Borealis Wedding Planning

Pictures

2010-10-31T16:18:00.000-04:00

I thought I had published this months ago, but apparently not. Here are all the pictures I have of the marriage related events: http://picasaweb.google.com/115480710313218995728

Professional Pics are up!

2010-05-24T11:51:00.000-04:00

Photographer's Blog post with highlight pictures

My Wedding Gifts to K

2010-05-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

I ordered the 3 things I got him all from etsy. Both sellers I bought from were awesome. Even though I ordered kinda close to our wedding date they both made sure we got the gifts in time. And the quality of all the items is great.

I got him a custom leather cuff with a quote inside and leather luggage tags with each of our initials and our wedding date. These were from leathermadenice.

I also ordered custom coffee mugs, one for each of us, with our married monogram on one side and each of our names on the other, from mudpie2. This seller is actually a local artist in Durham, NC. Her studio is only about 15 minutes away from our house.

Reception Hall Diagram: yes I may be a little obsessive

2010-04-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

My dad is a landscape architect, so my love for layout documents probably comes from him (either inherited or just learned over the years).

For example, when I was trying to convince my freshman roommate that we could unbunk our beds in our dorm room (I roll in my sleep and I had the top bunk because she was very very tall, so I wanted to unbunk very badly!):

I measured the room, drew it out (to scale) on a piece of grid paper.
I measured our big pieces of furniture (desks and beds), drew those out (to scale) on the grid paper
Cut the furniture squares out
Showed her, by putting the furniture squares on the room diagram, how we could actually still manage to get through our room even with the beds unbunked.
Apparently convinced her, as we had those beds unbunked the rest of the year.

So no one, but perhaps the event coordinator at the reception hall, was the least bit surprised when I asked her for a scaled diagram of the hall. But she had one and very obligingly sent this over:

I played around with the diagram in Acrobat and then in Microsoft Visio.

After we met with the caterers, to determine table layout, I took the print out of that diagram and translated all my pencil sketches into the changes you see below. Then I sent it out to my parents and all the vendors that would need to do set up at the reception hall.

Overkill? Probably. But, I'll tell you what, no one had to wonder the day of the wedding where a table was supposed to go.

Wedding Day Schedule

2010-04-23T11:31:00.002-04:00

Update: 5/13/2010: Btw, I converted my schedule into a Google Docs template.

For anyone who's interested, below are the screenshots of the wedding day schedule I put together. I sent this out to all of our vendors, the wedding party, ushers, and then some of my aunts and uncles and friends just for their general amusement.

I know it looks crazy, but it was SO helpful. Not that we stuck to the schedule exactly by any means. But it definitely helped keep me calm (thank god Keith's mom printed out a copy and brought it with her the day of the wedding, as I forgot to do that).

For anyone planning their own wedding, Google docs (or some other online spreadsheet program that you can share with others) was a life saver. I used it for the schedule, guest list, and to keep track of things I need to write thank you notes for (which I suppose I should get on doing now since we've been married 2 weeks).

New Stationary

2010-04-19T15:23:00.000-04:00

We went with this stamp from Noteworthy Collections

This is our "married" stationary. Same font, but with dark gray text, like our invitations.

Making it Legal and Changing my Name: Part 1

2010-04-19T15:18:00.003-04:00

I'm just gonna list out everything I'm having to do to change my name, since I didn't find a fully inclusive list anywhere online and it may help other people out. And it will help me keep track of what I have and have not done.

Note: I did all of these steps from either our home in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina or during work hours in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina. Other counties and states may (and most certainly will) have different requirements. Be sure to check with your area's offices to make sure you're doing the things you need to.

Getting (Legally) Married
Marriage License

3.5 weeks before wedding

Filled out the application for our marriage license online

http://web.co.wake.nc.us/rdeeds/marriage/marriage.htm
Definitely do this online if you're getting yours from Wake County. If you don't do it before you have to do it on one of their computers in the office.

Went to the Wake County (North Carolina) Register of Deeds to apply for our marriage license.

