Finding our Photographer

**warning...lots of pictures below ;)

So, I have to admit, I am a desk jockey and most, if not all, of our vendors were found via the good old fashioned internet. This isn't to say that I didn't research the people that I hired, but for the most part, booking our vendors has been a testament to the powers of the World Wide Web.

Mr Corn and I knew at the beginning of planning the wedding that the two things we didn't want to skimp on were a day-of-event coordinator and photography. Now, we are fairly practical people, so not skimping doesn't mean going hog-wild...it just means finding what we like and then determining if the cost is something we want to do.

Specifically, I wanted someone from the area who was used to working with the different lighting conditions of being at the coast who took beautiful posed shots as well as a hybrid-documentary style candid shot.

Luckily, we didn't have to worry too much because I found a wonderful photographer, who lives in Middletown, RI (the next town over from Newport) who takes the most lovely wedding photos and who I think is moderately priced; Shooting packages start at $2,800. Custom albums and additional products are sold separately to allow for the most flexibility.

Her name? Kathryn Whitney Lucey, you can see her website here. And here is a write up from her site:

Photojournalist Kathryn Whitney Lucey has been documenting professionally since 1984. Her ten years as a staff photographer for the Newport Daily News in Newport, Rhode Island has given her extensive experience as an unobtrustive observer in any situation. Kate specializes in shooting events for both corporate and editorial clients, wedding photography, candid portraiture and stock photography of children and Newport, Rhode Island scenes. Special Assignments have taken her to France, Zimbabwe and a refugee camp in Belize.

Kate applies the same photojournalistic approach and style to her wedding photography. She photographs in an unobtrusive way, capturing candid moments and creating beautiful heirloom portraits. Kate believes that each wedding is different, with its own story to tell and moments to capture. She incorporates both black and white and color photography to fully document the couple, their families and the day.

I have included some of my favorite shots below.

Kathryn Whitney Lucey
http://www.katewhitneylucey.com/
401-847-6403

Ok… I Need Your Help Again

We worked on our wedding programs this weekend. I am almost ready to start printing them, but we have one minor glitch.


Program 1

Can you see it? (Don’t worry, I didn’t think there was an issue either)


My newphew will be 2 1/2 years old at the time of the wedding. We wanted to include him in the service, but we also recognize that he is too young to expect him to make it down the aisle unaccompanied; especially since he is a little hesitant to do new things.

So we have asked him to escort my mom down the aisle. He and my mom have been practicing for their role for a couple of months now.

When I showed Mr. Corn the program, his only comment was that we have notated that Will is the Mother of the Bride’s Escort, but we haven’t notated that his dad, Guy, will be escorting his mom down the aisle.

My reasoning for not even THINKING that we needed to include this was because you normally wouldn’t include that information in a program and the only reason we are including it at all is because that is Will’s specific role in the wedding. My concern is that if we put who his mom’s escort is, than we will 1) make our guests think we have flipped a lid by including this information in the program 2) have Guy B listed in three different places on the program and 3) possibly run out of space on the page.

What do you all think?

Here’s what it would look like if we add it in:


Program 2

Here’s what it looks like if we separate it out by person instead of role in the wedding (to keep Guy from having his name up there three times):



Program 3

And this is the same thing, just with the font for the names and titles switched:


Program 4

Should we …

…Keep it the way it is?
…Not have either in the program?
…Have both in the program?

Thank you How-to

A couple of people requested a how-to on my DIY Thank You notes. Here is a step by step:

1) Since I knew I was going to purchase 4-Bar envelopes from Paper-Source, I looked up how big their matching folded cards were so I could make my own. Turns out, folded they are 3 1/2 x 4 7/8 folded which makes them 7 x 4 7/8 unfolded.

2) I chose a heavy cardstock, in this case Paper-Source's Luxe Cream 210g Text weight paper in 8.5 x 11 and was able to cut two cards from one piece of paper. Since each sheet breaks down to $.575 (not including tax and shipping), each card breaks down to $.2875. Which means that 20 cards end up being $5.75 as opposed to just buying the cards in the 20pack that Paper-Source has for $5.25. Wait. That can't be right. I must have gotten the paper on sale because I know when I got the paper, it made a lot more sense to just cut the cards than to purchase them pre-made.

3) Next, I used my trusty Fiskars 12" cutter to cut and score the cards.

