A Candied Invitation: Part II

So here it is - the big invitation reveal! In case you missed it, I have already talked a bit about these invitations: how infatuated with the calligraphy I am, how much in love with the invitations I am, how amazing the vendors I worked with are. I could go on and on and on about my obsession wtih our invitations, but I think it probably would just be better if I shut my trap and showed you the gorgeousness.

I probably don't need to tell you how excited I was to rip open these packages. Like a 4 year old on Christmas!
 

For our reception insert, I decided to make (well, have Kristin make) a little coaster. I thought this would make the suite a bit less formal and more fun. Um, and an indication that there would, indeed, be drinks. Mmm, drinks.

A close-up on the beautiful letterpressing of the coasters. Isn't it lovely? Kristin did an amazing job. I loved the deep, earthy green she used on "Dancing;" how perfectly it matched our envelopes, and how nicely it complemented the warm gray of the main text.

Pretty letterpressing! It seriously pained me to blur things out; the invitations were just too beautiful.

Our silhouettes! Yay.

Possibly my favorite part of the invitation suite: the animal icons for the meal choices!!

Another fave: I asked Kristin to put little heart icons, rather than check boxes, for the guests to indicate whether or not they would be attending.

After reading lots of fun and witty response options on the 'Bee, I knew I wanted something similar. Mr. CA didn't really like any of the options I came up with, so he did some thinking on his own. I LOVE what he came up with! As I have mentioned, Mr. CA is fairly stylish, so we thought it would be fun to do a play on that. While the three responses may not be grammatically correct, we loved how they read. I'm not entirely sure some of the guests 'got' it, but ah well. I thought it was clever.

One of our guests actually added a fourth 'response' that they subsequently checked: "Insert other witty response here." He got major bonus points.

Kristin also letterpressed the RSVP envelopes (and the backs of our regular invitation envelopes) with our return address, in the same gray ink. I forced her to use the filled-in heart icon rather than an ampersand, and I LOVE how it turned out.

More invitations. Seriously, you guys - I took at least 100 pictures of these things.

Love. Stacks and stacks!

And, ta-da! The assembled product! I kept it super simple:

1) Tuck the guests' RSVP card into the stamped RSVP envelope.

2) Stack that on top of an invitation

3) Top everything off with a reception coaster

4) Wrap twice with pretty twine

5) Add a Moo card

6) Stuff into a double-stamped envelope

7) Rinse and repeat!

Easy peasy! But seriously, it took me forever. Like, 4 nights, and I stayed up to 2am the last night because I'd be damned if I was spending another night working on them. I'm anal and had to get everything lined up juuuuuuuust right, the Moo card positioned juuuuuuuuust right. Oh well. They turned out purty, I think.

We used traditional "Nuptial Mass" and "Sacrament of Marriage" wording, to indicate that we would be doing a full Catholic mass wtih the wedding ceremony.

Another shot. Because I'm in love.

This was a shot from 2am when the lighting was all funky. I took a million pictures because I was delirious in my happiness that everything was done.

Okay, and another shot of Michele's beautiful work.

Our full suite!!

Another close-up of the silhouttes. Because they rock.

Beautiful, thick coasters.

Everything ready to go.

We received so much positive feedback: excited texts, emails, phone calls, and facebook messages. I know they may not be the most involved invitations, and I didn't DIM (Do It Myself), but dang was I proud of those things. They turned out even better and more beautiful than I had imagined.

People loved how much of our personalities went into them; I stopped counting the number of times people said 'your invitations were amazing, and SO you and Mr. CA!' I loved it, and I loved each piece of the invitation set. So much happiness.

Were you as relieved as I was when your invitations went out? Were you as excited as I was for people to receive them? Pleased with how much of yourself you put into the invites? Did you use any fun wording on the RSVP card, or the invite itself?

Invitation Design and Printing: Twin Ravens Press

Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Michele
Baker's Twine: Divine Twine
Mini Cards: Moo Cards

Silhouettes: Blue Clara

Crashing In and Pushing Off

This Monday, 15 August 2011, my amazing, wonderful, loving, funny, caring grandfather passed away.

