Wedding Bands

This past Saturday Mr. B and I headed to the Gem Collection to pick out wedding bands.  We went in having a pretty good idea of what I would get, since they make a band with the same milgrain diamonds that are on the band of my engagement ring.  Here is a refresher of what my ring looks like:

The setting sits high enough up that I wasn't too worried about finding a band that would fit under it.

I decided to try on a few different options before looking at the milgrain but none looked quite right.  Then I put on the band that traditionally goes with my engagement ring and it was perfection.

It annoyed me when the bands would separate from each other, creating a gap between the rings.  The associate assisting us said they can solder them together so they do not move, which is what I plan on doing after the wedding.

Next up was Mr. B.  He wanted something simple and although we looked at a few options, this one stood out:

He liked the tiny bit of detail but he wanted it a tad thicker, which they could do.  He ordered it in white gold in 7 mm (the one above is 6 mm). 

Now all we have to do is wait for the store to tell us they are ready and we can start wearing them.  Oh wait, I guess we also need to do that whole "getting married" thing, too.  Then new rings! 

Was picking out wedding bands this easy for anyone else? 

Will Not Attend

I have mentioned previously my concern that my 93-year-old Grandmother will not be able to make the journey from Florida to Savannah for the wedding.  Well, the other day I came home to this:

Personal photo

She included a very sweet note but said her "age and feebleness" would not allow her to make the trip.  Although I've had this in the back of my mind, seeing it on paper made it too real.  I now need to think of a way to include something of hers in my ensemble, but I do not know how to coordinate that with her when she is difficult to speak with on the phone.  Maybe I can write her a letter and ask her to send me a piece of lace or a handkerchief.  I would love something to wrap around my bouquet if possible.

Gram isn't the only Bicycle family member who will be absent.  A few months ago my aunt mentioned to me that she and my uncle have had a very difficult year financially and that only my uncle (my father's brother) would be able to travel from Miami to Savannah.  She wrote this to me in an email and I didn't even respond because I thought for sure that wasn't going to be the case.  Well, once invitations went out I got another email from her reiterating that plan.  I do not want to be a financial burden on anyone so I told her I understood and that we could all celebrate together as a family at Thanksgiving and that my uncle did not have to come if it was really such a burden.  She quickly accepted and just like that, half of my family will not be at my wedding. 

It just seems almost pointless to be throwing this wedding when half of my tiny family won't even be there.  We are throwing a wedding (instead of getting married in a small ceremony or at the courthouse) so we can celebrate with our friends and family.  If a lot of my family isn't even there, what is the point?  I recently got a decline from a good friend and I think that's what threw me over the edge.  The whole thing just seems silly. 

Even given all of that, I am still excited to celebrate with those who are able to make the journey.  I just worry that on my wedding day I will be thinking about the people who aren't there instead of enjoying those who are. 

Have any other brides dealt with this?  Any advice for focusing on those who are present instead of those who aren't?

Bicycle Invitation Reveal Part Two

I already showed you my envelopes so now it is time for the good stuff - the invitation itself. 

The main invitation is adhered to a gold pocket and when you flip it over you see:

When you take the cards out of the pocket this is what you see:

 

I wrote in the number of invited people so no one would get confused and think we wanted them to bring their sort-of boyfriend or their long-lost cousin or their kids. 

I then used an invisible pen to write a number on the corner of each card in case someone forgot to put their name and I am sad to say I've already needed to use it. 

I worked with Amanda at Karmanos Printing and Graphics to turn my inspiration into reality.  I cannot say enough good things about working with her.  She never made me feel bad for being a typical bride and changing my mind or wanting things done a specific way.  Their prices were shockingly reasonable.   The process was so much easier than I planned and I am so grateful I chose them. 

The invitations came in a lot of pieces and I had to do quite a bit of work to get them together:

• adhere main invitation to front of pocket (using double-sided tape)
• put postcard stamp on RSVP card
• write in number of invited guests
• write mystery ink number on card and note that number on my guest list spreadsheet
• put three cards in the pocket

I did the majority of the work during a Saints preseason game while sipping champagne, which made it go by much faster.

So there you have it!  I love them and I have received a lot of compliments on them, which is always nice.  They set the tone for the wedding, which was my main goal. 

Did your invitations set the tone for your wedding? 

Bicycle Invitation Reveal Part One

Our invitations were dropped in the mail two weeks ago and the RSVPs have been trickling in so it is finally time for the big reveal!  This post will focus on the outside and the envelope liners and next up will be the good stuff on the inside.

As I mentioned in my invitation teaser, I decided to teach myself calligraphy using this book and these pens.  This ended up becoming more of a commitment than I thought it would be, but I think I am happy with my decision.  Guests  opened their mailboxes and were greeted with my hard work:

In order ensure my lines were straight I drew thick, dark lines on an index card and put it in the envelope as I was writing each address.  I was going to use our address stamp for the return address but that didn't feel cohesive so I decided to hand-write our return address, too.

This is the address of the Capitol.  Feel free to come visit! :)

I added a navy fleur de lis wax seal at the point of the envelope, which was the first of many FDLs our guests would see.

I pre-made the seals so I could make sure each was the quality I wanted.  I made them months ago and then used a drop of hot glue to adhere them when the invitations were ready to go.  I used this glue gun sealing wax and knocked them  all out one evening.

Future stepdaughter A even helped!

The rejects below are exactly why I wanted to pre-make them.  I did not want guests to look at a wonky fleur de lis and wonder what it was supposed to be.

