DIY FAIL! turned save

Remember my hideous, giant mess of a DIY project? Here's a quick reminder:

Yeah - scary, uneven, shaved-goldendoodle weirdness. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your suggestions and feedback. Many of you thought I should work on evening out the gold, and others said to brave a coat of spray paint. My all time favorites were those who said, "Seashell - these are BAD." Hilarious.

So, what did I do? I ignored them for a few more weeks. Great plan, I know.

Then, Google Alerts sent me an email with a fabulous blog post of a wedding held at our venue, The Glen Manor House. And I smiled when I saw this picture:

{source}

I knew it was time to get to work on our letters.

(These were also a bunch of other photos on the blog entry that made me want jump around and yell,"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! HERE!!! OMG! THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS AND WE'LL BE THERE IN 26 DAYS!"

{source}

...but I digress. Excuse my random excitement.)

Where was I? Oh - the letters...so, I grabbed a can of ivory spray paint and Mr. Seashell for moral support. We went out to our lovely alley and began spraying away. I was SUPER nervous that I was about to ruin these things. But after a ton of spraying, a few hours of drying, and a long sigh of relief I think it's safe to say they have been saved!

What do you think, hive? Did I pull it off?

Side note: You can buy similar letters on Etsy. These have consumed hours and hours of my life. Consider yourself warned.

Twice as Nice: My Chicago Shower!

I recently enjoyed my second bridal shower - this time in Chicago with Mr. Seashell's side of the family! It was a perfect, mild August afternoon, wonderfully suited for a garden party. Mama Seashell flew in from Providence, and Bridesmaid Allie made the trek from Atlanta. Bridesmaid Ashley also attended because she lives in Chicago. And of course, I was also surrounded by Mr. Seashell's loved ones - friends and family who have been exceptionally welcoming to me for which I could not be more grateful.

The shower was hosted by wonderful friends of Mr. Seashell's family. Cousins and Aunts brought delicious dishes, created beautiful centerpieces, and contributed in countless ways to make the day memorable.

{Mr. Seashell's Aunt made the centerpieces:

boxes featuring our engagement photos with African Violet plants inside}

{With Bridesmaids Ashley and Allie}

Presents!

{I'll explain the christmas tree later}

{Mama Seashell reads my "advice cards"}

{A Platter Mama Seashell brought me from Greece!}

The Christmas Tree was a gift from Mr. Seashell's godmother. She had been collecting ornaments yearly since Mr. Seashell was born with the intention of giving him the tree when he got married. This way, he and his wife would have a collection of ornaments for their first Christmas tree!

And that was my Chicago Bridal Shower. It was a yet again more than a girl could ask for. And although it was absolutely wonderful, it is hard not to mention that it was tinged with sadness. It was the first event where Mr. Seashell's Mom was not present. We are all slowly healing, and yet the reality of the loss of Justine is still very powerful. We were able to celebrate, we will continue to celebrate, but we will also remember.

Rationale for the Irrational

I recently made a request of my bridesmaids. With 5 girls living in 5 different states and knowing the general nature of travel, forgetfulness, or miscellaneous mishaps, I opted to hedge my bets on the possibility of something going awry. I hate to be a pain - or worse a bridezilla! - but basically, I allowed myself a paranoid bride moment.

My request? Ship your bridesmaid dress to Providence in advance of the wedding. Track it, insure it, the whole she-bang.

Why? Flights get delayed, canceled, rebooked, and bags get lost. If you're flying in the day (or even two) before, you don't want a lost bag arriving the morning of the wedding. Or after the wedding. Or whatever. Alternatively, because we all have our moments, you hang the dress outside your closet because it's the one thing you have to remember, and it's the one thing you forget to pack. It could happen.

 {source}

So, here's where my story gets good:

I made this request to all of my bridesmaids. They kind of roll their eyes, but sweetly agree to ship their dresses. Except Bridesmaid Who Shall Not Be Named. She quickly tells me that she will meet my request but she would NEVER check a bridesmaid dress - she would hand carry it - and it's certainly something that's hard to forget. We teased each other, and I told her to "oblige my craziness" and she agreed.

