Prop Me Up!

After my freakout on Saturday, I decided to use my day off on Monday to start some DIY projects.

First up... photo booth props!

Supplies: hot glue gun, stiff felt in multiple colors (I chose pink, red, and black), dowel rods, scissors, and moustache templates if you need them (which I did. I found mine here).


Step One: Cut out the templates, place them on the stiff felt, and cut accordingly.


Simple, right?

Well, some of the 'staches were twisty and hard to cut with my jinky old scissors. It probably would benefit someone to trace the template onto the felt instead of just trying to cut it like I did. But, ahh... too late for that now!

Step Two: Attach the moustaches to the dowel rods using the hot glue. It dries much quicker than I expected, so I learned to be quick about my placement!


Step Three: Admire your work!


Step Four: Test out the moustaches.

The Gentleman...

The Villian...

The Cowboy...

The Painter...

and the Dairy Queen...

After that, the gears were really turning, so I started to create some of my own. These ended up being some of my favorites...


I used leftover felt to create "Team Kelly" and "Team Ryan" flags. I hope our friends use these in the photo booth. I think they would make for some adorable pictures!


I tried to test the lips out on Maggie, but she failed and just wanted to sniff them...


DIY Cost Breakdown:
Stiff Felt: $2.37
Hot Glue Gun: $3.49
Template: Free
Scissors and Dowel Rods: Already owned
Total: $5.86

Go Team Kelly!

*All personal photos

Wrangling the 'Maids

Welcome to my newest blog-tastic followers, Lauren and Rebecca!

Today I'd like to discuss my bridesmaids.

I love these girls to death... but gosh darn it, sometimes I just want to knock them over the head for living so far away and/or being so busy all the time.

(Don't worry. I would hit them with something soft... like a pillow or a kitten.)

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They each live between 2-8 hours away, and two of them I haven't even seen since before Ryan and I got engaged (that was a whopping 7+ months ago!).

All of this makes for a very difficult bride-to-bridesmaid relationship.

Every time I speak with them on the phone, they're all like "how is planning going?", and all I can respond with are generalizations like, "great... fine... fantastic." It's just too much of a hassle to fill them in more specifically than that when they aren't really around to be involved in the planning.

(Everyone take a moment to shed a tear for sad little me.)

Don't get me wrong... I don't regret picking any of my ladies. They're wonderful friends, and I can't imagine not having them next to me on the big day. But I guess I just thought this whole experience would be different.

TV tells me that my bridesmaids and I should be lounging around in our pajamas reading bridal magazines and giggling.

What? This isn't normal?

Why is TV lying to me?!

Instead, I'm stuck here sending out email after email trying to plan a bridesmaid get-together for January and figure out what city we should meet in so that each person will have to travel the least amount of distance.

Does anyone else have long-distance bridesmaids (or ones who work weekends), and have any good tips for getting all the gals together?

I've Been Bitten

... by the videography bug.

I've had a hard time writing this post because it means I have to come to grips with what has happened.

I wrote months ago about how Ryan and I had decided to not hire a videographer. We had discussed it up front, and our reasons pretty much boiled down to the following...

• We thought wedding videos were cheesy. I couldn't stand the thought of tacky transitions and horrible music ruining our beautiful day.
• If all you're left with is photographs, you can remember your wedding as perfectly as you'd like. But as soon as it's filmed, you realize just how terrible you sounded reading your vows, or how awkward you looked during your first dance.
• It's just one more unnecessary expense we'd have to work into the budget.
  

So the decision was made, and that was that.

... Until I started reading wedding blogs.

The first few times people posted their wedding teasers, and gushed about how fantastic they were, I intentionally avoided them. I don't want to see what I'm missing and regret our decision, I thought.

But one day I clicked that innocent little "play" button... and a whole new fabulous world was opened up before me.

Naked Opie, Julie Dots ... breathless from humanstory

To give you a little insight, I'll share with you that I do, in fact, shoot and edit video for a living. I edit video every single day at work.

But my video is blown out of the water by what these people can do.

Kim + Kyle // Wedding Highlights from Erika Rydell

And now I'm torn. A part of me is saying, Be sensible, Kelly... videography is a luxury, not a necessity. But the other half is screaming, I must have this! How else will I remember our wedding day?!

The hard part is, both sides are right. Videography is indeed unnecessary... but I've also heard that many people regret not having it once the wedding is over.

All Things Go. Video By BMP. from Video that rocks. The Weddings

Without a wedding video, you only get one chance to hear your husband recite his vows. You only get one chance to listen to your father give his toast.

You only get one chance. You either film it, or it's gone forever.

So what is "forever" worth to me?

(A few other fantastic companies that didn't have embed-able video (some of my absolute favorites!): LoudByte Cinematography, I Do Films, Delack Media Group)

Where Did the Time Go?

