Better Inspiration

So, I found a website that makes it easy to make inspiration boards, particularly for weddings.

And, as evidenced below, I suck at trying to do it on my own.

Thus, I have spent more time than I should working on the below:

The first one is just meant to give a better sense of the overall colors I want, and the second is intended to be more like general inspiration.

I love the idea of something rustic, shabby-chic, with interest, and kind of modern, with surprising and delightful details.

Thoughts?

Comments?

Engagement Party...Parties?

I haven't mentioned much about Chris and his plans as yet, but it has become clear that Chris will be completing the Pacific Crest Trail - a 5-6 month hike from Mexico into Canada - during this summer. He plans to leave for this adventure in early May, as soon after his birthday (May 1st) as possible.

This had led us to deciding to adjust the date for our formal, official, big engagement party from Memorial Day weekend, and want to have it earlier in May.

While no one has had a problem with this proposition, they have brought up some good points and some convincing arguments for having the party when Chris returns from the hike, which would be in early October, most likely.

On the one hand, if we waited until October, it would be warmer than early May (possibly), the addition on my dad's house (where the party will be held) will be finished and the yard re-planted following the construction, and it allows more time for possible out-of-towners to join us.

On the other hand, May is much, much sooner and we have been engaged for almost a year already, I'm not really sure that it will be warmer in October, many friends may be moving away from the area and thus unable to attend in October, and I feel like having the engagement party in October and then getting married the following May feels kind of scrunched.

So.

A suggestion appears:

Have a birthday/going-away party for Chris on May 1st AND call it also an engagement party - for Chris' and my friends, particularly - and then have a SECOND engagement party when Chris returns and invite a larger group of people to that party.

Again, a weighing of options ensues.

One hand - I have already had a pseudo-engagement party immediately following the engagement itself and I feel like having three engagement parties (thrown by the same people, no less) is a bit greedy and tacky.

But I do like parties.

Even more, I like parties in my honor.

But still....greedy.

Right?

AND

I kind of want the "real" party sooner.

But I don't know.

Even better?

I definitely need to decide soon because the closer we get to the potential party date, the more quickly I need to make a decision.

I have NO idea what I should do.

Anyone want to offer suggestions?

Scratch That

Well, apparently I, once again, have spoken (and I use the term loosely here) too soon.

Chris and I had settled on what I thought were dates that were agreeable to the most important people (read: immediate family and wedding party).

Wrong.

This is an excellent example of why people are so fond of saying that weddings are stressful.

Chris and I have a very narrow window of time in which we can get married based on our own lives and what we would like.

Once we factor in other important information - for example, my best friend's wedding, which will be occurring right at the end of the time frame in which Chris and I have been considering dates - we had narrowed ourselves down to no more than 6 possible dates...a few of which are undesirable for their own reasons.

We picked the one that we liked best, believing that we had gotten all the necessary information.

We were wrong.

And.

Well.

Some of the aforementioned important people were polite about voicing their conflicts...while others were not.

Right now, I wish to not stir up more trouble because I really do care for these people a great deal...but I also wish to be honest. Thus, no names, and I'll be as vague as I can to protect people. I will also say that, if you think you are one of the people to whom I am referring and you don't like what's being said or you're worried about our relationship, know this: I will or have already voiced this to you and/or worked through it on my own (with Chris, of course) and it will be ok...but I was (and still am) upset about it.

Done.

It just hurts to feel like what should be one of the happiest days of my life is beginning to turn into a battleground and an avenue through which others may work out their problems.

The bulk of the fallout happened yesterday, Saturday.

In the last 36 hours I have probably cried for a solid 6 (and yeah, ok, I do cry - when things upset me I definitely cry).

And it sucks.

I want to make sure the important people are there and it saddens me that others don't trust me enough to be mature about bringing up their concerns directly to me in a thoughtful, empathic, mature way. Is that so much to ask?

Maybe it is...

The parties in question were aware of the possibility of us choosing the date we had and did not voice any concern prior to yesterday.

Also, we chose that date specifically, with purpose, and no one thought to ask us about that.

Bothersome.

I want our wedding to be beautiful and joyous and fun.

I do not want to look at the date and think about the subterfuge that occurred in choosing it.

I want this not to happen again.

Just...happiness...and understanding would be great.

Oh yeah!

And please forgive my rant -- it's needed, maybe it'll help me avoid more tears.

On the positive side of things, having this happen has definitely required me and Chris to make sure that we are on the same team, on the same side, with the same goals. That wasn't necessarily simple for a variety of reasons, but we're there.

Now we just have to move forward with our plan in figuring out what the actual wedding date will be.

(Also, we're probably changing the date for the engagement party, but that's not drama....yet anyways.)

Colors, Duh!

I write "duh!" because I meant to post on this a while ago, but it completely left my brain.

Since we have been engaged since last May, and talking about getting married for more than a year prior to that, I have been thinking about colors and going back and forth among probably six or seven different possible color combinations. My mind has been going something like this:

Well, bright definitely.

But not too bright. This isn't kindergarten.

Right.

So tropical-ish colors.

Tropical? That doesn't go at all with the rustic sensibility.

Ugh. Fine.

So.

So?

Ok, how about raspberry and lime?

Chris thinks it's too mature for us and what we're going for.

Jerk.

What about shades of green?

Green is my favorite color.

