We’re already 1/3 into our almost six-month engagement which might seem stressful, but as far as I’m concerned we made good progress in those first few weeks (as overviewed in the July Update), so good for us for spending August day dreaming about the actual flow of our big day.
We’re still in the mindset of keeping a lot of our little planning details on the down-low (we want some sense of surprise for any guests who also peruse our blogs), but that doesn’t mean I can’t share generalities from our stream of concious. Party planning of any kind isn’t necessarily my forte, but it sure is fun.
If you missed last Monday’s post, we revealed our DIY save the date design and production strategy, which formalized our date and allowed us to share our excitement with almost 180 of our friends. Here are some other things that crossed our minds this month.
1. Gifties!
Sure, there are countless things that we should prioritizing ahead of wedding favors, but it is fun to think about making something special for our family and friends, and when you set out to create something handmade, you need to start planning further in advance. Without actually divulging what we’ve decided to gift our friends and family, we enjoyed discovering the DIY-able options that are floating around on the interwebs that are fun, inexpensive, and most notably, not riddled with custom engravements or details that boldly commemmorate “EMILY AND PETE 2012”. What can I say, does anyone actually use those etched shot glasses or printed beer cozies? Maybe, but I see a lot of them at garage sales too, which always makes me wonder “Who would buy that? We don’t know James and Jessica who had engraved picture frames made in 2004?”
In any case, here are a few of our favorites (that did not win out… girl’s gotta keep some secrets about her planning so there’s some sense of surprise!):
1. This might not be everyone’s style, but I thought mini mobiles would make a fun gift, albeit a time consuming one. I really like this DIY Arrow Mobile by Smile and Wave. And maybe that just means its time to make my own.
2. Inexpensive candy pouches customized with printed graphics or personal stamp are cute. Ashley at Make It and Love Itmade these really cute ones.
3. Simple totes like this heart one by Hrrrthrrr would be fun and useful.
4. I love the idea of a custom mug, customizable long beyond our party. This DIY one by wit & whistle is darling.
5. You probably can’t go wrong with ornament favors during a winter wedding, but we nixed it knowing that not everyone we invited would have a Christmas tree. Nonetheless, Better Homes & Gardens had a sweet, eco- and so flower-shop-reception-appropro.
6. Can’t go wrong with cookies, like these from BHG that would flow marvelously with Julia’s bridemaid/maid of honor/flower girl dress. We went to a wedding last summer who followed this trend, and there’s something to be said about having desserts from the event for dayssss.
2. It costs how much to rent barn wood tables?
Tossing aside the idea of renting the inexpensive tables and having big centerpieces, I’ve kind of fallen for the idea of having wooden tables with a simple runner accent. Something a little more casual, a little more family-style. One local vendor (the only one who showed up in our local barn wood table searches) informed us that their rentals were $150 per table per day, and there’s no part of me that feels OK with spending that kind of money when I can make one.
More to come on that. My trunk is full of lumber.
3. We have a photographer!
We’re lucky to know many generous photographers, and we finally selected the one. As a talented photographer of everything life, Katie’s also been known to shoot weddings. Beautifully. Based on what we’ve seen in her wedding portfolio, we trust that she’ll find a way to get some really memorable shots of us, even if we’re two people who don’t enjoy getting their photos taken.
September’s bound to be much more productive; our calendar is filled with big, expected events related to dress shopping, ring finding, and food sourcing. Who else out there has busy planning wedding details at warp speed?
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