OOT progress

The OOT bags (or oooot bags, as the FI calls them) have begun to expand nicely in the past week. I was able to procure the most adorable playing cards (in their own little cases) at Michaels craft store for just $1 each, so for now, we have playing cards, and Spanish for Dummies. I am hoping that I will be able to order a few of the other items online soon.

Does anyone have ideas about items that we should consider including- that were not listed before? We have talked about having something in there that will surprise and make guests feel truly special and appreciated (not that the other stuff does not, but we are open to suggestion).

Oh! And I found an excellent template for covering rolls of Life Savers with a personalized label, so I think we'll do that instead of mint tins (far more cost-effective but just as cute).

Favors: Check

The latest news on the wedding front is that I finally broke down and ordered the darn maracas that I have wanted for a few months now. They arrived yesterday(in a huge box...how the heck are we going to get these to Mexico?! More on that later...), and we think they are perfect! I was a little bummed at first that we could not order specific colors, but I think that the multi-colored feel will actually be better table-candy than uniform maracas. So you can see, there are 6 colors total, and I ordered 48 of these babies. We are going to place a favor tag on each one, tied with some kind of ribbon or raffia, and place them on the reception tables. The favor tag will say something like "Shake This for a Kiss", and we hope to tie it in with the table numbers that will list things that the guests can do to get a kiss from the bride and groom. We completely stole this idea from a number of other sources (can't credit them all) that suggested placing instructions for kiss-getting on the Menu cards, Place cards, or table numbers. We've had a few ideas, such as "Stand up and sing a song with the word 'love' in it, shaking your maracas to the beat." I'll post more on that later, but for now, check out the pictures!


*I bought the maracas from Windy City Novelties. Shipping was fast and service was good - packaging was nicely done too.

Invitations and Wrap-around Labels

Our invitations arrived! And we like them! Hooray!

Ok enough excitement. Let's talk about the fact that I have horrible, terrible, not-to-be-trusted penmanship. And the fact that the FI actually addressed all of the Save the Dates because of this fact. In essence, I am either going to have to pay someone to address our invitations, or break down and figure out a way to print them onto a label that does not appear cheap, pointless, or lazy. I came across the idea of wraparound address labels (somewhere on Martha Stewart's site I believe) and thought, what a great plan! Purposeful yet elegant. Only problem was, all of the do-it-yourselfers were gluing these babies onto their envelopes...too risky for me. With my luck, I would choose the wrong glue and they would all fall off before reaching their final destinations.

So upon a whim, I did some Google searching, and sure enough stumbled across some print-your-own stickers that are 8'' x 2'' and positively perfect for this DIY project! (It says the labels are for water bottles...shhh...). Here are a few visuals of this crazy project, with just plain old paper where the stickers will be, to give you an idea. I'm very excited to add this to the 'belly band' idea (burlap paper around the center of the invitation, not the metallic stuff you see in the pic, tied with raffia) and think it will soup up our otherwise plain invites.

OOT Bags: The List

<--Example OOT Bag Contents

So far, I have accumulated exactly 1 item for our OOT bags. Ugh. However, I have accumulated a variety of ideas for what WILL go into these things, and I may have even found the BAGS to put the stuff in!

IF you are coming to the wedding and wish to be completely surprised, do not read any further! (this list isn't final of course, but I don't want to deprive anyone of a surprising incident, hee hee)








First, the list of stuff:

• 1 Spanish for Dummies pocket edition
• 1 pack of playing cards (white with blue, red, green, yellow I think)
• 1 small bottle of aloe vera gel
• 1 book of Sudoku puzzles
• 1 mini beach ball (for the guys)
• 2 palm tree pens
• 1 first aid kit (bandaids, alcohol wipes, pepto bismol, advil)
• 2 tubes chapstick
• 2 tins DIY personalized wedding mints
• 2 Stamped post cards
• MAYBE 2 plastic personalized stadium cups (Mindy+Christopher, Mexico 08.08.09)
• MAYBE Some type of snack or candy item
• MAYBE Personalized Matchbooks
• MAYBE travel candle for romance (beach balls for single men?)
  
• DIY Welcome Letter/Thank you for coming
• DIY Wedding Itinerary
• DIY Things to Do On and Off the Resort guide

Next, the bag to put the stuff in - right now I'm torn between these two bags, and will likely go with a natural or blue color in the end:

http://www.papermart.com/templates/73-1-01.htm#GO_73101

http://www.papermart.com/templates/73-1-21.htm#GO_73121

My main wish is that all of the things that we give to guests are usable in some way and won't just be discarded or left in the room because they are too bulky or stupid to be brought home. Feedback? Ideas? Which bag do you like?

