, and, most important, very prompt to reply to questions and e-mails. We signed the contract and felt very good about ourselves.

Then, the wheels started turning again. You see, our family friend is an amazing photographer, however, they are also a close friend, asking them to work, and feel obligated to catch all of the little "moments" as opposed to kick back and enjoy himself, didn't seem fair.We chatted and decided it would be best to hire a pro to ensure everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves.  Micheal Terri Studios also happens to offer photography, that, when packaged with videogaphy is CRAZY affordable! Not only that, but the pictures we great. Not trying too hard, but still artsy, fun, natural, and he really seemed to have a knack for catching great moment. Want to see a few of my faves?



All photos by Micheal Terri Studios

I really love that last one. So, about two days after we had sent off our video contract, we called them up again and asked if we could switch to the combo deal. He happily agreed and that was that. Mr. A and I are both really looking forward to working with them!

Oh! Added Bonus: FREE engagement shoot, AND they tipped us off on a great DJ.

Did you have any of the big chunks easily fall into place?  

Let's Get Some Shoes!

Hive, I have a very exciting wedding-event coming up in a few weeks(you will hear all about it don't fret)! So, you all know what that means! I will get to wear my non-wedding bridal shoes!! As luck will have it the shoes have arrived! Would you like a little peeky-pie?

The BOX! OOoo look at the hearts! (I think it means I will luv them) 

SWOON!! Shoe bag! And sooo shiny.

First look!

MY PRETTIES!

Please forgive my naked toes... I have not had a chance to paint them as I have been mountain biking in the woods all week...

Look at the pretty gold pops.  I hadn't noticed those online.

Strut and turn... Sorry about the gross bruises. I made friends with some rocks.

I am so pleased with these. I am can totally see why I am not the only one choosing them as part of my wedding.

*All photos personal.

Now, the real question, should I keep the little gold tie or start the hunt for a colored ribbon or some other cutesy tie?

P.S. I knew I had become a real blogger when I took pictures before opening the box and while opening the box. For someone as impatient as me, this is a HUGE step.

Far Away, Again

As you know, Mr. Aardvark and I have put our long distance days behind us. However, this week I have been out of town for work. And when I say out of town, I mean on the edge of civilization. We are staying at this beautiful place in the woods of the U.P. (upper peninsula for those of you not from the mid-west or Michigan). We are getting some bike riding in and lots of important meetings. The bum this is, there is NO phone service and the internet speed is glacial at best.

This is the first time since Mr. Aardvark moved here, and we ended our 14 month LDR, that I have been on a trip without him. It's not that being apart for a week is bad, it's the not being able to call or text or IM that stinks. We have had a few very slow e-mail conversations but that's about it.

This has made me realize a couple of things, one, I am FULLY addicted to surfing the internet and checking my phone, and two, there is something really comforting about having an understanding partner. To the last note, I really struggled this week with the lack  of voice time with Mr. Aardvark, but instead of adding fuel to the I-miss-you-so-much-I-wish-I-could-talk-to-you-fire, he sends cheerful updates about how he and Kitty are getting along, encourages me to enjoy the nice weather and beautiful mountain bike trails, and reminds me that a week is much shorter than 14 months. Yet another reason I am mad about that man.

The other issue, with being so unreachable, is that my wedding planning (obsessing) has been put totally on hold! It kills me not to be able to research and browse pictures (especially here) without it taking 20 min. per page!

I apologize that there are no pictures in this post, but like I said, the internet is only one tiny step better than dial up!

Have you "un-plugged" for a week at a time? Has work kept you from your one and only? How do you cope?

Doily Banners: How To

This project was lots of fun and very simple to execute. I had been looking at Doilies on Etsy to order as a base for our center pieces when I came across this:

Image via therufflyowl on Etsy

This seemed like such a cute, simple idea. It would look nice on a gift table, or cake table, or candy buffet, or anywhere really! I was convinced I could make one for less than the $18 they were asking for this.

Step One: Obtain Supplies. These include double fold bias tape, sewing machine, paper doilies, scissors.

I may have gone a little over board, I ordered 250 doilies... I used 27.5 for this project...oops. 

Step Two: Fold all doilies in half like so.

Notice all of the "snow" generated by these little doilies.

(Please, don't notice the messy craft table!)