I brought my driver's license and my 2009 W-2 from my company. K brought his driver's license and his social security card.
We confirmed that we were not any closer blood relations than first cousins.

Seriously North Carolina - FIRST cousins????????? That's disgusting.
But no blood test, which of course makes things easier but I still think is kinda sketchy.

We verified all the information I'd put in was correct (btw if your father is a third, then ", III" is part of his legal name). Signed the 3 or 4 copies of the document. Got the documents we needed for the pastor to send in after the wedding.
All of this took maybe 5 minutes.

Rehearsal Dinner

Forgot to take the marriage license papers to the rehearsal dinner. (Friday)

Wedding

Took the marriage license papers to the church before the wedding. (Saturday)

The pastor, best man, and maid of honor all signed what they needed to sign.
Gave the pastor an $80 check to mail in with our forms ($10 per copy for 8 certified copies - which was the # recommended by my only married bridesmaid).

Had the ceremony.

Week after the wedding

Received the "keepsake" copy of our marriage license in the mail from the pastor on Tuesday when we got back from our "mini-moon".
Received the 8 certified copies of our marriage license in the mail on Wednesday.

Apparently Wake County's Register of Deeds office is lightning fast. Yay for a competent government agency! (I wrote an email to the head of the whole of the Register of Deeds and to the head of the Marriage License division basically saying they were awesome.)

Changing my Name

Social Security Administration

Filled out the form (http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=315) using the typewriter function in Adobe Acrobat - no issues with reading handwriting when you do that.
Went to the SSA

(Upon recommendation from Wake County's Marriage License page, I went to the SSA before the DMV. Lucky me, the SSA in Wake County is <1 mile from where I work.)
Checked in using their touch screen computer, indicated that I was there to change my name.
Waited for like 20-25 minutes.
Handed my filled out form, driver's license, and certified copy of our marriage certificate to the guy at my window.
Confirmed that everything that I'd given him was correct, under threat of perjury.
Watched him re-type everything I had typed.

SSA needs to take a hint from the Register of Deeds.

Reviewed the sheet of paper he printed off for me of everything he'd typed up.
Took my little print off saying that I had filed for a name change and my new card should arrive in the mail at my house in about 10 days.
The whole process took about 30 minutes.

Department of Motor Vehicles

Driver's License

The DMV is silly and their "name change" page (http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/other_services/general/NameChange.html) just links you to a pdf of all their information.

This is what it says in that pdf (as of 04/15/2010), under Chapter 1: "Renewal and Duplicate Licenses" : "Name Changes" :

A person whose name changes from the name stated on a driver license must notify the division of the change within 60 days after the change occurs and obtain a duplicate driver license stating the new name. Name changes can be completed with:

Certified marriage certificate from a Register of Deeds or appropriate government agency in the United States, Puetro Rico, U.S. territories or Canada;
Documented proof from the courts or the Register of Deeds establishing that the name change was officially accomplished; and
Divorce decrees which include the name change.

Went to the DMV 24+ hours after going to the SSA (actually several days later).

Told them I was there to change my name, that it had been more then 24 hours since I went to the SSA, and that I had my license and a certified copy of my marriage certificate.

Took a fun little number.
Waited about 20 minutes.

Got called back.

Gave the lady my number, license, certified marriage certificate, and the print out from the SSA.

She asked for the SSA print out to make sure she typed my name up exactly how it was supposed to be.

Signed my signature card (this was rough, I did it wrong the first time and still kinda screwed up the spelling of my new last name the second time.)
Confirmed that I still lived at the same address and wanted to remain an organ donor.
Confirmed that I would like to update my NC voter registration.

Signed the voter registration print out she gave me and gave it back to her.

Got all my documents back, including my license (apparently NC DMV no longer takes them?).
Took my signature card over and got my picture taken.
Got my temporary license print out and I should get my new license in the mail in 5-10 days.
Was out of there in 25-30 minutes.

This is what I've done as of 4/19. For reference we were married on 4/10.

More SUPER EXCITING updates to come

Wedding Makeup!

