The Busy Life of a Bride

With 19 days to go we are really upon the final count down! My do to list is FINALLY getting shorter and all the details are coming together. I am certainly ready to be in Petoskey, relaxing and enjoying our wedding weekend. But until then let's catch up on all the fun projects I've been working on over that last 17 months.
Back in April I posted a list of all the projects I set out to do. Here is how I stand today:

-Save the Date
-Large letter "B" in moss
-Bridesmaid's gift (3 parts)
-Mailbox (half way complete)
-Table Runners
-Table Center Napkin
-Small letters "B" and "G" in moss
-Papery (invitations, programs, table #, placecard, etc)
-Wedding Story Card- Removed from list
-Centerpieces
-Memorial Candles
-Flower Girl gift (half complete)
-Groomsmen gift
-Aisle marker- Removed from list
-Placecard decor
-Favors- done by Lauren
-Welcome Bags
-Lighting Globe (my favorite project so far!)
-Parent/Grandparent wedding pictures- Done by Joyce
-Bar candles? Removed from list
-Head table front runner- added to list, almost done
-Cake topper- added to list

Not bad, huh?! Now for the details...

Moss Letters:
Over the course of our engagement I have had many obsessions when it comes to wedding projects. The first was moss. I love its texture and color. It's rustic but natural and very easy to work with. One of the very first projects I did was making moss letters. Using large cardboard letters from the craft store I cut out and hot glued strips of moss from a moss roll. The first one I did was a large "B" for our placecard table, followed by a smaller "B" and "G" for the backs of our chairs at the head table. Moss can be a little messy so I suggest using craft paper to help with clean up. I learned that one the hard way.



The Big "B"

Mailbox



As you know I am a lover of all things SIMPLE. I am not attracted to ornate and intricate details, at least when it comes to wedding (and home) decor. So when it came down to finding something to put our cards in I felt stuck with the traditional options. I simply am not a traditional girl. I'm not a fan the the birdcages and other metal wire holders. I especially am not a fan that they cost over $100 to rent! So why not create something by hand that I can keep forever for less then half of renting??

The key to this project (and several others) is having an awesome Dad. During one weekend home in February my Dad and I took a regular trip to Home Depot. That's where I spoted the mailbox section and a light bulb clicked! For less then $20 I found a classic white mailbox, a perfect blank canvas for my card holder.

 

For security we screwed the door shut so no uninvited guest can take anything out. Using boards as guides to find the center we marked and cut out a slot with a die grinder. Safety glasses required!



Security

Super Dad!



  

Setting guides for the center



Grind baby grind!

Nothing is better then father daughter DIY
project time!



Once all the cutting and sanding of the opening was done the outside was a bit scratched up. My simple solution was to wrap it in white contact paper for a fresh cover. It also helped to smooth the edge of the card slot. To personalize it I ordered custom lettering from ilikevinyl.com. I think in total I spent $30 on this project plus some fun effort and now we have a one of a kind keepsake.

 

Insert money here...please and thank you! Just kidding!

Burlap Table Runners

For several weeks during the winter I looked for table runners online. I order quite a few as options but never liked what I saw. Most looked very cheap even though they cost upwards of $10 each. I did a little more research in to table decor ideas and that's where I discovered my second obsession, burlap! 

I love how it contrasts with the white linens but does not pop out at you like some of the other shiny cheap runners. It's a subtle and nice texture on the tables. Once I made my decision to go with the burlap runners I struggled to find ones online. So true to form I said "I can make these!" I ordered a 60" wide 50 yard bolt of fabric from burlapfabric.com for like $100. I will never forget the day my glorious burlap showed up at my door, it was taller then me!

My new BFF- Burlap Fabric Forever!

I cut down the middle to create 30" wide runners for a total of 26 tables. It literally took over my whole living room. There was fiber everywhere!

One of my favorite things about this project is that I learned how to use a sowing machiene. The cut and unfinished edges needed some a quick hem. Needless to say I am hooked. I can't wait to buy my own someday. Once I got everything set up and a couple runners down it was smooth going. I was really surprised by how fast the sowing machiene worked. Although this was a fairly quick project, it sure was a messy one. For about 4 evenings straight I sowed and ironed away in my living room. By the end there was bits and pieces of burlap and fibers everywhere! On the floor, in the couch, on the cushions, in my hair, on the ironing board. This was truely one point in wedding planning that Ryan thought I had lost my mind! I got to say, I kind of agreed with him. But I do love my burlap runners! I love their look, uniqueness and the fact that they cost about $4 each. I have a ton of burlap left over and can't wait to continue crafting with it!



