What I've been up to...

So I promised you all that I had been accomplishing wedding tasks - and I have. A lot of them were administrative in nature: send a check to this vendor, call that vendor, find 120 place settings, you get the idea. But here are 2 things that I have been doing to show you; they highlight the fun and crafty side of DIY, and the way less glamorous, grunt work style.

Project #1 is something I have been working on for the bridesmaids. Since I anticipate roping them in to do a lot of my dirty work with me, I figure I might as well bride them first with some cool gifts they can use the day before the wedding at our welcome lunch/canoe trip (Amy - you might want to stop reading if you like surprises).

I found these bags a while ago and picked them up in 4 different colors: one for each girl. They are pretty cute, no? They are kind of like a burlap meets raffia style - very beachy.

December 7th

Do you know what tomorrow is? You know, aside from December 7th and Pearl harbor Remembrance Day? It's my kissiversary. Tomorrow will mark the date of my first kiss with the Mister, ELEVEN years ago. It's also the date I would have gotten married to him if the whole Labor Day thing wasn't going to work (see #10 on the list of Things That Go Wrong).

So I thought it would be fun to give you an idea of what that winter wedding might have looked like. First things first, it would still be very casual in feel. Winter doesn't always mean formal, sometimes it means exceedingly cozy, near cabin-like. So naturally, I would have found a barn or cabin or something like that for the location.

I don't know of any around here off the top of my head, but you guys know how relentless I am. The decorations would reflect that cozy winter vibe as well.

But, I'd also like to get some plaid in there somehow. A sweet grey-ish plaid napkin would look great tied in a green velvet ribbon.

Of course the invitations would reflect that cozy, natural winter vibe as well.

Given the time of year, wooden ornaments would make great favors!

As for attire...

Either of those options would be truly beautiful, though the first probably does a better job of being casual and would match this more rustic bouquet.

Here is where I get a little unique... winter weddings always see bridesmaids in long satin dresses. Useless, absolutely useless. Whereas a cute little cashmere dress can be worn again (at least in theory).

And while we are being unique, we should probably have a Hot Chocolate Toddy Bar.

But, let's face it. The coolest thing about my wedding plans were that they incorporated other activities that lasted an entire weekend. Did someone say wedding sledding?

Or perhaps rehearsal dinner skiing?

My main point is, it would have been fun and beautiful. And perhaps we could have avoided the whole "Irene" thing...

Probably would have been a Nor'easter instead.

Happy Kissiversary Dan.

The Wedding of all Weddings

My poor, dear, inpatient little readers (mostly just Mom and Grandma)... did I not say that there would be three posts? Did you not raise me to take the good with the bad?

Did you honestly think I was going to miss an opportunity to talk about my wedding and all the things that we worked so hard on?

Shame on you.

Today, I am going to talk about my wedding day, and about some details that I worked on or thought about in all the months leading up to the wedding. This is not going to be a list of all the work that was done, rather the product of that work. 

First things first, it did not rain. Despite the heat and humidity, it was a beautiful day complete with a cloudless blue sky. This was paramount, because as I discussed yesterday, there would not have really been a good spot for the ceremony if it were raining. I think we did well, given this site was Plan B:

I love that we will walk by this tree as long as we go to the fair. 

Back to details: I made my necklace and earrings with beads I took from a rosary that belonged to my Great Grandmother. That was my something old and something new. I also made necklaces and earrings for my bridesmaids.

I put together my flower comb after a long (rather unsuccessful) attempt to make a headband. The material is silk shantung, the same as my dress. The beaded addition was a gift from the best damn vendor of the entire wedding: April Rose, the place I bought my dress. I wore the flower piece when I went to pick up my dress, and she loved it, but added the beads siting her "love of sparkle" and "admiration of DIY".

Tie for best damn vendor also goes to my photographer, Maureen Leary. All of the pictures here today are hers, and she was amazing. I mean seriously..... she's a creative genius.

All of the stationary, including the wedding invitations, tags for drinking vessels, programs, etc. I made.

The tags read "Hi, my name is (guest name), and tonight I will be drinking _________. If lost, please return to (table name)." This was especially clever because our tables were named after local points of interest like the ski mountain Shawnee Peak, or the Saco River.