Step Three: Cut along the fold. Don't worry about it being perfect, no one will see this part. 

Sorry for the awkward angle it is hard to get a decent photo of yourself cutting.

Step Four: After cutting all the doilies, tuck them into the bias tape. Because I am lazy, and hate few things more than pinning, I just did this as I went.

As a side note, Mr. Aardvark got me that sewing table last Valentine's Day.  <3

Step Five: Sew along the bias tape.

Yes, there are corny vending machine stickers on my sewing machine...
I got it when I was 13 and thought that was "cool"

That's about it. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. If you are super observant, you noticed I have grey thread in my machine. I could not find green, and figured grey was one of our colors too... Also then I would not have to change it when I switched to Navy blue. Would you like to see the finished product?

I think the contrast stitching looks cute! And it's mostly straight.

And the Blue:

Grey stitching was for sure the way to go!

So there you have it. I now have six yards of these lovelies. I may make more (as I have about 232 doilies left) I will just need to pick up more bias tape. And how much did this cost?

The bias tape was $3 per pack 

250 doilies, $10 

So I came in at $16 bucks spent... not too much cheaper... but I still have lots of doilies, and I did not have to pay shipping. The whole thing took me about 45 minutes. 

Now, since the wedding is still more than six months away, I had to find a safe way to store these. 

I folded them accordion style and put them in an old card box. Can't wait to take them out and string them up at Arcadia!

*All photos personal unless otherwise noted.

Have you had any projects that came out easier than you thought?

I'm a Bee!

I got the e-mail this morning, and despite the grammatical atrocity of this song I could not help but hear it gleefully in my head for the rest of the day!

Black Eyed Peas Via YouTube

I am so thrilled and honored to be joining the Hive as a Blogger Bee. Mr. Aardvark and I, well, mostly I have been reading this blog for months (Maybe even before we were engaged)!  I was super nervous about the idea of applying because A)I've never written anything more than a diary and have struggled with spelling my whole life and B) the ladies who do write for the Bee are so inspirational, I didn't know if I could live up to it. 

However, shortly after becoming engaged I felt the need for a creative outlet. I thought, applying to be a Bee would fan my competitive flames as well as give me something to do on the computer besides look endless inspiration pictures and read about other people's great ideas. It was time for me to have some great ideas of my own. It was time to contribute something to the internet! 

So, I secretly started a blog. I know that defeats the point of contributing if no one knows about my contribution, but, I'll just come right out with it, sometimes I am a bit of a scaredy-cat. When I am doing something totally new (blogging) I like to dip my toe in and test things out. After testing things out and getting a feel for it, I am more of a running-cannon-ball-type.

Mr. Aardvark and I are outdoorsy folks. Our main form of outdoor fun is bike riding. We are both pretty into it and, between the two of us, currently have nine bikes! We like to do other things outside too, like canoe, or ski (I snowboard, but it's just easier to say ski), or hike, or play frisbee, pretty much anything. 

Cyclocross is one of the more painful forms
of cycling Mr. Aardvark and I enjoy.

Here Mr. Aardvark tears it up on his mountain bike
(All photos are personal)

Why Aardvark? It's a question I think every Bee has to answer in their intro post. (Well, not why Aardvark, but why they chose the icon they did...) There are a number of reasons I picked Aardvark, including the fact that I think the icon is adorable. They are said to be very industrious and brave (standing up to fire ants and all) and, lastly, My last name is pretty low in the alphabet... as a child I envied all of the people with "A" names who always got to be first. Aardvark has not one A, but TWO(three really), and since the mister's last name is in alphabetical no-man's-land I figured I had take what could be my only opportunity to be the alphabetical top dog. Aardvark it was!

The Aardvarks!

We are planning an April wedding in Michigan with a traditional Catholic service followed by a reception at a microbrewery/restaurant. We are going for a laid back, fun family feel. I cannot wait to share with you as I learn how to plan a wedding first hand! Thank you Hive, and I look forward to our adventure together.