All cut and ready to be hemmed!

Table Napkins

In order to add some color to the tables I decided to place a large green clothe napkin on top of the runners in the center. It will ground the centerpieces on the table. But plain napkins were not good enough, oh no. At the bridal show in Petoskey in February I saw a gorgeous table set up with patterned napkins. I inquired about how much it would cost to have them made. I had to laugh when she quoted me $40 a napkin! I KNEW I could do better. I found 6 packs of napkins for $10 at World Market. Add to that a few bucks of fabric paint and for the cost of 1 napkin I did 20. Not to shabby!

I should mention that because I had planned on two different centerpeices I only painted the pattern on half of the napkins. And thank god for that because this was a painful project. It took me basically a whole day to paint the 10 I did. All the while my back and neck grew more sore. But I still think for the cost and effort I added a unique touch.




Fabric paint, foam roller and brushes

1 complete pattern, 9 more to go!

All done! Time for a massage.

Memorial Candles

Our wedding is based around the people. All those we love most will be a part of our day. However there are several people that unfortunately will only be able to be with us in spirit. I felt it was really important to have them respresented in our own way. I really did not like the memorial candles I saw online. Most were cheesy looking and very traditional in style. I wanted something simple and clean looking.

Using vases from the craft store and candle holders from the dollar store (my new favorite place), I made expensive looking hurricane vases for very little. I had seen somewhere a printable transfer paper that can put writing or images on glass.  I printed out my design and the names of those we want to remember and transfered it on to the vases. I had to do a little trimming with my exacto knife to remove some of the excess transfer paper. To add some color and interest I copied a favorite Pinterest pin that used split peas as filler inside the vase around the candles. Super cheap but super cool.


End candles- hot glued taller candle holders to vase



Center candle- hot glued candle holder to vase

The finished product

Cake Topper

A common image that pops in my head when I think of being in up north Michigan is the classic adirondeck chair. You see them on the front porches and on the beaches everywhere. When we first saw the Perry Hotel I noticed they has some out around the veranda. From then on I considered it a perfect representation of our up north simple wedding. It too became another obsession of mine. Nothing else seemed fitting enough for our cake toppers. The image of two adirondeck chairs together reminds me of all the calm visits to northern Michigan Ryan and I will take through out our life together.

I found a website that made wooden chairs for doll houses. They thankfully had an adirondeck chair model! To make them blend more with our white frosted cake, I painted the chairs white to match. It's simply perfect...

Unpainted but you get the idea.

Papery

Of all the things I've designed and made for our wedding our papery is high on my favorite list. Through a little trial and error I think I found the perfect combination of simple and classy that really represents who we are as a couple. The initial inspiration for our invitations came from Paper Source. I made some modifications along the way. One of my favorite parts is the custom map I designed. While helping my friends Anna and Brian make their invitations, Brian told me his trick in creating the map in theirs. Google maps printed as a pdf and drawn over in photoshop....amazing! I absolutely love how it turned out. And as a little nod to my Dad, who once talked abour sailing around Michigan to get to the wedding, I added a sail boat in the bay. It's most likely where he would be the day of the wedding had he continued with that idea of transportation.

Anyway, what I also love about our invitations is that I got to have a fun weekend with my maid of honor Jessica. What a great memory to have, assembling invitations, laughing, drinking and having all kinds of fun. My friend Anna also came over to help for a while. It's just so cool that so much love went in to making them. They truely are the labor of my love. The hours spent designing, printing, stamping, gluing and assembling is insane but TOTALLY worth it. I am a regular of Paper Source now, they know me by name.

Making invitations with my MOH!

My dining room/workshop

Continuing with the invitation theme I've also made the table numbers, guest book sign, favor tags, placecards and programs. And I can now say with confidance that I NEVER want to use a stamp again.

Post stamping and embossing they are laid out to dry and cool

Another favorite detail was the personalized
ribbon around the inner envelope. It honestly
was not much work but made a huge impact.

Everything prepped and ready to assemble!

Finally ready to mail out!!

