The Backyard Invites

I posted a preview of The Backyard Invitations last week, but now that The Backyard Groom has done some magic to obscure our personal info, they are ready for a full reveal.

Here's the scoop. I could not be happier with our invitations. They are different than most of the wedding invites I've seen, and that's probably why I love them so much. They are very us, and every RSVP we've received so far has included a mention about how cool they are. But sadly, I don't think these pictures do them justice.

Anyway, Non-Bridesmaid C. (who might be starting her own invitation business!) designed these for us. She knew we wanted to go as economical as possible so we stuck with two pieces, an invitation and a response card, that could both be made from one piece of cardstock from PaperSource. Then she picked some fabulous red #10 envelopes with string and button closures to pack them in. And on her recommendation, I added the too cute King and Queen of Hearts stamps and sent them on their merry way.

But you don't want words. You want pictures, right? First, here are a few more words and one detail. In my post about my lack of DIY skills, I talked about how Non-Bridesmaid C. was screenprinting the invites by hand. Since our invite is all text, including some small text, the screenprinting, while adding a really cool handmade feel, ended up making some of the smaller text difficult to read, as you can see below, particularly for "November" and the end of "Saturday".

We worried it might be too hard for people to read, so C. ended up printing them out on her fancy printer, and I still think they look cool and handmade. Here's a shot of the entire invitation with some info blocked out:

In the bottom left corner, she included a small detail of a tree with twinkle lights (which you can see better in the preview post). She carried the string lights idea into the response card and even the envelope. Because the RSVP card had less text, she was able to screenprint it by hand. (Yes, after some debate, we decided to go with an e-mail RSVP. I'm sure both Emily Post and Emily Gilmore wouldn't approve, but the Earth will.)

Here's a shot of the edge of the envelopes that carried on the string light motif that was also screenprinted:

So here's a shot of the full suite:

How are your invites different than the norm?

Registry Redux

Like I said before, The Backyard Groom and I didn't plan on having a registry for about a gazillion different reasons, not the least of which are that many of our guests will be traveling to attend our wedding and we've already lived together for two years. Back in August when I posted, we'd decided if we were going to register at all, we would do a honeymoon registry. Then a few weeks later, we booked a honeymoon that sounds much pricier than it actually is, and I was afraid people might resent contributing to our swanky-sounding trip.

So we hemmed and hawed about if we should do a registry at all until finally we bit the bullet and went the traditional route.

Yes, we went to Macy's and bantered over which spatulas would best flip The Backyard Groom's trademark pumpkin pancakes.

In all honesty, the entire registry process was a little weird to both of us. With only 20 guests, we just wanted to register for a few things, but the lady at the registry desk was having none of that. She told us we should pick at least 50 items. 50? Seriously? We compromised with 35, but even that felt extravagant. And a good portion of those 35 things are small things, like the aforementioned spatula.

Even after the awkwardness of standing in a store with a gun and trying to decide if we really needed nicer sheets, the actual act of telling people where you're registered reaches an entirely different level of awkwardness. Of course, we didn't put the information on our invitations, but when people ask outright where you're registered the subtext of that exchange basically reads as follows:

"You're getting married so we have to buy you something."

"You better get us something good, or we will probably cut you out of our lives FOREVER."

"Where is the list of these mundane things that we are supposed to buy you?"

"Macy's."

Maybe I'm being cynical, but it all makes me feel guilty for picking out a list of gifts I want, like I'm six years old and writing a letter to Santa. When you're a kid, eagerly dog-earing the pages of what you want from the Toys-R-Us catalog is what you do, but as an adult, it just feels strange and selfish, making the entire ordeal more like an exercise in etiquette than giving and receiving a heartfelt gift.

And speaking of heartfelt gifts, I'm also worried that having a registry will discourage the people that might prefer to get us something creative and different, and not on a registry, that they think The Backyard Groom and I might like better, like a Batman cake (I beat y'all to the punch on that one).

So what do you think? Am I a cynic, or does creating a grown-up wish list feel a bit weird to you too?

