Calligraphy

By addressing our save-the-dates, I have learned just how much it sucks to address 150 envelopes. And that my handwriting just doesn't look that great after the first 20. It was kind of funny how the process went... the first five were like warm-ups, allowing me to get the spacing figured out and get in the right handwriting "mood," giving the right amount of pressure and getting just the right amount of slant. Then I was in this groove for a few envelopes, and those were going really well, and I liked how they turned out. But then I realized just how many we had left to go, and I started thinking more about just cranking them out rather than making them look nice. So, for those that are not so good at math, that means that I was happy with about 15 out of the 150 save-the-date envelopes. And, unfortunately, I had not thought to order extra envelopes, so we had to send them all out, even the really crappy ones.

When we started to address the international ones to Steve's family, I was like screw it, I don't even know how these addresses are supposed to look--Steve, you're doing these. So, sorry Euro-fam--I hope Steve's handwriting was good enough to get them over the Atlantic to you!

Anyway, the whole experience has me thinking about hiring a calligrapher to address our invitations. We had not budgeted for this, so we may not be able to work it out. But I think it would be a really nice touch, and it would save us a lot of annoying work.

So I went to Etsy.com to look for some inspiration.

It is really interesting to see the kinds of calligraphy that I am naturally drawn to... since our invitations are more in the minimalist/modern vein, it is strange that I most love whimsical styles, like this one called "Flourish" by Etsy seller lilflower:


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I like that the "swirls" of the names form the lines for the rest of the address, that is kind of a neat touch.

I basically love anything by Etsy seller e.Danae, like these ones in "Spencerian" by e.Danae, with a watercolored flower:


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LOVE IT!

And "Lucie," again by e.Danae (although mostly what I like about this one is the fact that the writing extends off the page):


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And gorgeous "Loopy Luxe" by e.Danae:


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Don't they look so pretty?

But like I said, these swirly styles don't really "go" with the style of our invitations, so I tried to find something a little sleeker and more contemporary, like this style by Etsy seller Primele:


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And this calligraphy by Etsy seller 2inspire would be a good fit, since it is a little "swoopy" in the S's and also has a good amount of "slant" in the rest. These are highly technical terms of art, by the way.


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I think a really complementary style for ours might be "Olivia" by Etsy seller BarbaraKua--it's simple, slanty and chic. And doesn't it look just slightly vintage?


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What do you think? Are these pretty, or over-the-top? As a recipient, do you appreciate a well-addressed envelope?

How to Pick a Wedding Date

In honor of the fact that we will be saying "I DO!" exactly seven months from today, I wanted to write about our wedding date, August 28, 2010, and why we picked that particular date.

I think, for most people, the most important factors are (i) which season you want to get married in, (ii) how much time you want to spend planning your wedding, and, for couples with a specific venue in mind, (iii) which dates the venue is available.

When we decided to get married in Billings, we quickly decided that we wanted it to be during the summer so that we could marry outside. We did not want to get married in 2009 because we would only have had 7-9 months to plan and our family already had a lot going on in 2009, with baby Stella arriving in January and Alex graduating in May. Also, I knew that I wanted at least one year to plan it. We definitely could have done it in less time, but why would we want to? There is so much work that goes into planning a wedding, and I wanted it to be a fun experience, not stressful. And having a longer engagement allowed us more time to save up for it. And, as it turned out, I was crazy busy at work all during the summer of 2009, so it would have been really difficult to fit in our wedding, let alone plan it.

So we were looking at Summer 2010. We got lucky as far as venues go, since mom and Jerry didn't have any other bookings for that summer :) We started looking toward the end of the summer so that we would have more reliable weather (June in Montana is still very temperamental, weather-wise), and so that we'd have the whole summer to get the yard and the barn ready. It made sense to keep the date close to September 1, when I would be getting more vacation time, so that I would be able to take of enough vacation time for our wedding and honeymoon. But we didn't want it to be over Labor Day weekend because so many people do other things that weekend and I did not want them to have to choose between their other plans and our wedding. Oh, and we wanted it on a Saturday.

Steve threw out the date August 28, 2010, and it just really stuck. Also, it just so happened that my mom was first married on August 28 back in 1976 and Steve's parents were married on the 28th of December in 1969. So, in addition to being highly logical, the 28th of August made sense for sentimental reasons, too.