Light Globe

And finally the piece de resistance, my absolutely favorite project is the light globe (only way I can think to call it) my Dad and I made. It all started last winter when I was watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 1 (for like the hundreth time). There is a wedding scene towards the beginning. I happen to notice this cool light fixture hanging in the reception tent. It was like rings that made a globe, wrapped in fabric. It was a fast glance but I thought that would be so cool to have in our wedding tent.

I happen to go home for a weekend shortly there after and told my Dad about the lighting idea. Of course we started brainstorming right then and there. We came up with the idea of making the rings out of copper piping for plumbing. A coil of it goes for like $30 at home depot. It's easy to bend and shape but in order to get a perfect cirle we needed a mold to wrap it around. So my Dad cut out two circles of plywood as a guide for making the rings. At first we started with 3 rings but decided it needed to be fuller so we added 2 more. Once the rings were formed we welded the ends together to complete the circle. I'm super bummed because I had some great shots of my Dad and I making the rings together but I cannot find them : (

I had gone back and forth on how I wanted to light up the rings. At first I wanted to wrap them in fabric like the one I saw in HP. Then I thought about making it in to some sort of flower netting with lights. But when in doubt go the simple route. (Hey that rhymed!) I had ordered some white christmas lights, which were surpringly hard to find even online. Apparently no one using white lights with a white string anymore. I ended finding them on a great bulk website called koyalwholesale.com. I brought them home one weekend to play around with wrapping them on the rings. To my surprise when I came downstairs that Saturday morning my Dad had already wrapped all the rings and had our globe all set up! It was like Christmas morning! It turned out just as I had imagined. I absolutely love it. What a statement it will make in our tent. I also think it could make a cool garden feature someday at our home.

After I showed it to my bridesmaid Darcy she told me there were similar ringed style lighting fixtures at Restoration Hardware for upwards of $3,000! Well they didn't use christmas lights but still it's amazing considering ours cost well under $100.

Ta Dah!!!

Each ring is crimped at opposite ends and drilled
through to connect them all with a screw

Twinkle twinkle!

We should go in to business together!

Maybe we are not professional but we have fun together!

I have several other little projects I have worked on along the way. Some I can't display because they are gifts, can't ruin the surprise. But these are really my favorites.  I have learned a lot and gained many crafting skills over the last year and a half. For anyone looking to be a DIY bride my greatest advice is that Pinterest, a hot glue gun and a handy Father of the Bride can get you far. While I wouldn't agree with those who say wedding planning is the greatest time ever, I will say that I have had so much fun personalizing our wedding with projects. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I have!

Kristen



When you are going through hell, keep going....

By now most of our closest friends and family know that on May 18th Ryan's Dad TC died in a plane crash in California. It's taken me a while to sit down with a clear mind and write about this, especially with out breaking down. But I felt it's time to get my thoughts and thanks out to everyone.

Tom (TC) spent his adult life serving our country in the Navy as a pilot. After 20 some years he retired aa a Captain. After he retired he went commercial and landed (no pun intended) a job as one of Mel Gibson's private pilots. He did this for several years until his dream job came calling. He started working for a company called Aiborne Tactical Advantage Company or ATAC. ATAC is outsourced by the Navy and other airborne defense groups to train their air crews. Basically they play the enemy and simulate attacks in order to train current military pilots in defense. Most of the employees are retired Navy or Airforce members who can't give up flying. It was perfect for TC. Anyone who knew him, even if for a short time, knew that he loved to fly, he lived to fly.

It was on one of the training missions that something went wrong with his plane, causing it to crash. From what we know so far there was an error in the fuel transfer. Both tanks did not transfer fuel at an equal rate. This made the aircraft heavier on one side. That unbalance caused the plane to roll several times until it went down. I won't go in to anymore details here. An investigation is still underway as to the exact cause. We have learned all we can about the where, the when and the how. But we will never have a clear answer for the why. We take deep comfort in the fact that TC left this world doing what he loved most. Not many people can say that.

After waiting for approvals to fly for several months TC finally got back up in the air. Behind him is the Hawker Hunter he flew.