In addition to many hand-made items, we also had some great pieces from "weddings of yore" including my Grandmother's shoes and tiara, my mother's hat and my mother-in-law's dress... worn comfortably on my mannequin, who goes by the name of "Irene" har, har, har.

During the frenzy of days leading up to the wedding, my Mom and I spent nearly $200 on plants at Lowe's and wrapped them in burlap to soften the scene. We also bought about ten yards of blue ticking to cover some of the unsightly spots in our Plan B location. Another of the last minute projects was the incorporation of nearly 3 dozen birch tree limbs, to make it feel like we were outside. 

But as you can see from the photo above, this was not a single-person effort. My cousin Paul and his wife Betsy helped me fold the blue stars, my Grandma hand-painted the table signs...

Dan and I built the cake stand together that held all of our cupcakes...

Not to mention the countless friends and family members that helped us set everything up, and stuff the midnight snack packs for our guests to take on their way out, which featured my parent's infamous pepper relish, made with peppers from their garden. My Mom and Dad also worked together on the "Directions" sign, that imitates a favorite family (and also famous) Maine sign.

But by and large, I can admit that there wasn't a single project made for this wedding that didn't have my mother's touch. She helped me collect all of the mis-matched blue and white china, and then she helped wash them, made fabric folders to store the dishes in on their trek to Maine. She also ran around to Connecticut Job Lots, buying up the grill towels that we used as napkins. Not to mention the fact that she sewed all of the runners, which were then ironed by my Nana.

She helped me sew the welcome bags that were present in each and every hotel room, which included these little pine scented sachets. Never mind all of the grocery shopping she did the day before the wedding for the weenie roast, and the blueberries that filled our little table stands.

Oh yes, there was all of the behind the scenes work too: building a road, driving back and forth to Maine, painting this and that, planting flowers for my Nana, tying a million little ribbons on different things, and perhaps most importantly, trying to calm me down when things started to hit the fan. Laughing when I yelled at my Dad on the way to the ceremony. Literally a million and one things, all done by or with her. 

But lest we get start making that list, let's focus again on the gorgeous details:

like the centerpieces

the delicious local fare

the beautiful, full bouquets

the unique thistle and rose boutineers

the perfect color scheme that thankfully worked with the decor that was already in the hall (American flag bunting)

the shoes.... oh, the beautiful red shoes.

the little things, like the first Christmas present Dan ever bought me being worked into my flowers

my Mom's garter, with the addition of a horseshoe for luck.

And just when you think that the little tiny details a bride can complete obsess over are the most important thing....

I urge you to remember that nearly all of the people in the above photos are a product of four weddings. Four simple weddings way back before save-the-dates existed.

So if there is anything to take away from this post combined with yesterday's it is this: things will go wrong. It could be a few small things, it could be a list of 30 things, and it could be more than 30 insignificant things. So when you are planning your wedding, and the littlest thing sends you into a stressful, angry tizzy... just know that come wedding day, he is yours and you are his. Your smiles will reflect the love and excitement, not how many different rehearsal dinner venues canceled.

The Things that go Wrong...

Today is my second first anniversary.... if that confuses you, take a look at the list below, specifically # 10. A year ago, Dan and I got married in Maine. Today, we experienced a snafu that would rival many sitcom-esque problems. Specifically those related to anniversaries and fantasy football drafts.

But problems, snafus, and other challenges are nothing new for me. So today, on our anniversary, I am going to dwell on everything that went wrong, starting at the very beginning.

1.  In 2007, I decided I wanted to get married in my Grandparent's fields in Maine. In 2008, they started renting those fields out to a farmer who grows corn.
2. I knew about the ring ahead of time.
3. Knowing about the ring ahead of time turned me into a psychopath, which also caused me to find out about my Christmas present ahead of time.

When we did get engaged on Christmas Eve, 2009 - things went well for a while. My Grandparents agreed to letting us host the wedding in their field, the farmer agreed to plant rye (grass) instead of corn, I successfully said "no" to a $4,000 dress that I was in love with, and picked a much more budget friendly option. But things started to go downhill from there.