2010-03-29T10:27:00.000-04:00

The makeup artist (waiting for mom to get me her contact info so I can put it up on the wedding website) did a trial makeup run with me yesterday, and this is what we decided on:

My dress on me, part 2

2010-03-23T01:39:00.001-04:00

IE pics from the 2nd fitting.

but, before that, here are a few group shots from the bachelorette:

Please notice how I have managed to "lose" or "put away" all Bachelorette items. The only thing that kept getting brought out/put on with my bright pink sash.

We had a fabulous time!

More about that later, on to the 2nd dress fitting:

The dress fit perfectly so all that had to be done was show L the two hooks/buttons she has to use to fasten my bustles. So I did a little bit of sashaying around the room

What my bustle will look like:

This is what I'm supposed to do with my train before its bustled when I get to the reception. I'm putting on this dress at 4pm and not getting to the reception until at least 8pm. Joy.

Normal picture:

And, I saved the best picture for last. L told me in a prior picture my hand looked like a claw, so I decided to do my velociraptor impersonation. Don't lie, its super hot. I should do this as I walk down the aisle, the look on K's face would be PRICELESS!

My actual wedding dress, on me

2010-02-24T12:53:00.003-05:00

Keith, no looking!

I showed you pics of the model in the dress and me in the sample dress, but you can't see the ACTUAL dress!

(I know how silly that sounds, believe me.)

To take up space so the pics of me don't show up before the page break, here's a pic of us from our friend J's birthday in January.

Ok, now on to the actual wedding dress.

These pics are from my first fitting, in January. The dress is actually a strapless and I asked for the sleeves so she pinned them all up at this fitting (thats why they look kinda funny).

I go for my second fitting this weekend, where we'll make sure the sleeves are right and show L how to fasten the bustle.

We took these for the girl who I bought my shoes from, so she can prove to people they look great with a wedding dress. Of course I like the 2nd pic here best of all the ones we took.

Heres what the bustle will look like. I believe this is an american bustle.
(Ignore the straps, after viewing this pic on my computer I realized I'd told her to pin the straps in the wrong place. So I went back the next week and she did it without any "help" from me, and got them nice and even and straight.)

OMG I love this girl

2009-12-16T00:31:00.000-05:00

And I picked the kind of wedding related ones to share with yall. They also happen to be the ones that sent me into conniption fits.

More videos:
http://current.com/target-women/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Current#grid/user/BCC4543D90EF62A6

Invitations

2009-12-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Our invitations have been ordered and we should get the emailed proofs this week!

Retailer: Swoozies
Company: Embossed Graphics
Style: Tradition
Card Stock Color: White

Font: Lucia

Ink Color: Slate

pics from Thanksgiving week in CT

2009-12-09T12:50:00.001-05:00

We went to visit the Aqua Turf, the location for our CT/"Northern" reception in May (which is lovely btw), and Keith's parents walked us around a little of the grounds. Linda of course wanted pictures of us there:

On the day we left I made sure that we got some pictures for Keith and Heather's "Annual Brother/Sister photographs"

fabulous CT bridal shower

2009-12-08T11:51:00.010-05:00

so, blogger has changed their photo uploading format to only allow 1 photo upload at a time... now, the old system wasn't anything to brag about (I mean, 5 pics at a time?? come on!), but it was still better.

The point of telling you this, is to explain why I'm just now getting around to posting all the pictures from the bridal shower that Keith's mother so graciously threw for me over Thanksgiving weekend.

Exhibit A: the Food

the food was amazing: roasted potato wedges, roast beef, green beans, meatballs, pasta, cake with multiple fruit layers, m&m's with Keith and my names on them, etc...

I'll tell you, I'm a hard person to plan a party for - because being that much the center of attention makes me awkward. Now, anyone who knows me might be saying "Jess, you not liking attention? WTH??" I know I'm loud and not a generally shy person, but I don't like to be the absolute center of attention of any particular gathering. Especially one where I don't know everyone well.

Exhibit B: the Wishing Well

la>

I was probably least gracious about the wishing well, since I had never heard of one being at a bridal shower and so was in complete shock when I saw it half finished the day before the shower.

