Everything goes wrong

I had a dream about the wedding last night. It was the first one in a long time.

In my dream, everything that could have gone wrong with our wedding--did go wrong with our wedding. Well, actually I shouldn't say that. The alarm went off (or rather, the dog jumped on my head) before we even made it to the church. You see, we were running wayyy behind, because everything was going so horribly.

I'd start a narrative of the dream, but it's so disjointed (like many dreams are), it'd just be a rambling mess. So I'll just list off things I remember:

• My hair? It was never done. I don't know why. I guess my stylist didn't show up.
• The flowers were all the wrong color.
• Our photographers were an hour late.
• The bridesmaids? Fighting.
• We didn't even start getting me into my dress until after 1:00. The limo? Supposed to pick the girls up at 1:30.
• As I pulled my hoop skirt out to put it on, I realized one of the hoops had come undone and I had to mess around with it for 10 minutes to get it figured out.
• Once the dress was finally on, I was walking out the door to go outside and my leg somehow got caught underneath the screen door. No clue how. But blood, dirt, and a torn dress were the results.
• Once outside, we were miraculously in the same place as all the guys. In my dream, I was making a big deal about Michael not seeing me before the wedding. I insisted someone put a blindfold on him.
• At this time, I realize that only two of the groomsmen have tuxes. Michael, the other four groomsmen, and the dads all have no tuxes. They're standing there in street clothes. Mind you, at this time in the dream (approx. 1:30 for a 2:00 wedding), the guys were not only supposed to be dressed, but they were already supposed to be at the church.
• Apparently, there was a problem with the tuxes. The guys are standing at the end of the driveway as if they expect the tuxes to magically appear.
• I start blaming Michael for not coordinating the pick-up of the tuxes on the Thursday before the wedding.

I don't really remember anything else. The limo never arrived. I woke up before the tux issue was resolved. I still had blood and dirt on my dress, and a tear in it.

I guess I can rest assured that in the dream, should I have dreamt the rest of it, we probably would have been married at some point during the day. As long as I didn't kill anybody before I finally got to the church.

What do these things even mean?? How does the subconscious come up with this stuff?

DIY Shower Thank Yous

I originally planned to stamp and emboss thank you notes for my shower, but after all the stamping and embossing I did for our invitations, I need a break. Instead, I decided to print thank yous that match the design I created for the DIY shower invitations that I created back in March.

Here is the finished product:

Now if I could just kick my butt into gear to finish writing them all.

Anniversary

Today is our six year anniversary.

And with only 54 days left until the wedding, it occurs to me that this may be the last time we really celebrate this anniversary. I use the term "celebrate" pretty loosely, since neither one of us has ever really made a big deal about this anniversary. Tonight, I'm going to my aerobics class, just like I would on any normal Monday, and we probably won't even eat dinner together. But hey... we've been officially together for six years.

In 2009, I figure we'll be looking more toward celebrating our REAL anniversary... our first wedding anniversary.

And now for a stroll down memory lane...

Michael and I met on February 22, 2002 (as I like to say--2.22.02!) while we were both sophomores in college. It was a Friday night, and we were out at a bar with friends in our tiny college town. We both lived in a co-ed suite dorm. I lived in a suite on the second floor with seven of my girlfriends, and Michael lived in a suite downstairs, which he shared with three of his friends, and four random guys. We were actually right above/below each other. All we had to do was take the flight of stairs and it spit us out right in front of the door of each other's suites. Prior to us meeting, some of Michael's suitemates were friends with my suitemates. And as fate would have it, we would ultimately meet because of those mutual friends.

So, on this night, we all went out together. As we sat at Heenan's hanging out and enjoying several beers, our crowd got thinner and thinner. My friends got tired and wanted to go home. I was having fun, so I stayed out by myself with all of the guys. Eventually, Michael's friends decided to move on to another bar. This put me in a little bit of a predicament, because I was only 19 and had a bad fake ID. The bars I could get into were limited. At this point, Michael and I had been talking for a while and he offered to stay at Heenan's with me. Before the guys left for the other bar, we made plans to meet up with them again at the 18-and-over bar in an hour or so.

