ducksandbooks

So since I’m going to be with both my parents together, in the same place, at the same time in about 10 days I want to have all my ducks in a row (rubber ducks that is) about wedding planning, dun dun dun.

Dress. Check. Just need to sign a contract and put down a down payment. I’ve got a strong idea of what I want and the seamstress I met with didn’t tell me I was nuts and may have thought I even had a good idea. As soon as I sign with her, she’ll start working on sketches, then a pattern, then a muslin and finally my dress with all the fittings I need inc. for $700-900 (depending on fabrics). AWESOME. I might find it harder to find the perfect shoes, since it’s not as price efficient to have those custom made.

Location. We’re still working on this one. I’m a huge fan of the Sunrise Amphitheater for the ceremony, followed by a late lunch at either Flagstaff House Restaurant (a very classy Boulder locale) or the Chautauqua Dining Hall.

For doing everything all in one place, the backyard garden party feel of the Millennium Hotel is probably number one. Though the mountain view, beauty, and casual/modern formality of the St. Julien makes it a major contender too. Crap. We have NO idea. Ben’s going to take me out to dinner at either Flagstaff House Restaurant or the Chautauqua Dining Hall for my birthday soon and I’m hoping that we can stop by the Millennium Hotel this coming Friday (before I leave to go traveling with my family in South America) for their FAC party.

Photographer. I love Julie Afflerbaugh‘s and Otto Schulze‘s photography. Julie is more local and more affordable and therefor more practical. Plus, I liked her when we spoke on the phone this afternoon. I’m going to ask Ben when he wants to meet with her and set that up to look at her albums. Maybe she’ll have some input on locations that will push us to make a decision.

Flowers. Decided. We’re not having any florals. I’m going to make my bouquet out of fluffy tulle and curly ribbon, maybe silk flowers if I can find some great ones (I read somewhere that Pier 1 has the best fake floras, I’ll check it out some time). Same for boutonnieres for the dads/brothers and corsages for the moms/Ben’s sister. No flowers = fewer allergy potentials for me, my dad, and Ben’s dad. And, they can be done WAY ahead of time.

Invitations. We have a laser printer. It prints in black. Now we just need some awesome paper and a layout. As beautiful as thermography and letterpress are, they’re probably more formal that we’re interested in, and WAY more pricey.

Music. We’re hiring a DJ. Our musical tastes are too eclectic for a band. Heavy on the 80s and goofy pop music. I’d be more than happy with a swing/jazz/bluegrassy kinda band, but that’s not Ben’s style AT ALL. Though we will have to play some Big Bad Voodoo Daddy because the free concert at Taste of Denver was where I took Ben on our first date.

Guest list. It keeps growing and I’m kind of OK with that. I’d rather have a lot of great people there and great food and skimp on the stuff that I don’t feel is super important (flowers, DJ, invitations, etc.)

This bride is wearing the dress that I lurve. The one that will be fabulously custom made for me, only different.

I’d never wear those, but they’re so pretty :). Maybe if they came in ivory and were closed toed. I’m afraid to wear open toed shoes with so many people around…. My toes don’t need anymore torture.

Tomorrow I’m going to meet with a seamstress in Old Town Arvada (the town that I consider my personal version of hell) about making my twirly dress for me. I wish I could just order it from a shop, but um, my girls are too big. Are wedding dresses cut to juniors proportions? I thought WOMEN not GIRLS were supposed to be getting married. Oh well. I’m really just avoiding ordering up 4 sizes to get the bust fabric I need and then getting the whole dress taken in so that it will actually fit. I hope it’s cost effective. Maybe I can bring her my own fabric and spend some time in DC/NYC shopping for fabric with my mom. She’s also good at spotting colors. Maybe the seamstress can just be hired as a pattern maker and then I can still sew my own dress! THAT would be great, Though I’d rather not have to make the inner corset on my own and I do like me a form fitting/super shaping corset.

Anyone have any feedback on wearing a corset all day? I haven’t done it since I was reenacting the year 1771 from 1994-1999. I was, um, a very different size then.

What about making my own dress? I don’t know how to make a corset. That’s the long and the short of it.

He and his fiancee were engaged just after she graduated from college this past May. He estimates that they’re about 90% done with the planning process for their May 2010 wedding, during her summer break from grad school. Crazy. All we have (still) is a date and a rabbi. We also have a probable location, but nothing signed yet, and have decided on what to do for dessert. They have a date, location, officiant, dress, and cake. They only thing my cousin and his future wife have left to do is pick a photographer and finalize their menu.

So in my re-found Martha Stewart craftiness of being a housefiancee, I’ve decided that sewing veils is fun. But really only the funky ones. Working with white and ivory tulle and ribbons just doesn’t get my crafty juices going in the same way that lime green, electric blue, bright purple, and hot pink does. So, if you know of anyone looking for a short, fluffy veil: I’m your gal to make it for you! Seriously. I even made myself a little sales site: http://fluffy.bigcartel.com. Please, share it. Let people know that I’m a crafty maven and then support my crafty hobbies by buying a veil.

Oh, you want pictures? Well, here are some pictures of the one I made for Mrs. Lady Bear for her bachelorette party a week ago. Awesome, no?

Sorry I had to blur her face, I don’t want to post it without permission and I’m too lazy to ask right now.

Ben has been traveling a lot lately. He went to Boston to visit his family and a physics lab at Harvard. Then he went to NJ/NY for a cousin’s Bat Mitzvah, and finally spent the night in NJ after visiting his grand parents. He then made his way up to NH for a conference. When he returned to Boulder, he got back in the middle of a kickoff for a weekend of wedding partying with our friends “The Bears.” They had a pig roast on Thursday followed by their bachelor/bachelorette parties. Friday had a screen porch lunch and later a dessert party at the observatory on campus. Saturday had a screen porch brunch and their wedding in the evening, followed by an after party at a favorite local bar. Sunday morning there was a hangover brunch at the screen porch again. Then Ben went hiking with the wedding party and some of their friends, I went and ran errands. When I got home, I spoke with Ben’s mother on the phone (yes, I answered his phone for him since he left it at home), which set his next trip in motion. Now, he’s en route back to NJ to say goodbye to his grandmother and hopefully be there for her funeral as well.

Congratulations, Bears! And poor Ben.