4) To stamp the hydrangea, I used an Anna Griffen stamp and a Platinum Planet Brilliance Pigment Inkpad (just like I did on the escort card envelopes)

5) I have a 'Many Thanks' stamp and a chocolate brown stamp pad from a Stampin Up binge I went on a few years ago. I used that to stamp the sentiment and then went over it again with the Platinum Planet Brilliance ink to make it offset.

Other than cutting the paper, it really wasn't that big of a hassle to make these because stamping goes very quickly. Alternatively, you can always feed these through a printer so you can use an design element from your wedding in case it doesn't happen to be in stamp form. And I am sure you could really make out like a bandit by doing it this way if you happened to come across paper that was actually discounted :).

Thank you

So I keep forgetting to post about the thank you notes I made for the wedding. I made them a long time ago once I realized that we were getting wedding presents before the wedding. Now that I think about it, it is a good thing I made them so long ago, because there is no way I would be able find the energy to make these now!!






For some reason, I have an issue paying for pre-cut cards from Paper-Source when I can just as easily cut them out of 12x12 cardstock from Paper-Source and save the tiniest amout of money. So that's what I did to make these. Then I just stamped them with my hydrangea stamp and double stamped the 'Thank You' on the front so it looks layered. Quick, fairly painless, not too expensive and (most importantly) done.

La Dolce Vita

Way before we were engaged, Mr Corn and I had a random conversation while on a road trip about where our ideal honeymoon would be. I said that I was torn because on the one hand, I knew I would want to just veg out in the sun somewhere…but on the other hand, I would quickly get bored with that and would want to do something interesting and exploratory. I couldn’t decide between laying out on a Caribbean beach or going to Europe.

When it came time to plan our honeymoon, I left it in his hands. And boy has he come up with something amazing!! We will fly to Naples on the Monday after the wedding and arrive Tuesday morning. We start our honeymoon with three days on the isle of Capri at the JW Marriott…to do nothing other than veg out in the sun :). Then we will take the train to Rome and explore the city for a few days. We will then rent a car and drive through Tuscany stopping somewhere between Rome and Florence at an as-yet-to-be-determined bed and breakfast…most likely we will just stay at any random place we happen to find along the way. Finally, after a couple of days in Florence, we will take the train to Venice for three days before heading back to the states.

We are using Mr Corn’s many, many frequent flyer miles and hotel points for most of our stay, but Mr Corn just sent me a link to a video about the hotel where we will stay in Venice, Hotel San Moisè. The link and some pictures from the website are below. All this time I have been focused on the wedding, and I almost completely forgot to be excited about the very cool vacation we get to take afterwards. I am now officially excited!!


Hotel San Moisè
The hotel faces the Canal San Moisè and is just a few steps away from the prestigious Via XXII Marzo with the more important boutiques of the city. Saint Mark's Square is just a few minutes' walk. Entering under the Napoleonic wing, the breathtaking sight of the most beautiful drawing room in the world unfolds.The Gran Teatro La Fenice, rebuilt with its ancient splendor, is just a few minutes away from the hotel.






Click here to see the video.

Waves

It has been a ridiculously great year for Mr Corn and I; everything from his promotion, to my job change, to his brother getting married, our buying our first house, getting engaged, etc. yet we remain aware that these things come in waves. We certainly aren't trying to be pessimistic about how great everything has been, but we are trying to keep our feet grounded in the reality that there are many more great times as well as hard times ahead.

This has only been magnified by recent events in my family. What has been going on is cruel and excruciatingly personal and will directly affect many of the people who will attend our wedding. But you have to go on. The world isn't going to iron itself out into perfection because of our wedding day. We just have to celebrate it as the joyful occasion it is and try and keep our focus on that.

Below is the reading that Mr Corn and I have selected to be read at the ceremony. It is different from anything I have ever heard at a wedding before; I think because it not only explores the concept that marriage is so much more than the one time joy of a wedding, but because it expresses a truth of what can be expected, rather than the naïve hope of what can never truly be attained.

EXCERPT FROM "THE GIFT FROM THE SEA"
~ By Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

The out-of-towners

Mr Corn and I headed to our nation’s capital for the weekend. We both grew up in the Northeast and took part in the requisite 8th grade field trips and family road trips. We both have also visited the area on numerous occasions for business in the past six years so this time we were looking to find the off-the-beaten-path attractions that we most likely hadn't seen before.

