Accepting Help

My little countdown calendar is a daily reminder that the days are just flying by until the wedding. Today marks a mere 86 days to go, and as I've mentioned previously, I have QUITE a bit left to do. Thankfully, I now have all of my to-do's arranged by category in a list, and the "DIY/projects" and "Design/print" sections are the smallest. The largest section is on confirmations and decisions to make, so while they require some thinking and planning, they (for the most part) do not require a ton of time... and for that I am grateful.

After our family flower making extravaganza, my gramma had me bring her supplies to continue making flowers since she no longer works and swears she is bored out of her mind all day. Since she has run out of tissue paper she has continued to ask me to bring her more projects to do... and I haven't... because I feel absolutely awful about giving her stuff to do that I feel like I should just be doing myself. Always somewhat independent, I've never been particularly good at asking for - or accepting - help, and now as a bride planning a VERY DIY-heavy wedding, I'm beginning to learn to let things go and allow others to express their love and support for me through help. I'll be spending my 4-day weekend coming up organizing and getting all of the necessary supplies together for projects... and then attempting to "delegate" some of said projects to the people who are just begging me to let them help. Wish me luck! I tend to walk a fine line between staying calm and collected and absolutely panicking lately, so I'm grateful for the offers to take some things off my plate.

Aaaaaaand speaking of plates, my mom and I grabbed a bunch of 99 cent pieces at Goodwill last weekend and laid them all out the other night on top of the candlesticks I have also been collecting from Goodwill. We also locked ourselves out on my front porch while we were doing this and I had to climb through the (thankfully unlocked) living room window to get back into the house, but that's besides the point :). The point is that once I saw how incredible this collection if DIY cake plates is going to look, I got REAL excited... and then bummed that it was already after 9pm and a little too late to rush out for spray paint and glue to get these babies started. If the weather is as gorgeous as it's promising to be this weekend, I will definitely be checking this project off my list right away as I am giddy to see the finished product.

There are a TON of inspiration images online for DIY cake stands -

I did some googling this morning to see what kind of paint and glue is best for this project, and every tutorial I found notes using epoxy from the hardware store, so I'll be doing just that. Every instance also noted just using spray paint for a smooth and even finished surface, but I read in several places that you should leave the top of the plates unpainted so they are safe to eat food off of. Unfortunately, my mom and I picked plates based on their pretty scalloped edges or textured faces, and definitely did not choose them based on color or pattern... so I'll need to paint the tops. It looks like I can easily use a food-safe glaze or sealant on top of the spray paint to curb any worry of chemicals, but I may go the even easier route and just put a doily or napkin on the surface for our treats to sit on. Either way, I think these plates are bound to be a fun project (what project with spray paint ISN'T fun?!?), and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to post later!

Drink up

They're here! And they are just as cute and fun as I expected they would be.

Check out the pop of coral in my DIY manicure as well - it's a good (though slightly bright) indication of how my entire color palate works together!

Jackpot

I'm not usually one to use the phrase "OMG!" in any context, but today I did in an email to my mom, along with lots of caps locked letters and extra exclamation points. Why? Because I found this -

That's right friends. An entire multi-flowered centerpiece made out of tissue paper. JUST LIKE MY TISSUE PAPER CARNATIONS! (Don't mind the caps lock. I told you I was excited.)

What's even better is that this lovely little blogger was kind enough to post detailed and photographed tutorials for all 5 flower variations.

(The fifth flower is the carnations I already made, so I didn't bother grabbing the tutorial)

So, as I noted above, I immediately emailed my mom, and if all goes as planned we'll be trying our hand at a few of these this weekend! Considering I was starting to think that I was going to have all-carnation centerpieces (and was not thrilled about that), I'm excited to add in some variation in the form of other flowers. 