The Shoes I Choose

You may remember, not so long ago, I was all up in the air over which shoes to wear to complete my wedding-day look. I figured I had time, as I had not selected a dress yet. Well, I still have not selected a dress, yet, but, I have solves the shoe conundrum. You see, I did not want to pass up the chance to buy a pair of FANTASTIC shoes, but I hadn't found anything I liked more than these:

I was not 100% Sold on the colored shoes thing, but these were A) Pretty B) Comfy C) Already in my closet and D) Closed toe (ish). You see I am a HUGE fan of back-seam stockings, I think they are the perfect way to be ladylike, but show you have a sassy side as well. I had my mind set that I wanted to wear stocking for my wedding before there was a wedding to plan. That means closed toe shoes are a must. PLUS,  April in Michigan = cold and most, likely wet so no strappy sandals here.

Well, the blue beauties you see above won out. Those are what I will be wearing for the big day. HOWEVER, I did not miss the opportunity to buy new, amazing, bridal shoes. Enter the "I Do":



Photo from Seycelles.com

I could not pass these up. Especially not with a name like "I Do". So, I ordered them yesterday and am awaiting their arrival. These will serve as my non-wedding bridal shoes. (because that's a thing right??) I will wear them for showers, and parties, and our pre-Cana classes. I will most certainly rock them out at the rehearsal dinner, and then the morning after at brunch. (Hopefully they will not be dirty by then!)

I am so happy with my plan and both pair of shoes. Not only have I covered all of my bases, but I will get to be a two shoe bride! (Maybe three if it rains! Check out my bridal boots!!)

image from mod cloth.com

Did you invent a reason to buy extra of something?

Pretty Maids All in a Row: The Girls' Girls

Alternate title: A Promise Made.
or
Yes, I Will Be Talking About Boobs, But Only In As Far as They Pertain to Bridesmaid's Dresses (see why I didn't go with that title?)

A long time ago, back before engagement, before pre-gagement, heck, even before I met Mr. Aardvark, I made a promise to Bridesmaid Red. You see, Red has been in more weddings than anyone I know, a few of which were during our stint as roommates.

 As such, she had been subjected to all manor of strapless dress/bra combinations that ranged from "Just plain ugly" to physically painful. As her roommate I heard and saw the anguish these contraptions put her through.  I promised here then and there, that if I ever got married, she would be able to wear the most comfortable bra she owned, and the dress would hold itself up no matter how much she danced (let's face it, there will be a lot of dancing).

(Image via Burda Style)

There will be none of that going on at my wedding! Well, maybe there will be some, but not from the wedding party! And I've heard it all about how well made dresses stay up better... but that doesn't necessarily mean they are comfortable for getting your groove on. Anyway... I digress.


Now, fast forward about four years. I am engaged, I have asked 5 amazing ladies to stand up with me as I say my vows, and (of course) I have told them all about the promise I made to Red. I don't know if you have looked at bridesmaids dresses lately, (who am I kidding, you are reading a wedding blog, of course you have looked at bridesmaid's dresses) but the vast majority of them are strapless! Seriously, about 98.78%... This is not only an issue for the bra wearing members of my wedding party (that would be all of them), but also for Bridesmaid Sis, who will be 13 at the time of the wedding. Call me old fashioned, but isn't that a smidge young to be going strapless?

Our narrowed down options have, in no way been a hindrance to the hunt! Mostly because the 1.22% of  dresses out  there that actually have straps, are more than enough to choose from. In fact, I would even go so far as to say, it has save me from being super overwhelmed. If you recall, these are the current front runners:



(Images from Dessy and Bari Jay)



We have not even looked at dresses that aren't from "Bridal" brands yet either. So I am quite confident we will be able to locate one (or five) style(s) that work for everyone.

Did you make any promises to your wedding party really early on? Are you glad you did? Are they glad you did?

Pre-gagement

Hive, let's get real for a minute. I have been reading wedding blogs long enough to know I am not the only person who had a pre-gagement. You know, it's that time between when you've talked about marriage, decided this person is the one with whom you will spend the rest of you your life, and the actual, official engagement. Despite what movies and TV and romance novels would have us believe, the percentage of people who are blown-out-of-their-chair shocked by a proposal is pretty small. Enter, pre-gagement.

For us, it was made even harder by the LDR. As I wrote about earlier, Mr. Aardvark and I lived 7+ hours apart for over a year. That whole time, we were very seriously pre-gaged. We never ring shopped, but we talked about rings. We never made wedding plans, but we talked about "when we're married".