Of course, the Jefferson Memorial isn't THAT far off the beaten path, but the shot came out nice, so I thought I would share...

I really have no idea how or why Mr Corn dreamed up this trip. Out of the blue, a couple of months ago, he asked me if I was interested in going to DC for a weekend in the summer and I, never one to look a weekend-getaway-gift-horse in the mouth, eagerly said ‘yes’. We travel together well and it knew it would be nice to have a weekend to be a tourist without any required 400 mile drives or family visitations. This was also our last trip together not as husband and wife. I don’t know why that means something to me, but for some reason it does.

The view from our room on the 10th floor of the JW Marriott downtown. (Mr Corn travels A. LOT. so we use his points for everything. I highly recommend this hotel if you are ever in the area...it is perfectly located steps from the White House and inbetween the Mall [where all the Museums are] and restaurants along E Street).

Mr Corn waiting for his waffles at grease-pit-of-a-diner we found across the street from the Ford Theater. Note, this place has no name that we could find, other than a sign outside that said 'Waffles' but it had the yummiest, albeit slightly soggy, waffles and was perfect for the low-key breakfast we were aiming to have.

The best kept secret in DC? There is a terrace dining room on the top floor of the Hotel Washington on the corner of 15th St and E St, that has a spectacular view of the white house...and the food is pretty good too!

Mr Corn with a friend of ours that we met for lunch (the Washington Monument can be seen over his right shoulder).

The view of the White House from the Hotel Washington's Terrace Restaurant.

So do you have any plans to get-away at all in the months before your weddings? If you could go anywhere and/or do anything for a quick weekend get-away in this hectic time of planning, where/what would you do?

What to wear, what to wear...

The first question every girl who is invited to the wedding has asked me about the festivities is "what do I wear?" I usually tell them that Mr Corn and I will be dressed to the 9's but that everyone else is encouraged to dress 'garden casual'. The second question everyone asks is "what the heck is 'garden casual'"? To clarify...I'm not really sure, myself. But I tell them to base their decision off of these facts:

We will be eating lobster...lobster is messy...therefore don't wear anything that you can't just throw in the wash.

If you were a guy, I would suggest wearing khaki's and a collared shirt...I might even try to convince you to wear madras Bermuda shorts and a blazer :D

Other things to consider...Newport is in New England which is known for it's crazy-go-nuts weather. I have been to a wedding in August when it is 55 degrees and misty out and clamy and a party in October when it is 80 degrees and sweltering. That said, I think the usual high/low for the area for the beginning of September is 75/67. The wedding is on the water, so there is the possibility of a chilly breeze in the evening regardless of how hot it may or may not be during the day.

So basically, assuming it is a nice day, I suggest wearing a sundress and comfortable shoes that don't have spiky heels (since we will be on the grass) and bring a medium weight sweater/jacket in case you get cold in the evening.

What have you been telling your guests?

The one with two parties, cont.

I just got my invite to our rehearsal dinner and party. Mr Corn's mom asked me months ago to help her design an invitation for the rehearsal party so we arranged to go to Archiver's, a scrapbooking store in St. Louis, while we were there for the Frozen Four Hockey Tournament in April. Of course, we only knew the store existed because we had seen it at the Frozen Four Hockey Tournament in Columbus, Ohio three years ago...talk about planning ahead!!

Note: Archiver's is an interesting store; I was surprised, considering the natural progression of the scrapbooking phenomenon towards paper goods and invitation DIYing that the store had nary an invitation idea or even an envelope for that matter in the house. That said, good for them for keeping their focus on scrapbooking in this world where there is an overpriced paper specialist on every corner. Who am I kidding? There could NEVER be too many paper specialty stores. Booo Archiver's!!

Ok...sorry about that...my rant is over.

Anywho...While at Archiver's my future MIL and I picked out some paper and created a basic design concept and then she hired someone to make them for her. Here is the final product. All of our guests received the large invitation and then anyone who is in the wedding and their families also received the insert telling them about the rehearsal dinner immediately after the rehearsal but prior to the party.

The best part about these is that I didn't have to make them :)

Centerpieces

The floating candles I ordered from Illuminations came yesterday so I decided to put together a mock-up of our centerpieces.




