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Archive for July, 2007

Envelopes are just paper, right?

July 25th, 2007 at 06:06 am

Then how come they are so darned expensive? First a little back story...

I bought the gray cardstock to make my invitations today from Office Max, and it only cost $12.97 for 250 sheets. That will be enough to make all the invitations as well as all the RSVP cards I'll send, and the maps I'll probably just use plain white paper.

Office Max also said that it would cost $.16 a sheet for them to print black and white, and $1 something a sheet for them to print color, but only $1 to cut the whole ream of paper. So, I think I am going to print them and take them in and have them cut.

I had already made a sample of the invitation, with vellum on top, card stock on bottom. They are going to be tied with ribbon. I had figured just print two on one sheet and then cut down the middle to get 8.5" x 5.5" invitations, and then find the right envelopes. Good thing I looked first!

I want to have two envelopes, one inside the other, and the only sizes similar to that I could find were 6.13" x 8.38" for the inner envelope, 6.38" x 8.63" for the outer envelope, so I would have to cut them twice anyway. And I wanted gray. Holy cow, it is hard to find gray envelopes! And, these particular ones come in 100 envelope boxes, so I would have had to buy 3 of each. The larger ones were $56.39 for 100, the smaller ones were $51.59. Grand total: $323.94. EEK!

Ok, looked around some more, and couldn't find anything cheaper for these sizes. And, any other rectangular sizes didn't quite fit into each other nicely.

So, I thought of square envelopes. I found 5.5" x 5.5" ones, 50 in each, 5 packs, for $11.80 each, and 6" x 6" ones, 50 in each, 5 packs, for $13.80 each, for a grand total of $128! That is a savings of $195!!!

I checked the usps.gov site, and standard letter postage rates apply to envelopes that are a maximum height of 6 1/8" and a minimum length of 5", so I am good there. Standard rates apply.

So, now all I have to do is change the invitations to be square. Good thing I thought of the envelopes before I started printing them all out!

I also went to Hancock Fabrics and bought some more blue ribbon for $.77 and 10 yards of white ribbon for $.65 for a total of $7.80 with tax.

Looked at veils, and decided to make my own

July 19th, 2007 at 07:56 am

I went to David's Bridal today, just to look around. I have decided to go with them for the bridesmaids dresses, picking the color, Marine (really dark blue) and letting them pick the cut of their skirts (I want them long, but they can choose the fullness) and the tops. I'm going to pay for half of their dresses. I also looked at the veils there. HOLY COW. They were like $150! There is no WAY I am paying that much. So, I went to Hancock Fabric's, and bought 20 yards of tulle for $19.99, 6 5-yard spools of blue and white ribbon for decorations, not the veil, (3 for $.77 each, 3 for $.99 each), some clear thread ($2.09) and two 3-yard pieces of edging. Total of $40.98.

If I use even a yard of that tulle, I will be lucky. So, $40.98 - $18.99 (extra tulle) - $5.28 (ribbon) = $16.71 for the veil itself, of course with lots of tulle and ribbon left over to decorate with. I can mess up a lot before I get to the $150 range! I still need to get a clear comb with some beads on it to decorate it a little more, or a clip with some beads on it, but I'm hoping that will be < $5.00.

The vellum came in today, and I started printing some of the invitation examples I had made. The vellum is thinner than I thought, so I don't know if I should use a solid blue color for the flower underneath, or a faded black and white flower. I'll get some opinions. I did, however, discover that my printer won't print on the vellum by itself...I had to tape a piece of paper to the underside before it would feed through. I think I'll go to Kinkos to get them printed and cut, so I don't have to do that myself. Maybe they can do a muted blue for the flower, too. I'm ready to get the card stock and as soon as the situation with the priests is figured out and I put the deposit down on the VFW (hopefully Friday), I can have them printed.

Started on my guest list today, and I have 76 people or couples or families I want to invite. I then called my mom and we talked about who I forgot. Let's say another 40. DF has 35, and I am going to pick up his mom's list this weekend. I'm going to guess less than 200 invitiations.

I was at a loss as to what my youngest sister and god-child Janell would do. She is the only one in the family without a "job" at the wedding. 1 sister is the photographer, 3 are bridesmaids, 1 brother is an usher, 1 brother is going to be the server (alter boy), and 1 sister is going to do the readings. I finally thought of this...2 of the bridesmaids have daughters close in age, and I'm going to have both of them be flower girls. I am going to have the flower girls go up the aisle, and when they get to the front, the "flower girl attendant" (Janell) is going to intercept them and take them to the pew. She will keep them quiet, and if they need to go out because they are being fussy or loud or something, she will take them out. Then, when we are doing the recessional, she will tell them when to go. I talked to her about that today, and even though she is disappointed she can't be a bridesmaid, she thought that would be a good idea and was happy with it.

Complete Music offered me a quote the other day of $700 for an 8 hour event, with they providing background music for the first 4 hours and then the dance for the next 4 hours. I told Mom that, and she thought that was a little high. So, I asked them what it would cost for just the dance. He said $550, but then lowered the price for the whole day to $600. I had my fiance ask a local guy in town, the owner of the bar we met in, actually, if he could bring his equipment in to be the DJ, but he said that he didn't do weddings...but if I wanted karaoke, we could have him! I was tempted, but no, I decided to go with the $600 all day deal.

