Wedding Cupcakes!

Wow, so planning a wedding, being a Mom, and blogging.. I had to choose one to put on hold, and luckily for the kids, I chose blogging ;) But I'm back in the real world now, and so excited to get you all caught up!

Along with the DIY theme of things, I chose to bake 200 cupcakes all by myself. Lucky for me, I have a dual oven so it made the process fly. We were going to order a nice elaborate cake for the top but we ran out of time. So we picked up a chocolate cake from the grocery store that morning, and put the topper right smack dab on the top. And boy was that a great idea! I loved the topper my Mom picked out. It showed up at my door only a couple days before the wedding, and I must admit, I was a little skeptical of my Mom's vision. But it really worked out great.

I should also mention here that my mom MADE that cupcake stand! Isn't it amazing?! She took plywood, material, pvc pipe, and that fancy ribbon stuff and made miracles. She's amazing.

And a big thanks to another amazing person, Ms. Latimer. One of my Groomsmen recruited his Mom to frost all 200 cupcakes while I got ready for the wedding.

And thanks to the great people at our favorite candy store, Smeeks, we were able to find the perfectly mismatched cupcake liners. And thanks to all of my wonderful bridesmaids, we were able to get them decorated! I found the awesome, easy recipes on BettyCrocker's website. I chose "Pink Champagne Cupcakes", which I found here and "Key Lime Cupcakes", which I found here. Tons of compliments, everyone loved them.

Photo Courtesy of Chadwick Fowler

Photo Courtesy of Stephane Mijuskovic

Much to do, much to do!

17 days?!? Oh. Em. Geeee  

I have a bit to get done still, but I think I'm doing okay.

I'm really nervous to stand in front of so many people. As of now, it looks like there will be 130 people in attendance! The hardest part so far was getting the rsvps. I called, emailed, texted, and went to houses for rsvps. But in the end, it is definitely worth it. Everyone knows they are welcome and wanted.

Here is a little preview to my ideas.

This is how the seating will look. It's not assigned, so there are no name tags. I figure a lot of people will be seeing family they haven't seen in a long time. I'd like them all to be able to sit near people they enjoy.

I'm using mason jars for all the glasses. Those will be set on top of the napkins that my wonderful Groom cut himself. I found the wooden spoons and forks through Ecoware Biodegradables and also through The Web Restaurant store. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/

The super cool retro straws were not very expensive at all. I found them here

http://www.kikkerlandshop.com/

I really loved the idea of the straws from the beginning. I thought they added a great touch without adding waste. I'm a big reuser, so as minimal as possible is great for me, and for those extras, I like them to be recycled. Here is a great blog I found for inspiration.

http://suchprettythings.typepad.com/

She uses pastel straws, which are really pretty.

We are almost done with the napkins. Justin says he will cut the rest for me on Wednesday. He's such a trooper <3

My second big project is the aisle runner. I have traced the letters, and gotten only a couple lines of words painted. When finished, it will read

"A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with one Step"

That is the inscription on Justin's temporary band that I bought him a few months ago.

Here is my progress so far

Other than that, I don't have too much left to diy. I'll keep you posted on the Groomsmen favors that I'm putting together. They are looking great, you will love them!

!! No Alchohol !!

That's the first reaction we had too.

But seriously, is it THAT big of a deal? I've gotten opinions on this from a lot of my chat room friends and so many people think that no alchohol at a wedding should cause some sort of mass hysteria. We don't drink very much. And when we do, 3 drinks and I'm sloshed. Maybe 6 for the Mr. So we're having fun with the idea and making the most of it. No one is going to drive home drunk, and no one will puke after 5 drinks and 3 games of volleyball. I think the positives are looking pretty positive, dontcha think?

It's a 3 hour wedding people! If we live in a society where you must drink at a 3 hour event, I want to have as little to do with it as possible.

