Do Blogs Ruin the Surprise?

So, I started to think about the fact that often times people like to go to weddings for various reasons. However, one reason in particular is really just to point out what they like or do not like about the wedding. "Oh my goodness did you see those dresses!" and so on. So, I started to wonder about the lack of surprise that a blog can create (for those who actually read the blogs) for a wedding. For instance, there are probably about a million wedding blogs out there, some for the wedding vendors where they communicate items for sale, and other blogs are from the millions of brides like me! Do guests who read the brides blogs get a sense of disappointment when they arrive at the wedding, just to see everything that they had read about? Meaning, should the blogs really be more for venting and brainstorming rather than revealing? Should the actual weddings still present some sense of excitement and curiousity and not give every little detail away?

I guess for me, I wouldn't want everyone to read about every detail of the wedding...I want them to come and experience it for themselves! I mean a lot of thought, sweat, and work goes into putting together a wedding and your guests should get to enjoy some of the "surprise" elements (if you will)! Of course the frustrating thing is that there are a lot of little details, that will mostly go unrecognized until the photographer captures it and you share the images with everyone post-wedding. It's also difficult because you are so excited about what you chose and so excited about what you found that you want to share with everyone! Plus, you spend so long planning out everything that to stay on track and motivated you kind of have to share some things...right?

Making Progress!

I've been working on the DIY wedding invitations for a few weeks now (off and on, naturally). This week I finished cutting everything out; my sister is cutting out the die-cuts still. I also, assembled the main invitation elements together this week. Soon, I'll take a picture of the completed elements and post them for you to see soon!

I also realized that I never did post a picture of the finished DIY Save the Dates that were mailed out. These weren't mailed to everyone, mainly just those who live further away or the people that we know tend to travel or have work events to attend as well as family members.

I had designed the top layer through Photoshop. The inspiration came from a

Save the Date I had found online. The sizing was the real issue here. I had these envelopes that I had gotten for free from one of my temp jobs, and really wanted to be eco-conscious and try to use them rather than buy even more envelopes. The type

of paper that I had purchased was the second issue with these. I had bought a pretty thick linen paper, which I found out does not work well with the digital printers. Finally, I found that I had to print them at home on my little laser printer. Which proved to work just fine as soon as we had ink and everything aligned correctly.

We attached this top design layer to a bronze 80lb paper. This same paper is the backing on the actual wedding invitations and will also be used on the table numbers and maybe some other elements of the wedding (depending on how much paper is left over).

Aside from the invitation hoopla, we've also found the bridesmaids shoes (except for my youngest sister as she would probably kill herself on the 4" heels!). I have also ordered my shoes, which I absolutely love and cannot wait for them to get here! I also found a super cute ring bearer pillow which ties in very nicely with the look and feel of the wedding. I found it at The Wedding Pantry, in Tustin. However, you can also find it on etsy!

The "DIY" is Getting Easier!

So, I'm not sure if it's because I'm unemployed and have a LOT of spare time on my hands or what...but I'm finding some of the DIY aspects of the wedding a lot easier this time around. I've started creating, delegating, and printing the elements for the invitations. I actually like them quite a bit! I feel that they are a little more "simple" than I was originally wanting, but they still have my quirky spin on them.

I'm trying to get as much of these pieces completed so that when/if I do get a job soon, I won't be nearly as stressed out trying to do the wedding details and a full-time job in addition to the other floral event I have coming up next month.

We also recently got our engagement photo's back (online viewing). So, I naturally got very excited about that! Now, I'm just waiting for our CD of all the images to come in so that I can update the wedding website with some of the pictures for everyone to see. I was very happy with Nothing But Miracles Photography and can't wait to see what pictures they provide for the wedding!