Time to Get to Gettin'

In the words of the famous Miss Niecy Nash, it is time to get to gettin!  What?  It's recap time!

Today's post: our arrival at the hotel.  We stayed at the lovely Pearl River Hilton, with all of our out-of-town guests, and it truly was a lovely location.  J. and I arrived on Friday afternoon, but we drove separately because we had so much stuff!  My mother and I had brought the dress the day before, so I had packed up everything else I could into my little Volkswagen Golf (which I swear to you is like a clown car, you can cram a lot into that little guy) and checked myself in!

[caption id="attachment_1878" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Hilton in the snow!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1879" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Doesn't it just look utterly bridal?"][/caption]

Now, one of the truly smart decisions I made when I booked the hotel, was to book their super-huge suite.  J. and I decided not to see each other on the wedding day, so he was in a Junior suite with his brother for night one and I got the big suite.  The big suite was incredible- a whole hotel room, plus a second enormous room that had a huge TV, a muphy bed, a kitchen, two closets, another bathroom, and tons of seating.  It became a perfect place for gatherings of people, especially the next day while getting ready.  My friend C. reserved the room adjacent to my suite, which meant we had a really nice amount of space for everyone.

[caption id="attachment_1880" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Here I am with my mom and some maids, chilling after check in."][/caption]

Once checked in, my mother immediately brought up my dress and we set to work laying out the train and the veil so any residual wrinkles could fall out.

[caption id="attachment_1881" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Great place to spend the night, no?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1882" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="And here's "the bride" getting ready for her debut."][/caption]

Of course, I had also brought a few "extras" including bottles of water I had made for the OOT bags.  I loved these so much but I thought other people might just think I was a super nerd for making them.  Conversation with J. last September:

J:  What are those?

Me:  Oh I found this free template for personalized water bottle labels so I decided to make some.  Aren't they awesome?

J:  *groan* Um are you serious?  Don't you think you're going overboard here?  I'm starting to worry about your mental health.  Maybe you should take a break from all this planning for a while.


Me: Yes, I'm totally serious and no I don't think this is overboard (but even if it is, who cares).  They were free and we're putting water in the OOT bags either way, right?  And I love them!!  Besides, nobody will think it is you who is going overboard, remember, these people know me!


J:  I can see you cannot be reasoned with.  I realize now that you are always right- would you like some flowers?

Ok that one last line may have been an invention of my imagination.

[caption id="attachment_1883" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Our one-hit wonder water."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1884" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="0% fear... just how I felt when making these labels!"][/caption]

Fast forward to December 18.  Guess what everyone was LOVING?  My water bottles!  They even ended up with their own nickname!  And even J. had to admit they were a fun touch!

Up next: rehearsal time!

Video Oh Oh!

Look what came today... our wedding video!!  This is just the short version of course- our videographer Luke, of True Love Photo and Video, is giving us all of the raw footage too- and J. has been itching to try his hand at editing, so we'll have this to keep us smiling until we get that done. 

As an aside, I should mention that I cannot say enough good things about Luke.  I barely even noticed him there the whole day which was great for my nerves (who likes the feeling of being video taped?) and yet he got this amazing footage and captured the day in a way that looks so effortless.  He was also very good with the pre-wedding communication and super nice and fun to work with.  If you're looking for a reasonably priced, fun, talented videographer for a wedding in the NY/NJ region, he's definitely your guy!



Sarah and John, 12/19/09 from True Love Photo & Video on Vimeo.

PS- I hope this embedding works.   It's my first time trying this feature!

Preserving Some Special Details

Ok opinion time.  I'm not a huge fan of doing too much decorating in one's house with wedding stuff.  Going overboard with that kind of makes you look like you don't have a life.  Sure, dry your bouquet and hang it in your bedroom, but please do it tastefully!  Nobody wants to see it collecting dust next to a pile of books.  And while I'm at it, I maintain that one really gorgeous framed wedding photo is so much better than 100 in bad frames (I'm not saying we all need to limit ourselves to just one, which I certainly won't, but it doesn't have to be 100- grandma and grandpa didn't have 100 photos of their wedding out, and they were alright).  And for goodness sake, please don't line up a whole bunch of wilted pieces of paper on a shelf.  You have to remember, nobody else loves this stuff as much as you do.

But.

I loooooove shadow boxes.  My MIL made one for my SIL after her wedding, using fabric from the dress, a program, bouquet flowers, etc.  It was an absolutely lovely and tasteful way of displaying those little mementos in a way that won't collect dust- and allows the beauty of the objects to shine through!  So of course, making shadow boxes was exactly what I wanted to do with some of the goodies I had leftover from our wedding.  I'm also working on a scrapbook, but that could take years to complete, so in the mean time I have these to enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="Our invitation, with roses, greenery and eucalyptus from the bouquets and one of the bridesmaids' birds!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1955" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="Our program with more flowers and greenery, my grandmother's Irish linen handkerchief which had been wrapped around my bouquet, a cookie cutter favor (in the shape of a snowflake for obvious reasons) and an extra boutonniere. This one lent itself to a few more things!"][/caption]

Ok I admit, these photos don't really do the shadowboxes justice.  But check this out:

Me: hey hon, what do you think of these here in the bedroom?