I had a minor freakout this morning.

We are 7 1/2 months away from our wedding. On the surface, that seems like a lot of time. But then I remembered back to this past June. We were a year away from our wedding, and it seemed like we had all the time in the world.

But we were dumb, and the past 4 1/2 months have flown by.

So if the next 4 1/2 months go as fast as the previous 4 1/2 months, then before we know it... we'll be only 3 months away from our wedding!

::head between my knees, gasping for air::

Three months?! That's no time at all! That's like my "oh, crap... you better have everything done by now" time where I tie up all my loose ends. That is not a place I'm ready to be any time soon.

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I have 131 items still left on my "To Do" list (and that's being generous with some umbrella terms like "Make Invitations" or "Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue").

Stupid "To Do" list! You mock me with your never-ceasing additions!

Luckily for me, 5 out of the next 7 weekends are long ones (I saved up too many vacation days at work).

I'm vowing to myself to get some major wedding planning done between now and the end of the year. All the major vendors are taken care of (that was the easy part!). Now on to the fun part... the details!

Where's the Line?

As you may know (or not), we'll be having a photo booth at our reception. The blogosphere question that always follows is whether or not we'll have any props.

I have some very strong opinions about photo booth props. They can be awesome and fun and make for some very cute photos. But if you're trying to have a reception with a certain "vibe", they can go a little overboard. I definitely want props... but only certain ones.

So where's the line?

Props I would be okay with having:

Mustaches and lips on sticks...

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Mini chalkboards...

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Empty frames...


Yay flags...

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Props that don't really fit the feel of our reception:

Boas and fake noses...

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Viking hats and handcuffs (seriously?)...

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Arrows through the head...

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Pink flamingos (who thinks of these things?!)...

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I know a lot of couples have a wide variety of different props in their booths. This post is in no way meant to offend anyone. This is just an idea of the type of photo booth props that I think would best suite our wedding's overall feel.

Overall, I'd like to keep the props to a minimum. I don't really want people stealing the props and running around the reception with cowboy hats or feather boas on. Some people love that, but not me. To each their own.

Either way... I know our guests will make good use of our 'booth and take some awesome photos. I can't wait to see our scrapbook once the night is over!

Cards of the Escort Variety

Welcome to my newest followers, Vee, KatieB, Laura, and Leana!

I have something to admit.

I had never heard of an escort card before I got engaged. I just thought any card that had your name on it was a place card. Same diff, right?

No.

Different diff.

See, a place card is a card that holds your seat. It basically says, "This is where Kelly sits!". In contrast, an escort card is a card that tells you what table you sit at. Like, "Go sit at Table 7, and bring me with you!"

Woah. My mind just blew up.

So I began to wonder... if you have escort cards, does that mean you don't have assigned seats?

Ryan and I have a problem with that. The last wedding we went to, there were assigned tables, but no assigned seats. It was fine for the two of us... but one of Ryan's cousins ended up sitting at the very end of the table, next to some people she didn't know... which was mildly awkward.

In a nutshell... assigned seats are pretty much a "must" for us.

So here are our options (along with some great inspiration photos compiled by yours truly)...

1. Seating Chart + Place Cards

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2. Escort Cards + Place Cards

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3. Escort Cards + Personalized Menus

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4. Seating Chart + Personalized Menus

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Well, option #2 seems repetitive. Who wants two cards sitting above their plate?

Besides that, how adorable are those escort cards in #3? The back of each card has a photo of the bride or groom with the guest. So cute!

I'm leaning towards options #1 and #3. I need to discuss it with Ryan. Although... he'll probably think I'm crazy for giving something like this so much thought.

But that's not unusual for us.

Let the Inspiration Flow!

We're 7 1/2 months out from our wedding now. Most wedding etiquette experts suggest sending out invitations 6-8 weeks before the wedding. That would put us in early May (6 months from now).

Even though that's a long way off, I like to start looking at invitation inspiration now. I've been saving photos on my computer so when the time comes to start designing them, it'll be easier to narrow down what we like.

I love the script at the top of these cards. That, and those adorable chicken and cow pictures at the bottom....


I love the little dotted design on these cards...


The way the words are formatted on these cards is adorable. But older guests may have a hard time reading it...


Pop-up invitations?! Yes, please...


The calligraphy in this suite is to die for (and probably just as expensive!)...


Despite what wedding experts say, I think we plan on sending our invitations out a little earlier. The majority of our guests are from out of town, so we'd like to give them plenty of time to plan their trips.

I'm setting a self-assigned due date of February 1 to have all the invitations figured out in my head. That way, I can take all the time I need actually getting them made. The Gocco adventures will be plentiful!