Figuring out what our party is going to wear has been one of the more difficult decisions so far.
I think I went completely out of the order you're "supposed" to plan in and started looking for bridesmaid dresses first - at about the same time I started looking for the venue. I knew I wanted to pick the length & color of the dresses, and then let my bridesmaids pick from one of many styles. I decided on tea-length quickly, but the color was more elusive.
Originally, I was looking for a dark grayish-blue. Then, I found this dress:
It was the coppery color we were also thinking about - and really pretty. The only problem was that there was only one cut. I wasn't sure that all of my bridesmaids would like it.
It seemed really hard to find the color I wanted, though. I could see it in my head, but there weren't actually any dresses that color. I kept looking and came across the bridesmaid dresses at Ann Taylor. They have pictures on their website of weddings that used the dresses. I saw this picture:
and I was in love! The color wasn't perfect, but it was freakin' close. So, I browsed around the Ann Taylor site and I found these dresses:
Plus, they were all about $150 - which is a lot, but not too bad. And, while I don't pretend my bridesmaids dress up frequently, the dresses aren't so formal that they would have to be going to prom to wear them again.
I had the only bridesmaid who lives in Seattle, B, order one to see how it looked in person. It took a couple months for us to make it happen, so I didn't actually get to see the dress until July. Once I saw it, I was convinced & emailed the other bridesmaids to get it. It was a good thing we got it when we did, because when my stepmom called to order the dress for my little sister (who's my junior bridesmaid) - they told her they were discontinuing the dresses.
Luckily, all of my bridesmaids got one - and some of them got them on sale! That's one thing that's completely checked off my list. Yay!
Once we had the girls squared away, it was on to the guys...which was much more difficult. I'll post that story next. In the meantime, what do you think of the girls' outfits?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Logo Permutations
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write! In my last post, I talked about how we picked our logo & I said next time I'd talk about the permutations we went through. The trick was all of my pictures are at home & I kept wanting to blog on the train during our commute.
I finally found some time to sit down & blog, so here I am! :-)
As I said, we wanted to include our names and colors more. The trick was that we hadn't completely decided on our colors. We had a color palette (built at another site a blog pointed me to), but we weren't completely sold on it. Here it is:
We knew that our colors would have some combination of our favorite colors (blue & orange). We liked the slate on the far left, but weren't crazy about the orange. We couldn't find anything better, so armed with these colors, we started playing with our logo. Here are some of the things we tried:
In the end, we realized that the tree stood pretty well on its own & adding anything else cluttered it. What do you think?
I finally found some time to sit down & blog, so here I am! :-)
As I said, we wanted to include our names and colors more. The trick was that we hadn't completely decided on our colors. We had a color palette (built at another site a blog pointed me to), but we weren't completely sold on it. Here it is:
We knew that our colors would have some combination of our favorite colors (blue & orange). We liked the slate on the far left, but weren't crazy about the orange. We couldn't find anything better, so armed with these colors, we started playing with our logo. Here are some of the things we tried:
In the end, we realized that the tree stood pretty well on its own & adding anything else cluttered it. What do you think?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Loco for Logos
I've talked some about the decisions that we're making right now, and I thought it might be fun to go back over the decisions that we've made. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the bridesmaid dress post I promised earlier (I know you're all on pins & needles). I realized, though, that going in chronological order probably makes more sense.
After K proposed, I started reading wedding blogs. I'm not sure how I found my first one, but (as you can see to the right) I've built up a list of blogs I try to read on a daily basis. When I started reading, I knew that we'd need colors, but I started reading about "inspiration boards" and "monograms" and all of these other things that I had no idea existed.
One that really struck a cord with me was the idea of a logo. I liked the concept of having a graphic that would be consistent throughout the wedding, essentially a unifying theme we could use wherever we felt necessary.
One of the blogs led me to iStockPhoto.com a site that allows you to buy the rights to graphics and use them as you see fit. K & I searched through a lot of pictures and ended up buying three different ones to play with:
I really liked this one. The sailboat is great since K sails & we've spent so much time together on the boat. I also liked the idea of taking the waves and using them in different places as a graphical element on their own. I could envision these waves going across the bottom of our menus & programs, for example.
We thought one of these would be great too. It was a lot closer to the idea of a logo we could use different places. Plus, the combination of the heart and the tree really stuck with us. We liked the idea of building a family represented by the tree and the heart in the middle of it.
This is the graphic we ended up choosing as our logo (in case you didn't guess from the header). It has the symbolism of the tree and heart that I talked about earlier, plus you can also think about it as two families coming together where the shadow joins the main tree.
