How I did our invitations...

In May, I rejoiced over finally deciding on our  invitations after several weeks of procrastinating. 

In July, I rejoiced over being able to mark "assemble and mail out invitation" off our wedding to-do list. 

Today, I will explain the process of designing, for those of you that may care. 

I started looking at invitation in early January, and shopped around for the best prices. I compared prices from different websites like 123print.com, vistaprint.com, and minted.com. I liked some of the invitations I saw, but none of them "struck my fancy". The ones that did strike my fancy were outrageously expensive for the amount that I was inviting. We needed 500 invitations, and they would have $927 on minted.com. Now, if I were having a smaller wedding with 100 invitations, I would have considered minted.com because they have  really cute invitations. However, that just wasn't going to work for this bargainista. 

We have a family friend that is a vistaprint.com queen. She knows how to get the best deals on the best things, and she shared her knowledge with us. I found an invitation that I liked on there, but I still didn't love it. I saw where you could upload your own design, so I decided to try my hand at some photoshop stuff. 

I found this cutesy invitation on minted.com...

I then used photoshop to make my own. I used brushes for the border, found on brusheezy.com, and I downloaded fun fonts from dafont.com

I ordered a few to see if I liked them in person, and waited for them to come in. They said they would ship in 21 days, and in 3 days they were on my door step. I liked them! However, there was a typo. Sad day. Yes, I could have just edited it, but I decided the color was a little dull, and I wanted to try something a little brighter. 

I then found this one on minted.com, and I used it for inspiration. It looked fresh and clean. Well, it looked as fresh and clean as any invitation could look. 

This was the finished product. As you can see, it's not identical to the $927 for 500 invitation, but it is similar. I actually like it better :). I uploaded it to vistaprint.com, and looked to see what specials were going on. Our vistaprint.com queen told us the specials could be different everytime you sign on. I looked after I uploaded and the invitations were 25% off. It was a decent deal, but I wanted it to be cheaper. I waited a few minutes, and reloaded...still 25% off. I wait a few more minutes and checked my email in the mean time. Lo and behold! There was an advertisement on my AOL screen for 50% off invitations! BINGO! I clicked and was able to order 550 invitations with a linen finish for $145. 

As I said before, Mom kept a meticulous Excel spreadsheet of the guest list. When it came time to address them, she printed them straight onto the envelopes in a pretty font. We knew we were having an invitation party, so she printed them several at the time for a couple weeks. 

Also, because I had the photoshop brushes (border), I used the same brush and idea to make thank you cards, an insert card, and a tag for hostess gifts. I printed the insert cards and tags on business cards, and I'm still in the process of tweaking the thank you note. 

Ironically enough, I don't want matchy matchy things in the wedding...with the exception of my stationary and invitations. My, my, I am so complex.

Bake til you break

Last night, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing.

"What is it", you ask?

Mini pie crusts.

"Why", you ask?

Because Mom, Aunt Joyce, Caitlin, and I made 1206 of them yesterday.

Yes, you read correctly. Yesterday, we began baking pie crusts for chicken salad tarts for the reception. We started around 10:30. We finished around 5. Then we began to make peanut butter balls. We didn't finish that.

I've heard of "Shop til you drop", but yesterday I experienced "Bake til you break."

These are the instructions for this DIY reception food.

Materials:
Five 24 mini muffin pans
Two mixers
3-4 people
A crust recipe (including a gross amount of Crisco)
A peanut butter ball recipe




Instructions:
Clear 10 hours out of your schedule. Put on comfortable shoes. Bake until you reach 1200 pie crusts.Add a few extra for fun. Easy shmeasy!

Make peanut butter balls. Roll 1266 of them. No problem!






Mom and Aunt Joyce are wonderful kitchen masters. By 11:30, we had it down to a science. We rolled the dough, pressed it in the mini cup pans, put the pans in the oven for 12 minutes. We, then, prepared another 2 pans to go in the oven immediately after the other ones were cooked. We continued this rotation until we had successfully baked 1206 crusts.