TC also loved his boats. When he shared his boat with you he shared himself with you. Recently Tom and Peggy purchased a new boat. He was talking about taking us on a weekend trip to the Catalina the next time we visited. We did get a chance to stay on it during one of our recent trips to California. It was a very bittersweet experience to say the least. We were saddened by the sight of unfinished projects, the new carpet that he hadn't had a chance to see and the empty captains chair. But it was comforting at the same time. You could feel him there. On our last visit Peggy got another boater in the marina to take us out to the Channel Islands. Although this girl succumbed to sea sickness (not a surprise), it was still an amazing trip. I believe that TC was watching down with happiness that his wife and kids were finally all together enjoying what he enjoyed most. He was probably also thinking, "Kristen if you're going to join this family you need to get a stronger stomach!"

Ryan and I with his Dad plane. So proud.

The new boat "Wait and Sea"

Needless to say the past 7 weeks have been well...tough, really tough. I will never forget the moment Ryan told me about his Dad. It literally felt like a dream and took my breath away. Sometimes when my head drifts back to that instant I still find it unbelievable. From that minute on our world changed. Life has been a mixture of every emotion you can imagine.

So what do you do at a time like this? No one really knows the answer. There isn't an exact answer. There are days that you can't stop crying and feel overwhelmed by sadness. There are days that you have distant perspective and smile with pride in TC. There are days that all you can do is say is "this f*ing sucks. There are days you are mad, days you are happy again, and there are days that you stay silent and just hold the person you love as tight as you can.

I owe an incredible amount of thanks to several people, whom without this time would have been some much more difficult.

To my best friend Jessica, who always knows just what to say to me. Your words of encouragement and comfort literally got me through some of those first days. No one tells it to me straight like you do. I leaned on you so much and you gave me all the support I needed to keep going. I am forever grateful for having you in my life. And as always, when I count my blessings, I count you twice.

To my cousin Carrie, you are an incredible person. I admire you as a wife and friend. You were the first person who dared to make me laugh again. It's terrible that we have grown so close this year because of the losses we have endured. But I am thankful for it none the less. Our similarities are undeniable. And if there is one person I am honored to be alike, it's you. Thank you for being who you are and for all your guidance through this time.

To Pam (Peggy's sister), your ability to put everyone above yourself is remarkable. I was in awe of you and Kenny when we were in California. Thank you for those few minutes in the bathroom during the memorial when I just need sob. I needed a mother's comfort and a really strong drink and you gave me both. I will never forget it. You have a beautiful family, one that I am so glad to be gaining in my life.

To my friend Darcy, thank you for always listening to me and supporting me in ways only a girlfriend can. You are a true true friend. You and Todd took the unecessary stresses away from us in a time when we needed nothing else to worry about. I love that through our guys we have found eachother as close friends.

To Todd, Luke and Corey, words cannot express how thankful I am to you. I will admit that sometimes the best thing for a man going through this kind of loss is not his fiance, but his best buds and a cold beer. I was overwhelmed by your support of Ryan. You are truly great people and I love you dearly.

To my Mom, if I am thankful for one thing it's that you were there with us the day TC died. You were there to cry with us in the moments after we found out. I will always appreciate the motherly comfort you gave Ryan when he needed it most. I know our special day of picking up my wedding dress was not as we planned, but the time we spent in the car that morning after was just what I needed, time with my Mom to cry and vent. I know I have not been easy to deal with these last weeks. When I've had my moments of anger unfortunately you were on the other end of the phone taking the brunt of it. I am so sorry. I feel closer to you now then ever though. You lost your parents so young and I feel like I understand a fraction more of what you went through. You are the greatest Mom and friend I will ever have. I love you so very much.

And to everyone else, ours friends, family and coworkers who sent us their love and condolences, I thank you greatly. I apologize if I was not able to respond to you at the time. But know that every card and message we received meant the world to us. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming.

Ryan, Tricia and Peggy with TC's plane

I also want to take a moment here for Ryan. Ryan we have made it through to the other side. I know there were moments when it didn't feel like we would, but we did. I look back on the last month and a half and I am astonished by you. You have taken on the world and you have succeeded. Whenever someone has asked me how you are doing, I have struggled to answer. Like anyone else going through the loss of a parent, you were not doing well. You were mourning, in shock and sad. But unlike anyone else, you have managed to get out of bed every morning, go to a job you hate, go to grad school (and get A's), endure sleepless nights, all while focusing your love on Peggy and myself. Under such circumstances other people would crumble. A while back in another post I said "There is not a single day that I don't believe Ryan is the man I want to experiene everything with. The good, the bad and the unexpected". This is more true today then ever. Our families are proud of you. I am proud of you. And your Dad would be so proud of you. I love you, I love you, I love you....

