Hello, my name is Brooke, and I am addicted to Coffee!

There, I have admitted it! I am a coffee addict. I have one cup of coffee every morning -- either a Tall Mocha (with whip) from Starbucks or just a plain old cup of jo. It's my ONE guilty pleasure in life (Ok, so maybe I have several guilty pleasures, but I have a special line item in my personal budget just for coffee). So, when I was deciding the colors for the wedding I knew the color of coffee (and chocolate) had to be one of my colors. However, I want to pay homage to this delightful roasted bean more than just using its hue, I want to incorporate its smell, as well!

My favorite part of making my own coffee at work is grinding the beans, which releases a wonderful bitter aroma that immediately wakes me up. I found this image while indulging in my daily digest of wedding blogs. (I need to be better at writing the sources down!) When I saw this image a light went on in my head, why not sprinkle coffee into candle holders and place them throughout the dining and cocktail rooms. Not only will the ambient light give a very romantic feel to our rustic location, but the slight aroma of coffee will be wafting in the mountain air. Did you incorporate an aroma into your wedding?

A slight digression – I was watching the TODAY! Show this morning (I know I am old) and they did a segment about the The Millrock Latte Art Championships . Apparently, creative rosettes and witty designs are a new art form! I love it! Goggle “Latte Art” to some amazing designs; it’s a great digression if you are bored at work!

Chris, I love you a Latte!

Chocolate or Truffles?

Chris and I love chocolate, especially truffles and hot chocolate! There have been so many chocolate related memories intertwined in our relationship: a romantic email about hot chocolate in the autumn, sipping homemade hot chocolate by a fire on a cold December night, making chocolate covered strawberries at Thanksgiving, handmaking truffles for Valentine's Day, sipping the best hot chocolate in the world in Brugge, Belgium, and the list goes on and on...I thought this would be a great favor for our wedding -- to share with our guests not only the deep love that we share for one another, but our love of all things chocolate. Now to my dilemma, should the favors be chocolates or truffles?

Favors are not a big line item on our budget -- about $100 maximum. I want them to be special, tasty, and not break the bank. My first idea was individually wrapped pieces of Cote d' Or chocolate from Belgium. When we traveled to Belgium last year, we visited the chocolate filled city of Brugge. We visited many chocolate shops and had the best cup of hot chocolate ever at Bar Chocolate (the menu boasted 300 different flavors of hot chocolate!). Cote d' Or is to Belgium as Hershey's is to the United States, except 100 times better. I also have a scrumptious homemade hot chocolate recipe, which uses vanilla bean, that I made for Chris on our first Christmas together. So, I was going to buy a 12 box case of 24 individually wrapped Cote d' Or "Lait" Mignonettes from World Wide Chocolate. Each guest would get three pieces with the hot chocolate recipe and the story of why it's important to us; however, the cost breaks my budget. The case is $99.00 alone. Now, add on "hot weather" shipping for $5.99 and the 2nd day air shipping of $32.95, which is required to ship to Colorado, and the cost becomes unjustifiable.

Idea number two: Truffles. I love to cook and Chris loves to eat, so I thought why not personalize the favors and make truffles. I have a pretty good truffle recipe that I made for Chris on our first Valentine's Day, why not make truffles. Most of the ingredients I have in my kitchen, my only concern is time and space. Truffles are a time intensive desert, and I don't know if I have enough space in my fridge to make the almost 300 of them. I also have this nightmare that they will melt in the hour and half drive to Breckenridge. Although, these handmade delicacies would add a very personal and handmade touch to the wedding. Plus, the favors (whatever is chosen) will double as escort cards!

Let’s take a vote! What favor would you prefer, chocolate or truffles?

Nickle and Dimed

The economy in the preverbal crapper and a wedding are not a good combination. Add on the rising cost of gas and food, and that means less money coming in and more money going out. As Uncle Sam will start depositing a nice little “economic stimulus” into the bank accounts of strapped Americans today -- in order for you to spend, spend, spend and boost the economy (which we will have to repay eventually) -- I decided to get my monies worth out of the $600 rebate check by deal hunting!