It turns out the tree has been really inspirational. Instead of thinking about how to "fit it in", I've found that things (like our Save the Dates) looked like they were missing something when the tree didn't take a prominent position. We spent a long time working on the header for our website (which I also used for this blog) and we finally found the right one once we started with the tree.
When we first bought the tree, we thought we'd be making some changes to it to incorporate our names & colors more. Next time, I'll show you what we played with before ending up with the header you see now.
After K proposed, I started reading wedding blogs. I'm not sure how I found my first one, but (as you can see to the right) I've built up a list of blogs I try to read on a daily basis. When I started reading, I knew that we'd need colors, but I started reading about "inspiration boards" and "monograms" and all of these other things that I had no idea existed.
One that really struck a cord with me was the idea of a logo. I liked the concept of having a graphic that would be consistent throughout the wedding, essentially a unifying theme we could use wherever we felt necessary.
One of the blogs led me to iStockPhoto.com a site that allows you to buy the rights to graphics and use them as you see fit. K & I searched through a lot of pictures and ended up buying three different ones to play with:
I really liked this one. The sailboat is great since K sails & we've spent so much time together on the boat. I also liked the idea of taking the waves and using them in different places as a graphical element on their own. I could envision these waves going across the bottom of our menus & programs, for example.
We thought one of these would be great too. It was a lot closer to the idea of a logo we could use different places. Plus, the combination of the heart and the tree really stuck with us. We liked the idea of building a family represented by the tree and the heart in the middle of it.
This is the graphic we ended up choosing as our logo (in case you didn't guess from the header). It has the symbolism of the tree and heart that I talked about earlier, plus you can also think about it as two families coming together where the shadow joins the main tree.
It turns out the tree has been really inspirational. Instead of thinking about how to "fit it in", I've found that things (like our Save the Dates) looked like they were missing something when the tree didn't take a prominent position. We spent a long time working on the header for our website (which I also used for this blog) and we finally found the right one once we started with the tree.
When we first bought the tree, we thought we'd be making some changes to it to incorporate our names & colors more. Next time, I'll show you what we played with before ending up with the header you see now.
Now Open: Our Own Little Corner of the Internets
I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but my bridal party gave me a hard time about the website in the comments for my last post. What the heck is that? I thought they were supposed to be supportive!
;-) Just teasing....
The reason they gave me such a hard time is that I've told them about the website & I've made them write blurbs for the website, but I haven't actually showed them the website. This is partially because there are a few things there that we were tying up, but mostly because we had to move our domain name over and it took about a week longer than we expected it to.
It's finally done, now, though! The URL is www.[my first name]and[K's first name].com Please go check it out!
I've decided that I'm not actually going to put the URL on this blog at all. I feel like this is a little more exposed than our website & so I'm not sure I want everyone who can read the blog going through our website. This is probably completely arbitrary & anyone who tries can figure out our URL. K looked at me like I was crazy when I told him all of this. That's the plan, though.
If anyone has trouble finding the website, feel free to leave a comment & I'll reply to you directly. :-)
Head on over there - happy browsing!
;-) Just teasing....
The reason they gave me such a hard time is that I've told them about the website & I've made them write blurbs for the website, but I haven't actually showed them the website. This is partially because there are a few things there that we were tying up, but mostly because we had to move our domain name over and it took about a week longer than we expected it to.
It's finally done, now, though! The URL is www.[my first name]and[K's first name].com Please go check it out!
I've decided that I'm not actually going to put the URL on this blog at all. I feel like this is a little more exposed than our website & so I'm not sure I want everyone who can read the blog going through our website. This is probably completely arbitrary & anyone who tries can figure out our URL. K looked at me like I was crazy when I told him all of this. That's the plan, though.
If anyone has trouble finding the website, feel free to leave a comment & I'll reply to you directly. :-)
Head on over there - happy browsing!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
It's a party!
I started to write about the bridesmaid dresses I chose today and then realized that if I didn't tell you about our wedding party, it would be rather confusing. So, I'm saving the dresses for another day (just wait - I have a *great* title for that one) and instead talking a bit about our party.
You can read more about each individual on our website in their blurbs, but I wanted to talk about one slightly unconventional decision K & I made.
We each have a very good friend of the opposite gender that we wanted to stand up for us. Typically, I see people switching friends or siblings around so that each side is all one gender. Instead, K & I each asked one friend of the opposite gender to stand up for us.
That means I don't have a group of bridesmaids; I have a bridal party. My bridesman, BM M, and I have known each other for years; I love that he'll be standing on my side for the wedding. K has a grooms' party with his groomswoman, GW C. They've also known each other forever and she was really touched when he asked her (she started crying, although that may have been from relief that he wasn't asking her to cater).
