Invitation Design Update

The other day I realized I haven't been by the apartment office to check for packages in awhile... and there were THREE waiting for me!  Most exciting was my Epson RX595 (which I purchased at the suggestion of Paper Source via WeddingBee).

As I have been waiting to do a million things until I got this new baby, I spent an afternoon working on my invitation layout instead of doing my homework:

ignore the blank spots, pretty please

I keep thinking it looks a little bland, but I also really like it.  And while I sat pondering what to do to make it less bland during dinner, Ryan reminded me, "About five people will judge what it looks like.  Those five people don't matter.  No one else will care."

I love it!  He admits that some people will judge it, but that it doesn't matter.  It's simple, easy, and I think it works just fine.  Is it bad if seven months out I am already resorting to "just fine"?  Give me your input!!

Inspiration Board: Round Two

After spending all that time with the last board, I did some research (read as: decided that Kathryn from Snippet & Ink is my hero) and made this one.  It feels like a more refined version of the last one, and I love it!  What do y'all think?

Mood (reminder): romantic, warm, classic and simple

Top from left: photo of Park Tavern, candles from MS via S&I, Christ the King photo by Matt Adcock

Row 2: chocolate from MS Weddings via S&I, lanterns from Pottery Barn (found on Classic Bride) via S&I, candle holders from Pottery Barn, pearls from Overstock via S&I

Row 3: my dress from Casablanca Bridal, invitation via S&I, Jack Vettriano image via art.com, photo by Belathee via S&I

Row 4: photo by Lisa Leigh via S&I, bouquet from Artfool, photo of Hotel Splendido via Little Winter Bride

Inspiration Board: Round One

I have been playing with pictures on my computer for long enough for Ryan to make merciless fun of me.  So I guess that means I am done for now!  I present: inspiration board round one (I promise no amount of certainty that I will not change my mind).

Top row from left: MY dress from Casablanca Bridal, pearls from The Green Vase via Snippet and Ink, photo from Park Tavern

Row 2: photo by Belathee via S & I, my invitation design idea, candle holders from Pottery Barn, Jack Vettriano print image from art.com

Row 3: photo from Hotel Splendido via Little Winter Bride, flowers from ArtFool, photo by Mark Staff via S&I

Mood: romantic, classic, warm, and simple.  What do you think- does it get the job done?

(Of course, while looking up the sources to link all of the images, I found a bunch more, so expect round two as soon as I have another few hours to waste!)

Please Make Plans...

To join us for a big party in January!

Alright, so despite the votes that the church image was too serious for us, I was still pretty in love with it!  (And Ryan, seeing this, gave me the go ahead.  Good guy.)  Here is the Save the Date so far:

[As usual, please excuse the marked out info.]

front

back

I plan to print the cards double sided matte (hopefully from www.printsmadeeasy.com if I can get it to upload... any suggestions?).  Then we will put them in envelopes and send them out!  I originally wanted to just mail them as actual postcards, mostly to save paper and money.  However Ryan is concerned that people will discard them without looking at them, and I am concerned about them getting marked up in the mail.  So we decided envelopes would be the way to go.  I will update once we actually mail them, but for now, what do you think?

Finding the Church

So since I have shared how we picked our reception location, I thought it might be helpful to tell the short story of how we chose our ceremony location. (And yes, we chose it second!)

Both Ryan and I have known for a long time that we planned to get married in a Catholic church. However both of us had stopped attending for some time since being raised Catholic. Our deal was that once we got engaged, we would put in the time to find a church we actually wanted to attend and we would get married there.

After determining it was time to begin our search, we used google maps to look at all of the Atlanta area Catholic churches in relation to my apartment. The Cathedral of Christ the King was the closest one. (My apartment is conveniently also in walking distance to Piedmont Park, if I haven't mentioned that before.)

I was uncertain about choosing a Cathedral for the wedding ceremony, let alone to attend on a regular basis. As I think might be apparent by now, I am a fairly casual person and the word "Cathedral" does not sound casual to me. However, as it was the closest we thought we would give it a try.

Sitting in the pew and looking around, I was immediately reminded of England (where I spent three years growing up when my Dad was stationed there). The stained glass and the feel were breathtaking and I felt a strong pull to attend this church. (Look, if you know me, you know that's huge.) Everyone we talked to was super friendly and helpful. It seemed like the perfect place to help us ease back into church attendance.

