Uhhhhhhh....

"Holy Crap!" I literally just said that in my head after reading Peaches by Plums's latest post. In it she reminds us that Christmas is less than 100 days away! Less than 100!!!!! We're not even finished with wedding season 2010 yet and Christmas is just around the corner?!?

via PRetty in Pittsburgh

Sorry, I'm just a little frazzled. I (WE) just need a quiet weekend to ourselves to recharge. One more wedding to go, one more wedding to go, one more wedding to go.................................

11 months

11 months to go, that's a bit scary to even think about. I suppose what's even scarier is that we haven't done much since last month. We haven't booked any additional vendors, we haven't pinned down any additional details.

Of course, this leads to people asking "What have you been doing?" Uh, the same thing that we've been doing since May, attending other people's wedding and helping other people plan their wedding.

I am happy to report that we have scheduled a photo shoot with our photographer for our engagement pictures! That's pretty exciting. A little nerve wracking because now I have to worry about what outfits to wear and how to do my hair and make-up. Oye, being a girl is hard work.

Countdown:

12 months

13 months

Oregon Trail 2010

At first, my goal was to visit home every six months, somewhere along the way, life happened and I only make it once a year. Actually, I should say, WE only make it once a year. This was Jake's 3rd trip to Oregon.

A friend of mine from college was getting married at the end of July, so we opted to kill two birds with one stone and timed the wedding with our annual trip. And as always, it was a whirlwind of a trip. We spent a week visiting friends, family, attending a wedding, doing a little wedding research of our own, and eating a lot (and I mean A LOT) of great food that I can't find in Boston.

Recaps were previously blogged about here:
Ben and Hannah's wedding
Shopping with the bridesmaids
Preliminary ring shopping
Dress shopping with Mom

At the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, WA. This was both of our first time
up. Kinda strange to think that I've driven around it for years.



The Fam.

ceiling treatment

Because I'd rather blog than work today (or any day for that matter), I'll tell you about our idea for ceiling treatments.

Before I start, you'll notice that I just recently started sharing details and ideas for our big day. We tell people that we haven't done much planning to-date, which is technically true (we've only booked the big ticket items), but we (mostly I) have siffed through lots of different ideas when it comes the details. We were keeping things hush-hush for two reasons. 1) This one is all me, with so many other couples planning their wedding last year, I was paranoid about others stealing my ideas. But now that I'm a year older and a touch wiser, I realize that ideas are constantly recycled/stolen in the wedding realm. I also realize that everyone has their own ideas. It also helps that Weddingpalooza 2010 is coming to a close (soon). 2) We wanted to keep everything a secret because we wanted to surprise our guests. But you know what, there's going to be a lot of surprises! So we should share a thing or two so that people aren't overwhelmed.

Our reception is going to be tented. Tent = blank canvas, we can do what ever we want with it. At first the thought is a little nerve wracking, but then you get over it. There are all sorts of possibilites such as clear tent ceilings, no ceiling panels, chandeliers, draping, etc. There is also the tried and true paper laterns like so:

Kate Parker Weddings.

After some research, I found out that clear panels aren't good for center pieces (too much direct sunlight) and drapery is expensive. Paper laterns are easy, simple, but over done. We want something different, but what we weren't really sure of. I don't remember what I was surfing the web for one day (I'm sure it was wedding related though), when I stumbled across a photo that made the clouds part and the angels sing. Seriously, it was an "aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh" moment.

via Design Swan.

Umbrella's hung upside down from the ceiling. How cool is that?! It definitely is different. Check out Design Swan's page here for more umbrella action.

Here is a neat combination of lanterns and umbrella's:

Photographer unknown, found via flicker.

Flaggin' it down

I've just died and gone to wedding heaven. Just when I'm getting tired of anything and everything wedding related, I see two inspirational posts that make me literally jump up and down with joy.

You see, I've been smitten for sparkler send-off's. But a) I highly doubt that our venue will allow us to have sparklers, and b) we plan on shutting down our own party. We've been to weddings with bubbles blown and lavendar thrown at the couple as they exit down the aisle. I've thought about having ribbon wands, but those convey more of a whimisical feel, which is not what we're going for.



via The Bride and Groom via Swenson Photography



(Source)



Just as I convinced myself that less is more, Ms. Stripes over at Weddingbee blogged about flags as a ceremony send-offs. Not to mention, Boston's very own Bee, Mrs. Potato Chips also semi-DIY'd her own version. BRILLIANT! I don't care that they're considered "indie" in the wedding blogosphere. I just know that they're cute and Jake agrees that they would be a lot of fun for both us and our guests.

Ms. Stripes DIY'd hearts on muslin. Photo by Ms. Stripes.

Mrs. Potato Chips' "YAY" flags via Mrs. Potato Chips.

I'm not sure if I'll make them from scratch of if I'll start with pre-made flags. All these ideas are really making me regret not lugging my mom's sewing machine over here with me four years ago. Then again, I haven't the slightest clue how to use it.