But apparently having wishing wells at bridal showers is fairly common in CT. Every shower guest is supposed to bring a commonly used household item (sponges, measuring cups, dryer sheets, etc...) to help the couple get their household set up.

I didn't show the proper amount of appreciation to Linda for the effort she put into making the shower really special - since I was busy being self-conscious and awkward.

But it really was an extremely generous thing for her to do and I wanted to publicly state how much I appreciate everything she did to make the shower happen, and also to share all the pictures with everyone

So, THANK YOU LINDA! YOU'RE THE BEST!!

and without further ado, the pictures:

Towel cake, courtsey of Keith's aunt

The lovely gifts everyone brought

Everyone enjoying the food

Me opening gifts

Apparently, in the north, you're supposed to wear the ribbon plates on your head as a hat, not use it as a bouquet for the rehersal. I guess I'll be doing both

I would let Keith help cut it, because "we're not supposed to do that until the wedding!"

The Lineup, so far

2009-12-08T10:47:00.003-05:00

outfit picture order:

Karen, Annie, Heather, Lydia, Me, Keith

Tux for K

2009-12-07T21:25:00.001-05:00

Mom notified me yesterday that Jos A Banks was running a sale on their tuxes, so K and I went tonight and got him fitted for and purchased a tux. and because of the sweet deal they were running, we got a $950 retail tux (though I don't know if it ever goes for that) for like $260.

We got him the Signature Notch Lapel Tux jacket and the Signature Tux Plain Front Trousers.

And we're gonna wait until we take it in to be fitted/tailored at the end of February to pick out his shirt and tie and whatnot.

Final Bridesmaids Dress!

2009-12-04T22:29:00.000-05:00

Annie's dress (from White House Black Market)

Another Bridesmaid Dress Update

2009-12-01T21:57:00.002-05:00

This is the dress Lydia will be wearing. Courtesy of Ann Taylor (and our cousin Chrissy who gets a discount there, which never hurts).

In case anyone is wondering what to wear

2009-10-09T11:17:00.006-04:00

I just put a note up on the wedding website (email/message me, or post a comment, if you're invited and would like to know the website address) for the NC Reception page for, I suppose you would call it, the "preferred attire" for the reception.

What I put was:

Black-tie optional

(Semiformal or Creative Black-tie welcome)

I found these options on EmilyPost.com says is appropriate for these categories/occasions:

OCCASION	MEN	WOMEN
Black Tie Optional	Either a tuxedo (see 'Black Tie' above) or dark suit, white shirt and conservative tie	Formal (floor length) evening gown or short, dressy cocktail dress or dressy separates
Creative Black Tie	Tuxedo combined with trendy or whimsical items, such as a black shirt or a matching colored or patterned bow tie and cummerbund black shiny patent or dressy black leather shoes and black socks	Formal (floor length) evening gown or short, dressy cocktail dress or dressy separates or any of the above accessorized with such items as a feather boa, colorful shawl or colorful jewelry
Semiformal	Dark, business suit (usually worsted wool) matching vest (optional) white shirt conservative tie dressy leather shoes and dress (dark) socks	Short afternoon or cocktail dress or long dressy skirt and top

After all, the bridesmaids will be in black cocktail dresses and the groomsmen in dark suits, so its not as if we're making this some super fancy occasion.

But if people want to wear tuxes and gowns, they're more than welcome to. Same goes for anyone just wanting to wear a suit or a cocktail dress.

Setting up Registries

2009-10-06T21:10:00.003-04:00

Ok, no one tells you that setting up registries is actually not loads of fun. Quite frankly its a little difficult. I mean, there are lots of questions to answer:

-where do you register?

-how many places do you register?

-what should you ask for?

-what of all this stuff you see do you actually want/will you actually use???

I narrowed it down to two places with in-store registries (Target and Crate & Barrel) and then we're using Amazon.com's wedding registry as our general catch-all for things from other stores. (The Amazon registry is awesome though, cause they allow you to add items from any other website. The items added from other websites can be "reserved" and bought wherever.)