Michael and I (in October 2006, alumni weekend), standing on the street corner outside of the bar where we met.

Michael and I stayed together and talked. Honestly, I don't really remember the conversation. Not only had we had several drinks, but it just seems so long ago. And also, I had no way of knowing at that time that this was the guy I was going to marry a little more than six years later. So those initial conversations? They didn't seem so important. Nothing I had to stash away in my memory forever.

Needless to say, however, we hit it off really well. We found out we had a lot of things in common. Not only were we living in the same dorm, but we had a public speaking class together. We found out we were from the same hometown--only he had gone to a neighboring school district, so we never knew each other. We talked about our plans for living off campus for the next school year, and as it turned out, we were going to be living on the same street.

We spent the rest of the night together. We ended up going to meet up with the rest of the guys, stayed at the bars until close, and then walked back to campus together. Once back, we hung out in his room with his roommate. We listened to music, watched movies, talked, laughed, drank into the wee hours of the morning. At some point during all of this, when he had the opportunity and we were alone, he kissed me for the first time.

And I suppose, as they say it... the rest is history.

At a fiesta only a few weeks before graduation in May 2004.

We casually dated for the next several weeks. We went home for spring break sometime in March. During that week at home, we made plans to hang out a few times. I met his mom and little sister, and I'm pretty sure he met my mom. And it was at some point during that week... I remember leaving his parents' house late one night and thinking to myself that I knew this one was different. I felt about him the way I hadn't felt about anyone before. I remember being in my car, driving down his street and thinking to myself, "Oh my God. I think I might love him."

From the way I remember it, we fought a lot those first few months. Neither one of us had ever really been in a serious relationship, so we didn't really know how to act. Not only that, but we weren't really classifying ourselves as "in a relationship" yet. I think that frustrated me, only because we really were already in a relationship. I didn't understand why we wouldn't just take the next step and call it like it was.

On Thursday, April 25, it must have been around 8:00 p.m.--I remember my roommate and I were watching Friends. My mom instant messaged me and told me that my great-grandmother, whom my whole family was really close with, was not doing well. She was 96 years old, and was a total spitfire. Obviously death for everyone is inevitable, but it always seemed like whenever she had a problem, she bounced back. It's almost like I thought she would never actually die. About a week before, she had been moved into a hospice home. At that time, I didn't really know what a hospice was, or I probably would have been more prepared for it. I thought she had just gone to live at a home with around-the-clock care. I didn't know it meant she would likely be dying very soon.

I called my mom immediately and asked her if I should come home. She sounded emotional and said, "I don't know." I got off the phone and started crying. My suitemates all came to console me, and my roommate suggested that I should go home, and offered to come with me. It was a really nice thing for her to do. You see, the next day (Friday), FredFest was to begin. FredFest was the most fun weekend out of the entire year at our college. It was basically a drunk weekend, with concerts on campus--you started drinking on Friday morning and were pretty much drunk all through Sunday morning. Parties everywhere. Regular old college debauchery.

At the Candlelight Ball in July 2004.

Despite that, Lindsey offered to come home with me and so we packed up a few things and hit the highway. I think we ended up getting to my house after midnight. It was late. The next day, we woke up and we went to the hospice home to visit my great-grandmother. She was already in somewhat of a coma, and it was absolutely devastating to me. I said my goodbyes. My mom knew that the weekend at school was supposed to be fun for us, so she told us to go back to college. She said there wasn't anything left I could do at home, and that my grandmother would want me to have fun. Lindsey and I picked up and headed back to school. This whole time, I kept Michael posted by cell phone.

When we got back to school, it was clear everyone else had already had a number of hours of a headstart on us. Everyone was well into party mode. I went into Michael's suite right when we got back, and I remember he seemed really relieved and happy to see me. He knew I had had a really rough day. We were alone in his room and he sat me on his lap and we talked. And if I'm really remembering correctly, I think that was the first time the "love" word was used out loud.