It wasn't entirely a shock, as his health had gone downhill recently, but he was always larger than life in my mind; I thought he would live forever. Witty, smart, fun, warm. The perfect patriarch, he supported his children and grandchildren, pushed us when we needed pushing, helped us up when we scraped our knees, gave us countless hugs, kisses, and smiles. I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with him when I was home for my bachelorette party two weekends ago. I cherish those hours we spent together.

I keep thinking of moments I had with him - each smile and phrase leads to another memory, another moment spent together. More stories, more emotions. It's funny how thoroughly my interations with him are woven throughout my memories of childhood, growing up, and into adulthood. He was so present in the lives of his children and grandchildren. I grasp at these fragmented thoughts and memories, writing them down so I don't forget.

He was so excited about our wedding, and I am incredibly sad that he will not be there to witness our love and joy that day. Always social and out-going, he loved big events and relished in time spent with family and friends. With just over a week until our wedding, his passing has left me with a rip-tide of emotions that I am still trying to process.

A deep mourning, of course. He has been a rock of stability in my life for so long that, while I feel a keen sense of loss and a quiet, persistent sorrow, I also feel that the part of my life and heart that he occupied is still full, still present. I know that he will always be there.

Guilt, that I will be celebrating and happy when he is not there to join in. Guilt that my family has to continue dealing with the hassles of the wedding, when they should be focusing on family, and him.

Anger, that God called him away from us, but also acceptance and understanding that it was his time to go.

Blessed, because he was so involved in my life. Blessed, for all of the time I was able to spend with him. Blessed. Blessed and loved.

There are more, of course, but I do not care to try to examine or understand them. I just know they are present, when he is not.

He would, of course, dislike our sadness. If he were here, he would say something funny - a joke, or a witty remark - to lighten the mood and get us to smile. So, a few memories of him to make me smile:

- Bookar Park, and other nicknames
- Him, mowing the lawn in his swim trunks, always so tan from the summer sun
- Him, walking over every morning to take our dog out
- Him, eating corn on the cob outside by the fireplace
- His hands helping me find strawberries and tomatoes from the container garden
- Him, showing me how to use his old typewriter in the basement
- All of his baseball caps
- "Of course you do, my dearie"

- Him, singing with his buddies at our Christmas parties

- Him, dressing up as Santa Claus when we were little

- Him, always asking me to try lutefisk at our gatherings

- His love for Grandma

- His love of dogs

- His love for me

When we were little, we would love swimming in their pool. They filled it with icy-cold creekwater, so in the early summer the pool would be freezing. My sister, cousins and I would stand at the water's edge, dipping our toes in, not wanting to take that first dunk.

He would walk up behind us, saying "You have to do it like this. You  just crash in..." and he would plunge in backwards with abandon, "and push off!" We always shreiked with laughter, and followed suit.

I love using that phrase now, because to me, he wasn't just teaching us how to brave the cold water. He was encouraging us to pursue things we love with no reservations, to plunge in without constantly worrying, to embrace things that might make us uncomfortable or that were out of our realm of understanding, to make our mark on the world. To crash in, and push off.

Jag älskar dig, Morfar.

Something Blue. And Polished.

I know that I owe you another post on our fabulous invitations, but I wanted to take a time out for a sec. As we creep closer and closer to W-Day, I am starting to think about little details that have slipped my mind up to this point. Such as, you know, my "something blue." Little things like that, which aren't really important (to me, at least) in the grand scheme of things, but would still be a nice touch. Since I'm not wearing a garter, I was thinking of other ways to work in the color blue. Think think think. And then, in my post on W-Day nail polish, it hit me over the head when someone made a suggestion in the comments - toenails! Polish! Blue toenail polish!

Duh. It looks awesome in pictures and, because it would be on toenails that are covered by my big ol' dress, they wouldn't be easily visible (and thus look out of place against our palette).

{Photography by Kate Harrison, via Green Wedding Shoes}

Doesn't it look fab?! I love it. And because I like sharing, I wanted to share some of my favorite blue polishes for your toes (or fingers!), just in case you're still looking for your "something blue."

Bold Blues

Butter London's "Royal Navy" is a gorgeous, silky navy. This color would look SO fab on toes - I am feeling a strong urge to go out and buy it immediately. I don't think I want to go this dark, even on my toenails, for the wedding, but this is a great staple color to have on-hand. I love, love, love it. Classic, chic, and modern.

