It’s been kind of a random week as far as wedding planning goes. I get into these moods where I’m sick of everything wedding, and just kind of take a break. Which I guess is good that I’m not burning myself out, right? But a few small things came together this week.

First of all, Jarrod took me downtown to The Melting Pot for fondue last Wednesday for my birthday dinner. It was quite delicious–I had eaten fondue before, but never from The Melting Pot. Anyway, we were walking back to the car afterward and saw a mannequin in a store window wearing a lavender paisley tie! Jarrod pronounced it the perfect tie, what he had been looking for all along, and now we just need to call the store up and buy it. So that’s on its way to being done.

I ordered my veil a few weeks ago and finally got it on Wednesday. (Actually, now that I think about it, everything I’m writing about happened on my birthday.) I tried it on with the dress and everything, and even though I’m not one to be moved to tears by my clothing, I was getting a little watery. I’m sure I could have squeezed out a tear or two if I had really tried hard.

The veil just really tied things together and made me look like  a real bride. I have these moments of consciousness where I realize that I’m actually getting married, and kind of soon at that. Marriage has been my lifelong dream, is that sad? It’s how I am. I’m a sucker for ro-coms (the hip new way of saying “romantic comedy, FYI) and happy endings.

For technical details and in order to put in this really sweet guide to veils that I found online, I will tell you what exactly I purchased. It’s a waltz length veil, which comes down pretty far, but not to the floor. More like calf-length. It really dresses up my dress, if you understand what I’m trying to say. The dress I chose is pretty informal, and the veil makes me seem a little bit more bride-ish.

I opted out of any kind of sparkles or rhinestones. I can add some later if I really want them, but I’m fine with just a plain veil. It’s only one layer, falls nicely…it does the job! I wasn’t sure about the color, because I ordered it online. I ended up choosing light ivory, which goes perfectly with my dress.

So I’m satisfied with that part of the wedding preparation! Now, the envelopes.

November and December are my “Address the envelopes” month. So I thought I would go ahead and order the envelopes. Only, instead of ordering A9 size envelopes, I ordered A6, which makes a difference when you’re trying to cram an invitation inside an envelope that’s too small! Yeah…I opened the box, took an envelope out, and immediately realized my mistake. So I’m going to have to return those and reorder them in the right size. But it’s all good. You live you learn, right? Right.

What an exciting week it has been! Jarrod and I decided to take a break from the wedding planning to start putting together our honeymoon. We’re both really looking forward to the time after the stress of the wedding to chill out and do nothing.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you have to get a start on this early, apparently. Like, as soon as you get engaged. I can’t really say much, because Jarrod has made me swear to secrecy on our arrangements for the first night. He’s afraid that his friends/enemies will have pizzas delivered to us all night if they find out where we’re going to be staying.

What I will say is that one place we were interested in staying in is booked solid for the night of June 5th! How is that even possible? Anyway, we ended up finding an even sweeter place, so no worries on that. Moving on.

Because Jarrod gets 90 days of vacation between graduation and when his job begins, we’re going to travel around as much of the world as we can. For the first week, though, we’re going to stay on Santorini, one of the Greek Isles. You know, the beautiful one with all the white buildings with blue doors.

True story: Jarrod’s mom sent me a little birthday package (happy birthday to me, by the way! I’m 23 today) but I couldn’t hold off on opening it until today. Saturday I just ripped it all open, and there in it was the newest edition of Brides. Later that evening Jarrod and I were idly flipping through the pages. You know I’ve snagged a good one when he is willing to browse the magazines with me! (What we really like to do, actually, is make fun of some of the awful dresses. But anyway.) Toward the end was a small article on Santorini! It was basically just a comparison of a splurge hotel vs. a budget hotel. The budget hotel caught our eye and sounded really neat, so we went to the website to check it out a little more.

It’s called “Chelidonia”, (www.chelidonia.com) and happens to be in Oia, the town we were planning on staying in anyway! The rooms are actually restored houses that were dug out after an earthquake hit Oia a while back. So they’re very traditional Santorini, and each room comes with its own kitchenette, as well as a patio, bedroom, bathroom, and sitting area. Sweet, right?

After our little wedding night hotel scare (”We’re going to have to stay in a Super 8!”), we didn’t waste any time in checking availability for the nights we were hoping to be in Santorini. And the room we want is free! So this is wonderful. Kind of silly that we found our hotel in Brides, but whatever works, right? It seems surreal, but I think this whole wedding thing might actually be happening!