Ryan and TC on their first boat "Flying Low" in 2010

I am a silver lining kind of person. And I will admit at first I struggled to find it during this time. But as the weeks have past I have found myself so grateful for several things. I am grateful to all my friends and family who have been my support and kept me going so that I can be strong for Ryan. I am grateful for my new family, for which I have grown so much closer with during this time. I am grateful for the two great trips we took to California the last couple of years to spend time with TC and Peggy. I am grate for the last time I spoke to TC on the phone only a month before. And I am grateful to have learned so much about my father in law that I otherwise would probably not have.

So what does this mean for our wedding? Well in the first weeks after the accident nothing else mattered anymore. All the things I had previously been focusing one seemed so silly and unimportant. Let's face it, they kind of are. All that mattered to me was that Ryan was ok. Now that a little time has past I have gotten some better perspective. Some things still don't matter. If the cake comes in the wrong color, if the flowers aren't the right kind, if DJ plays a song I hate, if my dress is torn... it doesn't matter. Ok ok don't mess with my dress. But what does matter, as it always has is the people. Our wedding will definitely have a bittersweet undertone. Someone so special to us will be missing. There will be an empty seat we can never fill at our table. But our wedding is a day of joy we are still looking forward to. More then ever we need a day, one whole day, filled with all the people we love, celebrating all that is good in life.

When you are going through hell you keep going. You pull strength from where ever you can, you lean on your closest friends and family, but you keep going. And that is where we are today.

Thank you again everyone for reading, for praying for us and for all your love. We sincerely appreciate it.

Love always,

Kristen

Ryan, TC and I in 2010

Ryan, Peggy and TC in 2010

Ryan raising TC's flag in our most recent trip to California.
Peggy, Tricia and I watching.  A single breeze blew it open as it
reached the top. It was an incredibly moving moment for the four is us.

I Love When It All Comes Together...

Like any design project, the style and concept will always evolve. The same goes for wedding planning.  I remember very early on in our engagement being frustrated from the difficulty of finding the right venue. Without knowing the venue I wasn't able to visulized the general style of our wedding. And as a designer that made me a little crazy...ok a lot of crazy : )

There was a very distinct moment when the light bulb turned on and I found my inspiration that launched my general vision for our wedding. I was home for the weekend at my parents house. It was 2am and I couldn't sleep. So I got out my laptop and started digging around theknot.com. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an overwhelming website of all things relating to wedding planning. Anyway, I was looking through some pictures when this one popped up.

Then it all clicked. I loved the look of the navy blue with the greens and whites. This palette was the jumping point to all my projects and decore. I kept this in mind as we looked at more and more venues. Aftering seeing several golf courses and a few trendy/modern locations we decided to head north. Up North Michigan that is!

Michigan is and always will be a part of who we are. It's in us individually and as a couple. As children we both took many trips around Michigan with our families. And now we love camping in the mitten! For those who are not Michiganians, Up North is not just a direction, it's a destination. Once you hit the winding highways and small towns, all stress in life goes away. Just hearing Tim Allen on the Pure Michigan commercials strikes a chord in my heart. So it was perfectly fitting for us to get married and start our life together in the place we love most.

So what do I think of when you think of Michigan?? I think of the blue water, preserved nature, cherries, wine, beaches, light houses and more. As time has progressed so has my vision for our wedding decore. In the beginning I was more focused on just the colors but the more I started putting this shindig together the more my vision developed in to a concept. So today if someone were to asked me what the style of our wedding is, I would say it is "Up North simple with rustic accents". Don't you just love when it all comes together? I sure do! We are truly smitten with the mitten and we hope all of our guests will be too!

Enjoy some more inspirational photos...

Crafts, Crafts and more Crafts!

From the very beginning of this adventure my biggest goal (besides marrying Ryan) was to make our wedding unique to us and personal for everyone who attends. I want to walk in to our wedding and see everything that was made by hand. I want to remember the fun I had making it all and making memories with those who helped. That is what wedding planning is all about to me.

