Behold..... The Pocketfold!

A lot has happened in the invitation market since my first marriage almost a decade ago. Oh, sure, we had thermography, and letterpress (although only offered by a few printers, and it was so cost prohibitive, most people couldn't afford it), as well as hand-calligraphy, and we also had a number of invitation companies to choose from (Carlson Craft and Rexcraft among the more well-known). I just realized that I sound like a real old fogey, talking about how things were "back then". Oy.

But lately there seems to be a trend in the one-of-a kind, DIY invitation, and a lot of the ones I've seen are really creative! One of my favorite new-ish ideas is the pocketfold invitation.

I love the idea of including everything about a wedding in a neat little package that can be wrapped up with a ribbon or secured with a sticker or wax seal. Everything from the invitation, to the response card, to the directions and accommodations can be included in a pocketfold, which keeps things nice and neat for guests. Plus, if you're a DIY bride, pocketfolds can be very budget friendly, as the pocketfolds themselves can be bought for as little as $1.00 each!

Personally, I intend to DIY my pocketfolds, even though I'm not the most crafty person on the planet. I like the idea of being able to print my own cardstock, and use whatever designs FH and I can find to tie into the theme of our wedding. Don't worry, I'll be sure to post photos of the results!

Here are a few sample pocketfolds that I've come across that have inspired me:

Cupcake Heaven

During my recent trip to Seattle, I met up with a bunch of Seattle brides that I met on the Craigslist wedding forum (if you haven't checked it out yet, I highly suggest you do. It requires you to sign in with a username, but trust me- it's worth it). I suggested we meet at Trophy cupcakes, which is my MOST. FAVORITE. CUPCAKE. PLACE. ON. THE. PLANET. Not only are they incredibly yummy, but they are beautiful to look at. Don't believe me? Check them out:






















FH and I are DEFINITELY going to be using Trophy cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake, although we will probably have a small cake just for cutting. Of course, the most difficult thing will be deciding WHICH cupcakes we want! FH and I are pretty partial to their carrot cake cupcake (it's all about their cream cheese frosting---It's SCRUMPTIOUS), and their red velvet cupcake is also quite tasty. FH loves their lemon cupcake, and I actually like their peanut butter and jelly cupcake. Of course, none of these options are in our wedding colors (pink and green), so we'll either have to pick another option or just stick with our faves and call it good. Who cares if they don't match, right?

Right?

*sound of crickets chirping*

(Thanks to Seattle knottie LaMaddelena for some of these pics)

Registry Schmegistry

Since this will be the second wedding for both of us, and since we're kinda old (kidding- we're 33 and 35 respectively), we each already have most of the things that younger brides and grooms would register for. We have china, linens, everyday dishes, pots and pans, and a bunch of kitchen gadgets. We're even getting rid of some things after we combine households because we'll have duplicate items.

What, oh what, are us older, more established brides to do then, for our registries?
FH and I considered not doing a registry at all, because really... we don't need more STUFF. But then our families got on our case because they said they really would like to have the option of purchasing a gift. We considered doing a honeymoon registry, but it seems the jury's still out on whether that's appropriate or not (every time we hear someone comment on how cool it is, there's another person who hates the idea). We also thought that in lieu of gifts, guests could simply donate money to a charity of our choice, but our experience has shown us that when people have the option they generally don't make donations.

One idea is to register for things that we would never purchase ourselves, or for things that we just haven't gotten around to buying (like camping gear). After reviewing a few sites, we finally selected Weddingchannel.com as our registry site. The primary reason we picked it is because they will donate money from each registry purchase to the charity of your choice. Thus, we can indulge our family's desire to have a registry, and our own desire to make sure some money goes to our favorite charity (the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, in honor of FH's mom).

Also, we can register at places like REI for things like this:













And Williams Sonoma (since we're total foodies) for things like this Panini maker:

Mai Tais or Museums?