Rainy Day Photos

Remember that sneak peek of our engagement session I gave last week? Well, now it's time for the feature presentation.

First, a disclaimer. Like I said before, we ended up with torrential downpours (the first in months!) on the evening of our engagement session, so we got only a few photos. We had picked an outdoor location, the Paramount Theatre, because we went there on quite a few of our early dates. We hung out under awnings and at a nearby bar while we waited for the rain to stop but it never quite did. And since The Backyard Groom and I are both photographers, we empathized with our friendor photographer's need to keep his equipment safe and dry.

So all in all, not quite the engagement session I had thought it would be. I confessed about how I obsessed on choosing multiple outfits, but we didn't even end up with time or enough photos for a costume change.

I'm not totally in love with this first photo, but you can tell by the frizzball that my hair became that it was not the kindest night to be photographed on. This was actually the first photo of the night, and I sort of feel like we already looked exasperated by the rainy day photo experience. Oops.

I Photoshopped a few of these, but I think I got a little filter happy. For our photography side business, The Backyard Groom is the processing whiz so please indulge my crazy attempts at effects.

The end! I feel like we got some cool photos out of the night, but because we were so rushed and constantly ducking in and out of the rain, I'm afraid they look a little posed. I tend to like engagement photos that feel more candid and organic (as organic as having someone follow you around with a camera can be). Our friendor photographer offered to do another shoot, but I'm not sure yet if we'll take him up on it. With only a little more than a month to go, spare time is hard to find. And I'm afraid I'll be headed back into obsessive territory.

Did your engagement session have a sequel?

A math problem

What do you get when you add:

PLUS:

Put it together in:

And add a dash of:

Stumped???

The Answer is The Backyard Invites!

I'll do a full post showing all the details of our handmade invites soon.

Suit Up!

A while back, I mentioned that The Backyard Groom wanted to take some style cues from the Sterling Cooper executives over on "Mad Men," but I think he also wouldn't mind finding a suit like the ones Barney Stinson wears on "How I Met Your Mother" while coining catchphrases (like this blog's title) left and right.

The first time we went suit shopping for the wedding, we hit up Banana Republic's "Mad Men" promotion. The suits were sold in separates and all very picked over, so we had a hard time finding anything that either (a) fit or (b) matched.

Next we tried Macy's. The suits were more plentiful than Banana Republic, but there was still a somewhat limited selection in his size. (The Backyard Groom wears Long sizes because he's so tall.) But on only his second attempt in the fitting room, he stumbled on a suit that suited him perfectly. It's black with black shadow stripes, narrow lapels and two buttons. And flat-front pants, which was my main hope for the new suit since his other suit has pleated pants. Unfortunately Macy's makes it very difficult to steal images from their site, and I forgot to take my camera on the shopping trip, so this is the best photo I could find online of the Alfani suit.

From the beginning, The Backyard Groom said he wanted a blue shirt, so we found him a Calvin Klein dress shirt in just the right shade of blue to make his eyes pop. Next, our very helpful Macy's sales associate helped us pick out a coordinating tie. We looked through about 20, from stripes and dots and crazy patterns to paisleys, which is what we ultimately chose. I couldn't find the exact Michael Kors tie online that we ended up with, but here is a similar one also from the Michael Kors line.

Then we picked up a couple other ties for him to wear with the suit in its post-wedding days, a new pair of dress shoes, socks and a belt. And we thought guys had it easy! Well, I guess compared to the big wedding dress hunt they do, but there were more components and choices for dressy menswear than either of us thought.

In case any of you are shopping at Macy's for anything wedding related (or just for fun!), they are running a really great promotion right now. You spend $25 for a special card, a percentage of which goes to charity (for our store it was the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas), and then whenever you show the card from now until December 31 (that means Black Friday and Christmas shopping, ladies!), they put 10% of each purchase on a gift card that you'll get at the beginning of 2010.

Now The Backyard Groom has to get his pants hemmed (glad I'm not the only one going through alterations) and then I can't wait to see him all suited up on the big day!

