Something old, something new...

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." I figure, a time honored tradition hasn't led too many people a stray, so why not? 


My new was traditional - I bought my wedding dress new - very easy. I loved wearing my white dress for my wedding, but it felt, well, common. How do you stray from traditional without straying too far away from my traditional wedding?

Why, my shoes of course! Payless Shoes has a line of dyable shoes that happened to work perfectly for what I needed. I chose to make these bad boys the same blue that I put throughout my wedding and reception. Periwinkle is a difficult color to make matchy-matchy with everything, but who knew - shades of the color work really well together. 

Metzer Photography

Something borrowed - Oh, you have to love Mom. Well, I love my Mom. She is a very religious person, and during any of her travels, carries several rosaries, all of which I'm sure she used at some point during her trip to Washington for our wedding. The conversation of whether or not I had all of my elements for the wedding. I sheepishly replied, "Well, I have new and blue." She pulled out several rosaries and said, which would you like? I chose this one pictured, periwinkle and absolutely beautiful. She initially told me I could borrow it, and it would be my old and borrowed. 

We wrapped it around my bouquet, and throughout the day it reminded me of my Mom and her incredible faith and love for our family. Today it hangs in our son's room as a constant reminder of my Mother and her faith in God and in us.

Did you take on this wedding tradition? How did you make it work for you? 

Idle Hands are the Devil's Workshop

My high school math teacher had that saying posted in his classroom. I remember looking at that sign daily. We had quizzes often, and if I didn't know the answers, my eyes would wander upward. I wasn't looking to cheat, I think I was hoping I would get some sort of answer from the Math Gods, and they would help me get through the quiz.

I've been married for over a month now. And I have idle hands. I feel like I should be crafting something, or trying to figure out what to do with a tablescape. I've spent the last 11 months of my life trying to figure out the minutia of my wedding. Now that the wedding is over, the gap in time between getting home from work and crawling into bed at midnight is well, gaping. I feel lost, and I find myself circling our apartment wondering what in the world I'm supposed to do next.

Is this bizarre? Probably.

What do I do with myself? Well, besides the regular post bride activities (writing thank-you notes and trying to get my house back to normal), I'm still reading the blogs I used to read (I call it wedding porn these days), and I'm trying to find ways to reinvent myself. This, I think, is proving to be incredibly difficult. Where most self-reinvention should be enlightening, I'm finding this forces me to look back at my wedding critically, looking at every detail and how I should have executed it differently. And, though this is a great exercise to grow as an event planner, it's a horrible way to reflect on your own wedding. In fact, it's down right depressing, and I'm sure incredibly unhealthy.

It's been a serious wake up call. But, I think it's teaching me some valuable lessons. First, the wedding isn't the have all-end all. The wedding is just the tip of the iceberg. I plan to have many amazing years with my husband, and eventually I'm going to replace wedding crafting time with new, fun and exciting adventures with my family. Until then, I'll be recapping my wedding, and hopefully I can extend some helpful party planning tips to you through my successes and failures. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, and would do anything for them. This is less about them and more about my ability to transform from bride to wife. It's a strange and lovely journey - I hope you join me for the ride!

Bad Blogger!

I am a baaaad blogger. So bad, that I've managed to skip over blogging about any details about my wedding and well, got married. Whoops.

Well, miraculously I suddenly have some time on my hands (hmmm...could be my lack of DIY projects that I had to have for the wedding) so I'll hopefully take the time to recap the wedding and the projects and my forward movement into wifedom. Yep, that's a word now.

Wifedom - the institution of having a permanent life partner with duties that include dishes, cooking and keeping the Mister happy in bed. 

Um, ahem. Anyhoo...

I'm happy to be back; I was happy to plan, and I'm more than happy I'm married. Please join me to recap my months of insanity!

And a peek at the wedding?

Picture Courtesy of Metsker Photography. She rocked the house.

I promise to come back soon with many more details about the best day of my life so far (minus the birth of our son. Bringing a new life into the world is hard to compete with, you know?)

DIY Part Deux

Okay, my first attempt to make petal holders...FAIL. Ugly. And didn't make sense. They were awful. But! Let's not let that get the best of us, shall we? No, instead, I did what any other girl does when she's all out of ideas! I look to the interwebs and poof! I found what I wanted!