Later that night, Lindsey and I had done a good job of catching up. Too good of a job, actually. We had a lot of fun in our suite, and then we caught a ride downtown to the bars. Once I got out, I took one look at everyone and all the bars around me and just started bawling crying. It had been such an emotional day, and now, with alcohol in me, it was even worse. I remember telling Lindsey that I just wanted to find Michael, and I wanted to go home. Somehow, we found him, and he didn't hesitate to leave all of the fun behind and take me back to the dorms.

The next morning, I received a voicemail message that my grandmother had died in the middle of the night.

We finished out the weekend trying to have a normal time and have fun. On Sunday night, the 28th, Michael and I discussed my plans to drive home the next day to attend the funeral services for my grandmother. He said he wanted to come with me. And then we confirmed what we both knew to be true--we were a couple, and we were now "official." That's how it came to be that April 28 is our anniversary.

Virginia Beach vacation in August 2004.

And here we are, six years later... and in 54 days, we will be married. :)

A few more pics to share from throughout the years. We didn't get a digital camera until 2004 (only a few months before we graduated), so I don't have any photos scanned to share from before that time.

Buffalo Bills game in October 2004.

My cousin's engagement party, April 2005.

Another Candlelight Ball. July 2005.

On a dolphin watch cruise in Virginia Beach, August 2005.

Parasailing (Virginia Beach), August 2005

Bills game, October 2006

New Year's Eve - December 31, 2006

Bar/restaurant in New York City, May 2007

Starting line, Five Boro Bike Tour (NYC), May 2007

Central Park (NYC), Five Boro Bike Tour, May 2007

About 20 miles down, 20 more to go (Five Boro Bike Tour), May 2007

A couple of days after becoming engaged, Outer Banks, North Carolina - June 2007

Ice cream shop in Outer Banks, North Carolina - June 2007

80's themed New Year's Eve party - December 31, 2007

New Year's Eve - December 31, 2007

Irma & Guillermo

I'm back to completing projects.

For a while there, it was all invitations, all the time. Once we mailed them out, I was in for a much needed break from craft stuff. I haven't worked on anything since April 14. That's quite a streak for me! But now I'm feeling like I can get back into it.

I still have a few items that I owe to people before our wedding. I think after this, there are only three things left for me to paint until I take a hiatus until after we get back from our honeymoon in July.

This aisle runner is for Irma and Guillermo, who will be married on May 25.

Flowers and Luggage

This afternoon, I had an appointment with our florist to finalize the flowers. We actually ended up changing several things.

Instead of doing a mix of roses and calla lilies for me, we're going with all roses. She showed me the "hot pink" calla lilies, and they were actually way more purple than I wanted, so we nixed them altogether. Instead, my bouquet will be a mixture of two shades of hot pink, and orange roses.

For the bridesmaids, we were originally going to go with a mixture of roses, gerbera daisies and calla lilies. Since we got rid of the callas in my bouquet, we got rid of them for theirs, too. They will have the same hot pink and orange mixture, but they are going to be made up of roses, spray roses, and gerbera daisies.

I can't wait to see how they all turn out. Exciting.

We also nixed the order of boutonierres for all of the guys. We have decided to go with pocket squares for all the guys wearing tuxes--Michael, his groomsmen, and the dads. The only guys wearing boutonierres will be the grandfathers. They'll each get an orange rose.

Grandmothers are getting corsages--I forget what they're made out of, but whatever (not a high priority). Mothers are carrying really small bouquets. I forget what they are called. Just little clutch bouquets. Also not really sure what they will be made out of.

I also placed the order for gerbera daisy stems for the centerpieces. We have glass bowls with black rocks in the bottoms that are provided by our reception venue. We're going to fill them halfway with water, then cut the stems off of gerbera daisies to float them. We're going to put one hot pink and one orange gerbera daisy in every bowl.

In addition, I also ordered 8-10 hot pink roses for our cake baker to use on the top of the cake.