Once he moved here, every day I was convinced that was the day he would propose, and we would start planning our wedding. Ladies, (or gentlemen, but I assume it's mostly ladies reading a wedding blog) this is no way to live. It made me irritable. It made Mr. A feel bad. It made me insecure. It made Mr. A frustrated. Clearly, impatient tendencies had taken all the fun out of our pre-gagement.

After a month or two I let it go (kinda) and told myself it would happen when it happened. Then it did happen! And it was more wonderful than I could have imagined. Looking back now, I have some guilt about how demanding I had been. I have never been a very patient person, and waiting for something I knew was going to happen sometime just amplified my inpatient personality. I think our long pre-gagement is one of the main reason our engagement will be relatively short, less than a year. Yay for less waiting!

The lesson here, each stage of your relationship is important, eventually it will transition to another phase, but before it ends take a minute (or a year) to enjoy it!

And now, a goofy picture:




Mr. Aardvark and I getting ready for a Lady Gaga Concert (Personal Photo)

 He indulges my crazy whims, can you blame me for being in a rush to spend the rest of my life with this guy?

Did you have a long pre-gagement? Or where you blown-out-of-your-chair surprised by your proposal?

Order Up!

People of the HIve. I have single handedly done my part to kick start the economy. Last week I was on a wedding-craft-purchasing-tear! I could not be stopped! Now, I have a big box (ok, the box has been over filled and is now a pile) of wedding crafts waiting to be...well... crafted!

THE PILE! (Personal Photo)

Some of the purchases were things I actually knew that I wanted for the wedding. For example I went on an e-bay blitz and purchased about 50 crocheted doilies. Centerpieces anyone?

I have about 12 of this style coming
(Photo from e-bay)

Some other purchases were not so well planned... I purchase this (unusually large) spool* of twine on impulse.

*Cat included for scale only (I promise I am not shamelessly posting cat pictures on a wedding blog)

**Ok, maybe a little bit of shamelessness.(Personal Photos)

Is that not the largest spool of twine you have ever seen in a domestic setting? I am not sure what I will do with it just yet, but I am pretty sure it will find its way into all sorts of wedding crafts...

Over the next couple of days as my online purchases start to trickle in,  I should really start thinking about starting some of these projects. In the mean time, it is nice to know all of the supplies will be there when I need them.

Did you order all of your project pieces at once? Or buy them as you needed them?

Remember.

Today is a national day of reflecting. All over the TV and radio people are talking about what happened ten years ago today. My thoughts have also been drifting back to that day. However, 25 years before 2001 something else happened on Sept 11th, something else well worth remembering....Salty's parents were wed.

Today is their 35th anniversary. They are, as I have stated before, wonderful roll-models for our relationship. Today, I cannot help but think about everything that happens after the wedding. When we are planning, it is possible to get wrapped up in the food and flowers and favors. What my future in-law's anniversary has reminded me of is that you never know what will happen after you say those vows. The world, and your relationship will be changing and evolving. It has been said that change is the only constant.

One of the aspects of marriage I am most looking forward to, is having someone to stand with through all that change.

For those of you who are married, how has the world changed since you said your vows? For those who are not, what are you most looking forward to?

"B" Is For Better (2 of 2)

My saga of finding a wedding venue had a little bit of a rough start. Lucky for me (and Mr. A) it has a very happy ending. I was fortunate enough to have two great priests growing up. One had been a fairly young man who was a fantastic speaker, highly intellectual, and very friendly. All of the little old ladies in our parish called him "Father What-a-waste" because, on top of everything I just mentioned he was pretty decent looking. All of that aside, he transferred to a much bigger parish when I was in high school and I figured that was that.

Fast forward to the weekend after the "Seven Minute Meeting" as it had come to be know, Mr. Aardvark and I are enjoying time with my family. My step mother gets an e-mail informing us that "Fr. What-a-waste" is returning to my hometown of Battle Creek!

This was great news and in a few short (ok they felt like millennia) weeks I was in talking to him (on the phone and via e-mail!) about how to schedule my wedding date. He was kind enough to FAX some paper work to our local priest and just like that we had our location, ceremony time, and date, set! It was really a dream come true.

Now, the church is not at all the small quaint building I had envisioned in Plan-A. It is a beautiful, large, old, traditional Catholic church. Would you like to see?

