I took the file of our Save The Date to a printer that my friend recommended She had used them for her wedding invitation and they really came through for her. They are located on Michigan Avenue, about 1 mile from my office. They did a proof on the paper I had provided, the lovely "luxe" cream paper from PaperSource. It looked kinda crummy. The texture of the paper meant that the printing looked a bit spotty. The ink didn't adhere uniformly. So I decided to go ahead and use their recommended paper. They also are cutting them to the correct size. (One of the advantages of having them professionally done!)
I picked them up yesterday, threw them in my purse, went on with my day. After looking at them more closely I realized the color wasn't what I expected. When I got home I compared them to the proof they gave me, and it totally doesn't match! I freaked out a bit. I asked a few other people if I was being silly, if the colors were ok, but most people noticed it and agreed that I should go back and ask them to fix it.
I went back up this afternoon, and they totally agreed it didn't look right and agreed to redo them. They will be done tomorrow and I'm going to ask them to messenger them since I am tired of traveling back and forth fro this place!
Then we can get started addressing them!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Us - Part II
Now comes the tough stuff!
One of the reasons Ryan was immediately able to spend so much time at my beck and call :) is that he doesn't have a job.
Before his junior year of high school Ryan and his sister Grace had a Hepatitis B vaccination, as was required of all students attending Chicago public high schools. Something didn't set quite right for Ryan with his vaccination and he started having seizures and memory issues. After MANY years and MANY doctors Ryan was stabilized with anti-seizure medications. There was also a period where he suffered from dangerously low blood pressure and a period where he had serious allergic reactions to the mold in his high school (a very old building.) Ryan did not graduate from high school. In 2006, things started to level out a bit and Ryan took the GED. He studied his tush off for it and passed it on the first try without any GED prep courses or anything. My darling Ryan is very smart!
In late 2005 Ryan started having really bad low back pain. He was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and has had many surgeries and many procedures to try and relieve the pain. He has done tons of physical therapy, pain programs at rehabilitation centers, he lost a ton of weight (which he has since put back on, whoops! :) ) and has had all sorts of non-surgical procedures. Since we started dating in December 2009 he has had two micro-discectomies and three spinal fusions. He has also been hospitalized for c.diff (a intestinal bacterial infelicitous he caught while in the hospital ) I've ridden in an ambulance way more times than I like to think about and have perfected my patter with the intake folks at the ER. Ryan will always be in some pain. Chronic pain is pretty much impossible to understand if you don't actually have it yourself. I do not know what it feels like to live in Ryan's body and deal with what he deals with on a regular basis. I can only empathize.
Seeing someone you love in horrible pain and not being able to make it better is hard. Knowing that it will never completely go away, and that you are signing up for a life with lots of hospital visits and tentative "we'll see how you feel" plans, isn't easy. Many people have asked me if I really want this. Can I handle being in a relationship with someone who needs more care and can't do "normal" things? I would never lie and say it is easy. I had a few moments where I was like "but I like skiing so much, and he will never be able to go skiing with me" or, "what about the Peace Corps, you always said you might join the Peace Corps when you retired". In the end though, I love this person. I love this man. I love the way he loves me, and cares for me, and I love caring for him and making him happy. Also, just because HE can't do those things, doesn't mean I can never do them! There are no guarantees in life. Just because you marry a healthy man doesn't mean you are going to grow old with a healthy man. I really believe that I have found the best person for me. Who the heck knows what the future will bring. I can't tell you how I will feel in 10, or even 2 years. All I know is that if I am throwing my hat in this ring... this monogamous, committed, partnership for love circus... I want Ryan by my side. In sickness or in health. (Awwwwwww)
Also we both love camping.
