Category Archives: Wedding

Notes from the Belly of the Pig

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It’s official: wedding planning has swallowed me whole. Turns out, planning a wedding in under five months from more than 3,000 miles away is CRAZY. Go figure! People keep asking me bizarre questions like “What are your colors?” (what the heck? why can’t I have all the colors?), and “What’s your signature drink?”, and “What kinds of favors are you doing?”, and up until now I’ve had no answers to any of these questions. There’s just so many logistical moving parts to organize that, until this week, I haven’t even thought about any of the fun wedding things like flowers or sparklers. But all of the big things are locked down at this point, so I’m finally allowing myself to use Pinterest again, and I’ve begun to think about how I want this party to look and feel beyond “well, there should be chairs.” So I thought I’d share some of the exciting details that are starting to fall into place.

I stole this picture from Pioneer Woman, who bought these chalkboard placemats, but my wonderful father is actually making eighty of these babies for all the tables. Aren’t they so sweet? I think my parents have caught the DIY bug, because my mom is going to spray paint a little pig onto each place mat to match our adorable save the dates:

Aren’t they perfect? They were designed by an extremely talented and sweet friend of a friend, and they make me smile every time I look at them.

These are the pretty farm tables we’re renting for dinner. I’m going to do all the flowers myself, with some helping hands, with this as the guiding inspiration (only with waaay more flowers):

And finally, the best for last: I ordered my shoes. They make me want to cry.

That’s all for now, more updates to come!

All images linked to their sources. Special thanks to Danielle Young for her amazing Save the Date design.

The Yard

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When The Boy and I first got engaged, I did that thing. That thing where you become obsessed with wedding inspiration on Pinterest, and your head is filled with images of mason jars, and glitter, and peonies. But as soon as that first wave passed, I realized something important: I do not care about having a real wedding. Do not misunderstand me: I love pretty things, and parties, and farms (I mean, seriously). But it was way more important to me that we have the kind of wedding where everyone has a blast, and eats good food, and laughs a lot, and maybe I would wear sneakers. And I could think of no better place to have such a wedding than in The Boy’s backyard.

That yard was a part of our relationship back before we even had a relationship. It was a long, hot day during a long, hot summer when I laid on the grass in that yard and looked at this boy who was still just a friend, and I thought to myself “I’m going to marry him one day.” That yard was the witness to so many stolen kisses, and late night bonfires, and spontaneous campouts, and Saturday dinners made on the grill, and drunken firework shows. We used to fall asleep on the trampoline on warm summer nights. I used to read my book on his back steps while he fixed someone’s car in the driveway (because there was always a car that needed work). I used to wake up early in the morning, and sneak out to the yard while he was still asleep, and pick raspberries and blackberries for breakfast. And there was a whole other ragtag gang of friends who treated that yard as their own, too, who came and went as they pleased, and the most wonderful kinds of commotions were always happening there. It was the kind of place where you could swing by on a whim without calling, and half of your other friends would already be there drinking beers. In short, it was magic.

So when I got past all the bloggy-glittery-mason jar stuff, I realized what I wanted more than anything was to walk out of his backdoors in my wedding dress, down the deck stairs, and across the lawn. I wanted to get married on a hot summer day in this place that had provided so much context for our love. But there was a hitch: the house was for sale. We just couldn’t bank on it still being around next year.

So The Boy and I did something really impulsive last week, and we’re still kind of reeling from the decision. We’re getting married this year. In July. In the yard. And on the one hand I have not spoken to anyone about anything other than wedding planning for five days, and sometimes I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about table runners. But it doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore, because once all this craziness is said and done, I’m going to walk across that yard and marry my best friend in the exact same spot where we had our very first date. And that feels like magic.

Thirty Years

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Thirty years ago today was the official beginning of the greatest love story I’ve ever known. My parents were married on March 6th, 1983, and they’ve been madly in love ever since. They are the greatest partners and the best of friends, and I’ve learned everything I ever needed to know about love and commitment from them. So today, in honor of to occasion, I asked both of my parents to share a short story or anecdote from their relationship. The subject matter could be anything, but fittingly enough they both ended up talking about the same event. From my dad:

Oh well, it’s hard for me to even try to pick one story, or one event out of thirty years. Your mom and I, our marriage has been just this string of like… one hilarious moment after the next. You know, between all the dogs, and the kids, and your grandparents, and everything, I mean if you just looked at dog stories alone have literally thousands of absurd stories, without even adding in all of you, and your brother and sisters. So it’s hard for me to pick one thing out of what’s really been the kind of grand, overarching context for my entire life. But if you’re asking me when I knew [that she was the one], I know you remember the story Mom told you from your oral history project, about how she was working and I came in with Uncle Bob, and she said I was just staring at her? Well, I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted right then. And then we had that first date, and your Uncle Bob, and Aunt Iris, and your mom, and I all went out to a bar, and then they left and we just spent the rest of the night talking. And driving home from her place that I knew, I just knew that I was head over heels in love. She was just so smart, and funny, and beautiful, and… talking to her right away you could get a sense of how… honest, and admirable she was. And this has been the best thirty years of my life, and I think the next thirty years will be even better. 