In other news, things have begun to be purchased off of our registry!!! It's a little odd to be able to go online and see exactly what we're receiving, but considering we picked it all out ourselves I guess we already knew anyways. And, based on the full on spaz attack I had when I saw "fulfilled" next to the food processor I registered for, apparently already knowing what I'm getting isn't stopping me from being giddy excited over it all. :)

That was easy

I love the things on my wedding checklist that take 5 minutes to complete. I recently checked off "finally decide on shoe color for bridesmaids" when I emailed them all and asked that they wear shoes in any shade of gray or silver. I figure since they all have different style dresses, why not let them also have different style shoes? It felt good to put an "x" in the box labeled "done?" on my list :).

Yesterday, I realized I still had a $20 coupon for Amazon that I hadn't used yet, and within minutes I had placed an order for gray striped and blue striped paper straws! To say that I am ridiculously excited about the straws would be putting it lightly. These tiny details that will ultimately help shape the overall look and feel of our wedding are EXACTLY why I was so excited to plan it all in the first place, so I'm having fun with it and enjoying it as much as I can!

Smile!

Apologies upfront that I am far too lazy to try and find a way to add a slideshow to my blog... but the following post will be good and long and full of photos! So, sit back and enjoy scrolling through some of my engagement picture favorites - all taken by the fabulous Studio 6.23 duo!

I'm fairly certain this was our first shot out of the gate. Not bad!
(Note to self: get a tan before the wedding.)

Like my outfit? It's picked out by me and put together and accessorized by Mindy. :)

Oh I just love that little half-smile of his.

I'm not very good at the "serious" face, but this is still one of my faves.

I feel like I look awkwardly large in front of Dan here, but my hair
looks good and I love the way he's looking at me. :)

This one is getting blown up and wrapped around a frame for our bedroom wall!

My dad planted those vines we're standing in front of 20 years ago!

Woah there closeups. My gramma loves these ones.

The perfect "normal" shot of us.

This picture just looks so comfortably "us".

DEFINITELY one of my top 3. I don't have the hi-res here to post,

but I'm half-laughing while Dan kisses me on the cheek. Aww.

Interested in seeing all 70+ images and/or ordering prints? Get in touch and I'll pass along the gallery login info!

Handsome

Well, the men in my life made a nice little investment in our wedding last night when 8 of the 10 purchased their suits!! I loved stopping into Men's Warehouse over the last several months with Dan to see him try on different jackets and decide exactly which one we wanted everyone to buy. We finally settled on a straight black Calvin Klein slim-fit suit with a peaked lapel and a double vent in the back. I looooove it, and my fiance looks mighty handsome in it if I do say so myself!

Here he is leaving Manda's high-five hanging, as he was already irritated with me saying "SMILE! This is going on the blog!!"

I was a little bummed that apparently being fitted for a suit doesn't actually mean the guys TRY ON the suit, which meant I didn't get to embarrass the rest of them with pictures (I guess there will be plenty of that on the wedding day, huh?) But, I've seen all of them in a suit at one point or another and rest assured, we have a good looking bunch of guys in our bridal party! My brother even stated matter of factly yesterday on the phone - "I make a suit look good."

Now I just need to find ties! The one Dan has on in the photo above is an awesome paisley print one I bought and thought was "THE ONE"... but it's just a little too much pop with the all black suit. This is probably a good thing considering the guys weren't necessarily crazy about it... so I think I'll search for something a little more simple like a nice striped pattern.

Let the countdown begin

...and over 100 things on my to-do list. Time to get moving!

Where it All Began

Thanks to our Save the Dates, everyone now knows the quick 10 second story of our entire relationship. What our friends and family may not realize though, is how much of a heartfelt connection I now have to New Orleans (and the areas surrounding it), thanks to the fact that it is quite literally where our relationship began... and thus where my life began to change forever (aww). To this day, whenever I see or hear something about the hurricanes it (for lack of a less cheesy term) tugs at my heartstrings and immediately takes me back to that first trip Dan and I took together.