In late 2005 Ryan started having really bad low back pain. He was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and has had many surgeries and many procedures to try and relieve the pain. He has done tons of physical therapy, pain programs at rehabilitation centers, he lost a ton of weight (which he has since put back on, whoops! :) ) and has had all sorts of non-surgical procedures. Since we started dating in December 2009 he has had two micro-discectomies and three spinal fusions. He has also been hospitalized for c.diff (a intestinal bacterial infelicitous he caught while in the hospital ) I've ridden in an ambulance way more times than I like to think about and have perfected my patter with the intake folks at the ER. Ryan will always be in some pain. Chronic pain is pretty much impossible to understand if you don't actually have it yourself. I do not know what it feels like to live in Ryan's body and deal with what he deals with on a regular basis. I can only empathize.
Seeing someone you love in horrible pain and not being able to make it better is hard. Knowing that it will never completely go away, and that you are signing up for a life with lots of hospital visits and tentative "we'll see how you feel" plans, isn't easy. Many people have asked me if I really want this. Can I handle being in a relationship with someone who needs more care and can't do "normal" things? I would never lie and say it is easy. I had a few moments where I was like "but I like skiing so much, and he will never be able to go skiing with me" or, "what about the Peace Corps, you always said you might join the Peace Corps when you retired". In the end though, I love this person. I love this man. I love the way he loves me, and cares for me, and I love caring for him and making him happy. Also, just because HE can't do those things, doesn't mean I can never do them! There are no guarantees in life. Just because you marry a healthy man doesn't mean you are going to grow old with a healthy man. I really believe that I have found the best person for me. Who the heck knows what the future will bring. I can't tell you how I will feel in 10, or even 2 years. All I know is that if I am throwing my hat in this ring... this monogamous, committed, partnership for love circus... I want Ryan by my side. In sickness or in health. (Awwwwwww)
Also we both love camping.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Nightmares
I totally had a wedding nightmare last night, and the weirdest part is that it wasn't about MY wedding.
I dreamt that I was on some sort of school bus with a bunch of other people on our way to the Philadelphia area. We were a bit behind schedule and kept making stops to let off small groups of people at various locations. I was a bit anxious because it was the morning of Emily's wedding and I was on my way to my hair/make up appointment and didn't want to be late.
Of course I get there late. The other bridesmaids and Emily are wrapping up and about to leave and the salon agrees to fit me in quickly. They curl the hell out of my hair, and then throw on some make up, but I say "I think everyone else had a bit more of a glam look and this looks like every day make up." So the lady puts on red lipstick and some HUGE fake eyelashes. Oh, and a bunch of purple feathers in my hair (?).
At this point I am seriously late to the "bridal brunch" and my brother is texting me that he is on his way and can take me there (and give me my laptop which is for some reason in is car.) And I invite him to the bridal brunch, and then text Em that I invited Matt and she says "NO WAY, no boys allowed." sigh. So I have pissed of the bride, have to un-invite Matt and now I can't get my laptop (which for some reason is a huge priority.)
It was very tiring and I woke up pretty distraught.
Anyone else have any odd dreams lately?
I dreamt that I was on some sort of school bus with a bunch of other people on our way to the Philadelphia area. We were a bit behind schedule and kept making stops to let off small groups of people at various locations. I was a bit anxious because it was the morning of Emily's wedding and I was on my way to my hair/make up appointment and didn't want to be late.
Of course I get there late. The other bridesmaids and Emily are wrapping up and about to leave and the salon agrees to fit me in quickly. They curl the hell out of my hair, and then throw on some make up, but I say "I think everyone else had a bit more of a glam look and this looks like every day make up." So the lady puts on red lipstick and some HUGE fake eyelashes. Oh, and a bunch of purple feathers in my hair (?).
At this point I am seriously late to the "bridal brunch" and my brother is texting me that he is on his way and can take me there (and give me my laptop which is for some reason in is car.) And I invite him to the bridal brunch, and then text Em that I invited Matt and she says "NO WAY, no boys allowed." sigh. So I have pissed of the bride, have to un-invite Matt and now I can't get my laptop (which for some reason is a huge priority.)
It was very tiring and I woke up pretty distraught.
Anyone else have any odd dreams lately?
Papergoods!
I've always been really envious of people who have a consistent look to all of their paper goods. The save the date, invite, programs, etc... all "go" together and complement each other AND are reflective of the event. LOVE IT.