(Photo from St. Philip's Website)

(Photo from St. Philip's Website)

This second picture makes my pulse race. I get a little excited lump in my throat when see it. I think about those doors opening, my dad standing next to me, the pews filled with our nearest and dearest, and Mr. Aardvark, standing at the far end. Swoooon. AND, to top it all off we will have a fantastic priest overseeing the whole sacrament!

Booking our reception location (which I have briefly mentioned in earlier posts) was an easy process as well.  Ideally I would like everything to be close together so our large number of out of town guests would be able to find things easily and without stress. Downtown Battle Creek is, like many mid-sized, mid-western, industrial towns, not quite booming. However, it is by no means a ghost town, in fact in recent years it has seen something of a revival.

One of my favorite parts of my hometown downtown is Arcadia Brewery. It's a lovely micro brew pub and restaurant. The food is absolutely D-LISH! They have a brick pizza oven and make some of the best BBQ in town. The atmosphere is one part urban loft, one part antique store, and one part British pub. It fit my urge to have a "non-ballroomy"/fun party feel. I would not need much decorating to look GREAT and, I would be the only person I knew to have ever had a wedding reception there. Win. Win. Win.

My dad, being one of the handful of downtown business owners went and spoke with the owner of Arcadia and, and just like that, we had a reception venue, a perfect, helpful, accommodating venue. Would you like to see this one?

(Photo via Michigan.org)

(Photo via the Hoosier beer geek blog.)

This picture does a lovely job of capturing the aesthetic of the inside. It's warm and hip at the same time. I really think it will be wonderful! Here's hoping we can fit everyone inside!

All in all I could not be more satisfied with my two venues. One of the best parts being, they are only a few blocks apart! This means, weather permitting, we can walk from on to the other! Or even ride bike! How perfect!

Clearly, plan B worked to be plan-Better.

Did you have an easy time finding any of your venues? Any pleasant surprises in planning?

"B" Is For Better (1 of 2)

The Wedding-Venue-Hunt or WVH for short can be one of the hardest parts of planning. For many brides there are SO many options they become overwhelmed with pros and cons of all of them. Luck for me, I am not one of those brides. Both Mr. Aardvark and I are Catholic. That did a lot of venue limiting for us. We knew we wanted the ceremony in a church. However, being relatively new to Wisconsin, and having family and friends all over God's green earth, we were not sure which city or even which state would be the best place for us to tie the knot.

After a little bit of discussion we decided that my home state of Michigan would be best. If you are not familiar with the shape of this lovely state it looks like this:

(image via google maps)

As you can see there are lots of lakes around it, and that's great! It's so great in fact, they decided to call them "Great Lakes"! Now it just so happens that one of my many parents grew up in a small town on the shores of one of these lakes, and we as a family spend lots of time there in the summer. I will not be disclosing the name of the town, or even the lake, due to the fact that the town is small, and this story is a bit unpleasant. Anyway, we spent lots of time in this little town, attended their Catholic church on weekends, and really thought it may be a nice spot for our wedding, for the following reasons:

1) At the time the priest was the only one I knew in any of my childhood parishes
2) The location would be fairly central for all of our guests
3) The church was quaint and small
4) Our cottage was within walking distance of the church
5) There was a really nice American Legion just a few blocks from the church

That pretty much sums it up. Note, there is nothing in there about cliffs, beaches, outdoor weddings or the pier. (We already had April in mind at this point. Michigan+April ≠"Beachy")

 I called up the parish office a few days after getting engaged and asked about availability. I was told they are very selective about who the let get married at their parish due to its beautiful location and high demand for weddings. Fair enough.

I thought, "Well, we're Catholic, my family attends this church on a pretty regular basis, they are friends with the priest, and one of my parents is an alumni of the perish school, this should not be a problem." I thought wrong. The priest, (who had been nothing but pleasant in the past) would not discuss our potential wedding on the phone. He had to meet us in person. He also informed us that it would be quite impossible to meet on a weekend.

 Ok then. At this point I should have seen the big red flag flying in front of my eyeballs. I should have realized this was not the person or place I wanted for our wedding.

However, in the mania that is wedding planning my brain had one thought process, "MUST BOOK VENUE!!!MUSTBOOKMUST BOOK BBOOOKKKKK VENUE!!!" or something like that. So Mr. Aardvark and I both took time off of work to make the 5+ hour drive to meet with this priest. Our appointment was in the morning and I had dreams of scoping out reception venues (by that I just mean stalking the American Legion) nearby, calling caterers, and finally asking my lovely ladies to be bridesmaids. (I wanted to have a firm date before I asked, is that weird?) the rest of the weekend would be wedding planning bliss!