Did you strike it lucky with a suit?

Better By Half?

WARNING: There are many, many, many photos ahead. Prepare yourself.

Back in May, I posted some inspirations for my wedding day hair. At the time, I was pretty set on an updo, both because of my hair's resistance to curl and because I thought it seemed more bride-y. Then my hair stylist suggested that because I have a strapless dress, I should consider half-up, half-down styles. I hadn't really thought of that before, but when I mentioned the idea to a few people, they seemed to think it was a good idea.

Now that I have a hair trial scheduled for the middle of October, the time has come to get serious about finding some looks that I like. Honestly, I had an easier time finding updos that struck my fancy, but I'd like my stylist to try both an updo and a half-up do. Half-up dos seem to be a little more hit or miss because there's such a slippery slope to prom hair, which is usually characterized by the top half slicked back and the bottom half in supertight curls, or on the other end of the spectrum, anything resembling the hair style of choice of Stephanie Tanner in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

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Like I said in my last hair post, my locks are cut in a blunt shoulder-length bob with long, sideswept bangs. Finding half-up dos for hair of my length proved tricky. The best option I found was this photo of Kristin Cavallari, although only one side of her hair looks pinned back.

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I do like the look, but I'm afraid it may look more party girl than bride. Although that could just be because I watched way too many episodes of "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" thanks to the urging of a couple non-bridesmaids that shall go unmentioned. (Cough, B., C., Cough.)

When I wear my hair half-up on any normal day, it looks vaguely similar to the how Rebecca Romijn's hair looks below. I should probably clarify that sadly I look nothing like Rebecca Romijn when I wear it that way.

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I think if I just try to go that normal route, it will feel too plain and everyday. I want pretty and, yes, a little fancy.

In the next photo, Eva Longoria amps up the sexy on a typical half-up, half-down do with some major Brigitte Bardot-esque volume. Could I pull that off with shoulder-length hair?

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Here's a similar but softer look on Mrs. Ryan Adams.

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Next, I left La-La Land behind and looked for some half-up, half-down dos worn by regular folks. I LOVE the next photo, but I don't think I have enough hair (in addition to the shorter length, my hair is fine and thin) to replicate the look.

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This next one is similar to Eva's and Mandy's, although I'm not quite sure what that big white thing is.

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I like this shot of how a (much more subtle) barrette was used in a half-up do. Pretty, pretty.

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This next one also uses some pretty weaving, although the half that's down has way more curl than my hair would likely hold.

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Enough with the regular people. Let's get back to celebrities!

I tried to think of someone famous with hair a similar length to mine who mixed up their styles frequently, and I suddenly remembered my favorite teen gumshoe - Veronica Mars! In any given episode, I swear they changed Veronica's hairstyle at least five times. And for the first two seasons, her hair wasn't much longer than mine. I knew something would turn up on Google Images, but sadly, I'm not as good of a detective as Veronica and her dad. (A funny aside for fans of the show - when you Google "Veronica Mars hair", the search returns more photos of Dick Casablancas than Veronica.)

Anyway, I looked for some photos of Kristen Bell away from Neptune, CA, and found the one below. Yes, it's longer than mine, but I've got the bangs. And I like the way it requires very little curl.

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After that, well, I got tired of Googling. So what do you think? Do you like any of these styles?

Coming Attractions

So despite all my obsessing, our engagement session outside the historic Paramount Theatre didn't really go as planned. Chalk it up to the rainiest weather we've had here in Austin in months. Oh well. A few of the photos turned out good. The Backyard Groom wants to play with some of them in Photoshop, but I had to post this one as soon as I saw it.

We didn't even know the usher had been standing there!

Have you ever run into any snags during a photo shoot?

Confessions of an Obsessive Bride

The Backyard Wedding may not be flush with all the details worthy of a spread in Martha Stewart Weddings, and I'm more than happy to dismiss The Knot essentials like programs and table numbers without a fleeting second thought. But just because our wedding is small doesn't mean I can't be as obsessive about certain details as big-wedding brides. Maybe it's just that the aspects of the wedding I get caught up in are a little different.

