The Invitation Reveal!

The time has come, hive! I'm revealing our invitations today! But before I do, I have to do two things.

First, if you're doing the math in your head thinking "But, Otter, it's only the end of January. Why are you sending your invitation so early?" Well hive, by now it has already happened, but on the day we went to get our invitations weighed, we were informed that postage rates were about to go up. While we had to put the extra amount on the return RSVP card, I wasn't paying for extra postage to delay sending the invitations by a couple of weeks. Instead, out they went! Plus, as not everyone is lucky enough to have the great job that I have, I was concerned that some individuals may not be able to get the time off if we didn't let them know more specific details sooner rather than later.

Second, yes, I'm a giant nerd. So I went ahead and made Mr. Otter stop and take a photo of me with the sample invitation before we went in to the post office.

If you'll first remember our invitation inspiration and the final product, you'll remember these photos:

Photo via Impressed Inc. / Invitation design by a friend of the bride

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Personal image / Design by MOH Cubbie

Thankfully, MOH Cubbie is leaps and bounds ahead of us in terms of design and made her own version of our invitation, featuring our wedding colors. As soon as we saw it, we were hooked! So without any more delays, here are our invitations!

What do you think of the color scheme!? We're thrilled with how they turned out; and we can't thank MOH Cubbie enough for lending her excellent design services to us for the big day.

Mr. Otter has a ring...

...that he can't wear until April and even though he'd probably rather I didn't share publicly, he was super pouty about it when he got it and couldn't wear it. I can't blame him - I want to wear my band already and I have an engagement ring! But it was still pretty funny. ;)

In my first post talking about the Mr.'s ring, I showed a few different styles that we didn't love, and two that we did. Not surprisingly, Mr. O decided on a ring that was one of the two I used for my post.

Personal photo / The ring!

Personal photo / This must be his model pose... ;) 

Shopping for his ring was surprisingly simple. We went in to the jewelry store, looked around for approximately five to ten awkward minutes waiting on someone to be available to help us, and then finally looked at a few different rings. While he did try on both the lighter and darker alternatives, he ultimately decided to go with the in between finish. Like me, Mr. O tends to get bored of things that aren't "normal" for him after a short time, and we can't let that happen with his wedding band!

We ordered the ring that same day and it arrived less than two weeks later. Unfortunately, it didn't quite fit him and we had to send it back out to be sized. NOW - let me tell you, I was just waiting for him to say something about them sending it out and having to wait on it to come back in (since mine had to be sent out twice), but he's smarter than that and didn't make much of a comment.

It came back in again and this time, it fit perfectly! Another task to check off my list.

How long did it take you and your SO to choose their ring?

THEY'RE HERE!

Okay, so there are things I should talk about. Like how I've been MIA, or how life has been busy blah blah blah but really when I have something cute to share I'm all about sharing so here they are - the little Mr. and (almost) Mrs. Otter cake toppers!

While all personal photos, I obviously cannot take credit for these amazing little otters. These otters were handmade by Maria, her Etsy store is called HeartShapedCreations. They traveled all the way from Maria in Greece to me here in Indiana, and managed to survive the shipping mess that came along with the devastating flooding from Sandy.

I can't tell you bees how absolutely IN LOVE I am with these little guys. Maria was wonderful to work with - I found a Mr. Otter in her store, and sent a message asking for a Mrs. Otter to match. From there I had a few different options to choose from. Mr. Otter, for example, wanted a top hat on his clay counterpart. (I squashed that one since, you know, he isn't ACTUALLY wearing a top hat...) I also chose to have the veil for Mrs. Otter, and to have the blush pink incorporated in the flowers and tie.

Even after getting them, photographing them, and showing them to anyone who will look at them, I can't believe how wonderfully they turned out! These little guys are going to sit on top of our cake (which I have yet to talk about... coming soon, hopefully) and then get a new home in a shadowbox so they're permanently displayed in our home.

