Who Would Have Thought That "Unity" Would Keep Me Up At Night?

My big project over the last couple of day has been to put together a draft of our ceremony script. I wanted/needed to do this so that I can figure out if I need to identify certain elements of the ceremony in our programs (which I'd love to start working on).



I started out by printing out a number of different ceremony scripts I've found online, through the blogosphere (much thanks to A Cupcake Wedding... many of my "starred" google reader posts are her's), and a ceremony written for an old friend last year. Then Jacob and I went through separately and highlighted the elements that we each liked. THEN I sat down, typed up all the different elements and tried to piece them together so that they would make sense as one solid script.



Most of it was pretty simple. A little re-wording was needed here and there to make it flow, but, for the most part, it worked out well. HOWEVER the unity sand ceremony became the bane of my existence last night.



I do NOT like many of the scripts that I found for sand ceremonies. They all said something along the lines of "as the couple pours the sand into one vessel, their lives as individuals will cease to exist". I am NOT ok with this. I don't believe that our individual lives SHOULD "cease to exist". We are who we are BECAUSE of the lives we have led as individuals. I love Jacob and he loves me because of the individual choices, views and beliefs that we each have.



I don't think that when you get married you need to completely lose your individual lives... but rather create an ADDITIONAL life together. As with any relationship I think it's going to be important that we hold on to our separate-ness in some ways. I NEED to have a life outside of my relationship. It will keep me sane when there is stress at home... plus it allows a different part of "me" to present itself to the world every now and then. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going to "hide" my outside-life from my partner. He knows my friends, he's met many of my co-workers, he knows about the different social organizations that I participate in... but he also knows (as do I) that sometimes we need a little time apart.



I have been in relationships in the past where I didn't know the people my partner was spending his time with, and I didn't always know where he was on a particular evening... and that is NOT a healthy relationship. However, if Jacob is spending time with Friend A going out to see "Clash of the Titans" (or some other boy-movie that I'm not particularly interested in seeing), good for him. I hope he has fun. I'll be out dancing with my girls or at my monthly book club meeting! We'll catch up in the morning.



I was up well past my bedtime last night trying to come up with a "unity" ceremony script that honored these views and still expressed the desire to be "one". I was ready to just ditch the whole thing... but Jacob really wants to do the sand ceremony. So... this is what I came up with. Thoughts?

Today Jacob and Brittney have made vows to each other to unify their lives and to move forward in their adventures as one. These two bottles of sand symbolize their lives before this moment. Each grain of sand in their separate containers represents a unique and separate moment, decision, feeling or event that helped to shape them into the unique individuals that they are today.

*Pour sand*

As the couple pours their separate bottles of sand into one common vessel, they are symbolizing the merging of their two lives into one. One life that will be strengthened and solidified by the unique, individual grains of sand that each partner brings with them, and the lessons learned from these life experiences.

From this moment forward, like the sand, your lives will never be the same. Your hearts and souls are forever blended, and, as with the grains of sand, they can never be separated into their individual containers again.

The Highlight of My Week!

I was absolutely ECSTATICED when I opened my google reader the other day and discovered that I WON Kristal's postcard giveaway over at Planning My Purple Wedding. I have been hoping so hard that I would win one of these (or that Uprinting would ask me to host one so that I could get them for free!) before it's time to create, print and send out our invitations (the time is coming quickly!).

I hosted a postcard giveaway awhile ago and used my "appreciation prize" to create Thank Yous to put in our favor bags. However, after I received them in the mail I thought to myself, I COULD have used these for map inserts! I'm working on a VERY tight budget and not having to pay to print out inserts would be FANTASTIC! Plus, with the postcards, not only do I get them printed for FREE, but I also get full color on BOTH SIDES!

Winning Kristal's contest was the highlight of my week. I spent a few hours last night working on our inserts. I'm going to put a map/directions on one side and "additional information" on the other (pretty much just a note directing our guests to see our website for accommodations/activities/registries/etc.). Now I just have to wait for the end of the month in order to actually claim my prize! lol

One good thing about winning this prize and working on my design last night was that it got my creative juices flowing and I started to think about designs for our programs. Since I have all the needed materials for them now I can start designing the text/interior, get it printed and then start the assembly (what would be my first, REAL, DIY project).

