More HomeEc fun!! I’ve totally fallen for my sewing machine again, and though I’m cruising through the projects slowly, I love this class. Its a great learning process, and now I can make the hell out of a tote bag!! I also made bunting and when coming up with a word, I decided to make the word PRIZE. It’s Mick’s favorite word. So…check it out.

Mick is modeling my tote

a PRIZE

fabric for future projects

One of the details that I was most proud of for our wedding were some of our favors. I had got it in my head, probably after reading one of my million subscribed wedding blogs, that I wanted to do custom soda bottles for our table assignments. I figured that with our color palate, the many colors offered thru Jones Soda would make for a fun addition. Jones actually makes custom labels for you, where you submit photos and language, and they will ship you bottles label ready. The bottles all still say Jones however when you get them. We found a more personal, less expensive way to do it. Keeping with the Beard and Fro theme of our wedding, we got to name our own soda. Its a good think that Mick has skills with Photoshop, as it definitely came in handy throughout our planning process.

With 4 flavors, 4 photos, and 2 different stories (one was his “how we met” story, and one was our engagement story), our bottles were WAY more customized than Jones ever could have done for us. Granted, we had to glue every label onto our bottles, but it was worth it. I can’t wait to see Eray’s photos of the table, but we have a standby in the mean time to show you. I also have our label images so you can see how AWESOME they were (I’m biased).

• I am amazed how happy a perfectly toasted piece of bread can make me. We got the toaster oven we registered for yesterday, immediately threw away our burning bread machine, and now can cook things as they should be. Evenly, not burnt and delish.
• We do not have salmonella infused eggs in my fridge. I checked.
• I really want to purge some stuff tonight. I just need to clean out my closet, bookshelves, etc…and get rid of some of the clutter that exists in my life. I’ve also been crafting in my living room, so I now have what is becoming a craft corner where it shouldn’t be. Guess its time to re-organize my ACTUAL crafting corner in the other room. Suggestions? I have an IKEA Expedit with a desk but cant seem to get it to where I like the organization. Your craft organizing tips are welcome.
• My dog has been waking us up at 3:30 am for either bathroom breaks or water needs, and while I understand that he is a dog, and thats what he does…it’s making for a very tired Lauren and Mick. I was up and outside at 3:00 am this morning while he did what he needed to. Kind of creepy outside to be honest. Mick actually woke up, realized I was gone, and came looking for me. Creeptastic.
• Is doing my best to become financially responsible. Ticketmaster, Livenation and Another Planet Entertainment are not assisting me with this process. I’m making the right choices and not buying the tickets, but seriously? How do they think that $42 for tickets to a concert, BEFORE fees is OK? All of these amazing bands that I wont see because its the cost of me going to a Broadway show. Call me bitter.
• Back to the kitchen thoughts, I dream of a day that I have a kitchen big enough where all my new appliances don’t have to sit in boxes until we use them.  I want counter space, I want an island, I want a functional space…not the closet we have in our apartment. I also just found THIS blog, and now I am wanting my own lovely kitchen even more.

If there is one thing I would have done differently, it would have been remembering to have someone film our wedding. I don’t need a professional video of the event. We even brought our Flip video camera with every intention of having someone in the front rows record at least the ceremony. But we got caught up in the moment, and the excitement of the day got the best of us, and we forgot to hand off the duties. Everything was great, and I have all the memories I need, but hearing our off-the-cuff wedding vows again would be nice. Even hearing the speeches again that our friends and family gave during the reception would be pretty cool. Alas, if there is anything you soon to be marrieds take away from this, record those moments, even cheaply.

My mom however, read a poem she wrote, so even though I don’t have it on video, I have the poem to keep. She has been known to do this at anniversaries, for school, on cards…its what she does, and she is pretty good at it. I debated sharing it, as it is a personal poem to Mick and I, but I figured that this is my way of recording some of my wedding details, so I’ll post it.  At least it’s not embarrassing.

