Save The Date, Portrait Love

To start right off the bat with a side note, I made some notes to remind myself of the items I wanted to share with my whole three readers, I abbreviated save the date.  Yup, STD's.  Hoping to send them out to all our family and friends by mid September.  Be sure to check the mail for yours! That's a keeper.

In getting on with the actual reason for tonight's post...

I've started the process of save the dates.  At this point we've decided against an engagement 'photo' via the BakerBettyPops and for an amazing little portrait by an Etsy.com artist by the name of Nan Lawson.  I was introduced to her through an email newsletter I get weekly (the Daily Candy Weddings).  Not really sure what I signed up for that got me on board for that one but for the sole reason of learning about Nan, I'm thrilled for that particular piece of junk email.  After browsing the gallery on the said 'newsletter's' site then perusing more at her Etsy shop I was in love.  Her offbeat characters are depicted in earthy type tones in a simplistic style that gives them all a soothing and serene energy.  Maybe it's that their eyes are all closed.  This simple act of closing ones eyes gives a feeling of safety and composure.  Composure is exactly it, though whether it has anything to do with the eyes is for a more seasoned critic to decide.  Whatever it is, these fun and unique works of art are a perfect fit for our off the beaten path wedding style. 

I emailed her and within a few hours was put on the waiting list!  I absolutely believed that she would get a load of business from the awesome publicity of that e-newsletter which I totally support the rise of a young artist.  Because of that assumption, I went ahead with my better judgment (it happens) and contacted her a good 5 months before I plan to send them out.  But perfection takes time and her part is only a portion of the big Save The Date 'picture'.  You underestimate me if you think I plan to just take a lovely piece of art and shove it in an envelope just like that.  More on that later.  

As we are now on the waiting list, I have been working to compile our ideas for the details.  What we'll be wearing and other personal characteristics that separate us from the pack.  I hope to get the few pictures she requested and the other info to her in the next couple days and in eight 'short' weeks, which is where I fall on "the list" we'll be looking at the proof for our very first family portrait!  Can you tell I'm excited?!  Well I am.  So please check out her sites and for those of you wondering what to get me for my half-birthday, the above piece "Eleanor of The Sea" is one of my favorites so far.  I'm so smitten with this woman's art I'm thinking of having her do another portrait as an actual wedding portrait once the day finally rolls around.  Listen to me!  Yikes!  Ok, let's get past the engagement portrait first, maybe even the wedding.  

Check her out at her Etsy.com shop, her Blog or at the Daily Candy.

Top: "Hipster Kiss" Pen and Ink illustration by Nan Lawson
Bottom: "Eleanor of the Sea" Pen and Ink illustration by Nan Lawson

Custom Bling

         So I realize that I haven't even share the details of my ring (other than briefly a few posts ago).  I'm sorry for those of you who get to read this twice, but taking this straight from my wedding bee post.  Though couldn't load photos so will definitely add them here for viewing! 

         Ok, so it's not really bling as it's not you're typical walnut size sparkle fest blood diamond.  But it's my type of bling and I love it.  Had no idea the bakerbettyboyfriend was in the market for a ring so was completely surprised to get one let alone one custom designed just for me.  The oval sapphire was from an old ring of his mom's.  Sapphire is one of my favorite stones and with more than one to chose from, he knew me well when that's the choice me made.  It's also my mom's birthstone which makes it all the more symbolic.  He had it set in white gold as I have now and again expressed my distaste for traditional gold.  The setting is also pretty much as low as possible without boring into my finger since I'm not very gentle with my hands and by proxy the items that live there.  I in the kitchen most of my day and being a klutz and banging my hands the rest of it.  On each side of the setting are ivy like engravings.  I'm a pretty nature oriented person so again, another perfect fit.  On the inside of the band is another engraving with a word that has been passed back and forth throughout our relationship in various forms.  An engraved stone, a piece of scrap paper, a card and other small trinkets as reminders of our love for each other.  It was passed back to me on February 11, 2010 on the inside of this one of a kind engagement ring.  I love it and don't care what anyone says about it being too "discrete", "simple" or "non-traditional".  The rest of the wedding won't be sticking too much to tradition either so get used to it!  It fits me perfectly (though it didn't at first, literaly.  Had to redneck re-size it for a few days before we could make it to the jeweler).  Thanks for checking it out and HORRAY!!

The Big Ol' Planning...well...Plan

         I can't seem to keep the counter clean for an hour but give me a wedding to plan and all of sudden I'm Miss. Priss about being tidy.  I've got all my books and magazines in alphabetical order and all necessary information gets neatly tucked away into my handy dandy planning binder.  This all applies only directly to wedding related items that is.  I can't say the same impulse for organization has affected the duration between my laundry leaving the drier and making it safely to their appropriate drawer nor any other aspect of my scattered, pigsty (as my mother lovingly refers to it) of a lifestyle.  I've accepted that my home life skills are below average and the decision to clean is and probably always will be because of a PLANNED guest arrival.  My only hope is to keep the diligence of orderliness plowing forward throughout the entirety of my planning process.  I vaguely recognize this excitement of starting fresh and the promise of efficiency from my school days.  The novelty that accompanied the first month (maybe two) of school, be it grade school or college, was always very refreshing.  I felt I could reorganize and be set for success.  Of course, it always wore off once the homework started to pile up and all enthusiasm for order was lost along with whatever lunchbox leftovers that managed to sneak under the bed....