We have approximately 17 tables. The 'sand' is from the same 40 lbs of concrete mix that I used for the favors. The driftwood is from an eBay auction that I won for $10.50. The 9" cylinder vases came from save-on-crafts.com and were on sale for $2.49 each. The antique ball jars I found on the street one day while walking with Mr Corn in his neighborhood (months before being engaged). The candles were $.50 each on sale from Illuminations (thank you Weddingbee for continually keeping me updated on crazy-go-nuts deals!). The water is from my sink ;). The grass is from Nettleton Hollow, $25 for two bunches; and the shells were free from a lamp my mom used to have.

Total cost for 17 centerpieces: $86.33

Total cost each: $5.08

It was never on our radar to have floral centerpieces because we wanted something very New England Coastal...but from what I can gather, I think we made out pretty well on the price. And I have every intention of selling the vases on e-bay or Craigslist when all is said and done, so they may end up costing us even less!

That’s it! No more!! I'm done!!! (well, almost)

Here is a list of DIY things that I have done personally so far for this wedding:

1) Created and made two types of favors
2) Designed and made all

a. Save the Dates
b. Invitations
c. Response cards
d. Maps
e. Outer envelopes
f. Stamps
g. Table numbers
h. Escort cards and envelopes
i. Menu cards
j. Shower thank-you cards
k. Wedding thank-you cards
l. Wedding website

3) Created 4-page newsletter complete with custom crossword puzzle for the Out-of-Town bags
4) Created and made all 60 votives for guest tables at reception
5) Created and made all 17 sand/dune grass/driftwood/candle/water feature centerpieces
6) Gotten card basket for gift table
7) Found tall, thick branches to use to hold up escort card display
8) Purchased materials for wish tree
9) Found tall, thick branches to use to hold up escort card display
10) Purchased bags for Out-of-Town bags
11) Bought marzipan shells to put in glassine bags for the Out-of-Town bags
12) Purchased short shepherd’s hooks for flowers to hang in aisle of ceremony

Here is a list of things that I still need to get done for this wedding:

1) Figure out ceremony details and make programs
2) Make cones to hold flowers to hang on shepherd’s hooks in aisle of ceremony
3) Put marzipan shells in glassine bags and package them like Miss Plumeria did ;)
4) Create and make sign for wish tree

Here is a list of things that we will not be doing at our wedding because I have hit the DIY wall:

1) Come up with some sort of interactive table games for our reception so that people don’t get bored
2) Make ribbon sticks for people to wave while we walk back up the aisle
3) Make individual grass seed throwing things in lieu of ribbon sticks
4) Make individually wrapped tissue packs for people to have in case they cry
5) Bake corn, lobster and shell cookies for the Out-of-Town bags
6) Create and make centerpieces for Tall-Boys for cocktail reception
7) Build a Model-T from scratch so we have a get-away car

The truth is, after the events of the past few weeks, I really have decided once-and-for-all that the wedding really isn’t about everyone else. Who cares if people don’t like something, or are bored, or think the etiquette is off or can’t stand the music or think the hotel is too expensive or what-ever-it-is that people think at weddings that make brides decided to take it upon themselves to personally make sure that everyone has the same level of over-analyzed, über-personalized fun at their event.

Our wedding is about us. It is one ceremony and one party on one day of two people’s lives.

I can’t believe that I was trying so hard to not be a bridezilla that I became someone even worse; the anti-bridezilla; the bride who tries so hard to ensure categorically and without doubt that her guests have a perfect time at her wedding, that she forgets to just relax and enjoy the moment.

Thank GOD I caught myself before composing our own wedding song!!

Now? I feel like a bride?

So, I have a confession to make…one that I am slightly embarrassed to mention because my mom reads my posts on Weddingbee; but in the interest of being honest about the process of wedding planning, I feel it is important to share:

I just found the yummiest thing to wear on our honeymoon:


It never dawned on me that I would want something like this; I have seen other brides receive things like this at their showers and thought that they were nice, but not really appropriate for me since Mr Corn and I have been living together for almost a year.

But then I went into my local Macy’s to see about getting some nicer undies to bring with me on the honeymoon than the standard issue Hanes I usually wear...and I walked past the negligee area of the intimates section...and I just couldn’t stop myself from trying some things on (you know, just for educational purposes)...and, well, then I couldn’t stop myself from purchasing two of these; one in champagne and one in the most delicate shade of pink; one short and one full length; both with matching silky-soft robes.

And you know what?

NOW. I feel like a bride ;)