Paper "planets"

Paper "planets",
originally uploaded by cpup22.

I bought a bunch of paper lanterns online that I want to hang over the dance floor. Should be interesting since there isn't really anything to hang them to. We're hoping to be able to just get a ladder and tape them to the ceiling. I hope it works!

My mom got them in the mail yesterday and hung up one of each size so I could see what they look like. I think they're really cute. We thought they kinda looked like planets.

Do it yourself inkjet embossing

Just wanted to post again about my embossing experience. I mentioned below that I had figured out how to emboss using my ink jet printer, bought all the supplies, and was going to try it out. Well, I did it and absolutely loved it! So much fun! When I first tried it I used regular cardstock and it didn't work at all. The ink dried way too fast on the paper. I then pulled out some old photo paper my dad had given me ages ago (before college maybe). The paper was extremely glossy and worked perfectly. This picture is a zoom in of what it turned out like. I love it. All I did was throw on the embossing powder as it was coming out of the printer. then I shook off the excess and funneled it back into the container using another sheet of paper. I had the embossing heater turned on and then gave it a little once over to melt the powder. There were a few places were I got too close to the paper for too long with the heater and it had some yellow burnt looking marks. But overall I was very excited about the embossing. If I had to do my wedding invitations again (we decided to do them ourselves as a fun craft project), I wouldn't have paid to have the professional embossing. You can barely tell they are there and for $2.50 an invitation for embossing alone it wasn't worth it. But, I DO recommend the emboss yourself stuff, just remember it doesn't work well on cardstock... I LOVED the way my table names turned out.

Online Cardstock and Wedding Envelopes

Somehow I ran across this website: http://www.actionenvelope.com.
They have very good prices for cardstock with tons of colors and matching envelopes. I actually went through another company online to get the first round of what I thought would be my wedding color for green envelopes and they turned out to be a hideous lime green and were flimsy and in poor quality. I decided to return those and went with action envelope. I've been so happy with their customer service and quality. The cardstock is extra thick and beautiful. You can order samples of any of their colors for $1 but they give you a $1 coupon towards your next order. I highly recommend these guys.

We put the thick chocolate brown cardstock behind our wedding RSVP cards. I'm also going to put it behind the table names and some green behind the trivia cards.

Wedding Shoes

I ended up getting these shoes to wear from the wedding ceremony from David's bridal. Not the best reviews on their website but all sales are final. I got these awesome wedge flops from Victoria Secret to wear for the reception. I might just have to wear them for the ceremony too.

David's Bridal Ones:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/accessory_detail.jsp?stid=1430&prodgroup=167

Victoria Secret Shoes:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=8P-221153&page=1&cgname=OSSHUWDGZZZ&rfnbr=4786

Dry Erase Conversation Bubbles

The blog I mentioned below that talked about setting up a photo booth also had some cute pictures of dry erase boards shaped like conversation speech bubbles. My sister and I just found some dry erase magnet sheets online and I purchased some to cut out the conversation bubbles for our photobooth. I'll probably have Steve do the cutting since he's pretty good about perfect shapes.

I got the magnet from www.magnetking.com

Napkin pocket

here's the kind of napkin folding that I'm interested in doing. I need to find instructions on how to do it and then figure out how much space is available for the insert card.

Cake & Votive Candles

I've always really liked the look of this cake. It's made by a baker in Montana but after tasting some of her samples, we decided to go with another cake baker. I hope that the one we end up with looks exactly like this.

We purchased 72 votive candles from candles4less. My mom is going to send me a picture of what they look like in person. But of the 72 holders, 23 of them are cracked or broken. Not very good at all... I guess you get what you pay for. Hopefully they'll replace the broken ones and send them to us before the wedding.

Paper Lanterns

Every time I see a picture of someone's wedding with the round paper lanterns I absolutely love them. I like the randomly scattered ones more than the evenly hung ones. I'm not sure how to go about hanging them from the reception hall that I'm getting married in. But if I could find a way I'd be all about these balls.

http://www.asianideas.com/42incrla12pc.html

Heart Shaped Napkin Fold

I found a cool website that shows how to fold a napkin to look like a heart. I thought it'd be cute to do for the tables at a reception. I'm still looking for a napkin that has a pocket to put the trivia card in. The heart is pretty cool though!

http://bumblebeelinens.com/heartFold.php

Millers Professional Imaging - Flush mount books

One of my previous postings was to the Tuscany flush mounted books. I talked to another one of my friends who is a photographer and she suggested I go through Miller's. They have the same type of books but the prices are a little more reasonable. Here's the link to them as well:

http://www.millerslab.com/info/products/albums/albumsdef.aspx

Their books look just as nice. I liked the covers from Tuscany but it's hard to tell from Miller's site what they'll look like. I'll need to explore more later. I won't even need to worry about it until after the wedding.

