A Foxy Fête: The Guestbook

Yes, the guestbook gets its own post. From start to end, this thing took a lot of time, a lot of love, and it absolutely had it's fair share of frustrating moments. So I have to do it justice.

Plus, I'm kind of obsessed with the way it turned out!

All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.

If you recall from wayyy long ago, I started out with my bum traced drawing of the UP house, with the intention of having it eventually be turned into a fingerprint guestbook. It was fairly decent on it's own, but not perfect by any means. As luck would have it, once I turned to the 'Bee for advice, fabulous hive member Miss.E helped a sista out and was able to vectorize the image for me. And it was perfection.

personal images

From there, I was having a helluva time trying to do decide whether to color in the image to mimic the actual UP house, or have it mimic our venue's color scheme (since peachplum09 so kindly pointed out that the two look very similar.. how did I miss that?!).

personal images

In the end, it was a tie. I asked real life friends, I asked you guys, I asked myself about every 5 minutes.

Ultimately, I went for sentiment and decided on the green to represent the Vandiver! So I went to Vistaprint, uploaded my design, placed my order, got my package.. and it sucked. I mean.. it really sucked. The quality was horrendous. My original traced drawing looked better. Seriously.

((I would totally insert a picture here to show you just how bad it was, but I'm pretty sure I threw it out in a matter of minutes. Just trust me on this one.))

I don't know what happened, and I briefly panicked (and got mad that I spent $30 on something useless). So I turned to the manstore (kinda like manwhore, but more store-y) I always turn to in a crafting crisis (that would be Michael's), bought a frame and some poster board, printed out my own copy of the house, oh-so-carefully cut it out, and glued it to the correctly sized poster board. Then I free-handed some stickers at the bottom. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

Not too shabby for a complete DIY, right?!

So for the wedding, we had this baby out during cocktail hour, then moved it to a small table at the reception just in case there were a few stragglers who still needed to print it up.

You can also glimpse our UP inspired card mailbox here, too!

I also made sure there was a sign next to the frame to clue people in as to what they should be doing. And, since I was still really torn about the whole color-of-the-house thing, I decided to make the sample house on the sign in the actual colors of the UP house.. best of both worlds!

personal icky cell phone pic

Overall, it turned out to be a hit, and we now have it proudly displayed as part of our living room decor.

another personal icky cell phone pic

Now I do have a few tips, in case you're planning on going the route of a fingerprint guestbook:

1. In addition to having a sign with instructions, be sure to get your bridal party and/or family to start off the fingerprinting at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, or while getting ready the morning of. It (hopefully) ensures that guests will figure out what to do a bit more easily!

personal cell phone pics courtesy of Foxy Mama

2. Have Wet Naps for people to wipe the ink off their fingers, and a small trash bin for them to throw used ones away. This way, no one has an excuse not to do it!

3. Speaking of which, if you have any guests who have a super fancy job that they can't always talk about.. they won't put their fingerprint on your guestbook. We definitely learned that one.

4. Also, people still don't always get what to do, even when you tell them. We had a lot of "floating" balloons.. and some genius thought it would be super fun to put their fingerprints in the windows of the house. (Something Foxy and I are still kind of annoyed about, to be honest!)

But anyway. I still think it came out pretty spiffy!

(The other slightly annoying part of all this is that someone evidently took my artwork a few months back and tried selling it as their own on Etsy, until a group of us contacted her & reported her behavior to the site. So.. don't steal my artwork. Kthanks.)

Would you consider a fingerprint guest book? Do you have any other tips for future brides about them?

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!

The First of Many Looks - We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.

A School Bus Photoshoot - Our vehicle of choice for the day was a school bus, which we turned into a photo op both inside and out!

Smiles and Sun - The photos continued by the lighthouse and pier.. with sunglasses and a few funny stories along the way.

ALL The Family - We then met up with family at the lock house for even more pictures, and I started getting a bit antsy and having problems with my dress.

And Then There's Us - I kinda-sorta-maybe forgot all about couple and bridal pictures. Thank goodness for our amazing photog reminding us!

Final Touches - Slight chaos then ensued in the minutes before the ceremony started, consisting of me getting sewn into my dress and the boys getting their bouts pinned on at the last minute.

And So It Begins - The guests arrive, the wedding party lines up, and the ceremony space is revealed - complete with programs, white knots, and bubbles!

All I Want Is You, Will You Be My Bride? - The time had finally come - we all made our way down the aisle while my stepdad and stepbro played and sang a beautiful, acoustic version of "All I Want Is You".

Take Me By The Hand and Stand By My Side - In other words.. the ceremony!

Bubbles and Bustles and Beverages, Oh My! - Bubbles are blown, my bustle is tied in, and cocktail hour commences with lots of love, hugs, and drinks.

The Status of the Shoes

Remember when I pimped out my wedding shoes? If not, here's a reminder!

A lot of you were curious if they were easy to walk in or if they were slippery at all, and all I could give you was a semi-confident "yes" and "no", respectively. Before the wedding, I only had the chance to walk around in them on our tiled kitchen floor for a few minutes at a time, because I didn't want to mess the soles up. Blame it on my obscene "need" for photos of the whole shoe. Of which I got (half of) one.