FH and I have been talking alot lately about where we want to take our honeymoon. On the one hand, we know we're going to be soooooooo tired after our wedding weekend that we'll probably want to just relax on the beach, cocktail in hand, and get sunburned like the lobsters we are. OK, really, it's just me who's a lobster (FH is lucky enough to have naturally dark skin so he never burns! Bah!). On the other hand, we know we would last only about a day on the beach before we'd start itching to DO something. Exploring, hiking, museum-hopping (my personal favorite).... oh, and lets not forget shopping!

Here's where we're considering thus far:
Nevis:













Bora Bora:













Thailand:













Macchu Picchu:














Florence (my personal favorite):











OR..... Paris:

Neato Gazebo

I'm getting married outside in a rose garden. A rose garden that has a fantastic little gazebo:

















Of course, now the question is: how do I decorate it? I could use tulle:













or hanging flower baskets:














or flower swags:













or maybe even ribbons, or swags of fabric, or.... nothing at all (not my favorite option).

What do all you creative and imaginative fellow brides think? What would be the best decoration for my lil' gazebo?

Treats-es for Feets-es

Given the vintage/deco look FH and I are going for with many of the wedding details, I want to be sure that the shoes I wear will reflect the theme. Besides, I really love some of the vintage-inspired looks in shoes. I thought that some of these shoes would look great with my simple dress and vintage rhinestone jewelry:


















But then I got to thinking... why not have some fun with it and buy shoes with a pop of color?





If I end up doing a colored crinoline (which I am inspired to do after reading this), I think having pink or green shoes would be unexpected and fun.








Of course, if I wanted to be REALLY scandalous, I'd wear something like these (heh heh):

Gah, The Rings!

Here's a little story for you: FH and I have been planning our wedding now for a couple of months, have set a date, booked the venue, photographer, DJ, and ceremony site. We've picked out our STD's, and have decided what to do for invitations, centerpieces, etc. I even have my dress already. Interestingly enough, though, I haven't been "officially" proposed to.

I know. You just fainted, right?

The thing is, FH and I have talked about getting married since early May, and over the 4th of July weekend when we were visiting family in the D.C. area, he asked me if I'd like to take a trip with him to start looking at engagement rings. Never one to turn down jewelry shopping, off we went. I tried on a lot of different styles (click for bigger):













While I really liked all of them, they didn't really have the vintage feel to them that I'd prefer in an engagement ring. There's just something about the timeless quality of a vintage or vintage-inspired ring that I really like (especially because I'm generally not a big fan of "bling"). These are the kinds of rings I'm usually drawn towards:


















Now, my FH likes bling much more than I do, and really, I've told him since the beginning that I would be thrilled with just a gold band from WalMart, because I don't generally wear jewelry and to me, getting married isn't about the size of the rock on your finger. So we'll see what he picks! I'll be sure to post a photo after our "official" proposal (I have a feeling he'll do it when we're in Santorini in just a few weeks, so stay tuned!). :)

Up? Down. Up? Down. Half Up, Half Down? Hm.

I'm a no-stress kinda gal. I'm not high maintenance, I don't do frou-frou, and I don't spend an hour getting ready in the morning. Instead, I hop out of the shower, towel dry my hair and scrunch it, and let it dry naturally. I use a little concealer on my trouble areas, dust my face with powder, throw on some lip gloss and call it good. Is it a surprise to anyone I was a tomboy growing up?

So when it comes to the wedding day appearance, I'm at a loss. I can't decide if I want to wear my hair up, or down, or some combination of the two. FH likes my hair up because he says I have a "graceful neck". I like my hair down because somehow it feels less.... exposed (this suits my shy nature just fine). But I wear my hair down every day, and I want to do something a little different. My wedding dress is strapless, so I can really go either way. Decisions, decisions!

Here are some inspirational pics. Can you see why it's so hard to decide? So many of these are beautiful...

Up:

Down:

Half Up, Half Down: