Perfect, Yet Off Registry Bedding

I've never actually come out and said this, but I'm not sure I condone off registry wedding gifts...unless you know its perfect for the bride and groom.

{found it here}
This bedding is one of those perfect off registry gifts. It appeals to my aesthetic without being too girlie for the PHI. Awesome gift, but not on our registry. Perfect candidate for an off-registry gift. As were the GreenPans that MamaP gave me at my Florida shower, and the Vera Wang toasting flutes that my former-roomie Janelle gave me at my Atlanta shower. All tasteful, amazing gifts that were perfect for me.

Now, that gift basket I received from my inlaws (MamaD, sister in-law, etc) containing champagne, massage oils, candles, feathers and a pregnancy test? Not so much. I love them, but they should have shopped the registry.

♥

Dishing on J Heart P

There are several things that are very common in wedding world that I've never batted an eyelash at. Today's culprit: the candy bar.

{this and more found here}
Talk about chic and amazing! If we were going to do a candy bar, this would be our inspiration. Hands down. But, as you can imagine, most of them don't look like this. But many of them feature alphabet shaped letters that spell out LOVE. Sometimes they even make an appearance on the cake table as someting extra. But considering most people I know dont even go peep the cake up close (I checked), I know that the candy and the possible adorable-nes of the dishes is missed on most guests. Not to mention the expense involved with providing a variety of candy to over 100 people. Cute, but no thank you. Maybe for a shower, but not for a reception.

So imagine my surprise today, while catching up with the Wedding Industrial Complex (aka theknot.com) I ran across these dishes:

{found them here}
I'd never seen a heart dish like this (I've seen lots of letters; most couples spell out LOVE) and I looove it. I kinda want a set - J ♥ P, naturally - and could easily see having these filled with yummies during one of our (increasingly infamous) WII/Xbox Game Nights. Or even for a more sophisiticaed soire, complete with cocktails. Fruit, candy, nuts...oh the possibilities.

That's it. I think I just convinced myself that we should order them. But after the wedding. Waaaay after the wedding.

....off to the post-wedding purchase list you go!

♥

An Open Letter to The Unexpecteds

I realize that I have very strong opinions about RSVPs. I had them before our RSVPs started trickling in, and now that the deadline has come and gone (with 35 invites still outstanding – SMH), my beliefs have been further underscored. So, at the risk exposing some of my ‘zilla tude, here is a letter that I wish I could send to people who have not RSVPd but are considering showing up, also known as The Unexpecteds.

Dear Soon to Be Unexpected Guest,

The PHI and I hope this finds you well. We are very....disheartened that you have decided to withhold your stamped RSVP. As a couple, we spent money on these invitations, tried to mail them out so that you had plenty of time to respond, and only received about 70% of them back. As you already know, yours was not in that bunch.

I assume that a lack of response indicates that you are not planning to attend. Maybe I'm wrong. But I think that if you have the audacity to not respond, then I can easily have the “audacity” to assume you aren’t coming... ...and then treat you as such when you decide to attend anyway. At our wedding, that will mean that the hostesses might ask you to stand to the side while they seat the guests that RSVPd and already have a table assignment. So, if you end up exercising your “rights” as an Unexpected, please try not to act brand new. The idea that the PHI and I just knew you were coming, despite you neglecting actually tell us is ridiculous and you know it.

If I haven’t been already, I’ll be very plain. I am adamantly against making provisions for people who might show up but did not RSVP. The PHI says that I’m getting worked up about something that has not happened yet. However, I cant stand it when everyone keeps telling me that no matter how much I plan for it, people like you still manage to show up. So what does that mean? In addition to having to wait to be seated, I can’t guarantee that your table will have a centerpiece. You’ll get a menu, cause I have plenty, but we’ll only have a set number of centerpieces, and your table may not make the cut.

There seems to be a misconception that the bride and groom’s feelings will be hurt if you quickly decline their wedding invite. Maybe for some couples that is the case. But for the PHI and I, we understand that were in a recession. We’ve turned down several invitations ourselves. If you cannot make it, that’s okay. But not sending in your RSVP because you’re afraid of hurting our feelings? Not okay. Like I said at the beginning, you already know if you’re coming or not. Why do you have to wait for us to call, text, email or Facebook you?

In closing, we understand that emergencies arise all the time and that sometimes the best intentions are not carried out. However, if you are receiving this letter, that is not exactly your situation yet, is it? We would love to have you celebrate with us next month, but would prefer if you told us about it before showing up. Normally I’d suggest some alternative ways to contact us, but considering we’ve already tried to use those ways to contact you, I can only suggest carrier pigeons at this point. It is our sincere hope that you have good luck with that.

Regards,
Soon to Be Mrs. Patti

...
I know, I know. That was FULL of 'tude. I'd never actually send that to someone, but I'd be okay with people thinking I would - lol.