The situation has led to some interesting conversations - trying to picture BM M in the bridesmaid dresses, for example, has cracked us all up. He also didn't have much feedback on the links to wedding dresses that I sent out. I'm confident the bachelor & bachelorette parties won't be uncomfortable - neither one of us is really into the explicit stuff that can go with those parties.
Figuring out what they'll wear has been the most difficult. I want them to fit into the party on the side that they're on & not look like people switched places, so we're still working on it. Are there any other things we may have to handle differently?
You can read more about each individual on our website in their blurbs, but I wanted to talk about one slightly unconventional decision K & I made.
We each have a very good friend of the opposite gender that we wanted to stand up for us. Typically, I see people switching friends or siblings around so that each side is all one gender. Instead, K & I each asked one friend of the opposite gender to stand up for us.
That means I don't have a group of bridesmaids; I have a bridal party. My bridesman, BM M, and I have known each other for years; I love that he'll be standing on my side for the wedding. K has a grooms' party with his groomswoman, GW C. They've also known each other forever and she was really touched when he asked her (she started crying, although that may have been from relief that he wasn't asking her to cater).
The situation has led to some interesting conversations - trying to picture BM M in the bridesmaid dresses, for example, has cracked us all up. He also didn't have much feedback on the links to wedding dresses that I sent out. I'm confident the bachelor & bachelorette parties won't be uncomfortable - neither one of us is really into the explicit stuff that can go with those parties.
Figuring out what they'll wear has been the most difficult. I want them to fit into the party on the side that they're on & not look like people switched places, so we're still working on it. Are there any other things we may have to handle differently?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Warning: Blogging N00b
There are a few things I've been reminded of in the past 12 hours:
1. Waking up at 5:30 AM is much harder when it's raining outside
2. When you put a story out there on the internets, be sure that you fully tie the bow on the end of it
3. K & I have the most awesome, supportive, incredible friends & family in the world. Thank you!!!
We've gotten so much feedback on the blog & the posts already. I don't want this to become all about family drama, but this whole "creating a family" thing isn't easy and I want to recognize that and be true to it. In that spirit, I have a few clarifications I need to make...
K and I are still getting married. That was *never* a question. When we talked about moving out, it was to take a step back and get some perspective. We both know that change is not easy for kids, and they sometimes adapt much more slowly than adults. While dating a year & then getting married is perfectly normal for most couples, kids need more time to adjust than that and we've worked hard to give them their time. Neither one of us believes that forcing the kids will make our situation better or easier.
Having said all of that, we've decided that K & the kids moving out isn't the right next step. The kids clearly didn't want that, and we didn't really want it either. We have taken a step back and thought about how to manage our every day dealings with the kids. Right now, we're thinking carefully about the battles we choose to fight. K & A will be taking to the kids about this situation together (we're still working out whether or not I'll be there) to make sure the kids are giving both of them a consistent message.
This isn't something that's resolved; it's a work in progress. Our hope is that S will be ready to accept this by next March. In the meantime, though, planning is continuing and we're very, very happy to be together. Many couples never have to face anything truly difficult or hard before they get married, K and I have gone through this - and we know that we're stronger together. That's a great feeling to have.
1. Waking up at 5:30 AM is much harder when it's raining outside
2. When you put a story out there on the internets, be sure that you fully tie the bow on the end of it
3. K & I have the most awesome, supportive, incredible friends & family in the world. Thank you!!!
We've gotten so much feedback on the blog & the posts already. I don't want this to become all about family drama, but this whole "creating a family" thing isn't easy and I want to recognize that and be true to it. In that spirit, I have a few clarifications I need to make...
K and I are still getting married. That was *never* a question. When we talked about moving out, it was to take a step back and get some perspective. We both know that change is not easy for kids, and they sometimes adapt much more slowly than adults. While dating a year & then getting married is perfectly normal for most couples, kids need more time to adjust than that and we've worked hard to give them their time. Neither one of us believes that forcing the kids will make our situation better or easier.
Having said all of that, we've decided that K & the kids moving out isn't the right next step. The kids clearly didn't want that, and we didn't really want it either. We have taken a step back and thought about how to manage our every day dealings with the kids. Right now, we're thinking carefully about the battles we choose to fight. K & A will be taking to the kids about this situation together (we're still working out whether or not I'll be there) to make sure the kids are giving both of them a consistent message.
This isn't something that's resolved; it's a work in progress. Our hope is that S will be ready to accept this by next March. In the meantime, though, planning is continuing and we're very, very happy to be together. Many couples never have to face anything truly difficult or hard before they get married, K and I have gone through this - and we know that we're stronger together. That's a great feeling to have.
Monday, August 10, 2009
On Bouquets
For some reason, bouquets have been on my mind recently. We're not even looking at flowers yet, so I'm not sure why they keep popping up.
