Exhausted

I've had a BUSY day today with all kinds of wedding planning "fun"...

Best news of the day, though? I no longer need to wear granny-panties until my wedding gown! You ladies know what I'm talking about:


I went for my last dress "fitting" today and discovered that I have dropped enough inches that I no longer have to "shape" my hips into my dress! I am VERY excited about this! Especially since it means I can 1) be that much more comfortable all day long, and 2) maybe wear something cute/sexy that I may get from my bridal shower/bachelorette party! Woo hoo!

After picking up my dress and driving home, I then got to work assembling large posters/signs for the big day, as well as putting together a shot list for the photographer (who we are having our final meeting with tomorrow), a contact list for our day-of-coordinator (meeting with her next weekend) and a day-of-time-line and list of wedding party responsibilities and to-dos.

Today has been a very Type-A sort of day. But, aside from super-gluing two of my fingers together, and having to strategically place a fake sunflower* over a tear I created in one of our sign boards (from super-gluing a second finger to THAT... had a minor meltdown at that point), it was, all in all, a pretty productive Saturday.

* Thanks Holly! Had you not given me these FANTASTIC sandals, I would have been in a pickle! ;)

Christmas in July!

We got our first wedding gift in the mail!!!**

And THIS is where it ended. Jacob won't let me open it until after the wedding. =P Bah hum bug! lol

**THANK YOU MEGHAN!! =)

Cleaning Off My Tabs

So, I have this bad habit of finding something I like online, opening it in a new tab and just letting it sit there... for days. So, I'm doing a little cleaning tonight. Here are a few wedding-related tabs I have had open for awhile meaning to share with you all because I thought something about them was cool/interesting, funny... lol... enjoy!

Bowling Alley Wedding: How Creativity is Priceless in a Bad Economy

Will Chelsea Clinton's Wedding Ruin Mine? A Bridal Nightmare

Sheer Awesomeness! Best Wedding Theme Ever!

Pacific City Beach, Oregon Wedding (this one made me cry... I think it's 'cause I'm hoping my day is this beautiful and I look that happy!)

P.S. We're 19 days away! We're in the TEENS! **breathing into a bag**

How I Spent My Weekend

Remember having to write those "How I spent my summer vacation" essays in school? lol... sorry, random, but I thought of that with this post title. =)

It is almost 90 degrees outside right now, so I have decided that it is a good time to spend some time in the coolest room of our apartment (the living room) and get some hands on wedding shit done. I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now, albeit a little sore from the sitting and bow tyiing (I went not built for this kind of repetitive work). So, without further ado, here's "what I did on my weekend":


(If you are coming to the wedding and want to be completely surprised by the decorations/favors , read no further!)






Table numbers and various menus/signs! Thanks to your comments on my earlier post, I decided that assigning tables is not going to be a waste of my time. So, via the powers of Microsoft Publisher I created table numbers as well as signs for the guest book, cake flavors, and wine selection. I printed them on index cards and then slid them into acrylic frames that I got at Micheal's! Woo hoo! Originally I just had the text on there, but they looked really empty, so I decided to add different photo of Jacob and I together for each number. I'm really happy with the way these turned out.

I also did some....

Wedding favors! I don't want to go into too much detail about what these consist of, but I do want to say that I SUCK at tying bows... so this task has been pretty time consuming and daunting for me... so, if you're coming to the wedding, you better appreciate! lol Unfortunately...


I am FAR from being done... *sigh* I may develop arthritis by the time I'm done with all of these. My kids will be wearing Velcro shoes until they figure out the bow tying thing on their own! lol

We have 20 days left until the big day. Last weekend I was feeling very down and emotional about everything wedding related. This weekend I've felt a burst of "get shit done" energy... and I'm definitely thankful that it found it's way back to me! I will also be thankful when I can finally get all of my piles-of-wedding-crap (PWC) out of our kitchen and living room!

I think the cat is probably looking forward to getting his area back, too! =)

To Have or Not To Have (Pt. 2)

A kid's table.

I never really thought we'd have a kid's table at the wedding. When I was younger I HATED sitting at the kid's table at family functions. I always wanted to be with the adults trying to participate in grownup conversations. Granted, I did end up sitting at the "kid's table" into my pre-teens, so these desires may have stemmed from that time period... for all I know, when I was 6 I may have loved it!