All of this--bride bouquet, 6 bridesmaid bouquets, 3 boutonierres, 4 corsages, 2 clutch bouquets, centerpiece flowers and cake flowers--$538. Not bad at all. I love Wegmans.

After the flower appointment, I swung by the house and picked up Michael. We planned to run a few errands. I had to go to Verizon to get a few accessories for my new BlackBerry, get gas (ummm hello $3.67/gallon--thank you, Dubya), and then we wanted to go to Macy's to buy a few pieces of our luggage.

We registered for luggage since we don't really have any. We each registered for a good size suitcase and a rolling carry-on size piece. Unfortunately, we didn't get any of the luggage for the shower. It's understandable, since it's pretty expensive. It's just that the luggage was something we really needed to get prior to the wedding.

At any rate, I looked on the Macy's website earlier this week and saw that they are having a big sale on our luggage. 50% off, plus an additional 10%. We decided we'd go today to get at least two of the pieces using gift cards and cash we received at the shower. We got there, picked up the two pieces, and headed to check out. The salesman said something like, "I'm going to make you spend an additional $5." Then he starts some schpeel about a donation to a charity I had never heard of. I was about to tell him to shove it (especially since I had just dropped $50 to fill my gas tank less than 10 minutes before), when he said, "by donating this $5, you'll receive a 20% off coupon that is good for the rest of the weekend, and counts toward this purchase. For your luggage, you'll get an additional $45 off."

Well, let's just say... he didn't have to tell us twice.

We paid for the luggage and as we were heading down the escalator out to the car, Michael and I were looking at the receipt, and it occurred to us... holy hell, there is no way we're going to get this kind of deal again. We looked at each other and immediately decided to drop off the two pieces in the car and go back in to get the other two pieces! :)

We ended up getting all four pieces of luggage at a ridiculous discount. Still expensive, definitely, but it's good quality luggage and I anticipate that we'll have it for many, many years. Hopefully we'll be putting a lot of miles on those things--we definitely want to try to travel more over the next few years, before we have kids.

Best part was that we were able to buy all of it using money I (we) received at the shower, and still have some money left over.

A very productive day!

Test #2

Sending once again from the BlackBerry. Pretty cool, huh?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Testing out my new toy

I finally bit the bullet and bought a BlackBerry device. Supposedly I can post to my blog with pics so we will see how it works.

Testing testing 123...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Prices - Aisle Runners, Banners, etc.

As you all know, I complete projects for other brides. Aisle runners, banners, photo frame cardboxes, invitations, save-the-date design, jewelry, and more. Pretty much any wedding project you can think of--I'm probably willing to do it.

The time has come for me to finally post some pricing information on my blog. I simply can no longer keep up with so many e-mails, and honestly, I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner.

I'm hoping to get some kind of "store" page or website up at some point, but it's not looking likely that I'll have time before the wedding. So for now, I'm going to post answers to the most frequently asked questions I get in my e-mails (regarding pricing and the projects I do for others).

Prices included below are current as of today, 4/23/08. If I make changes, I'll post updates.

1. How much do you charge for the monogram aisle runners? What colors/designs do you offer?
With the aisle runner itself included, I charge $80. Both aisle runners that I can buy locally are white. One is a "floral lace" pattern (seen here for Bridgit & Scott), and a "daisy floral" pattern (seen here, for Carrie & Paul).

The price includes the rest of the supplies I need (paint, paper, etc.), and my time. I have access to a wide variety of paint colors. If you're trying to match a specific color, I'll work with you to try to find the best match possible. It's helpful to e-mail me reference photos--bridesmaid dresses, "virtual swatches," etc. Or, I've had brides mail me actual samples, whether it's a piece of the bridesmaid dress, or one of their invitations.

If you are not fond of the floral lace or daisy floral patterns, you can find your own runner (it HAS to be fabric--no plastic--and have it shipped to me to paint. In that case, I charge $55-$60 for my services.

At the time of purchase, the runners are 100 ft. long. If your aisle is shorter, I will gladly custom cut the runner to the desired length.

If you do not already have a monogram designed, and would like me to make one for you prior to painting it on the runner, see information about monogram pricing below.