I hate to buy anything at retail price; I rarely buy anything that is not on sale. The only major expense that I bought at retail was my wedding dress, and if I had known that Anna Be was having a sample sale a few weeks later I probably would have bought it then. But I got my veils for 10% off because I bought it during the designer’s trunk show. Needless to say, there are deals out there to save money on any wedding related item, you just have to look or haggle!

Here is a list of what I saved on or have haggled for additional items so far:
1. Free Lift Tickets: When we toured Ten Mile Station we instantly knew that this was the place for our wedding. The views of the Ten Mile Range were just too good to pass-up. That being said, the minimum food and beverage price of $12,000 for a Saturday wedding is outrageous, and that doesn’t include rental fees or tax. Since Sunday is a few thousand dollars cheaper, we decided that Sunday was the day (besides all the Saturdays in September were already booked in November). In addition, we called the booking agent 30 minutes after the tour to reserve the date. While on the phone, and with the help of my future hubby I said, “Since we booked so quickly does that mean we get free lift tickets to Breckenridge?” Surprisingly, the booking agent said that wouldn’t be a problem, just to give her a weeks notice before we wanted to come up. In January, we got a fun day of skiing for free just because we asked!

2.Bridesmaid’s Dress: My mother very graciously offered to pay for the bridesmaid’s dresses; however, I didn’t want her to spend a fortune. I love the Ann Taylor Celebrations collection. Back in November, even before trying on dresses myself, I noticed that Ann Taylor was discontinuing their last Celebrations collection. Dresses that were normally $198.00 were being sold for $79.44. I loved the chocolate brown Chloe Dress and called all my bridesmaids to give me their sizes. Luckily, we have a Celebrations store right by where we live, so I bought all the dress off the rack. In addition, my mom signed-up for an Ann Taylor card and saved an additional 10%.

3. Shoes: Like I said in the post I Heart Shoes, I went to an outlet mall and found a silver pair of Cynthia Rowley shoes at Off Sax 5th Ave – normally over $200 I got them for $69. For my bridesmaids, I stocked the Ann Taylor site until the Alexa Bow Sandal, which retailed at $108, went on sale for $54.44. One of my bridesmaids bought the shoe for $51.00 (including tax and shipping) by using a coupon from Retail Me Not.

4. Veils: I bought my veils at 10% during the designer’s trunk show.

5.Table Runner Fabric: My mother bought over 10 yards of blue linen at Joann Fabrics for 50% during a sale. Also, she didn’t pay any sales tax because she bought it while visiting my brothers in Montana!

6. Photographer: My mother has worked with our photographer for several events at her church. I had her call him first to see what deal we could get. Although we are getting a basic package, it includes 8 hours of photography, engagement session, no additional travel expenses, and $200 worth of prints for $1,900.

7. Honeymoon: We are booking our honeymoon through Sun Trips. For air and hotel at an all inclusive resort in Puetro Vallarta, Mexico for less than $2,000 for the entire 7 night vacation!

For all my other vendors I didn’t get a “deal” per se, but I did shop around for the best value. What type of deals did you get for you wedding? Do you have any tips to pass along on how to save money on wedding stuff?

Monsoon Wedding

Apparently, the weather forecast calls for a very rainy day tomorrow in Colorado. I don't know a better way to spend a deary Saturday then to be curled-up in Chris' arms with a cup of hot coco and a great movie. At the advice of my matron-of-honor (MOH), I am kicking the pre-wedding syndrome (which is happily fading away!) with a movie weekend. Since this is a blog about planning a wedding and because this is one of my MOH's favorite films, I decided to start with Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding. I love this film! Even though the film is set in India and about an arranged marriage, the characters and plot transcend cultures to reveal that love and marriage is a universal human experience. Put it on your Netflix queue, you won't regret it! Have a happy weekend!