Luckily with resources like Pinterest, Etsy, The Knot and countless other blogs, inspiration for unique details are not in short supply. My advice for other DIY brides is to be careful when looking at ideas. I found that several months in to planning my list of projects was growing more then shrinking. I want to make everything I see! But I found it best to select just a few things that I really want to make and focus on that rather then adding more projects.

Most people who see my project list will think I have completely gone crazy. But the truth is I LOVE being a DIY bride! It allows me to be creative, add all kinds of personality and uniqueness to our wedding and perhaps most importantly...save money. What wedding planner doesn't love that?!

So here is where I am at so far. Details on each project to follow.

-Save the Date
-Large letter "B" in moss
-Bridesmaid's gift (3 parts)
-Mailbox (half way complete)
-Table Runners
-Table Center Napkin
-Small letters "B" and "G" in moss
-Invitations (menu, programs, table #, placecard, etc)
-Wedding Story Card
-Centerpieces
-Memorial Candles
-Flower Girl gift (half complete)
-Groomsmen gift
-Aisle marker
-Placecard decor
-Favors
-Welcome Bags
-Lighting Globe (my favorite project so far!)
-Parent/Grandparent wedding pictures
-Bar candles?


Soooo looking at this list only makes me conclude that I am ever more my father's daughter. I can no longer look at something without thinking how I can modify it, use it in a unique way or create it on my own all together. Yes I am becoming a Bennett but I will never stop being a Schlaff at heart.

Does this list keep me up at night sometimes? YES
I am a little crazy for doing all of this? YOU BETCHA
Do I have fun working on all of it? HECK YEA!!

And now I'll leave you with a little inspiration:

Tonight's inspiration is 50 years in the making

As you know a few weeks back we mailed out our save the date cards. It's been so exciting receiving all the messages and emails from people that they received theirs! But one message really made my day. One night my Mom called me to tell me her brother (my wonderful Uncle Den) called to say that he got our save the date. But he had a question..."Joyce,what's a blog?" That totally cracked me up! Well Uncle Den, this is a blog. It's where the writer (me) can share all my ideas, projects, stories and thoughts with everyone who cares to read it. And tonight, you (and Aunt Peg) are my subject of choice!

So last month my Aunt Peg and Uncle Den celebrated their fiftieth, count it again FIFTIETH wedding anniversary! As a gift, all their kids and grandkids made a video showing pictures of them throughout the years. My Mom happened to send me a copy of the video in the mail and within 5 minutes of watching in I was in tears. Ryan came home to find me sobbing on the sofa (let's face it, it's not the first time). So I made him sit down to watch it with me. Those pictures encompass exactly what I imagine of our life together. While I sit here everyday thinking about and planning something for our wedding, I know that it's so much more just that one day.

Aunt Ped and Uncle Den on their wedding day! Look
how young and happy they are? Remind you of anyone? : )

This engagement period has truly been a time a growth for us. We are stretching ourselves in every way, financially, emotionally and even in the amount of time we get to spend together these days. But we have also taken this time to talk a lot about our future. One thing my Aunt Peg taught me when I got my last job was that you can plan your life all you want, but it will never turn out exactly how your planned. And that's a good thing I think. It's nice to be on the same page and working towards common goals. But I am also so anxious to see what really becomes of our life and marriage together.

This photo was a nice surpise for me to see on the video because there
are so few pictures of my grandparents (on the right). It's nice
to see a piece of their history.

As I watched all those pictures cronicle my aunt and uncles life I thought so much about ours. Their first house reminded me of all the small apartments we have lived in already. Flashes of our first little home and someday our dream home came to my mind. Then came photos of their first baby, a boy. And then 3 more boys! Who could of have planned that?! And who knows what our family will one day shape in to? (Although I do know for sure, with out a doubt it will include a dog : )


After all the pictures, their video had footage of their kids and grandkids answering questions about them. What is your favorite memory and Den and Peg (or grandma and and grandpa)? What do you admire most about them? My response would answer both those questions. My favorite memory, of recent, of my Aunt and Uncle is from 4 years ago on our biannual trip to the Holland, MI. I walked in to the main house on the property we stay at and found them in the kitchen tenderly snuggling. This is even before I had met Ryan, or considered that I would one day have what I do with him. But I remember thinking that they have something so very special. Something that has endured the years and still left them so in love. Something that I hope so dearly Ryan and I will have. And so that is what I admire most about my Uncle Den and Aunt Peg. They started out fresh faced, young and in love. Together they have survived MS, near blindness, FOUR boys and so much more. They built an amazing family that grew and grew (and I'm not quite convinced is done growing). A family that is closer and kinder then any I know. Their messaages for Den and Peg prove what wonderful and inspirational people they are.