          I really shouldn't compare planning a most fantastic personalized day like my WEDDING with eighth grade social studies, so in a last ditch effort to prove to myself that I am capable of being effectively organized, I have decided to start with a well designed strategy.  There is a another reason for this compulsion to gather my thoughts.  I have, to this point, been given quite a bit of helpful hints, tips and ideas regarding the details of the event and though all with great intention and our best interest in mind, not always quite fitting with our (mostly mine) vision.  I would, rather than politely taking the suggestions with little intention of perusing them, give our closest helpers something to work off of so they understand what we're going for.  So I, like any good business person (which I by no means claim to be), intend to write up a Wedding Plan.  A blueprint covering all aspects from people, to places, decor to cuff links.  A recipe of all the ingredients we've cooked up and decided on.  I've already begun scribbling and have my word document all set up and ready to go.  As soon as I have the general layout on paper I can type away and with a click clack can get all that has been floating around our heads into one place and ship it off to the anxious helper bees.  

          I do anticipate this project taking a while as I have a habit of only thinking of things at the most inopportune moments and then when I sit to write all those loose thoughts down, they're nowhere to be found.  So this is my first big wedding project (besides finding a template for this blog, phew, that was a late night...).  A project that doesn't require a hot glue gun unfortunately but I'll get to that someday soon. 
Project #1: Write Wedding Outline.  
It's on!  

Ready To Get My Thrift On

After years of being the "girlfriend" (and perfectly happy in that role) I've made the mental transition from 'one day' to 'August 21, 2011' when thinking and discussing the details of our wedding.  This transition has not only required me to make some big, no longer hypothetical decisions, but to slap myself back into reality when the eco-friendly, localvore bride started to hurdle herself miles and miles off the budget course.  

       I think every bride should be alotted a grace period between the day the big question is popped and the day of gloom when she realizes she has a tiny fraction of what she'd actually like to spend.  This period allows for those, as I've said before, hypothetical day dreams of 'someday' to actually take on a 'this is the real deal' feel.  It's exciting and the possibilities are endless. Everything has the very exciting potential to become reality.  Then BAM! The day comes when it's no longer practical to put the budget planning off.  If it's not already evident, that day has come for me.  It was an instant downer.  I had all these high hopes and was so optomistic in my delierium, that $7,000 was a reasonable budget for what we wanted and for what we could afford.  Let's do a little math.  

 7000 = Proposed budget
 0 = What we have to work with 501 days out
 105 = Save weekly to have 7000 by July 2011

 

 Doesn't seem all that bad right?  Have I mentioned I'm working for a start-up company (a great one at that) where pay and hours are all but consistent?  Yah, so that throws a wrench in my savings plan.  That wrench though, has given me lots of food for thought.  How much of my wedding day dreams are the result of the consumer driven, corporate America that has been ingrained in my psyche from birth?  Do I really want matching table linens or is that what Martha Stewart tells me I want.  Being on a seasonal, part-time, on-call, off-season budget has lead me to do a little soul searching.  (It's been good for me I swear, everyone should experience planning a wedding with a negative budget).  I don't need matching linens by the way.  

       Antique stores are my friends.  Spending an extra hour researching where or who to get wholesale lumber from for our many DIY projects is worth the hundreds we could save or maybe even use for something we'd really like to splurge on.  (Like this totally awesome tent company who hand makes all their unique tents....just a thought).  And most of all this moola dilemma is really forcing me to think outside the box.  I've always known that I wanted our wedding to be unique and a sense of our styles and personalities.  To give our guests a time they won't forget in a fun and exciting way that is truly ours.  That said, I've gotten stuck on certain aspects that I know could be made more creatively ours.  Because I can't simply order up $80 shoes, maybe we could go barefoot.  Renting an Inn for two nights for our entire wedding party not in the cards? Then it's time to think of any alternative.  I'm over my woes and ready to put my thrifty thinking hat on.  Move over Martha I've got a wedding to plan (and make) and I'm going to haggle like nobodies business. 

1.That Tent company I was raving about? Sperry Tent Company

2.1912 Calculator photo found at http://members.shaw.ca/the.trainman/remember-when/calculator-1912.jpg
3.Lantern Photo: While stunning, out of reach for a couple like us living in a high living cost state like Vermont and with our income, forget it.  I doubt that guy is the brides cousin who graciously offered to miss the ceremony to dress like a French waiter.  This is just a prime example of what one sees when turning the pages of bridal magazines in this country.  Bad news for morale, those fairy tale photos are.
This photo was found at http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/good-things/dinner-at-dusk
 

We're Not Lost, I know Exactly Where We Are......

Ok, so I am lost.  I've thought of stopping and asking for directions but with so many gas stations and pit stops along the way, it's overwhelming who's advice to trust.  To get literal here, with more wedding books, websites and magazines to shake a stick at, how does one decide which to fork the $20 over for in hopes that it will answer all questions from beginning to the end?  The real problem?  Even if I had the moola to swipe every how-to guide that line the shelves of bookstores far and wide, I wouldn't find just one that would give me the step by step that I'm looking for.  What I'm finding out, is that every wedding, like every person is different and where one may describe the time line I'm looking for, it may not be specific to my budget on how to get there.  Whether or not that makes sense to anyone other than myself, the bottom line is that I'm going to have to create my own wedding road map and it may have to be sketched and re-sketched before I get it right.  I started a blog on planning a wedding, yes, but never claimed to know what I was doing...