"The honor of your presence is requested..."

I've been looking at invitations a lot lately and have decided that I don't like choosing the wedding stationary!  I feel like the wedding invitation sets the tone for the wedding in a way.  It's definitely the only impression your guests have for the month leading up to the event.  There are so many options - not only colors and design - but paper and printing process.  I LOVE the feeling of textured paper and embossed or imprinted lettering.  That feeling comes with a price tag.  All these trade offs!  I don't know what to do - order online (probably a digital invitation = flat invite and lettering), order through a stationary store (invitations run the gammet) or work on DIY invites and create what I want, as much as possible (price is better but way more work).  Honestly, some of the work of the DIY invites is really overwhelming to me - cutting paper to size, printing, adhering, etc.  It all seems like SO MUCH to get just right.  I'm pretty much a perfectionist, so this may just put me over the edge.  Of couse, purple will be included in the invitation.  Here are a few designs I've come across lately:

Shoes - 4in Heels = Too High

I received the shoes that I ordered today!  I was SO excited!  I immediately opened the box and put them on...and was sad.  I knew they were too high.  I am about the height of James and my feet would be killing me by the end of the ceremony.  I am going to return them.  So sad.  I LOVE THESE SHOES!  And the thing is, there aren't many cute, "special" shoes, in purple, at a lower heel.  I have looked online and will continue to.  I must have amazing shoes for the wedding... 

Sad girl today.

For the record, these are what they look like:

In other news, I've been contacting transportation companies to arrange for travel of the bridal party between the ceremony and the reception - with photo stops in between.  Seating for 20 in one vehicle has proven challenging.  Right now, the most promising form or transportation seems to be a trolley - could be really cute!  I'll keep you all in the look as I learn more.

Let Them Eat Cake!

James and I went for our first cake tasting on Thursday evening.  Before we went, we talked about our budget and what our expectations are.  Neither of us are huge cake people, so neither of us had particular flavors in mind.  I had plenty of ideas for the design...but we decided that the cake is an area what we would like to come in under budget if possible.  My thought: if someone walks away from our reception saying their favorite thing was our cake, we've missed the boat somewhere.  Don't get me wrong - I want a cake that tastes good, and definitely one that photographs well and is gorgeous, but it's not a main priority.  So off I went, into Google to find bakeries and cake prices.  Finding a bakery that is affordable is difficult.  Most bakeries here advertise pricing that starts around $3 - $3.50 per person.  We're expecting around 200 guests - so that's $600 before we even start talking decorations, delivery, and other price increases...  All of these are OUT - more than we'd like to spend.  Where else can we try?  We thought of either grocery store bakeries or part time bakers - perhaps people who create their cakes out of their homes instead of as a store front business.  We're having more success going down this route.

So back to Thursday evening - we headed up to Richmond and were pretty excited - food tasting of any kind is one of the few wedding planning areas that James is excited about being involved in!  We met with Ukrop's Bakery.  (Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of us at the tasting!  Next time...) They were good.  Was it the best cake I've ever tasted?  No.  But was it really tasty?  Yes.  The consultant was great.  She was very knowledgable (did you know you should estimate for fewer cake eaters if you're serving alcohol than if you're not?) and sketched a cake exactly like what I've been thinking of.  Price is definitely in budget.  Ukrops is a contender.  If we go with them, I'm confident we'll be happy.  I have a few other places in mind to check out - Farm Fresh and a few of the independent, part-timers (I am working on getting those names as we "speak" - Thanks Tiffany and Mrs. Barr!!).  I'll update when we know more or make a decision!

On another note, I ordered my shoes today.  I had picked out what I want awhile ago but have been slow to pull the trigger and purchase.  I've checked back for months and they're still there - even going on sale more and more...  And then today I checked and they were gone!  No longer available!  HEART ATTACK!  Immediately I googled to find another vendor who has them available.  I did and ordered them - they were even 50% off!  This website doesn't have as good of a return policy but that just means I will have to try them on and decide quite quickly if they're really the ones.  **whew** Crisis averted!  :-)

Registry!

James and I started registering for gifts this weekend.  Yesterday we went to Macy's and today to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  One thing we realized - it's not as easy as you think!  There are so many options for everything (we really only got through kitchen items) and there are minute details that you need to know about because they make a BIG difference.  Luckily for me, my brother and sister are both pretty knowledgable about this stuff because they like cooking and did this themselves recently (Laura more recently than Matt, but still...) so they helped.  Before you go registering for things I recommend you consider:

• Knives - Apparently you want German Steel knives because it's the most sturdy.  You also want the steel to be one piece through the handle.  To be sure this is the case, and that it's not soddered somewhere in the handle, look for three rivets, not two.  We were also told that sets without steak knives are ok because steak knives are relatively inexpensive add-ons, whereas the other cooking knives are not.  It's better value to purchase the set with more cooking knives and register separately for steak knives.  Our research showed J.A. Henckels and Wusthofs are two reliable bands.  We ended up deciding on an 8 piece set by J.A. Henckels.
• Flatware - Not all flatware is created equal!  This we did not know...  There are two number you should look for when choosing flatware - 18 and 10 or 8 (avoid 0!).  The 18 refers to the percent of chromium in the item - chromium gives the piece strength.  The 10 or 8 refers to the amount of nickel in the piece - the nickel prevents rust and gives the piece shine.  Most everything will have the 18 part; it's the 10, 8, or 0 that varies.  From what we've been told and read, there isn't much difference in quality between the 10 and 8 - 10 is a bit better but 8 isn't bad.  0 is bad - your flatware will rust and will not last.  So, we looked for 18/10 and 18/8 - it really narrowed our choices quite a bit!
• Pots and Pans - there are so many different metals out there - stainless steel, aluminum, copper, non-stick... Which are best for skillets?  Pots?  Pans?  Some heat evenly, some heat quickly, others cannot be heated above a certain temp...  What to choose?!  We went with a really cool combo - Tri-ply by Calphalon.  It's stainless steel on the outside, a layer of aluminum in the core, and a stainless steel surface.  The aluminum is great for keeping an even heat but the stainless is good for browning and cooking control.  It's kind of a best of both worlds option.  We did register for a separate set of non-stick skillets for cooking eggs and such.
• For all items look at the company guarantee - many companies offer lifetime guarantees for their products!

James and I disagreed about a few things - what we want in flatware and dinnerware specifically - which I was surprised about.  He said he really didn't care about many things (he wanted specific towels) but then didn't like a number of things I picked out.  We are working through it - we've agreed on flatware but not on dinnerware yet.  Also, do we want Fine China, or no?  That's my call - James says we don't need it (of course we don't NEED it...) but I think if we don't get it now, we'll never get it for ourselves.  I'm sure there will be more to debate through as we tackle the other registry areas, but we'll manage.

Regarding the stores we chose:  Macy's carries the towels that James wanted, so we went with them.  They also offer a great rewards program for registrants that I recommend brides and grooms check out. If the couple joins the rewards program (need a Macy's card) then any purchase made off the registry qualifies for 5% credit.  After the wedding date, Macy's sends a gift card with the balance accumulated while family and friends shopped - no increased price or additional procedure for customers.  Pretty cool!  Bed, Bath, and Beyond is great because of the quantity of items they carry, their great prices (most are a bit below other stores regular prices - those stores may run sales but BBB does not...they do send a ton of coupons though!), and their return policy.

I will say, it was fun to be in the store, pass something cool, and say "let's scan that!" and just do it!  If we get it, great!  If not, we can look into purchasing it ourselves or just let it go.  So far, so good!