Well, we pulled into the parking lot at approximately 9:47am EST. I will not get into the details, but by 9:58 we were on our way back to my parent's house! That's right the meeting that could not happen on the phone, or on a weekend, had taken about seven (7) minutes. What went on in that seven minutes? I will tell you. We were asked to write a letter. Yup! A letter. A letter explaining why we feel we deserve to be married there. Clearly, this would be an impossible request to make over the phone!! If you cannot tell, I.was.livid. For the first time in our month long engagement I cried.

Angry tears. By yours truly

I knew at that point that I did not want to get married there. As fate would have it there was another, better opportunity right around the corner. The weekend ended up being a nice chance to see my family and celebrate our new engagement.


Epilogue:
I did write the letter. I even refrained from using massive amounts of profanity. It was sappy and flowery and everything I could imagine a curmudgeonly old priest would want to hear. A month and a half later, I got a call from the priest saying he was "leaning towards" letting us get married at his church, and that we would need to come in and meet with him again (on a weekday of course!).

I was polite. I thanked him for his time and told him that we had already made other arrangements.

 It was on to "plan B." (B is for better!)

Did any of your wedding plans not work out the way you originally imagined? Did they turn out for the better?

Pretty Maids All in a Row: How I Asked

As I explained in an earlier post, my ladies are spread out all over the mid-west. Sadly, this made asking them all in person nearly impossible.* I wanted to do something more than just a phone call. However, I am not very patient, and did not want to wait for them to get something in the mail. The solution was easy: I would make cards and call them. The best of both world right? Right!

 I went about collecting pictures of myself with each of the bridesmaids. I also tore out the most obnoxious pictures I could find in bridal magazines. I do not have any pictures of this process because I was not blogging at the time. So sorry.

I then cut out my own, and the bridesmaid's, faces and affixed them to the overly foofy bridal magazine bodies. (As a side note, if you are into foofy dresses more power to you! They look like a lot of fun to wear!) I then stuck these wedding-ed-up versions of my friends and me to a card, wrote a nice note, wrapped the whole thing in silver rick-rack I had laying around, stuffed 'em in an envelope and popped them in the mail. Easy. Peasy. Would you like to see?

 Bridesmaid OT was

kind enough to send me a picture.

Of course before doing all of this I called each one and asked over the phone. It was not overly classy, or sophisticated, but it was fun/sweet/simple. Perfect for my girls and me!

How did you ask your bridesmaids?

*I was able to ask BM Sis and BM OT in person.

Alternative

There are so many parts and details to any given wedding, it must be assumed that some are totally superfluous. For me, one detail I really don't care about are flowers. I think flower are lovely. I am getting married right after Easter, and the church will be full of them. However, I just cannot justify them as a major budget item. I have plans for flowerless centerpieces (more on that later) and am currently working through flower alternatives for the wedding party.

For the groom, his men, and our fathers, I have found this lovely how-to thanks to Ms. Ferris Wheel and intend to make my own version of these boutonnieres for the big day. They can be made in advance, won't cost an arm and a leg, and should stand up to a full day of hugs and dancing without looking smooshed or wilty.




Picture thanks to Ms. Ferris Wheel

 Now, for the bridesmaids, I cannot make up my mind. There are SO many options out there!

There are paper bouquets, like these from and greenweddingshoes.




Photo and how-to by greenweddingshoes.com



I really like these, but why if you are going to carry flowers why not live ones? That will live on.... Like these!

Photo by Troy Grover from greenweddignshoes.com

Why even mess with flowers at all when there are great options like these:

Photo from Offbeatbride.com (shop)

CANDLES!



Photo via Sheila Hallatt

 HANDBAGS!

Photo from weddingbee.com

PARASOLS!



Photo by Mighty 5146 from Offbeatbride.com

 FANS!

Clearly there are lots of options. Clearly, I need to do some narrowing down. I asked MOH MD if she had any suggestions for flower alternatives for the bridesmaids. After giving me a funny look she suggested this:

(Photo via Chicagoist.com)

HA! She is soooo funny. Maybe the bag-o-wine is not such a bad idea!

Are you using bouquet alternatives? Which ones?