{Butter London's "Royal Navy"}

Essie's "Mezmerised" is super bold, fun, and a very straightforward blue. I have this one, and it is just beautiful. I think I want something a bit softer for the wedding, but if you are looking for a strong, jewel-tone blue, this is your polish.

{Essie's "Mezmerised"}

A bit lighter and more purple-y than "Mezmerised," Deborah Lippmann's "I Know What Boys Like" is another bolder blue. I can imagine this one on sandaled feet with a shorter, cream or ivory wedding dress, perhaps on the beach. Although it's a bold blue, it's slightly softer than some of the darker blues I have found. 

{Deborah Lippmann's "I Know What Boys Like"} 

Butter London's "Artful Dodger" is lighter than the two above colors, but it is still a bold, turquoise-y blue. Like a clear summer sky. This one is nice if you want to go bright and bold, but not too deep of a blue.

{Butter London's "Artful Dodger"}

Softer Blues

I still love Chanel's "Riva." Such a pretty, shimmery blue. Light. Airy. Great for a tropical beach wedding. If only I could get my hands (I mean, toes) on a bottle.

{Chanel's "Riva," via Nylon Mag}

Essie's "Sweet Talker" is a really feminine, soft, ethereal blue. This one is definitely a top contender for me right now; I love how light it looks, and I bet it would look great on toenails.

{Essie's "Sweet Talker"}

Deborah Lippman's "Glitter in the Air" is a super-subtle, glittery blue. This is such a fun color, and would be perfect for toes in a summertime wedding. I don't think you would need a sheer coat under it, either, since it has the milky-blue polish in there. Plus, it would complement my glittery shoes!

Unfortunately, it is sold out on DL's site, so you would need to scrounge around to find it, I imagine. This one is my front-runner currently - if only it weren't sold out!

{Deborah Lippmann's "Glitter in the Air"}



Other

Another glitter polish (can you tell that I'm diggin' the glitter right now??) - Deborah Lippman's "Lady Sings the Blues" is seriously kick-butt. You could layer this over white to make the glitter pop, or just swipe it on with a sheer base-coat.

{Deborah Lippman's "Lady Sings the Blues"}

Okay, I honestly can't stop with the glitter. It's a problem. But it's just so dang pretty! And fun! And celebratory! Perfect for weddings, don't you think? Everyone wants twinkle-toes on their wedding day.

{Deborah Lippmann's "Today was a Fairytale"}

Did you wear a blue toe(or finger)nail polish as your "something blue?" Any other suggestions for good blue polishes?

A Candied Invitation: Part I

Whelp, I figure it is just about time to do the big Candy Apple invite reveal. Would you like that, Hive? Would you like to see our invites? Well, too bad if you wouldn't like to - you have a lot of pictures coming your way! And let me tell you: I can't wait to share!

First off, I just wanted to point out that, yes, we did indeed use an invisible ink pen to covertly number our RSVP cards. Unfortunately (ahem, I mean fortunately), we did not have to resort to breaking it out, as everyone either wrote their names on the RSVP card, or at least had a return address label on the envelope. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't put my sleuthing to use, since I spent so freaking long labeling all of those cards with the invisible ink, but oh well.

Okay, on to the goods! Like many (many, many, many, many, many, many) Bees before me, Mr. CA and I worked with the incredibly fabulous and talented Kristin Walker of Twin Ravens Press. I honestly don't recall where I first saw her work - I believe it was in a post by Mrs. Panther? I just remember checking out her site and immediately feeling a connection to her work. Her letterpressing was just beautiful, and she seemed to take such pride in what she does.

Just a little aside here, guys, but seriously, Kristin is amazing. Hire her immediately. She took my silhouettes and some vague ideas I had and somehow churned out a perfect, elegant, and classic stationary suite. And she did all that with a broken hand. Yes, I love her. Period.

Anyway. Like other brides and Bees, I insisted on using baker's twine with our invitations (we went with Whisker Graphics in Plum Purple and Oyster).

I was a bit worried about how much I would need, so I ordered three spools of 240 yards each. Yeah, I definitely only used about 3/4 of one spool for 100 invitations. Oops? Once again, Candy Apple over-orders. Oh well. I am, again, glad that I had too much than too little! Plus, it means I can maybe sneak some in to other decor elements.