We then began working on peanut butter balls. Caitlin and Courtney had joined the fun by this point, and they were great help! We rolled about 400 last night, but Mom and Aunt Joyce woke up this morning and finished rolling them. Grand total: 1266 peanut butter balls.

I realized at about 2:30 that I had not been mentally prepared for the day. I knew we were cooking all day. I don't think that I understood fully that we were cooking ALL day. It turned out to be a fun day though. Lots of girl bonding and sweet friends and family.

 

See, we did have time to smile in the midst of hours of cooking! :) I think the cute aprons contributed to some of the smiling. Cooking is so pleasant when you're wearing a cute apron!

Until next time, 

Lindsey, the master pastry presser

My Father of the Bride

One of my favorite movies of all time is "Father of the Bride". I can quote almost every line, and for some reason it never gets old. George and Nina Banks feel like family friends, and I still think that Brian Mackenzie is a little awkward. 

Anyway, this movie has taken on more meaning within the last 8 months. I see some similarities in my dad and George Banks. Like when we discovered how many people were on our initial list and we had to trim back, I flashed back to the scene where the Banks family is sitting around the table knocking people off the guest list and contemplating just telling them not to eat. 

Obviously, if you know my dad, you know he didn't say that. But here are some things that he has said over this whole wedding planning process...

"Why do I keep hearing "we can take that back if we don't use it"? Why did we buy it if we don't know that we'll need it?"

"If something is 80% off, but you buy 4 times as much as you need, what are you really doing?"

"Where you gonna put all that stuff?"

"Ladies, Ladies!" (When Mom and I have "discussions")

"Do I have to go to that party?"

"Now when is this wedding of yours? I'll have to check my calendar."

When re-checking invitations, he was on editing duty.

"Did we mean to put the wrong return address on the envelopes?" (luckily he was kidding...I got nervous.)

"You sure that's spelled right?

"Is that supposed to have 2 L's?

"Don't they live in Newville and not Headland?"

"Who is that?"

In conclusion, Daddy has been a trooper through all the wedding fun. He has listened to every decision dilemma I've had, affirmed my jewelry choices, seen me try on my dress numerous times and acted like it's the first time every time, acted interested when I've shown him DIY projects, and never once complained about any of it...including cost.

He's been there to remind Mom and I to "be anxious for nothing" several times, and prayed for us when I couldn't decide what invitation I wanted. 

Step back, George Stanley Banks. Tim Gay's the best Father of the Bride ever. 

The answer to the popular question...

As you may know, I recently graduated with a degree in Music Education. A question that I've heard over and over...

"What are you going to do with that degree?"

Some other things I've heard include:

"So, you want to be, like, a band director or something?"

"You know, music is the first thing to go in schools these days."

"Mmm...good luck finding a teaching job, much less a music teaching job, out there in this economy."

While all of the above are reasonable and somewhat truthful questions or statements, you can imagine my mood upon entering this job market. I was not terribly optimistic about finding a teaching job "out there in this economy" (thus, the wedding is planned 6 weeks into the academic school year). As I prepared for student teaching at the beginning of this year, I didn't know what the future held. I didn't know where Wesley and I would live, what kind of jobs we would have, or if we would be able to eat once we got married. 

However, I am pleased to announce that I now know all those answers! Yes, there are still uncertainties, but after seeing God's faithfulness again and again, I know that He has complete control and He will provide in his perfect timing. 

So without further adieu, I present to you my story of my journey to my first career...yes, everything has a story...

Once upon a time, I went to the University of Mobile to audition for a music scholarship. My plan upon entering college was to major in piano so I could eventually build up a studio and teach lessons. However, I was encouraged to major in Music Ed so that I would have a professional degree to fall back on. I did as I was encouraged to do, and I began my journey as a Music Education major with a concentration in piano. 

