Seventy

70 days

225 invited
94 attending
18 declined

Currently working on: favors (141/192 done)

RSVPs today:
-my great-grandparents, John and Florence, declined because of John's health
-my former Gap coworker, Jackie
-Matt's college friends and roommates, Kate and Kim

Matt and I went to pick up my mom's dress this morning. They still hadn't gotten the skirt in, but at least we got the top which will need more alterations anyway. We also went to Walmart and grabbed some Skittles and Hershey Kisses for the favors. I finished quite a few of them today!

I went to Michael's in search of something to replace the silver glitter rocks in some of the centerpieces since they float. I found river rocks and I'm going to try spray paiting them silver. (Hopefully the paint won't wash off in the water.) I also bought more ribbon for the favors as well as a basket for the fans. Last, I bought a scrapbook for the RSVPs which I've started to glue in.

I ordered the fans for the ceremony favors today! I got 180 total: 14 sets of 12 from Oriental Trading in orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink and a set 12 in red from ebay. The ones from Oriental Trading only cost me $35 with the gift card, reward certificate, and free shipping code! I also had a reward certificate for ebay, so I only paid $4 for the red fans! When they come in, I'll start stamping on the actual fan!

And I finally remembered to go to Staples and pick up the hard copies of the Purple Issue! Only took me a week.

Double Digits!

99 days

207 invited
28 attending
6 declined

RSVPs today:
-Joel DeFelice, Matt's college friend
-Peggy & Alex, friends from Gap back home (declined because Peggy's brother's wedding is the same weekend)
-Brendan, my cousin (declined)
-Matt's parents
-John & Ann Madden

Jess is here for the weekend and we are going to my hair trial tomorrow morning with Shannon! I can't wait to see how it's going to look! I'm definitely bringing my camera!

Jess and I went to Michael's tonight and got the all the rest of the glass for the centerpieces except for the square vases. I came home and ordered them on Save on Crafts instead since they were drastically cheaper! I'm also ordering the black gems and then I'll be done!

I got the Vistaprint order and finished the menus tonight! They look great thanks to help from Jess! I'm so excited to have another DIY project done!

I also got the LAST brooch for Cristina's bouquet! I was going to finish her bouquet tonight until I realized that I needed to get more silver wiring. So...I'll be finishing it tomorrow.

I got the baskets for the programs today! They're a little small, so I've decided to not tie the fans and bubbles onto them. Instead, I'm going to get a big basket for the bubbles to leave outside and probably lay the fans in the pews, depending on if that's okay.

Center Spotlight

104 days

202 invited
0 attending
0 declined

Matt and I bought some supplies for the centerpieces today! We went in to Michael's to look for baskets for the programs (which we didn't find) and picked up some of the glasses and fillers. I got three of the cylinder bowls (that's all they had) and two of the low bowls as well as the black sand for the globe vases. When we got home, I bought some of the other things from Save on Crafts: all 5 of the globe vases, the silver diamonds, and silver glitter rocks. I ordered white rose floating candles for the centerpiece on our sweetheart table from ebay. And last I bought the white gems from a different site online that are for the sweetheart table as well. Of course, I'm still looking for two baskets for the programs!

low bowls (2)

cylinder vases (3)

black sand

white rose floating candles (3)

globe vases (5)

silver diamonds

silver glitter rocks (12)

Chapel of Love

139 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (62/130 done)

Today Matt and I met with the wedding consultant for the chapel and went over the ceremony basics. We decided on a couple things such as sitting for the ceremony (versus kneeling), who's walking down the aisle and in what order, as well as other small details. We went through a bunch of old programs that Pat had and took a few as inspiration. We finished the programs on Vistaprint once we got home and I'm ordering them right now! Here are what they'll look like:

After we met with Pat, we went to the Priory and met with Father Al, our officiant. We talked for a little while, got his address, gave him the readings we decided on, and talked about our Pre-Cana in February. (Matt registered us for a two-day one on the 10th and 11th. Hopefully it'll be better having it split like that.)

We stopped at Michael's to get more Glue Dots for the pocketfolds as well as more bags for the welcome bags. I also found some really cute ribbon for the invitations since I knew I wouldn't have enough for those as well as the programs. It's white with light blue writing that says "Eat, Drink, & Be Married".

And now Matt and I are off to bed!

Alter This

148 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (62/130 done)
                                   bouquet pearls (6/8 done)

Tonight, Matt and I went to Alfred Angelo to pick up Cristina's dress! I love it! The piping on the top looks so great! I also scheduled my appointment for alterations. However, when I came home and looked up what pricing might be (thinking around $200) I saw that their stores ran up bills as high as $500! I am NOT paying that much money (half of what my dress costs) to have it hemmed and taken in. So I've looked around on the internets for a local shop and emailed them about coming in for an estimate with them. I'm going to call tomorrow and cancel my alteration appointment saying that I'll reschedule, but I won't. I don't want to make it awkward, though, since I have to pick up some of the other girls' dresses. Speaking of which, I also told them about the cost so they can go somewhere near them or to the same place as me.

