#674: our cake topper.

we didn't really have a cake topper. in fact, we didn't really have a cake. remember?

anyways, i thought that was that. done and done. but then something happened.

a couple of weeks before the wedding, we received one of our most favoritist wedding gifts, from a dear dear dear (three times, dear!) friend of mine who lives in ireland. she couldn't make it to our wedding and instead sent over something that squeezed the juice from my eyeballs.

i knew there had to be a place for it somewhere in our wedding. and it took me all of 2 seconds to figure it out.

on the day of, i had one of my bridesmaids put my friend's gift next to our cake. as a kind of cake topper. but the kind of cake topper that didn't go on top of the cake.

like this.


photo of our cake and 'cake topper' by max wanger.

p.s. it's wanger. not wagner. just sayin.

p.p.s. our venue ended up providing the cake table, a cake knife, a cake server, and cake stand...with no instruction from me. cool, huh.

#664: light it up.

any excuse to have a party. or to buy a house with a backyard.


so gorgeous. instructions via once wed.

#637: daddy.

after fretting for hours and hours...we finally found the song for the father-daughter and mother-son dance portion of the reception.

it's the song. perfect for us.

don't care what anybody says.*

"love will keep us alive" -- eagles


photo by the wonderfully talented team over at one love photo.

*i mean, i care, of course. but i'm just sayin.

#629: the cake.

hi guys. say hello to our cake. (i mean. i haven't ordered it yet. but i plan to this week. unless i change my mind.)

it will be a 6-incher from sweet lady jane. and FYI, a 6-incher serves 6-8 people.

WHAT, you say? WILL THAT BE ENOUGH, you say?

thing is, my venue has a dessert course option that's included in the cost. so i'm opting to serve the house chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream.

what that means is. i will not be paying for a separate so-called wedding cake. yay. well, i'm paying for the 6-incher...but that's it. it's almost like a prop. something to cut. because we want to cut a cake.

word.

p.s. i have two hangnails on my left thumb. one on the right and one on the left. eh.

#626: the dance.

we will be having a father/daughter + mother/son dance. together. at the same time. because that's how we do.

i can't decide on a song. actually, it's not that i can't decide on a song. it's more like...i haven't found the song. i've pored through lists and lists, looked through you tube, googled and googled, asked my friends and family. and nothing.

what's your song?

#623: the timeline.

10:45am - ceremony begins.
11:30am - ceremony ends.
11:35am - cocktails + hors d'oeuvres hour.
12:15pm - slide show / our entrance / first dance.
12:30pm - lunch is served.
1:30pm - the toasts.
1:45pm - father daughter / mother son dance.
2:00pm - cake cutting / dessert is served.

this is the meat of it. no pun intended. heh.

#622: hi!

i know i've been toads MIA lately. it's a number of things. first, i don't know what to talk about. second, i was REALLY really sick for over a week and i'm still recovering (mom is convinced i have swine flu). third, the wedding is in less than a month so maybe i'm a little stressed out and don't want to blog about wedding stuff because i'm inundated with wedding stuff every single minute of the day? idk.

we're going to another wedding this weekend. hopefully we find time to write our vows at some point. heh.

oh. and there's another project i want to take on.

the polaroid guest book. except it won't be a free-for-all-take-as-many-pictures-as-you'd-like kind of thing. polaroid film = expensive. so i think i'm going to station 3 of my cousins at the front and have them take pictures of the guests as they arrive.

then again, i may not want to have another project on my plate.

then again, it'd be really cool to have a polaroid guest book.

#617: too kitschschty.

you know what i mean.

so this was the original concept of our placecards. you know. because we're having our wedding at a restaurant known for their..*ahem*..prime rib.



but as i kept going with it, i came to my senses. so. no more cow cut-outs. (i hear sighs of relief everywhere i think.)

and now we have a new concept. concept 2.0. i'll post about it on monday since i don't have a prototype yet. heh.

p.s. i really like cereal box stock. re-using is cool.

#611: hip hop at noon.

we hired a dj.

it was a TOUGH decision, let me tell you. i went back and forth on it a million times. to dj or not to dj. to spend the money or not to spend the money. and fiance was unmoved either way.

can i also add that negotiating with djs isn't easy? the djs i contacted didn't move much on their price and even with a lot of back and forthing, they all ended up hovering around the same price range.

and by same, i mean out of my price range.

eventually, i contacted a friend of a friend who used to promote at clubs and now books gigs and manages 2 of her dj friends. i had done my homework and found that other friends who've used them had really liked what they did. so i asked how much they would charge for what i needed...and found that they were around that same 'out of my price range' price range.

i negotiated to the best of my freaking ability and was able to knock off a bit. and looking back, i think i could have been an even stronger negotiator. but it was tricky because she was a friend of a friend.

during negotiations, she promised no hidden fees, no extra charges, the rate was inclusive of all travel and equipment handling fees...and tips. plus, no upfront deposits - just payment in full after a job well done. and she also offered to step up and semi-coordinate the day while 2 djs manned the music.

AND because she's a friend of a friend, i trust her.

trust = key.

so. after all that, it felt kind of right and we bit the bullet. the more i think about it, the more i think it was the right choice for us.

i didn't even feel right delegating someone to light candles around the room, let alone man an ipod for a few hours.

although, now that she's acting as a semi-coordinator, i suppose i could ask her to light the candles.

anyways.

so getting to the 'hip hop at noon' thing. we're having a lunch reception. and our venue is not outdoors...it's a restaurant. and it's mostly family. given those things, i just really don't think people will feel like dancing. i've never been to a daytime wedding so i don't know.

as i discuss the playlist with the djs, should i assume people won't want to get down so early in the day and keep the music on the mellow side? or should i not assume anything?