So our centerpieces... vintage-looking soda pops in a galvanized bucket. Topped off with a sign "for the toasts" I can't wait to put these together, they are going to look so cute. I won't be putting them together, however. My Step Mom is doing all the pre-wedding set up. I'll put one together before.. just for fun ;)

Now look me in the face and tell me you wouldn't love to toast to our love with the pop of your pop top.

So cool.

My Mom scored big when she found a ton of those vintge looking bottle openers from a wholesale restaurant supply store



Yep. So cool.

K, so that's all on the centerpieces/ no alchohol stuff I've got for now. We only have 31 more days and I'm so excited! I just got an email from one of my bridesmaids, who is making all of the bridesmaid gifts for me. She's done! WooHoo! One more thing to check off the list!

Final Invitations.. sent!

So busy these days, it's been forEVER since I've posted. But I wanted to check in and post up the final invites..

So here they are...

I decided I wanted to use recycled material to go with the theme of my "pro nature" wedding. I didn't want those torn pieces of paper (which I made from paper bags from Trader Joes) to just look like trash, so I searched everywhere for recycle stickers or stamps but couldn't find any. I finally traced a recycle symbol from my computer, made a stencil, and used a paint brush and some stamp ink to make my own label and this is how it turned out.

I designed the invitations and RSVPS myself, on photoshop. I found those envelopes at paperspapers.com. They are called "paper bag" envelopes and they were a perfect match.

After finding out last minute that we would not be able to have any drinking at our venue, I spoke with the hotel where I blocked rooms, and they agreed to let us have an afterparty at their bar with no deposits or minimums! Plus the rooms are only 60.00 so it's affordable for everyone. I'm really excited about this and wanted to mention it in the invites, even though they had already been made.

Fun Fun Fun!

Okay, super duper excited about this one....
We spend all this time and money on a wedding and I'm all stressed out about everyone having a good time. But that really has nothing to do with the location, the photographer, and only a little to do with the dj. Sooo........

We are totally going to have a PHOTOBOOTH at our wedding!! I'm so stoked, this is going to be awesome! I can already imagine my family and friends packed in a photobooth. Ha!

this picture was from a Yelp event we went to last winter. We're going to be using the same company, http://www.snapbooth.com/ This includes a Scrapbook/Guestbook with pictures of every picture taken at the wedding, 2 super awesome nice friendly booth workers, and a BOOTH!.. and they all get their own picture magnet favor! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Favors- check, and Guestbook- check!! Too much coffee- double check!

Took a Wedding Breather...

So we have been really busy these past couple weeks. We took a road trip to San Francisco for a family reunion and had a blast. It is just so beautiful there, we were afraid we were going to melt when we got home! But now that I'm back, I'm ready to hop back on this wedding grind. I spent the morning contacting djs. I am deciding on a few right now. One of them includes a photo slideshow, which we really like. And the other one just seemed all around professional. There are a few others, and it seems like the pricing for djs is not too bad. I was expecting a lot higher. So hopefully we will get that all squared away by the end of next week and that will put all my reservations behind me. Venue - check, Photographer - check, Catering - check, dj - almost checked! I am scrambling to finish the invitations now. I think I should be getting those out pretty darn soon... oo so excited!

Honeymoon

K, it's dinner time so I don't have much time to blog (I usually blog while I work) but I am so excited about our honeymoon! Disneyworld, here we come!!! I made this today-




I want to pin this little countdown to my shirt and wear it everywhere I go!

Photography

Have I mentioned that I found a photographer?!?! Well I'm super stoked about him. We searched and searched and looked at tons of wedding photos... I think if I see another wedding picture I'm going to throw up. His name is Chadwick and he's super nice. We met with him at the house and he showed us a couple videos and just really came across as a great guy. Not only that, but his photos are absolutely stunning. We are very lucky to have scored with such a great photographer, I can't wait to see how the photos come out!

I really wish I could pull some of his photos off his site, but obviously I would have to pay for that. I'll save that money for my own pictures :) But you can still check him out!

