This is kellyjaxn's Pink Wedding!

I was reading on martha stewart weddings about using decorative wrapping paper as a table runner. I was then looking at the container store online and found the perfect paper for someone who wanted to use this idea (and whose colors were obviously aqua and brown).

So, this is just an idea I'm throwing out there to you all.

I've been helping my family clean out my grandmother's house this past weekend. It's been interesting to say the least. We came across a few things that truely are treasures... a quilt she had recently started(that I'm going to finish), documents from her parents' first communions, my grandfather's fedora, etc. We also found this basket. It's exactly the kind of basket I was looking for for our flower girl. It just makes it extra special that it was my grandmother's.

So, as some of you may know, my grandmother passed away last friday. Well, today I was getting ready to leave work (I work midnights) after my first day back from that whole situtation and didn't I get laid off. It's not because of my work performance.. but because of the economy. Great. REALLY freaking great. I just want to sit down and cry. Why me? Why now? I don't think I can take anything else.

So, I've been busy the past few days with my grandmother's wake and funeral but something was asked of me that gave me a really good idea. I was asked if I could have one thing of my grandmother's, what would it be. I didn't even have to think about it. It's her sewing machine. She was the one who taught me how to sew. I remember being about three or four, sitting on the floor of her sewing room playing with a tin of buttons while she sewed. I remember the quilts she made, the trunk full of fabric, cutting paper with her pinking shears (and then buying her a new pair many years later because we had dulled her original pair), just everything.
So, now to get to the idea. I am really into DIY projects. I had planned on making the programs but instead of binding them with ribbon or staples or anything like that, I'm going to sew them with pink and green thread. Hopefully, I will be able to use her sewing machine for it as well. I thought this was a simple way to honor a woman who has meant so much to me.

The past few nights I haven't been able to sleep much so I've been looking at wedding stuff online. From what I've found, I've made a pink and green inspiration board. I hope you all enjoy.

PS. We are double thinking the cheesecake thing because we wouldn't be able to use the edible glitter as it wouldn't look cute on the cheesecake.

I don't know how I feel... well, besides completely heartbroken. She was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in March. It spread. The found a spot on her esophagus about two months ago. Yesterday, the doctors discovered that there was a tear in her esophagus after her first radiation treatment. The doctor wouldn't say if it was because of the radiation or because of the cancer. I guess it doesn't really matter now. I'm just glad she's not suffering now.... but still completely heartbroken.

So, the question has come up... do we go with a traditional wedding cake or cheesecakes? If it were simply up to me, I'd say cheesecake because I absoluetly love, love, love cheesecake. So, what do you girls think? Regular wedding cake or cheesecake??

Ps. Neither of us like fondont.

Pss. Also, if we have cheesecake, it's going to be plain cheesecake and we're thinking of having a table set with different toppings like cherries, strawberries, blueberries, caramel, chocolate, etc to add at the eater's whim.

I was looking around at wedding stuff today and found something on offbeatbride.com about a couple who were "getting weddinged". Now, you may ask..." What the heck is "getting weddinged"? Well, here's their definition:

"Getting weddinged, verb

1. The act of having a wedding after you’re already legally married.
2. See Jeannie & Aaron of gettingweddinged.com, who got married six years ago for the health insurance, but are now planning their fall 2008 wedding. Or rather, planning to get weddinged."

BJ and I were in a similar situation. Well, kind of. We had been engaged for about 7 months when I found out I was pregnant. Being that I worked a job where I didn't have insurance and he had good insurance (and his father's insistance on this fact), we put the plans of a church wedding aside (as he had been married in the church before and needed to obtain an annulment) and go for a civil ceremony. It was a very simple ceremony with a handful of people present (imediate family). We had no reception, just a simple dinner with a few family members.

So, now we have been married for 5 1/2 years, have two very busy little boys, our own home and three cats.

He's also followed the steps to get the annulment which we should hear about by this fall.

So, some of you may be wondering why we are bothering with this now. It's simple. We've always wanted it. We want to share this with family and friends since we didn't the first time around.. so.... I guess we're getting weddinged!!!

PS. Here's something interesting.. I made pancakes this morning and this is how one turned out. I just had to take a photo of it. BTW, I did nothing special to make the heart.. it just appeared.