Photo by Exclamation Imagery

Let's just all ogle at my pretty shoes for a minute, 'kay?

I will tell you that around my kitchen, they were not slippery. And generally, no, they were not slippery on our wedding day, either! I had a brief holy shiz moment when I first stepped on our venue's wooden floor with them, but after a few steps I got used to it. It was part "walk careful in these 4-inch glittery shoes, Fox" and part "walk careful because you're in a wedding dress, this is not everyday shoe-strutting!" Once I got those thoughts through my head, though, the shoes were a perfect little piece of cake to walk in.

Photo by Exclamation Imagery

On the flip side, I have to admit that the only time I was really on a potentially slippery surface was when I was walking through our venue's main house, like during the cocktail hour. We also did a lot of walking around on sidewalks and grass before the ceremony, so the soles had a chance to wear down a bit. But, I think the true test is that I kept those babies on for 99% of the day (minus a few minutes at the reception, until I realized no heels = me tripping all over myself). And no slips!

In short, here's my advice: glitter up your soles, but there really isn't any need to do the whole sole. If you're worried about slippage, skip the ball of the sole, where the front part of your foot goes. I promise you, you won't miss any pictures of it. If you are having a relatively outdoorsy wedding with minimal wood surfaces (and are a nutcase like me), go ahead and do the whole thing!

I mean.. let's be honest, though. They're gonna end up looking like this anyway.

A sure sign of a good time.. glitter and worn in soles!

Are you having any kind of painted or fancy wedding day soles? Are you worried about scuffing them up or slipping at all?

Paper Hearts

Early on in my planning, I stumbled across this adorable paper heart garland on Etsy.

via Etsy shop Pickled Parlour

I was immediately smitten, and was itching to include these in our wedding in some fashion. The only problem was, somewhere along the line, I started to get worried that I would just have too much going on.. paper lanterns, puff balls, ribbons, hearts.. something had to go, lest my wedding end up looking like someone threw up every rustic-y type of decoration out there. (I mean, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but still. Keep it simple, stupid.)

Good news, though.. it was not the hearts that went! (It was the ribbons, per Foxy. Boh.) A few weeks before the wedding, I realized I had no idea what to do for chair decor for the ceremony - I'm too cheap for more flowers, was banned from using ribbons, and was feeling rather uninspired. Then I remembered that I had leftover card stock from my programs and this nifty little tutorial stashed away in my bookmarks toolbar. My solution? Individual paper hearts for the chairs!

Photo by Mrs. Pony

I kind of got carried away when making them, so they also made good decorations for all over the venue (notice how they're hung with ribbons?)!

Clockwise, from left to right:

Photo by Exclamation Imagery | personal photo | Photo by Mrs. Guinea Pig

What I loved most is that some lovely little wedding elves (I'm still not exactly sure who!) moved a lot of the hearts from the ceremony space to the reception space once the ceremony was over. It was like double decorations for the price of one!

Now, in case you love these little hearts as much as I do, here's a basic tutorial!

First, start with whatever kind of card stock you so choose - I used mostly double sided 12"x12" cardstock that I got at Michaels, but also made a few using regular white and ivory cardstock.

Image via Michaels

Next, you cut the paper into 1" thick strips (use a paper cutter!). You'll need to make a few of the strips a bit shorter in order to get the layered effect.

Then, starting from the outsides and working your way in, layer each strip on top of each other so that the shortest strips are on the outside and the longer ones are in the middle. You should also have an extra strip in the middle to serve as the "base" - also the place you'll eventually hang the hearts from.

Once the strips are stacked, make sure you have a good grip on the bottom and start folding the strips outward one at a time, securing each one with your fingers as you go along.

Once all but the middle strip have been folded out,  make sure the bottom edges are relatively aligned and staple together!

Since I didn't want the staple showing, I went one step further and used my favorite stand by, washi tape, to cover the staple and add a nice little finishing touch.

Overall, a relatively easy DIY, and one that definitely added a little something extra to our wedding decor!

Photo by Exclamation Imagery

Did you decide to add something - decorations or otherwise - to your wedding just days or weeks beforehand?

Gifts for the Girls

First and foremost, I want to thank you all a million times over for your amazing, sweet, and heart-warming words in regards to my grandfather's passing. I am so, so lucky to be a part of such an amazing community of people; I may not know you all personally, but you all touch my heart more than you know. These past few days have certainly been hard, but we are slowly finding solace and are eagerly anticipating mine and Foxy's upcoming nuptials. As some of you mentioned, sometimes this kind of celebration is needed at a time like this.

And so, we keep truckin' and focus on the wedding. :)

Now, to my bridesladies: you know I love ya, but skedaddle. Shoo. Be gone. You'll know all about what I'm writing about here in just a few days!

Getting With the Program

I think I whined enough these past few days, yes? Time for me to get. with. the. program.

The ceremony programs, that is! Har har har har.