Most major items booked or contacted

July 12th, 2007 at 11:50 pm

I was checking out a wedding planner site, and it said that the following things should be taken care of at the 6 month mark. The 6 month mark is in two weeks, so I thought I would guage my progress.

- Buy your wedding planner or a good organizer. ... Probably depend on online information, so I won't buy one

- Discuss the style of the wedding and the bugdet with your fiance and ALL parents. ... They all know it is going to be Catholic, in the afternoon, so that means semi-formal. They all know I want it to be simple and elegant. And they all know I am paying for it all, so I really have the most say in all of this (with an agreement with my fiance that I'll ask him and he'll say "I don't care" or "I hate it" and if he doesn't care, I get to pick).

- Speak with your clergy. ... Well, I've got 2 priests fighting over me, so I do have to sort that out. But, the church is booked, and I will have an officiant.

- By the end of the month, select the site for the ceremony, rehearsal dinner, reception. ...
--- Ceremony = St. Mary's Catholic Church.
--- Rehearsal dinner = Meridy's (unless his parents pay for it and decide to go somewhere else...not likely).
--- Reception = VFW (spoken for, but I haven't put the deposit in yet.)

- Begin interviewing Caterers, Bakers, Photographers, Florists, Musicians. ...
--- Talked to local caterer, and they put me on their calendar. They said $8 a plate including a whole roast hog, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, green beans, plates, cups and silverware. Not too bad!
--- Talked to the cake lady, and she agreed to do my wedding. Still need to look at her scrapbook to pick out a cake, and she is sending me a price list.
--- My sister is going to take the pictures, both engagement and wedding pictures.
--- My other sister is going to help me make the flowers and decorations.
--- Contacted Complete Music for a quote (for the reception)
--- Still need to figure out if I am going to have 4 violins at the church, or someone to sing and play the organ. Maybe need to have both.

- By the end of the month, schedule engagement photo session ... still trying to coordinate with my sister. But we'll do it within the next couple of weeks.

- By the end of the month, select and order attendants' apparel ... Yuck. I hate shopping. Going from store to store, trying to find dresses that will look good on 5 different body types. But, oh well, something that has to be done.

A different kinda ceremony

July 12th, 2007 at 01:44 am

I went and talked to Fr. Charlie after Mass on Sunday, and I think he was a little confused. I wanted to use that church, but have the priest from Wilson come over and do the ceremony. So, he started talking to my fiance and I about how the ceremony would go. I'll have to straighten him out and let him know that Fr. David is going to do it, but I am a little scared to do that...

The church is new, and it has a little different layout than a typical Roman Catholic Church. When you walk in the back doors, there is a big open area until you get to the huge baptismal font. Then another big gap, then the pews, and then the alter up front. There is no place to get dressed in the back, only up behind the alter.

He said he is trying to encourage people getting married in that church to do it this way...Bride and Groom would stand in the back, together, along with the wedding party, greeting the guests when they come in. Then, when everybody is seated, except the wedding party, we would go to the baptismal font (which is in the back of the church, remember) with my parents on the left side (by me) and his parents on the right side(by him). The priest would lead a small ceremony, inviting our parents to bless us with Holy Water. Then, the priest, alter boy, and candle holders would proceed up the aisle, followed by the grandparents, the wedding party, his parents, my parents, and then my fiance and I up the aisle together.

What do you think of that? It sounds a little strange, but at the same time, it sounds kinda cool.

I talked to one sister about it, and she said that the typical way of us being seperate at first, with me being escorted by my father, and him up front, and then the ceremony takes place, and then we walk out of the church together, symbolizes that we are now one in the eyes of the church. She also said that it might hurt my parents' feelings if we did it the other way.

I talked to my mom and dad about it, and they said "whatever you want. we're just happy you are getting married." talk about not helping me decide!

Invitations

July 6th, 2007 at 05:25 am

Some cool invitations:
http://www.theamericanwedding.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp-pid-398-cat-163
http://www.1st-class-wedding-invitations.com/cardpreview.aspx?set=4417&piece=4417&type=I
http://www.1st-class-wedding-invitations.com/cardpreview.aspx?set=689&piece=689&type=I
http://www.1st-class-wedding-invitations.com/cardpreview.aspx?set=9821&piece=9821&type=I
http://www.1st-class-wedding-invitations.com/cardpreview.aspx?set=1023&piece=1023&type=I

Of course, I'll probably end up making my own with some card stock and a printer...

Save the date and Invitations

July 6th, 2007 at 03:09 am

Started looking at Save the Date cards. Thinking about using our engagement picture (which we still have to do) and just sending postcards.