Pre-Wedding Syndrome

I've discovered a new affliction. It's called Pre-Wedding Syndrome, PWS for short. Similar to Pre-Menstrual Syndrome or PMS, PWS causes the same symptoms: moodiness, bloating, uncontrollable urges to cry, loss of appetite, weight gain, and depressive tendencies. These symptoms are brought on by a number of factors including, but not limited to: obsessive compulsive bridal blog reading, a Martha Stewart attention to detail, a mini veil crisis, not enough sleep, working two jobs stress, and budget worries. It leads to a daily Grande Mocha from Strarbucks addiction, deadly! Thankfully, Chris loves me enough to put-up with this brief moment of insanity!

So, in order to ward-off the affects of this devastating syndrome, I decided to take a little break yesterday and smell the Cherry Blossoms. Spring has sprung in Colorado, and our Cherry Blossom Tree in the backyard is blooming. The flowers don't smell like roses, but the visual is stunning. I snipped a few blossoms and put them in a beautiful earthware bowl on our kitchen table. Here are a few photos I took yesterday of the blossoms.

The stress of wedding, work (both jobs), and life has put me into a really weird funk. I have a million tasks that need to be accomplished in the next month, and not enought time and energy to do them all. I need a moment to breath. Please, tell me I am not alone. Are there any brides that experienced PWS before their wedding? And what were your symptoms?

The Veil that I Bought and Then Returned

On Friday during my lunch break, I had an appointment with the fabulous veil designer Sara Gabriel during her trunk show at my bridal salon Anna Be to decide on my veil. Sara was wonderful -- bubbly, energetic, and highly creative. It was so much fun to try on veils and play dress-up, and the best part was that I got 10% off if I bought my veil that day. During the entire session she made me feel at ease, but I think the stress of the wedding and day-to-day life finally exploded into a bout of indecisiveness -- I like to call it my very bridal moment.

What excited me most about the day was that I could try on my dress while trying on veils. When I arrived at Anna Be, Stacy, who helped me when I found my dress, informed me that my dress sample had recently been sold at their sample sale, but they had an Augusta Jones dress similar to mine. Although the top was similar, the bottom was not even close. I have a trumpet skirt and this was a pure A-line. I was incredibly disappointment!

Just to give you an idea of my bridal attire theme, I am going for a modern, old Hollywood look -- simple, yet very elegant.

When we started the session, I told Sara that I wanted to play around with long and short veils. She started me off in a long cathedral length veil. (A veil is considered cathedral if it is 108".)


This veil was incredibly beautiful and dramatic, but I didn't like the embroidery. I like very clean, simple lines and not a lot of heavy beading or embroidery. I could have taken off the embroidery if I wanted to, but this veil just didn't feel like me. Here is a photo of the side.


Because my dress has lines that are cut on the bias, Sara suggested that I go with a more tiered look to the veil to complement those lines. We tried on a shorter elbow length version of this veil, along with the cathedral length. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the elbow length, but here is the cathedral.

It is very dramatic, and I thought with a 20' walk down the aisle it would look fabulous. So I bought it, with much hesitation. I felt caged in with the veil. My dress has a beautiful back, which is one of the reasons why I bought it. After seeing these photos, you can barely see the back on this dress let alone on mine. For some reason, I had a hard time visualizing my dress with any veil. I should have listened to my inner monologue, which was saying try on more shorter veils, but because it was during my lunch hour I was in a bit of a time crunch and made a hasty decision, which I regretted 15 minutes later (More to come about returning the veil later.) I don't know what I was thinking.

I do know what I was thinking when it came to the reception veil. According to Sarah, the bridal trend currently is to have a veil for the ceremony and one for the reception. I really wanted a more classic veil for the ceremony, but I love the look of French netting. So, I decided to buy a French netting piece for the reception. I love it. It reminds me of old, Hollywood with the flower in the middle combined with British Ascot in the feathers. (I secretly long to be British!)

Like I said, I bought the cathedral length veil along with the French netting piece. I got in my car and headed back to work. While in my car the veil crisis began. First, came the sticker shock. For custom made pieces, about $100 per piece I think is well worth it; however, the cathedral length was $200 plus. Now, add on the French netting and slight customizations, and the price tag was $500. I can't believe I even contemplated spending that much money on my veil. After, the sticker shock came buyer’s remorse. I had tried on the “Anna” veil when I bought my dress, which I loved. It was elbow length with a pencil edge. But I got caught-up in the drama of the cathedral veil that I completely forgot to ask about the “Anna” veil, which I had tried on four months ago. Also, the veil that I love was straight across and not tiered like Sara suggested.