Since one of the things Ryan and I have in common is our love of the outdoors, I found myself drawn to the work of Gwen Frostic. Gwen Frostic was a Michigan printmaker who did the most beautiful nature prints. We visited her studio on a family vacation when I was young and I always liked her work. As I've grown older I always have a set of her notecards in my stationary box. They have such a simple beauty. Anyways, I decided I wanted to use her work as inspiration for the invitations and stuff. I thought about just printing directly on notecards you can purchase from the online store, but it was a bit more limiting then I was comfortable with (paper quality isn't so great and it is difficult to print onto non standard size paper.)
I originally figured I would hire someone to design the invites. I do NOT consider myself a graphic designer and didn't want to spend hours and hours fussing with fonts and placements. I ended up doing it myself anyways. Mostly because I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to the look I am going for, and beacuse I wanted it to be truly original. I wanted to be as picky as I wanted about colors and the look without driving some poor person crazy, or racking up tons of money in editing after the original concept was done.
I'm still on the fence about printing on our home printer or having things printed. I am leaning towards bringing my own paper (from PaperSource) and having them printed at Staples or something like that. My printer is OK, but the color can be a bit streaky and inconsistent. Sure would be silly to spend weeks and weeks debating shades of green only to have them turn out yellowish on the printer by the 14th page!
I was looking at pocketfolds (I just love how convenient they are!) and totally fell for the woodgrain ones (below.) So as I design the Save The Date, I've been thinking about how the invitation will look in this pocketfold and how I can make sure to incorporate the woodgrain paper into other things.
Here is the Save The Date as of now... subject to change!
What do you think? Does it look simple, rustic and classy?
Since one of the things Ryan and I have in common is our love of the outdoors, I found myself drawn to the work of Gwen Frostic. Gwen Frostic was a Michigan printmaker who did the most beautiful nature prints. We visited her studio on a family vacation when I was young and I always liked her work. As I've grown older I always have a set of her notecards in my stationary box. They have such a simple beauty. Anyways, I decided I wanted to use her work as inspiration for the invitations and stuff. I thought about just printing directly on notecards you can purchase from the online store, but it was a bit more limiting then I was comfortable with (paper quality isn't so great and it is difficult to print onto non standard size paper.)
I originally figured I would hire someone to design the invites. I do NOT consider myself a graphic designer and didn't want to spend hours and hours fussing with fonts and placements. I ended up doing it myself anyways. Mostly because I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to the look I am going for, and beacuse I wanted it to be truly original. I wanted to be as picky as I wanted about colors and the look without driving some poor person crazy, or racking up tons of money in editing after the original concept was done.
I'm still on the fence about printing on our home printer or having things printed. I am leaning towards bringing my own paper (from PaperSource) and having them printed at Staples or something like that. My printer is OK, but the color can be a bit streaky and inconsistent. Sure would be silly to spend weeks and weeks debating shades of green only to have them turn out yellowish on the printer by the 14th page!
I was looking at pocketfolds (I just love how convenient they are!) and totally fell for the woodgrain ones (below.) So as I design the Save The Date, I've been thinking about how the invitation will look in this pocketfold and how I can make sure to incorporate the woodgrain paper into other things.
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| www.cardsandpockets.com |
Here is the Save The Date as of now... subject to change!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Guest List anxiety
We are gearing up to send Save The Dates. I am hoping to get them printed next week and then address them the following week. Here is my fear...
What if I've inadvertently left someone off! Once those Save The Dates go out, people know if they are invited or not. There is no going back!
I have all the family. I'm just afraid I will send the post cards out and run into someone, or have a conversation with someone and think "OH CRAP! We forgot ..." Maybe this post will buy me some pity. I can say "See! I was afraid this would happen, it's not that we don't love you, it's that I am lame and forget things sometimes."
Our list stands at just under 70, and there is a pretty hefty handful of people on the list that I am fairly certain won't be able to make it..
Also, I am already so sad that a few people that I really would love to have there... can't be there... I already changed my date to accommodate one of my bridesmaids. It was a tough decision, but I just couldn't have my wedding without her!
