3 Weeks Out! Wrap-up Time.

I decided that I want cute button favors for everyone, to go along with the candy. Little 1" buttons. So I did a cute little design last night (I will admit - I stole it from a vintage typewriter ribbon tin!!)

Today I'm taking a 1/2 day off work to finish buying up craft stuff for my "Craft Shower" tomorrow. I still have a lot to do... but I'm not gonna panic. No need. I've always been a down-to-the-wire kind of person - that's just how I roll.

Also, finished up the bustier pattern for my dress last night, now I just need to do the skirt pattern, underblouse pattern, alternate skirt pattern - and sew away! Wee!

I'm ALSO getting my hair cut and touched up tomorrow too - I haven't been to the salon for AGES because I usually handle that myself, but it will be nice to have someone else do it for me. 3 weeks to let it grow out a bit, that's a good thing :)

Whew! OK. Gotta buckle down!

Adventures in Patternmaking - Wedding Gown Edition

I finally got started on the pattern for my sweet little wedding dress this week. For some reason, it took me a while to get going - for a long time I've been to distracted by other pressing needs such as the invitations, various wedding crafts, dress shopping with both moms for their dresses... the list goes on and on.

The design for my dress can actually be seen on the invitation preview illustration if you skip down a few posts to THIS ONE. I love the concept very much, I wanted to play off of 1940s and early 50s tradition of wearing a nice suit instead of a gown by creating a multiple piece ensemble; however, I also wanted to incorporate classic 1940s style lines in order to place the ensemble firmly in the proper time period. The close fitting pencil skirt is a bit more 50s inspired, but all together I think it's a smashing vintage look.

I finished up the bustier pattern last night, so far so good when I double-checked the bust cups against my form. I'm a bit concerned about the bust "wings" hanging properly due to the hand of the silk I will be using, but I can always just tack those down discreetly. I did manage to find a gorgeous off-white "aspirin dot" tulle for the underblouse - deep V-necks and V-backs do a body good! I'm planning on making a fuller skirt to wear with the underblouse for the reception (bustier and pencil skirt will be jettisoned at that point), so I will have plenty of room for dancing and mingling. I'm fully prepared to totter down the aisle, but a pencil skirt just won't do for a night of swing.

I'm revving to get back to my shop and finish up the peplum and underblouse patterns tonight, and possibly the pencil skirt (which will be extremely simple...). I'm on track to have finished ensemble ready to go by next Friday - so here's hoping! After I finish the dress, I will be finishing up my headpiece - a frothy concoction of pleated horsehair and russian veiling. Yum! If anyone out there is looking for a nice millinery supply store, look no further than Judith M Millinery Supply - they have a huge selection of veiling, netting and various supplies.

One Month To Go!

Until our Big Day.

So excited.

It's been a long time coming.

Can't wait to be Mrs. instead of Miss!

Jewelry --or-- These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

We FINALLY got around to purchasing Ryan's wedding band. A very handsome ring for a very handsome man. Gotta love the iPhone - I was able to buy the band on our way to another couple's wedding! Multitasking is what separates us from the beasts of the field my friends.

Anywho, we bought the ring from an amazing shop on Etsy - robandlean.etsy.com. The shop is run by a husband and wife jewelry making dream team, creating beautiful handmade baubles perfect for bearded manly men like Ryan.

His ring is aerospace grade titanium (wee!) with manzanita wood inlays. I can't wait for it to get here!




In other wedding ring news, we also managed to get my engagement/wedding ring cleaned and sized this past week (after 11 months - yeah, I'm lazy). It's so beautiful - I need to get some nice photos taken to show it off. It's a beautiful vintage Art Deco piece, purchased at auction, shipped from Israel. No appraisal yet, but we got a really good deal on it so hopefully it's worth more than we paid!

I think vintage rings are a great option for brides seeking an alternative to the boring offerings at the mall jewelry stores. Etsy is also another wonderful source for bits and baubles, either vintage or handmade. Custom jewelers like the shop who resized my ring are also another great source for one of a kind pieces.