I started calling all my bridesmaids to get opinions on what I should do. Stacy called me back first, and even though she had not even seen any of the veils, she suggested I go with the shorter veil. When Katie called me back she made two fabulous points. First, since my wedding is outside, the cathedral length would get dirty immediately, and second, with all the details on the back and side they would be hidden in a cathedral veil. Her opinion, go with the shorter veil. The first words out of my mom's mouth was, "What were you thinking, girl. You call them right now and change it." I couldn't call them, I was too emotional. I was having a very bridal moment. So, I decided to go back to Anna Be, with my mom, on Saturday and change to the elbow length veil.

I was very hesitant going back to Anna Be. Maybe they would argue with me and say I couldn't change it. I remember Sara telling me over and over again that I could change my mind, but what if they reneged on that promise? I would be stuck with a veil that I hated. With my mom by my side for extra support, I returned to Anna Be and spoke with Sara herself. To my surprise, Sara was very gracious. Apparently, I wasn't the only bride to reconsider her veil. Even though it wasn't tiered, Sara told me that I should get the veil that made me happy. My pocketbook was a lot happier with me too, as the new veil was significantly less money. So, I went with the Anna veil with the pencil edge. Crisis diverted.

I don't have any photos of the "Anna" veil, so you will just have to wait until the wedding.

Becoming a New Family -- My Paternal Grandparents

Our pastor, Todd Schmidt, loaned us a book of wedding ceremony traditions and wording for us to think about our ceremony. We decided the opening statement should say, "Marriage is a relationship entered into thoughtfully, reverently, and with gratitude for the past and hope for the future. Today Brooke and Christopher leave the homes of their childhood and become a new family." I always thought of my family as my mother, father, brothers, and grandparents, but until I read those words did I realize that Chris was also going to be my family. So, I decided to honor the moments when our relatives decided to become new families by placing photographs of their wedding day by our guest book. Also, I decided to share the stories of our parents and grandparents on my blog to show my gratitude for the past. Today, I want to share the story of my paternal grandparents, Henry and Alice Jackson.

As recounted by my father:
In 1940, my Grandmother Alice and her sister Bernice rode a train from Wilston, North Dakota to Great Falls, Montana go shopping. After shopping, they grabbed a bit to eat a Goodman's Saloon where they met two gentlemen, Henry and Mike. My Grandmother Alice took a fancy to my Grandfather Henry, one thing lead to another and they were married in 1941. The photo above is not really from their wedding day, but is considered by my family to be their wedding picture. (Side Note: My grandmother's sister Bernice married Mike a few years later). They had six children: Lyle, my father Dale, Betty, Joyce, Bev, and Laurie. My grandfather (who looks exactly like my father) worked in the General Mills flour mill and my grandmother a homemaker. My grandfather passed away in 1983, a year after I was born, of lung cancer. My grandmother still lives in Great Falls in the house where my father grew-up, and now has twelve grandchildren (including myself) and nine great grandchildren.

The Marriage Penalty

It's TAX DAY! So, in order to celebrate this festive day when the government takes your hard earned money, I decided to enlist the trusty help of my wonderful soon-to-be husband and pick his financial brain about taxes after you get married. Here what you need to know about "The Marriage Penalty." Enjoy!

Weddings. What’s not to love about weddings? It is a time when we are surrounded by friends and family. The bride gets to live the dream she had as a little girl. She gets to dress-up and create a magical wonderland fit for a princess. She and her groom have the world in front of them to stand up and profess their love to all. Then arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand they stroll down the aisle to live happily ever after…

…That is until tax time. Everybody loves marriage, especially the government. Now why does the government like marriage? The answer is simple: money. Wait a minute; isn’t marriage supposed to save you money? The answer is, in most cases, no.