Cristina's dress

I also stopped at Michael's and got some more stickers to decorate the guestbook, as well as going to Walmart to grab some more silver wiring. I'm DETERMINED to finish the pearls for the bouquets tomorrow. And then, it's just ordering the rest of the brooches!

Meet the Maids & Moms

153 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (51/130 done)
                                    frames (0/10 done)

I was surfing through wedding boards on Pinterest and found a really cute idea for the bridal shower: frames with pictures and short bios of the bridal party for people to find out who they are and why you chose them. I loved the idea, so I'm going to do it but also add mine and Matt's moms! I bought ten unfinished wood frames from Michael's that I'm going to paint in each girls' color (of course). I'll write their names on them as well, but I think I'll leave the decorating as a fun activity at the bridal party brunch! I'm going to write the bios and put a small picture of them in each frame, but behind that, I'm going to put a picture of that person and I (Matt's mom will get a picture of her and Matt). They'll get to keep the frames and can display the picture later on!

I also bought more black paper for the invitations as well as honeymoon stickers for my scrapbook. We went to Walmart to get a new cartridge for our printer and I printed out the silver labels for the inside part of the invitations!

I also got a dress for the rehearsal dinner! I have been eyeing this dress from American Eagle for a month or two and it was on sale plus an additional 40% off so I bought it! Then I decided that I would use it for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner! Here's a picture:

I finished the fifth newsletter today, but I'm not going to publish it here until February 1st!

Off to go craft!

Orange Ya Glad?

156 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (39/130 done)

I got my wedding shower shoes in today! They are AWESOME! I'm still on the fence about what dress I want to get, though. The Baklava dress (the original one I wanted) is out of stock in my size (they only have 1 small left) and I'm not sure if they'll even get more. The Bubble Poppies dress (the flowered one I also love) is on sale and in two of my favorite colors (orange and pink!). Both dresses go with the shoes, but I'm still not sure. I guess I'll wait until I have the money and see which is in stock.

I also bought white Avery labels for the escort cards from Walmart as well as more black paper for the invitaiton pocketfolds. I'm on a roll with them and they're amazing! Sadly, I still can't bring myself to work on the bouquets. Oh well.

Planning Potpourri

165 days

This morning Matt sent out the package with my dress from ModCloth that I was going to use for the after party. I'll be getting a store credit that I can put towards the dress that I want for my shower. However, i ordered my shoes for the after party from the same site! I love, love, LOVE them and can't wait until they get here!

Matt finally got an email back from Joseph A. Bank about scheduling an appointment to look at tuxes. We are going to do it on January 14 after our consultation with the musicians from the chapel. It should be rather quick and painless since Matt basically knows what he wants (and their company has a build a tux program on their site that we used).

Matt and I ran some errands after we went to dinner tonight. We got some supplies at Michael's; more paper for the pocketfolds, Glue Dots, and the photo corners for the table menus. Then we went to Staples and they were...CLOSED. At 5 after eight, they were already closed so I have to go after work tomorrow to pick up the hard copy of my newsletter.

I also got a call earlier today from Alfred Angelo asking if I was coming to my 1 o'clock appointment this afternoon. I told the lady that I had an appointment for this Saturday; one for my bridesmaids to get measured and order their dresses and then one right after for my alterations. She said that the woman that does alterations isn't in except on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She was getting really rude about the whole ordeal even though I did absolutely nothing wrong. Long story short, I told her I'd reschedule and mine (no problem) and to knock off the attitude.

Shopping Spree

166 days

I ordered more of our stationery from Vistaprint today! I got the rest of the RSVP for the invitations (80 more for a total of 140) as well as the I Spy cards for the tables at the reception plus and twenty more thank yous for the shower and wedding. (We'll still have to get more, but they allowed me to use the Groupon I bought.)

I also bought another Groupon for Vistaprint: $17 for $70 worth of products that we can use for the menu inserts and table menus!

Lastly, I bought the silver mailing labels for the invitations! Since I started working on them, I thought I should have as many of the supplies as possible. (That means I need to hit up Michael's for more black paper for the pocketfolds.)

Jackpot!

197 days

First of all, I received four packages in the mail today, two of which were at least somewhat wedding related. The first was from Vistaprint, who must be filling a million and one orders for them to have taken this long. It contained (for the wedding) some fo the RSVP cards, the photoshare cards, the cards for our guestbook, stickers for the invitations, as well as our Christmas cards. The other wedding related package was from Lia Sophia. Most of the jewelry ordered at my party came in (there's a holiday lag so some is on backorder) including the earrings I bought for the wedding!! They are even more gorgeous in person (compared to the catalog) and I absolutely love them! (The other two packages were more Lia Sophia jewelry and the books I ordered from Barnes & Noble; the sequel to The Giver and the first Hunger Games book!)

