The Invitations are Here!

After collecting and correcting email proofs of the text for my invitation, reception card, and printed outer envelopes, it only took a few weeks for my invitations to arrive from Davids Bridal.

I have to admit they're not really the invitations of my dreams, but those dream-invitations are letterpressed and crazy-expensive, so for the moment I'm not even thinking about them. They are exactly as I proofed the text, and the ribbon will exactly match the blue that runs through the rest of the wedding theme in the form of my sash and the bridesmaids dresses.

Overall, I'm happy with them. They fit the theme and the overall image I was aiming for, without breaking my budget to pieces. Though I wish I'd found rectangular rather than square cards, simply because of postage concerns. I may just do custom stamps, or look at international stamps since I think those would actually cover the cost of the mailings.

Though I am dreading all the assembly fun I have ahead of me...and have already started practicing my best handwriting (need to work to make the numbers match the lettering) for addressing in the future.

Now to collect actual addresses for people on our guest list.

Did anyone else have to settle on wedding invitations that they liked rather than ones they were completely in love with? It can't be that uncommon.

Pretty Maids, All in a Row

I'm having five bridesmaids. I know, I know, that's a lot. Especially for a smaller Midwestern wedding, but all of them are so important to me that I just had to beg until Andrew caved.

My maid of honor (MOH) is my little sister, then I have two married bridesmaids (it seems wrong to call them matrons, especially since one is getting married two weeks before me), and two unmarried. Of the non-siblings, one of each marital status will be a friend from high school and a friend from college, respectively.

From high school, I've known Liz since we were three and attending pre-preschool vacation bible school. Sar's the one who's getting married, and I've known her since third grade...and spent most of high school hanging out at her house.

From college, Aimee was my roommate and then housemate from freshman to my senior year, my birthday twin, and I was in her wedding in Fall 2006. Laura is my daughter in my sorority family chain, and even though we're very different people we're amazingly similar. We're one of the few Greek family pairs to actually form a family-like bond, and I couldn't have a better daughter.

For their dresses, I've gone with letting them select the pieces they want as separates from David's Bridal in either Tropic or Aruba (which some DB's will tell you are the same color in different fabrics and some will swear aren't even the same color--I'm part of the prior camp, so they even get to mix & match with even more pieces). All I ask is that they choose a long skirt, and if they don't want to get dyed shoes to wear white dressy ones (my sister is likely the only one going dyed because she's about 5' 11" and dyed flats present the illusion that her dress goes all the way to the floor).

They're all supposed to try to order before the end of January, so hopefully I'll be able to post a mock-up idea picture then.