How do you resign yourself to be OK with important people not being there?
What if I've inadvertently left someone off! Once those Save The Dates go out, people know if they are invited or not. There is no going back!
I have all the family. I'm just afraid I will send the post cards out and run into someone, or have a conversation with someone and think "OH CRAP! We forgot ..." Maybe this post will buy me some pity. I can say "See! I was afraid this would happen, it's not that we don't love you, it's that I am lame and forget things sometimes."
Our list stands at just under 70, and there is a pretty hefty handful of people on the list that I am fairly certain won't be able to make it..
Also, I am already so sad that a few people that I really would love to have there... can't be there... I already changed my date to accommodate one of my bridesmaids. It was a tough decision, but I just couldn't have my wedding without her!
How do you resign yourself to be OK with important people not being there?
Friday, October 19, 2012
First time role: Bridesmaid
I am very honored and excited to be a bridesmaid, for the first time ever, in my cousin's wedding on November 24, 2012. I have wanted to be in a wedding for as long as I can remember, and while I have a lot of female friends, I have very few BEST friends. My cousin Emily is the first of my close friends to get hitched and I am thrilled to have been asked to stand up with her!
Emily has the most amazing "how I met my husband" story. Ranaan is a musician and she went to see his group perform with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra while she was in college. After the concert the band was signing autographs and Emily (with a fair amount of encouragement from her friend and now bridesmaid Cora) plucked up the courage to get in line and talk to him. Though she could hardly speak when they actually met, he was as smitten as her as she was with him, and he gave her his number right there and then! They started hanging out and the adventure began!
They've been dating for just about 5 years now which brings us to the beautiful temple they will be getting married in!
This was also the site of their proposal!
The following is from their wedding page:
It was a beautiful Friday evening. Ranaan picked Emily up from work just like a normal day. We had made plans with Norma and Josh (Ranaan's parents) to go to Shabbat service together. The synagogue was buzzing with people (it was an especially large service). A little more than halfway through the service there is a moment for congregants to shared celebrations from the week. Many kids announced A's on tests', others shared new birth's in their family, all while the Rabbi made his way over to Ranaan. When everyone was all finished he passed the microphone to Ranaan. Ranaan began to talk about how much he loves Emily, and what a great person she is for him. He then asked her to marry him and Emily responded yes! (about 7 times).
Their reception will be at the National Museum of Jewish American History.
Aren't they adorable!!
Emily has the most amazing "how I met my husband" story. Ranaan is a musician and she went to see his group perform with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra while she was in college. After the concert the band was signing autographs and Emily (with a fair amount of encouragement from her friend and now bridesmaid Cora) plucked up the courage to get in line and talk to him. Though she could hardly speak when they actually met, he was as smitten as her as she was with him, and he gave her his number right there and then! They started hanging out and the adventure began!
They've been dating for just about 5 years now which brings us to the beautiful temple they will be getting married in!
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| Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia |
The following is from their wedding page:
It was a beautiful Friday evening. Ranaan picked Emily up from work just like a normal day. We had made plans with Norma and Josh (Ranaan's parents) to go to Shabbat service together. The synagogue was buzzing with people (it was an especially large service). A little more than halfway through the service there is a moment for congregants to shared celebrations from the week. Many kids announced A's on tests', others shared new birth's in their family, all while the Rabbi made his way over to Ranaan. When everyone was all finished he passed the microphone to Ranaan. Ranaan began to talk about how much he loves Emily, and what a great person she is for him. He then asked her to marry him and Emily responded yes! (about 7 times).
Their reception will be at the National Museum of Jewish American History.
Aren't they adorable!!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Furbabies
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| Sam and Oscar |
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| Monk's tail wrapped around Sam |
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| Monk, the baby of the family |
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| Sam in his Christmas bow tie. He loves wearing clothes. Seriously. |
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| Um HELLO ADORABLE |
Save The Dates
Before I get on with "Us - Part II", let's talk Save The Dates (I refuse to use the acronym.)