While we took a fun little vacation in December back to The Big Easy, we weren't engaged until a few weeks later (although Dan carried the ring around with him on our trip looking for the perfect moment to propose!), so it didn't occur to me while we were there that I should look around for inspiration to add to our wedding day. Then we got engaged, and I quickly nixed the idea of a New Orleans "theme" wedding as I wanted nothing to do with purple, green and gold or mardi gras beads and masks. While those things are great, they're not my style, AND they really aren't indicative of our time there as we spent our days rebuilding homes destroyed by the hurricanes and looking through ruined family memories rather than drinking and partying on Bourbon Street. I wanted to find a way to incorporate that time and the emotional connection behind it, and without much thought I settled on figuring out a way to get a bunch of reclaimed/salvaged wood from the area back here at home to use in my wedding decor.

Right. Except that New Orleans is a solid 15 hour drive from Chicago, and I wasn't exactly swimming in free time to go, money to pay for it, or most importantly - the resources to find the actual wood when and if I got there. Then something incredible happened, and by incredible I mean the one and only Rachel Burger, a friend of both mine and Dan's who has proven time and time again that a true friend is hard to come by (she is also a perfect example of the saying "a true friend will drive you to the airport"). Rachel told me one day that her sister lives in New Orleans and just so happens to work in construction and art... and could get me a bunch of old wood and ship it to Chicago in USPS flat rate boxes. THEN she told me that she was paying for it all as her wedding gift to Dan and I. And then I squealed.

Well, Rachel and her sister totally pulled through for me, and last week I received 3 boxes full of absolutely perfectly old and weathered wood, straight from the New Orleans area and salvaged from buildings at least 75 years old! To say that I am a bit obsessed with it would be an understatement.

Isn't it pretty?!?

The plan is to use the wood to make table numbers, using these two images as inspiration!

Rachel going out of her way to help me with this particular part of the wedding is just another reminder to me of how blessed we are by the friends and family we have in our lives. I literally could not be doing all of this without everyone that has provided their time and help! So, Rachel, thanks for being an amazing friend and for making it possible for me to have exactly what I wanted for my wedding day. I truly could not have done it without you and your sister!

Laper Ladies

Have I ever mentioned how incredible my extended family is? We're all super close, and thanks to nobody living more than 25 minutes from another, it's easy to get together for parties, shopping trips, and now... wedding craft nights!

Immediately after Dan and I got engaged I started pouring out my DIY-wedding thoughts to my mom, aunts, gramma and cousins... and they immediately started offering up their help, because they are just that amazing. It took me some time to settle on final plans and get a bunch of supplies together, but I was finally ready to host our first craft night over Memorial Day weekend while Dan went out for what he is calling his "first of many" bachelor party.

To thank everyone for their help, I made Annie's Eats Chicken Caesar Sandwiches for dinner (so easy. SO SO SO delicious), and a family favorite - Kraft's Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle - for dessert. By the time I had dinner ready, my awesome family had already started cranking out flowers!

Manda and Melissa - you can see in Melissa's hands just how easy these flowers were to make. Just scrunch up each little disk of tissue paper and that's it! -

White sangria was (of course) also involved -

This dessert is so easy to make and makes for a great presentation -

I think this is my new favorite picture of my gramma. She was adamant about helping me with wedding things - she even called me the other night and had me bring her supplies to make more flowers in her free time! -

Aren't they pretty? -

In total, the Laper Ladies cranked out 3 full buckets of blooms! The teal ones are a little bold mixed in with the white and pink, so I'm thinking about using them to make a pomander ball for Kadence to carry -

I wish I would have gotten more photos of our 2nd craft of the night... painting vases! My cousin Alison had a blast with this project and painted more vases than anyone else. Once I get more vases I'll be doing another batch of these in coral, and a few more gray and white to sprinkle in. -

A big HUGE thank you to: Mom, Gramma, Aunt Barbie, Aunt Cinde, Aunt Renee, Melissa, Manda, Alison, Becca and Bridget for giving up their Friday night to come and help me with wedding projects! Crafts are always more fun with friends, and your help took a giant amount of stress off of me and helped me to start checking projects off my list. I love you all!

Fingers Crossed

Look what I found! For $60!

Granted I have yet to see them in person... but the hope is that will happen this weekend. So, keep your fingers crossed that the heel isn't too high, the clip on the front isn't too weird looking, and the lack of a strap at the ankle doesn't matter for keeping them on my feet!