She calls it “Placecard Lasagna”!

(Thanks, Mrs. Lime! And thanks Martha for the inspiration.)

How adorable is this? (I promised i’d stop using the “D” word.) Little trays for your escort cards, held together by ribbon? Precious! And easy, to boot! All it requires is some looong cardstock and a hole punch. Even dummy me can do it (…well. Check back after it’s done for confirmation.)!

So my personal inspiration for this little project?

(Via the Ribbon Retreat.)

Turquoise polka-dotted ribbon. Obvs.

…actually, we’ll be moving on right now, because my latest obsession, while definitely spawned from my invitation overload, has to do with other darling details. (“Darling” again. I’ve been overusing that word. I’ll stop, really.) Anyways, my newest possibly-impossible-but-awesome-nonetheless idea?

NAPKIN RINGS!!

Specifically, napkin rings made of ribbon. But not just any ribbon, oh no! Turquoise polka-dotted ribbon, my friends!

Behold:

Via hairbowslady on Etsy.

This ribbon, she is 1.5 inches wide. Which, as i have discovered via extensive experimentation in my cubicle this morning, is just the perfect width for a napkin ring. Think of it: A turquoise-and-white polka-dotted napkin ring tied on top with red-and-white baker’s twine. And possibly even a red button on top of that. I mean, seriously.

Can you imagine?!

I have not yet purchased any such ribbon, but i promise to document my efforts photographically and share them with you all. As always, please feel free to tell me that i’m crazy

But! Polka-dotted napkin rings with baker’s twine! And a button! Who wouldn’t love that?!

And then i kind of got a little crazy with the design ideas.

Okay, in my defense, check this out:

Via Once Wed.

Do you see? The red-and-white baker’s twine? With the darling little red button? Tied around a turquoise-and-red invitation suite? Do you SEE IT UP THERE CALLING TO ME?!

So. I may have decided that my own invitation suite needs to be tied up in string. I may have then ordered the world’s largest bale of red-and-white twine. I mean. How can you resist this delight?

(via We Sell Coffee, oddly enough)

It is all the red-and-white baker’s twine in all the world. And i am going to decorate my life with it! Seriously, i am head over heels for this stuff. I can tie it around my invitations! I can tie it around my bouquet! I can tie it around my guests!

…just kidding. I promise i’m (more or less) sane still. But i did find a pretty sweet deal on some dear little red buttons, so i’ve ordered them too:

(Via vintagehomestyle on Etsy.)

I mean. Can you not imagine the possibilities? Twine! Buttons! THE MOST ADORABLE INVITATION PACKAGING EVER!!

I ended up not using the Deco-looking font on the invitations, but i thought it went nicely with the picture of the sign. I handwrote the addresses one Friday morning (which is something i hope never to do again … argh!) and sent them on their merry way. Tell me what you think!

I guess, since this topic has consumed my life for the past week (sorry Joe!), that i’ll start with invitations. Remember way back when i debuted our awesome monogram? Here’s a refresher:

Awesome, no? Anyways, we asked the fabulous Jen of Miss Pickles Press to design this with the idea that i’d design the actual invitations and other paper goods, using the monogram as a base. Well, i’d initially thought that i’d just do a simple design in Word with the logo centered at the top and the text below that … and then i saw this:

(Lucky Paperie, via Project Wedding)

…you have no idea what this did to my brain. Oh, the possibilities! i thought. How awesome! And creative! And do-able, even for a design idiot like myself!

I mean. The polka dots, people. Under the monogram. SWOON.

So i’ve spent the past six days eyeball-deep in Adobe Illustrator and polka dots, trying (nearly in vain!) to adapt that gorgeous design to our wedding. And, at long last, i think i have!

…this is the part where you’re expecting me to show you the invitation suite, isn’t it? Well, not so fast. We haven’t sent them to the printer yet, even! I did find a recommendation for Cards & Pockets, which tells me they can print the invitations, RSVP postcards, and website info card for under $90. Ridiculously reasonable! I’ve ordered paper swatches and samples from them and am hoping to place the order over the weekend. Woot invitations!!

But mostly? They were white times. Which, as my mom pointed out, might not go so well with the white stage, the white backdrop, and my white dress. I fought this idea in my head until my darling Joe gave me one of those kicking-the-dirt smiles and told me he thought there might be something to it. So, last weekend, off we went to Glen Echo to check out just how white our ceremony space really was.

As it turns out, it’s really white. (Also as it turns out, the Washington Folk Festival was happening last weekend at Glen Echo, of which we were totally unaware — nothing like 5,000 folks crowding into your wedding venue when you’re trying to take a picture of un-adorned space!)