4. Dan's Grandfather passed away.
5. On the day my bridesmaids got their dresses, we found out that my future mother-in-law had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
6. The hotel where all of Dan's family planned on staying... slash place that was hosting the rehearsal dinner closed/sold. They gave us 3 months notice.
7. After booking another place for the rehearsal dinner, it too closed without warning. We did not receive any notification. Luckily, my grandparents saw an article in the newspaper and called me immediately with the bad news.
8. The new hotel that the in-laws booked went up for sale... reservations would be honored, but they couldn't promise breakfast... at a bed and breakfast.
9. The hotel that Dan and all of our friends were staying at also went up for sale.
10. In the midst of everything, Diana's treatment had not gone as quickly as planned. By June it looked like she would have to miss our wedding. I received so many calls from her sisters (in tears mind you) that I stopped answering the phone. We tried to convince Diana to let us move the wedding back, but she refused.  Finally, we decided to have a wedding in Connecticut (Catholic style) just in case Diana really couldn't come to the wedding we had planned in Maine.
11. Said Catholic wedding required an enormous amount of time and energy on my part... largely hanging out with the 80 year old priest taking lessons on how to be a good Catholic wife.
12. When the Catholic Wedding came and went, it was a disaster... let's just say some new in-laws started distinguishing between "real" and "fake" weddings based on their own overzealous religious views. I was never more upset as the entire week following our first wedding.
13. My Mom called the hotel that my family was staying at for the wedding about 3 weeks before hand to confirm everything... they gave away two of our rooms the night of the wedding (and this place only had 4 rooms to begin with)
14. The rental company decided to deliver on Wednesday, instead of Thursday like I requested.
15. Hurricane Irene.

Here is the road that leads down to the field we were going to be married in. Why yes, it is completely flooded out.

The field is about third of a mile from here... 

This is probably how the field looked, but since the road down to it was washed out, there are no real pictures of how it looked after the hurricane.

This is the Saco River after it rose 16+ feet. Why 16+? Well, 16 feet was the point where the meter stick broke, so there is no telling how high the water really got.

The road to the west side of Fryeburg, where my in-laws were staying, possibly without breakfast.

The reality that confronted me 6 days before my wedding. Oh yeah, did I mention that I dreamed this would happen?

When the water finally receeded, we were faced with the following problems:

16. The tyrants at the rental company refused to reschedule our delivery which was a problem because
17. The road was no longer underwater, but was a ridiculous muddy mess.
18. Tyrannical rental company said "we're not going down there." So in the one stroke of good luck (call it proper planning) we had rented a hall at the fairgrounds for Plan B in case of rain.
19. Plan B was actually in the wrong hall...
20. I had to get permission to use the hall I wanted from the start
21. All of my helpers and I had to move all of the tables, chairs, etc. to the right hall.
22. Even after all of that, it was still a very hollow Plan B. Yes, I had the space, but no real plan for decorations, or what to do about our outdoor ceremony.
23. Saco Bound had closed the river, so our plans for the canoe trip on Saturday were VERY tenative.
24. When they finally opened the river back up, this is what our camp site looked like:

Do you remember what it looked like before?

Yeah....

25. The bus company I hired to be the shuttle for our guests called me the day of the wedding to let me know they undercharged me.
26. It took the morons at Jockey Cap like an hour to make 3 sandwiches so
27. I was about 45 minutes late to my own wedding.
28. I decided not to take pictures like I wanted because I felt so bad for my guests who were waiting for me for over an hour in the
29. 80% humidity, 90 degree heat that day.
30. From Wednesday through Monday that week, I slept about 23 hours.

That last one wasn't really too big a deal compared with the others, but it did make me crabby. So what's the main point of this post... aside from my whining that nearly everything went wrong for me?

That we did get married. That we are still married (pending fantasy football draft issues) and that in the end, that's kinda all that really matters.

If you want to read all about how things went down for the wedding, check up on my old blog - the story starts a week out. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, The wedding itself: Part 4 and Part 5. And finally: the Aftermath.

Why yes, I am especially long-winded.