Take last Friday. We were all set to take our engagement photos that evening outside Austin's historic Paramount Theatre. Well, we were all set except I still had no idea what I was going to be wearing. What's an obsessive bride to do? Why, have their indulgent fiance take photos of them in 13 different outfits the night before, of course! And then run home in the driving rain on their lunch break to finagle taking a photo of themselves to add one last-minute option to the mix. Then send all 14, yes, 14, photos to family, friends and family friends (Thanks, M.A. and H.!) and frantically beg for their opinions.

Yep, that's how I spent all day Friday. When I was at work. And supposed to be working. Oops.

And then, as is the custom with the very best-laid plans, our engagement session didn't quite work out the way we had intended. The driving rain on my lunch break hadn't let up by the evening and ended up lasting through most of the weekend. After a ridiculous scorcher of a summer here in Austin, I was thrilled for the rain (although I hope Weddingbee blogger and fellow Austinite Miss Mouse still managed to have a beautiful wedding day), but because of the wet weather, we had to cut our engagement session seriously short and spend most of it planning our shots around the intermittent downpours.

Also, my hair frizzed out so big that I doubt you'll even notice which of the 14 outfits made the cut.

We should get the photos sometime this week from our friendor photographer, and if I don't look like a drowned rat, I'll post a few. In the meantime, I'll get back to reading wedding blogs and figuring out what I'm going to obsess about next.

Wait, I mean I'll get back to work. Right.

What do you obsess about?

It's a nice day for a white wedding wine

Sorry about the title. I couldn't resist.

So earlier this week, I talked about the red wine we picked for the wedding. On the same trip to Spec's when the wine guy picked out our two red options, he also suggested two Texas pinot grigios - one by Llano Estacado and the other by Messina Hof.

Before I got a chance to open these babies, I decided to visit a different Spec's and ask a different wine guy. This time I got a completely different answer. This guy suggested two Texas varietals that would complement barbecue - the McPherson Viognier and the Llano Estacado Chenin Blanc. He said both would be sweeter than the pinot grigios. So here are the four bottles.

I gathered another group of four tasters, and while the two dry white wine drinkers preferred the Llano Estacado Pinot Grigio, the overall consensus was that the crowd-pleasing and sweeter Llano Estacado Chenin Blanc (on the far right) was the winner. And it costs only $5.99 a bottle, which is pretty doggone exciting.

I'm still on the hunt for a Texas sparkling wine, but I haven't found one yet. Any suggestions? If that doesn't work out, I guess a round of champagne tasting is in order next.

Which white wine did you pick?

Red, Red Wine

As I mentioned way back in May when I talked about the possibilities for The Backyard Beer, we'd really like to feature Texas specialties at our wedding, from barbecue to Shiner Bock. And of course that extends to the wine. In the past decade, the Texas Hill Country, which is located immediately west of Austin, has earned a reputation for having particularly good wines, so in this case, going local should also mean going tasty.

When Non-Bridesmaid R. paid a pre-wedding trip to Austin recently, we took it upon ourselves to do some wine tasting. We talked to a wine expert at local liquor mecca Spec's, and he suggested two local wines that would work particularly well with barbecue (our wedding meal of choice) and our budget (less than $10 a bottle). One was the Llano Estacado Signature Red Meritage, and the other was Becker Vineyards Iconoclast Cabernet Sauvignon. Here are the two bottles:

Our four wine testers all voted for the Becker Cab, and lucky for us, it checks in at only $7.99 a bottle. Woohoo! Not only that, but its label is infinitely cooler:

Up next, we try four different whites. Wine tasting is just such a burden, you know.

Did you have a party to pick your wines?

More Memory Keepers

In my last post, I talked about the memory book The Backyard Groom's grandma bought us. It doubles as a guestbook, and honestly, I hadn't given very much consideration to a guestbook before receiving that gift. I still want to use it because I know those memory books make such neat keepsakes. We can have people sign it before the ceremony even begins, right when they enter The Backyard.