J: What?!  Why don't you put them where people can see them?

Me:  Do you think people want to look at our wedding stuff, really?

J:  Are you kidding they are sweet.  You seriously should put them downstairs!

Me:  *speechless*

Yeah, that is right, my super manly man husband just insisted I put the shadowboxes out.  That means they must be good.  Oh and by the way, I got the frames at the Christmas Tree Shop for $5.99.  You can find bigger versions, or versions with different colored frames, at Pottery Barn and Michael's but they won't be $5.99.  Just another reason I'm proud of these little guys!

Furthermore, these were really, ridiculously easy to make.  The boxes come with push pins and have soft backing, so it is easy to pin the objects into the box for display.  You don't even have to get out your hot glue gun!

[caption id="attachment_1956" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The shadowboxes make their public debut!"][/caption]

What ideas do you have for preserving wedding mementos?

On Being a Big Girl

We are selling the townhouse.  Or at least, trying to sell it.  Yeah, about that...

One of the great things about getting married is that you get to go from "me" to "we."  One of the most challenging things about getting married is that you have to go from "me" to "we."  And if I had to make an educated guess, I would bet that for every year of life you have lived before you get married, this process is exponentially more challenging.  Take me for example.  I got married at 30.  So by the time I got married, I had put myself through school, I had established a "career" if that's what you want to call it.  And perhaps most importantly for me, I had purchased my own home.

[caption id="attachment_1998" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="big girl fireplace"][/caption]

By way of background, I should say that growing up, I saw my parents go through serious financial difficulties after they got divorced, and the experience was pretty yuck for all involved.  It's really un-fun to go to school with a bunch of bourgeois upper middle class wannabes with their Clinique compacts and their Coach purses when you only get one pair of sneakers (from Payless)- it wasn't like we were destitute, but there were a few very rough years while my parents got back on their feet (which happened to coincide with my middle school years- my worst ever of my whole life, much to J.'s amusement).   Looking back, I honestly wouldn't change any of it though because I learned some lessons which absolutely speak to the person I am and what I strive to become:

* No matter how hard my life gets now, I know just how much I can survive so long as I have my family.  That knowledge brings me great comfort.

* I also learned that hard work and a vision can take you far.  It may not get you exactly where you want to go (i.e., becoming a lawyer wasn't exactly as awesome as I expected), but it will get you a lot further than you'd be without that plan (i.e., law school enabled me to build a new life for myself that I can be proud of, enabled me to support myself, to travel, to meet incredible people, etc.).

* People always say that money can't buy happiness, and of course that is true.  But when you don't have any money, it sure can feel like money is the solution.  It's not.  Having spent more and more time with Manhattan's upper crust, I am certain of this.  Nonetheless, financial independence is empowering.  Finding that place of "enough" is the hard part- the part I'm working on now.

* And perhaps most importantly, I learned that you always need to be able to stand on your own two feet.  You need to know you can take care of yourself no matter what happens, to know you do not need to be afraid, to know you'll be ok no matter what.  Otherwise you absolutely cannot make real, meaningful decisions with any confidence.

[caption id="attachment_1999" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="big girl kitchen renovation (my proudest accomplishment to date, you should have seen the "before"!)"][/caption]

Now that you know these things about me, you may better understand why buying my own home was an important thing for me to accomplish on my "life list" before getting married.  Even though J. owned a darling two bedroom house when we met, something inside me told me I needed to buy my own place before we could do anything together.  My condo was a sort of culmination of milestones for me, and a chance for me to prove- to myself- my own independent woman status.  This is why my townhouse is affectionately known as my "big girl house."  Of course, about three months after I bought it, J. and I decided to move in together and we found a tenant to live in his house.  And we've lived happily ever after so far!

[caption id="attachment_2000" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="big girl bedroom complete with my first big girl bed"][/caption]

But sadly, my big girl house is no longer right for my life.  In fact, it's no longer my life, it's now our life.  For a variety of reasons including home values and monthly cost of owning, we have decided it is in our best interest to sell the big girl house.  I am excited about this change and I embrace it fully.  At the same time, I am struggling to let go of my fierce need to be so independent.  And I am surprised by the level of affection I feel toward my home.  Then again, it makes sense.  I have redone the entire place from top to bottom (on a budget no less!) and turned it into what I consider to be perfection.  From my grandmother's dining set to the photos on the staircase, this place is utterly me.  Which brings me back to point #1- marriage is about we.