Bridesmaid Dresses are In!

It is a very exciting week here on the wedding planning front. Not only do our wedding invitations arrive in the mail tomorrow (!), but all bridesmaids should have their dresses by the end of the week. Hooray! And one of them was kind enough to take a few pics so I can show the world the gorgeousness of this dress. I'm really excited about the colors, so vibrant and tropical. Next we'll have to pick out some shoes and jewelry, but there is still a bit of time for that. All I can say is that my bridesmaids are going to be smoking hawt (and hopefully keep cool in the warm Mexican August evening). Hopefully I'll get some more pics from the other ladies as well and I can get a real photo album happening up here. Thanks to Dana for the early pics!!

SMB is Catching On

Whenever I find new photos of the still-developing Secrets Maroma Beach Resort (the site of our wedding) I get impossibly excited and have trouble being calm about it. After reading a few forum postings about the resort's difficulties related to hosting a wedding (ugh, talk about days of second-guessing our decision) I am always on the lookout for evidence to the contrary. Hopefully more brides who have held their weddings at SMB will post reviews soon - but until then, I did find some great new shots of the areas of the resort that thus far had been less visible.

You'll see a photo of the Asian fusion restaurant, Himitsu, as well as a new aerial shot of the resort itself. The shot of the ballroom-type space is apparently one of our choices for a reception - and just off this room is the disco! The other two pics are of the Spa area - this has received raving reviews, particularly with regard to massages, but not as much with pedicures and manicures (more than one person wished they had their toes/nails done at home before stepping on the plane....ouch...). I'm going to remain (naively?) optimistically certain that these growing pains will mostly subside by the time August rolls around.

*Photos were found on Expedia.com

To personalize, or not to personalize...this is the question.

I have to confess: I am an anti-personalization bride. I have seen weddings that are personalization-happy to the point of insanity (personalized linens on the tables, personalized tags on the silverware, personalized sparklers...) and I'm afraid I do not have one single item or image that I love SO MUCH that I would stick it on every single thing in sight. Nope. Can't be done. I'm not even so desperately in love with my new last name or initials that I would put that everywhere. (I'm only moving up 1 letter in the alphabet anyhow...kidding honey!) But, with weddings does come some element of personalization, whether that means that your intials are plastered on foreheads, or you spray-paint the room in 'peppy tangerine orange'. So, I have embraced the practice in small ways. For example, fun tank tops for the bridal party ladies to wear the day of the wedding - now that is something I can get behind. After scouring the internet for possible options, and finding the average price of a personalized blingy tank to be hovering in the $25 range, I thought it might be better if I did my own personalization and bought some quality tank tops instead. JCrew had a sale...so I am now the proud owner of 4 'bright tangerine' tanks, and 1 'cerise' tank - all of which are waiting in my office to be personalized. Now the question is...with what? Iron-on bling? An aqua satin ribbon tied around one of the tank arm-holes? Printed iron-on decals? There's always the 'bridesmaid' 'bride' business, but I wanted something a bit more unique...hmm...maybe just the word 'mexico'? Or "lucky" (the new song we love for a 'theme song' for the wedding)? I don't want to put anything on there that will prevent the tank from being worn again, quite honestly. Can it be done?

OOT Bags - the buying has begun

The concept of an "out of town" guest gift bag is something I love. In concept. However, when you really start looking at the costs associated with such a concept, it gets a little bit overwhelming to think about making 35, 40...or even 50 of these things for your guests, transport all of the items needed to make them to another country, and then somehow assemble and hand out each one to all of the correct rooms at the resort in a timely fashion. (Or pay the resort staff to deliver them for you...for $4 per room...hopefully to the correct rooms...) So, I had not actually decided to jump into the fray and 'do these things' until today. After reading the Best Destination Wedding forums for a bit last evening, I realized that the FI had actually stumbled across the PERFECT item for a Mexico OOT bag = a pocket-sized Spanish for Dummies book (he bought one from the dollar bins at Target the other day). So today after work, I sped to Target in hopes that they were not already sold out of these perfect items *gasp*. But, of course, I forget where I live. Here in Cheyenne, WY, who else besides crazy destination-bridal-me would have a need for 42 pocket-sized Spanish for Dummies books? No one, apparently, which is why I can happily report the first items for our OOT bags (that almost didn't happen but now have to happen) have been purchased! The question now becomes, what else do we stick in these things? And what do we stick the 'else' into?? A canvas bag? A paper bag? A reusable grocery bag? Man, sometimes I think I subconsciously try to make things more difficult for myself. :o)

Veils

Who knew veils were so complicated?

http://www.occanseydesigns.com/veilcutsandstyles.html

More soon...