As film fans and photographers, the walls of our apartment bear no shortage of framed photos and movie posters. But the walls of our bedroom are pretty dull. We've got a couple of framed photos, and that's it. Last night I got an idea. Wouldn't it be cool to have something from our wedding that would double as art? My parents have their wedding certificate framed in their bedroom, but certificates certainly looked cooler and more personalized back then than they do now in the age of computers and laser printers.

So what if in addition to the memory book that guests sign before the ceremony, we have a different thing for them to sign before dinner or during the reception. Is that overkill? With a big wedding, I think it might be, but with 20 guests, I feel like it's doable.

This morning I looked for different options. The first one is one that I've seen at several weddings - the photo mat signing. Here is a good example:

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We really have a lot of photos of the two of us around the house, so I'm not totally crazy about this idea. I know I'll want some of our wedding and engagement photos framed, but I think I'd like something different.

Then I started thinking about other things we could mat and frame. This led me to think about our invitations, which I am giddily excited about (and promise to show real photos of soon!). I thought we could mat our invite and have people sign around it. Then when I mentioned this to Non-Bridesmaid C., the invite designer herself, she suggested printing out a bigger version of the invite and matting that. I searched Flickr for ideas and saw this cool poster where the couple were having people sign directly on it, like a concert or movie poster or something.

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I really like this idea. I think it would fit with everything else in our apartment and be a fun way to remember the day. Plus the ever present invitation would mean The Backyard Groom would have no excuse for ever forgetting our anniversary!

I kept searching online to find other ideas of guestbooks that double as wall art. Then I came across a beautifully romantic idea in the Quaker marriage certificate. In Quaker Weddings (scroll down to 'law' to read about it), the vows are hand lettered (usually in calligraphy) onto a piece of nice paper and then the piece of paper is signed by the bride, groom and everyone in attendance as a demonstration of their support for the marriage. Even the words describing the certificate makes me all swoony, but look at the photo of one below (and preferably open it in a new tab or window so you can read the text) and try not to swoon yourself:

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I really like both ideas. I'm not sure how expensive it would be obtain one of these Quaker marriage certificates, so I'll have to look into that.

Maybe we just need more wall space...

What do you think of these options? Are you turning any aspect of your wedding into a piece of art?

Memory Keepers

When The Backyard Wedding fiiiiiinallly gets here, I want plenty of different ways to document the day and all that comes after. I've heard so many brides say that the day just passes by in a blur, and with such a small wedding, I don't think we're in much danger of getting receiving line amnesia, but I want to take precautions anyway. I've already posted about photo books, which we'll definitely be making and serve as a good solution for any fears of forgetfulness.

Recently The Backyard Groom's sweet grandmother gifted me with a traditional wedding memory book. It's ivory, which makes me happy because it matches my dress, and it's also got room for all kinds of details inside, from detailed descriptions of the courtship (love that word!) to a place for all the guests to sign. I hadn't really thought much about guestbooks before I got the memory book, so at least we don't have to worry about that now. Here's a photo of the book's cover:

That takes care of the wedding day, but I'd like to do something special to chronicle our early days as newlyweds. Enter the most ingenious gift ever, courtesy of Non-Bridesmaid R. It's perfect for a pair of movie fans, concertgoers and travelers like The Backyard Groom and me. I give you the Ticket Stub Diary:

Each page has different sized spaces to insert ticket stubs, complete with a margin to put notes about each ticket stub.

It's such a simple yet awesome concept that I can't believe no one thought of it before. She picked it up in a boutique on the East Coast, but I bet someone craftier than me could try for a DIY version.

How will we fill its pages? Well, The Backyard Groom has kept all his movie ticket stubs since high school, but I've only kept up with really important ones. To balance that out, I think we'll start putting stubs in the book right after we say "I do" and thus making our Tokyo honeymoon and all that comes after it fair game.

What are some other good ways to chronicle your wedding and your early days as newlyweds?