(more…)

You wont really be able to get a sense of how we used our color accents until the professional shots come in, but basically everyone was assigned a color. We had red, orange, (tiffany) blue, and green. Every guy was assigned a color, and a girl had a coordinating one. That was who they walked down the aisle with. I went a little nuts with the color theme, and when I’d walk into a store and see matching items, I had to buy them. Hence the matching tanks. I can’t wait to see the photos of us getting ready.

I had the girls all wear their tank tops, and I had a matching one in black and white. Note the matching clutches from AO3 Designs. Angela was wonderful. She worked with me to get what I was looking for as far as custom clutches go. Black with coordinating ribbon, and the lining matched as well. What you can’t see is the monogram inside the clutch in matching colors as well. I told you I went a little nuts. It was a perfect way for the girls to carry their stuff into the wedding, while looking terribly fashionable as well!

This was taken at the rehearsal…obviously not by a professional.

matchy matchy...

A little while ago I mentioned that I had joined an online sewing class. HomeEc is a great way for me to get familiar with my sewing machine again, and so far I’m having a great time with their online tutorials. I have ventured into the first lesson, as well as the bonus, and have a pin cushion and some napkins to show for my efforts. Luckily right now I have a lot of fabric lying around. When some of the larger projects pop up, I will get to venture to some fabric stores and cruise for new stuff. First, the pin cushion was  a breeze.

The front of my pin cushion

The back of the pin cushion

You would think the napkins would have been too. They show you how to make single sided napkins (cake walk), but the double sided napkins with ricrac were a little harder. The napkins themselves were easy, but for the life of me I couldn’t get my ricrac to stay even throughout. They look better in photos than in real life.

single sided napkins

double sided napkins

all of 'em

How cute would custom napkins be at a bridal shower, or themed birthday party! Fabric, and some thread, and viola!! Will keep this in my crafty repertoire for sure. I will be blogging about all of my HomeEc adventures, so stay tuned!

A few custom Wunzees that I have made as of late…in between wedding planning and relaxing. The simplicity of both was appealing, but think how cute it would be to do MORE school logos. Let me know if you have one you want, and I’ll see if I can do it too!

I’m not back from the honeymoon just yet. We actually haven’t even left. However, I haven’t really had the motivation to blog about what was the best week/day of my life, as it really can’t be put into words. So when I say I’m back, I mean this is my first post since the big day. I’m exhausted, still recovering from a lifetime of planning and a weekend of wedding, and just didn’t really know what to say.

I also want to NOW write about all of my little details that I included and wanted to keep a secret, but my pro photos wont be ready for a few weeks, and I of course forgot to take pictures of everything, though it wasn’t my job. I want to show you the AMAZING flowers that I got from Lisa at Not Just Flowers. I want to show you the custom bangle clutches I bought for my bridal party from A03 Designs. I wanted to show you the custom Jones Soda bottles that we used for our table cards (we didn’t order the labels from the company, Mick made them.) I’ll share the labels later. I want to express how much fun the Photobooth from Video Amusement was, and as soon as I get those shots in the mail, I’ll post some of the best. There will be pieces of the wedding written about now, some in a months time when we finally get our photos and I can do everything justice. I’m looking forward to writing…

I do have a little bit of advice to my friends blogging and planning weddings. Keep some of the stuff to yourself. Don’t share every last detail on your blog…as the surprise that you see in peoples faces, when they show up at the wedding and notice all of the personal touches…its priceless.

These blog entries will be really scattered, and its more of a journal for me to remember, so bear with me.

Also…if you want a brief glimpse into the best day of my life, you can check out the Flickr Group I started. If you were there, please add your photos to the group. Its a good way to collect.

And...now we are married!

Plenty of sun. Word.

With the arrival of my mom yesterday, and the impending arrival of other guests starting in just a few hours…I am not going to have the time or energy to post to The Little Goat. I’m signing off for now, and will be back when the family has left, and I have a new last name. So I leave you with a kitten in formal wear, and if you want to watch my favorite of the Muppet Studios Videos, click here. (It won’t let me embed)