Second, Matt and I went to Michael's to get new ribbon for my bouquet. I got this beautiful white ribbon with silver glitter designs on it. (I just realized I'm not sure how the rainbow ribbon will look with it, but we'll see.) I also bought another scrapbook for the stationery from the wedding since it won't all fit in with the pictures in the other scrapbook as well as more silver wire for the bouquets (which will hopefully allow me to finish them).

Third, I also received two more brooches in the mail! I got another orange one for Jess's bouquet and a green one for Shannon's.

I'm going to try to finish my bouquet tonight, but will probably post pictures tomorrow!

A Day Well Spent

Matt and I went to North Attleboro (where I got my wedding dress) to run a couple errands today!

We started with Michael's where I bought some scrapbook stickers and a pin cushion. I only spent like $4 with a coupon which is definitely the least amount I have ever dropped there.

Then we went to Christmas Tree Shops and picked up a few things with the friends and family 20% coupon I had. None of it was wedding related, but we did get a storage ottoman for less than $10.

I have also decided to put instructions for some of my DIY projects here, starting with the one below. To find more (once I've posted them) click on the "how-to" label link under all of the groomsmen pictures on the left. (They'll have a simple title unlike my normal posts to make it easy to find what you're looking for.)

We went to Walmart next and got more silver wiring (finally) for the bouquets and a couple other things.

We had a late lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and it was delicious! I love pork fried rice and it is addicting! Even after I was full I kept eating it!

We came back and stopped at our local Walmart (I had pictures that I needed to pick up) and we've spent the rest of the day at home.

I have been working on DIY projects all day including our menus, invitations, and (after I finish this post) bouquets. I had a picture of Matt and I printed for the inside of the menus that I added in since it looked a little bare. I FINALLY made a good template for the invitation pocketfolds that I'm DIYing and made a mock-up. (I'm going to get a paper cutter so that the edges are all even and straight since it's hard to do with scissors and cutting each individually.) I also finished three totes: mine, Shannon's, and Matt's mom's. All in all, it was a fu and productive day!

Shakespeare's Boston

Matt and I went to the Boston Opera House today to see Boston Ballet's performance of Romeo & Juliet. It was absolutely gorgeous! The dancers did a phenomenal job and the sets and costumes were gorgeous (and borrowed from the Ballet of Canada)! I am so happy that I bought the tickets and grateful that Matt humors me by coming along. (To be fair, I have a whole season of PC basketball to watch with him.) And now, we are off to a PC hockey game against Alabama Hunstville. We certainly are classy people.

On a wedding related note, I got six of the brooches that I ordered from ebay in today! They are beautiful and will go really well in my bouquet. Tomorrow, Matt and I are going to (a different) Michael's to raid their supply of silver wiring for the bouquets, as well as Walmart and Christmas Tree Shops!! (I have a 20% off coupon that I'm dying to use!)

Bagged Lunch

I went shopping today for DIY projects and bought the black paper for the menus and some of the paper for the invitations at Michael's. Also for the menus, I bought some silver braided ribbon to go around the binding. I got some needles and thread, too, because the fabric I ordered came in!

I ordered a 1/2 yard of chiffon in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, and black for the flowers that will be attached to the tote bags. The colors are gorgeous and I'm definitely going to start working on them tomorrow night!

I also ordered our photobook from Snapfish tonight that we'll be using for the guestbook!

Some Successes, Some Failures

Today Matt and I went to a couple stores for (mostly) wedding-related items. First stop was Michael's for some more silver wire for the bouquets of which they had none. We were also looking for a retractable utility knife and they only had a huge box cutter. We left empty-handed (a MAJOR feat for me). We went to Staples for the table numbers to find that they weren't even on their cue anywhere (I got home to discover the order had been cancelled) and they didn't have the knife either. So we went to Walmart (never fail) and I found the perfect knife and a ton of wire. So now I am going to start cutting the holes for the card box and wiring the remaining pearls and beads for my bouquet! Pictures of the finished projects to follow!

Being Da Vinci

I went to Michael's (again) today and bought supplies for the Mr. and Mrs. signs for the reception. I also got small wooden plaques that I'm going to use for the girls' hangers. (I decided that it would be too much to by the wire for them all, so I'm only getting it for myself and I using the nameplates for the girls.) Here are the Mr. and Mrs. signs so far (I need to outline the letters since they blend in from far away, drill holes, and string the ribbon):

And here are the nameplates (they're finished except for drilling holes and feeding through the ribbon as well):

I also contacted the seller on Etsy about ordering the wire for my hanger. When I go home next weekend, I'll have my dad help me drill the holes in everything and then I'll put on the ribbons and they'll be done! One more thing to add to my completed list!

