one hundred three

Sarah, Joe's mom, picked up our peacock feathers from her amazing friend who just happens to have a peacock farm. These feathers will be the guys' boutonnieres and help mark the reserved pews at the church. We have a lot more than I was expecting, (by about 80) so I'm excited to see where we can put them to work.

Sarah also said that there are a few from a white peacock, about three feathers. I want to do something extra special with those, possibly Joe's boutonniere. A lot of fun planning and playing for this summer :)

Maybe I could get some of the colored feathers to stick into my white hair piece to spice it up a little...

I've been keeping an eye out for a nice, deep red lip stain. I want a stain so that it lasts all day, so I need to get it early and get some practice in. I don't want to look like a clown! I want my makeup to be really natural, as it usually is, and then have a really powerful lip color. Something like this?

one hundred seven

I've been trying not to think about the wedding until after I graduate. I'm trying to just focus on school. But as I care less and less about these last few days, it's getting harder and harder not to focus my attention on the wedding–especially since next Saturday we'll go to Precana.

I printed out directions this morning: the last journey I have to make around Indiana  before I graduate and move out of the state. I have a pretty good feeling that Evansville will be the only city I see in it for quite  a while... that is, unless Indiana University takes me under their wing as a poor little Public Policy graduate student. Sometimes I wonder if I could really do it, move back into Indiana. I'm still an Ohio loyalist, so I'd rather be in my state. I'm as blue as the come, so I'd rather be in a socially liberal state. Anyway.

I finalized the list of songs for all of the dances at the wedding and have a few CDs made to play while people are arriving and hanging out at the reception, before we and the DJ arrive.

I finalized plans for the tuxedos, in my mind, which has been a much longer process than anticipated because of the guys' schedules. They've finally gotten it together–odd that the girls could pull this off before them, since our measurements and dress selection are much more in depth. Oh, gender differences.

There are even more things to wrap up in the next two weeks. I'll get all the tuxedo information and get them ordered. Then, Sarah, Joe's mom, is bringing some peacock feathers that a friend has been collecting for us. The feather-getting was step number one for making the flower arrangements.

A cool thing that I like about the wedding, that we're just getting going: An environmentally friendly gift registry. We'll be traveling, so we're shying away from gifts anyway. Instead, we're starting a wedding bank account that people can add to. It saves a ton of energy, fuel, material, paper... I love it. And it's super easy. And it will help us survive the first bit of time abroad. [Key to that: I've made us PROMISE that we're paying ourselves back that wedding nest egg when we get home, so that we can actually start a home. For now, it will operate like a loan from ourselves.]

We're also getting the next step of our life going, crossing off to-do's from the post-wedding life list. Things like buying plane tickets and finding a hotel to live in before we find an apartment, crying about spending the money, reserving a room for the wedding night and figuring out when we'll go to Chicago to get our visas. We're coming, World, ready or not. And I don't no who is more "not," you or us.

visual overload

So I've been scanning the Google for some decoration inspiration. After searching for weddings with words like peacock, vintage, 1920s, delphinium and art deco, this is the best representation of my vision that I could find.

I feel really Bride-zilla saying that we're meeting with "our decorator." I'm not complicated when it comes to frills and expenses for the wedding. I want it simple and fun, but me coordinating all of the plans and my family making all of the decorations is neither of these things. Fortunately, a decorator sort of "comes with" the hall we're renting. So, this is what I'll be throwing at her:

 

So far, this is my favorite. The sleek, small vases are vintage and the baby's breath (which could be substituted with Queen Anne's lace, a traditional August flower) in them is soft and adds to the older feel. I also wanted really everything sleek and simple. I don't like tulle or candles. I don't like things that are filled with things small children can choke on. I sound pickier than I am, really. Anyway, these are perfect!

I've been thinking of ways to arrange the centerpieces. My mom found a cool art deco piece we're using at the church for less than $20 at our local antique mall. It'd be awesome if our decorator had some deco glass pieces, like this for example.

 

We've got a lot of color going on in simple ways. They guys are wearing vests that are a deep purple. We're using peacock feathers in a few things, like I've mentioned before. I'm hoping we'll find some blue flowers that pull it all together. To play with color more, I was looking at these pieces. Ideas.

This is fun, too. I'd '86 the ribbon and add some small flowers, but I think this glass and the peacock feather fit everything we've been planning and designing so far. It's getting there.

Ok, so I don't want purple flowers or bulb-looking flowers, but the idea of lower, fuller centerpieces mixed with the really simple tall ones (of, say, a peacock feather or two) make for a really neat table.

And this, I adore. Again, we're not using the white flowers, but everything else is very cool and elegant. I like the lines of the vase, which recall art deco without all of its detail. I like that the overall look is low to the table. There's texture without too much going on–I don't want 80 flower species in these things. I'm not usually big on candles, but the mix of the round candles with the curvy vase is fun on the table runner.

 

last one for the day

Oh, stop. Like there's something better I should be doing during these finals presentations right now. I found this picture on the blog Mustard and Sage, and she found it on Bona Drag.








This picture makes a lot of sense with what I ordered this morning (already two posts ago... I'm a bit overzealous).