What I learned from Dr. Laura...

Upon being engaged, several people recommended I read Dr. Laura's infamous guide to marriage, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands in order to prepare myself for marriage. While many things about Dr. Laura rubbed me the wrong way (her need to make sweeping generalizations, the harsh tones she took with callers, and her 80's look among others), I will have to say that I learned a great deal from this book that I hope to put to use in improving my relationship with Andrew. To recap, they are:

• If I want respect from my spouse, I must be the first to give it.
• Men thrive on acceptance and appreciation, as well as forgiveness when they are wrong.
• I want to support my partner by erasing his burdens and supporting his dreams.
• In order to avoid self-centeredness I must consider his needs and desires before my own.
• Positive actions can inspire positive feelings.
• Men express their love in different ways than women (often through actions instead of words).
• I need to work to avoid expressing anger through angry dissapointment.
• The media has distorted our perceptions of what love should be like.
• My (future) husband should be my #1 priority.
• Love him like he has never hurt you before.
• The emotions I feed (positive or negative) will be the emotions to grow.
• I need to try and refrain from micromanaging my (future) husband because it conveys a lack of trust.
• I have to give to get.
• When discussing something with a man, skip the details that are unnecessary.
• Listen without being defensive and be open to his feelings.
• Re-read page 77 for a good recap.**
• Communicate by being direct, and don't expect husbands to replace girlfriends.
• A man needs to feel loved and respected.
• Keep requests simple.
• It is a gift to be sweet, kind and flirtatious.

I am still reading, but I will update this post soon. Andrew just arrived;)

Vote...Which Do You Prefer?

Because we are having an outdoor wedding, I would really like our wedding ceremony programs to double as a fan in order to help keep guests cool. The question of the day is, which type is better?

Do you like this type, with a wooden stick to hold onto and information printed on the front and back only(which would be great for showcasing a monogram) and would most likely provide the most continuity with the rest of our invitation suite?

Or, do you prefer a folding fan like this one, which has more space for information and more potential to add multiple colors to match our theme?

Please vote and help me to decide!

I Love Logos!

I have always had a love affair with all things paper. I have been dubbed "Martha" (as in Stewart) by my girlfriends because I have never missed sending a card for a holiday, I ADORE scrapbooking in a way that may be a bit unorthodox for someone my age who lives in the city, and I hired Annie (http://www.anniesinvstudio.com/) to design custom invitations for me because I could not find ready-made ones that I loved. They are almost perfect (more to come on this later), but I can't help but think that the detail that is missing is a monogram. Enter http://www.loveletterlogos.com/. They have over 200 logos for you to choose from, and can design them in the color combination of your choice. Gorgeous. The photo in this post shows one of the many ways that their monograms may be used. I would likely use one on our website, on our invites, programs, on the reception signs, escort cards, table names, and even napkins. I also thought it would be cute to get the monogram imprinted on an embosser to use for the return address on our invites and to use on plain note cards as thank-you cards. Now I will just have to get Andrew to agree on a monogram...(I like CO-27 , CL-16 and MG-10).

Ridiculous But True

I am a very detail oriented person.
This is a fact that I take great pride in .
However, planning a wedding has taken this attention to detail to a whole new (and likely obnoxious) level. The other day while browsing Michael's (they had a FABULOUS sale on frames and baskets, both of which I needed for....you guessed it...the wedding), I found myself agonizing over the pens for the guestbook table for my wedding...that is 15 months away. In any case, while browsing www.weddingbee.com the other day, I came across this ingenious idea posted by blogger and fellow bride-to-be, Miss Hydrangea. It seems that Sharpie carries markers that you can personalize, which will be perfect for our special guestbook (more on that to come). So....today my lunch break found me ordering 6 of these babies, with our name and wedding date, and a wedding bells logo on the back. For photo credits and more information, please see https://secure.newellrubbermaid.com/sanford/consumer/sharpie/personalizesharpie/personalize_landing.jhtml.
Next item left to agonize about....the guest book table arrangement. Gaaahhh! Brides-to-be beware, this could happen to you too:)

Details Part II

As I mentioned in a previous post (and if you hadn't noticed on both the website and my blog), our wedding colors will be baby pink and chocolate brown. I know it's been a touch overdone, but I LOVE the color combination and figure that in 10 years, no one will remember/care about wedding palette color trends of the 2000's but me. Anyway, I digress...

I tend to prefer items of a more timeless, classic and elegant design, while Andrew tends to prefer items that tend toward contemporary, minimalist and casual. So I wanted to make sure that our wedding would not have a "stuffy" feel, yet was in keeping with our Saturday evening wedding (which usually suggests an air of formality). Enter the Gerber daisy. It is cute and causal, yet chic and elegant when paired with other blooms. For example, the bridesmaids bouquets will consist of Gerber daisies...


Kermit mums....

And cream roses....

The groomsmens' boutonnieres will be a single rose and a Kermit mum.

