Cancelled DIY Project # 6 - Coasters

After being so pleased with the results of the coasters that I posted about a couple months ago, I created a second design:

I never had time or table space to gocco these before D-Day, so they were nixxed. I don't think that anyone actually used the other coasters at the wedding, so I am happy that I didn't waste my time and supplies on a second batch. I saw the other coasters laying out on the garden bar at the beginning of the evening, but didn't notice them being used at any point. And I didn't get them back from the DOC or caterer, so they must have ended up in the trash.

Cancelled DIY Project #5 - Paper Boutonnieres

When we first started planning the wedding, I wanted to include many of my close friends without actually burdening them with bridesmaid/bridesmen duties. I also wanted to engage them in capacities that would best illustrate why I appreciated them as people. I asked one of my girlfriends to perform a reading of her writing and choosing and another to be the mistress of ceremonies and kick the party off with a speech. I then wanted the others to lead the wedding processional by lighting candles on the trees in the front of the ceremony space. As we got further into planning, I realized that I didn't want to stress them by asking them to arrive at 6:15 on a work day. And then I realized that I'd also be increasing the cost of the rehearsal dinner for my in-laws.

I decided to make all of my "honorary bridesmaids" corsages and boutonnieres of paper flowers and include a special message to them in the programs. I created a few flowers using one of these kits from Paper Source, but then realized that I didn't know how to create corsages for the girls. I didn't want to ruin any of their dresses with a paper flower, but ran out of time to figure out how to make them into wrist corsages, so they never came to fruition.

Image: Paper Source

I know it seems odd for me to use paper corsages when I was getting married in a flower shop, but for the number that I needed, purchasing them from ANL was not possible. Plus, I thought that the paper flowers would be more charming coming from me. :)

Pro Pix Delay

I found out today that our professional photos won't be available for another 2-3 weeks! My photographer's assistant has volunteered to pull a few preview shots to wet my whistle and keep me happy. Here are a few new pix that I just received from a girlfriend from college. She was standing on the walkway looking down on the party during the toasts.

I just adored our amber-colored lighting. It was less yellow in person. Look how big Andy's smile was. He had this same look on his face the entire evening.

I think that's Tara and her husband standing in the middle of the room in this shot.

Images: Tina's Friend Brenna S.

What's nice about the above photo is that there are some kind of random people standing around talking. I think that our guests mingled quite a bit, which is fun. At one point, I starting introducing my friend Jennifer, who didn't know any of the other guests, to the table of my Purdue friends and it turned out that she had already been talking to them for some time. She recognized them from photos. I heard that a lot through the night.

Cancelled DIY Project #4 - Customized Water Bottles for the OOT Bags

Because of the size of our place, we couldn't buy the bottled water for the OOT bags until the Saturday before the wedding. Then I went to the pumpkin patch and to watch the Chicago Marathon instead of staying home to work on projects.

I honestly think that some of my friends and family would have made fun of me for making these, so it's not a big deal. I'm guessing that they would have looked something like this if I had made them:

Cancelled DIY Project #3: Memorial Decorations

I wanted to do something to memorialize my Grandma Ona and other deceased relatives during the ceremony. Originally, I wanted to list all of the deceased names in the programs and line the aisle with a lighted lantern for each relative; however, lighting free-standing paper lanterns turned out to be more expense and/or effort than I was able to expend. So, I decided to use colored votives in the cases behind the "altar;" however, A New Leaf doesn't allow open flames and I had a hard time finding affordable, attractive votive holders made from colored glass. In the end, we ended up celebrating a moment of silence "to remember and celebrate their grandparents and extended family members who have passed; most recently Andrew’s grandmother, Ruth, and Tina’s grandmother, Leona."

My friend from work commented on how nice it was, so I believe it worked just as well as something more visually appealing.

Image: Crate & Barrel

Hooray!

If write-ins for this ticket can't warrant a victory,

Andy and I happily concede to this ticket:

Image: Obama.com

Congratulations,
President-Elect Obama!

Cancelled DIY Project #2: Late Night Snack Cones and Stickers

Andy and I served miniature milkshakes, gyros, and french fries at the end of the wedding night. I bought the supplies to make little cones for the french fries and stickers for the gyros. The fry cones would have been in the Paper Source Papaya and Poppy colors with round ta logos, as mocked up below.

The gyro stickers would have been the C logo. Obviously, I had a hard time hiding my disappointment in myself when my friends unwittingly metaphorically kicked me while I was down by forcing me to lead a congo line to "Come On, Eileen" and simultaneously eat an unbranded gyro.

I wish that I had a picture of the look on Andy's face when I told him about these "failed" projects the Saturday after the wedding. You would have thought that I had 10 heads and that head #10 was in the process of giving birth to head #11.