The following weekend she was in her cousin's wedding in Florida. I get a call from her saying that I won't believe what happened. SHE FORGOT HER BRIDESMAID DRESS. Yes, indeed. My urge to blurt out, "I told you so! See, it happens!!!" was painful. But, alas, "OMG, what happened?" came out instead.

Essentially, she and her then-boyfriend now-fiance were checking in at the airport. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten her bridesmaid dress. Knowing her boyfriend couldn't grab the dress as quickly as her, she hopped in a cab and raced back to her apartment. Unfortunately, she ran out of time and missed her flight. It was the last flight to Sarasota for the evening, and the next best thing was a flight to Orlando. She booked it, and her father was kind enough to drive 2.5 hours each way to retrieve her the night before the wedding. I think it's safe to say they missed the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. All that hassle over a darn dress.

Am I bragging about being right? A titch. But also I'm sharing my rationale for what initially seemed like a slightly irrational request. Go figure. Did you have any crazy bridal requests? Any irrational fears realized?

Growing It Out!

For the past year, I've been working to perfect my wedding hair. The main goals: length and color. Achieving the right length hasn't been a terribly hard process - I mean, growing your hair out involves doing nothing at all. The biggest part is the time investment. I have definitely noticed an increase in the amount of time it takes to wash, style and blow-dry in the morning. All in the name of bridal beauty, right?

{my 2000 watt best friend}

Overall, Step One was the most dramatic: going from blonde-ish to a rich brown.

 {August 2009    -    October 2009}

Next was letting it GROOOOOOOW....

I seriously wish I had tracked my hair growth more than these two photos. The comparison is fun!

So, what's my point? Well, aside from tracking change and progress I'm having this lingering thought: after all this hard work I'm second guessing a wedding day up-do. All this long, lovely, lush hair and I'm still yet to find a style I'm completely sure about?  Remember this? And this? Perhaps I'm just having some hairy anxiety. To assuage my bridal brain I've set up yet another hair trial.

{source}

Think I can pull it off? Did you have a hair related freak out?

Assembly of The Aunties

{I recently received these photos from Mama Seashell. Enjoy my narration.}

With the wedding countdown clock ticking faster than ever, it was time to call in the troops: THE AUNTIES.

Step One: Bust out a lovely Italian spread. Antipasto preferred.

Step Two: Discuss how in the world you're going to accomplish the tasks at hand. Namely, how you're going to eat the food AND put labels on water bottles.

Step Three: Talk some more. Details are important. Bonus points for talking with your hands.

Step Four: Shut up and get to work. Minus Sue in the background there. Apparently there's still some eating to be done.

Step Five: Show Miss Seashell what multi-tasking is all about. Eat AND adhere labels.

Step Six: Be proud of your role; de-labeler, labeler, talker, or eater - you are important! Miss Seashell says so!

Step Seven: Oh, wait. Eat some more.

Step Eight: Show off your Vanna skills. You are a model too!

Step Nine: Make it happen!

 

Step Ten: Just when you think it's over, it ain't over. Sneak in one more project before they hit the road.

And that's how our water bottles got labeled and jordan almonds got wrapped!

All joking aside, I owe my "aunties" and Mama Seashell a huge THANK YOU for stepping in and getting these projects done. I am extremely grateful to have so many willing and helpful people in my life. (I hope you all had a fun afternoon despite being put to work. I know you made Justine proud.)

Have you received help from extended circles of friends and family?

28 Years Ago

{August 18, 1982}

28 years ago I came home.

Perhaps weddings make you hopelessly sentimental. Or they just encourage you to look back, to reflect upon from where you came. For me, this anniversary of my adoption seems especially poignant.

I am flooded with feelings of nostalgia, but mostly overwhelming gratitude. My parents have raised me in a way that I can only hope to carry on to my children. They have shown me - taught me - a generosity that I wish I could adequately convey. I'm not referring to a generosity of money, but one of self and of spirit. Growing up, no matter what he was doing, my dad would set aside anything to help me with my homework. Similarly, Mama Seashell was at my school so often that classmates constantly asked me if she worked there. There was never a moment of hesitation to do, or help, or volunteer, or give. They sat on countless boards and committees to better the community and the lives of other children, to create opportunities for those less fortunate while ensuring that every need was met for my sister and me.