Addicted

I may need to start going to DIY or Vistaprint rehab: totally addicted! I've made a ridiculous amount of stuff on Vistaprint; tote bags for all my girls, stationery gifts for my VIP ladies and moms, and so much more. I'm also excited because TWO of my orders shipped yesterday! They contained the rest of our invitations and reception cards, accomodation cards, my tote bag, escort cards, labels for the vases for the bouquets, and envelope seals.
And I'm also on a DIY spree since I seem to come up with new ideas every day! Yesterday Matt and I decided that we like the idea of Mr. and Mrs. signs, so I'm gonig to start making them today! I need to grab the signs and some glitter from Michael's but I have the rest of the supplies here. I'm excited to see how they come out!
Our card boxes were shipped yesterday as well, so I may have to get some wrapping paper so I can work on those when they come in!
And, last but not least, I am also in love with Etsy! I've decided to get some personalized wine glasses and beer mugs for our wedding party! The beer mugs are for second part of their gift, so we're getting my brother a sports water bottle that is customized as well, plus a ceramic piggy bank for Cole that's personalized. But they have so many things that I love! One of my favorites, that I've wanted for a while, is an established sign with our name on it. The one I found has "Live, Laugh, Love" on it, too! I'll probably buy it after the wedding as a gift to ourselves as a newly married couple.

Fumigated

I finished spray painting the frames for the table numbers! YAY! The apartment can finally air out completely! They look really good and all I need now are the numbers reprinted. (I had them printed but didn't think about margin space so parts of the quotes are getting cut off.) I'm buying glitter scrapbooking tape from Michael's for the favors and I think I may use it on the base of the frames as well since I can't get a ribbon to look good. I'll be sure to post pictures once I'm finished!

Hang In There

I went to Michael's today and bought some more letter stickers as well as glitter paint and ribbon for my hanger. I came home and finished the hangers, with the exception of the wire names that I'll be ordering. (I'd like to make them myself, but I really don't think they'd come out very good. I'd rather have someone do them that knows what they're doing.)
Here are pictures of the hangers with what each wire will say:

"Mrs. Denver"

the back of mine

"Juliana"

"Jessica"

"Cristina"

"Shannon"

"Nicole"

"Hannah"

"Olivia"

my mom

Matt's mom

I also painted the inside of the guestbook card boxes black which made them look really great. And I'm currently spray painting more frames for the table numbers which means the apartment smells awful.

Home Depot: We Have a Problem

I went to Walmart on my lunch break today and found five packs of wood hangers for under $5. I was really excited except that they are finished. So after work I went to Michael's to get paint for them (as well as more ribbon, silver wire, stickers, and embellishments) and forgot to get sand paper. (I'm not sure they carry it, but I forgot to go to Home Depot or Walmart.) I was super excited to start the hangers and then realized that I wouldn't be able to paint them without sanding them first. Thank God tomorrow is Saturday and I can run to Home Depot as soon as I get up!
I also messaged the etsy seller that had the wire names and she said she drops the price piece to $5 for bridal parties. It's still $3 shipping per item, so $8 total, but I think I might get them for all the girls (but not our moms). It would be $64 total which I wouldn't really mind spending. With that in mind, I found silver glitter stickers that I will use to spell out their roles. I bought white glitter ones for my hanger as well as pearl and rhinestone embellishments.
Here are the acrylic paints that I bought for the hangers, though:

 Holiday Red

Light Orange (from painting wine glasses a year ago)

 Yellow

 Hunter Green

Bright Blue

Plum

Pink Blast (also from wine glasses)

Hang On

I've been looking on Etsy for personalized hangers for my bridal party and myself. There are many options, but they are individually $8 and up which would mean at least $64. I love the ones with the bent wire, but I also saw one that was simply a painted wooden hanger with a name and design on it. I like this idea and it's something I could do myself! I found a 10 pack of wooden hangers online that will cost less than $20 with shipping. I can buy paint at Michael's and either get stencils or attempt to paint their names freehand. (Probably going with the stencils because who knows what it will look like otherwise.) I think I may buy one of the wire parts of the hanger with "Mrs.Denver" for my hanger to make it stand out since they're only $6.50. Plus, doing the painting myself, I can write on both sides of the hanger, perhaps the girls' names and their role as well as adding the date of the wedding. Maybe some fake flowers, rhinestones, and other embellishments, too. And with the 10 pack, I'll be able to do one for mine & Matt's moms! I'm so excited about these!

On another, completely unrelated note I made a "picture" of the wedding party and Matt and I.

I used familystickers.com to make the characters and tried to find bodies that corresponded with each person!