Happy November! Week by week, June 5th creeps closer. Let me see, I haven’t even looked at my tasks for November-December. What do we have?

• Begin addressing invitations (I need the envelopes first!)
• Start planning the honeymoon (Yippee! Santorini or bust!)
• Pick out the bridesmaid dress fabric and patterns (I’m going to have my girls pick a sewing pattern for a dress they love, and then make the dresses using the same pattern)
• Start mapping the ceremony out with Bob (Probably can be pushed back to January, as we haven’t begun our premarital counseling yet)
• Send save-the-dates (Will do this at the very beginning of January)
• Reserve the tent and tables
• Contact Nate about possibly being the iTunes DJ
• Make sure the florist is booked (Yes, but I need to send her ideas still!)
• Start composing day-of timeline
• Have first dress fitting (I’m not sure if this is quite as important, since my dress is a pretty simple design. I mean, yes–I need to get it shortened. But I’ll hold off on any size adjustments until March or so)

So yes! These are my tasks for the next two months. Now, the guestbook.

It’s always seemed strange to me, having a guestbook for your wedding attendees to sign. I mean, what’s the purpose? To see exactly who came to your wedding when you’re older? We had a guestbook at my high school graduation party, and I’ve never really opened it up since that day.

I don’t want to dispense with the guestbook. I just want it to be more functional…and beautiful!

Several years ago, when I was a cashier at Kroger and there was no one checking out, my friend and I would take the wedding magazines and plan our dream weddings. In one issue I saw a really cute typewriter idea, with a scroll of paper that you have people type on, but again–what’s the point? Plus, where would I ever find a typewriter like that. I’m sure I could, but nah.

My second idea was this, from Uncommongoods.com, the wishing wall. Isn’t it cute? Guests write little wishes on the slips of paper, roll them up, and stick them in the little compartments. Then you can have it as a little piece of wall art afterward! It even comes with a little chest to store extra wishes in. Alas, Jarrod was not too keen on this idea. I don’t know why, silly fiance!

And then I came upon this idea, something that our photographers, Grant and Leandra Longenbaugh, offer. The perfect solution! It’s a book of engagement pictures that guests can write in as they please, and then when the wedding is over, it serves as a nice coffee table book as well as a compilation of engagement photos. And so that’s what our guestbook will be! Now my task is to pick out the pictures that we want to be in the book. Which, I think I might just do now, since I’m thinking about it anyway!

Okay, maybe I’m beating a dead horse here, but this is another stationary post! I finally cracked down and designed the rest of everything, so take a look at the completed package:

First is the save the date, the guests’ first look at the overall feel of the wedding. I spent four stinkin’ hours working on this thing! I’m actually kind of proud of it. The bird and heart motif is going to be repeated a lot in the wedding, I think. Or at least in the stationary!

Second is the actual invitation (which is the first piece of the set that I designed). I’ve shown this on here before. Jarrod thought the red was too harsh, so I switched the color to a darker purple. I thought it might look nice on a light lavender card stock, but I decided instead to mail the invitations in a lavender envelope addressed in red. Cool!

Third is the all-inclusive program. This thing is going to be a beast! We’re talking wedding program, song sheets, crossword puzzle, tea menu, all that fun stuff. It’s the guide to the day! I’m not sure about this one…I’m still tweaking some stuff, but overall, I’m pleased, I think! (If it looks funny, it’s because it will be folded in half, so the Emily + Jarrod will go on the front, and the bird will be on the back.)

Finally, we come to the thank you card. Again, not sure about this one. The last two I just sort of threw together last night, and I think that they’re okay, but I’m just afraid that everything is just too similar. Well, who knows.

Anyway, I decided this week to forgo the printshop and print my invitations and program at home (I think I’m going to use Vistaprint.com for the postcard-sized save the date and thank you cards). So, I bought a nice printer (surprisingly not that expensive) and blank invitation cards at Staples. Unfortunately, my brand spankin’ new printer doesn’t want to print half-letter-sized sheets. So…I’m sort of in trouble. I’m considering exchanging the printer, but I’m not entirely sure. I could just get a refund for the dang thing and print my invitations at Staples. Am I the cheapest bride in the world? Well, it’s okay. I’m satisfied with the way my invitations look, so what more can I ask for?

Anyway, so that’s what I have so far. Criticism welcomed!