September 17, 2011

Best day ever.

Mara Casey Photography

~ the green/green bride

T-Minus 6 Days

I'm not going to waste anytime apologizing for allowing this blog to fall by the wayside.  I'm getting married in six days, I don't have time for that.  I have seating charts to hover over, burlap to cut, skin to exfoliate, etc.  Instead, I'll allow a series of photos to explain where my time has been spent the last few weeks, and save the apologies for after the wedding.

There was a bridal shower... and for the record, I kicked ass at all those "how-well-do-you-know-your-fiance?" questions.

I've been making garlands and collecting photos of all of the married folks in the family for the reception.

My floor has been consistently sprinkled with paper scraps or fabric scraps... or both.

The last of the napkins are finally done! Hip-hip...

Milo hasn't been much help.

I printed our menu and placed the titles on blank greeting cards I found at JoAnn's.  I'm obsessed with these cards made by DCWV: beautifully patterned and sold with envelopes in boxes of 40 for only $9.99 - on sale now at JoAnn's for $7.99.  Cheap and recyclable.  

Curious? You'll find out post wedding.

I'm excited to be married, but I'm equally excited to get the boxes of DIY crap out of the corners every room in our apartment.  We want our house back!

Lola hasn't been much help, either.

It might take a few days post September 17th, but you can expect a gi-normous post about the big day, including financial details and behind the scenes particulars.  It'll be awesome.  Promise.
~ the green/green bride

This Week in Crafting

I'm crafting away like a little elf getting ready for an end of summer Christmas.  Only, instead of making gifts to satisfy good little boys and girls, I'm making decorations to satisfy my desire for a rustic, homemade wedding venue.  

One of the things I've wrestled with is the altar concept.  We're getting married in a backyard, underneath a lemon tree.  I've decided to take Martha Stewart's centerpiece idea (as seen below) and use it to define the space where we'll stand.

www.marthastewartweddings.com

I'm hoping that a simple arch shape will frame us with fun and color.  Casual cool.  Hoping.

Martha uses one piece of sheer fabric for each embroidery hoop.  I'm using two pieces of quilting squares per hoop, in colors that match my (psuedo) color scheme.
*Here's the green/green part: the fabrics can be reused, the hoops can be reused (I guess it's time for me to take up quilting), and the total cost for six hoops, twelve fabric squares and some string to hoist them up is just $36.

Milo had a blast rolling around in my fabric trimmings.  Then he got sleepy, like cats often do.

Lola couldn't be bothered.  She prefers higher ground.

In other news: Adam has a blood blister on his lower lip.  It grows in shape by the hour, leaks blood unexpectedly, falls off, and then begins to grow again.  The doctor says it has to heal by itself, and that if it isn't healed closer to the wedding date, it can be burned off... but then the burn will have to heal.  Awesome!  Take a minute now, if you would, and say a silent prayer for Adam's lip - and for me, the woman who really wants to kiss that lip on September 17th.

* Post Update* I've ordered a birdcage veil from Etsy and it's in the mail.  I'll let you know if it rocks, or not.

~ the green/green bride

Help! I need somebody...

I can't decide on what kind of veil I should wear... and the deadline is looming.  Should I go birdcage or shoulder length? Tell me what you think!

stylemepretty.com

stylemepretty.com

And what should I do with my hair?

stylemepretty.com

Keep in mind that I have thick, curly, mixed girl hair that looks nothing like any of these women featured on the right.  I could straighten it, however.  But then I'd have to find someone to straighten and style my hair.  Not cheap.  Or, I could attempt to wrestle my looped locks into one of these up-dos myself.  Cheap, but dangerous.




Decisions, decisions.




I'm not a fan of all this decision making.




At least I'm pretty sure I know who I'm going to marry.  Like ninety percent.

~ the green/green bride

Procrastinate? Check.

I love this sweet little embroidered cake I found at Style Me Pretty.  But I really can't decide if I want one stacked wedding cake or three small layered cakes of different flavors.  This is why I procrastinate.  It's hard for me to make a choice!

