Well this isn't good..

Since the start of all the wedding planning we were sure of two vendors we had to have, our photographer (more on her later) and our florist. Lynn is a close friend and cousin of my FMIL and she just happens to be a wonderful florist as well. I had worked with Lynn previously on some centerpieces for my MOH's shoe themed bridal shower last year.

She took shoes that I found at Goodwill and incorporated them into the centerpieces...

...and I think they turned out great!

Love the little shoe ornaments!

I was so happy with what she did and what I'd seen of her other work that I knew she had to do the flowers for the wedding.

This past weekend I had lunch with FMIL and she told me that with the economy the way it is, Lynn's shop was suffering and there's a chance that they might close! The shop is a real family business, with everyone including her mom working in the shop part or full time; I can't imagine losing something like that and my heart goes out to them. I just hope that they can find a way to ride this out and keep the business going.

Obviously I am most concerned about how they will make it through this, but I did have to think about what this means for the wedding planning and bugdet. Lynn had generiously offered us a sizable discount on the flowers (I think in part because FMIL promised her facials for the rest of her life; FMIL happens to be an anesthitician!). The discount had allowed us to move some of the money we had budgeted for flowers into other projects and details.

Because there is still so much up in the air for Lynn right now, I don't want to hit a sore spot and ask her about an event 10 months away when the next few months aren't even certain. What I am hoping is that she might still be willing to do the flowers if I supply the vases and the flowers. But I have no idea what sort of space she'll have or what her time constranits will be and I don't want to impose so I'm also going to start looking into other options. Unfortunately I've become rather attached to some of the details that we've been able to add with our shifted finances, so I'm thinking the DIY route may be the way to go. Or maybe I can do the centerpieces but have a florist do the boquets. Perhaps its time to look in the floral arranging classes at UWM???

Back to it

So after a long hiatus I'm back to the wedding blog (and in a sense back to wedding planning). This last month and a half has been incredibly stressful...finals, MCATs, new job, being sick, sick dog...just a lot going on. But now that I finally have my head on straight its time to get rolling.

We've passed the 11 month mark...which is CRAZY!!! I'm getting married in 11 months...that doesn't sound right.

You're probably wondering what I've done since my last post which was at the 1 year mark...well I'll tell you. I've done nothing. That's right, nothing. With everything else that was going on wedding planning got shoved to the bottom of the list. But no more! Before I could begin any one project I had to organize, so during a very boring meeting I put together a list of all of my DIY projects that I hope to accomplish over the next 11 months. *deep breath* They are (in no particular order)
-Design/Print Save the Dates
-Design/Print Invites
-Custom cocktail napkins
-Shower hostess gifts
-Bridesmaids gifts
-Wedding cake (yes, you read that right)
-Programs
-Rehersal Dinner Invites
-Dessert Buffet cards
-Mason jar candles
-Wish Tree
-Photobook Guestbook
-Wedding dog collars for the pups (they have to look pretty in the pics too!)
-"flags" for the patio (more on that later)
-Beer menu for the bar
-Card box

It's going to be a busy 11 months....so stay tuned

Go Go Gadget Gocco

I am so excited about this next piece of the wedding puzzle...my Gocco printer! I had heard little bits and pieces about Gocco printers while on Weddingbee.com (the girls over there are Gocco crazy) and I was intrigued. Finally one Saturday I sat down and did some serious research about with this little machine was, how much it costs and what it can do for me.
After just a little while I was hooked and I had to have one. Yes, it was going to be an investment (because Gocco's are from Japan and because they are actually no longer in production getting your hands on one can be a little tricky and expensive) but I realized that with all this little machine can do I would be able to do even more DIY, including printing my invites and save-the-dates. I talked it over with J and he green lighted the whole thing and we were off. I was lucky and I found a girl on Weddingbee.com selling a full set-up, plus supplies for a reasonable price. So I snatched it up!

And the other day...it arrived!!!! I was so excited (I may have skipped class to stay home and unpack it)!

Here's the package, I almost kissed the mailman when it brought it! (pardon the messy bedroom, I was so excited that I woke J up just to show him....he was not amused)


Here it is!



Ummmm...that's a lot of stuff. Does any one know how to work this thing?



So now that I've got my fabulous new Gocco I need to figure out how to use it. I'm a little, ok a lot, intimidated by it but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.

So far I am planning to use it to print:
Save the dates
Invites
Custom cocktail napkins
Wish tree cards
Place cards
Dessert buffet cards
Bar Menus
A few gifty things for my bridesmaids

I know that as time goes on I'll think of more stuff. And I'm pretty sure that by the end of this whole thing the printer will pay for it self...plus I can resell it once I'm done.