The question about whether or not to have a kid's table at the wedding stemmed from trying to put together a preliminary table assignment chart. Jacob suggested that I put his brother and his two kids with his boss, wife and two kids because the kids were all the same age and Jacob thought they would get along well. So, I did. However, as I thought about it more I started to wonder if this was, indeed, the best arrangement for the adults. This would leave three adults at a table full of kids under the age of 10... two of which are married. I don't really see the most lively, interesting conversation. I was thinking how Jacob's brother may be happier at a table with some other friends, and how Jacob's boss's wife may like to sit at a table with another grown up female! lol

We have probably enough kids to fill up one table (plus, they are kids/little, therefore I could probably squeeze a couple more of them at one table than I could adults). And they are all right around the same age (i.e. 4-8). However, I wonder if these kids would actually sit at the table, or if they would want to be with their parents. My thought was to put the kids table in a central area and have the parents' tables nearby, and to possibly purchase some cheap coloring/activity books at the Dollar Tree or something for the table, but, I'm just wondering.

For those of you who have already had your weddings, did you or did you not have a kid's table? If you did, how did it work? If you didn't, why not and did you wish you did?

For those of you still planning the reception, do you plan to have one? If you do, do you have any of my same fears?

I have never been to a wedding with a kid's table, so I don't have any knowledge base in this area, so thanks in advance for your input!

Wedding/Anniversary Band For Sale!

So, I've heard of two dress brides, or brides who purchase their wedding dress and then find one they like better... but I may be of a new breed... apparently I'm a "two-ring bride".

I had to take my engagement ring to the jewelers today to get it inspected and cleaned, while I was there a diamond band caught my eye and I made the mistake of trying it on. I loved the way it looked with my engagement ring... much more than the wedding ring that I ALREADY BOUGHT.

Crap.

I walked out of the store, made it halfway through the mall and decided that I wanted that ring, so, went back, bought the ring, they sized it up for me and in a half hour it was done and I had TWO wedding rings. So... I'm now I'm trying to sell the first one.

Here's the craigslist ad I posted for it. Please let me know if you'd like it... I've priced it VERY budget friendly at only $100. I'm willing to ship and we can talk about shipping fees based on how you want it shipped (insurance, certified, etc.).

To Have or Not to Have (Pt. 1)*

Table Assignments.

The Dilemma: Our reception venue is pretty small. The way I figure it, we can only fit about 12 round 8-person tables comfortably. Though, for the sake of not having to squish two tables on the dance floor, I'd really love to keep that number lower. As it stands right now we have 79 confirmed butts-in-seats, but 13 that are "maybe" (Ugh) or have not yet responded for various reasons. If all 13 show up that means we'd NEED the 12 tables, if only the 79 show we need 10 tables. My thought was too put in 11 tables to split the difference. However, 11 tables would still cut it pretty tight.

Imagine, if you will, a crowded movie theater. You get to the theater with your two friends and it's already packed! You see a spot for two, several singles, and a couple open spots with coats draped across them.... but not three open seats together. THIS is what I'm afraid will happen if I leave the seating open. If I had more room and could put in an extra few tables, I wouldn't worry about it.... but I can't. It just won't work (despite the fact that the reception hall originally told us that we could fit approximately 125 people in there... grumble, grumble).

I understand the cons of having assigned tables. More work for me, people may not get to sit with the EXACT person they want to (though, in my preliminary assignments I am being VERY conscious of who is sitting at which tables and making sure they know each other or have things in common), and it makes me look a bit controlling.. lol... but I just don't want "large" parties to be faced with having to split up and sit separately at several tables.

What do you all thing?





*This is the first of a two part (at least) series in which I ask opinions on the specifics dealing with the last three weeks (!!!!) of wedding planning! I already have my second question in mind... if I remember it tomorrow I'll post another. lol

THE Question

Friends have warned me that once the wedding is over the BABY questions will start. I'm prepared for them, but I wasn't prepared for the first one to come from an eight year old! lol... Here's a text that Jacob received from his mother this evening:

Aiden says once you are husband and wife he can't wait to see your kids. Bet you did not expect "presure to produce" from your nephew!

Kids say the darnedest things, eh? =)

Winos on a Suger High

This is what my wedding is going to look like:

You may remember all the taffy from my previous post

Today's purchase. Thank God for Trader Joe's!*

*The Clerk working the wine section at TJ's asked me if I was having a party or if this is just how I roll. lol

Licensed to Wed

One more thing checked off our list, and one step closer to being Mr. and Mrs.!

28 days to go!

(30 more RSVPs to nail down =P)

Postcard Giveaway Winner Is...

Kelli!!
of A Southern Bride*

Kelli, just recently engaged and at the very beginning of the planning process, said that her most stressful part so far in the wedding planning process has been to get, "everyone i want to use in the wedding such as food, flowers and pictures to be able to do it on the same day, i have had to move it because one of them could not do it on the day. but we have worked it all out now."

Congrats Kelli! You should get an e-mail soon with the details on claiming your prize!

*Winner chosen with the help of random.0rg

Just a few more hours to enter my giveaway!

