DJ, Bridesmaids, STDs--oh my!

It's been a long time, I know. But now that the quarter has come to a close, I now have time (and the summer) to plan my wedding.

So far since last post:

DJ (done months ago, actually)
Bridesmaids selected (my sister Allie, Stan's sister Christina, and my long-time friend Rachel)
Save-the-Date cards mailed (finally!)*

*Funny (and mildly inappropriate) sidenote: while looking up how to address Save-the-Date cards I noticed how so many people abbreviate it as STDs......I kept chuckling each time I saw that, which makes me wonder if I still too juvenille get married, haha :)

Meanwhile I got inspired yesterday at Michael's to redo my centerpieces. While I like what I did before--the vases, floating candles, and flowers--I feared that it might be come a hassle to set up (a LOT of water). So I saw these small purple candles for $1.00! and some other odds-n-ends, and this is what I've come up with:

It's simple, but sometimes simple is better (and looks better). The most expensive piece is the bigger candle which was $8.99. The glass pillar was $2.99, the little candle $1.00 and the fillers (enough to spread for the other centerpieces) like nothing. I think this might be the cheaper and easier way to go.

Meanwhile I've been considering doing something fun with the tables: taking pictures of Stan and me when we were young and making them a part of the centerpieces, and maybe having some memory between Stan and me (e.g. our trip to Solvang) written out for those at the table to read and enjoy. I know it sounds a bit self-centered, but when is any wedding not self-centered? haha

Next week I will be meeting with a florist who is willing to work with our tight budget (florist for the bouquets and whatnot, not so much for the reception), and the venue coordinator who will help me settle on a menu and figure out the nitty-gritty stuff. In three weeks my friend Brittany and I are going dress shopping!

So much left to do though:

I promise to...

I have to share this because Stan is so cute.

So after venting my frustration to Stan (in a jovial manner, of course) about his 3 dirty protein-specked, spoon-holding cups that I have to wash each day (pictures soon to come--there'll be plenty stacked on the counter when I come home tomorrow I'm sure, haha), I was telling Stan how I was going to put him on a payment plan: for each half hour of work he does around the house, he will get a half of a tuna sandwich (he eats a whole one almost daily, which means a whole hour of work to be done (dishes?? let's hope.)).

He then told me, "Yeah, well I'll put in my vows that you promise to make me sammiches (<--that's what we call them around here) and wash my cups."

Me: "No, your vows is what you promise to do for ME. Not what I do for YOU."

Stan: "Then I'll write your vows!"

I can't fault the man for wanting to play a larger role in the wedding-planning process. If he wants to write our vows...then, well........we'll see!

Cheap Centerpieces

Taking my mom's advice, I searched around Michael's (and other craft stores') website to get idea for cheap centerpieces. After being inspired by this one, I went to the Dollar Tree, Target, and Michael's to collect various items. This is what I've come up with (do note that the pictures don't quite capture them completely--something about the lighting or whatnot is different when looking at them in personal, and when looking at them in the pictures. e.g. the flowers are purple, but pictures make one of them look blue. Strange, but oh well):

So if I were to bunch them all together, this is what it would look like:

 These two pictures have purple gems in the vases as well. I thought that they look a bit dark and crowded, so the two pictures after these two have only the clear gems.

Without the purple gems:

I then thought that since these tables will be square (I believe), then it might be better (and even cheaper) to have a this centerpiece (minus the two smallest vases) alternate with a smaller centerpiece:

Overall, this would cost roughly $19 for the larger three piece centerpiece and $4 for the smaller three piece centerpiece. If I could find (I haven't yet) the two big "hurricane" vases at a dollar store (all of these stores are in Ventura or else...another reason to hate SB), then it would be $11 and $4 respectively.

What do you think?

Photographer -- Check!

Good news!

My officemate Seth said that his wife Jenae would be willing to be our photographer! She's great with the camera: one day Seth brought in pictures of their newborn son, and I thought it was done professionally. Nope--Jenae had done it. And today he showed me pictures she had taken for her cousin's wedding and they were GREAT. (baby pictures here: http://the-one-with-the-jeppesens.blogspot.com/  The wedding pictures might be deeper in the blog somewhere...but trust me, they were really nice!)

This helps significantly. Photographers in this area cost an arm and a leg. The only one I could find at a "reasonable" price charged $795, and when I checked out his portfolio, I was very disappointed. I could take better pictures than that!

Of course the question is, how much should  pay Jenae? The cost of film, of course, but that's a lot of work for one person and I don't want to take advantage of her kindness. Suggestions?

This all came about, by the way, when a friend (and undergrad of the department, who will be going dress shopping with me in a few weeks) and my advisor were chatting with me in my office about wedding planning. My advisor told me that she had been married twice: she went all out on her first wedding, only to be stressed out (and eventually divorced); her second (and still successful marriage) she kept it simple. She recommended that I go the simple route: don't stress over all the details.

We also talked about putting disposable cameras on the tables as well or asking everyone who takes pictures to post them on a website that we will create. That way we get full coverage :) And plus it would be fun to see what pictures people take--what things can be missed during the reception, etc.

Here in the next week or so I'll drop by a local florist and talk flower-talk, and then drop by a bakery to see about wedding cakes. And then dress shopping! (Will definitely send and post pictures.)

Save-the-Date cards

Last night we ordered the Save the Date cards at a discounted price: http://www.exclusivelyweddings.com/Weddings/Save-The-Date-Cards-Flower-Design

Now I can't help but to think of the Seinfeld episode where George's fiance dies from licking too many cheap invitation envelopes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9O2wrvIevM&feature=related

Haha, note to self: use a sponge!

So far, venue, catering, and save-the-date cards have been taken care of. Some major things left to do (in no particular order):

Inivtations
Flowers (looking into DIY options)
Cake
Rings (I have white gold; Stan wants yellow gold. Tacky, or okay?)
Music (ugh)
Photography (hopefully my friend Ingrid--who is AMAZING with photography--will do this)
Dress (going to do this soon....a bit scarey!)
Tux (yay, Stan!)
Hair and Makeup
Marriage License