Handmade wedding invitations
One of the biggest projects I undertook for our wedding was making the invitations. I had a crazy idea that this would somehow be simple, despite a multi-step binding process, even though I’d never actually bound a book before. I just knew I could do it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Every book started as a sheet of board precisely measured and cut.
Then each piece was placed and glued to an assortment of colored papers.
At this point I got some help from my friend’s Jannatha and Kyle.
For the inside pages, Shawn and I bought a few vintage book plates with images of animals, which we scanned and laid out in our book. We chose a lot of owls and birds. I wrote small stories about us and wove it into the information about the actual wedding.
We had them printed at a local print shop and then I sewed the insides into the books.
Mochi also helped.
Shawn helped me stamp return envelopes for our reply cards. We were able to use the same envelopes from our save the dates.
I made about 90 of these books. All told it was probably 60 hours of work, but then again I wasn’t exactly keeping track.
Are you ready to see inside?
While it was quite a long and arduous process, the responses that we received from guests made it all worth it. That being said, I would never do anything like it on that scale again. I wouldn’t have been able to complete them all in time without help from my friends, Shawn and my mom who helped me stamp and seal all the envelopes.
p.s. Of course I left out a few pages, so you all don’t show up at the wedding, since it hasn’t happened yet, but I’ll be sure to show them off in the end.
Camera strap cover
Amidst all my crazy projects at the moment, I managed to pull off one quick little DIY for myself. I put a cute cover on my new camera strap. For awhile now I’ve been carting around this camera without a strap at all, but thought it would actually be useful to have one. Luckily I got my hands on a spare, but it had a lot of text on it from the fancy camera
I didn’t follow any instructions (but here’s a good tutorial) I just measured the strap and added a little extra for seam allowance. It was quick and easy, taking less than 20 minutes. The most difficult part was slipping the cover over the original strap, since it has that fancy grip fabric on the bottom.
I should probably iron it so it looks a little more pro, but I’m quite happy with it. I like the contrast of the light fabric and the black camera and all the hidden details in the print.
More wedding planning
I have a confession to make. I have wedding brain. I have tried to fight it, to continue with my everyday life, but I’ve given up the fight. My frequencies are now tuned into all wedding all the time. Having written this, I realize it’s not entirely true, but wedding thoughts do take up a very large percentage. Somehow, realizing and accepting this really helped me not get so stressed about everything (that’s not to say I’m not at all stressed). Mostly, reading this pushed me towards reaching some sort of pre-wedding zen.
To aid my scattered thoughts, I made a to do list and posted it on the wall in our apartment. Major help. Now when I think of something I just write it on the list and it doesn’t have to stay in my brain. Then I just check in with the list, which is posted prominently on the wall and I don’t feel like I’m constantly forgetting something.
The other thing that is relieving stress is that I feel like I’m actually accomplishing goals. I finished & sent out invitations, which was a huge huge deal (they took me FOREVER to make). We have an officiant. I have my dress. We finally booked our caterer. There is still a lot left to be done and figured out, but things seem to be coming together. There is progress. Looking back to my end of year to do list, I knocked off a few major items and made serious dents in others. There are still things that I have no idea how we’re going to pull off but I’m hopeful (I should remind myself of this when I’m laying in bed, unable to sleep, worrying about how to display escort cards).
Anyway, as we get closer I hope I’ll be able to share a few more details, but obviously a lot of it will have to wait until after the wedding. There’s a sneak peak at our invitations in progress at the top, just to entice you a little. There are so many things I’ve been dying to share for months, like our guest gifts, which has been driving me a little bit bonkers as well.
We’re in the final countdown.
Christmas wishes
Do you have a Christmas wish this year? Something special that you really want? Maybe it’s not a thing, maybe it’s a change in your life or a feeling you’re in search of. Maybe it’s a wish for someone else.
These two little cats are very practical in their wishes. They wish for what they really really want. So much so, that I’m sure I know what they’re wishing for.
Sometimes when you wish for something hard enough, it really does come true. Sometimes a friend comes over and brings you an entire bag full of your favorite pom poms.
Sometimes your mom and dad stay home for a whole week and give you all the snuggles in the world; making up for all the times they wouldn’t let you sit on their computers while they were working.
What are your Christmas wishes?
Wedding dress details
First I just have to get one thing out of the way…
Shawn Bannon, if you are reading this, please stop.
Just scoot on over to another website please and thank you. We made a deal.
The turtles are just a distraction.
Now that that’s done with…for those of you still here…I want to share some details of my wedding dress. Woah!
It’s still not complete, but I’m bad at keeping secrets. So here are a few little hints of what it will be. Feel free to let your imagination run a little wild.
There’s lots of lace. More than you see here even though it’s strewn about the floor.
I have to say, with all the things that need to be done and projects that need to be worked on, looking at these photos make me feel oh so much better. Pretty pretty pretty.
You want to see what the dress looks like?
Yep, there it is.
It’s pinned on me. The lace is on it’s way. Needless to say, I’m rather excited.
This is probably the last peek you’ll see until after the wedding.
66 days and counting…