We're 30 days away. I'm not exactly feeling "on the brink", but I'm definitely getting there. I'm feeling most stressed over the RSVPs/guest list right now. Less than half of our invited guests responded on their own (i.e. without hassling calls and e-mails from parents or myself and Jacob). What I seem to be discovering is that those who did not RSVP independently are not planning on coming. I guess their thought was, "Well, I don't think I'll go, so I guess I don't have to RSVP". This is NOT what I'm thinking. I'm thinking "I have no idea if we're going to have 60 people or 100 people! Please RSVP.... even if it's a no!" RSVPing 'no' at least let's the bride/host know that you have received the invitation, but will not be able to attend. THEN the bride/host knows how much food and wine to purchase, how many tables/chairs will be needed at the reception hall, and if there is room to invite some more friends.

(I've also been getting a number of "maybes". I hate maybes. People got save the dates back in November... they have KNOWN about this. I find it really infuriating that, 30 days out (and with no unforeseen circumstances), they haven't been able to make a decision. Or, if they have made a decision, aren't making it apparent.)

Jacob and I both come from pretty large families. Our initial invite list was 125 people. Our venue will comfortably hold 100 max (and I think that's still pushing it!), so we didn't have time to invite some friends that we would have liked to. But, we figured that once the "no"s starting rolling in we'd send some more invitations. Now I feel like a schmuck sending out invites 30 days before the wedding. I just hope those who get the last minute invites are understanding... and don't already have something else planned. =(

So, yes, that's my "brink" moment for you today. 30 days out... still much to do (DIY stuff that I've been putting off). This next month is going to be CRA-ZY!

Whoa

I get married one month from today...



!!!!!!!

Best Man Speech

Does your best man need a little help with his speech? Perhaps he can give the "Best Man Speech Generator" a shot! lol I tried it in place of Jacob's best man and this is what I got (not exactly perfect, but humorous in the least!):

I met Jacob when we were 24. Right away, I knew he was a Kind kid and the perfect friend for me. He was always a hit with the ladies even at the young age of 24. I remember his best line was "For fingers like yours I would run the biggest CD. Then along came Brittney and everything changed. It takes a fast girl to tame the rabbit that is Jacob. I remember they met at Eugene and within the space of 14 shots he was wearing her night gown and she had laughed all over his car. Ladies and gentlemen I ask you to raise your glasses for Brittney and Jacob. May they live sweetly ever after and have loyal babies.

Giveaway Time!

It's been awhile, but I have another giveaway for you via My Postcard Printing!



Here are the details:

100 4x6 Flat Postcards
14pt Cardstock Gloss
4 Color Both Sides Printing
Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above

If you haven't tried online postcard printing before you are missing out! I have used these for sooo many different parts of my wedding planning so far (invitations, invitation inserts, thank you cards to include with our favors), and I plan to use my "appreciation prize" for hosting this giveaway to get some wedding announcements printed up to send out after the fact. The quality is awesome, the customer service is awesome, the shipping speed is awesome... they are just awesome! lol

So... what to do to win? Four different ways:

1. Leave a comment telling us what you'll do with them if you win.
2. Leave a comment telling us about what the most stressful part of the planning process has been for you so far (or was) and how you dealt with it (I'm in the "stress out" stage right now, so I'd love to hear others stories! lol).
3. Become a follower or let me know that you already are.
4. Blog about it!

You have until 7 PM (PST) on Thursday, July 15th... that way I can get the winner post out before I go out of town to attend a friend's wedding ('tis the season, right? lol).

The Obamas Approve

We got our card from the Obamas today! =) When I found out that they did this sort of thing, I decided that I kinda wanted the memento. I was pretty excited when we got an envelope HAND ADDRESSED to us in the mail today with "The White House" as the return address. (Jacob was so excited he pretty much ripped the envelope in half! lol ...or, maybe he was just being a boy and didn't know his own strength... either way, ripped right through the return address!).

Bridal Suite Not So Sweet

Had a quick meeting with our new event coordinator at our reception hotel yesterday. We found out that form 50's pop singer and actor Pat Boone built the hotel... and that our wedding night jacuzzi suite MAY have mirrors on the ceiling*. Hmm... not exactly my idea of romance...

*They have two jacuzzi suites... she's going to try to get us the other one. I have my fingers crossed. lol

Back to the Scene of the Crime

In a few short hours Jacob and I will be heading out to my favorite place in the whole world... the coast. =) The 4th of July will be one year exactly since Jacob asked me to spend my life with him, and we're returning (kind of) to the scene of the crime this weekend to camp with a few of our closest friends (and members of our wedding party). I'm so excited for a weekend away, time with some fantastic people, and an opportunity to spend some quality time with husband-to-be before life gets TOO crazy (only 43 days left!)

Happy 4th everyone!