I'm getting excited to see everything finally come together!

Our Friendly UPS Man

We have seen a LOT of our UPS man this week. Apparently it's the same guy every time. I'm always at work when he comes, but I think he and Jacob are on a first name basis now. =)

This week we received:

Our ties for the groomsmen, ring bearers and groom (with only a slight error);

The vests for the groomsmen;

Ribbon for the programs (and WHATEVER else I decide to use it for... 100 yards is a helluva lot of ribbon!);

My Uprinting post print for the giveaway I hosted;

Business cards for Jacob via my Uprinting giveaway;

And a couple new pairs of jeans... not wedding related, but I needed them. =)

I don't think I have anything on my list to order for awhile... I hope Jacob and the UPS guy don't miss each other too much next week! lol

Best Customer Service Response EVER!

I don't usually post mid-day, but this was just too good to pass up!

We ordered 6 ties from the TheTieBar.com and got them yesterday. Five of them were fantastic.... one was not the tie we ordered. So I sent an e-mail last night to their customer service line, and this is the response I got this morning... I absolutely love it:

"Oh shit! We are so sorry!

Please send the tie back to us by USPS First Class Mail. We will refund you the $2.26 and then of course, ship the CORRECT tie to you.

We can’t apologize enough for the mistake!

Name Changed, CPS

Chief Problem Solver"

I Hate Shopping...

... which is why I'm glad that my friend Holly drove a couple hours north to see me this weekend and take me shopping!

I've been putting off going to the craft stores because I am NOT a crafty person and those stores give me slight anxiety! =) Plus, I wanted to look for jewelry; a necklace to be precise, to go with my dress. I tried on a bunch at the bridal salon, but none of them really jumped out at me. And, if you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that I've had a hard time finding shoes... so, I wanted to go out and try some shoes on, too.

First we hit up Joann's... I found some tulle for our aisle and I looked at some ribbon for our programs... but they didn't end up having enough, and I figured I could find it cheaper online somewhere, so we left with just the tulle.

Then, on to DSW to try on some shoes. There was a specific pair that I've been eyeing and I wanted to try on... good thing I did, I decided I didn't like them. We decided, since we were there, to check out the clearance section... I bought two pairs of new shoes for work, so I guess it wasn't totally a wasted trip. =)

Our third wedding stop this weekend was Target to look at jewelry... no luck. Then Payless Shoe Source for shoes... not much luck, but I did decide that if it comes down to it I'm going to order a pair of their dyeables in sapphire (they just don't have a pair that really catches my eye right now... but maybe this one.... can't decide), then on to Bridal Exclusives for shoes... no luck. And then on to Icing and Claire's to look for jewelry...

SCORE!!!!!!

I found a necklace!!!! And I'm kind of in love. I just hope I feel the same way when I actually try it on with my dress (I'm finding it sooo hard to shop for accessories when I can't try them on WITH the dress... bah).


Not bad for under $20, right?? The picture doesn't really do it justice... it's a lot sparkly-er. =)

So, I got a few things checked off my list this weekend... it's coming along little by little!



**P.S. I did end up finding ribbon cheaper online... and now I'm going to have about 4 times the amount of ribbon that I actually need. I'm going to have to come up with another project to use the rest of it! =)

Is it Done Yet?

I didn't think that I'd would be agonizing more over the groomsmen attire than I did about the bridesmaids' dresses.... but that is exactly what is happening.

First I wanted to go the suit vest route...

Then we thought maybe tuxes...

Then we went back to suit vests and found one and told the boys to buy it...

Then the vest was not available in all the boys' sizes. Back to square one.

Jacob said, "We'll just keep looking".

What he really meant was "YOU will just keep looking" (meaning me... I've never seen him surfing the net for wedding related items).

And I did.