But, before we go there...let's recap. This is what I wanted:

Beautiful, aren't they? 

This is what I made...

Definitely not what I wanted. So, I read somewhere that you can make cones out of doilies cut in half. What? I can do a half DIY and still make it my own? Oh, I'm sold.

I bought these babies at Party City. I could wander that store for hours. But, that's another story. A pack of 48 was plenty enough for me. 96 of these guys is more than enough for our guests.

Easy peasy: Take a doily and fold it in half.

And then let all your anger out with a swift chop with the guillotine! Er, I mean, the paper cutter.

Roll the half-doily into a cone shape with the lacy part on top.

Tape it together ( I taped in two spots because I'm just well, an over-killer), and voila! A petal cone!

Tada!! And with petals inside: 

Ahhh...I feel so much better about this project now. And it was incredibly easy - like used half of my attention easy. I got to watch District 9 while making these bad boys, and now they're a part of my filling hall closet I call the "wedding closet."

I am now living proof that you don't have to be completely crafty to make nice things! Apparently, you just have to be a good Googler!

Have you ever found better ideas on the internet to fix your own DIY disasters?

Make new friends, but keep the old...

One is silver, the other gold.
A circle is round, it has no end.
That's how long I will be your friend.


Life comes full circle, you know? With all of the wedding planning happening, with all of the cyber-shopping and perusing (read: snagging and making my own) ideas for the wedding, I've been blessed to find there are some things falling into place.

First...I have a secret (shhhhhh.....) Okay, really, it's no secret, but it's not something I talk much about. Many moons ago, I was a married woman. For about, a year. Yah, I was young and in love (read: not ready). But, like all decisions that are made hastily and without much reason or experience, we changed our minds and decided marriage wasn't the best idea. Well, not the best idea for us. Thankfully, a decade later and a ton of heartache, er, experience under my belt, I'm finally ready to let go of the notion that marriage isn't for me. I am getting married to my best friend. Finally.

So, why is this so important? Why does this matter? It was 10 years ago woman! Let.It.Go. Right?

Right.

But, sometimes something in the pit of your stomach makes you want to see a sign that says it's right. Deep down I wanted a sign that would close my past, and open the door of my new life with my husband.

Ask and you shall receive...

Two events happened to remind me that God exists, and sometimes we just have to be patient - the signs come. After a decade of moving on with my life, the other day I ran into my ex-husband at the grocery store. I was shaking, and I was with my son, and I did not look the way that I would have hoped to look if I happened to run into my ex. You know, wearing your best outfit and looking fabulous, wishing someone from your past would run into you. It wasn't one of those days. Oh no, it was frumpy sweater and hair-pulled-back-in-a-clip day. And in your mind, when this moment happens, you hope to be witty and say something profound. But you don't, because even though in your mind you've prepare for this moment, you really don't. In fact, I rambled on about absolutely nothing. I did however get out the one thing I knew I had to say:

This is my son. And I'm getting married to his father this summer. 


Now, it wasn't like a let me rub this in your face kind of moment. It was an, "I'm okay. You're okay" kind of moment. He showed me pictures of his daughter, and we moved along. But with that moment, I was able to put all of those insecurities that come with getting married to rest. I am making the right decision. This time, it is right.

But, after such an experience you can lead yourself to believe it's okay to forget about your past; that the person you were is not the person you are. Not so. Through a crazy coincidence and a little luck (read: Google) I found my old best friend. She and I grew up two doors down from each other, and we spent many summers swimming in the lake we lived on. I have been passively trying to find her for years, and only recently was I lucky enough to find her. By strange coincidence, she's here in state for a few months, and after over 15 years of not seeing her, we've had the opportunity to rekindle our friendship. It's a blessing. She is a blessing.

Why do these events seem related to me? I've been given a glimpse of my past from two very different perspectives. Both remind me of  where I've been and where I'm going. It's allowed me to step back for a moment and reflect on what I have, what I left behind, what I thought I lost, and what I've found.