Ergo, back to the drawing board. I haven’t by any means given up on my baby’s breath dream, but i have done a lot of poking around weird corners of the internets, where i found this lovely:

(Photo by Amy Raab Photography; found at The Knot)

I … have never seen this sort of thing before, and it intrigues me. I mean, those look vaguely like spider mums, right? And they’re all colored and pretty! And they’re hanging on a string! Down from the ceiling! To define the ceremony space! How utterly unexpected and charming! I am kind of in love with this idea. Especially since we could hang similar strings of flowers at the entrance to the Bumper Car Pavilion, maybe as definition for the dance floor, on either side of the stage/DJ booth … oh, the possibilities!

I haven’t given up on my beloved baby’s breath, though. I just don’t know quite what to do with it anymore. Do y’all have any ideas? Have you ever seen dangling strands of bright flowers like this before? What do you think? Tell me!!

The bouquet has kind of been an afterthought. I mean, i knew i wanted a white bouquet, with some green(ery) accents thrown in, and feathers. Definitely feathers. I mean, my shoes have feathers — why not, right? But. I hadn’t put in a great deal of thought over it.

Until now. My darlings, behold THE AWESOMEST BOUQUET OF ALL TIME:

(picture courtesy the amazing Jonathan Canlas, from his blog post here)

Seriously, i have been dreaming about this bouquet. At night, during the day, when i’m supposed to be working … i covet it. I adore it. I must have it.

…and not even the red bits that you’d think i’m talking about either! It’s the wrap, with the precious vintage turqouise-and-red buttons all down one side. I mean, i suppose it’s also the gorgeous creamy white flowers, the beautiful rich green broad leaves framing the bottom, and, yeah, i do kinda dig the punch of red in the middle. But, y’all, the buttons.

SWOON!!

Here we go! (Joe, click here on penalty of making me buy a whole ‘nother dress.)

…you’re not looking, are you, Joe?

Okay then. Here’s a shot of the dress before we pinned it up:

Hello, poofy tulle dream! The picture’s pretty grainy (which i suspect is due to the fact that my mom took these on a disposable camera and then had the images transferred to CD), but you get the general idea, no? Even though it’s strapless, i don’t feel over-exposed, and i love the contrast of the fitted top and the insane ball-gown poof of the skirt.

Here’s a shot of it pinned, albeit haphazardly:

Please to excuse the goofball look on my face here. And also please forgive the fact that this is half-pinned, half me-hiking-up-the-skirt. We didn’t pin it all the way ’round, because the seamstress said she could key off the pattern around the bottom of the skirt, so i was holding it up here to get the effect.

You will note that it’s longer than what one traditionally thinks of as “tea-length” — there are a couple of reasons. First, the design on the skirt ends near the bottom of my calf, and my mom was insistent that the hem not come all the way up to the very bottom of the design. So that added about an inch. Plus, to hem it any higher would require taking the skirt up from the waist as well as at the bottom, which, quite frankly, is a daunting task and made me a little nervous. Plus, you know, i held it up at mid-calf, and it looked just a touch too short anyway. I want it above my ankles, but it doesn’t need to be approaching my knees. I think it’ll end up hitting right at the point where my calves get small on their way down to my ankles — so not traditionally tea-length, but not ankle-length either, really. (And, to be honest, i can’t find a satisfactory definition of “tea length” anywhere, so i’m calling this it!)

Anyways, with my apologies for the crappiness of the images, here she is! I love her every bit as much as i did when we first met. Seriously, i hugged her as soon as she came out of the bag I couldn’t be happier! I’d love to hear what you think — including about the length. And, heck, if you’ve got a reliable definition of “tea-length,” i’d love to hear it.

…and as a bonus for making it through all this nonsense, check out my shoes!!

But help me, friends: What does a proper wedding website need? What am i missing — local highlights, favorite restaurants, directions to the ceremony location, reception menu, monogram details? What would you find helpful, entertaining, or otherwise important for a wedding blogger to include?

*You’ll forgive me if i don’t link to it here; i trust y’all, but there are definitely wackos out there who might stalk my wedding if they knew details. You know, because i’m so awesome and stalkable and all.

Swoon. Isn’t it the coolest? Jen from Miss Pickles Press really captured exactly the vibe we’re going for: retro, cool, laid-back, with just a hint of old-school carnival to make it interesting. I can’t recommend her highly enough — if you’re looking for anything from monogram design to full-on custom design, she’s your girl.

…and up next? Our save-the-dates! VistaPrint tells me that today they’re in the capable hands of the USPS for delivery. I can’t wait to get home!!