Certainly living together saves you money. Less rent (or mortgage), less utilities, and less food are all great ways to save money when you combine your households. It may even come with less time spent on housework (at least for one of the lucky cohabiters). But does marriage save you money? Let’s take a look at the tax structure, shall we?

Let’s say you are a low income earner and make the maximum adjusted gross income (after deductions) of the first 2007 tax year tier. You’d be making $7,825 per year and taxed on 10% of that income which is $782.50. And say your potential spouse makes the same amount, thereby doubling your income to $15,650. How does this affect your taxes? Let’s take a look at the table. It just so happens that the top of the first tier for married couples is $15,650, the same as if you were to double the single tier, which means the same taxes. No problem right? Well, no problem if you both don’t have deductions, which we’ll talk about a little later.

Now let’s take a look at the next tier. The top of the second single tier is $31,850 and for married couples $63,700. Still double; so far, so good. Third tier: single - $77,100, married - $128,500. Wait a minute! If you double $77,100 it should give you $154,200, not $128,500. Where did that extra $25,700 of taxable income go? Well that, my friends, is where the marriage penalty begins. Instead of taxing you at the bargain rate of 25% on the entire third tier income for singles and doubling it, it decreases that spread by $25,700. Which means your paying the low, low rate of 28% on $25,700 ($7,196) instead of the 25% rate ($6,425) or 3% more ($771). If you had both earned identical amounts and stayed single, you’d be better off. And it gets worse the more you make. The fourth tier for single is $160,850, couples $195,850 a $35,000 spread and so on as you move up the ladder.

Not fair? You bet your sweet bippy it’s not fair. But hold on to your hats, we’re not done with this crazy ride yet. Remember when I spoke of deductions. Well, here’s the skinny on that. Typically, you will get the larger of the standard deduction set by the government or your itemized deductions. Generally, if you don’t have a mortgage or a business, you don’t need to worry about itemized deductions. However, if you do own a home: beware! In 2008 your itemized deduction per person is $5,450. Luckily, it stays the same if you’re married and each person gets their standard deduction and, when combined, equals $10,900. That’s $10,900 of non-taxable income we’re talking about here. So let’s say one of your lucky bride or groom to be owns a residence. The mortgage interest, property taxes, and other deductible expenses would be used to offset their income. Let’s say the bride owns the home and has $15,000 in deductible expenses ($15,000 less income she’s taxed on). The groom-to-be, who is cohabiting with the bride-to-be, doesn’t own a residence and gets his standard deduction of $5,450. Added together ($15,000 plus $5,450) gives you $20,450 of income that is not taxable. Sweet! But here comes the sour: when you get married, say goodbye to the groom’s $5,450 deduction. Floosh, down the drain. As a married couple, because you hypothetically share resources, you also share your itemized deductions. Your deduction has now been reduced to the $15,000 plus the minor deductions the groom has. Hence, you now pay taxes on an additional $5,450. This gets even worse if you both own a home, because now you can only claim one residence as a deduction, not two.

What a deal. You get married and you get bumped into a higher tax tier and get deductions taken away. No wonder the government encourages this system.

Now there are some situations where it is beneficial, such as when you have one very high earner and one that earns little to none. This widens the taxable tiers and includes more of the higher income earner’s wages in a lower bracket. Of course, you still have the deduction issue.

Now why not file as married filing separately? No luck. They’ve already altered your tiers to the married levels and, in some cases, you can’t take as many deductions or credits.

So what does this all mean? Well, anecdotally, love comes with sacrifice. And to still marry someone knowing the financial burden of the wedding and the additional taxes tacked on for the remaining years of your financial life, must mean that you really do love that person. So walk down that aisle knowing that every step you take is cash dropping out of your pocket with the dutiful IRS is sweeping it up behind you. Happy tax day, you crazy lovebirds!

I Heart Shoes

My favorite Sex and the City episode is I Heart NY during Season 4. Not only do I love the scene where Carrie and Big are "twisting" to Mancini's Moon River, but this moment (above) where Carried spies a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes to buy for her date with Mr. Big. Remembering this episode reminds me about my own experience buying bridal shoes!