I think the reason I chose Otters is obvious, but some asked why not choose our favorite animals instead. Simply enough, I wanted to incorporate the Bee into the wedding festivities! Blogging for the bee, being on the boards, and interacting with so many amazing people has been wonderful (and okay, maybe has kept me mostly sane throughout planning), so I couldn't imagine NOT incorporating the Otter in some way. :)

What do you think of them!?

*Drumroll please...*

Image via I Can Haz Cheeseburger / Text added by yours truly

I love organization and if my closet space allowed it, I would hang everything. (In order of length and color within length, of course.) Unfortunately, this particular closet doesn't allow me my fair share of hanging space, so instead I've had to *shudder* fold some of my stuff. I'll come clean - not having to fold things is the main priority in hanging clothes. It's much more difficult to color coordinate when things are folded... sigh.

Anyway, when it came time to think about a hanger for one of the most significant pieces of clothing I'll ever wear, it was obvious I was going to get something special. (Okay, so wire hangers have been done a lot, but that doesn't make it any less special to me!) 

There were so many options...

Image (and hanger) via Etsy seller Designsathome

The thought process here was that I've always said I'll only get married once; therefore, I would only be a bride once. Shouldn't I get the bride hanger to enjoy the title for the day?

Image (and hanger) via Etsy seller HandcraftedAffairs

For this hanger, I loved that it included the date, a heart, and a special flower detail at the top. What made me decide this wasn't the one was that my dress has some intricate details, so I didn't want to take away from the dress too much by having a ton going on with the hanger.

Image (and hanger) via Etsy Seller CustomWeddingHangers

Again with the hearts - I love them! What changed my mind about this one was that it would be the full date. I'm not a huge fan of odd numbers, so having that 3 at the end made me a little less likely to choose something with our date on it.

At the end of the search, I think it was pretty obvious to myself (and anyone who knows me well, ;)) which hanger I would go with. The classic Mrs. HisLastName. I'm ecstatic to change my name, so it didn't come as too much of a shock that I would choose the last name hanger. 

Yes! My hanger, custom made by Amber at MyAmberColouredWorld. I was very back and forth on if I should capitalize the letters or not but eventually decided not to, and finally placed my order. A few weeks later, my hanger was on the way, and now it's displayed in our bedroom just waiting for the big day. ;)

Did you get a custom hanger for your dress?

Two Sweethearts, One Table

I know, I know - I'm not clever. At least I try right!? ;) Today, we're talking sweetheart tables. Before I talk about the table, though, let me talk more about the decision making process.

Like many bees before me, when I started thinking about all the things you must know before you get married, I thought it would be beneficial for us to read Gary Chapman's The 5 Love Languages. I know how I give love to others, but when it came down to my preference in receiving love, I wasn't exactly sure how my results would come out. After reading the book and taking the assessment, both Mr. O and I scored the highest in quality time. Given how we enjoy spending our time, the results did make sense... which leads me to table talk.

Given that our preference is spending quality time together, we wanted to ensure that we had moments of our day built in that would give us that quality time - special moments for just the two of us to enjoy without any pressure. Since we're having a fairly small wedding, we plan to skip the receiving line and visit with our guests after we finish eating. We also considered that if we had a more traditional head table, we would be talking to some of our favorite people, but not necessarily each other.

So - a sweetheart table it will be! Not to mention... I love the look of a sweetheart table in photos!

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photography by Allie Lindsey Photography

This is my standout favorite, I've even started looking around for similar letters!

Image via Every Last Detail / Photography by K and K Photography

Another beautiful option, especially if we can't find any letters we love!

For practical reasons, we're going to have a four person round rather than a two. This will allow us room to display my boutique, have our Mr & Mrs letters, and ensure that I have plenty of room to not spill on my dress. ;) 

What do you think? For married bees that did a sweetheart table, did it work out well for you?

Engagement Photos: The Inspiration

So now that we've officially booked the lovely and (obviously) talented Stacy for the wedding, we found ourselves in quite the predicament. We get a second engagement shoot included in our package. I was thrilled, kind of like a puppy about to get a bone. More pictures!? WHEN? WHERE? *Crazy eyes* Mr. Otter wasn't nearly as excited as I was, but no way was I going to miss a session with Stacy!

