Packing and Planning

We looked crazy last night because we mapped out the 20' x 30' tent in our parking lot with screw drivers. Seriously. Our neighbors saw me twirling around the parking lot saying things like "The gazebo is here", "The dance floor is here", "I want lights going here" and "This is a really big tent". I'll probably be sending my Christmas cards from a mental institute.

It all started when Bryan and I were figuring out how to work the music at the wedding. See, we aren't using a D.J. and we will be using my computer with iTunes as our music source. The problem we were running into was how to use a microphone. Also, Adam has been very kind and offered to bring down his speakers from his gym but we wanted to also bring the surround sound from the house just in case something happens which meant we needed to learn how to use everything while we were still here. So this is what we needed, we are plugging my computer into the aux. line of my surround sound so the music plays through the speakers. But we also needed to use a microphone which the surround sound doesn't have a plug for so we needed a way to plug a microphone into my computer and have it come out the external speakers.

*tap tap* Are you there? Stay with me.

I got to looking around the interwebz and found a program for Macs called LineIn. I was a little skeptical because the program is made by a company called Rogue Amoeba..... um.... that just sounds virus-y. I then found reviews on Cnet so I figured it had to be legit. I downloaded the software, told Bryan of my findings and he brought home a spare USB microphone from the office. We plugged it in, got the music going and voila! We had sound coming out the speakers.

After we did this, Bryan ran over to the printer and got a sheet of paper out to do a rough sketch up of the reception area because we needed to figure out where everything was going to go. That is when I said "I need to get a feel for how big the tent will be so I can figure out how to organize everything and where to put the tables". That is when we ended up outside with screw drivers and tape measurers. Now that I'm typing this, I am thinking that we should do it again and use sidewalk chalk so we can draw out the tables and stuff......... then again, that would get me further up at the mental facility, wouldn't it? Scratch that.

So here I am, sitting in a partially packed apartment watching reruns of 16 and Pregnant. Yes, I love that show. I'm supposed to be finishing up with the packing but I'm having a hard time staying focused because I found a website with live webcams from the Sandpiper at the beach. I've actually found this website to be very helpful. It gives you ideas on where to go, what to do, places to eat and even gives a calendar of what all is going on in the area. There are a few kids movies that will be playing while we are down there that some people may be interested in. Go check it out when you get a chance. I'm sure you'll find something to do.

The guest chairs are almost completely finished. All that is left is the little braces under the arm rests but we came up with a new idea for those so they're the last part. Oh, yeah, I said guest chairs because we aren't going to have a guest book. Instead Bryan built two adirondack chairs and the guests will be signing those with paint pens. They look amazing and he did a wonderful job.

This weekend is a girls weekend at the apartment because Bryan will be gone for his bachelor party. Kayla and Jessica will be joining me to help out with the programs and pomanders. I'll be showing pictures of those later on so you can see how they look.

24 days.... can you believe it?

The One Month ABCs

Adirondack chairs have been started and will be completed this weekend.

Bridesmaids gifts have been started and will be completed soon.

Cornhole boards will be at the wedding so fun will be had by all.

Dad has his outfit picked out but is still requesting "Don't Stop Crying" by WetWilly as the father-daughter dance..... not sure about that.

Everyone will have a good time. No exceptions.

Fans will be provided at the wedding ceremony so that may help with the hotness of the evening.

Groomsmen gifts have been bought and we're super excited about them. "Them" being the groomsmen and the gifts.

Hurricane season is underway and the wedding is on the beach. I think you can put those pieces together.

I went for a trial run with wedding hair styles yesterday. I'm super excited about what Christy will do!!!

Joe's ceremony readings are beautiful and I'm pretty sure I'll cry the entire time... which will make him cry.... and mom.... and Bry. This is going to be a mess.

Kayla and Amanda's dresses are finished and look wonderful! Kayla's is in the mail and I can't wait to see her in it!

Las Vegas is going to be hot.... period.

Mom seems to be getting excited about the wedding too. She has ordered some really cool Styrofoam cups that have our names on them.

New beginnings are always exciting.

One month until the big day. I'm ready but not ready.

Pictures are now posted to our shutterfly account. I think you can make an account with our album and add pictures that you have taken at the wedding.

Quiet time will be needed shortly before the wedding to make sure Kayla makes it down the aisle without screaming.