This is absoluetly absurd. It seems like the amount in our "wedding account" keeps going down and down... wait... there's no "seems" about it. It is. We keep having to take a little here, a little there for different things that keep popping up. We said we wouldn't touch it but these are things that it's either use the money or use a credit card. And with the state of the economy, I don't want to touch the credit cards right now.
So, now that our bank account keeps going down... BJ has mentioned having the reception at the knights of columbus or elks club. We talked about this before. I've been to many weddings at such places and I'm sorry.... I don't want my reception at a place that has a bingo board hanging on the wall. Maybe that makes me a snob, maybe it just means I'd like something with a bit of class.
We did things half assed the first time and this time I want to do it right.... not dancing under the bingo board, surrounded by photos of people I don't know. I'm just so frustrated. Why can't we just win the mega millions?!

I think that this board is more along the lines of what we are going to have. I think the center top photo is more of what I want in a bouquet. Less formal but still romantic. I absolutely love the photo in the top right corner. I definitely want at least one photo like that. We aren't quite sure about a ring pillow but I think I really like the idea of the birch. I also like the idea of lots of glass and candles. It really sets the romantic tone. As for the aisle decoration, I'm thinking of the top left - sweet pea in mason jars or jam jars on shephard's hooks.
Overall, we want the day to be very romantic, rustic (without being country) and simple. Very us.

Are any of you having one real layer of cake and the others foam? I've seen this on a few sites. The bottom layer of the cake is actual cake and the top layers are foam covered in fondant. Then the cake is taken away to be cut... but the guests are actually served from sheet cakes. Apparently it's cheaper and the guests don't really know the difference. So, would any of you consider this? Are any of you doing this? Do you think it's tacky?

I think we've decided on a sweetheart table. The main reasons are that we like not having to climb over everyone to get to our seats and our attendants' guests don't have to sit by themselves as we've both been to weddings where this has happened to one of us (it's especially agonizing if everyone you know there is sitting at the head table and you're forced to make conversation with old uncle Bert who spits every time he talks and the best friend of the bride's 12 year old sister).

So, like I said, we're having a sweetheart table. Which are you having??

As for the attendants, there will be reserved seating for them and their guests so they can sit together. Also, there will be reserved seating for immediate family. On another note... we didn't like the water glasses the restaurant had so we're buying goblets. BJ and I work for the same company and get safety awards in the form of walmart cards. We've been using them to buy some nice Libbey goblets. They aren't that bad price wise either... just under $4 for 4. I think I might sell them on e-bay after.

Oh.. and I think we're going to add white lilacs in with the gerberas and roses. My parents have a ton of trees in their yard so they're free!

I love this.. hehe... ....."Honestly, it is, like, your special day"
"I know."

These are just a few songs we are considering. I was thinking that the bridal party
could do a dance to Golden Years like on a Knight's Tale. Also, Truly, Madly, Deeply
was a favorite song of one of BJ's best friends who died in a car accident.
We were also thinking of My Wish being the father daughter dance and I hope you dance being the mother son dance.Still deciding on a first dance song.

So, I've decided to do my own flowers. I know, maybe I'm taking on a little more than I can chew but I don't really think so. I'm ordering some flowers (roses and gerbera daisies) for the bouquets, bouts and reception decor. I'm going to michaels for the church flowers though.
I thought it might be better to have the church flowers be silk as no one is really going to see them up close except the candle lighters, the preist and the wedding party. I was also thinking that if they are silk, I can donate the arrangements to the church for future weddings if I keep them rather neutral. I was thinking of doing this because BJ is not being charged anything for his annulment and we were told not to expect to be charged for the church either. Father Lawler is a really nice guy. He told BJ to not worry about it because the parish has more than enough money and we have two boys to worry about. We were both really surprised.
As for the real flowers, I am actually going to check out my local grocery store first. I know that sounds kind of tacky but they usually have really good deals on really nice flowers. If I go with them, I can make one bridesmaid bouquet for a little over $5.
As for a tossing bouquet, Michaels has these really cute bunches of silk roses... two would make a nice bouquet and it would only be $14.
Other than flowers, I'd just need floral tape, rubber bands and ribbon

I originally thought I was going to want a tiara. Then I started second guessing it. Now I know exactly what I want...hair like this with crystal accents in it.

The pics aren't the greatest because I screen captured them from a bridezilla video.