Here's the deal: I'm not sure that I want a bouquet. That probably seems really anti-bridal. The thing is, I don't really see the point. They seem like a pain - you carry it down the aisle, then hand it to the maid of honor - so she ends up double fisting bouquets. But then, she's also supposed to be helping me with my train. So, does that mean she hands both bouquets off? Does the next person in line end up holding 3 bouquets? That seems a bit much.
If I don't get a bouquet, that probably means I won't get bouquets for my bridesmaids either. I've read some posts that talk about having bouquets so that the bridesmaids have something to do with their hands. Then I started wondering if they should have purses or something that they could hold but wouldn't be as cumbersome and they could potentially reuse them. A purse seems odd, though, it may look like they're getting ready to leave! Plus, the groomsmen never have anything "to do" with their hands, they just stand there & they seem to survive.
So, if we don't have any bouquets at all, then do we need boutonnieres for the guys...or for the family? We found these cool boutonnieres here. I mean - WOW! How freakin' cool are they? I'm almost afraid to ask how much they are. If we do those for the guys, what do you do for the women?
Here's the deal: I'm not sure that I want a bouquet. That probably seems really anti-bridal. The thing is, I don't really see the point. They seem like a pain - you carry it down the aisle, then hand it to the maid of honor - so she ends up double fisting bouquets. But then, she's also supposed to be helping me with my train. So, does that mean she hands both bouquets off? Does the next person in line end up holding 3 bouquets? That seems a bit much.
If I don't get a bouquet, that probably means I won't get bouquets for my bridesmaids either. I've read some posts that talk about having bouquets so that the bridesmaids have something to do with their hands. Then I started wondering if they should have purses or something that they could hold but wouldn't be as cumbersome and they could potentially reuse them. A purse seems odd, though, it may look like they're getting ready to leave! Plus, the groomsmen never have anything "to do" with their hands, they just stand there & they seem to survive.
So, if we don't have any bouquets at all, then do we need boutonnieres for the guys...or for the family? We found these cool boutonnieres here. I mean - WOW! How freakin' cool are they? I'm almost afraid to ask how much they are. If we do those for the guys, what do you do for the women?
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Moving Forward
So, K & I talked a lot. We talked about what this meant, we talked about whether or not there was an issue. We talked about how to handle it & came to the conclusion that he needed to talk to the kids. And that if they didn't want us to get married, they had to move out until we could figure this all out.
It was hard; the idea of living without K was hard. But, if the kids aren't happy in the house (fundamentally unhappy, not the "I'm in trouble so I hate you" unhappy), then we owe it to them to get it fixed. Our relationship won't be successful if the kids aren't bought into this too.
Then, K talked to the kids. K asked the kids if they wanted us to get married & the girls said yes. S didn't say anything. K asked the kids if they wanted to move, the girls said no. S didn't say anything; K let it sit for awhile & saw the tears well up in S's eyes. When K asked again, S said he didn't want to leave. K asked him what needed to change for him to be happy & he said he didn't know. I don't want to force him into anything, nor do I want to bribe him; I want him to participate in our family, have fun and be happy. I worry that no matter what I do, he will decide to be miserable and there's nothing I can do to change that.
Based on the conversations, wedding plans are continuing and hopefully I can start writing what I originally wanted this blog to be about - wedding planning fun. In the meantime, I want K & A to talk to the kids together, and get one answer to some of the questions. And we're going to put a bigger focus on K doing things with his kids - individually & the four of them.
The question is, how do you handle a thirteen year old who isn't willing to give anything a try?
It was hard; the idea of living without K was hard. But, if the kids aren't happy in the house (fundamentally unhappy, not the "I'm in trouble so I hate you" unhappy), then we owe it to them to get it fixed. Our relationship won't be successful if the kids aren't bought into this too.
Then, K talked to the kids. K asked the kids if they wanted us to get married & the girls said yes. S didn't say anything. K asked the kids if they wanted to move, the girls said no. S didn't say anything; K let it sit for awhile & saw the tears well up in S's eyes. When K asked again, S said he didn't want to leave. K asked him what needed to change for him to be happy & he said he didn't know. I don't want to force him into anything, nor do I want to bribe him; I want him to participate in our family, have fun and be happy. I worry that no matter what I do, he will decide to be miserable and there's nothing I can do to change that.
Based on the conversations, wedding plans are continuing and hopefully I can start writing what I originally wanted this blog to be about - wedding planning fun. In the meantime, I want K & A to talk to the kids together, and get one answer to some of the questions. And we're going to put a bigger focus on K doing things with his kids - individually & the four of them.
The question is, how do you handle a thirteen year old who isn't willing to give anything a try?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)