Shipping is additional. I charge whatever it costs to ship it to you. The cost is completely dependent on where you live, and how long the runner is (it affects the weight of the package--longer runner = heavier). I use USPS Priority Mail and FedEx. I can provide you with an estimate for shipping if you provide me with your zip code. Shipping insurance is optional, but highly recommended. I will calculate shipping insurance prior to billing you, and will let you know how much it is (usually $1.65-$2.00). If you are outside of the United States, let me know and we can look into all the shipping options.

2. How much are monogram banners? Bride banners?
Banners are $45, which includes the ribbon edging, dowels, and the painting. If you order a bride banner, I will send you a file with your font choices. The ribbon edging and the paint color can be customized to your needs. Ribbon colors can be limited--but I have never had a problem finding something that works.

If you would like a monogram banner, do not yet have a monogram, and would like me to design one for you, please see the monogram pricing below.

Shipping is additional. Same rules apply as mentioned in the aisle runner section above. All banners can be shipped via USPS. Shipping insurance (which is optional, but highly recommended) is a flat $1.65 fee.

3. How much is monogram design?
Monogram design is $10. The price includes several different customized monogram designs for you to choose from. I will also make small tweaks to the monograms upon request. Once the monogram is finalized, I send you the high-resolution JPEG file so you can use it on pretty much anything you'd like.

4. How much do you charge for save-the-date design?
Many brides choose to have magnets or postcards made through VistaPrint. I can be hired to design the layout for those magnets or postcards for $30. For other save-the-date formats, e-mail me and I'll provide you with a custom quote.

5. How much for cardboxes, invitations, jewelry, and everything else?
All other projects require custom pricing. It is impossible for me to provide a flat fee for these because each person's project is so different. For the cardboxes, it depends on the person's preference for the fabric on top, the type and size of frames, etc. For invitations, it depends on style, paper preference, envelopes, number of invitations, whether you want me to assemble them, etc. Jewelry prices depend on the cost of the supplies and the intricacy of the piece.

6. Do you make ______ for other people?
E-mail me. I'm pretty crafty, so chances are that if you've seen something out there--I can make it.

7. How do you accept payment?
I accept payment ONLY through Paypal. If you don't already have one, an account is free and very simple to set up. I find that Paypal is the fastest, easiest, and most secure way for us to do business together.

8. How long does it take to complete my order?
Right now, this varies. I try to complete all projects within eight weeks of ordering. Right now, since I'm on a little hiatus for my own wedding (I'm not accepting any new orders for April, May, June, or July 2008 weddings), I'm not planning to complete any projects until July. If I think it will take longer than eight weeks, I will always let you know and keep you posted. Also, I do not charge you until I am ready to start working on your order--so there is no risk associated with me "holding onto" your money.

Interested? Want to move forward with ordering? Have more questions?
Please e-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com

Want examples of my work?
I post almost everything on the blog! Browse around. I hope you like what you see.

Like kids on Christmas

On Sunday, Michael and I took a few hours to unpack the majority of our shower gifts. We took them out of their boxes, washed everything, and found room for it all. Now, what to do with the boxes... that's a different story.

It was all a bit overwhelming! We got so many great things. We're so grateful for everything and can't wait to put it all to good use.

Here are a few pics:

Checking out our new dinnerware. We're still waiting on the other half of the place settings. My friends from college bought it for us, but it has to be shipped to our house since they didn't have it in stock in the store.

Reading waffle maker instructions. Intriguing. I can't wait to make waffles!

Pyrex bakeware set. Such a great thing to have!

Tessa thought the pile of tissue paper looked comfy.

Tessa and me in the middle of the pile o' gifts! Luckily, our living room does NOT look like that anymore. We were able to get it cleaned up and organized pretty quickly once everything was washed.

Two months to go

Only two months left. 61 days, people.

Holy crap.

And that's all I have to say about that.

April Showers

I can't believe the shower has already come and gone. It was a whirlwind 3-4 hours, so I can only imagine what the wedding will be like.