I'm going to be going to Michael's this afternoon... the reason this is so exciting is because the closest store is 56 miles away. So, as you can imagine, with gas at $4.19/gallon, we don't go very often. I'll let you all know what good things I find when I get back!!

UPDATE:
Okay... so I didn't buy a whole lot. I did, however find a pack of 50 sheets of white cardstock for under $5.

As for the design of the invitation....well, I'm looking for either a linoleum block or rubber to create my own stamp. No such luck. I figured if anyone would have it, it would be michaels. Ah well. I did find some really pale pink acrylic paint instead of an $8 ink pad and some really fine glitter. So, I'm going to try making a stencil. I've got laminating sheets I've had for a while so I'm going to print out my design and laminate it. Then I'm going to cut it out using an exacto knife. I've got a nice speedball roller from my college days so I think that will give a nice even coat of paint without it getting clumpy. Then I'm going to sprinkle some of the glitter on.

I guess we'll see how it turns out. If it doesn't work, I've already found a place online(www.paper-source.com) that sells the rubber stamp sheets...or I can just order a linoleum block from dickblick.com. Either way, I'll post photos to let you all see how it turns out.

Okay... I have a HUGE problem. I've decided who I want in my bridal party but there's one issue.... which of them to have as my MOH.

My sister was my maid of honor/witness when BJ and I orginally got married by the JOP. I want her to be a bridesmaid but I think I want to ask one of my best friends to be my MOH.
My sister doesn't really seem too interested in the wedding. I'm sure she is but she doesn't seem to show much interest in it at all. She never asks about it, never makes suggestions, nothing. When she does call, it's usually because she wants something.
Tracy, on the other hand, is one of my best friends. She is always talking with me about the wedding. I'm always bouncing ideas off of her. She's always suggesting things.

I spoke with my mom about this. She says my sister really has no reason to be upset because she already was my MOH and that it really should be who I want. I'm just afraid of my sister being really upset if I choose Tracy.

What do I do?

So here is rough draft #1 of my invites. I got the idea off of a letterpress invite I like but don't have the money to get. So, I reproduced the design in Adobe Illustrator. I'm going to transfer it to a linoleum black, carve it out and stamp it! Then I'm going to back it with pink and green card stock. The printed part giving the info will be printed on my computer. I'm not sure how I'm going to tie everything together though. Still thinking about that though... might just be a ribbon around it all, might be vellum... I haven't gotten that far.

Yea!! my FH just told me since we're both on vacation this week, he's taking me to Michael's to start "seriously looking and maybe even buying" some things for the wedding. He also mentioned going to pier 1 to see what they have on sale for vases. :oD

These are some ideas I found today while the site was down... (yes, I was going through withdrawl). I'm really liking the rustic, naturey kind of look joined with the pink and green. It's very much who we are. I love the idea of edible glitter and am DEFINITELY going to use it on the cake. Also.. I found another pic of some nice cake bling. BJ and I are trying to think of ways that will keep the price of the wedding down so one of the ideas is to go with a really simple cake. I think we've decided on a solid ribbon with some cake bling.... nothing much.. maybe like the single pic over

there
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I just need to remember... simple, rustic, elegant....

OKay.. I know there isn't a huge difference between the two ... but there is.. Anna roses are lighter... VERY pale pink fading to off white.... Where are Sophie roses are more pink...

If it helps, I'm using grass, grapevine, green apples and gerbera daisies as well... the roses are mainly for my bouquet.

Just a few pics of the church. I should have gone yesterday when it was sunny. But instead I went today when it was raining. Figures.

Anyway, this is the church my husband was an alter boy at when he was younger. I love it. It's small, cute, kind of rustic and very inviting. The inside is an off white with gold stenciling and a blue/purple mosaic behind the alter... very pretty.

The other St. Mary's we could have been married at is the church I grew up in. It's a lot bigger, not very personal... overly large and kind of cold.. it's all stone grey and dreery looking... although I do remember asking my mom if jesus lived in the little tent (the tabernacle) =D. I think I was around 5 years old. hehe.

So... like the title said.. Jo ann fabrics had nothing worth looking at in the stamp area. Ah well, like I said.. I'll just make one!!

While I was there I found something though... they have a pack of 50 cards and envelopes for $10... two of those and 5 of the $3 20 packs of post cards and I'm set all but a few sheets of vellum (I'll get large sheets at a paper supply store).

