growling and hissing

Um, more trouble in Blogland, folks.  Apparently, I can upload text--very, very slowly--but not photos.  I'm not sure what the deal is, but I'd really like to get it sorted out.  I have things to show you, you know.

In the meantime, maybe you should wander over to 100 Layer Cake.  This week's guest blogger, Kelly from succulentLOVE, posted a charming--if slightly destructive--diy centerpiece project.

Thanks for your patience, everyone.  Hopefully, I can get this all worked out and be back to you tomorrow with the post I had planned for two days ago...

apologies

Sorry for last night's missing post, friends.  Our Internet was mysteriously down.  Barring more disruptions to that all-important connection, I'll be posting again later tonight...

fresh

A few months ago, I had a chance encounter with a fellow bride-to-be who lives in my beloved Ballard neighborhood.  We're actually getting married on the same day in June--although our weddings will be two thousand miles apart.  She had a lot of beautiful ideas for her ceremony and reception, and by the end of the conversation, I was kind of wishing I could just skip my wedding and go to hers...

One of the most brilliant things she's done is to find a few of her "vendors" at our local farmers' market.  Both her "caterer" (a mobile wood-fired pizza operation) and her entertainment (some extra-talented buskers) are regulars at the Sunday market.  I was really taken by the idea--I cannot get enough of the market--and now whenever I'm on our weekly shopping trip, I start having fantasies of a "market wedding" of my own.

If you took it to an extreme--and I do adore extremes--you could really do this up.  Just imagine:  Obviously, you could find your wedding food at the market.  You could hit up one of the vendors for prepared meals, or get really nervy and put things together on your own.  For starters, I'd recommend some cheeses from Mt. Townsend Creamery, carrot crudites from Nash's, and maybe some wine from Seabreeze...

You could find your flowers here, of course.  Plenty of brides have rushed through the market on a Saturday morning--or sent a trusty bridesmaid--to pick up some fresh blooms for the afternoon wedding.  Depending on the time of year, you could also go with some seasonal fruits or veggies for centerpieces.  Heirloom pumpkins at a fall wedding?  Awesome.  Martha would totally approve.

When there's space for it, our market also hosts artists and craftspeople, along with the farmers.  That means you might be able to find your wedding jewelry here, too.  Handmade soaps for your bridesmaids?  Check.  Jars of gourmet hot sauce for the groomsmen?  Yup.

I know, I know.  Maybe I'm being a little gimmicky here, but I do think it's a really fun idea.  I hope there are brides out there somewhere doing something exactly like this.  In fact, I hope that someone is planning a wedding at their neighborhood market.  When you get right down to it, my favorite weddings are about food and community, and where better than the farmers' market to celebrate something like that?

finally

I've been talking about our invitations since forever.  It's been so long since I posted here about our adventures in perforating.  And as you might recall, we actually mailed the pretty little things a few weeks ago.  At this point, I think it's safe to say that, despite a few false starts with the USPS, everyone that was expecting an invite ought to have received it by now.  Maybe it's finally time, then, to show off a few of my favorite things about our fancy correspondence.

If you've been reading for awhile, you already know that my partner-in-crime printed the invitations during his letterpress class at Pratt.  Actually, he did the save-the-dates first.  Remember this?

The invites are printed in the same font and on the same paper as the save-the-dates, but I think my man would agree when I tell you that printing the invitations was a bit more complicated.  He spent a lot of time planning it all out, and--almost--all of the good ideas here are his, not mine.

(I know that when he sees this post, he'll think that my photos don't quite do justice to the fruits of his labor.  Let me point out to you--and to him--that it is very, very hard to take flattering photos of a piece of paper.  I really don't know how the pros do it...)

The layout is a tri-fold.  The first section is the invitation to our Ohio wedding, the second--which is almost a mirror image, of sorts--is the invitation to our Washington reception.

I think the third part might be the best.  It's a detachable RSVP postcard for our guests to send back to us.  And this isn't some stuffy old RSVP, that just indicates who is responding and how many there are in the party.  Oh, no.  We wanted people to have a chance to, well, say something.

Granted, there's some multiple choice involved, but after that, we've left plenty of room for people to tell us just about anything.  And while I loved seeing these invitations come into being and I really enjoyed sending them out, I'm pretty sure the best part so far has been the RSVPs coming back home again.  I've been getting a big thrill out of checking the mailbox every day.  It turns out that our friends and family are hilarious and/or incredibly thoughtful people and it shows in their responses.  We are so lucky.

There are plenty of beautiful wedding invites out there, but please don't think I'm being silly if I tell you that I wouldn't trade these for anything.

again

Soooooo tired...

Check back tomorrow for a look at our invites.  I promise.

P.S.--How has it taken me this long to stumble across A Practical Wedding?  Seriously?

slacking

Oh, friends.  I am extra sleepy tonight and feeling lazy.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun in wedding blog world, though.  There's always something happening somewhere.

First of all, Souris Mariage is celebrating Food Week.  There are plenty of decisions to be made about wedding food, and Mouse's posts about everything from the margaritas to the main courses have me drooling.  Mini-chimichangas dipped in chipotle sour cream?  Oh, yes, please.

And if you haven't already, take a look at the "Pretty Fall Wedding" on Once Wed.  All the bird details are enough for me to fall in love.  Oh, and then there are the cakes.  And the cupcakes.

If you're in the market for more than just inspiring eyecandy, Sarah over at Truly Smitten has a sweet little DIY project to share.  I'm already thinking of taking a stab at it.  Maybe you should, too?

I hope that's enough to tide you over.  If the universe is willing, I'll be back in full force tomorrow...

rejected

Here is what we are not going to do:  We are not going to make table numbers for our reception tables using fabric and embroidery hoops.  I'm a little sad about this.  I had a whole plan that involved cutting fabric into number shapes and then doing lots of clumsy, tedious hand sewing.  And I did spend hours and hours trolling the thrift stores for a healthy collection of embroidery hoops.

The thing is, the groom was never really all that into the idea.  And the more I think about it, the less I really like it, either.  I like the crafty element, but the overall effect seems a little too cute.  Too tea party.  And while I'm still trying to figure out what this whole wedding thing is going to look like, there's one thing I'm sure of:  It ain't no tea party.

If we're going to go with fabric, I guess we could always do something like this.  Or this.

Or maybe none of those things.

We do need table numbers, though.  Martha said so.  Repeatedly.  Even if we don't assign seats, Martha says we should assign tables.  And who are we to argue with Martha?

I'm not sure how it's going to go.  This could be one of those last-minute things where we're slaving over the laser printer at two in the morning making ugly little signs that look like zine pages.  Hopefully not.

My man had some funny idea about cutting pages out of kids' books.  Who knows?  Maybe that will pan out...

But all the embroidery hoops?  I'll keep them, of course.  They could be useful if I ever decide to pick up another hobby.  Besides, I like how they look just hanging on the wall in groups.  If I'm too lazy to learn embroidery, I could just put different bits of fabric in each one.

(This is more fun stuff from Tula Pink for Moda.  It's called "Nest."  My future-sister-in-law gave me some for my birthday last year.  I love it.)