Emily and I ordered a small batch of Save the Date cards yesterday. We are using moo.com to have our Save the Dates printed. I’ve used them before to get business cards and such printed, and I like their quality, but we wanted to get a physical “proof” copy before ordering the full batch. Our proof order of 20 cards should be here on 23 May. If everything looks good, then we’ll order the full run and get them out mid-June.
Whee!
It’s been about a month since our last update. I know we’ve made progress on things. We talk about and make decisions on something every few days, and yet we have very little to materially show for it. Strange.
The closest we have to an actual, “Look! We decided on this!” is our Save The Date cards. We don’t have them yet, but we hashed out a design we both like. I won’t give away exactly what the design is, but it combines some of Emily and my favorite fandoms. It’s also fairly simple, which is nice.
While we have a design, we haven’t decided on printer. We are considering a few options, both locally and online. They each have their perks and drawbacks. Once we make the decision, we’ll send them out.
We should probably start collecting physical addresses of our friends and family. Oops. That’s getting added on the to-do list.
I started this post with the intent of making announcements. But then I realized, that I have nearly announcements. Not exactly finalized things, but nearly so. Regardless, here’s where we stand.
Venue – Emily and I took a tour of our preferred venue with her parents a few weekends ago. They seemed to like it. We’ve chatted about what facilities of the venue we’ll be using, what caterers, etc. We also discussed venue availability on our chosen wedding date. So far, everything thing looks to be getting a green light.
I have been informed that our initial payment for the venue is imminent. Once that is done, our date will be locked in, and we can continue on to things like save the date cards, invitations and other fun things like that.
Invitations – A few weeks ago, we were thinking about our invitations, and thought, “Hey, we can make our own!” Last weekend, we made some mockups of ideas we had, thought about how many we’d need to make, and decided that perhaps making our own wasn’t our best idea. I think we will go the traditional route of wedding invitations and have someone else do the printing.
Colors – This is something that is actually 100% (99%) decided: True Blue, Light Sage Green, Silver. Those are our wedding colors. Unless we can’t find invitations, flowers, centerpieces or anything else that matches them, in which case they may change. But as of now and for the foreseeable future, the colors are True Blue, Light Sage Green and Silver.
I wonder if I can rent a sage green tux with a true blue vest and tie. I also wonder if I’ll be killed on sight if I get one.
Registries – We’ve begun adding things to registries. I won’t tell you where we’re registered yet, because it is my personal belief that 10 months out is a bit early. But it’s happening.
Registries are weird. It’s like browsing through stores thinking “wouldn’t it be nice to have this or that” and knowing that you can’t get it, because you want someone else to get it for you. So many things that we see and think, “This will be perfect for this thing we want to do,” and then realize that we won’t be able to do it for nearly a year while the item sits on a registry, taunting us.
On a completely different topic, Emily and I both want to express our interests in geeky and nerdy things with our wedding, because it’s so much a part of who we are and why we are together. At the same time, we want to remain fairly conservative. It’s a fine line, and we think we know how to accomplish this, but now that we (very nearly) have a venue and set date, we need to begin incorporating these things in earnest.
The next ten months are going to be fun!
I have it on good authority that a dress has been purchased. I must assume it is white due to the conservative natures of the bride, bride’s mother and bride’s sister-in-law. They have, however, informed me that it is actually purple, yellow and chartreuse. I’m betting it’s white.
The dress is one of the Big Steps in planning a wedding, or so I am told. It involves trying on lots of different dresses (I was not informed of a number), lots of money (I am told it was quite reasonably priced), lots of waiting (I am told it should “arrive in a few months’) and lots of alterations (I am told that there will be altering involved). I’m taking this information on faith as provided by my lovely fiancée, since I do not have the burden of shopping for a dress for the wedding. Thankfully. I do not think I would look good in a dress. I’m sorry for that mental image.
Emily – Mental image aside… I think I got rather lucky in the dress shopping process. I had expected multiple stores and styles, lots of debate and discussion, all over the course of a couple shopping ventures. Instead, we got things done in one stop and afer a few dresses tried. I think more time was spent shoe shopping afterward, honestly.
As the groom, my wedding wardrobe is simpler. I try on a tux, I pay to rent the tux, I try on the tux they’re actually loaning me and swap bits that need swapping, I wear the tux during the wedding and then I return the tux to the company from which I rented it, never more to be thought about. I also don’t have to deal with finding room in a closet for another tux.
Women have to find room in their closets for all of the bridesmaid dresses they have to buy for weddings they’ve been in plus their wedding dress. Men don’t keep anything they wear after the wedding aside from their underwear (which probably wasn’t that special to begin with) and their socks. Seriously! We rent everything, shoes, pants, jacket, shirt, tie, vest or cummerbund cufflinks, buttons, pocket squares… but we keep the socks they provide. Of course, I’d also rather not wear socks previously rented to someone else, so maybe that’s ok.
She has (more or less) a dress. I suppose I should start thinking about tuxes now, too.
-Michael