♥

Hav Plenty

Yesterday I briefly mentioned how I struggled with figuring out the program design. But even after finalizing the design, I found something else to get worked up about.

I didn't know how many to print.

I talked to my 'maids and checked online and found all kinds of vague information.

Print one for each guest
Print one for each family
Print one per couple
Print one per couple, and one for each single person
Print the same number of invites
Print 75-85% of the number of guests you anticipate
...etc etc etc

You may have noticed that all of these guidelines pretty much hinge on knowing how many you are expecting at the event. Which is why most brides wait until much closer to the wedding to take care of them. No, this is not an excuse to do them the night before or even the week of the wedding (there is no excuse for that), but you can see why this isn't something you do when you first get engaged, right?

Ultimately, I decided to go with the percentage. I didnt know how it worked, but I could see how planning for 75% of the guests could encapsulate the singles, the couples and likely leave a few leftovers. At the time, I anticipated 150 guests, so I simply multiplied that by 75% and rounded up to the next increment of 5 for 115. Right now we only have 110 guests that have RSVPd, so were well on our way to having plenty left over.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, but I am thrilled that this project is complete. It was my last pre-wedding DIY project (not counting the announcements or the favors) and I managed to do it with almost a month to spare (popping my collar). I really love how they turned out, and I think that our guests will enjoy their stylish simplicity.

And I will enjoy the fact that I didn't spend my last evenings as a Miss assembling programs. Lack of DIY projects the week of our wedding: priceless.

♥

Catching Up: Programs

September has been one of those months. Well, now that I think about it, so was August. Anyway, the invites have gone out, I've finished my pre-wedding DIY list, we've (probably) lost a groomsman and gained his replacement, and everyone's attire is all squared away. I know. You would not know that from the way I've been posting.

So I'm going to try and get you caught up, and then bow out gracefully a few days before the wedding. Deal?

Great. Lets get started. Today lets talk about the program.

I was never one of those brides that considered the program to be optional. Granted, my conceptualization of our program has gone through several permutations, I always knew I wanted one, and that it would be teal and green. Just like every other thing with weddings, there are several ways to skin the cat (sorry Naima and BK :/) and I opted to go with one that would be practical + stylish + simple + easy to assemble. Personally, less is more with me - as a guest I'd like to know whats coming when, what the plans are for the food, and a small thank you for being able to make it. And that's all.

So I set out to create something that would be simple and stylish, not too labor intensive, and still fairly practical (as practical as programs are). Here's what I came up with:


What you're looking at is our single panel, double sided program. the program text is printed on white cardstock, and a slightly larger piece of teal is sandwiched imbetween. Please excuse those ugly blue blocks. I didnt think it was a good idea to put everyone's business out there (including the PHI's whole name), and I really wanted you to see the both sides and how they look on the teal.

Okay, since you were so good with the blue-blocked version, here's a blog-appropriate version of the text:


Before our programs, I'd never seen a program exactly like this. The next closest thing is probably a fan program - which I see all the time. In fact, if I had glued a stick between some of those layers, I could have had a fan. But considering the wedding is inside an AC venue, we did not need a fan. But I liked the concept very much and ran with it. When I did that, I knew that every inch of white cardstock was now prime real estate, and that we'd have to be strategic about what we included on (in, on?) the program.

The front features the PHI and I's full government names, the time and location, and the order of the ceremony. Following the ceremony order, there's a quick written thank you to our loved ones, and perhaps the most important tidbits of info: where to go for cocktails, and what time everyone can eat (lol). The only thing on the back is the bridal party - all 18 of them (19 if you include Godmommy who will be directing the rehearsal and the day-of activities).

Not shockingly, I used the same double border (dotted and solid), and fonts from the other paper-goods. Despite being in the same design family as every other piece of wedding paper, I really struggled with the program design. I like that the front is centered, but the back has a right justified title, and left justified text. I also really like how the green accents turned out. Less is definitely more, and I think the fact that only our names and a few headings are both green and script really helps organize the text and capture your attention.

As with the menus, I had the text printed at Office Depot on white cardstock. This time, to save some cash I found two coupon codes and had them printed in two batches. For 115 sheets (115 programs, front and back on 1 sheet), I spent about $60. The teal I got for a steal at Hobby Lobby. I was able to get 2 teal insides from a sheet and spent about $4. Throw in another $10 for adhesive and it brings the grand total for programs up to about $75. Not bad at all.

Assembly went much more smoothly as I learned my lesson from those blasted menus. I made sure that I had plenty of hands on deck and was able to knock them out over several glasses of wine and sangrias while 4 of my maids were in town for my Atlanta shower. I did all of the cutting, but BM Melissa and MdOH Dani did an awesome job making sure everything got glued together. Even the PHI got involved and helped to do some of the gluing. I was so proud. He was very careful with the materials (apparently I give off this anal vibe - lol) and did a really good job.

Sooo...I think thats all I had to say about the programs.

Oh wait, one more thing: Programs, Check!

♥