And from my mom…

I think we’ve talked about this before but I always marvel at the sheer likelihood that I met Daddy. It was a perfect storm of fate. I wasn’t supposed to be at work when he wandered into Rich’s Dept. Store the first time. I was working at a totally different register than normal and minutes either way in either of our schedules would have meant a miss. I had actually asked to go home sick and been told no right before. Someone recently asked how Daddy and I knew we were right for each other and it all came down to my crazy dog Spot. She was almost as crazy as Meatloaf and everyone was afraid of her. But Daddy walked into my apartment for the first time and bent down and petted her and right at that moment I thought, “Okay this will work out!” So many moments flit through our lives that we think we’re going to remember, but only a few freeze. That one did. 30+ years later I can tell you every detail of that scene. Looking back, Daddy and I hardly knew each other when I picked up and moved to Los Angeles. As a mom now, I can only imagine how nervous my mom was and what a crazy impulsive move it must have seemed like. But I really think that in that fleeting moment when he gave Spot a pat I saw what an inherently good person Daddy was and I was right!

So few of my friends have parents that are still together, and I consider myself so very lucky to have this incredible example of love in my life. Looking forward to my own marriage (big big news on that to come next week), I think all the time about how The Boy and I will make this work. I only hope that we can figure it out as well as my parents.

Top photo: My parents discuss how to carve the Turkey, while Mickey the dog lies in wait.

A Bit of Sparkle

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I have a problem. I’ve been engaged for over a year, but I can’t stop looking at engagement rings. Don’t get me wrong, I have the most beautiful ring in the history of rings and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But I almost feel like I need to check every once in awhile to make sure that mine is still the prettiest. It is. But still, who doesn’t like looking at a little bit of sparkle every once in awhile? Since I’m officially no longer in the market for a ring, I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you folks. Perhaps you’ll store some ideas away for a rainy day?

1) Custom Mociun: Mociun does beautiful custom rings. This one has coral, yellow sapphire, and moonstone. This bad boy is also lovely.

2) Erica Weiner Five Opal and Pearl Ring: Originally, The Boy and I wanted to get a custom ring that had both diamonds and opals, my favorite stone, but we ultimately decided against it. Opals aren’t quite as hard as diamonds, and I’m a major spaz, so we wanted to go for durability. But for someone else…

 3) Erie Basin Vintage Cluster Ring: SO MUCH SPARKLEZ. It’s like a mini constellation on your hand.

4) Vintage Sapphire Cluster: You know what’s awesome about this ring? It’s like a flower made out of sapphires and diamonds. Yeah.

5) Erstwhile Vintage Ring: Anyone got 9,000$ to spend? Incidentally, this one’s The Boy’s favorite.

The Boy and I picked out my ring together, which a lot of people think is tacky or lacking in romance. But we had so much fun doing it, and we have such different tastes that it was really necessary. Ultimately, we both ended up with a ring that we love, and I got two proposals out of the deal: one impromptu and ringless on a beach at 4 in the morning, and another on top of a mountain after we’d spent weeks hunting for the right ring and waiting for it to get resized in the middle of Hurricane Irene. Both proposals were heart-stopping and wonderful, and knowing they were coming did nothing to dampen that.

Incidentally, here’s a bit of fascinating history on the engagement ring.

To be thy lips is a sweet thing; and small.

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So I’m back home in California, a little sunburnt and a little blue. I’ve got a double dose of homesickness and lovesickness, so maybe that’s why I’m extra moony over this beautiful wedding, shot by Lydia Jane Photography. I actually got a little teary looking at these pictures, and I’m at work. Yikes, I miss The Boy. Or maybe it’s really just a really sweet, gorgeous, heartfelt wedding. They have alpacas, people. And sheep + cats. I want this girl’s life. Also, she illustrated her own invites: Continue reading →

Someday We’ll Be Together

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Hey kids! It’s been awhile, but I’m feeling pretty settled out here, and after many long, intimate conversations with the fine people at AT&T my internet is finally working well enough to post! California is amazing. I’m never, ever, ever, not ever leaving. I just can’t wrap my head around why anyone would ever want to live anywhere else. The sun is aways shining, you all know how I feel about the ocean, and I’m never more than a block from an amazing taco truck. I’m a taco monster. I’ve eaten them for my last three meals. The Boy is getting really sick of it, because tacos are all I can talk about these days. Well he doesn’t really understand, because he’s never been to southern California, so he really has no idea what a taco tastes like. Gosh, I’m starting to crave another one…

Anyway, since I’ve been gone so long I’ve put together a BIG post for you guys today. I’ve been getting a ton of questions lately about the (eventual) wedding, whether or not I’m planning yet and what my ideas are. So here’s the skinny: The Boy is due to graduate in May of next year. Obviously this is priority number one in both of our lives, and we’ve decided that planning a wedding is too much to deal with while he’s still in school. So the tentative date is June 21, 2014, which happens to be the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and our 5 year anniversary.

But just because I’m not putting down deposits yet doesn’t mean I’m not planning and working out ideas. I’ve got wedding fever bad, bad, bad; almost as bad as my taco fever. But as much as I want to be married like right now, right this second (an especially strong feeling now that we’re 3000 miles apart), the one nice thing about this loooooong engagement is I have plenty of time to play with different ideas about the aesthetic and mood of the event. So, without further ado, I’ve put together some wedding inspiration pieces, so that you guys can kind of get a feel for what it’s in the works.

Continue reading →