I can get post cards made by snapfish
(which is where I store all of my photos for free, I can share them with friends, and can print them to Walgreens for immediate pickup...that is www.snapfish.com if you are interested.) There is a tiered rate:
POSTCARD 4.25x6" 5x7"
1-19 $0.99ea $1.29ea
20-49 $0.89ea $1.19ea
50-99 $0.79ea $1.09ea
100+ $0.75ea $0.99ea

Don't know yet how many I will need, as the invitation lists aren't done yet. But, need to add on $.26 for postage.

I like this text:
Save the date:

January 26, 2008
Russell, KS

~His fullname~ & ~My fullname~

Invitation to follow...

If I can get them for cheaper than that, I'd do it, but I know snapfish is reliable. They would even send them out for me if I put all the addresses in. But, they do put their logo on the back of the cards, so that is a drawback...

Initial church info

July 4th, 2007 at 08:48 pm

Fr. Charlie said that 2:30 was the latest we could have the wedding start, because confession was at 4:30, and we had to be out of there and cleaned up before then.

He also said:

Someone had already had a wedding in the new church, and the bride got dressed in the music room behind the alter.

Can't throw rice (although it is a myth that rice makes birds bloat and die, that is what he said) can't throw wheat or milo, because they are small and round, and because the church has tile, it might be dangerous. He suggested maybe at the VFW when we are leaving after the dance? Or bubbles? Or bells? (although I promised my sister Aya that we wouldn't have bells, because with so many kids that will be there, bells would drive everyone crazy).

I can't put plants/flowers around the alter.

There are two ramps up to the alter, and it looks good to put flowers on those ramps. Also, put a nice big flower arrangement at the foot of the cross. And could get two candelabras to decorate behind the alter.

The statue of Mary is way up high, so we can't do a "Dedication to Mary" thing (laying roses at her feet).

Since it is a new church, I think I'll just go there on Sunday and take some pictures after mass, cause I've only been there once. Then I can get a better idea of what I want to do. I'll post those pictures here too...it really is beautiful.

Finding the dates and calling the priests

July 4th, 2007 at 08:35 pm

Right after I was engaged (the next day), I started calling my family. I told them I would like to get married in February or March. My best friend and one of my sisters said, when they got married, they were told they couldn't get married during Lent. So, I looked it up, and Lent is early this year...Ash Wednesday is Feb 6 and Easter is March 23.

Other dates to keep in mind:
My birthday is Dec 25
His birthday is Feb 4
We need to have 6 months for marriage preparation classes.
His brother is getting married April 29
Lent is Feb 6 - March 23.

So, 6 months from now is December. I will NOT get married in December...Christmas and my birthday on the same day has soured me to putting anything else in that month. The first weekend of Feb is pretty close to his birthday, the church is booked the last weekend of March, and I don't think you should have 2 weddings in the same family in the same month (too much stress, and I don't want to steal their thunder...they were engaged first, and getting married later) and I've waited too long to get married (I'm 29, he is 32, and this is my and his first) to wait a whole year.

Ok, so I called Fr. David on 7/3 and asked him what I need to do now. I told him probably just after the first of the year, we would want to get married, and I would like him to be the officiant. Cool, he doesn't have anything going on in January other than typical priest stuff. We'll have to meet with him a few times, not more than 5, he said, and go to an engaged encounter weekend, and that is about it. I also told him I would like to get married in the new church in Russell, because there are no hotels in Wilson, and if my friends from Dallas are going to come up, it would be nice to let them get their hotels and just drive a few blocks to the church instead of 20 miles.

Then, I called Fr. Charlie, 483-2871, today to ask if I could book the church in January. He said all of January was open, but March 29 (just after Easter) was booked already. He also said that the latest the wedding could be was 2:30 if we wanted a full mass because we had to be cleared out by 4:30 for the parish confessions. I put my name down for January 26, but told him I would call back to confirm later.

I then called the VFW hall to see if they were available January 26. Someone was there, but they told me to call Fred Weigel, 483-3434, cause he was the one to book it. I got his wife, she called BACK to the VFW hall, they looked at the calendar and January 26 is open. Ok, she put my name down, and I left her my numbers so her husband could call back.

After all of that, I still need to confirm with all three (Fr. David, Fr. Charlie, and Fred) and put down a deposit with Fred. But, it looks like I have a date! January 26, 2008

Engaged! Yeah!

July 4th, 2007 at 08:14 pm

Well, I was engaged June 28, 2007. This is my "memory board" so I can put in details, ideas for the wedding, record things I need to do, things that I have done, and be able to get stuff off my chest without bothering my fiance with details he really doesn't care about.

He asked me to marry him last Thursday night. I had brought some groceries to his house and was putting them away, but he had hidden the ring in a kitchen cabinet, so he hustled me to the living room so I could "relax." I was reading a magazine while he put the food away, and he came over, leaned over me, and said, "Hey, I want to ask you a question." And pulled his hand out from behind his back with the ring.

After almost hyperventilating, I said yes. We stayed up til about 3 in the morning talking and smiling at each other and laughing, and I kept asking questions I had been holding back until I knew he wanted to commit to me.

He said he did his part, and that I should do the wedding however I like, and just to tell him when and where to show up. But, he does need to decide who is going to stand up with him and the style of the tuxes. After that, I think I can handle most of the other details.