Anyway, the programs have been one of those things on my to-do list from the start of wedding planning, but something that obviously needed to wait and be done closer to the end of it. I started seriously thinking about them about a month or two ago, and decided that they were something I just wanted to be done with at this point and have out of the way. It would be incredibly easy for me to wait until the week of the wedding to whip something up, but let's get real. That will be one of the last things I'll want to worry about next week! (Holy crap.)

But what exactly would these programs even look like?? While I've had lots of fun looking around and pinning inspiration pictures for the past two years, I kept being drawn back to the same three.

One was simple, but fun.

Image via Style Me Pretty Canada | Photo by Rebecca Amber Photography

The next was extremely colorful and had a light, whimsical feel to it.

Image via Every Last Detail | Photo by Caroline & Evan Photography

And the last one caught my eye because of the unique layout and fun little bridal people!

Via Etsy seller Blimp Cat

Since it was proving impossible to choose.. I just kind of mushed them all together! I toyed around with  Photoshop and Swift Publisher (which is basically Publisher for Mac) for a few hours, printed out about a bazillion things, cut out a bazillion things more, then taped and glued to my little heart's delight. Wanna see the finished product?!

Shout out to Miss Wizard who unknowingly provided us with our reading!

The one thing I didn't count on (read: was too dumb to realize) was that making a program with several different components meant that I would have to cut out several different components. I ended up making about 85 programs all together, but had to individually cut all the backings and each of the three adhered pages. My one saving grace is that the paper I used for the backing came double sided, so I didn't have to worry about gluing two sheets together or something equally as time consuming. Needless to say, however, is that my paper cutter and I currently have a love/hate relationship.

At least they look cute!

If you had programs, did you DIY them? How long before the wedding did you have them done?

*all credited photos used with photographer's permission

'Tis the Season

Foxy and I had been approaching the months of May and June with a bit of caution. Going in, we knew that once Memorial Day rolled around, it would be a marathon of sorts. We would have brideslady M's wedding (that I was in), then our friend Edie's wedding a week later, then a full 7 days of nonstop work, then our wedding. Holy moose!

Well, the first two have happened, we're currently in the middle of work overload, and our wedding is merely days away. Conclusion? It's crunch time. But as I sort of mentioned the other day, I'm feeling oddly good about everything.. and I have my lovely friends weddings to thank for some of that!

First off, being a part of brideslady M's wedding and attending Edie's made me realize how wonderfully, uniquely them they each were. As a result, it also made me realize how beautifully, perfectly us ours will be! Sure, it may be a bit different, a bit light-hearted, a bit more casual than what some people may be expecting, but it's going to be ours. And you can't ask for more than that!

Now as for brideslady M, I know that she spent just as long planning out each and every detail of her wedding as I have, and it was truly a labor of love.

She looked gorgeous, the venue looked gorgeous, and all the details reflected her personality and her peacock theme perfectly.

The funny part was that, for as incredibly put together she is and how immaculately she plans.. we had a lot of stuff to do in the 12 hours before the wedding! Word on the street is that hey, it happens. You plan to have all this stuff done, but it inevitably somehow still needs to be done the week, eve, or even day of the wedding. But M is an amazing person with equally amazing friends (what whaaaat!), and we got it all done, from the card box...

I'm not very attractive at 1am.

...to the place card set up...

...to the table votives...

...to the flowers that she picked and arranged herself...

((Not a complete arrangement.. just components!))

...to the cupcakes that needed to be completely redone, then boxed up...

Poor cupcakes!! The heat got to them!!

Much better.

...to her sash that she completely decorated and sewed by hand...

It was GORGEOUS, btw.

...to the programs that were finished the morning of the wedding. Phew!!

But you know what?? It all came together. And it was fabulous. And if she/we could get it all done, well then I sure as hell can get (what I hope is) less than that done in the upcoming days before mine and Foxy's wedding!

With a little help from my good friend champagne, of course.

As for Edie's wedding.. well, I know she went through a couple of situations that were not exactly ideal. Like how her photographer - with whom she signed a contract and already paid for - basically told her that they weren't going to come to her wedding a mere week out. Or how her husband travels for work, often with little to no notice, and she had to plan a lot of the wedding on her own. Or how there were flash floods and tornado warnings on the day of her wedding.

But.. once again, you know what?? It all worked out. She found a new, amazing photographer with just a few days to go. She found a wonderful wedding designer to help her with the planning. The rain magically held out until just after the outdoor ceremony was over.

She looked beautiful, she handled everything with ease, she dealt with everything that came her way. And if she can stay poised and calm with so much chaos going on around her, I'm extremely hopeful that I can take it all in with the same amount of stride!

Aside from all the little lessons learned in these past few weeks, I've also absolutely loved going to all these weddings. It's getting me so, so, so excited for our own, and I've noticed that I all of a sudden just care so much more. About the details, about the ceremony wording, about the way the groom looks when his bride walks down the aisle, about the guest book.. all those things that you may not always notice if you're not hot on the heels of your wedding day. It's a fun place to be, actually!

Cheers!

Did you have any weddings to attend or be a part of just before or after your own? Did you find you were more perceptive to everything?