As for choosing what to register for... yea that's freaking tough - there's been a lot of "BABY! Do we need _______?". But sometimes he's too practical, like about my Belgian waffle maker!, and I put it on the list anyways.

But plenty of places will offer you lots of "advice" on items that you need:

http://sites.target.com/site/en/clubwedd/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-036332

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Resource-Guide/Dinnerware.aspx

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry-guide.html/ref=cm_wed_hp_rg

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/gift/gft/gftrcp/gftrcpwed/index.cfm?cm_type=gnav

http://www.potterybarn.com/gift/gft/gftgbo/gftgbowed/?cm_type=gnav

Right now I've done all the registering on-line, but at some point we're going to have to go into at least Crate & Barrel and pick out the rest of the stuff we want.

But, I'll tell you what our lists do have! GADGETS!! Cause god knows that K and I are huge dorks and love freaking gadgets.

Church renovations!

2009-10-05T17:31:00.004-04:00

The church we're getting married in is the one I was raised in, and for my whole life, it has looked something like this:

(the 2nd pic is one I took several years ago at one of the Christmas Lovefeasts)

Since I've been a member of this church my whole life, I never really thought about the carpet. The very BLUE carpet. But, now that I've seen pictures of the remodeling, I'm wondering how I even thought this was a beautiful sanctuary before.

I am absolutely LOVING the hardwood floors. To think these beauties had been hiding under that carpet for the last few decades!!! And I think the burgundy runners look great with the different colors of woods/stains. It adds character but doesn't detract from the natural beauty of the wood. ( I promise to get you guys some better/higher res pictures the next time I'm in town, but these will have to do for now. )

View of the lower level, from the left corner of the Sanctuary:

Down the center aisle:

View from the right corner:

From the left side of the choir loft, looking at the rest of the sanctuary:

The upper level, looking down on the choir loft:

All pics via http://homemoravianrenovation.shutterfly.com/

Bridesmaids Dresses Update

2009-09-08T00:29:00.000-04:00

Karen's

Heather's

I believe Heather has ordered her dress, but at least this is the one that she told us all about when the families met a few weekends ago.

The dress has been ordered

2009-09-08T00:08:00.004-04:00

Went with mom on Friday to get measured for and order my dress. In the process of being measured you actually put on the dress again so they can get the hem-to-hollow and whatever other measurements, so I had mom take a few pics. The dress should be in by early-mid January.

Again, these are pretend cap sleeves. The dress is a strapless and the company is adding cap sleeves in the same style as one of their other dresses to my dress. The ones in the pic is just for a general idea of what they'd look like.

Here's a close up of the lace

Here's me in the same dress from May (before the hairstylist butchered my hair last Thursday):

Again my dress is Casablanca style 1847.

The cap sleeves will be like these from Casablanca style 1942

Btw, my Mohops are here

2009-08-31T10:22:00.005-04:00

I got them a few weeks ago and was waiting until I had some pictures of them to show (theyre the ones with the black ribbons, duh):

(Thanks for the pics Bobbie!)

Mohop

Precision Platinum

2009-08-27T10:21:00.002-04:00

I wanted to give recognition to the jeweler that made my wedding band, the one that fits with my engagement ring, and K's wedding band, his puzzle ring.

They were made by Precision Platinum of Durham, NC. They're a family owned and operated business in south Durham. Their website is currently under development, more on that later, so don't judge them by the lack of extensive content so far!

David, Gaybeth, and their son John were awesome to work with. They educated us where we were lacking knowledge and definitely put the time in to get to know us and help us figure out what we wanted and how we wanted it done.

After seeing examples of their extensive gallery of work, I almost wish I had gotten a more complicated, intricate ring. Their commitment to quality design and work, along with their extreme attention to detail, really shows in the quality of their work.

They do custom jewelry design as well as reconstruction/recreation of damaged or delicate pieces.

(All pictures were taken by Precision Platinum. I got them from either their website or their emails to Keith and I about our rings.)