There you go--the explanation behind our wedding date! How did you pick your wedding date?

STDs!

So we finally kicked our save-the-dates out the door! It was really nice to get that big task out of the way. We ended up sending out save-the-dates to about 2/3 of our guests... the people who would need to travel to attend the wedding and those close to our families, just to build excitement. So now that we have taken care of that, we can share them with all of you on here!



Our save-the-dates are "monarch" size, 3.75"x7.25", printed on Crane Lettra 220 lb. 100% cotton duplex paper in Ecru. As I wrote about before, the duplex paper is twice as thick as the regular Crane Lettra paper, so it can handle deep letterpress impressions on both sides. We chose Ecru as the color, rather than a standard white or off-white shade, to lend a slightly more rustic and warm touch and to balance out the otherwise modern design.

On the back side is a repeating, blind-embossed pattern of our wedding date written several different ways, our names, and "Save the Date" in a modern, san-serif font all over the entire side of the card. I love the tactile "texture" it creates on the surface of each card.



Then, on top of the blind embossing is the phrase "Save the Date," in my actual handwriting! In order to do this, I wrote out "save the date" on a piece of paper about 200 times until I found one that I thought would work well with the design. Then I scanned it and e-mailed it to Kristin, who converted it into a vector image and then created a letterpress printing plate from it. We were trying to achieve a similar look as these Linda and Harriet invitations, and it was Kristin's idea to use my handwriting... it was super fun to work on!



Then, on the front we used the same Century Gothic font as the blind embossing and just kept it as simple as possible. In arranging the text, we were trying to mimic the look of the invitations of Steve's parents' wedding in 1969... I don't know if I would say it ended up looking retro, but I liked the idea of echoing the style of their invitations. Also, at the top are our names, again in my handwriting.



Sorry for the blurring... I just didn't want our whole names on there on the WWW. If there was one thing I could change about them, it would be the color of the envelopes. I wanted something more in the chartreuse family. However, once we finalized the design and the size of the cards, our envelope choices were limited and I picked this one. In retrospect, I wish I would have chosen to go with a different size so that we could get the right color of envelopes or else I would have picked envelopes in a completely different color, probably "kraft" (light brown recycled-paper look). But, I am super happy with the overall end product! And now we know to think about the envelopes early on (which we have done for our invitations), so it was a good lesson learned!

What do you think? Did you mark the date on your calendar?

Nashan Photographers

One of the very first wedding-related tasks that we completed was selecting our photographer. We were looking for someone who had an eye for capturing the smaller, emotional moments so that when we look back through our wedding album later on, we remember all of the feelings from that day.

There are a lot of talented photographers in Montana, and we found several in the Bozeman area that we really liked. However, with some photographers' packages costing more than $8,000 (!!!), we had to work really hard to find the best photographer at a price point that we were comfortable with. As it turned out, my favorite photographers of all, Nashan Photographers, offered packages at totally reasonable prices, so it just kind of worked out naturally.

We decided to go with Bärbel from Nashan Photographers, in large part because she photographed the wedding of a friend of mine from my sorority, who had nothing but the best things to say about Bärbel and the pictures were beautiful.

One thing we are looking forward to is the complimentary engagement photo session that is included in the package we booked with Bärbel. We have talked about trying to have Bärbel come out to Seattle so that some of our photos can be here, where we live... but that may not be financially feasible. So we may end up going to Bozeman to have our engagement pictures done, which would be just fine with me since I have not been back since I graduated from college, and I sure miss that place!

To get some ideas for our engagement shoot, I have been looking through engagement shoots on the Nashan Photographers website, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you all!

As a whole, I really liked this set of photos:



Especially these, which I think look really fun:





And these really caught my attention, with the gorgeous country in the background and the industrial edge added by the railroad tracks. I think the railroad adds something really cool to the classic walking-away-while-holding-hands picture... don't you think?






Okay, I LOVE this set. This couple just looks so fun-loving and happy. I love this first photo and that they're just having a glass of wine. This is what e-photos should be like--pictures of couples doing things they normally do, but taken from a more complimentary angle and with the couple looking better than normal :)



And I love the inclusion of the barn in this one--it's just such a beautiful building and and the red with that blue sky behind compliments the bright colors of their outfits perfectly.