I'm a procrastinator, and I'm really good at it.  Generally speaking, I can knock out huge projects in small amounts of time with a fair amount of ease.  However, I'm quickly learning that some things can't be ignored or put off when it comes to wedding planning.  It's time to pull the trigger and make the tough decisions.  It's time to get things done.  Why, just look at my To Do List!

• Sew more napkins (yes, still).
• Buy more dessert plates from the Pasadena Flea Market.
• Create some sort of an altar for the ceremony venue.
• Find a rental vendor. 
• Book a rental vendor.
• Fix my iPod.
• Find a caterer.
• Book a caterer.
• Find a cake vendor.
• Book a cake vendor.
• Go suit shopping with Adam.
• Buy rings.
• Make the playlists for the ceremony and the reception.
• Tailor my dress.
• Get shoes, veil, jewelry, etc.
• Hair.
• Make up.
• Sew flag garlands.
• Make heart garlands.
• Make "Just Married" garland.
• Paint wooden signs for the reception (Thank You, Bride, Groom, etc...).
• Find a babysitter for the reception (to watch the little ones while the big ones par-tay).
• Buy flowers from the Downtown Flower Mart. 
• Make bouquets and boutonnieres.
• Buy booze.
• Bake stuff.
• Write vows.
• Ask for/Collect photos of married guests.
• Paint the guest book (not a book in actuality, a canvas instead).
• Order groom's pie (Raspberry Rhubarb, to be exact) from Linn's.
• String lights at the reception site.

I'm sure there are more things to add to the list, but I'm tired, and lazy, and refuse to look at the list I made three months ago that's stuck to the fridge. Because it's all the way in the kitchen.  I'll do it tomorrow.  

~ the green/green bride

Lucky Girl

My aunt Diane left behind a sea of vintage collectibles in her tiny two bedroom apartment.  Before she passed we joked about how I would go "shopping" throughout her place for everything I needed for my wedding.  Well, I recently went shopping, and this is what I got.

Gorgeous plates and platters of various sizes and colors.

Impossibly old tins, perfect for housing bushels of hydrangea and peonies (Diane's favorites).

Mason jars for centerpieces.  Most of these are actually from my collection.  And when I say my collection, I mean they're the remnants from my eats and drinks over the last year or so.

I'm halfway through my napkin making adventure.  The colorful collection on top is made from fabric I picked up downtown.  The blue and white stack is made from fabric I found at Diane's place.

Check out this beautiful teapot, sugar and creamer set.  Don't hate.

This is a teeny, tiny, pinky fingernail amount of linen from Diane's collection. She owned an insane amount of stuff.  That woman loved her some linen.

A few of the pieces are damaged, technically.  But the great thing about 'shabby chic' goods is that their imperfections become apart of their perfection.

Beautiful old books, great for stacking underneath little porcelain candy dishes or votive candles.

Just look at the detail on the spine of The Scarlet Letter.  They don't make 'em like they used to.

The original owner wrote a handwritten passage in French, along with the date.  Anyone read French?... At least, I think it's French.

The original publishing date is nearly 120 years old.  Awesome.

I'm a lucky gal.
~the green/green bride

Kids!

Hollis and Charlie: a couple of cute kids I know.
Hollis is almost as happy about her graham cracker as I am happy about this photograph.

Adam and I are trying to figure out if we should have young children at our wedding.  Here are the pros and cons to not having kids at the wedding that have been bouncing back and forth between our brains the last few days:

Pros

1. Guests can have a great time drinking, dancing and living it up without worrying about whether or not a kid has broken a glass or stuck their hand in the cake or started a fire.
2. We can invite more adults.

Cons

1. The pictures won't have any cute flower girl shots or photos of little boys break dancing on the dance floor.

The lists are short, but the question still remains. Should we invite kids to the wedding?  

We need your help. Help us out and leave a comment telling us what you think.

Gracias!

~ the green/green bride