more lovers to live by...

john and yoko...

WOMAN JOHN LENNON

ah love...

...because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible... When Harry Met Sally

and it begins

it's a gorgeous day in boston today, the sky is crystal clear, the sun is out and the trees are just barely kissed with their fall colors. next year on this day we will be getting married. Mike and i have both been smiles all day, it feels like it's really begun and has made me think about the wonderful man i get to marry, the happy life we live together and the wide open future we have ahead of us. today i will not be worrying about planning, or flowers, or budgets, today i'm just thinking about my future husband and sunshine and love.

save the date - whether i like it or not

As a girl planning a low budget wedding who happens to be in school for graphic design i decided i was going to make our wedding stationary - only makes sense right? If i can't do it for myself how am I to ever be expected to make a logo or identity system for a client? It's super scary.

I am having such a hard time pulling the trigger on my design. Mike likes it, my parents think it's super cute, but why am I still unsure? I know the answer, I want to be sure the one person who may care too much about being fancy and professional thinks its worthy and not something from a cracker jack box. I can't shake it.

I know the point of doing it myself is to not be perfect or fancy or professionally made but to come from us, and that my Grandmothers will like anything I send if they know it's from me. Is it my own struggles with perfection? Is it the silly wedding blogs and the desire to be uber clever and ground breaking? Probably.

Well, I'm putting it out there, I'm pulling the trigger. I am going to break out the Gocco this weekend and start the production line, cause really whats worse? Not having the most clever stationary ever or someone not making it to our celebration because they got booked before we gave them notice?

our secrets to a happy marraige

over on A Cup of Jo bloggers from all corners of the design and wedding worlds have been sharing their secrets to a happy marriage while Joanna is on her honeymoon. as a collection i think they are such an inspiring and thoughtful group. they should be made into a little book to be given to newlyweds for inspiration. get over there and check it out.

hippie hair band heaven

Green Wedding Shoes posted a real wedding yesterday with a darling bride that donned and amazing head piece that is exactly what i was envisioning for my hippy-dippy farm wedding. I knew i didnt want to wear a veil, and was thinking about simple babys breathe in my hair - but these pretty little things from Etsy seller whichgoose are all I ever wanted and more. Now to decide which one i want or to dream up a custom piece. yay!ps. they are affordable too!

inspiration from around the house

There are two little spots in our new apartment I'm very happy with. It always seems to happen like that, I think it comes from my past building sets for films. I got really good at dressing a space within a limited frame and making some really nice vignettes in corners of a room. So many times I never had to create a full room, and sometimes it was just two walls of sheet rock dressed on a sound stage. I like to live in these cozy corners in the set that is our home.

If our wedding can be filled with any of the warm light, interest and simplicity that these special little spots have I will be a happy happy girl. Oh, and I'm thinking about wild flowers in water pitchers for centerpieces. I picked this queen anne's lace by the train tracks across the street, so pretty and so FREE!

love letters

I told Mike that if he picked up stamps while he was out I'd love him forever... I got this with a new book of postage - ahhhh love.

more wisdom

this from one of my dearest, Sue who is 7 weeks (only 7weeks!) away from saying I Do. Love her. Love you Sue. I hope to be as wise, excited, and level headed as you are after another full year of this wedding madness.

"...it's so easy to get caught up in those blogs. honestly, i've really cut back lately. i'll sign in to blogger, update my own, read my friends and ration how much wedding reading i do. it's so true. unless you're hell bent on getting yourself featured as a real wedding on Style Me Pretty, who gives a crap if your paper items keep a theme, if your fonts are a-may-zing, if your flower containers are extremely clever, if your dress is super fancy ;), if every element of the day is DIY, designer or totally never-been-done-before. FUCK THAT!

i just want to have fun and not have any family members complain about anything. and i want really good tunes and i want lots of pictures and film and cupcakes and salsa and guacamole...

it is not a photoshoot. and it's not a competition for a blog. phew."

oh david i love you and your purple leggings

One of my favorite girlfriends just posted this on her facebook - made my day. We will have to work some Bowie into our post marriage dance party.

turned cartwheels 'cross the floor

since music has been so much on my mind today (as I've been wallowing in the glow of having a DJ,) i wanted to put a conflict i'm having - of heart and mind and wedding song - down on paper. I have a song, one of my favorite favorite songs - this song makes my heart want to burst and makes me want to close my eyes and spin in circles like no one is watching. This song, i feel, also has an amazing intro and i envision it as my processional song. What wrong with this you ask? Well, it's not exactly a love song, in fact - i think it might be about running into a past love, catching a love cheating on you, or the last time you saw a love- there is something about it that makes my heart so heavy - but i LOVE it.

In the end I know i'll just go for it, it shouldn't matter what the song was intended to mean right? It only matters what it means to me. What do you think? Is a mixed message song a ceremonial no-no?

What's the tune I can't let go of? Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale.

And We Have a DJ!

Such a huge check mark off our list as Mike and I go into our fall semesters as full time workers, part time students, trying to plan a wedding. We have our DJ, Ari Rosenfield of Beat Train Productions! I'm super excited about him and even more so now that we got a chance to meet and have a chat. His taste in music (from what we know from his website and other bride internet chatter), and nonexistent wedding DJ cheese seems perfect for us.

Here are two of the sample playlists from Ari, the first a dinner time/cocktail hour mix. The second, though maybe not 100% wedding appropriate is call Songs to Shake a Tail Feather To - now shake it!

Jazz Mix

Tail Feather Mix

OK, wedding check list recap:

Venue - check!

Caterer - check!

Photographer - check!

Dress - check!

DJ - check!

Man to love forever - check! Let's get married!

wedding planning words of wisdom

this came from Sara at a 2000 wedding:

"One of the problems with looking at so much lovely wedding porn (which I do!) is that I start to think about creating a wedding for the voyeurs rather than the participants. When we look at the flat, beautiful images from other people's weddings (the centerpieces, the tablecloths, the bouquets, the rings, the shoes, etc.), we start to internalize the idea that the guests at our wedding will be scrutinizing these things at our own weddings. The truth is, if we invite our nearest and dearest to our weddings, most of them won't be voyeurs; they will be participants. And participants care a lot less about the beautiful details that a) can stress us out, b) can cost a lot of money, and c) detract us from the more meaningful aspects of planning a wedding."

...and breathe out...thank you for this realistic perspective!