what you say?

what was that, theknot.com? it's only 78 days until the wedding? and i still have 100 unchecked items on my checklist? oh. well then, i suppose i have some work to do. don't worry though; the eleventh hour is my time to shine. i'll probably save most of my intricate diy items for june, because that's how i roll. in attempt to spark some miracle change in personality, i have been keeping an extensive to-do list. for your reading pleasure, here are the things on my to-do list, a little what-to-expect-at-my-wedding recap, if you will:

*invitations. proofs have been finalized and envelopes are in my car. we just have to place the final order and deliver the envelopes, along with the guest list (don't even get me started on the guest list), to the calligrapher. then we just stuff and stamp. thisclose to crossing it off the list.
*monogram. i need to create it, decide what items i want to grace with it and grace them. also make something like this for the doors at the country club:

*silhouettes. captain fantastic will shed the seasonal beard after the engagement pictures this weekend, at which point i need to have a good hair day and take the pictures to make the silhouettes. then decide how to use them.
*flowergirl dresses. make a decision already.
*decorations. we have thoroughly scoured the reception venue, laid out the floor plan and decided on the decorative basics (star lanterns, candles in vases with stones, moss topiaries, hot pink azaleas). i need to accumulate samples of each, pick exact items i want, purchase and/or borrow said items. collect childhood photos of me (easy) and the captain (hard) for display.
*me. figure out hair and makeup. i know what i want, just need to decide who'll do it and how. no pictures because it's a surpriiiiiiiiiise. shhh.

*passport. nothing irks me more at this moment than the fact that my passport's 10-year lifespan expires 2 months before my honeymoon. the forms are filled out, the heinous pictures are prepared, i just have to send it. but like, how lame that i'll need a new one with a new name two months later. exasperation.

*the final and most difficult to accomplish category = things that involve the groom. tuxedos. groomsmen gifts. wedding bands. it's pretty ridiculous how many times these items have been #1 on the saturday to-do list and have been replaced by more pressing activities like "go fly-fishing" and "host fraternity-style cookout." i digress.
i hope to cross some of this off over the weekend. all you office fans out there, beer me strength.

hello, gorgeous

PERFECT! in all white, with swiss dots on the alternating tiers instead of the plaid/starbursty design. and a monogram on the middle tier. obviously. from this wedding.

another decision made = the band! finally! captain fantastic & the parents & i had a dance party to their demo last night. no seriously. we even tried to recreate the jump shot in their picture (fail)...we were drinking champagne.

this week/weekend will be eaten up by our major annual event at work, but NEXT weekend, mom & i are doing some for real, intense weddin' thangs. most excitingly, we'll head to the club and figure out exactly how and where and what we'll decorate. FUN!

more invite-tations

mkay so i keep returning to my favorite aspect of the wedding planning process thus far: invitations. i INSIST on designing them myself. insist. i have decided, and i shan't be swayed. i think this is one area where i really, truly can d.i.myself and it will turn out great. so i'm determined. maybe i can't print.i.y, but i can as least design.i.y.

this invitation exhibits the type of thing i'd really like to get to do with my life.
i also think it's a great invitation that's part current trend and part traditional. it's not too crazy, but just different enough. it could be done a little toned-down and in b/w to make it more traditional, yes? i like the map too. not that we'll need a map, but you know...

i also super love these:
again, in b/w it would lean more to the traditional side and less to the super-trendy. if you ask me. which, you know, you kinda did, reading my blog and all. i just can't get enough of calligraphic flourishes around lettering. yum.

i saw this on a blog the other day too. (i'm so bad at remembering where...i just grab pictures and put them in my "weddin thangs" folder for inspiration...i hope the internet fairy doesn't get me for not properly attributing my photos...) anyway, it incorporates the silhouettes i've come to adore, and i think it's super neat. this is definitely untraditional, but i think it's neat inspiration.
i love this reply card! to go with my theme, i think marley & sterling would be quite handsome in silhouette on the reply cards. you laugh (not you marie, you understand), but you also know that our dogs are like our children (we have definitely become those people) and i can think of few things more "us" than...uh, them. if we were getting married in someone's backyard, they would be accompanying our adorable flower girls down the aisle. alas, we're not. sigh.
while we're talking reply cards here, i have a few ideas. 1) postcard replies - save paper and moola by not necessitating envelopes 2) reply cards with cute options like "wouldn't miss it for the world" or "be there in spirit" are cute. too cute? maybe.

finally, i'm totally digging these invites:
for some reason i just really like the line across the page, kinda like the white-on-black calligraphy envelope in my previous post. i'm working on my handwriting as we speak. before you nay-say that i can't include monograms, silhouettes and fancily-written names in one wedding invitation, please revisit the above inspirations and notice all the different elements. i think i can make it work. do you?

you're invited...