Too much green. I mean, I like green, but I feel like the wedding needs more than just green and neutrals. We're more dynamic than that.

How about something like this?

Oooh! I like that. I'm not so big on on orange OR yellow, though. But I like it.

Fine! Let's do it!

But I found this palette and I like it, too!

Yeah!

Oooh! Oooh! What about this one?

Bold! Fun!

Would my 'maids hate it? Is it too...much?

Ack!

Which one!

I don't know!!!

This went on, circling round and round different color options.

Hours spent on color-palette building sites.

Finally.

Here's the color palette we've chosen (first, I beg, vehemently, for your forgiveness of my horrendous skillz with piecing together different pictures I like):

Bright.

Young.

Fun.

Bold.

GINGHAM! That goes with rustic/country.

Interesting.

But not over-the-top, in my opinion.

I love red.

I love turquoise.

I own cowboy boots in both colors.

I mix these colors in my wardrobe all the time.

Chris is on board.

Done deal!

BONUS: my girls think it's cool and fun. We're talking about possibly doing turquoise dresses with red shoes!

Now it's time for a nap.

Exhaustion.

Decisions on Dates

Man oh man! Dates are hard to decide on!

Everyone has an opinion and many people have conflicts.

Between us, we've got 110+ immediate family members who live on both coasts, in the south, and in the middle of the country.

Then, we have to consider ourselves especially since we are at a stage in our lives where things are changing and I am entering a new stage of my career and education and that Chris is searching for new employment...not to mention the possibility of us entering the military next year (hey, just because I didn't get it this year does not mean I won't get it next year).

Even so, we've sort of dwindled it down to some tentative dates (read: don't book any flights just yet!)

Engagement Party:

Saturday May 30, 2010

Wedding:

Saturday May 29, 2011

Even though these dates are not necessarily permanent, it's exciting to have them down and have the most important people (immediate family & wedding party) on board with them.

Both weekends are Memorial Day weekend, so it'll be important to make sure that everyone knows about it far in advance. The good news? It means that those who are beholden to an academic year will have a 3-day weekend to play with.

The more and more we make decisions and get the parents involved, the more real it all becomes...thrilling and exciting.

Results and Photos

Clearly, I have not posted in the past few days.

Why?

Good question.

As a graduate student, I have been applying for internships -- all with the military (Navy and Air Force). Results came out on Friday morning. I did not get an internship. As you might guess, this news sucked....correction: sucks.

Thus, I have not been doing much wedding planning as of late.

The only thing I have been doing much of is having a pity party.

What has happened, however, is that just over a week ago Chris and I had an engagement photo session. Pretty normal for a couple planning a wedding. What was unusual was that we had eight photographers.

Huh?

Yeah.

Eight.

Chris is into photography (www.chrislangsdale.com) and is part of a MeetUp group for photography enthusiasts. Many of the group members are new professionals who are looking to build their photography business. We took advantage of that. We invited group members to join us at a public location (a park) and get an - apparently rare - opportunity to add an engagement session to their portfolio.

So.

Eight photographers, all with different levels of knowledge, skill, and equipment.

No guarantees on the quality of the photos, but the only cost was an afternoon.

We had a blast.

I felt like a rock star.

This is what it looked like to an outside observer:

But that's only four photographers.

Chris isn't super comfortable with having his photo taken...but I am. It was insane, and fascinating.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Here are some of the favorites among the ones we have received from the photographers so far:

(Above photos by Victoria Medina)

(Above photos by Danielle Stolman)

Location, Location, Location

I apologize for not putting this up yesterday, as I meant to, but the day ended up going longer than I thought it would.

Yesterday, I went with my parents (read: father, stepmother, mother, and mother's fiance) to view Rush Ranch as a potential wedding venue. Chris and I had visited together several weeks ago - in the pouring rain - and had absolutely loved it.

Rush Ranch is part of the Solano County land trust here in Northern California, essentially a private park with upwards of 2,000 acres to its credit.

We loved it, and so wanted the parents' thumbs-up, because it is beautiful, isolated, rustic, fun, and youthful. It also has lots of benefits like few requirements - e.g. no 'required' caterers, and relaxed time limits - a guest house that sleeps 5-7 comfortably, a projector and projector screen, indoor spaces, outdoor spaces, great photo op areas, and more.

So, taking the parents there, I was nervous and hopeful for their approval - a similar feeling to the one I had when I was first introducing them to Chris.

Here is some of what we saw:

I have tons more photos, but I think this gives a good sense of how it looks.

We were there at sunset, so I got some photos of that, but since my camera just a simple point-and-click, it doesn't look that great.

Ultimately, the parents decided that this place has some serious drawbacks: no A/C in any of the buildings, probability of bees/wasps/bugs during the wedding (we're having it during summertime), and being kind of far from where they live.

Fortunately, there are solutions for many of these concerns.

They hemmed and hawed a bit, and showed little to no enthusiasm. They all kept saying things about this being my wedding and that I should have it how I want it to be, and how the place suits me and Chris, and things like this. Good things, but no excitement, no happiness that we seemed to have found our wedding venue.

And, they all gave the so-desired thumbs-up.

So it looks like we have our wedding venue!

I am absolutely excited about it and all the possibilities that come with it.

One more step, one more decision down in me and Chris creating our perfect wedding (which will be appropriately imperfect).