I want to send them out ASAP, but my wedding planner said I don't need to do it until January.
My wedding is May 4th, 2013... but I'm so anxious! Since our guest list is so small, everyone on the list is very important to me!
Also, do people respond to Save The Dates to let you know they will be unable to make it, if they know that far out? I'm thinking it may help with some of the "A" list "B" list stuff... which I also have questions about! How can you have a second wave of invitations when people take SO LONG to RSVP to things!
My cousin's wedding is in 4 weeks and there is still a hefty portion of people who haven't responded at all! (Crazy)
Thoughts?
-Carolyn
Monday, October 15, 2012
Us - Part I
So I think I'm going to write several entries about various parts of the wedding as a way of thinking out loud and seeing what comes to the surface as important when I actually have to type it rather than just babble about it. I am quite a talker, but writing slows me down. Makes me think. First off I want to think about my partner, this part of the wedding is non-negotiable :)
Ryan and I met nearly three years ago via OkCupid. I had tried several dating sites with only moderate success and obviously not the end result I was looking for. A couple of my recently married friends suggested OkCupid so I gave it a shot. I had only skimmed Ryan's profile... he sounded nice and funny but it was the holidays and I was super busy at work. One day at work when I needed a bit of brain rest, I shared my matches with my friend Tanya. We were browsing the most recent "winks" I had received and she thought Ryan looked funny and encouraged me to contact him.
Ryan and I were immediately comfortable together. He is funny and shy but totally at easy with who he is. I could tell right off that he was pretty smitten with me. He does NOT have a good poker face! Now I've been in a lot of relationships where I did all the work. I did all the reaching out, all the date panning, all the compromising, and I always felt like I was more invested in the relationship than the other person. Being with Ryan was day to the night I had always known! Here was this amazing sweet guy who wanted nothing more than to spend time with me and support me. He was always there, doing fun stuff or just sitting at home. He watched endless chick flicks with me and picked sequins off the floor from my various craft projects. He would bring flowers for no reason. I felt like I had been dehydrated for years and all this attention and affection was a tall glass of cool water.
Not long after we began dating I fell down some stairs at work and twisted my ankle pretty badly. I remember sitting there in the stairwell with my legs crumpled underneath me, panicking about how long it would take someone to find me, I was feeling very alone. Eventually I dragged myself to my office and called Ryan. He raced downtown to help me get home and completely took care of me. The love and concern he displayed in this situation was such a game changer for me. He cared for me more than he cared for himself. It was clear in his eyes that he would do anything to keep me from harm I had never felt so loved! I have experience this kind of deep love from my family, but it was so amazing to see it in a partner. I knew he was a keeper.
By the middle of January, after about 1 month of dating, we had exchanged "I Love You"s and I had a pretty good feeling that this was the guy I was going to marry.
That seems like enough for now... Part II of this story will go into some of the hard stuff we have had to deal with.
Ryan and I met nearly three years ago via OkCupid. I had tried several dating sites with only moderate success and obviously not the end result I was looking for. A couple of my recently married friends suggested OkCupid so I gave it a shot. I had only skimmed Ryan's profile... he sounded nice and funny but it was the holidays and I was super busy at work. One day at work when I needed a bit of brain rest, I shared my matches with my friend Tanya. We were browsing the most recent "winks" I had received and she thought Ryan looked funny and encouraged me to contact him.
Ryan and I were immediately comfortable together. He is funny and shy but totally at easy with who he is. I could tell right off that he was pretty smitten with me. He does NOT have a good poker face! Now I've been in a lot of relationships where I did all the work. I did all the reaching out, all the date panning, all the compromising, and I always felt like I was more invested in the relationship than the other person. Being with Ryan was day to the night I had always known! Here was this amazing sweet guy who wanted nothing more than to spend time with me and support me. He was always there, doing fun stuff or just sitting at home. He watched endless chick flicks with me and picked sequins off the floor from my various craft projects. He would bring flowers for no reason. I felt like I had been dehydrated for years and all this attention and affection was a tall glass of cool water.