This Wedsite is Stretchin' Me!

I decided to keep things simple for our RSVPs, and create an email address to which all of our guests could send their replies. That hasn't panned out as well as I hoped, generating what can possibly be termed "Mass Confusion" on the part of some family members. Something had to be done. I had to test the very outer limits of my web development knowledge. I had to tackle... the PHP web form of death!!!

I would like to announce that I am, in fact, victorious. There is one more small tweak that I need to make (Keep It Simple Silly) in the form of a confirmation/thank you page that people are redirected to once they submit the form. One user has already emailed me asking if I did in fact receive their RSVP - which I did. Works beautifully. Except for that missing "Thanks!" page.

Take a gander (complete with notes!)

You can also visit our wedsite at http://www.ryanlovesjess.com/, featuring live sideshow performers and komodo dragons!

(Disclaimer: not all of my ridiculous promises regarding "Komodo Dragons" and "Sideshow Performers" can be fulfilled at this time)

Sewing, Stamping, Mailing - I'm tired!

I finally got our invites cut out, tied up, stamped twice, sealed, stickered and out the door. Whew! Talk about a time-sucker, but they were worth it. Everyone we've heard back from LOVES the finished product, I'll get some photos of the complete package posted as soon as possible - tomorrow I hope!

Invitations are so important for a wedding, because they are the first impression of how the couple is approaching their big day - which is very helpful to guests when it comes to dress style, general feel of the wedding, etc. I personally am so sick and tired of getting generic, boring invites that speak very little visually. A wedding is a celebration of two souls uniting as one - the ultimate combination of two personalities if you ask me. So why not let your personality and at least a bit of soul flow through the paper goods for your big day? Granted, I have an advantage as a graphic designer - I was able to design and create all of our paper and web goods for our big day myself. But there are always plenty of designers out there (me! me!) who LOVE working with other couples to create the paper suite of their dreams. Hire them. It's worth it.

First impressions also get people excited to attend... believe me.

So far we've had several people RSVP whom I would never expect to get into the spirit of our vintage 40s-meets-USO show wedding. We very prominently displayed the URL for our "wedsite" as a hangtag with the finished invitation suite, directing people there for more info regarding our venues, dress etiquette, etc. Well let me tell you - almost everyone I've heard back from has ALSO included a link or note regarding the fabulous retro outfit that they're planning on wearing to our celebration. Now that's influence... all done through paper goods my friends.

I recently ran across a sweet little design company that specialized in fantastically quirky wedding invitations: Royal Steamline. Again, there are plenty of designers out there who love working with couples from all walks of life - so poke around Etsy or websites such as OffbeatBride and see what you discover. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And if anyone out there is thinking about pursuing a custom invitation suite, feel free to give me a ring as well - I'd love to help you create the wedding invitation of your dreams. Paper perfection, I aim to amaze. You can contact me directly via jess@rockinbdesign.com!

Pictures soonly, I promise!

Printed Invites, Ready to Go!

But not quite cut out ;) I'll get there this week...






I decided that I wanted to do cute paper-doll style portraits of us for our invites, that guests can color and cut out themselves if they choose. If I had planned a bit better (or a bit further ahead of time), I would have made a note of this ON the actual invites... oh well. Originally I wanted to do letterpress but that was WAY expensive (heart attack expensive), so I decided to buy a bunch of pretty recycled paper and have them printed up full color by a local printer. I like them WAAAAAY better this way, I about died when they pulled the proof for me at the printer's... they're beautiful. Here are the working files, hopefully I'll have a pic of the finished invites once we get everything put together. I'm proud of these puppies!

Yes, we're both wearing our wedding outfits in the illustrations. I did our portraits in pencil, colored in PS, then did layout in AI. We're having a WWII USO show themed wedding, hence the stars and "softened patriotic" color scheme.