The beautiful Page family celebrating Den and Peg's 50th
wedding anniversary. The little girl being held by her Dad is
our flower girl, Molly. To her left is my cousin and bridesmaid
Katie!

So thank you both Aunt Peg and Uncle Den for being such a great example of a marriage. I have to admit since we got engaged I have noticed that good examples of marriages are hard to come by (thank you Kim Kardashian). It means more to me then you know to see that with love and work, a marriage can last a lifetime.

I know with out question Ryan is the person I want to build a life with. And I want to spend a life building it with him. I am so very excited for our wedding day, but I am more excited to see what is in store for us. What will our 50th wedding anniversary video show??

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Up next, crafts, crafts, and more crafts!! Stay tuned...

Save The Date

All day I have been getting the best messages that our save the dates have been arriving in the mail! That's a relief considering it was Ryan's job to mail them out...good to know he isn't getting cold feet on me : )

And incase you are wondering, here is how they got to your mail box...

I have been working on our save the dates for a month of so. Using the photos from our engagement session I put together several options for Ryan and I to choose from. In the process I started brainstorming on some sort of logo/branding to carry through out the papery. I've thought about using an image of an adirondeck chair or perhaps a monogram  letter 'B'. But because save the date cards are more casual I decided not to use any logo on them. However I did find a sweet address stamper that has the adirondeck chair image I was looking for. I bought it on invitationbox.com, its an awesome website for making your own invitations and cards.

 

Once we decided on which save the date design to use I printed some test prints. I ended getting them printed at FedEx Kinkos. $35 later I was not happy with the results. In my eagerness to cross things off my list I approved the printing. Well that was a bust. So I decided to try using a photo paper in my office printer. The results were 300% better! I was so surprised by how much better it looked compared to the ones from Kinkos. You may not be able to tell from the picture. But the color rendition and gradiants just didn't look right. It was very green and grey, not very cheery for a save the date.

left side: home printer, right side: Kinkos

Just printing on the photo paper didnt feel substantial enough. So I took a quick trip to Michaels (ok there is no such thing as a quick trip to Michaels). I found for $.19 a sheet some nice scrapbook paper to mount the picture on. It frames it nicely and added some weight.

A couple of Sundays ago was my official "assemble day".  It took MUCH longer then I thought. Using Microsoft Excel and Word I figured out how to do a mail merge. I put all the invitees in a spreadsheet and formated them to print on to the envelopes. There were several mishaps. My printer kept jamming if I tried more then five at once. And even with five I had to pull them out one at a time to prevent it from jamming up. The process was slower then I hoped but it's cheaper then going to a printer and faster then writing them by hand!

 

Once I had all the pictures printed I cut them out individually using my awsome new "chopper". I bought it at a wedding invitation workshop I went to earlier this winter. It is the best! It trims all the smallest pieces. 

"chopper"

With the pictures cut out I used scrapbook adhesive to mount them to the backing paper. I figured using the hand held tape roller would be easy...unfortunately I bought the cheap 3 pack and regretted it immediately. They jammed up and didn't roll on their own. I had to hand crank it to get the adhesive out for every piece...not fun. No one EVER buy the brand below!

About an hour of thumb-rawwing, tape wheel turning all the pictures were mounted on the brown scrapbook paper. Time for another round of chopping! Using my favorite cutter again I cut out all the complete cards. As a last minute decision I made the little cards with the reminder to check out none other then MY WEDDING BLOG!!

All that was left to do was stuff and seal the envelopes. Luckily my fiance was there to help!

There you have it folks, that is how your lovely save the date from your FAVORITE couple got to your mailbox. 

And now I need a manicure....

My new Petoskey sweatshirt!

P.S. On an exciting note, last week Ryan and I purchased our flights for our honeymoon. Italy here we come!!! Or should I say "L'Italia qui veniamo"!!!

THE DRESS!!!