Not long after we began dating I fell down some stairs at work and twisted my ankle pretty badly. I remember sitting there in the stairwell with my legs crumpled underneath me, panicking about how long it would take someone to find me, I was feeling very alone. Eventually I dragged myself to my office and called Ryan. He raced downtown to help me get home and completely took care of me. The love and concern he displayed in this situation was such a game changer for me. He cared for me more than he cared for himself. It was clear in his eyes that he would do anything to keep me from harm I had never felt so loved! I have experience this kind of deep love from my family, but it was so amazing to see it in a partner. I knew he was a keeper.
By the middle of January, after about 1 month of dating, we had exchanged "I Love You"s and I had a pretty good feeling that this was the guy I was going to marry.
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| The day we exchanged I Love Yous! (I did it in the Fern Room at the Lincoln Park Conservatory) |
That seems like enough for now... Part II of this story will go into some of the hard stuff we have had to deal with.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Wedding overview
Welcome to my blog! I thought it would be fun to have a place where I can talk about wedding planning stuff as well as practice writing. It seems that all I write these days are emails, and I kinda miss putting together real sentences!
Let's jump right in!
We're actually pretty far along in our wedding planning at this point. Most of the "biggies" are done. We have a date, May 5, 2013. We have a venue for the ceremony and reception, www.horticulturalhall.com. My mom will be doing most of the food preparation and we will have a menu of simple, yummy foods. A friend is our wedding planner/coordinator www.laurafooteclark.com and I am very much looking forward to Laura's level head, killer instinct and amazing style as we navigate the wedding style waters. Oh, and I bought and ordered the dress. I love how I felt in it and I wish it would hurry up and come so I could kick Ryan out of the house and try it on!
Let's jump right in!
We're actually pretty far along in our wedding planning at this point. Most of the "biggies" are done. We have a date, May 5, 2013. We have a venue for the ceremony and reception, www.horticulturalhall.com. My mom will be doing most of the food preparation and we will have a menu of simple, yummy foods. A friend is our wedding planner/coordinator www.laurafooteclark.com and I am very much looking forward to Laura's level head, killer instinct and amazing style as we navigate the wedding style waters. Oh, and I bought and ordered the dress. I love how I felt in it and I wish it would hurry up and come so I could kick Ryan out of the house and try it on!
Our budget is smaller than the average, but certainly not tiny. My parents are paying for the whole thing (aside from various little things I pick up here and there) as Ryan and I do not have any money saved and we want to just get this thing done! Our guest list will be on the smallish side. I'm thinking 50-60 people total. We're thinking an early afternoon ceremony and a lunch reception, though those details haven't exactly been ironed out yet.
My goal is to keep the wedding as simple and reflective of us as a couple as possible, while still fulfilling the dreams I've had for this day for as long as I can remember. Luckily I have a great partner, and that is the number one thing I always dreamed of. I have to keep reminding myself that the rest is just icing on the cake. It's just that I am a bit particular about the flavor, look and consistency of the icing! :)
I found the website apracticalwedding.com and weddingbee.com pretty early on and check them both several times a day for inspiration and reassurance that it will all be fine and that nothing is tragic!
This seems like a good place to end my first post. I plan to post about particular bits of the wedding, how we chose the venue, the dress, the food, decor, etc, as well as anything exciting or confusing that comes up along the way!
Carolyn
My goal is to keep the wedding as simple and reflective of us as a couple as possible, while still fulfilling the dreams I've had for this day for as long as I can remember. Luckily I have a great partner, and that is the number one thing I always dreamed of. I have to keep reminding myself that the rest is just icing on the cake. It's just that I am a bit particular about the flavor, look and consistency of the icing! :)
I found the website apracticalwedding.com and weddingbee.com pretty early on and check them both several times a day for inspiration and reassurance that it will all be fine and that nothing is tragic!
This seems like a good place to end my first post. I plan to post about particular bits of the wedding, how we chose the venue, the dress, the food, decor, etc, as well as anything exciting or confusing that comes up along the way!
Carolyn
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