And they continue to give. As our wedding draws closer and closer, I am deeply touched by how much has been given to us. The countless errands, the planning, the phone calls, the coordination, the checks written, and the unconditional love and support. I cannot quantify what has gone into making this wedding what it will be. As I blog, you hear about my projects and the things that Mr. Seashell and I try to accomplish over the weekends. The other piece is that my parents, Mama Seashell in particular, are working behind the scenes in ways I have barely documented. It is a true labor of love.

Mama and Papa Seashell, I can not thank you enough for all you do and all you have given me. 28 years ago I came home. I came home to a gift of endless love, support, and generosity. I could not be luckier. I love you!

The Seashell Invites: The Back Story

Waaaaaay back when, I mentioned that I got a preview of our wedding invitations when I was home for my Providence Bridal shower. I also mentioned that they scared me a bit. I guess that's the thing about ordering invitations from a tiny sample color swatch: it's just a tiny sample.

Don't they look lovely all together?

Well, below is the actual "majestic" purple in the mock-up I received. Compare to the samples above. Ugh.

 

When I saw it my reaction was lukewarm at best. I tried to smile. Mama Seashell said she had the same reaction when the invitation designer handed them to her. I've shared this with you before - the best I could muster up at first glance was, "I'm thinking they're a little LOUD, and kind of 'Barney the Dinosaur' 4 year old's birthday party invitation colored, you know?". And they were. Even now, looking back at the sample, they are a far cry from the deep, rich, "majestic" purple I originally envisioned and selected. And then I said, "oh well, I guess that's that". Mama Seashell knew my disappointment and called the invitation designer the next day regardless of my resignation with the process.

I got a call from our designer the next day, and she shared that she was disappointed in the color too. (Communication people!) She offered that the best alternative we had was to ship the pocketfolds back and switch to "ruby". I was hesitant because the undertone of the original "majestic" paper was gold (like our accents) and the "ruby" had a silver shimmer. She advised that the metallic undertone wouldn't be an issue, especially if my main concern was getting the overall look of the invitations to be darker and richer.

One rush order later, here is our invitation (left) with the original mock up (right):

Definitely richer, definitely darker, definitely looks less like construction paper.

Moral of the story - the wee little cute square sample thingies don't always look the same in reality. Now, granted, my photographs aren't perfect either. Our final product invites (the ones of the left) really aren't as cranberry as they appear. But what I'm ultimately trying to communicate is that you don't always know what you're getting in the world of samples, e-mail proofs, and itty bitty square paper swatches.

So here's the thing about my invitations. Do I love them? In the end, yes. They're really beautiful. They are actually SO MUCH better looking in person. In fact, I'm kind of frustrated sharing the photos that I have because they really don't do them justice. At all. The thermography is totally lost and they look dull, flat, and the final invites appear cranberry. Which they aren't. But as many times over as I try to photograph them, it just isn't happening.


Maybe just one more for the road...

Did you have any invitation-induced headaches? Was it worth it in the end?

The Seashell Invites

After months of searching, a stumble, and a pretty big near-miss, it is finally time to present to you our wedding invitations! Ready for the big reveal?

Here's a closer peek at the custom stamp...

Now let's take a peek inside:

(The pocketfolds are not as cranberry in person. They're much more of a purple tone. In the photos below they photograph a little more accurately.)

What I wish you could see here is the beautiful texture of the thermography. It feels so rich!

Cards, cards, cards!

First up, the response card. Remember our tasting? Oh, I can't wait for our food. Mr. Seashell suggested we check all 3 entrees and see if anyone notices so we can get a bite of each at the wedding. Sneaky man.

...and the back

Next, the reception card:

And finally, directions and information. This was a good place to redirect people to our wedding website since it contains information on hotels, our registry, and other additional details!

So there you have it, hive! The Seashell invitations. Up next? The back story.