We had an absolutely gorgeous day. We can only hope it was an indication of what kind of day we'll have for the wedding. We live in Western New York, people. It has been known to SNOW in April. Hell, even early May. But yesterday? 80+ degrees and beautifully sunny. I almost don't even want to say it (because we WNYers totally covet this type of weather), but it was actually HOT.

The shower was in a clubhouse in my mom's old neighborhood. We were so happy to be able to keep the patio doors and the front door wide open the whole time. And thank god, too, because the cross breeze coming through might have been the only thing to save me (and guests, I'm sure). During gift opening, I was nothing but a hot, sweaty mess. Just wait until you see the photos. Ick.

Everything turned out great. My bridesmaids did an awesome job of planning everything, and seeing everyone there was a lot of fun. As it always happens, I feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with everyone, and I didn't get photos of everyone I wish I had gotten photos of. But all in all, it was a total success. And with gifts... jeez, everyone was so generous. I can't believe all of the stuff we managed to collect in just a few short hours.

Several pics to share from the day:


Bridesmaids! Cristina, Melissa, me, Lindsay, Bethany, and Carrie. Sabrina couldn't be there because she lives in Virginia. She was missed!

The cake. This was probably the biggest disappointment. It was beautiful, and I'm sure it was delicious. But that's just the thing... I didn't get any. :( Carrie, Cristina and I were all on gift-opening duty and when we were done, we discovered there was not any cake left. I was bummed because the girls ordered from our cake baker for the wedding (because I love her cake so much!). Guess I will have to wait until the wedding to have her cake again. Booooo.

The gift/cake table. Overwhelming.

And the marathon begins...

Hmmm, what could this be??

Snack tables! Yea!

Too hot to handle

Inspecting a great gift... that wasn't even on the registry! Good find, Grandma!

Pizza stone and cutting boards

Another non-registry surprise. So happy about our new GPS! Thanks, Mom!

Oooh, toaster oven!

Pots and pans. Nobody could possibly understand how badly we needed them.

My completed ribbon bouquet to be used at the rehearsal. My friend Kristin did a great job with it. And I broke a whopping FOUR bows and ribbons during my unwrapping. I'm told that means Michael and I can expect four children in our future. And I was CAREFUL, too!

My mom, my grandma, and me

My two aunts, me, my grandma, and my mom

Shower Hostess Gifts

My shower is tomorrow! I'm so excited; I can't believe it's actually here. Seems like when we set the date back in January, it was so far away. And now it's tomorrow. Wow.

Five of my six bridesmaids are hosting. My cousin Sabrina lives in Virginia and couldn't travel up for it, and from so far away, she couldn't really participate in the planning.

I bought shower hostess gifts for each of them. I did a variety of Bath & Body Works products. Three ladies got shampoo, conditioner, a small body wash and a small lotion. The other two got a large body wash, large lotion, and a pump hand soap.

I designed little nametags for the outside of the gift bags that coordinate with the shower invitations I made. I also made matching thank you cards--I'll post pictures next week.

I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow, and see everything the girls have worked so hard to plan. And I am SO excited for cake, too. Normally I don't care all that much about cake, but they ordered it from the same baker who is doing our wedding cake. It's so delicious... yum! I told Michael that I'm bringing home ALL the leftovers. No sharing! ;)

After the shower some of my girlfriends from college who are driving in (they all live 1-3 hours away) are staying the night so we'll come back to our house and hang out and catch up. Should be a fun-filled and exhausting weekend!

P.S. Six more RSVP cards today! 11 more yes responses to add to the tally!

First RSVPs!

We received our first RSVPs in the mail today. Five of them!

Ever since we mailed them on Monday, I've been really excited to start getting the response cards back. But I didn't realize how excited I was until I opened up the mailbox and saw five aqua cards piled high. I think I nearly squealed.

Pathetic, I know.

Michael was still at work so I instant messaged him to make sure it was OK with him that I opened them without him. I didn't think he'd care at all, but after asking, I got the feeling he actually would have preferred that I wait for him. Since he wasn't getting home until after 7:00 tonight, he told me to go ahead. Two seconds later, the phone was ringing and it was him, wanting me to open them while he was on the phone with me. Too funny.