...to help me. surely someone who loves me dearly can write like this
or this
or this
or this
yes? anyone? k great. imma need you to write out our invitation text, to be printed a la these, with our monogram and/or silhouettes at the top:

and also our return address, to be made into a stamp and stamped on our invitations a la this:
aaaaaaand of course the individual addresses on the envelopes. that'd be super. the good news is we aren't having a seated dinner, so we won't have escort cards or any such foolishness. and also, you're off the hook for buying us this, or something equally awesome that will be on our registry (whenever we get around to actually making one...)

lovely letters

i found these on etsy.com a while ago, and they spell how i feel about them. i'm thinking monogram. like the flower-covered-ribbon-hanging monogram or the middle-of-a-wreath monogram from the last decorations post. how hard could this be to make? anyone good with wire?

dekorashuns

so the wedding's not for 8 months, but i can plan details like decorative accents already, right? good. here are a few things i've found in my interweb wanderings that have struck my fancy.

* things that are round. topiaries, pomanders, balls of vines, whathaveyou. i like them.
i was thinking something like this in miniature form could be cute for tables. what is more country club that topiaries? topiaries IN an actual country club WITH black & white marble tile floors (in the entryway). perfect.
these pomanders are actually made of tissue paper! wowza. (see martha tutorial below)
topiary pomanders = best of both worlds. these are hanging from a tent's ceiling. they could also be arranged amongst vases with single candles/flowers on tables.
these are balls made of vines and christmas lights. i think they are very expensive. seriously though, how hard could it be to recreate with a pre-made vine ball and a string of lights? don't answer that.

* things that are made of paper or tissue paper. these are kewl because they are pretty, inexpensive and handmade - all components of my ideal wedding decor. i think all of the following examples are from martha stewart.
these are made of paper bags. paper bags! genius.
here is the aforementioned tutorial for tissue paper balls.

i envision a congregation of hanging balls of some sort behnd the band, which will be set up in front of a bunch of windows overlooking the golf course. pretty?

* things that involve monograms. duh.
love this. need this. will have this in some form or fashion.
this could be one fashion, which i like for hanging on double doors. like those of, say, a church. of course if i hang them on the door of my downtown memphis church they will a) not be seen by my guests since most people enter from the side door off the parking lot b) instead be seen gracing the shopping cart of one of the myriad neighborhood homeless people. notsomuch.

*things that involve candles. what's more gorgeous than flickering candles, i ask?
these are wine glasses with candles inside and little paper shades on top. too cute!
this may be the coolest thing eva: these are tin cans! with holes poked in them! and candles inside!
of course you can't go wrong with your standard paper lantern. i like these ones with the uneven ribs. they come in lots of des colores, but i think i like the natural ones best.

these are just a few of the ideas swimming around in my head right now. questions? comments? concerns? suggestions? the floor is now open.

taking the plunge...into the blogosphere

i did it. i started a blog. about wedding planning. i am excited.

for some reason it took me approximately two weeks to work up the courage and pick the name. because i am a nerd, one with a tendency to stew and an allergy to decisions. there were many suggestions involving the dog's names, my favorite colors and patterns, my soon-to-be-mrs. moniker, etc. my betrothed made the following suggestion: "i have a good one! how about 'lauren gets stoned' - get it! you marry me, my last name is stone, your last name changes to…..never mind." i had to pass on that one though, as i'm only a dash of hippie; the kind of dash that comes from liking the outdoors, wanting to be more eco-friendly and still carrying traces of my sophomore year of college.

this blog came about when, after spending hours perusing wedding blogs, i realized that i, too, could have my very own, and it just might be a genius tool for keeping my slightly-ginormous bridal party abreast of my planning. because i know yall wait with bated breath for my next installment of wedding inspiration :) but just because this blog is for my nearest and dearest doesn't mean i can't do fun blog things, like only refer to my fiancé by a nickname. i'm thinking i'll use the one that my cousin created and likes to use, because it's cute and it makes me feel like i'm marrying a superhero (which i just might be) - captain fantastic. fabulous. he may prefer that i refer to him by his trail crew nickname, c-murda, or some other, manlier slash sketchier name, but too bad. my blog, my rules.

and so, without further ado, my first wedding blog post. today's topic: monograms. love them. need one. made one. i couldn't find my artsy paper and had to use a notebook, and my photographic skills last night were obviously lacking, but you get the point. it's a rough draft.

so that's the pre-marital monogram, for invitations, programs, etcetera. the post-marital monogram, for whatever i decide needs embellishment at the reception, shall contain a better-looking slash designed version of this:

i think i need a new camera. anyhoo, there you have it. what do we think - badass, yes?