I popped them into a baggie and they were just fine when I went back weeks later to use them.  Part of me was worried they would all stick together but luckily the A/C in our house works well and that didn't happen.

I used the typical 66 cent wedding cake stamp on them after confirming with the post office that would be sufficient.  Some noticed what they thought were vintage stamps in my preview and I am slightly embarrassed to admit what that was...  We sent 84 invitations, two of which were international and therefore needed different postage.  The wedding stamps come in sheets of 20, leaving me with the decision to have 18 extra so I could send invitations 81 and 82 with the same stamp as 1-80 or to not care and use two of the forever "Love" stamps I already had on-hand.  I chose the latter.  Of all the things I have to spend money on, 18 extra wedding cake stamps were not high on my list.

The final piece of the envelope was adhered to the inside - the envelope liners!  I don't know how or why I became someone who wanted envelope liners but I did and I am happy I did.  Instead of spending a lot of money on pre-made liners I decided to make them myself.  I looked everywhere local I could for craft or wrapping paper I liked but nothing worked.  I eventually found some paper online I liked but for the life of me I cannot find where I ordered it from.  This picture does not do it justice but the largest roll of wrapping paper I've ever seen showed up at my house:

I hope my friends really like this paper because all presents will be wrapped in it for the next seven years.

I made a stencil out of a Coke Zero box and then cut the wrapping paper using the stencil.

I adhered the liner to the envelope using double-sided tape.  I put the liner in the envelope, folded it over, and then adhered just the top/flap portion.

I am so happy with my finished product, even though I know most people will not appreciate it.

Whew!  So there we have it!  I never thought I would be someone who spent a lot of time on their invitations but I did and I'm glad I did.  Did anyone else make some crazy time-consuming decisions? 

All photos personal

Semi-Homemade Cake Topper

A while back I discussed cake toppers but I didn't really do much about it until a few weeks ago when I realized I needed to cross it off the list.  Mr. B and I decided to go with a simple gold fleur de lis, which was easier said than done.  I did not like anything I found on the internet but I was able to find a silver FDL that I really liked.  Of course I decided to buy it and paint it gold myself.

This is the topper I ordered from Wedding Favors Unlimited:

When it arrived I grabbed some gold paint from Hobby Lobby and got to work.

The first coat did not go as expected and I was worried I made a mistake thinking I could make this work.  The paint wasn't as opaque as I thought it would be and getting into all the little details was a lot more difficult than I expected.  After about 15 minutes, this is what I was left with:

Hmmm, not exactly what I had in mind.  I evened out the paint as much as I could and let it dry.  Since I was painting all sides I needed to figure out a way to let it dry without resting it on anything.  Two picture frames and some magazine pages worked perfectly.

I applied two more coats about a day apart (overkill for drying time, but that's how my schedule worked out) and in the end I was left with something I love!

 

You'll notice the gold paint does not go all the way down the section that goes into the cake.  This is mostly because I do not want to poison our guests with gold paint and keeping as much paint out of the cake as possible seemed like the best way to avoid that. 

Want to know the best part? 

Topper plus shipping and handling:  $11.60
Paint: $3.49
Grand Total:  $15.09

$15.09 for a cake topper?  Not too bad at all, especially considering some of the pet replicas I looked at would have set me back $150.  I guess I can use my savings to do something about a cake stand?

Did anyone else semi-DIY their cake topper?  

All photos personal

Hair Trial

Mr. B and I spent part of Labor Day weekend in Savannah finishing up some loose ends and checking items off our to-do list.  One major item that was checked off my list - hair trial!

I had the most difficult time deciding who would do my hair and makeup, since it was hard to really know who I wanted to use without first-hand knowledge.  This is definitely one of many destination bride problems but I think it will all work out in the end.  After scouring the internet I finally decided to book Joli A. for hair and makeup for myself and my bridal party.  Their reviews were great and I liked what I saw on their website and Facebook page.

We set up my hair trial for this past weekend but unfortunately could not do a makeup trial because the makeup artist was out of town for the long weekend.  Brittany showed up at my hotel room at 10 on Sunday morning and immediately got to work trying to make me look like my life inspiration, Kate Middleton.

Image via Grazia

She mentioned making the curls a bit more defined since they would fall throughout the day, which sounded good to me.  I did not get a picture of the front but it was basically parted to the side with a little bit of volume, exactly what I wanted.  This is the back:

Personal photo

I really like the way it turned out!  Brittany suggested getting some extensions to add thickness, which would help the twisty/crossover part look more like my inspiration.  They suggested getting real hair extensions so now I am on the hunt - any brand suggestions??

Happy with my trial, it was time to bid them farewell and meet Mr. B in the hotel lobby so we could go to church.  Not so fast!  Instead of un-doing my own hair, Brittany asked if I wanted her to change it up so Mr. B didn't see my wedding day look.  Two hairstyles for the price of one?  Yes, please!  This was what I had just a few minutes later:

Personal photo

Not only did I love the way the Joli A. girls did my hair, but they were also fun to hang out with!  I am excited for them to help my ladies and me get ready on my wedding day.  I am debating when to do my makeup trial since I will not be back in Savannah until the wedding week - the Thursday before the wedding so I have a few days to think about it?  Friday, so I have my makeup done for the rehearsal?  Do I really need a trial?

Did anyone else wait until the last minute to do a hair or makeup trial?  Any recommendations for hair extensions?  Any suggestions for how to make my wedding hair better?