Today we ordered gray vests from Target (the boys can just pay us back...don't want to stress out about someone not buying it until the last minute... plus with free shipping and easy returns, might as well). I hope they fit. I hope they look ok. I hope everything is done now.




We also ordered ties from The Tie Bar. We ordered three of these for the groomsmen (I was a little shocked, but Jacob actually LIKED the swirly floral design... I thought for sure he was going to shoot me down!), and a tie for Jacob (has both the yellow AND blue!) and we ordered ties for the two ring bearers.

I am getting tired of the details. I just want to say "I Do".

5 Months!

Today was our five month mark! We spent this last weekend on the coast and it didn't even occur to me that we'd hit the next month-marker until we were in the car on the way home.

This weekend was supposed to be a relaxing break from school, work, life... it didn't quite end up that way. I'm having mass frustration with academic bureaucracy right now, and then, on Friday night I got some bad family news that weighed on my shoulders for most of the weekend. So, the weekend didn't turn out to be as relaxing as possible... however, it did end up being pretty productive.

While walking around the small coastal town we spotted a local dollar store that was going out of business. Big signs in the windows noted "50% off!" so, we stopped and check it out. Soooo glad we did! Toward the back of the store we found:


Shepherd Hooks! Great for the aisle that I'm picturing (think draping tulle above the sand). Better yet? 50 cents each! Woo hoo! We also found:


Flower girl baskets!! These are pretty much EXACTLY what I was picturing! I've been looking at some online for right around $20 for a set... I found these... 50 cents each! I bought 4... just in case. =)

I love stumbling across the exact things I'm looking for!

Drum Roll Please....

The winner of my custom business card giveaway is... GVWYS! (Sorry, no actual name attached to this posting... just an acronym! lol)

CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm sure your sister will be very pleased! =)

Please reply to this post with your name and an e-mail address ASAP! (The comment will be deleted after I receive your address). If I do not get a response by noon on Tuesday, March 16, I will pick a new winner!

Just Do It

This is the attitude I had when I woke up this morning.

For the last week or so I've had multiple wedding related ebay/etsy/craigslist windows open on my computer trying to decide if I really wanted to purchase the product. I am SOOO tired of stressing/second guessing my details. So, this morning I said "f*** it" and I ordered my veil and my hair flower!

Thanks to Sarah's comment on my Veil or Not to Veil post, and A Mountain Bride's comment on my Help Me Find a Veil post, and have made my decisions (with some help from my fiance... he actually made the final decision. lol)

Drum roll please......

My veil, from Venus Veils on e-bay:


And my hair flower, care of Fascinating Creations on etsy:


So, that's that... now I'm going to work so I can pay for all this stuff! lol

P.S. Just two more days to enter my business card giveaway!!

Married on Myspace

Seriously?

My Kind of Crafty!

I'm not a particularly crafty person. "DIY" scares me... a lot. Hence why I've been putting off much of the hands on wedding prep stuff. BUT things like basic graphic design interest me. I don't even want to tell you how much time I've spent in PhotoShop and Publisher working on wedding related things! And now I present to you one of said masterpieces... or, at least, the first draft... and really less a master piece than the best I know how to do! lol


A map to include with the invitations! I was VERY proud of myself. lol. I seriously kept this open on my computer for about three days, occasionally going back and looking at it and feeling accomplished (I'm kind of a nerd like that). I didn't want to just print out a Google map (didn't like the way it looked... I am a very visual person), but I also didn't want to pay someone else (or some website) to make maps for me, especially since we are doing the invites ourselves to save money... and since the map probably isn't that necessary. I mean, look at it... it's not the most complicated of instructions. But, I wanted one...

So, in typical kindergarten fashion I printed out the Google map, put a sheet of paper over it, held it up to a window, and traced! =) Then into my computer it went and the coloring/labeling commenced! I am proud! And can't wait to start getting everything printed!

We're Going To Have Beautiful Babies!