Over my 4 years of studying music education, my focus shifted from teaching in a private studio setting to teaching in a public school. We had to observe teachers, write extremely detailed lesson plans about quiet and loud animals to teach piano and forte, learn how to teach every instrument group (or enough to be dangerous), learn how to teach reading in music (even though it didn't apply at all...can I get a witness?), and visit school board meetings. The program ends with student teaching in both elementary and secondary. I wanted to teach at home so that I could save some moolah, so I began to search for teachers I could intern with. 

I found a wonderful elementary music teacher to be with at a great school, and then I began my search for secondary. I had to have a teacher with a Master's degree, and that proved to more difficult than I expected. I tried to avoid band, not because I don't enjoy band, but because it's just not my thing. I saw online that a school in Dothan had a music teacher that taught guitar and piano. "Piano?! That's my concentration!" I thought. I emailed her and got more information about her class, and found out she didn't have her Master's...bummer. However, the band director at that school did, so I got permission to intern with him, and observe her as well. 

Student teaching began, and I loved elementary school. It was fun, but exhausting because I basically danced around in front of kids all day. As my time at the elementary school came to an end, I began to get nervous about middle school. I knew that middle school would be MUCH different than elementary school, and I wasn't sure if I had it in me.

However, as I went through my middle school experience, I became more and more comfortable and actually LIKED it...weird, I know. I ended my time there on a happy note, finished all my requirements for school, and graduated on May 14th, not sure of what I would do in the fall. 

Since graduation, things have fallen into place. I interviewed for an elementary job, but didn't get it. However, only a couple days later I found out that the position for piano and guitar at the middle school where I did my internship had opened up. I applied, prayed, and waited. 

DRUM ROLL.....As of Monday, July 18th, I am officially a piano and guitar teacher at the middle school! Yes, you read correctly... I have a job! I will be teaching 6 periods of piano and guitar classes to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I am very excited to begin this new chapter in my life, and so humbled by the opportunities that God has given me. I can look back and clearly see His hand at work over the past 4 years to get me where I am now. 

As for the other uncertainties that I had previously concerning shelter and food, I now know what the future holds...at least the near future. Wesley and I will be staying in our hometown area and renting a house, and as for food, we will be able to eat! Not only will we be able to afford food, but we might be decent cooks after all...only time will tell.

So the next time someone asks what I majored in, proceeded by the "What are you going to do with that degree?" question, I have the answer. I will teach middle school guitar and piano. 

Until next time, 

the Music Teacher,
Mrs. Wells (Oh, did I mention they're going to start me as Mrs. Wells? because they are...:))

You're invited...

Tonight was the night. 

Tonight we made a huge mark.

Tonight we dominated our to do list. 

Tonight we stuffed. 

Tonight we stamped. 

Tonight we sealed. 

Tomorrow we mail. 

You guessed it. Tonight, we had an invitation party. Our sweet friends hosted it for us, and we were able to knock out the assembling process in, what I consider, record timing. 

There was much preparation that went into the invitations. While designing/choosing the invitations was stressful for me, the guest list was an even greater task. My mom compiled the list, along with Wesley's mom, and organized it meticulously in Excel.  She then mail merged them and printed the envelopes. Last night, the night before the invitation party, she and Dad proofed the envelopes carefully. The chose the Santa Claus approach of making a list and checking it twice. 

They so diligently double and triple checked addresses, names, and spellings. I must say, they make quite a team. Have I mentioned that I'm not sure how I'd get married if I had to do everything myself? 

Anyway, we carried our envelopes, invitations, stamps, and handy dandy envelope moisteners over to our friends' house. We ate a delicious meal, consisting of foods that I may have to try my hand at after Sept 24th, and then set up stations to assemble the invitations. 

We began around 6:50, and we finished around 7:25. Record timing? Yes. The time flew by and before we knew it, 460 invitations were ready to mail. 

The "Mommas"

Sweet friends that came to help

The wonderful hostesses

We had a great time, and we are so thankful for such sweet people to help with what could have been such a daunting task. Thank you so much!!

