#90 So cool

I have tons to catch you up on, but in the meantime Jonathan just sent me this link. How fun is this? I think Russians know how to have a fun wedding. :)

#89 Invite assembly

Tonight, we will assemble the invites. Some fun ladies are coming over and we are going to drool over Chad on One Tree Hill as we stamp and stuff envelopes. Haha :D Sounds like a blast if you ask me!

My hope is I will send them off the the post office tomorrow to be hand canceled.

Woo hoo! 2 months to go! I'm almost married!!! :D :D :D

[photo taken on Valentine's Day]

#88 and the winner is...

Congrats!

Thank you to everyone you entered this awesome giveaway from Online Poster Printing. 

Also, a huge thank you to Online Poster Printing for this opportunity!

I know you will enjoy your poster print, Rika, and I hope you're forever inspired.

More wedding updates coming next week (invites, shower, etc.)

Happy weekend to all! Stay dry if you are in Tenn.

#87 Giveaway update

Don't forget to enter the Online Poster Printing giveaway! I will pick one winner (contest ends 3/12 at 12 midnight EST) and announce the lucky person Friday.

Good luck!

See this post for more info.

#86 Flower Update

Thursday I went down to the wholesale flower mart in Chattanooga with Lisa. It was really fun. I got a better idea about flowers and bought some pretty ribbons. After looking at alstroemerias, cali lilies, tulips, wax flowers, star gazer lilies, football mums and so much more...I headed over to Fresh Market for more bouquet inspiration. Then, I found this bouquet.

Simple and yet so pretty and all the perfect colors. Here are all the different flowers separately. I think the white daisies would look really pretty all by themselves in a vase.

I think I'll end up using these for some centerpieces. We'll see though. :) Here are the pretty satin ribbons I bought. I got 50 yards of the pink and yellow and 25 of the little yellow (for corsages and such) for only $35. What a steal.

#85 Invites and such

Hehe...sneak preview???

I couldn't help myself, I ordered the invites yesterday and I'm very excited.

Even better, I went to the post office today to make sure they were within the 42-cent-stamp weight. (They are!)

Today I also purchased the most awesome stamps in the world. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but they are perfect. This is something I've been thinking about, because once you have a really awesome invitation (:D) you can't mess it up with a silly American flag stamp.

Perhaps I have shown you too much, but I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. I can't wait to get them, then stamp and stuff them, and then SEND THEM! It's just really nice to have this huge step almost completed.

Jonathan also ordered some wallets of our engagement photos from mpix.com to put in our invites. Thanks babe!

The only implement I have left is the map...which I am still planning on printing...when that gets done.

In the mean time by super-cool brother-in-law Jeff made me a sweet widget for our wedding website. This way our guests can RSVP online (save some trees?) and leave us a fun note if they wish. I also updated the Travel & Stay section of the website so people have suggestions for hotels and have directions to the wedding venue. There are tons of hotels, but I picked the top rated ones - with various price ranges. :D Oh, and I changed the font of the body copy because the serif was driving me crazy. I needed some Verdana (a really practical and clean good-for-internet font) in there. See below, or click to see for yourself.

#84 Poster Print Giveaway!

One of the best things about reading blogs (and writing one) is the giveaways. Remember that bridal emergency kit I won a few months ago? Well guess what, I get to host my very first giveaway!

Online Poster Printing has offered to give away 1 Poster Print (16x20) to 1 lucky I'm A Wedding Newbie reader! Think of all the possibilities—wedding photos, engagement photos, family photos—the ideas are endless!  Poster prints can make any photo look fabulous!

To enter:

Leave me a comment below telling me what you would do with your poster print if you win. You could tell me which photo you would have printed, where you would hang it, who you would give it to as a gift, or whatever you'd like to share. Make sure you include a valid e-mail address in the comment so I know who to contact. This contest will run until next Thursday, March 12 and the winner will be announced next Friday, March 13. Contestants outside of the US/CAN must pay shipping if they are chosen as a winner.

Good luck!

[photo/logo courtesy of Online Poster Printing]

#83 Invites

It's been a long process, but I think I am finally pleased with them! I went and talked with a printer a while back and just last week I went again to get proofs. I corrected some things (I've learned that yellow is difficult to print the way you want it to...but I've made it work) and now I'm just waiting on the final element - the map. I went ahead and asked one of my co-workers to help me out in the matter because I've been so swamped.

All the other pieces are ready (invite, rsvp postcard, rsvp online element, etc). I was planning on handwriting all of the envelopes but after a few trial runs I realized that this pretty paper that I'm using doesn't work well with a traditional pen. The paper has these pretty cracks of texture and it doesn't quite work well.

Since coming back from the beach, I have come down with an odd cold (I haven't been since since before we got engaged) so I've been in bed in day typing out addresses to go in this envelope template I made. Jonathan happens to be sick too, so we watched movies today with piles of tissues amongst us. One of my bridesmaids, Kate, also watched the movies with us - thank goodness for spring break!

#82 Spring break

Ooooh how wonderful it feels to be on spring break. Is this really my last?

Well, I'll think positively for now. :)

I got just back last night from Grayton Beach, Florida. Five awesome friends and I crammed into a mini van at 3 a.m. last Friday morning for an adventure in Florida. We had two awesome days of sunshine and 70 degree weather, then downpour in the low 40s for the rest of it. A half-marathon happened to be happening the same weekend we were there so there were quite a few people in town, but almost no one on the beach. It was fabulous.

Now I'm back to reality and wedding things. My goal is to get these invites finished and sent off within two weeks. I'm also going to be working on centerpieces and try to get those in order. I'm going with a family friend to look at flowers down at the wholesale mart to try to get a better idea on the prices and such. This is the only part of the wedding that makes me nervous...but I think it's mostly because I haven't done much with it yet.

"Bear, Hunter, Ninja"

A man-sized tunnel in the sand!

Flying kites.

Brittney snatched this one, I think it's sweet.

We discovered seashells that move!

Beautiful sky, white sand, blue blue ocean.