I stumbled across a pretty humorous site today: MakeMeBabies! The site allows you to upload pictures of two people and they morph the faces together to show you what your children may look like. lol... I laughed... a lot. I'm really hoping when we actually do have children that they will turn out just a bit cuter than these! lol







P.S. I found the middle one a little creepy... but I have to admit that the other two kind of made my biological clock tick a bit louder ;)

Let Them Eat Cake!

We "booked" our wedding cake today! Did a second tasting (shh!! Don't tell them.... they thought it was our first ;) ) and decided to go ahead and go with Lamb's bakery! They really did have delicious cake, and one of the cheapest quotes compared to some of the other places we researched. Problem is, they don't put filling in cupcakes... which means Jacob changed his mind and decided he'd rather have a cake. =)

I think one of the hardest parts was picking out a cake design. I really had very little interest in what the cake actually looked like. I discovered that I tend to gravitate toward pretty simple designs (i.e. plain white-frosted tiered cake with maybe a ribbon or some flowers or something), while Jacob goes more toward intricate designs and patterns. Jacob found a design he liked in their sample book... only to find out it was half fondant and was going to cost an extra 40%... that changed his mind pretty quick!

We finally decided on a fairly simple design that looks similar to this:

Source

Except, the lower tier has ribbon on top and bottom, the middle tier doesn't have the swirlies, but rather little lines of dots, and the top tier has a more intricate swirly design and no initials. I haven't really decided on how we're going to incorporate our colors yet... and, in all actuality we can still even change our mind about the whole design (plus add or increase tier sizes), but at least we have the date booked, and our flavors determined. THIS was the most important part of the cake to me... how it tasted! lol... So, with no further ado, our flavors are:

Base Tier: Tollhouse cake with fudge filling
Middle Tier: White cake with hazelnut filling
Top tier: Chocolate cake with Bavarian cream filling

I am sooo looking forward to this cake. I'll admit right now that I plan on having three pieces! lol

Who Wants Free Stuff??

I have ANOTHER giveaway for you! Thanks to Uprinting's Promotional Printing I have 500 business cards up for grabs! Yes... you read that right, FIVE HUNDRED! And free shipping to boot! Uprinting has a ton of business cards online, but this specific giveaway is to print your own custom design. The sky is the limit! Maybe you need cards for your new business... or maybe you need photo sharing cards, place cards, favor cards... whatever! The cards that I get for hosting this giveaway will be used for new business cards for Jacob... he's trying to get his massage practice back up and running now that we're in a pretty stable situation (i.e. not moving again in 6 months. lol)



Get one entry by telling me how you'd use the cards...

Get a second entry by becoming/being a follow (and let me know in a separate comment)

Get a third entry by blogging about the giveaway (and leaving the URL in a separate comment)

And get an additional entry every time someone comments on this post stating that they came via you! (P.S. this will be an entry for THAT person as well!).

Here are the prize/contest specs:

500 Business Cards for One (1) Winner

Sizes: 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.5 x 3.5” (slim card)

Paper: 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock

Specifications: Full Color Both Sides; Offset Press; 3 Business Day Printing

Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping

Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only

You have until the end of the day on March 13th to enter... so get to it! =)

Glad I Didn't Hire Her!

Our photographer posted this on his blog yesterday.... I think I would have been just as upset that the woman ended up being such a b*tch as I would have been about crappy photos.

Take Two!

This was just too cute... I need to share. =)

I got home from work today and sat down at my computer to check my e-mail. Jacob came in and asked, "Did you see the right corner of your desk?" I had not... but there was a ring box... and his second ring selection.

He then said, "There's a picture on your camera too... so you can share it with all your blogger friends." lol.... way too cute not to now. =) So... here is some groom-ring porn... maybe he's a little more into this wedding planning thing than I thought ;)

And the Winner is.....

Lucky number 13 won my poster print giveaway!**

Happy March and Monday Morning Holly! (Though I'm guessing it's not Monday morning in Taiwan!) You should be getting an e-mail soon with information about claiming your prize. =)

Holly plans to use her print to: "...blow up a photo from our time in Taiwan, decorating a new apartment in the States."

**winner chosen via random.org.