I started out by measuring one length of string to fit around the invitations twice, with a knot, and then painstakingly lining up that "template" length as I unrolled the spool, cutting each strand with scissors. Mr. CA really sped things up when he set up some weird, Saw-like contraption to unwind the twine more smoothly and cut it more quickly. Yes, he did tape an exacto knife to our chair. Yes, I was paranoid we would stab ourselves. Yes, I made him stay away from the room until I was finished. Do not try this at home folks! Actually, maybe you should - it made the cutting go so much more quickly!

The cut twine. So pretty! After that was all cut and laid out all pretty-like and untangled on the back of my chair, it was time to punch some heart holes into our Moo Cards, to string the twine through. Because, you know, I like hearts. They kind of go with the whole 'love' thing that weddings are all about.

Can I just say that this part freakin' sucked? You see, the first heart punch I bought was broken - it was totally sticking when I squeezed it together to punch through the card. I had to manually pull the prongs apart each time! So ridiculous. I thought (stupid CA!!) that was just how the punch was, and that I was wimpy, so I somehow got through quite a few cards before my manual pulling-apart of the prongs literally broke the thing in two. So dumb.

I drove to Michael's and bought another one (looking super pissy and sweaty and like a mad woman, might I add). The second one worked perfectly!! It was so smooth punching through the cards; I can't believe I thought the first one was okay. Moral of the story: if your punch feels weird when you're using it, return it and get another one.

 At least I got an arm workout

 

But the hearts turned out super cute, so it was alllll worth it

 A punch from the "first" batch. Yeah, there were some dents from the crappy punch. Oh well.

And the back of the Moo cards. Again. Because I love them. 

Honestly, I wasn't too concerned about finding a coordinating stamp for our invitations. However, as I was checking out the USPS site for stamps, I happened upon these Holiday Evergreen Stamps that looked impeccable with the suite. I am pretty sure they were made specifically for our invitations. Aren't they perfect? Not only are the colors complementary, but Washington (where we're getting married) is the Evergreen State. Get it? Evergreen stamps, for the Evergreen State? Har har har.

 Oh, and did I mention that we had the amazing Michele, of Calligraphy by Michele, do some lovely work on our envelopes? Not only was her work seriously gorgeous, she was also really affordable. She was also really fast; she turned around our envelopes within a day of receiving them. What a vendor!

I am so pleased with the result - I think the lovely loops and swirls gave the invitations just the right touch. And I love the white font against the sage-y green of the envelopes. It pains me to have to blur any of her delicate work!

I honestly was so in love with the calligraphy that I didn't want to send the envelopes out. Michele did such an amazing job! I wanted to keep them all to myself. So, I just ended up taking a picture of, oh, every single envelope. Well, almost. Until Mr. CA demanded that I stop being a crazy person. Hey, I paid for that calligraphy! I wanted to be able to remember it...

But seriously - they are pretty. We received so many compliments on the calligraphy, and the invitations in general!

Those puppies were ready to go! Um, and I'll say it again - I love the beautiful, perfect stamps. Also, can I just say that these stamps re-taught me how to tell the difference between different types of evergreens?? Learn something new every day...

Detritus. Apparently our twine-cutting device wasn't as accurate as using my scissors. Oh well.

Okay, okay - I'll give you a sneak peek of the invites themselves...

Can you tell that I love these invites? It was hard sending them out into the world.

Oh who am I kidding - they were all ready to go! This was a good day...

Next up: the invitations themselves! I know you're excited.

Did you use the invisible ink pen, only to end up not actually using it? Anyone else have issues with their hole punch? Did you choose coordinating stamps for your invitations? Did they help you learn anything while you were stamping your envelopes Any other fellow baker's twine lovers? Calligraphy fiends? And, seriously, how cute is that little heart punch??

Invitation Design and Printing: Twin Ravens Press
Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Michele
Heart Punch: Fiskars Hand Punch - 1/4-in Heart, from Michael's
Baker's Twine: Divine Twine, from Whisker Graphics
Stamps: Holiday Evergreens (Forever) stamps, from USPS
Mini Cards: Moo Cards
Silhouettes: Blue Clara