Although I REFUSE to share THE DRESS with anyone before I walk down the aisle. I most certainely can share my amazing weekend of dress shopping.

Back in November my Mom, Ryan's Mom, maid of honor Jessica, and Jessica's Mom Karen (or as I like to call them- MOB, MOG, MOH, and MOMOH) came to Chicago. Our objective was to find my wedding dress. That was easier said then done....

Several weeks before our shopping weekend I started researching bridal boutiques in Chicago. I wasn't finding what I was looking for. I was already having anxiety about wearing "the big white dress" so I needed the shopping environment to be relaxing with no pressure and preferably fun. In two days I called 13 places in Chicago. Most had no appointments available and the rest were either pushy and rude or gave me the "mam you can't afford to walk in to our store".

So I was on to plan B...head to the burbs! Another day of phone calls (lets just say my focus on working at home fell short this week) lead me to find three well reviewed boutiques...two of which put me on the wait list. But thankfully spots opened up and I was set to go.

That Friday the Moms and Jessica flew in to Chicago. Ryan and I brought them back to our place for a quick stop before going out to dinner. To my surprise Jessica had bought me the sweetest gift! Two charms for my Pandora bracelet. Well one is for hers. When the two are together it makes a butterfly. Long story short I wrote something to Jessica once about how I thought of her as my butterfly effect. Her decision to go to MSU sparked me to as well. And that lead to me ultimately meeting Ryan. So we are here today, planning a wedding folks all because of Jessica.

The next morning came early. I had to rent a car to haul all of us out the the suburbs. The first place we went was A'lamour in Barrington, IL. They were having a trunk show of a dress designer I really like. I won't tell you the name, because some sneaky people would look up the dress. Anyway, it was amazing! My consultant Susan was so great. She understood the style I was looking for and she kept me relaxed. There were some definite "nos" and a couple "hell nos". But you can't know what you like until you see what you don't like. To my surprise I absolutely loved the first dress I tried on!It has the accents I was looking for. I had the rght balance of classy and sassy (like me!). I really felt beautiful in this dress. But when she told me the name of the first dress was a name of significance to me (I won't share because you can look it up), I knew it was meant to be. I tried on several others dressed but I kept going back to the first one. There was a close second at one point, but much like dating and love, when you know you know.

Even though I was pretty sure I had found the dress,I still wanted to go to the other places I had appointments. So we headed to Geneva to go to another boutique. This place, while it was very lovely, it didn't have much of a diverse selection. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun! They had ballgowns as wide as I am tall. When else am I ever going to get the chance to wear dresses like that? So I tried a few on for a good laugh.

Mental note..I cannot pull off a box hat! But
it was fun trying!

We only went to two places but that was enough for one day. We were tired and ready for food. I made a dinner reservation for all of us at one of our favorite pizza places Pequod's Pizza. It was really great to relax, have a drink and enjoy everyone's company.

On Sunday we went to our final appointment. This one was in the city at a highly recommended boutique in Lincoln Park. The place was so sweet and charming. It had a lot of character...and a lot of dresses. It was fun because everyone could pull the dresses themselves. It's interesting to see what people think you will like. I did consider one dress from at this shop but it couldn't beat out "the dress".

After our last appointment we grabbed a quick bit before everyone had to fly home. Over another round of wine I officially decided to go with dress number 1! And as a bonus to my parents, I was able to get the trunk show discount : )

I have to send out a big thanks to all my M's for giving me all the support a bride could ask for. Although I didn't admit it then, this was a big deal for me. You only wear the big white dress once (well that's my plan anyway). To share it with some of the most important people to means everything.

Karen thank you as always for taking thousands of pictures. It's so worth it to always have those memories. I look at the photos of my dress all the time. And everytime it makes me smile. I am so glad you were a part of this important weekend.

Mom and Lauren thank you for all your honest opinions. I rather know now that something looks bad then when I'm walking down the aisle. I love you both so very much.

And Jecs, I owe you the biggest thanks. Thanks for pushing me to shop in Chicago. Thanks for helping me get in and out of what felt like 100 dresses. I know you got some views of me you probably didn't want to! And thank you for leading me to the right place and the right time so that I could meet my fiance!

At this spot a year before we took the same picture when we
were shopping for Jessica's bridesmaid dresses.

Find the most beautiful (and expensive) dress you will ever wear: CHECK!