When I began my search, I had a clear, distinct idea of the perfect shoes: blue peep toes with a covered heel that I could wear again. However, the search for the perfect pair of blue shoes was elusive. I searched high and low, but alas, I found only shoes in the wrong color or out of my price range. For example, these beautiful blue Prada shoes from (below) Little Winter Bride.

So, I turned to Sex and the City for some inspiration. In the episode Woman's Rights to Shoes, Carrie gets a pair of Manolo Blahnick D'Orsay shoes stolen from a party. Although not blue, the real shoes were the exact style I was looking for, and fortunatly, Dyables had made a rip off of the shoes that I could dye blue for $100.

Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus

Bridal Shoes

Unfortunately, I tried the shoes on at a local mall, and instantly new that I could not dance the away in these shoes. I was so disappointed! They were my perfect shoes, but I could not sacrifice style for comfort. However, fate had something else in store for my shoes. I decided to pop into Off Sax 5th Avenue while I was at the mall on a whim, and low and behold I found these beautiful silver pair of Cynthia Rowley peep toe slingbacks for $69 that were super comfortable. Although not blue and not the exact style, the lining and soles of the shoes is a beautiful Tiffany blue, and I can wear them after the wedding. Even though I didn’t get the exact shoes that I wanted, I am satisfied with my decision!

I cannot have a post about Sex and the City without plugging the new movie coming out very soon! Enjoy the trailer.

Floral Inspiration Board

Since I am a very visual bird, I did a floral inspiration board for my florist to better understand the floral palette that I have envisioned for our wedding. My florist sent me the initial proposal a few weeks ago, and I am finally getting back to her with my comments, but I wanted to send the inspiration board as a visual. Like I said in my Remorse of the Flowers post, I want the flower scheme to be Black Magic (Red) Roses, Milva (Orange Roses), burgundy dahlias, burgundy hypercium berries, burgundy mini cymbidium orchids, and leucadenron.

I chose red and orange for the flowers not only because of the foliage, but because red is Chris’ favorite color. I was a little skeptical that the chocolate brown and Tiffany blue palette (my favorite colors) would complement the red and orange flowers, but after constructing this inspiration board I think it will look stunning!

I am hoping and praying that the fall foliage will be at the peak to complement the flowers, and there will be no snow! If I get my wish, I hope it will be absolutely stunning.

To Love, Honor, and NOT to Obey!

Chris and I recently crashed a wedding. No, let me take that back, we attended a wedding that Chris was the date of a former co-worker (with my blessing!) and I tagged along, with the grooms approval. That isn't technically considered crashing a wedding, right?

The ceremony was very religious, which fit perfectly with the couple; however, Chris and I consider ourselves to be spiritual people but not religious. One of the biblical readings during the ceremony was from Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, be subjects to your husband as you are to the Lord." WHAT! I grimaced as this passage was read, while Chris looked at me and snickered. He keeps teasing me that he is going to slip our pastor a $20 to put obey in the vows, not to be malicious, but to be the adoring scoundrel that I love and admire! But really, "Wives be SUBJECTS to your husband as you are to the Lord!"

In college I studied theatre, but I concentrated my final year on feminism in performance. I was inspired by the so-called French Feminist Luce Irigaray , Julia Kristeva, and especially Hélène Cixous and her theory of écriture féminine. Side Note: My senior thesis was directoring Cixous' Portrait of Dora based on Sigmund Freud's Portrait of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria and the enigmatic female character Dora. The picture above is from my production. Although Cixous has an impressive body of work, she is mostly known in academia for her essay Le Rire de la Meduse (The Laugh of the Medusa) in which she theorizes that we all are all born into language, which is inscribed with convoluted power structures that traps women into logocentrism and phallogocentrism definitions; therefore, women must write herself as she was meant to be written thus her shattering entry into history. As Cixous says, "By writing herself, women will return to the body which has been confiscated from her...Second, women seizing the occasion to speak, hence her shattering entry into history, which has always been based on her suppression." I know this is very academic, please bear with me.