#590: gadgetry.

i'm not a fan of gadgets. i have one of those free phones from verizon and even though the fiance keeps bugging me to upgrade to a bberry, i. will. not. because all i need are the basics.

and it's not often that i see something gadget-y and want. it.

but i saw this on 2000 dollar wedding today and kind of wanted to reach into my computer screen and start taking pictures with my free verizon phone.


polaroid pogo.

digital? instant? what? so cool.

p.s. i dig how she gathered photos from her guests.

#572: umbrellas.

want to bring the outside indoors? got some outdoor furniture (namely, those umbrellas) laying around? well you can. and it could work.

case in point:

via the bride's cafe.

#566: it never snows here.

but it could if you want it to.

indoors.
around the doorway.
at the altar.

just sayin.


instructions here via cypress and oak.

#545: the timeline.

after my first attempt at a timeline, i realized it could use some work.

i think i'm close now.

10:30am - ceremony begins.
11:15am - ceremony ends.
11:15am - cocktailish hour. (cocktails. at 11:15 in the morn. don't you want to be at my wedding.)
12:00pm - bridal party entrance / slide show / our entrance / first dance. music keeps playing.
12:15pm - lunch is served. i.will.eat.
1:00pm - the toasts.
1:15pm - cake cutting / father daughter dance.

and then. p-a-r-t-y.

am i missing anything?

the time is going to disappear on the day of. i can already tell. i hope i remember everything.

*******************************************

dear day of,
please don't run away from me.

#539: on my mind.

1) hm. a diy photoboothy area seems like a cool idea.

2) is a guestbook necessary? yes. no. yes. no. i don't know.

3) my entire february to-do list:
practice hair/makeup, work on decoration for ceremony, finalize guest list, get guys' ties, decorate invitations, book rehearsal at venue, scope out la cienega park, book space at the park if necessary, are we getting a dj? - figure out reception schedule, be able to fit into my wedding dress.

among other things.

over the weekend, we sent out little packages to the fiance's family to officially ask his nieces and nephews to be flowergirls and bridesmaid ushers (yes, i made up this role for them and yes, i'm extremely proud of it). their ages range between 1 through 7 or 8 and one of our priorities from the very beginning was to include all of them -- 6 little kids in total.

whether they make it down the aisle as intended or not on the day of, doesn't really matter. i'm just excited they're all coming.

#526: pin cushion.

via black eiffel.

if you're the type of person who has extra bits of fabric laying around, i think something like this would be brills as place cards.

not me though. i'm busy collecting cereal boxes.

#514: thanks for your list, craig.

snapped a pic before loading them up. and yes. rock candy is back in the picture.


we are considering linen overlays to cover the base of the centerpieces. i bought 1 yard to practice with. in other words, we may or may not end up doing this.


we weren't even going for this. but do you see what i see.

p.s. a fake tulip bouquet.

$7.99 at michaels. for the little flower girls? so they can trash it as much as they want? fiance was all about it but i'm not so sure. what do you think.

#513: torn.

happy monday y'alls.

i'm curious.

1) how important is / was the music portion of your event?
2) how much did / are you willing to spend for a DJ (or live music or equivalent)?
3) if you had an ipod wedding, what were the pros and cons? and would you do it again without a doubt?
4) i've only reached out to 1 dj so far and he's going to put me out over $1000. eH?! i definitely don't wanna. thoughts?

please feel free to answer one or any or all of the above.

gracias.

#494: worth it.

via once wed.

...fire hazard? totally.

worth it? times a mil.

i don't have space for this kind of setup but wanted to share it with you because it's a stunner. it also seems like a budget-friendly way to capture a timeless picture. a picture you can enlarge and frame and hang in a prominent place in your home. forever and ever.

p.s. their names are kenan and ro. that just oozes cool, does it not.

#473: thinking out loud.

so as it turns out, i don't really do wedding stuff unless i actually document that i'm DOING IT...on this blog. meh.

to recall last week, here's my to-do list for january. i haven't done much of anything on it yet. i think it has a bit to do with the new year blues i'm wrestling with (why i have this i don't know)...but i'm slowly starting the feel the fire up my @$$ and know i need to really do things NOW to avoid a meltdown later. meh.

so i'm going to put on my journal hat and jot my thoughts on our ceremony and reception procession. in other words, this is going to be a boring post.

ceremony:
music starts (sticking with just one song. no switching of the music when i start down the aisle.)
groom's mom with groom's brother-in-law
bride's mom with bride's brother
groom
groomsmen
flower girl #1
flower girl #2
bridesmaid with nephew (repeat 4x's)
bride and father of the bride
officiant says stuff
we say our vows
we hug the parents and give thanks
officiant says stuff
we're husband and wifey!

cocktails

reception:
music
bridesmaids and groomsmen are introduced
slideshow of bride and groom (this is a maybe)
bride and groom are introduced
groom brings bride to father
father/daughter dance
invite all father/daughters to the dancefloor
salad is served (bride/groom goes around to the tables)
main course is served
best man speech
maid of honor speech (ends with inviting us to our first dance)
first dance
invite all couples to the dancefloor
keep the music playing
(no announcement) cut the cake
dessert is served
bride and groom thanks everyone

and with that, i feel really productive. any comments?

#468: fabric escort cards.

via black eiffel.