And, for me, this is what really makes the set--look how happy she looks in this photo! What a cool idea. I love the colors and the vintage look of this whole shoot.



What kind of stuff should we do during our engagement photos?

Hair--Help!

According to our checklist on theknot.com, between now and February 10, I am supposed to think about how I might want my hair to be done on our wedding day.

So, let's begin. There are two basic criteria that must guide this discussion. First, for several reasons, I would like to have my hair off of my neck. So that requires either (a) an up-do; or (b) a short cut (unless you can think of another option?). For the last year, I have been growing my hair out in order to have a choice between those two options.

The second is that whatever I do, it needs to have quite a bit of volume. I have a wide, round face (have you ever tried on my sunglasses? They'd probably swallow your face), so having some kind of slicked-back or straight-down 'do just does not look flattering on me.

I have been looking to the internet for some inspiration before I start official hair trials.

This one would be a great choice because it has a nice amount of "pouf," there is no hair on the neck, and it is really pretty, don't you think?


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I like that it's basic, but it may be a little too basic... but on the other hand, that would help to make my earrings stand out.


This Carrie Underwood style is a really great option--it has the sexy side-swept bangs, a bit of volume on the top and sides, and the curls in the back give it a little more... something.



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I think this one is nearly the same as the one above, but it gives a better shot of the back. It also shows that it comes down a lot farther down the neck and towards the upper back... maybe too far (given criterion number one above).


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Now a couple of short styles... I really love this short, wavy bob look. It is pretty casual, but we are getting married outside, which I think is per se casual as far as weddings go.


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It's short enough (or at least it could be short enough) that it would not cover my neck, and I could add some volume up top, too. This one is similar, although it looks a little too beachy...


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I really really like this next style. I know it's really plain, but I like that about it. I like the deep side part and the bangs, and that the pony tail is long enough to drape nicely over the shoulder.


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However, my hair is not long enough--nor will it be, even seven months from now--to really achieve this look. I would have to consider getting extensions, which I guess would be an option, but I don't really like that idea.

What do you think? I am so torn, and I really need input on this one. Please help!

Chuppah

A chuppah is a canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings. It is essentially a cloth supported by four poles:


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During a wedding ceremony, the bride and groom stand together underneath a chuppah, which symbolizes the couple's home. The cloth overhead represents the presence of God over the covenant of marriage.

Although Steve and I are having a secular ceremony, we wanted to incorporate some Jewish traditions into our wedding. One, as you might have guessed by now, will be our chuppah.

We have not yet figured out exactly what it will look like, but here are a few that I like so far...

I like the simple, organic twist that the wood supports bring to this one.


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But I love the grandiose elegance of this one.


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And this one has been a long-time favorite of mine, as we initially wanted to marry on the beach somewhere warm and tropical, where this one would fit in perfectly.


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I kind of like the modern edge of this one, or something along these lines, although I think it has the highest potential of looking so 2010 as we celebrate our 10th, 25th, and 50th wedding anniversaries.


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They're all very different, and I can't decide which way we want to go. Which one is your favorite?

Who needs a drink?

I have been trying out a new cocktail recently. I am not sure what you would call it. Let me know if you have any ideas!

1 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 oz. gin

1 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Basil

Sparkling wine

Muddle your herb over ice in a cocktail shaker. Add the lemon juice, gin and St. Germain's and give it a good shake. Strain into a champagne flute, then top with sparkling wine (or soda if you want to cut it back a little bit). If you like drinks on the sweet side, add a little simple syrup. Enjoy!

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p.s. if you try this out, let me know what you thought!

Reception in a Tent

We are so excited to get married outside in Montana this August. Going to Montana during the summer is vacation time. It's warm (if not hot), dry (this is a good thing from a Seattleite's perspective), sunny and just laid-back and relaxing. Our wedding will be particularly special, since it will be right at home in the backyard.

With that comes a lot of good things... but there are also many added challenges. For example...