Back to the bible and Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, be subjects to your husband as you are to the Lord." I have a huge problem with the semantics of the passage! The definition of subject is to be under the control of somebody or something such as a ruler or a law, and obliged to obey. I've found research speaking to the discrepancy in the translation of this biblical passage to a reflective rather than transitive verb in earlier Greek biblical versions, which would equate the objectivity of women and men to the subjectivity of the Lord, but the damage in language has already been perpetuated historically – making the passage’s hierarchical structure a convoluted justification for male dominance and female objectivity.

Now, thinking about writing my own wedding ceremony with a Christian minister, and the language we want to use in our vows, I do not want to be a willing participant in perpetuating an archaic notion of subject vs. object dualism. Even in the traditional “giving way of the bride.” I want to rewrite it so that my father is not giving, but rather, I am choosing to enter into marriage with Chris because of our deep love and respect for one another. I do not want my role in marriage to be that of the virginal mother/wife; rather, I want our marriage to be a mutal partnership -- each an equal and willing participant in this lifelong journey together. I am a subject in my own right and capable of choosing to love, honor, and not to obey my future husband!

Oh, Gocco! Save-the-date!

This weekend I had some fun with my Gocco! The white ink with extra bulbs and screens arrived on Friday from Judy at Northwood Studios, so I went to work printing my save-the-date cards. I purchased the PG-11 version instead of the PG-5 because of the registration capabilities, as well as, the extension package with the basic inks and a How To Gocco DVD and CD, and I think it was well worth the extra dough. The CD doesn't work (which I need to email Judy about), but the DVD was hilarious! It was straight out of the 80s and had obviously been an old recorded from a VHS tape, but it had some great advanced gocco techniques. Also, included in the extension package was a written guide, which proved extraordinarily helpful! Here is my Save-the-Date design. I got the birds and branch image from istock via Miss Penguin’s suggestion from Weddingbee. This is the card design, but for the envelopes I just used the birds and branch as well as our address. As a designer, I felt like I was cheating. I could have come up with the illustration in Illustrator but am a) too busy and b) just plain lazy! Besides, it was so easy to download and import into Illustrator – it look 5 minutes to download and import rather than the 8+ hours to draw myself. I love the fonts! I used Futura Medium (block font) and Laurell (cursive font), which I acquired years ago when I worked as a graphic designer.
I double checked everything a million times before I flashed the screen because I knew I only had one shot to get it right! After all, this is my first ever Gocco project. Side Note: Always remember to use the blue filter to avoid excess carbon from imprinting onto the screen. I printed the birds on the front and the address on the back while using one screen in order to conserve the single use screens and bulbs. I wish I would have put the address vertical instead of horizontal because it made for some interesting registering later.
Again, I used the wisdom and advice from Miss Penguin of Weddingbee on Gocco Printing about registering. Above is a photo of me printing the back of the envelopes. Because I had printed the front first, I covered the screen with regular paper to avoid the ink printing on the back.

This is me counting to 10 to get the right amount of pressure/ink on the print.
This is Chris and Lylia helping me ;)
Here is the front of the envelope

Here are the envelopes laying out on my kitchen countertop.

I loved how the envelopes turned out, but was very disappointed in the cards. I used a turquoise ink for the birds and branch on this beautiful chocolate brown paper by ArtCo. that I got at Xpedex Paper here in Denver. When I printed it the ink looked fine, but when it dried the ink turned silver. I think it must have been a reaction to the chemicals in the paper because when I printed the same ink on white paper the turquoise was fine. I seriously considered redoing the save-the-date cards – I discovered the problem after printing about 25 – but I didn’t want to waste screen, bulbs, and paper. I guess it was a great learning experience, but now I have to rethink my invitations because I wanted to use the same ink and paper for invites!

Inking the final screen...

The printed Save-the-Date cards.

Final product. Overall, it was really fun, even though I am disappointed with the colors of the cards. I am sending them out in the mail today and they should arrive on your doorstep any day. Enjoy!

