Love Like Crazy: Prep Day Thursday

Quick Disclosure: Sorry for the tardiness of this post... I cannot find my pics from the prep days! I'm really hoping they did not get deleted... so for now... here is the post using some other pics. I might go back and edit it if I find them :) I think they are on my broken laptop. Thanks!


We arrived up north on Wednesday evening. Kelley and I rode together in mom's car, packed completely full of stuff. Tony and Jax rode in the saturn, also packed completely full. This is even after I had brought up a carload of stuff the weekend before, as well as miscelaneous items throughout the previous weeks. I guess that's what happens when you DIY the majority of your decor and snackies!

On Thursday, we prepped. We decorated. We stressed a little and sweat a lot. Some items we crossed off the to-do list that day included:

* Setting up & decorating the entryway and gift table.

* Positioning the cake table and hanging our great catch net with our engagement pics.

* Hanging our fauxto-booth backdrop, positioning the camera stand, and setting out the props. Here is one of the photo booth pics from the wedding night using a lot of the props! Gotta love the groomsmen ;)

* Using the assembly line technique to produce our favor bags - little baggies of trailmix! See the pink arrow. We set them out at all 150 table settings, including a little tag with a cute poem. If I can't find our prep day pics, I'll at least post the tag template.

* Make and hang photo memories & words of advice down the hallway. {No pic found yet!}

We ended the day chilling by the campfire and playing some yard games. It was a lot of hard work but totally worth it! Thank you so much to everyone who helped us with the prep work, it is very much appreciated!

Love Like Crazy Recap:
* We saw a teaser with some of my favorite pics.

Sample Invite Suite

Last night I put together a quick mock up of an invitation suite using the supplies I had on hand. Ideally, it would be best to use a thicker cardstock, real twine, and an actual envelope instead of a cut out. But this gives you an idea. I love designing cards, flyers, programs, etc! The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can do and how you can present it. Enjoy!

What Have I Been Up To?

Crafting/Designing! :0) Working on some invitation ideas for my friend Alaina's wedding...

Last Minute Crafts & Bach Parties

One week to go... not expecting to see a post again until Sept? You were wrong! I'm still going!

I can be a big procrastinator sometimes but I am also a big perfectionist... a combination that can be quite time-consuming sometimes :)

Fortunately, Tony has helped me calm down a bit over the years and I think I have become much more productive and a little more forgiving over the years. Wednesday night we put together our music selections for the ceremony and start of reception. Thursday night we started the assembly on the programs and last night I finished them up! Here a few pics:

Jumbo Popsicle Sticks, Double-sided Tape, Cardstock, and Printed Program Inserts:

Variety of Color to Keep It Interesting:

Equals A Fun-Sized Fan to Keep Cool with Important Ceremony Info!

I also indulged in some pre-wedding/pre-bachelorette party pampering today! Got some waxing done and my nails done. I decided to be a little more fun and do my fingernails a bright pink because I usually just leave them clear. Not sure if I'm a huge fan but they will be gone in a week anyway.

And the theme for tomorrow's night party = pink, black, & white! Ashley has got me really excited!!! Hope I can behave ;)

See you all in a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting Crafty

So in the last week, a few things have been put in the works. All DIY, all DAY! lol

Ash, Kel, and Jen came over Friday night to work on all things paper. This included: favor tags, programs, thank you cards, water bottle labels, and welcome flyers.

Since we are only 12 days from the big event, and work is crazy busy, this post is short and sweet! Enjoy the pics :)

Centerpieces

So... we were planning on having round tables... but now found out that we will actually need long tables. I was going to do a fun arrangement using these flowers, water, river rocks, candles, and these cylinders:

... but now I'm worried they are going to be too big & tall. And too many to rent to make an impact, which could get expensive.

Back to the drawing board I guess! Any suggestions would be wonderful :)

Hillbilly Bone

Ever heard of the country song "Hillbilly Bone"? Well my hubby-to-be definitely has that bone! Check out this thing Tony put together for our surround sound speaker:

Yup, you saw it right... gauze, twine, and dangling from our curtain rods. I'm glad he is so handy & savvy ;)

P.S. If you see speaker mounts/stands on sale anywhere, please let me know.

RSVPs

Have you RSVPed yet? Current stats... waiting for 143 responses! Please respond by August 1st - it's important for a variety of vendor stuff. Thanks guys!

Programs & Announcements

This weekend I am going to try to start making our wedding programs. They are going to be sooo cute! Think fan, brief content, games, ribbons & pencils. Ooo... curious? I'll be sure to post some pics as I work on them.

I also was thinking about wedding announcements. Should we do them? Not do them? Here is an article about it on theknot. Your ideas and suggestions would be super helpful! Thanks :)

Enjoy this beautiful FRIDAY!!!!

A Week of To-Do Lists

Originally Tony and I had been planning on sneaking away to the cabin for a couple days this week since we had some days off together. Throw in a kind of spur of the moment move to St. Paul, a lot of wedding catching up (invites), and my parents moving out of their house... yeah, the cabin probably wasn't the best plan.

Needless to say, we are staying home this week! We just made the decision this weekend and we already have both days almost booked with packing, running wedding errands, and trying to help Mom and Gerry move. Some of the main items to get done include:

• Getting Our Marriage License!
• Picking out shirts and ties for the guys.
• Picking out a place to take my dress for my first alterations.
• Finalizing the guest list and mailing out invitations.
• Having a SERIOUS talk with our caterer (still do not have a price per head or answers about bar service).
• Shop for wedding bands :)

On a side note... I decided to print the addresses on our invitations instead of handwrite them. I know it is not proper etiquette, but it works better with our boring cheap envelopes to have a nice wraparound label to dress them up a little. Since we are not using inner envelopes, the printed label will also make it easier to read. I figure we have already broken a lot of etiquette "rules," might as well keep doing OUR thing!

Yay! Found It!

I finally found my camera!!! It was in with my crafty stuff! So when I pulled out my project for today (thank you cards) there it was next to my adhesive gluey thinger. Also note the Sex and the City DVD - Season Five. Abby borrowed all the seasons to me years ago (literally) and I am finally getting around to catching up with the fad.



And my favorite little pal Jax (also known as Skeletor) kept me company.

Love,

Jus