I have a blessed life. I have amazing friends that are more like sisters; they are my world. But my life wouldn't be the way that it is now if I didn't experience my past. Good and bad. My friendship growing up taught me to love and laugh uncontrollably, and to be a friend without judging. My failed marriage reminded me that sometimes we need to trip and fall a couple of times before we can get it right.

These lessons have made me the friend, the mother, the lover I am today. And the introduction of my past into my present? They're here to remind me that life is good. God is good. And things will only get better.

Cake, you complete me!

Cake!

I.heart.cake. I have an incredible sweet tooth, and a good cake can complete me like Jerry McGuire. So, when the FH and I were trying to decide what kind of cake we wanted, I had to go back to a flavor that I had the pleasure of eating at a bridal show. It tasted just like one of these:

Makes you want one, doesn't it?

Yum-o. Though I love a good chocolate or vanilla cake, something tells me that sometimes you shouldn't always go with what's common (read: safe). My fiance and I love food, so we plan on having all kinds of food at the wedding that are good for the soul, yummy food. That includes the dessert. So, we have a flavor...what should it look like?

We ran across a picture of a cake and we were sold: 

(source)

Doesn't that look amazing? And to open that thing up and discover an orange creme cake? Divine! Come to find out, these are cake pans that anyone can own if they so choose. So, I did what any DIY bride would do...I bought the pans. 

But, you don't think I'm baking my own wedding cake, do you? Of course not, especially since I have two AMAZING (and I mean amazing - they definitely deserve all caps here) Auntie's that bake great cakes. And they don't just taste good, they look great. Take a peek (all photos below are personal): 

SpongeBob and his spatula on a Crabby Patty? How clever is that?!

And these are cupcakes for my son's school birthday party: 

So, they did a test run with the pans to see what a layer would look like. I have to say, this cake was AWESOME! It was my cousin's husband's birthday, so there was double duty here. But hey, any reason to eat cake, right?

This cake was huge. And incredibly delicious. We didn't have orange cake yet, so it was vanilla cake with an orange creme mousse filling. I was in heaven (*swoon). This was so good, we decided that instead of a groom's cake, we're going to have two smaller versions of the wedding cake just like this bad boy. I'm excited. 

Stay tuned for more fun facts about the wedding. I just finished a DIY project that was much more successful than the ice cream cones...can't wait to play show and tell!

We Have a Venue!

FH and I spent a long time searching for a venue that matched some very specific criteria:

• It needs to be in a central location
• It needs to be able to accommodate everyone we would like to attend our wedding
• It needs to not exude religion or make anyone feel uncomfortable for their religious differences 
• It needs to be a space that can have both our ceremony and reception, and
• It needs to be affordable (of course!)

We found it!

I've been frantically clicking through website after website, searching for a place that would ultimately feel like, us. 

Quite an adorable location, right? 

We love it. We literally walked inside, took a deep breathe and asked, "Where do we sign?" The best part about it? They're Unitarians. Meaning, The core of their existence lies on the fact that all people have worth, and should be allowed to seek truth in their own way. Perfect!! 

Anyway, it's perfect for us. More pictures you ask? Why, of course!

This is what the inside looks like when you use it for a ceremony only. We, on the other hand, are using the space for everything it's got. What a beautiful area! Why waste on 1 hour when we can savor it for 6?

(all photos from Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church, Kirkland)

So, we're going to do something that's a little more similar to this. Besides,  who doesn't like the opportunity to chill out while you're watching a wedding? Sometimes you just have to rest your elbows somewhere, right?

My first attempt at DIY

So, I've come to the conclusion that in order for me to have a fun and different wedding without completely breaking my bank, I'm going to have to be creative. Crazy creative, and I may lose a finger or two before the end of this. But, let's not let the technicalities of losing a finger (or two) get in the way of what I want!

So, my first challenge - create containers for tossing silk flower petals. Why not birdseed, rice, or real flower petals? Well, other than the fact that real flower petals are messy at best (they stain floors), and the freeze dried kind are expensive for what I would like to see, my venue doesn't allow anything thrown besides silk flower petals. Well, at least the decision was made for me, right?

Okay, I've seen many different ways these can be made. My choice was with the cone. Unfamiliar with the cone? Basically, it's resembles a waffle cone out of paper, and you stuff petals inside ala ice cream for people to toss. Easy enough, right? Hmmm....I'm proving to myself rather quickly that I'm either going to skip most everything DIY, or I'm going to have to start giving myself a lot more time to get these projects done. I'm hoping for the latter.