The Dance of the Veil

Next Friday, I have an appointment with Sarah Gabriel, a local veil designer here in Denver, to design a veil to go with my dress. Actually, Sarah's studio is a block away from my office, and I drive by it everyday. Side note: When I opened the lastest issue of InStyle Weddings a few of her veils were listed in the magazine. The appointment is through Anna Be, the bridal salon where I bought my dress and the best place to buy a wedding dress in Denver. If I purchase my veil that day, which I will, I get 10% off the price! How cool is it to have a veil custom made to go along with my dress that won't break my budget. I've had this appointment for two months, and I actually got one of the last appointments! Needless to say, I am super excited!!! Check back next Friday for pictures of the fitting!

Vintage vs. New...After All It's Just A Stamp, Right?!

(Photo from Martha Stewart Weddings)

Darn you Martha Stewart and your impeccable use of vintage stamps! Ok, first off let me say that I love vintage stamps, and I love the look of them on wedding invitation -- sorry Martha for taking your name in vain -- however, I can not justify the added expense of using vintage stamps.

(Photo from Sea-Jay Stamp and Coin)

Ebay is a fabulous resource for vintage stamps, and buying them in sheets is a must, otherwise buying each individual stamp would be a tedious process! SeaJay Stamp and Coin, a seller on ebay, has some great prices on stamp sheets, or look at different sellers by going to Ebay> Categoires >Stamps > US > Sheets , but even though most of the stamps are sold at face value they can cost an additional $2-5 per sheet in shipping. If I bought the vintage stamps, that would add additional costs that my already bulging budget can't afford. So I decided to go for the stamps sold at the post office.

(Photo from The Postal Store)

The Postal Store for the United States Postal Service is a great resource for current stamps. What I love about it is that you can order stamps online, and they will ship them to you for $1 no matter how many stamps you order, no waiting in line at the post office!

Between the time I send the save-the-date and the invitations postage will rise by 1¢! Since the save-the-date cards are the first priority, and since they are only a single card, 41¢ is all I need to send them. (Side Note: emailed Judy with Northwood studios and my white ink should be in on Saturday! Finally, I will be able to print my save-the-date cards!) I was going to make the save-the-dates a postcard to save money, but the cougar stamp for postcards is hideous and the wedding stamp is not much better!

So, I decided to go with the “Celebrate” stamp for the save-the-date. I think it is cute, fun, and goes along with my teal, chocolate, and red color palette. To adjust for the rate change, and depending on the weight of the invitation, I’ll add more stamps to the 41¢ “Celebrate” stamps I bought. After all, it’s just a stamp, right?

(Photo from The Postal Store)

Here are a few blog posts that were inspirations to me: WeddingBee: Ms. Tulip and My Martha Moment, Hasel Bridge: My vintage, color coordinating stamps, Oh Happy Day: Vintage Stamps, WeddingBee: Ms. Gummi Bear and My Invitation Melt..er..Breakdown, WeddingBee: Ms. Lovebug and This Just In: More Stuff.

Mars vs. Venus

Chris sent this to me yesterday, and I laughed so hard that I started crying. I think this is a testament that Mars and Venus are still in an epic battle. Enjoy!

Here's a prime example of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" Offered by an English professor from the University of Phoenix.

The professor told his class one day, "Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will Pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me.

The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph To the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back-and-forth. Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely no talking outside of the e-mails And anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is Over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of his students, Rebecca and Gary.

THE STORY

(1st paragraph by Rebecca)
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind Off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him Too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.

(2nd paragraph by Gary)
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron Now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than The neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," He said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No Sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle BEAM FLASHED out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.

(Rebecca)
He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who Had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel, "Laurie read in her Newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She Stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed Unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her From her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she wondered wistfully.

(Gary)
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands Of miles above the city, the Anudrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dim-witted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined To destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty The Anudrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.

(Rebecca)
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My Writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic, semi-literate adolescent.

(Gary)
Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh, shall I Have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F**KING TEA???! Oh no, WHAT AM I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels!"

(Rebecca)
A******e

(Gary)
B***h

(Rebecca)
F$%^ YOU, YOU NEANDERTHAL!

(Gary)
Go drink some tea, w***e

(TEACHER)
A+ . . . I really liked this one.