We will also use Gerbers in other ways to tie in the theme. For example, they will greet guests in the fountains as they arrive at the Manor, like so:

Photo credits and information www.lionscrestmanor.com .

At the ceremony, pink Gerber daisies will hang in galvanized pails off of the sides of the chairs, and will decorate the arch that will mark our altar.

They will also be our centerpieces, and will look exactly like this, with the addition of a large band of chocolate brown satin ribbon and an overlay of a thinner pink satin ribbon glued around the top of the vase (no bow)....

Photo credits and information www.boulderblooms.com .

Finally, we will even use Gerbers to decorate the sides and the top of our wedding cake....

Photo credits and information www.theknot.com .

In the end, it seemed like the daisy would be a great compromise between our two styles, and help us to pull off an event that is both casual and elegant. I can't wait to see it all come together!

Let Them Eat Cake!

Posting about my wedding got me excited to blog about some of the details. Because I have a HUGE sweet tooth, I thought I would start with my favorite wedding tradition.....the cake. We are going to be working with The Colorado Rose Cake Company to create the confection of our dreams. Our cake looks a bit like the cake pictured to the right, but it will have four tiers instead of three, and will have more flowers (2 pink gerbera daisies on each tier (they will alternate sides) and 3 pink gerbs on top), and will have brown icing instead of black. Marci, our baker, has one several awards and is SO reasonably priced. Her bakery is actually the entire bottom floor of her home, and her tasting was incredible. We received plenty of personal attention and were able to sample all of the kinds of cake we chose for our big day. Tier 1 will be chocolate chocolate chip cake with chocolate mousse filling, tier 2 will hold golden vanilla cake with raspberry gel filling, tier 3 will be a carrot cake with cream cheese filling, and tier 4 (our anniversary cake) will be chocolate cake with peanut butter filling. For an extra $25, we are also renting a gorgeous silver stand to display our confectionery delight.

Photo credit and information: http://www.coloradorosecakeco.com

Tree Huggers' Delight

There are few things about our wedding that Andrew and I readily agreed upon. I wanted the colors to be pink and brown, he wanted green and brown. I won. He wanted a live band, I wanted a dj. We are in the process of researching bands. One thing that we both agreed upon, however, is that we both wanted to get married outdoors. And, being lovers of nature, we both agreed that an eco-friendly wedding was the only way to go.

The "From Our Hearts" link on our web page (www.mackandtrap.weddingwindow.com/index.cfm?fa=fromourhearts ) explains the green elements of our wedding that I will describe below:

• We are holding our ceremony and our reception at the same venue to cut down on transportation and emissions:

Photo credits and information http://www.lionscrestmanor.com/ .

• We have reserved blocks of rooms for our guests at the Boulder Outlook Hotel, a zero-waste facility:
  

Photo credits and information http://www.boulderoutlook.com/ .

• We have chartered buses to and from the Boulder Outlook to the wedding site in order to cut down on emissions (We also want to provide safe transportation for guests who may have partied a little too hard :) :
  

Photo credits and information http://www.ramblinexpress.com/ .

• Our florist, Boulder Blooms, is also a zero-waste company. (They are participating in a composting pilot program too!) After the wedding, we will re-use our centerpieces and floral arrangements by donating them to a local hospice (Our florist is co-coordinating this for us; Theresa is amazing!).
  
  

Photo credits and information http://www.boulderblooms.com/ .

• And, I did not post this on our website because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but we will be having a unity tree ceremony in lieu of a unity candle since our ceremony is outdoors (Basically, our mothers will each bring us a watering can and we will water a potted pine tree together that we will later plant in the yard of our new home). As a favor for our guests ,and to continue the theme, we will give them these trees from the Green World Project (tied with a pink bow to match our wedding colors):
  
  
  Photos credits and information: http://greenworldproject.net/wedding2.htm.
  

Note to Self

Order these adorable plates(http://www.platesandnapkins.com) if we decide to go ahead with the barbecue reception. I wonder what other too cute summer infused kitsch there is out there just waiting to be discovered....

My Two Weddings (Reception)

Not surprisingly, as an education professional, I adore all things summer. Even though I don't particularly love to eat it, the sight of a ripe summer watermelon makes me swoon. Recently, on http://www.weddingbee.com/, blogger Mrs. Eggplant gave readers directions to make a deliciously adorable watermelon card. This idea got me to thinking.....

My parents and family in general, who all live in the Chicago area, were pretty bummed that Andrew and I chose to get married in Colorado, where we live. Ultimately, we felt like it was the best choice (we work here, have homes here, go to church here, have friends here, etc.) especially since his whole family is from Minnesota. However, I sympathize with them, because this is a special occasion that they want to celebrate with their friends. Enter, my second wedding (Reception).

Right now I am thinking that it would be splendid to have a causal summer barbecue. My parents live on a beautiful acre and a half in the "country" and their yard is the perfect place for a tented fete.