Question now is what format do I want to use? Do I want a card style invite or one like the black one below? I think I'll have to consult BJ on this one although I know it won't really matter to him.

UPDATE:
So I think I've decided to get the cards at Joann's. In speaking with my mom last night, she apparently gets a sales ad from there with a 40% off coupon every month! That means I'd be paying under $50 for the invites and that includes EVERYTHING (ribbon, ink, cards, envelopes, postcards, etc)!!!

PS... I agree. Michaels has SO much more. My FH even likes that store!

Well, the answer for me is not a lot. I mean, think about it... yes, the invitation sets the tone for what your guests will expect from the wedding but are you willing to spend $1000 or more? I know I'm not. The reason? The invitations I received from the last three weddings I've attended have eventually gone into the garbage. It's a harsh reality.

So.. I've been thinking long and hard about what I want to do for an invite. I knew from day one that bought-at-the-store-printable- invites were out. I have a bachelor's degree in illustration for goodness sake. I should be able to do something.....

Then I saw these on Etsy.com (yes... I'm addicted to Etsy)

That's when I thought.... "Hey.. I'm trying to make this harder than it has to be. For beautiful invites, I don't have to pay a million dollars or go crazy racking my brain.... look at how simple, yet beautiful these are."

So, I've decided that I'm going to go with Damask. I'm going to hand make 100 hand stamped invites/envelopes/rsvp postcards. The actual text I think might be printed on vellum. Not sure about that part yet though.

I figure that if I get the final design done soon, I can get started on a mock up and then get to work on the real thing.

so this didn't save... try it again...

I spoke with the owner of the restaurant we are having the reception at. He said "No confetti". I tried to explain about the little crystal confetti ... and how it's not really confetti... Apparently the reason they have a no confetti policy is because it's hard to clean off of the carpet. Anyway, so one of my bm's and I went to Joann fabrics and found this sheer organza in light pink that has small seed beads fused right to the fabric (we were looking for material for overlays).... and so I'm thinking that's not confetti. So, here is the question... do I buy some of the little diamond confetti stuff to show the owner and risk it being turned down and being out the money or do I go with the beaded overlay?

I am very blessed to have an uncle who has played both the piano and organ for most of his life and he has agreed to play at the ceremony. Not only that, but we talked about what music he is going to play.
To be honest, I don't want the bridal march or whatever it's called. Whenever I hear that at a wedding, I get flashbacks of sitting in my best friend's garage when we were like 7 playing with Barbies and he would sing " Here comes the bride, all dressed in white... where is the groom? In the dressing room... why is he there? he's in his underwear..." etc.
So, instead, we talked about using music from the new version of pride and prejudice. I have always loved the book. The mini series was good. But the music really helps to set the scene in this film.
Anyway, so I'm thinking about "Dawn" because it starts out soft, builds up, then gets soft again....

Okay... so in discussing things last night, we have decided that we are not going to have a candy buffet. We are, instead, going to just have rock candy lollies in pink and green as our favors with a tag that says something from our two boys.
There were a few reasons behind it including cost, a place to put it, 14 kids running around (we don't need them eating nothing but candy). So, for the kids, we are going to... well, I am going to make up little boxes with some age appropriate candy and diversions to keep them entertained. That way, we are less likely to have a two year old choking on an atomic fire ball.
Ah well, I guess that leaves more money for everything else!!

BJ and I originally were married by a JOP in 2003 with only my parents, my sister and his parents present. We couldn't have a church wedding as he was previously married in the chuch and needed to get an annulment first (which is in the works now). We also wanted to include the rest of our friends and family in this event as they couldn't attend before.

Okay... So, to get to the question.... How do we let people know that we aren't expecting them to bring gifts or give money?

Okay... so.. what we know for sure is that we are going to use either Sophie or Anna roses because they aren't all pink.. but have a pink tint to them. Also, we will be using gerbera daisies as they are my favorite. To bring in the green element, we are using grass. It's also very springy and simple. Then, to bring in the more rustic element, we are using grapevine (it also is symbolic of the entwining of lives and we actually have it growning in our yard, although I don't think we'll be using that particular vine).
The one thing we are unsure of because we are waiting on a quote is snapdragons. I really like the visual texture they add along with the pink/green combo, but it'll all come down to money, unfortunately.
Oh... and there will be little crystals all over to give it all a bit of sparkle. What girl doesn't love a bit of sparkle?