Plus, a second session means all new inspiration! So with that in mind, I started the hunt for some new (to us) ideas.

Photo by: Sweet Little Photographs on Sweet Little Photographs via Lover.ly \ Mr. Otter loves his ties, so if I put him in a tie, I'm sure his enthusiasm level will rise. ;)

Photo by: Sweet Little Photographs on Sweet Little Photographs via Lover.ly \ I love how radiant she looks, like she's truly happy!

Photo by: Sweet Little Photographs on Inspired By This via Lover.ly \ I love the balloons!

Photo by: Stacy Able Photography

Photo by: Stacy Able Photography \ There are those macaroons again! ;)

Photo by: Stacy Able Photography \ I love the colored hearts in the snow - what a fun way to add color!

Photo by: Stacy Able Photography \ And again with the red shoes - I love the pop of color in the snow!

So our plan are to get some bright colored balloons and wear outfits that have pops of color in them. While we're going for a "winter" theme, but with Indiana weather, you never know if you'll actually have winter weather or if there will be snow on the ground. 

For those of you who had a winter engagement shoot - what tips do you have? Any certain colors I should be on the lookout for when I inevitably go shopping for outfits?

Save the Date: Our Reveal!

It's time! I've finally gotten notice from our guests in sunny California that they have received their Save the Dates, so I can officially share them with the Hive!

Now, before I share, I have to caution those of you who, like me, are excited to place your order and therefore, may not be thinking logically. When I revealed the two STD designs that we didn't use, I said that we got a great deal for the 200 cards we ordered. 200 cards... If you're smarter than me, which I'm sure most of you are, you're probably already connecting the dots but, in case you didn't figure it out (like me) - we did not need 200 cards. 200 is our guest list total. There are households with as many as eight guests in them.

Yes, Hive, I ordered a card for every. single. person. Sigh. Thankfully, since we did get a great deal, it isn't as big of a deal as it may have been if I did this with invitations but needless to say - I have learned my lesson, and I now have a list of guests invited by household.

Moving on: the reveal!

Personal photo - the front side / Design work by our photographer, Valerie Carnevale

Personal photo - the back side / Featuring a custom stamp from AngeliqueInk on Etsy

While we had three beautiful choices from Valerie, both Mr. O and I instantly liked this option the best. We nixed the first option because, as much as we love our Wolverines (go blue!), the color scheme didn't really fit with the wedding. That put us down to two, and we just loved the simplicity of this option. It incorporated our love of typography without being too over the top, and it used one of our absolute favorite photos from our e-pics. 

On the back side, we made the four line design so I could hand address our STDs (which took much less time than I anticipated!). We also took the opportunity to use our custom stamp, which I loved! It not only saved me a ton of time in writing our address over and over, but I think it gave the perfect touch to offset the horrible stamps. ;) 

So, what do you think of our final choice!? 

Save the Date: The Stamps

Hive, I never thought I would be that bride. That bride that cared about stamps. Especially the STD stamps! I just assumed that when people received our STD, they would note the date in their planner/phone/etc. and then toss the STD.

But then, there I was, standing at the post office to purchase postage and suddenly... everything seemed to be in slow motion. I watched as the employee pulled open the big binder of stamps. I watched her flip, flip, flip through the pages and start to pull out several pages. What did I see, you may be wondering? I saw these:

Personal photo, unfortunately.

I saw ALOHA stamps staring back at me. And a variety of Hawaiian shirts. Now, if I were having a destination wedding? Sure, toss the ALOHA at me. But for our rustic, romantic, light and neutral colored wedding? No. These simply did not fit the bill. 

Slowly (and sadly) the post office employee flipped over our postcard and noticed that it was a save the date. She looked at me apologetically and said "this is all we have left." With a heave and a giant sigh, I asked for the proper amount, paid, and pathetically exited the post office.

I know, I know - they're just stamps! Nobody will notice! But I noticed, and they drove me crazy right up until I sent them. And now that I recognize that I do care about the stamps, I have to also consider what stamps we're going to be using on our actual invitations... 