This is his wedding photography site
http://www.modernweddingscenes.zenfolio.com

http://www.chadwickfowler.com

Oh oh oh!! Wait, I found one of his wedding videos on Youtube.. very cool

Rehearsal Dinner Planning

I am feeling really behind these days. There is a lot I need to do and I felt so ahead of the game at first! I think I need to focus on the invitations considering they are going out first. We are going to make them and I want to make something amazing on an amazing budget. My thoughts are newspapers, maybe thread... I need some good ideas.

While we are on the subject of inviations though, I found a really neat idea that I would like to try for the rehearsal dinner. Since I don't need so many invitations, this might be doable. I will need some help from a friend of mine, so I will have to email him and see if he would help me out. I'm sure he will, he's awesome. So here it is-


So cute right? I found these on a cute little website online called apartment therapy.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/diy-party-invitations-085279

DIY Decorations

My step mom has offered to help me with crafts. She is super crafty. I am so lucky to have such a crafty family. Anywho, she has offered and I found something that would be perfect. So I asked her if she could make these paper mache lanterns for me. I found these online and they are so adorable. So I await her response... (I hope it's yes!)

btw, this super cute idea can be found here:

http://www.reesedixon.com/2009/06/paper-mache-party-lights.html

update! She said yes! Awesome!!! These are going to look great, can't wait!

Invitations and Replys

So I'm ordering my reply cards today. I went really back and forth on reply cards. I know it's "proper" to have them, but I also know that it saves a lot of money and paper not to. So I did some more research in to it, and ran across this idea where your guest "doodles" his own reply. I totally love that idea and figure that in order to meet the criteria of "good manners" that some people consider so important, I'll print them on postcards to save on shipping. PLUS, I can make it fun and put together this neat little idea. Since all of our friends are so creative and talented, we just had to do this - good manners or not. So I designed some of my own and will have them printed through overnightprints.com I have a promo code to make them 60% off. I actually got that in an email, but I go here- http://www.retailmenot.com - before I order anything online. You can usually save a good amount of money. I saved 60% on the postcards, and paying just 13 bucks with shipping included!

So here is what I came up with

It says-
Please RSVP at http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/cassandraspade&justinmccloud
But we'd like to see exactly how you say it, so fill in a reply that fits you best, and don't forget to mention if you're bringing a guest
On the bottom it says-
Please respond by October 1st

Now I have to figure out what I'm doing for the actual invitation. I'm thinking something artsy. I found this really cool idea on GiversLog that I absolutely love.



How cool would it be to get that as an invitation?
So I'm mulling over it for now. But I'm happy I at least have the replys done!

Grape Jelly

The dresses are decided on, and the color will be "Grape Jelly". I love that! All of the dresses below come in that color and the girls get to pick their favorite. I'm really excited about this because each of my bridesmaids is so unique and when they are standing in front of everyone, I want them to show that. I wish I could wear one!!! Now we're working on shoes.. stay posted, it should get interesting :)

So much has happened already! We found a venue! We will be having the wedding at one of our groomsmen's grandparent's house in Casa Grande.. pretty sweet! I also decided on the website and it's now up and running - http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/cassandraspade&justinmccloud
I love it, it turned out really great.

We are still planning our trip to Casa Grande to check it out. I'm really excited, I've been told it will be perfect.

So I've been thinking a lot about the food situation for the wedding. I am really feelin the idea of the home made bread, the meat and cheese, sliced tomatos and home made soup. I think it will be great. Plus a huge pitcher of iced tea and one of lemonade. Do I need soda?? I guess Justin will freak if there isn't Dr. Pepper. So will Tyson. Maybe I will just get DP. That would totally be us. DP, Mimosas, Iced Tea and Lemonade, and a couple kegs. Which brings me to the keg and drinks. I guess I need someone to pour them. I think I could probably pay my neighborto do it. Then at toast time, I could delegate a couple of my family members to grab the drinks and pass them around. It would be so cool if I could find some really cheap high chairs to have at the wedding for some of the little ones. I will keep my eye out...