I'm also now looking into getting a videographer. I heard a bunch of brides talking about how they loved their videos.

Centerpieces - Fish

I'm going to put a cube 8"x8" on each table with a fish and some rocks. I found a website that sells polished rocks but I feel like unpolished will be just as pretty. Here is the website I found: http://rocktumblingsupplies.com/polished_river_rocks_mixed_medium.html. My mom got the candles yesterday and said they're kinda cute.

Escort Cards

So I've been going back and forth trying to figure out something creative to do for the escort cards. I finally found exactly what I was looking for!

They are perfect! I'm going to string the fish with fish wire and hang them along a fishing rod. Along with the fish I'll string the guests name as well as the table they're assigned to. I'll probably put some scissors next to it for people to free their fishes. Might need to use some brown ribbon to tie the names to the fish. http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=68/26026&mode=Searching&erec=92&No=0&D=fish&Ntt=fish&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=Fish-Shaped+Freshwater+Shell+Charms
.

My sister thought of a cute idea to have little rubber duckies with people's names underneath them. Kinda like a bob for apples. I think that'll be harder for people to catch on to though and are a little pricier. We already have some cute take home ideas so just the little fish ornament will be perfect. Here's the link to some white rubber duckies that are pretty reasonable: http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=57/9225&mode=Searching&erec=0&D=rubber+duckie&Ntt=rubber+duckie&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=12+Design+Your+Own%21+Rubber+Duckies

Phalaenopsis White Orchid Centerpieces

So I've been really excited about the idea of having a potted orchid as centerpieces during the wedding. That way special people like my bridesmaids, winners of our trivia game, grandparents, etc. could take the flowers home with them. Also, orchids are just beautiful and I like the atmosphere that a live growing flower adds to any room. I found one online for around $50 each that had a white ceramic cube vase. I think I can do better. Our florist said they could do it for around $37. I found an online retailer that was around $20. There are a bunch of choices. Our local Trader Joes has perfect mini ones for $7 each. But I can't really take 30 orchid plants on a plane back with me.

Here are a few of the websites I found that sell orchids online:

• http://www.orchidsbyhausermann.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=PHAL
• http://www.fiftyflowers.com/product/Green-Cymbidium-Orchids_24.htm - 10 green cymbidium orchid stems for $229 - This site might also be a good place to look into ordering fresh flower pedals for the flower girl to throw.
• http://www.1888orchids.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=white&Search.x=0&Search.y=0
  
• This is the site where this orchid was $49 each: http://www.givingplants.com/store/product/190928/White+Phalaenopsis+Orchid+in+White+Ceramic+Cube.html
• Wholesale potted orchids: 20 plants for $300 http://www.alohaorchid.com/detail.aspx?ID=1165
  

Tuscany Flush Mount Wedding Albums

A lot of photographers include a wedding album in their prices. Mine is going to do a coffee table book. However, I kinda want something fancy like those new flush mounted books. I found this website that offers photographers discounts on them and they are beautiful with real high quality leather and beautiful prints. I'll probably end up doing something like this for myself as a keep sake after the wedding. Here's the link: http://www.tuscanyalbums.com/default.asp

Girls Weekend in Wine Country

GirlsWeekend.May.2008--022,
originally uploaded by cpup22.