Mrs. Genie cared about stamps. Miss Beanstalk cared about the stamps. So at least I'm in good company! Tell the truth: did you care about your stamps?

I'm in a long distance relationship...

...with my MOH Cubbie!

You see, Cubbie and I went to the same college. Then school ended, and unfortunately Cubbie's job took her back home to Florida. Obviously, this is not ideal. And no, not because of wedding planning; simply because I want my best friend back so we can bum around and watch HGTV!

But on the wedding front: I just have to say that even in our LDR, Cubbie has been everything I could have ever dreamed of in a MOH! Not only does she help with anything I ask of her, but she has even been gracious enough plan my bachelorette party long distance AND book a ticket to be in attendance! (Something I was definitely NOT expecting of her!)

Personal photo / MOH Cubbie is also known as my twin. We are exactly the same, hence why poor Mr. Otter sometimes feels overwhelmed when we are together. ;)

Now you may be wondering, while Cubbie is obviously great, why am I talking about her today? Well,  I talked about my failed DIY, and then about my plans to (potentially) DIY my table numbers, but I never really specified how I was going to go from slow mo to fashion glow* or from fail to something wedding-worthy. Well today I'm sharing my secret DIY/decision-making weapon - Cubbie!

MOH Cubbie is by far the craftiest person that I have ever met. She also is... how do I phrase this... an ambitious crafter, if you will. One craft day in particular comes to mind in which she used a very, very dull saw in order to make a jewelry hanger. That same day, when I was trying to craft a glitter chevron pattern onto a letter, she told me I was doing it all wrong and completely took over. (And trust me: I did NOT mind this takeover - my "pattern" was not going to be right, at all.) 

Personal photo / The very questionable rusty saw... Also, take note of the two round wooden squares just sitting there waiting on paint

Personal photo courtesy of Cubbie / The finished product! I was very perplexed as to how she planned to hang necklaces on it, right up until she started screwing the hooks in.

So clearly, Cubbie is my secret weapon for a reason. She is crafty, and I am not. She will work on her projects until they are close to perfect, while I'm more likely to abandon them. And since she has enthusiastically expressed (that's code for demanded!) that I am not to do anything with glitter without her help, I plan to stockpile my crafting supplies until February, when she is back in town. 

Hive, if you're... less than crafty, like myself, do you have a more crafty friend to help out with DIY projects?

* Anybody recognize this quote!? It's another favorite of Mr. Otter's and mine.

GLITTER!

So when I talked about our colors, a lot of you were wondering how I would incorporate the gold glitter into our otherwise soft-colored color palate.

Well, at first, I didn't know! I just really love glitter, so I wanted to incorporate it in some way. Then, I started looking specifically for weddings that had the same color scheme and I happened to come across a couple gems, which gave me a better feel for how we could incorporate glitter without getting it all over our guests (a point that Mr. Otter made early on, because he isn't a huge glitter fan like me!).

The first idea (and probably my favorite, thus far) was to incorporate it in some of our detail shots. I love this shot that clearly features the flowers, but uses gold glitter fabric as the backdrop. And - points for no glitter on guests!

Image via Bows and Arrows / Photo by N Barrett Photography

The second idea I found was from the same wedding - incorporating the glitter into the signage! While I haven't quite determined what kind of signage we're going to need, I do know that we're going to be featuring photos of those who have passed and can't be with us, so perhaps a gold glitter heart could accent the photos on that table.

Image via Bows and Arrows / Photo by N Barrett Photography

My last idea would be a bit of a DIY project. Have you ever heard of the "mermaid manicure"? Take the concept of the mermaid manicure accent nail (a little glitter on the end of the nail, just a small sprinkle) and apply it to these beautiful gold table numbers! This way - I incorporate the gold in a very subtle way that also won't get all over our guests.

Image courtesy of Cupcakes and Cashmere / See the little sparkle of glitter?

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Lisa Lefkowitz / So now with these gold table numbers, add a tiny dash of gold glitter on the bottom - that's my vision!