My Breaking News Report

Much has happened since I last expressed my sentiments for the world to see. I haven't been to the beach since my momentous day off, but I have had other fun things happen.

One fun thing happened a couple of weeks ago. I was at home on my off day...minding my own business...looking at possible wedding music. All of a sudden I have a message and friend request from someone I've never seen before. The message started out "Hey Lindsey, this is (insert name here)", and I proceeded carefully knowing the consequences of clicking on spam messages from Facebook. However the message was safe, and somewhat comical. She started by introducing herself and stated she was from WDHN (a local news station). She said she got my name from someone I went to high school with, and she was doing a story on weddings/doing it yourself/ways to save and heard I'd be a great interview...HA. This is one of those situations that you sit and literally "lol" (laugh out loud), wishing someone was there to share in the humor of the situation. Alas, no one was with me.

Anyway, I thought about it for a few minutes, texted my mom to share in this comical scene (since the week before we'd both been stressed to the max by all the do it yourself/do it ourselves projects we've accumulated...which is a different story for a different post on a different day...), and then I responded to the anchor with my phone number. I didn't expect to get a call quickly, but much to my surprise, by phone rang within a couple hours. I wasn't sure if she'd want to meet somewhere or do the interview over the phone. However, we talked over the possibilities and decided that she and the cameraman would come to my house two days later. Needless to say, I cleaned like a mad woman the next day...;)

Wednesday morning came, and at 9:56 a news reporter and cameraman came to my house. I showed them the wedding paraphernalia upstairs, and explained all of the different projects we'd completed, as well as those that we're planning to complete...eventually. She asked me questions about the food, how to save, where I looked for deals, when to start, how many people we were having, etc. I showed them my dress, my invitations, my flowers, my centerpieces, and of course my shoes. They stayed for about 45 minutes, and then went on their merry way.

Throughout the wedding planning process, I have tried to keep my focus on the purpose of a wedding. The purpose of a wedding is to...spend $500,000 and go into debt for 50 years, hire other people to do everything for you, and be mad because things didn't turn out your way on that day? Yes. Exactly. SIKE (Yes, I just pulled a phrase from the 90's.) The goal and purpose of a wedding is to get married. Whether I spend $500,000 or $5, the end result is the same...marriage. I'd rather spend less, save more, and plan/decorate myself/with mom (even if it does cause my grey hairs to quadruple). Now I am not judging those people that have very costly weddings, nor am I saying they're lazy for hiring people to do everything for them. I'm saying that  a Do-It-Yourself (Myself, Ourselves, Themselves...whatever) wedding with personal touches and sentimental details not only will be more meaningful for me on the day of our wedding, but will provide memories for years to come.

I'm not sure if you caught it, but I said earlier that the random facebook message from the news anchor came a few days after Mom and I were ready  to pull our hair out over wedding planning. I was ready to forfeit, she was ready to quit...it was not pretty. We both had massive wedding to do lists full of conditional tasks. For instance we couldn't get table runners until we got table cloths, but we couldn't get table cloths until we knew what size tables we'd need. BUT we couldn't figure out what size tables until we went to look at them and set them up....the conditions could go on and on. Needless to say, we were over the whole wedding planning thing. Once again though, I'm amazed by God's timing. The day after a wedding meltdown, I got the facebook message. I agreed to be interviewed, and thus had to organize all my completed projects and put them in one location. Mom and I realized through gathering the completed projects just how much we have accomplished.  It was like God was forcing us to look at what we'd already done, and "be anxious for nothing", as my dad so often reminds us throughout this journey called engagement.

I try to search for purpose in life's happenings. For instance, when I was called about the interview, I thought "Why do I have this opportunity? Is God wanting to use me in some way and use this story to do something other than just entertain the local news watcher?" My conclusion: I'll probably never know. Even if the only purpose that He had was to give me a chance to look back and reflect on the process thus far, then 1) I'm thankful for the opportunity and 2) I'm very impressed by His creativity! :)

If you haven't seen the segment, here's the link from WDHN. Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Bride on a Budget :)