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.

Invitations

To continue the color-branding of our wedding, Andrew and I picked out invitations from David's Bridal that featured ribbons in our shade of blue, to match my sash, the bridesmaids dresses, the cake, and all the other blue stuff.

Here's an example of what our invitation looks like:
Except on ours the reception cards are crammed with our website information (where we want people to RSVP) as well as the reception information. For the non-tech-savvy I'll print everything from the website off and mail it, but I figure everyone is much more likely to not lose a website that has all the relevant information.

I'm waiting until the wedding to spring on people the orange accent color that'll be the color of all our flowers, predominantly roses. Or maybe I'll get an orange dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner, which I'll be looking for tomorrow when I go to test my wedding dress to see if it still fits. Except that it'll also be the dress that I'll wear to my friend Nicki's wedding in March, and so orange might be a bit much.

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.

Say Yes to the Dress

Okay, so I'm not the biggest fan of the show by the same title, but I do think it's a cute name. The show is just more than a bit too stressful and likely to provoke doubt and envy.

Because I already have my dress. I picked it out when Andrew and my parents helped move me to Kentucky from Missouri, and Andrew, Mom, and I went to David's Bridal, which was supposed to be the first of a couple stops. But while I already had ideas that I wanted a chiffon, floaty-type dress with many layers but no beading or embroidery.

Well, the dress I found fit one category but not the other.

No embroidery or beading, not overly complicated, just simple satin a-line with a punchy blue bow that my bridesmaid dresses will match. I'm still not sold on how the petticoat makes the front look (I think it creates something of a shelf when I walk), but ordering it can wait.

At least with David's Bridal I know that if I have a problem with the dress I bought in Kentucky, I can take it to the one in Kansas City for a quick fix. Or possibly a ribbon in the right shade of blue to make everything okay.