So, I printed a circle on a piece of paper, one with my monogram, and one without. Because really, I have no idea how I want this end product to look yet.

And then I used my handy-dandy scalloped edged scissors to cut them out:

I then proceeded to roll them on one end to make a cone:

And then I shoved a bunch of rose petals inside to see how they look:

Ta da! An ice cream cone! Er, I mean, a petal holder. So then I did one with our monogram inside. What better way to showcase our monogram then to plop it onto everything I can, right? Wrong...

Er, where's the monogram? Can you see a little square on the inside right side of the cone? Yep, that's it. Boo. No workie. Oh well, we'll have to do something on the outsides of the cone. Perhaps a tag of sorts that also lets people know I'm not trying to poison them with silk flower ice cream cones, but to give them a chance to peg the bride and groom before we leave!

Well, what do you think? What can I do to explain their purpose and show off our monogram?

I have an addiction

It's true. Hi, my name is Miss Simple Party Planner, and I'm addicted to Farmville. Yep. It's absolutely ridiculous, and has absolutely no meaning. I mean, none. I don't make real food, I don't really feed chickens, and I most certainly am not planting anything that can be harvested in 3 days.

A gardener I am not. In fact, I can't even keep a Chia Pet alive.

(Source)

Mr. T would never have hair if it were up to me. So, perhaps my addiction to Farmville is solely because I cannot farm in real life. It's pathetic, I know, and I'm seeking help. :)

So, blogging about this must be my first stop toward weaning myself off this mindless game, right? No, my first step came in the form of a parody video about the subject. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and maybe you'll come to the same conclusion that I did: Zynga is sucking the brain cells out of my head, one by one. The madness needs to stop!



And, in case you are like me and play all the other ga-zillion games on Facebook, here's another parody for your enjoyment:



Do you have any crazy, unexplainable addictions you would like to share?

There's Just so Much to Do!!

Planning a wedding is well, ridiculous. Not in the sense that we shouldn't plan one at all. But the fact of the matter is, wedding planning has come a long way since the days of my parents getting married.  They were married in a field beside a church, and all of us stood around them in a circle, and they were married. Granted, this is definitely still a possibility. It was a beautiful wedding, and though I was only 8 when they were married, I still have very fond memories of the event. But I'm definitely not my mother, so my wedding should be different, right?

So, that brings me to my current dilemma. We all have weddings, and they're all meant to celebrate our new families, but it's much more than that, really. I hope to create an event that's not only a great party, but an event that creates lasting memories for everyone. But, I need do this without breaking the budget. I mean, yah, it would be awesome to have a wedding on a blimp, but who can afford that? Besides, my fiance would have no part in any wedding where is feet weren't  firmly planted on the ground. :)

So, what do you do? (drum roll, please...)

I think the answer is to make it personal. How can I put pieces into the wedding that scream Mr. & Mrs. SimplePartyPlanner (we're going to have to abbreviate to SSP - it's just so much to type!)? And how do I do that and still make it affordable?

Well, I get to do everything myself (with the help of some AMAZING friends). A little DIY goes a long way, right? And, I get to actually use my thrifty, find anything at a bargain know-how and use it for good! For the record, I hope I get to do the latter more than DIY...you will come to find (and laugh at) my inability to craft.

What have you done in for an event you've planned to make it memorable?

Horray!

I have to be honest. I've been wanting to actually start a blog for a long time now. What's stopped me? Well, I initially thought that I wouldn't have enough interesting content, or I don't have a fancy-shmancy camera for fun fun pictures.

...Okay, I'm a liar. I'm lazy. And though I've told myself over and over again that I should really consider documenting my adventures in wedding planning, I haven't. But, today that all changes! And I'm hoping that an audience will allow me to clear the clutter in my head and save my friends and family from the constant "wedding this, wedding that." See? I'm a multi-tasker! Good stuff.

**Disclaimer - though I may seem one track minded, I tend to tangent *in real life* toward anything that seems relevant for that day. So, every now and then I may post a little something about my band, or my home, or whatever revs me up that day.