Venue

So I suppose the next thing on my agenda is to figure out how many people to invite and then where I'm going to put them. Well, we figured there will be about 100 people that have to be invited. And that's keeping it small. I have a humongous family. They just keep on reproducing, which is super cute when you get to see all the babies everywhere, but makes it hard to keep my wedding count low. But I wouldn't cut a single one of them, I love them.

So Justin's sister did a ton of extensive research and saved me about 5 hours in hunting time. Here is what she sent me (on the cutest e-stationary I have ever seen)

Phoenix parks and facilities are a great/inexpensive place to hold a wedding. Most park picnic areas are not reservable and are available only on a first-come, first-served basis, but could be great. In fact, if you look at Encanto Park Lagoon & Bridge it’s FREE! For a listing of all parks, visit the Parks webpage. (Reservable sites are available at North Mountain Park, South Mountain Park/Preserve, Papago Park, Encanto Park, Hance Park and Steele Indian School Park.) Beer permits are just $28!! For general information, call the Parks and Recreation information line at 602-262-6862. Heritage Square 115 North 6th Street (N.W. corner of 7th Street and Washington Street) Res. (602) 262-5071 Facility fee: Lath House: $ 1000 for eight hours, $ 125 per additional hour; entire plaza $1,200 for eight hours, $ 150 per additional hour; Rosson House Wedding 2 hours for $500, plus docent fees: 30 people or less only. Docent fees $10 per hour per docent. 2 docents required. Deposit: Minimum $ 250 Staff fee: $40 per hour for events over 100 Liquor is allowed 300 maximum Music is allowed/sound restrictions Off site parking Irish Cultural Center 1106 North Central Avenue (Adjacent to Hance Park) Res. 602-258-0109 Facility fee: Fri/Sat $ 1,250 for six hours, $ 100 per additional hour, Sun $ 1,000 for six hours, $ 100 per additional hour (week days are lower) Deposit required: $ 500 Staff fee: $ 25 per hour per 100 participants Damage fee (refundable) $ 150 Set-Up fee: $ 200 Security fee: $ 40 per hour per 100 participants Liquor is allowed 120 maximum/300 courtyard Music is allowed Parking on/off site Visit the center website Japanese Friendship Garden 1125 North 3rd Avenue (Located within Margaret T. Hance Park) Res. 602-228-0650 Only available for wedding ceremony/no receptions allowed. Facility fee: (FRI –SAT) $ 425 @ hour, two hour min. (SUN – THURS ) $ 275 @ hour, two hour min. Deposit: $ 300 Staff fee required No liquored allowed 150 maximum Music is allowed Parking on/off site Visit the Japanese Garden Website Encanto Park Lagoon & Bridge Outdoor Space: Ampitheather Island 15th Ave. and Encanto Blvd. Monday-Sunday from 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Free of charge (602) 261-8993 Enchanted Island - privately run call (602) 254-1200 Valley Garden Center 1809 North 15th Avenue 15th Avenue, bounded by Coronado and Holly Streets Res. (602) 252-2120 http://www.facebook.com/l/12c07;www.Valleygardencenter.org The Valley Garden Center is nestled in the historic Encanto Park neighborhood centrally located for easy access from all parts of the Valley. This lovely facility has a variety of meeting options ranging from banquet rooms to lush garden settings. There are several rate packages available to meet your wedding plans. To schedule an appointment, please call (602) 252- 2120.

Cool! Time to hunt in person...

So I checked out Encanto Park-










There are already benches! That's minus $200 for chair rentals!





So I love the spot. And I'm set on it. So I called and talked to Tracy at Parks and Recreations who told me that I will have a $28 alcohol fee plus a $10 fee if we have a sound system set up. Which yes, we will. She can't make the reservations until mid March though because the city will be making budget cuts and she doesn't know for sure if they will even be taking reservations. But what they do is close off the whole island for us. Nice! Will definitely be calling back in March. She says I'm ahead of the game, which is always good to hear! Spot down, moving on...