However, the selling point for getting married at the Cathedral? Ryan whispered during mass, "This aisle is so long! You are totally going to trip down it." Sold.

Unfortunately, it is not cheap to get married at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Not close to cheap. But in the words of my dad, "That is the cost of business." His thought was, if we loved it and wanted to be members of the church, we should get married there. I am very thankful that I am blessed with a family that can afford to do things like this for me.

So when January rolls around, I will be walking down a very long aisle (trying not to trip- but my dad promises to help!) in a very traditional Catholic Cathedral. I never imagined something like this for myself, but it strangely really works for us.

Anyone else have any very surprising wedding-related decisions?

Congratulations Lindsey & Chris!

Image found here

Light night I attended the wedding of Lindsey and Chris!  Congratulations to you both!!  It was so fantastic to see Lindsey so happy all night long.  And the trip to Cuthbert, GA was definitely one to remember.

I will have more pictures this week, but for now I must share a short story.

The car ride from the hotel to the reception included myself, Ryan, Jess, her husband Billy, and my boss (Dr. C).  (As a side note, Dr. C was causing trouble all night long and was a blast!!)  Either way, as we were standing outside after the ceremony waiting for the big exit, Jess kept admiring the flower pomanders hanging along the entry way on shepherds hooks.  (See picture above for example.)  Dr. C kept encouraging her to 'steal' one after everyone else left.  I think the rationale was, "They are going to die anyway."

So this is forgotten until we are sitting at a gas station making a pit stop before heading to the reception.  Jess realizes that she forgot to steal the pomanders, so we drive back by the church so she can get them.  As we are turning the car around after her capture, she realizes the flowers are fake.  Determining fake flower pomanders will not die, and therefore might be reused, everyone decides they must be returned to the church.  However, Jess somehow decides Dr. C should throw them out her window onto the church lawn as we drive back by.  Both of the boys, as well as Jess and Dr. C found this absolutely hysterical.  I was the only one who thought it was sad to be so reckless with someone's (already used) wedding decorations!!!  What if she wants to save them forever???

And then I realized- I am a huge wedding geek.  I need to lighten up!!!  This wedding planning stuff is definitely getting to my head.

PS: Happy Father's Day!

Finding the Reception Location

A week after my tour of the Piedmont Room, I had an appointment with Barbara Roberts at Magnolia Hall.

view from parking lot

I should back track, so that my lovely readers can have inside knowledge of how I came to this point.  Through a series of random life experiences, I have come to love parks in big cities.  Something about the combination just speaks to my heart.  Therefore, when thinking about moving to Atlanta, I did a little research- What parks will be close by?  I stumbled upon Piedmont Park's website.  And looking through, I saw pictures of Magnolia Hall, a preserved building within the park grounds.  My exact thoughts were: This is the first time I have ever seen a wedding reception location that I am actually really drawn to.  Maybe one day I will have my wedding reception here.

(Please laugh about what a dork I am in your head!)  Ryan knew of my immense love for Piedmont Park and if you recall proposed there.  So fast forward two years and here I was: standing in front of my dream reception location.

Barbara sat down with me, made me feel at home, and acted genuinely interested in my wedding plans.  Straight away, I made sure my concerns would be taken care of: the space could hold up to 150 guests and ours would be the only wedding of the day.  Phew!  Now to actually see the space in person, and see if I got the feeling I was waiting for.

(Side note: Yes, I base most of my final wedding decisions on getting a certain feeling.  I promise though, I do thorough research first!  I believe in being logical and falling in love.)

wedding ceremony inside Mag Hall

I can't really do that moment justice, because although it obviously won't be empty when we have our reception here, walking into the empty hall with the sun streaming through the huge windows was perfect and peaceful.  My decision had been made.

The price was more than we wanted to pay, but after comparing other venues around the city, we realized that it is one of the cheaper options.  Magnolia Hall in my mind is the perfect location to showcase the city for our guests, have a space that was elegant enough for our taste but laid-back enough for a relaxing party, and in walking distance to much of midtown.  My logical needs were met and my heart had been won.

Since then, Ryan has seen and loved it, my parents and sisters have seen it and approve, and our date has been booked.  I am beyond excited to celebrate our wedding day in a place that means so much to us!

So what about you?  Do you use logic to make wedding decisions?  Gut feelings?  Both?