Silly Inner Envelopes

Archie went to stay with his daddy for a couple of weeks since I intended to fly out for my spring break (since Andrew would be driving to Kentucky anyway a week later for his own break, it didn't make sense to drive). While he's been away, I've been trying to get the invitations put together.

Things I have learned:
1. Tying ribbon bows onto 125 folded invitation cards is extremely tedious.
2. I cannot tie a bow as nicely as Martha Stewart. After spending several hours trying to match her classy knot, I settled on the nicest bows I could tie, which involves the hangy part being on top of the bow part on one side and the entire bow lining up against the top of the card. Not exactly what I had in mind when I ordered the invitations, but I figured I could spend the next month on grad school or tying perfect bows.
3. Because the entirety of the bow is at the top of the card, the flaps on the inner envelopes will not stay closed.
4. The flaps not staying closed annoys the hell out of me.

So what to do about the flaps (not to mention putting 100 more of the 125 invitations and reception/info cards into envelopes)? Where there is a problem, I shall find an impulse-buy solution.

I've thought about using photo stamps for the invitations since square and ribbon=expensive postage the USPS doesn't actually make stamps in the denomination required. If we do that, I'm thinking about putting a bow tie on Archie after his next grooming visit and using that picture for the stamps to involve him in our day (more later on the complications of wanting to share wedding with puppy pseudo-child).

So what did I figure out to do? Keep the picture love going!

I ordered Kodak photo stickers, after cropping one of our engagement pictures to a square, and selected the "Sea Glass" border option for the 2" x 2" Martha Stewart stickers (30 on a sheet for $3.99 at KodakGallery.com). I shipped them to Andrew's house in Fulton (where I'll be for the next week on Spring Break--so exciting, I know) via the FedEx 2-day option.

Hopefully they'll arrive early next week and we'll be able to deliver them to all our college friends (who hopefully won't mind that they're getting hand-delivered invitations). In addition to packing for my flight tomorrow and doing last-minute laundry I need to go over our guest list and figure out how many invitations I need to take with me in all-but-done format to hand out/get postage cost estimated for the rest of the batch.

Now back to the packing planning for the rest of my work time, since I have to finish up tomorrow morning early and have yet to determine if I'm going to check two or carry-on two (the definite carryon is my backpack). Since I'm taking three flights to get from Lexington to St. Louis, I don't want to have to haul excess baggage through my two layover airports. However, I also don't want my luggage to not make a plane transfer at some point in these journeys, so I'm still conflicted about what to do, especially since I'm flying Continental for 2 flights but American for the last leg. Too easy to see stuff going horribly wrong, but discomfort of constantly dragging stuff around is also not appealing.

Shoe Second Thoughts

I have shoes for my wedding. Technically. I bought a pair of simple ballet slippers months ago since there are very few absolutely flat shoes that come in a 9 Wide and going with normal width is simply not an option if I don't want my feet to hate me.

But now that it's spring (for fashion, at least, even if I still am freezing my tail off outside), more white shoes are available for me to choose from.

Also, since I've decided that I want to take pictures in exciting locations like Union Station before the ceremony starts, I'll need shoes that I can actually walk around in without worrying about stepping on pebbles. So I started my search again.

I paid about $25 for the above ballet slippers from Zappos.com, Capezio Cobra (Ballet) for $25.

I love these eyelet skimmers but worry that they're too casual for wedding shoes...though my dress is floor length so it's not like I absolutely can't wear them: Grasshoppers Demi Eyelet for $46.

These are the other option I'm seriously considering, since they look cute yet comfortable and seem to strike a good balance between formal and playful. And they give me a reason to get a cute pedicure for the wedding other than the fact that I love to run around barefoot. They are, however, the most expensive pair I've looked at by a good little bit. Naturalizer Verdum, $72.95 on Zappos.

Which do you think would be best? I'm looking for honest opinions here, or I might find myself ordering whichever I'm thinking is the cutest at the moment. And if I pick another shoe, should I return my ballet slippers? (I think I still have time.)

In Memory

I'd like to start off by saying that I have been blessed with the most amazing grandparents ever. My dad's parents have been happily married for over 60 years now, which was amazing to grow up with them being nearby.

My mom's parents were married almost as long, for over 59 years until my grandmother's death on December 26, 2006. My grandpa died this past year as well, and I miss them terribly.

All the little rituals I had with each of them that my parents didn't know about when I was little. How I'd go to church with grandpa on Sunday morning so I could stay with him on Saturday night and play checkers for Andes mints he kept in an old check box and watch the Lawrence Welk show with him and grandma. How they taught me the words to the songs. Helping grandma put together her intricate puzzles.

I wanted them to be at my wedding this June.

I'm going to carry them with me, instead. Yesterday I bought a locket pin from Ebay, and I'm going to shrink copies of the pictures of them that always sat on their dresser at their house to put in the frames. I'll attach it to the ribbon binding my bouquet.

Here are some pictures of the locket in it's current state:

Headcase

Here's a preview picture of me in my veil and tiara, learning how hard it is to take a good picture of oneself in a tiny apartment with weird lighting conditions.

I had a very good buying experience ordering both off of ebay from a vendor called veilsbylana. I still need to leave feedback, but I'd like to go ahead and say that they arrived together in great, sturdy packaging and exactly as described.

The vendor even lowered the total shipping cost since I ordered two items rather than just the one.

An excellent seller and very easy to work with.

Now to let my veil breathe after its travels, it is currently hanging over my movie rack and slowly losing wrinkles.