[caption id="attachment_2001" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="my big girl corner on one of the two verandas"][/caption]

So last night sitting there in my condo living room typing this post, looking at the fireplace mantle that I personally installed by myself  like a big girl (with just a teenie bit of help from J.), I was thinking about the future and focusing on what comes next.  Because every time you say goodbye to a good memory it means you get to say hello to a new one.  I know, that sounds totally hackneyed and I apologize for it... but in all seriousness, I know in my heart that moving on is the right thing to do.  Just like buying this condo was.   Even though I might lose money selling it.  Even though I love my granite counter tops.  Because the decision to sell it has been made by us, with an eye toward a future that we are going to build together, and with the deep confidence that even if we make a mistake, it will somehow make us stronger and better.

Besides, I still have my "independent woman" Louis Vuitton bag (one of the last vestiges of my former life as a single gal, purchased to cheer myself up after a bad breakup and the best thing to have come from that relationship).  As long as that sucker has handles, you will see me carrying it!  Woot woot!

[caption id="attachment_2003" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="and a really big, big girl sofa!"][/caption]

Thank You Notes: Much Ado?

If you've been following this blog for a while now, you know that I've got the stereotypical "thing" for paper, which most brides develop during their wedding planning process.  And even though the wedding is over, J. and I need to send thank you notes to our generous, generous guests.  Amazingly generous guests.  And of course, I've obsessed over all the other details so why not obsess about some thank you notes?  J. says that I need a new hobby (and he's right) but until the Snowflake Run gets here in February, I'll still be thinking about paper!

Here's some of the contenders that I pondered (images link to their source):

(1) The trusty photo thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1864" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Super sweet, no?"][/caption]

I love getting a photo of a bride and groom as part of their wedding thank you.  But lately, I've gotten quite a few thank you notes sans photos, often times really strikingly simple or elegant ones.  And J. and I used photos all over so many other wedding elements (the website, the save-the-date, the rehearsal dinner invitations, the guest book, even our first Christmas card) that another photo of us might be overkill.   So although we both love a solid photo thank-you note, we decided against them this time.

(2) The budget-friendly thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1865" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="These are from David's Bridal, but you get the idea."][/caption]

I've seen basic, pretty sets of thank you notes running about $1 per package at Michael's.  There is nothing wrong with them, and they certainly do the trick for a bride on a budget.  After all, saying thank you is the most important part.  But with such generous gift givers to thank, something about these made me feel, well, cheap.  Used.  Dirty.  I refused to go there.

 (3) The hand-embossed thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1866" align="aligncenter" width="275" caption="Hello trusty monogram!"][/caption]

Remember how J. and I embossed our new monogram all over various wedding elements?  Well, I thought maybe we could emboss some cardstock and make our own, personalized stationary.  One problem: it is really, ridiculously tough to get the embossed image onto cardstock in a way that looks properly aligned.  And I'm a perfectionist.  Fail.

(4) The coordinate-with-the-invitation thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1867" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sigh, love."][/caption]

I surely did love our wedding invitations so I considered revisiting My Gatsby for the thank you notes- but their online design tool kept malfunctioning so I couldn't get a good preview of the note in action, and they actually weren't terribly cost effective either- it would have been about $100 with shipping for 100 notes, and for that amount you can get higher quality.  Furthermore, while green and gold on cream cardstock were fun and festive for a Mid-October invitation to a December wedding, I questioned whether the same could be said if we sent these in February.   Naaah.

(5) The random "because I like it" thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1868" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="They go, but they weren't quite right."][/caption]

Next I considered just choosing something random and green that spoke to me.  But after pursuing this angle, even looking on etsy, I realized I had a problem: nothing spoke to me.  Everything was too boring, too modern, too theme-focused, or too expensive.  There's a lot out there, but I'm picky.  And the prices weren't great- it was going to be $186 + shipping or so for 100 of the above.  Meh. 

(6) The brilliant "ah ha" thank you note

[caption id="attachment_1869" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hello my thank you note friend!"][/caption]

I made one final web-stop at one of my favorite stationers, The White Aisle, and to my surprise they were having a sale.  My bridesmaid H. used them for her own wedding so I'd seen the quality of the inks and papers already and knew them to be excellent.  Plus, I had desperately wanted letterpress for our invites but with the prices, it was out of the question at the time.  However, letterpressed thank you notes (on sale!!) were very much in our budget!  And when I saw this pretty palm tree, I was totally sold!  It has a vintage botanical feel (vintage vibe, check!), is in shades of soft brown and cream (goes with wedding colors, check!), reminds me of where we're going on our honeymoon (Hawaiian reference, check!), and it is a high quality, beautiful card (something I can feel proud of, check!).  And for $1.25 per card, it was only a little bit pricier than My Gatsby's option, but at a significantly higher quality (affordable, check!).  Even J. liked them- and if J. likes paper, you know its right.  The plan is to write these on our honeymoon airplane ride, slap some tropical looking stamps on them and send them when we get to Lihui for a totally Hawaiian thank you!!  