Rather than a crazy bachelorette party I decided I wanted to do something a little more relaxing so I had a girls weekend in Wine Country. Being in San Francisco is was really easy to coordinate driving up to this amazing Villa that we stayed in. There ended up being 11 of us including my mom, aunt, cousin, sister, grandmother/family friend, and close friends. We had an absolute blast and spent most of our time sipping wine in the hot tub. The weekend also included a balloon ride over Sonoma Valley... unbelievable & unforgettable!! I highly recommend everyone do something like this before they tie the knott.

iDo Wedding Couple Edition

I strongly recommend that if you're getting married that you purchase this software from Elm. It's more than just an excel spreadsheet. They do a great job of breaking down your wedding planning. Enter in your guests names and keep track of the RSVPs and gifts you receive. They have a bunch of widgets to keep track of those todo things as well as where people are going to sit during the reception. You can import and export your contacts and manage your budget. I didn't get a wedding planner so this software was a lifesaver. My bridesmaid, Tiffany, recommended it to me.

http://www.elmsoftware.com/ido/index.htm

Spanx

When I was wedding dress shopping in Missoula Montana one of the shops had a bunch of these Spanx thingies on display. They looked really cool. I think I might have to get one so that I don't need to wear a bra for the wedding. They make those backless strapless bras but they seem like another corset and since my dress has a corset top this looks like it'll be more comfortable. http://www.spanx.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2990102&cp=2992553.3013396&view=all&parentPage=family

Just ordered!! We'll see how it works out!

Wedding Shoes

I don't want to be super tall during my wedding and I definitely don't want to be uncomfortable. I love wearing flip flops so I think some white ones would be perfect. Sara just found these ones online. They're kinda pricey at $80 before tax and shipping for flip flops but they're cute. http://www.shelleygeorge.com/product/view.php?product_id=017582&category_id=008495

Trivia

Steve and I are going to have a trivia card in front of everyone's place setting. It'll have questions about the two of us and other mixed in fun questions that will keep people entertained until we get done with taking our pictures. I'm going to need to get some golf pencils like these ones and place them next to everyone's spot.

Those ones were from Amazon.com for $3.65. I found some on the 4imprint.com site but you have to order at least 845 pencils which I'd have absolutely no use for. I'll keep looking but I should be able to find some cute ones.

Once the trivia is filled out I'll have the DJ read off the answers. The person who gets the most right will get some sort of little prize. Tiffany and Nate did a game like that and gave away a book. They also did trivia to determine which table was next at the buffet line. I can't decide yet if I want the Trivia cards to just be printed on stock paper or if I'll do something cute like put them on the back of a 4x6 picture. We're kinda over using our engagement photos which is getting a little annoying. So I'm leaning towards just the card stock.

Welcome Bags

Most of our guests will be staying at the same hotel in Bozeman. We wanted to do something fun for them upon arrival so we're going to do welcome bags! We already bought some cute white bags and are debating how to add a personal touch to them. We'll probably throw in some brochures about Montana.

I found this girl's site on Etsy where she creates cute little tags for bags.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11019234

They're about 50 cents each. Pretty cute!

Program

Rather than doing a program I'm going to do a terrible towel since Steve grew up a Steelers fan and we met in Pittsburgh in college. I found a site that is pretty reasonable and can do a custom design on the towels. We'll probably do our "reel love" logo with our names and Bozeman, MT. Hopefully the design isn't too thin.

Here's the site that does the towels: http://www.4imprint.com/Economy-Sport-Towel/EXEC/DETAIL/SEARCH/~SKU000116/~CA116.htm

I haven't ordered them yet. I want to get a better accurate number for those people that plan on coming to the wedding so I don't end up with 50+ extra towels that I'll have no use for. I read some websites about people who did the towel wave as a sendoff and it sounds awesome!
http://perfectmemoriesevents.blogspot.com/2008/01/pittsburgh-flair-terrible-towel.html

Specialty Drinks

I want to have two specialty drinks at the wedding besides the beer and wine we're going to be serving. Since our colors are brown and green I've been leaning towards a chocolate martini and a green apple martini. That way the ingredients would be really easy. I want to give them each a cute name that ties into our theme. So the chocolate one is going to be "Sealed with a Kiss" and the green apple one will be "River Romance".