Anyway, we got 10 yes responses and 1 no. She actually has a really good excuse. She's due with her baby on June 10. With the wedding on June 21, she's either going to be miserably late, or she's going to be a brand new mommy. Her boyfriend (baby's father) is coming, however. He is a really good friend of Michael's. So no surprises so far.

Most popular meal choice of the day? Chicken marsala.

Can't wait to see what the mailman brings tomorrow!

I <3 Priceline

I've been bidding on convertible car rentals on Priceline.com for months now. MONTHS, people. I'd go stretches where I would bid every day. Then I'd take a break, go back... every time, my offers would be rejected. I started off bidding at like $22/day for both Maui and Kauai. Rejected. Multiple times.

I bumped it up a little and started bidding $24/day. Still rejected. Again, multiple times.

I tried $25/day and $26/day a couple of times... nothing. Nada. Zilch.

We started to get a little nervous, so we went ahead and booked rental cars for both Maui and Kauai. I was able to find a decent deal ($32/day) for a convertible on Kauai through National, so we went ahead and booked that. Then I found a Jeep Wrangler rental through Alamo for like $273. Michael was excited about the Jeep Wrangler, but we were a little nervous about taking the top down and putting it back up. Apparently it can be somewhat complicated.

The car rental companies don't require payment until you pick the car up at the counter, and they let you cancel your reservation at any time, without penalty, so we figured we'd book it for back-up and then continue to try with Priceline.

Yesterday, I decided that it had been a while since I'd been to Priceline. I went and tried for Kauai... failed. Then I tried for Maui. I went away from my computer after I submitted the bid. I was so used to getting rejected, I didn't even really entertain the possibility it might be accepted.

Imagine my surprise when I came back and saw that it was approved through National! $24/day. Total with taxes and everything... like $189 for the six days. We're very pleased! Sure, we probably could have gotten an economy car for cheaper, but we really wanted a convertible! We saved ourselves about $100 by booking the Priceline car and cancelling the Jeep Wrangler.

My only regret is that I didn't try $22 a day again. But I guess I shouldn't sweat it over $2/day. :)

For Keeps

I've seen a framed wedding invitation in just about every house I've been in--at least those of married couples. Because our invitations are not of the regular "card" variety, I kind of figured maybe we wouldn't frame an invitation at all. But over the weekend, it hit me. The perfect solution: a shadow box.

I went to Michael's after work yesterday and bought a shadow box (regularly $24.99, but I had a 50% off coupon, so $12.50). I went home and put together a little invitation display. I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I had to trim the pocketfold flap a little bit to get it to fit into the box, but you can barely even tell.

Now we just have to figure out where we want to hang it up.

And... they're off!

Invitations officially went in the mail this morning. I stopped by the post on the way into work. I thought I had given myself plenty of time, but there were already like seven people in line when I got there at 8:05. I neglected to think that there would be major procrastinators there... trying to get their taxes out in time! Annoying.

I waited in the line anyway. I wanted to 1) see if they would allow me to hand cancel them (which they didn't), 2) have them double check the weight and the postage (definitely didn't want 100 invitations returned to us for insufficient postage), and 3) find out how much postage to put on my cousin's invite, which had to go to South Korea.

After 25 minutes waiting in line, they were gone and I was on my way out of the post office empty-handed. I have to admit: Even though I was totally relieved to finally have them done and out of our house, I was also a little bit sad. I guess it was bittersweet. But I'm over it--now we're looking forward to getting the RSVPs back!

This is me last night after they were all officially assembled, stamped, and packed to go to the post office:

The invitations in my front seat this morning:

And into USPS they go...

I hope they get to everyone unscathed. I have nightmares about them arriving to the guests completely destroyed. I just spent SO much time on them, I would absolutely die if they turn out like crap by the time they get to the people they were intended for. We'll see what happens! People locally should receive them tomorrow!