Invitation: Final?

With some discussion and compromise, I believe we have found a winner. Although I have said that about a hundred times before, this time it just has to be done. I'm having trouble ignoring the signs (hello, the invitation is currently 40% off and the perfect combination of classy and modern whimsical...), and indeed, it does fit most specifications that I have carried from website to website. I'll post it here and of course, update when it is actually ordered (dum dum da dum).

UPDATE: We ordered these invitations from EInvite.com last week (40% off, $57.95 incl. shipping for 80 invitations and envelopes). They should arrive later this week, at which time I'll post a full review.

The Invitation Search

It continues! As I mentioned in previous posts, I am oh-so-tormented by the choice between thick, elegant, letterpress(read: expensive) invitations, and the do-it-myself design that is fully customizable(read: inexpensive). I love beautiful artful things, and thick heavy paper, a gorgeous font, and perhaps a small image evoke actual warm fuzzy feelings - weird, right? Obviously not, since brides and grooms are actually willing to pay an average of $700 for the full stationery set that accompanies the typical wedding (invitations, envelopes, response and reception cards, inner envelopes...the list goes on).

I have reined myself in to not spending more than $200 total on all of the elements that go into the invitation (sans postage of course). I am fairly certain that response cards are unnecessary; we will ask guests to visit the website or call to RSVP. And reception cards are similarly not helpful, when obviously the reception will be at the resort, as will the ceremony (so if anyone gets lost between the beach and the pool, they have larger problems that a reception card could not possibly fix...). Here are a few of my all-time favorite options, although I am truly no closer to a decision than I was 6 months ago. *sigh* Which is your favorite?

Latest Color Scheme...

The indecisive bride with far too many options strikes again. After choosing the gorgeous bridesmaids dresses (and we'll only keep them if they are comfy and not too-too revealing...) the aqua and persimmon color scheme seemed perhaps a bit stark...too close to red. So I think it's safe to say I'm moving toward oranges, blues, white/ivory/natural, and things in that neighborhood. Which means, continuing to search for the ever-elusive invitation, the table decor that won't blow away in the Mexican wind, the welcome bags and menus and ties and...oh so many other things. I am loving the Bird of Paradise flower for inspiration lately, and I also am still in love with the use of coral somewhere in the mix...both items are pokey, pointed, whatever you want to call it, and I seem to like that. So the search continues for a cohesive design that I can take to the bank...until then, I do enjoy just looking. And looking. And looking some more.

Bridesmaid Dresses? Oh yeah, we picked 'em!

And we could not be more excited! After a few weeks of toiling and going back and forth between solid colors and patterns, short, tea-length, and full-length dresses, v-necks, strapless-necks, and just about every other differentiating factor you can think of, a decision was miraculously made and the ladies have ordered their gowns. This gown's colors were just too wonderful to pass up, and the sharp contrast of the burnt orange, tangerine, aqua blue, and deep purple harkens thoughts of tropical flowers and fiery sunsets over the blue ocean waters. Where did we find this wonderous halter-neck, full-length, jersey-knit concoction? Well, Victoria's Secret of course. Hah! No one would ever guess you could find bridesmaid dresses there, but like other destination brides, I chose to look outside the typical bridesmaid dress box, and I am so glad it happened the way it did. As long as the dresses fit and are comfortable, this will be 'the dress' and we'll just have some minor accessorizing to do. I plan to make bracelets for the 'best women', and potentially also ankle bracelets. I hope to find some trendy flat sandals as well, and will post about those in the near future (the hunt for reasonably-priced shoes has so many stops!).

New Year's Resolution: Blog More!

Obviously my great momentum with blogging over the past fall has slowed. However, I have made quite a few resolutions for behavior change this year, and one of those relates to my blog. I hope to have many insightful topics to contribute to the blogosphere in the near future. I would also love to hear any suggestions on topics for the blog from anyone who happens by! More soon...

Here is a pic from our recent fabulous vacation to the Virgin Islands (for Dana & Kai's gorgeous wedding). We're excited to see the tropics again in just 7 short months!!

Wow!

Seriously, I cannot believe that I have not blogged in a month. Things have been a little crazy, between the holidays and weddings and international trips. But, I do promise to get back on board with blogging after the final grades have been entered for the class I'm teaching (this Friday! woo!). Thanks to anyone still checking in!