• Every. Single. Thing. Has to be rented/built/borrowed/etc. We are talking the basics, like tables and chairs and stuff like that--the obvious stuff. But then add plates, glasses, and silverware. And salt and pepper shakers and water carafes. And like 100 more items that would typically be provided by a traditional venue.
• You have to provide super basic facilities that you normally wouldn't have to think about, like electricity and lights, and whether there are enough bathrooms. And where does the bartender keep the ice? And where does the caterer wash the dishes and get water?
• You need to have a grassy area big enough to accommodate a HUGE tent. That's hard to come by. Sometimes you have to just grow more grass.
• The weather cannot be controlled. So, while I really want to put drape tulle from the perimeter of the tent down to the ground (think curtains), we might have to consider putting up sidewalls if it gets windy in order to keep all the candles from blowing out.
• It's expensive.
• It's literally a blank, white shell. There isn't any ambiance to work with. You have to add everything to it.

On the other hand...

• It's a blank, white shell. You can do whatever you want with a tent.
• You can start decorating as soon as it's assembled; you don't have to wait until 12:00 pm on the day of the wedding, or adhere to other venue-imposed restrictions.
• There is nothing better than being outdoor for an evening celebration, with twinkling lights, crisp night-time air and the beautiful outdoors as the background.
• You can put it wherever you want to. Well, wherever you want to where it will fit.
• Tents can be so gorgeous... check these out:

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My favorite style is like this one, a Sperry tent. It's made out of sail cloth.

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Is a tent worth all of the hassle? Or do you think hotels sound like a pretty good deal--with their in-house coordinator, catering, bar, dance floor, flatware, china, glassware, etc.?

Bridal Sketches

Has anyone seen lately some of the sketches that designers have drawn of wedding gowns they've designed for celebrity brides? They're so beautiful! If you are a celebrity bride, chances are pretty good that your designer will gift you a sketch of the gown he personally designed for you, like Fergie received from Dolce & Gabbana:


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And this one for Katie Holmes, by Giorgio Armani (sorry the picture is so small... couldn't find a better one):


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Or this one, by Angel Sanchez for Eva Longoria:


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Love, love, love.

But even if you don't have Giorgio or Angel working for you, you can still get a custom sketch of your dress--you can commission your own from Dreamlines, who creates the drawings based on a photograph of you in your actual dress. It costs around $100, and has a very quick turn-around--only about a week. And the artists that do them allegedly live in the South of France, which apparently makes them more valuable and chic, or something. They really are pretty fantastic. Check these two out:





Aren't these cool? I can't wait to get a sketch of my own!!!

It's Not Trash, It's Recyclable!

You have probably heard of the recent trend of "trashing the dress," when a bride wears her dress the day after the wedding during a photo shoot that revolves around completely ruining the dress. If you are not familiar, here are some examples...

Beach shots are common...


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As well as water.


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Fire is not too common, for the obvious reason.


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Although the photo above was probably photoshopped, it reminds me of a story a coworker told me. When his sister got married a few years ago, the reception was near a lake. When they made their grand exit, all the guests were given sparklers to form a sparkling "aisle" in the dark for the couple to walk through as they made their way down to the dock where a boat was waiting to take them to the lake-side resort where they spent the night. As they were waving goodbye and about to kick off, an overly-excited guest threw his sparkler toward the lake, but it landed on the bride! Her entire dress went up in flames and she had to jump into the lake to put out the fire. What a way to start your wedding night, right?


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This last one makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. No clothing should be treated this way, especially a wedding gown!

It shouldn't really concern me what other people do with their gowns. I know a lot of people keep theirs forever, and I think that's pretty cool. Some people sell theirs used to try to get some of the money back. That's great too. But I think that if you care so little about your wedding gown that you're willing to roll in the mud in it, why not donate it so that someone who's less fortunate can wear a beautiful gown on her wedding day? It's too bad. And anyway, who wants a bunch of photos of them jumping in and out of water, with mascara running and hair looking like a drowned rat. Sick.

Who knows why I even care... maybe it's the Charlotte in me that has a problem with being disrespectful of wedding gowns. Remember that episode of Sex and the City, when Anthony tells Charlotte to keep her legs together during the "chair thing" at their wedding, because "nobody wants to see the bride's beaver," and Charlotte told Anthony not to say that in front of her dress? I miss that show...

What do you think? Did you trash your dress? Would you trash your dress?