I am thinking of placing sunflower centerpieces on the tables, like this......

And using a checkered table cloth like this......

And having lawn games available for people to play.....

Our wedding/reception are going to be held on June 27, 2009, so I am thinking mid-August, when we have our pictures back so that they can be displayed as well.

I would also get to pick out a second wedding cake, order a second set of favors (I am thinking personalized red/white MnMs wrapped in tulle and tied with our left over personalized pink ribbon) and WEAR MY GORGEOUS DRESS AGAIN! I contacted Boston Market today, and their catering is very reasonable. Add in a few ice chests of soda, wine coolers and beer, and you have yourself a party. My parents are not dancers, so I would not go to the trouble of hiring a dj or building a dance floor. My estimate is that this could all be done, for 50 people, for around $2,000. Now I will just need to wait for the estimate from the tent/table/linen rentals....

Love Is....

While there are many cute options for brides-to-be, many of them are limited to the days leading up to the wedding, or the day of the wedding itself. For example, I ordered this shirt from http://www.classybride.com/, and I love it:


However, you can see that this shirt will no longer apply after my bachelorette party/wedding day, which are the two occasions when I plan to wear it. Enter this beauty:

How adorable is that? I plan to wear it on our honeymoon. And Jen, the owner/designer of Wifeville (http://www.wifeville.com/), has many a witty saying about the wearer of the T. Here is what she says about "Wife Sweet Wife":

" If you could stream your wedding video at work you would. The part where he calls you cupcake and you tell him he’s your sugar? It’s the best. In fact, if you could rebroadcast it at home every night, you would – but Mondays would be contentious. If your hubby complains, remind him he can catch SportsCenter reruns, but after you hit the sack. He can indulge his Tom Brady Mancrush on his own time. You do. "

(http://wifeville.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=13&idproduct=5)

Strangely accurate....

She also has this one(among many others), which I adore:

I am definitely giving one of these out at the next shower I attend. So much more fun than a strainer or a frying pan....And cuter too!

Bridal Buzzwords

If you have never seen it, you just have to check out http://www.urbandictionary.com/. It includes hilarious definitions for a variety of slang terms, some of which I have never even heard of, which is shocking for an inner-city middle school employee. I got to thinking that brides needed something similar for all of the abbreviations they will surely encounter on wedding websites.

FI-Future intended, or more commonly referred to as fiance. As in "My FI and I got in a spat last night because he wanted to wear a powder blue tux to the wedding."

DH-Dear husband. Yes. people actually use this one. Regularly. As in "I love my DH and the 2 carat diamond ring that he bought me for our engagement." (* Insert Subliminal Message Here*)

MIL-Mother-in-law. Everyone has them, no one gets along with them. I don't get it; my FMIL is amazing! As in "My MIL wore white to my wedding and I still haven't forgiven her!"

FSIL,FMIL,FFIL-F can be added to sister-in-law,mother-in-law, father-in-law etc. to denote the future tense. As in, "My FFIL will be walking our puppy down the aisle as our ring bearer."

BM-Could be best man, but usually means bridesmaid. As in "I don't know why the BMs don't love the pink taffeta dresses I chose. The nerve!"

MOH-Maid/Matron of honor. As in "My sister Em will be my MOH."

Knottie-A recently engaged woman who uses the knot (http://www.theknot.com/) for planning/has a knot bio. As in "Knottie soandso had gorgeous centerpieces. You should check them out!"

Ering-Engagement ring. E can also be put in front of any word to denote that it refers to the engagement (i.e. ePics). As in "My eRing is so huge that it hurts my hand to wear it!"

On Being a Bride

Being a bride-to-be is a great excuse to do some things for yourself that you have always wanted to do and have never quite gotten around to. Enter my latest project-Weight Watchers. Yes, I joined Weight Watchers and though my pride may be a bit bruised, I haven't been more excited about a personal improvement plan in a long time. Weight Watchers has some great guidelines, which are helpful tips for anyone looking to improve his or her health:

1. Eat at least 5 servings of fruit/vegetables a day.


2. Drink/consume at least 2 servings of milk a day.


3. Drink at least 5 glasses of water a day.


4. Choose whole wheat whenever possible.


5. Always take a multivitamin.


6. Consume 2 teaspoons of oil (essential fats) a day.

More on this in a later post.....For now, goal weight, here I come! I can only hope that I feel this inspired tomorrow....

My Other Love

Tonight I am going to spend some time with my love. Not Andrew, my other love. WARNING:What you are about to read is incredibly dorky. On the last Friday of every month (We had to push it back this month), some of my girlfriends and I gather at Archiver's to scrapbook (http://www.archivers.com/). We started about a year ago, and I have to admit that I look forward to it every month. For a mere $15, you are given dinner, some scrabooking paper and accessories, dessert and some precious time to spend with friends. Though I am sure that many of you will have more exciting a Saturday night, know there there is nowhere else I would rather be.