Chocolate Martini - "Sealed with a Kiss"
2 oz chocolate liqueur such as Godiva or Crème de Cacao
1.5 oz vodka
Hershey's Kiss

Green Apple Martini - "River Romance"
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 oz green apple schnapps
little piece of green apple

I found some websites online that talked about making your own rimming sugar so I'll probably do that as well. Here are some cute pictures of how other brides displayed their specialty drinks. I like how they used chocolate syrup to give it that extra fun factor:

Table Names

Since our wedding is in Montana and most of our guests are from out of town I want to do a Montana theme throughout the reception. For the table names I want to tell guests a Montana Stage Fact and they'll need to find their table. For example: Grandma Richardson "Montana State Bird", then she'll have to go find the table marked Meadowlark. My mom was a little worried that people might not know for sure which table is theirs so I might put in a smaller font the answer. So something like this:



I'll probably go ahead and print the table names myself. I found a site that talked about how you can use an inkjet printer to give printed items an embossed effect. Here's the link:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/acHowto?lc=en&cc=us&extcat=scrapbooking&projid=c00846705&dlc so I'm going to give that a try one of these weekends to see how they turn out. I'll put a backing of chocolate brown card stock behind the table names to give it a more professional feel.

I just ordered an embossing heating tool and chocolate and green embossing powders from jo-ann fabrics. I found a coupon code for free shipping. The chocolate color is actually called walnut and it's hard to tell from the website whether the colors will work but it's worth a shot!

Flowers

I want my bridesmaid flowers to be tightly packed and all the same color. I think it's a trend these days but I love the way it looks when they're solid. The ladies at the floral place said they'd do a brown ribbon around the stems as well which will look really nice with their green dresses.

These are the brown orchids I like:



For my bridal bouquet I want a small cascade of white orchids and other white flowers throughout. Here's an example of what I'm kinda looking for:




But I don't want any other colors peaking through... solid white.

For the guys and anyone else who'll need flowers I like the green orchids:

Hanging Green Balls

I want to have hanging green balls everywhere during the wedding. Mostly along the aisle and from the ceiling around the dance floor. There are a million ideas out there for hanging balls but here are a few of my favorites:




I also like the idea of hanging thing white fabric from the ceiling like this:



Here's kinda what I was thinking for the aisle balls:

We have benches that will be around the area where Steve and I are going to get married. There is a cute little trout pond so we shouldn't need to many decorations. Something like this is simple and cute.

Another idea for the decorations instead of the fabric across the top is the idea of having the fabric around christmas lights like this:

Photobooth

I'm definitely going to do a photobooth for the wedding. I found a great blog online that talks about another guy who did this for a wedding: http://est1976.blogsome.com/2007/09/10/how-to-make-a-photo-booth-for-your-wedding/ .

My setup:

• A 20 inch Dell monitor that I'll plug into my laptop
• Nikon's Capture Pro Software. The software allows instant display and saving of photos captured on your Nikon camera. This is where the monitor comes in. After the photos are taken the monitor will instantly display the result to my guests.
• 16 foot shuttler release cable. I bought this shutter release cable from Amazon and it works amazing! Only $30
• My Nikon D80 & SB-800 Speedlight. I need to keep testing this out to make sure the flash still fires if it's been inactive for a while. I might need to do purchase a cord to keep it plugged in.
• I bought an AC cord to plug the camera directly into an outlet so it can stay on during the entire reception.
  

I also want to get a whiteboard cut into the shape of the conversation bubble and some white board markers for guests to leave funny comments.

Other fun additions:

• I bought a domain name www.iDeLuca.com which points to my flickr account. After the wedding I'm going to upload the photos there for guests to view and download.
• Flickr has the ability to include an email address that will let you send photos as attachments and automatically post to the site. So I'm going to print out business cards with the iDeLuca.com web address and the email address where they can send their photos from the wedding. Here's more info: http://www.flickr.com/account/uploadbyemail/
• I ordered a custom made guestbook from this lady in bozeman, Priscilla Foster. I'm really excited to see how it turns out. I'm hoping to put picture corners ones the pages and let people sign next to them. Then after the wedding I'll go through and pick my favorite pictures and put them next to the signatures. Here's the website for the guestbooks: http://www.priscillafoster.com/
  

Veil

My bridesmaid, Tiffany, suggested I use this website to find my veil: http://www.occanseydesigns.com/ It does a really good job of explaining all of the different options and letting you customize the veil to work perfectly for you. I just ordered the satin rope edge ivory veil. Hopefully it makes it in time for the wedding.

Hair

Sara and I were looking at some cute hair do's today and I really like this one. The left picture is what it looks like from the back and the one to the right is the side view of the same hair style. Hopefully I can find a hair dresser who can do something similar. Here is the link to where Sara found it at theKnott.com