What kind of thank you notes do you like best?

Summer Citrus Inspiration!

Now that the excitement of the wedding and the holiday season are over, and the windchills of January have hit home, all I can think about is our upcoming Hawaiian honeymoon!  Fortunately for me, my stepsister S. is tying the knot in August and wants wedding colors in yellow and orange, so I can fantasize about warm weather and bright colors until it's time for me to leave.  So for S., below is an inspiration board that uses citrus hues balanced with enough white for a peppy, flirty, preppy summer soiree!

JCrew Sascha gown, pom car decorations, Dandelion Dream invitation, clementine place card, Flower girl dress by Priscilla, citrus centerpiece, bouquet, rose petal aisle, lemony wedding cake,Paloma's Nest ring bowl, Abington Arts Center, pom decorations, JCrew wedding suiting, Lyla printed peeps, Longing For Yellow dress.

Double Duty Deets

For about 7 wonderful years, I lived in tiny Manhattan apartments.  And if you've ever had the pleasure of living in a big city, you'll agree: small spaces require that everything you own serve at least two purposes.  For instance, my coffee and end tables during this period were actually vintage steamer trunks, which served as hidden storage for Christmas decorations, an air mattress, and spare bedding.  You have to edit your belongings pretty often and plan your space thoughtfully if you want your space to work.  But somehow, even when I had no money, I always figured it out (one of the big benefits of a small space- less to furnish when short on cash)!

So when it came time to plan our wedding, a solid piece of advice I received from a fellow New Yorker rang 100% true:  if you're going to spend money on something, see if you can find two uses for it!  For my friend/advisor at her own wedding, this meant taking those floral arrangements off the tables after cocktail hour and reusing them as centerpieces during dinner.  For me, it meant quite a few things were used twice! I love how this attitude is both economical AND earth-friendly.

So here's a quick list of tips for all you event planners out there, for ways you too might be able to double dip!

(1) My aisle pomanders turned into lovely table decor! Remember when I made aisle pomanders for the ceremony?  Well, my brilliant day-of coordinator, Hollie Holmes, found new homes for them at the reception next to the escort card trees.  Who'd have thought it?  (And this is yet another reason why everyone should splurge on a day-of coordinator).

[caption id="attachment_1966" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Before: Pew Poms (image by Jessica Morrisy)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1848" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="After: Table time!"][/caption]

(2) The bridesmaids' bouquets made for excellent decoration too! Ah yes, when you have 10 bridesmaids, it does give you lots to work with.  The maitre'd made sure ours got used not only for cocktail hour, but also at dinner for our sweetheart and cake tables!  Yesssssss.

[caption id="attachment_1967" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Before: Maid's Bouquets (image by Jessica Morrisy)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1850" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="After: Fancifying the Escort Cards"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1851" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="After-After: dressing up the sweetheart table"][/caption]

(3) The basket that held our programs... ended up being just what we needed to hold extra cards!  I don't have a photo of this in action at the reception- at least not yet- but its easy enough to imagine.  My original mercury glass holder (which was too small) ended up with lovely candles inside, just next to the basket.  I didn't even realize this would be so great until it happened- but it worked out perfectly!  And the best part?  The basket was part of a shower gift, decorated with leftover supplies.  Freebie love!

[caption id="attachment_1932" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Remember this guy?"][/caption]

(4)My veil was actually my "something borrowed." I only wore the veil for our ceremony and since my bridesmaid H. graciously offered to let me borrow hers (which I LOVE- its like a Barbie dream veil only better) I really couldn't refuse.  Ok, so I didn't use this twice myself, but it did get used twice, and it is still in perfect condition should another bride come along!

[caption id="attachment_1853" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="H. rocking the veil at her garden party soiree!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1969" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="And here's me, loving the same veil at my holiday nuptuals! (image by Jessica Morrisy)"][/caption]

(5) And slightly less obvious but equally helpful, are all the things I'll be recycling after the wedding! Those white pitchers which held the escort card trees have been saved- I know they'll come in handy for shower centerpieces for one of the 5 upcoming weddings and 2 expected babies in my life!  The frames for our table numbers will be getting a makeover, and reappearing at my little brother's wedding in October.  Leftover OOT boxes will be getting an entirely new look for stepsister S.'s yellow and orange wedding this August. The little collection of mercury glass objects I found are now part of my personal permanent Christmas decoration collection.  And all those ribbons and craft supplies?  Puhleeeze, you know I've got plans with so many showers ahead!

Did any of your wedding goodies do double duty?