Wedding Websites

So I joined 2 different planning websites and I like them for different reasons.
theknot.com -
lots of funding for this site, so there are lots of options and little details. On my guest list, I can add the addresses. I like that. At first, I liked all the different links on the site. But after perusing some more, I realized that they are all "wedding sites" which translates to way overpriced, unnecessary stuff. No, I don't need little metal Ms sitting on each table. Because I've gotten one of those before and felt so bad when I threw it away because it didn't match anything in my house, and it collected dust. Also, in the "notebook" I can't make my own notes. I have to choose one of their listed vendors. Like for photographer, I can't type in "frenchy" because that's the guy that's doing it, and he's not listed in there, he's just a good friend.
WeddingWire.com -
I really like this site, but it doesn't let me save the addresses. So I just put them in the "phone number box". It's not as organized as theknot, but it does let me make my own notes. I like the intro to the website too. It has this little flash page that comes up and you have to hit "enter". I think that's cute.

So I still haven't decided which one I'm going to use. I'm kinda leaning more toward theknot just b/c I kinda like the design of the website a little better, even though it doesn't have the intro. For now, I'm entering everything in to both sites and I'll decide later which website I will tell everyone about.

It's a celebration, not a royal induction

Define Unorthodox:

• irregular: independent in behavior or thought; "she led a somewhat irregular private life"; "maverick politicians"
• breaking with convention or tradition; "an unorthodox lifestyle"

So my boyfriend (who happens to, unconventionally, be the father to my 2 gorgeous children) asked me to marry him. So now it's time for me to plan a wedding. I love planning parties, I've planned farm themed birthday parties with hay rides, 3-d barn cakes surrounded by hay bale cupcakes, and pigs in a blanket; A Runway Show birthday with a runway, dressing room, and a shimmering tiered cake... and I've done it all at a pretty good budget. I tend to have a knack for working on a budget. It's more of a challenge, and I have more fun. How fun is it to place an order for all the matching accessories and receive it all in one big box?
So when it came to planning my wedding I was really excited... until I turned to the 'net for inspiration. Wedding gowns, 2grand... WHAT?! Average cost of a wedding... 25 gs holy crap! That's not even including the rings and honeymoon. Okay, I'm thinking, I am not going to spend more money impressing and feeding a bunch of people then I do on a honeymoon with me and my new husband. And I'm not spending a typical year's salary on the ordeal either.

So I set out on my quest for a beautiful, memorable, "just like me" wedding and my budget is $3,000.
One more thing, why is it that I go to all of these forums and chats and I'm talking to these women who sound like they have been doing this wedding thing for years! Why do I feel so new at this?? And why does it all seem so cookie cutter? "so now's the time where you and your mother in law go pick a venue" "now's the time where your maid of honor has this ready.." and after that is the time when you turn in to bridezilla because you expected everyone's world to revolve around your wedding. Seriously. Don't these women realize that so many big things are going to happen in their lives? I just don't get it. Personally, my maid of honor works graveyards. And I'm not going to have someone other than my sister standing next to me as my maid of honor because she doesn't have time to drop everything and be my personal assistant. She has shit to do! And I don't don't expect my mother in law to take a second out on her house so she can pay for "her part". I don't they expect that either. Do these other women just come across as completely uncapable girls who are not complete until they have married, so that occasion has to be huge, like the induction in to life. Welcome to life ladies, now you can finally live... Pfff... Maybe it's because I'm a mother. I'm a fully capable woman who can, not only plan my wedding, but can also raise 2 amazing children along with the man of my dreams. So we celebrate that love and that bond with a ceremony. And that's what it is, a celebration of our love. And there are lots of people in love. So unless we want to turn this whole town in to a huge celebration (which I'm not opposed to), I will treat the day as it should be treated- A really exciting day to introduce my whole extended family and friends to my amazing other half.