Reminder to self: don't lock your knees and remember to breathe.

Song requests on the RSVPs are getting interesting. Spice Girls has been requested.

Temperature for Panama City Beach, Florida at 9 am on June 15, 2011, 85 but it feels like 96. I'm sorry to all of our guests.

Under no circumstances will it rain on the wedding day.... I don't care what Mother Nature says.

Vows still need to be written. That is kind of important.

We are very thankful to everyone who is coming to the wedding and to those who have helped put everything together.

Xylophones will not be at the wedding. What else was I supposed to put for X?

Yodeling will not occur but Daniel will be providing us with his musical talent.

Zebras also won't be making an appearance at our wedding.

Homemade Invitations

So it has been a while since I've sent the invites and I promised I would show how we made them. Like I've said before, I wanted to be a DIY bride and boy did I chew off too much with this project. But, our invitations came out beautifully and I couldn't be happier with them.

Every part of the invitation was created in Photoshop. Have I told you that Photoshop is my new favorite software? I felt like it was much easier to use than Word for a project like this.

First, I began by creating a design that had the wording and look that I was going for. I found an

image of a stamp online and put it in the image so that I had an idea of where my real stamp would go. I also added a red stripe for where the ribbon would be placed.

After Bryan and I had decided we like this look, it was time to take away the stamp and stripe and print them out. I printed them two to a page and made them slightly smaller than a 5"x 7" postcard.

Next I worked on the RSVP cards. *Fun Fact* Did you know that RSVP stands for répondez s'il vous plaît? Which means "please respond" in french. *Fun Fact* I took 3 french classes in high school. Ok, done with that. When we started planning the wedding, I fell in love with www.weddingbee.com. Mainly because it has a DIY section and is where I'm getting most of the ideas for the wedding. I got the idea of the song request there and thought it was super cute to have people suggest different songs they would like to hear at a wedding. Here is a picture of the RSVP card

Pretty!!! I'm getting excited all over again but Bryan will make that face. Do I need to show the picture again? I think not.

I was so happy with the way these turned out but it is only a small slip of paper so what could really go wrong with it?

After we were finished with these, I began to rack my brain wondering how the invitations were going to come together. I had thrown out the idea of even attempting an envelope that had pockets in it. I didn't want to dabble in that mess so I consulted my fellow DIYers on weddingbee. Of course they had great ideas that they used for their own invitations. This is where I came up with the box tie. I thought it would be perfect to hold all of the pieces together and not allow them to wiggle too much. I messed around with how it would look in the end and something didn't look right. That's when I decided to add a little square piece of paper to the front to help hold the ribbon together as it wrapped around everything.

The original idea was W + B and the website below that. I quickly printed those out because I wanted to put together a sample before we went to my parents house that weekend.

This is what it looked like

I was so happy with these and thought they looked beautiful so I sent a picture to Bryan who was in Washington, D.C. at the time on business. Why do I ask him stuff? He said it looked like "a bad advertisement". ....... Well, that hurt. But then I came up with a new idea which was a quote from a Corey Smith song that we both really love.

I took the sample home to my mom and she loved them too. My grandmother was coming into town that weekend so it would be the perfect time to put them all together.

The stamp is probably my number one favorite part of the invitations. I also found this idea on weddingbee. The stamp is embossed on the invitation and ends up adding a glossy look as well as a raised texture.

Here is that process.

Bryan was in charge of stamping so he had to make a template first.

Then he would put the stamp on the invitation. The trick to embossing is that you have to use pigmented ink instead of dye ink. The dye dries too fast and you wouldn't be able to use the powder. I forgot the powder step in the pictures but you pour a colored powder ( or clear if you're using colored ink) over the top of the ink.

VERY CAREFULLY brush the excess powder off of the paper and this is what you're left with.

Then you're ready to emboss those puppies. This is no trick of the camera. You can actually see where the powder goes from dry to melted when you move the heat gun across the paper. Even looking at them now makes me happy.

We did the same on the RSVP cards except the stamp was turned in a different direction. We also rounded the corners of all the paper with a nifty little rounding tool from Hobby Lobby. It worked out so easily and made a pretty corner on the paper.

Here is one last look at the finished product.

Many thanks to my mom, grandmother and Bryan.