What do you think? Out of these options, which way would be the best to incorporate the gold glitter without going overboard?

The Start of the Somethings...

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. A tradition I simply can't let go of! I must participate in this time honored tradition, and get an item to fill each of these categories. I know I'm going out of order, but I'm starting today with something new...

And that something new is wedding day accessories! Sparkly things? My favorite! Okay, okay - I'll calm down with the exclamation points, because I think you get my drift here. ;) I love sparkle, and that's what we're talking about today.

Since I'm not revealing my dress, and only gave away a little detail about my veil, I thought it may be more difficult to talk about accessories. But then I realized - everyone that I've spoken to (yes, including my lovely fiancé) knows that I don't want a plain dress. Be it beading, sparkles, flowers, or ruffles, there is going to be detail in my dress. So picture in your mind a dress with details (I wish I could be more specific!) and then look at these beautiful accessories...

* Let me preface this by saying, I do have more than just one hole in my ears; however, for the big day, I just plan to put studs in all of them except the bottom holes.

First up: these beauties by Etsy seller ElegantChicJewel. They were the first thing that caught my eye, and I've had them favorited for quite some time. Something about them just screams bridal to me! I think it's because I normally don't wear very dramatic earrings, so I'm leaning that way towards the big day.

Next up, from another (but equally wonderful!) Etsy seller, AllureByU, are these gorgeous earrings. In contrast to the first pair, these stand out, but aren't quite as big, which makes me think that they may also not be as heavy. Definitely something to consider since I'll be wearing them all day long!

Now these pretties, from Etsy seller (are you sensing a pattern here?...) DesignByKara. These ones seem to be the perfect middle ground between pair one and pair two. They have a little extra bling compared to my second choice, but will still be lighter than my first choice. And best of all? They're only $49 for the set! 

So here's my something new - I think regardless of which pair I choose, they'll look perfectly understated since I'm wearing my hair down... but regardless of how they'll look, I do (unfortunately) have to choose between the three pairs. 

If you were me, which ones would you choose? (Based on the super vague details I gave you about my dress and veil, of course!)

We placed an order...

for our STDs! (If you laughed, don't worry - I did too!)

But really - we ordered our save the date cards! I had been wrestling a little with when we should actually send the cards because, as anyone who has ever planned a wedding knows, everybody has an opinion and all of them are different. I decided early on that we would send our invitations mid-January. Sending them then would ensure they didn't get tossed out over the holidays, and it would give our OOT guests plenty of time (right around four months) to plan their travel and hotel stay.

But that left me with another question - when is an appropriate time to send our STDs? I thought that six months would be a good timeframe, which means I need to send them in October. Umm... it's already October!? Boom, another reality check for me! Between ordering the STDs, waiting on them to arrive, AND addressing them all, I came to the realization that I needed to order them like yesterday. So order them I did.

I decided to go with Vistaprint*, in place of MOO cards. When it came right down to it, I had to consider that most people aren't going to actually KEEP our STDs. More than likely they're going to note the date somewhere and then toss them. So we went with Vistaprint. One side is our STD, the other has lines for me to write the address and use our fancy pants return address stamp (details on that coming soon!).

Our total for the STDs came out to $114 for 200 cards (and envelopes, not that I plan to use them) - a great price!

Now, I'm not going to reveal our STDs until they're actually dropped in the mail, but I will reveal the two designs that we didn't use. (And trust me - it wasn't an easy choice!)

Just look at those beauties! It was very difficult to choose one of the three designs that Valerie sent over. And yes, for those of you who are observant - that is the same Valerie that is doing our photos!

So now - for some advice, when did you send your STDs? And... I'm afraid to ask... but how long did it take you to address them? 

* I have no affiliation with either of the aforementioned companies, I chose Vistaprint of my own free will and paid full price for our STDs.
** And for anyone wondering, Mr. Otter's name only has 1 L. That was fixed before I ordered them. ;) 

Ring Talk - Part 2

So we already talked about Mr. Otter's potential ring - I was surprised at the insane price difference! Now let's talk about my pretty, shall we!? :)

* All photos are personal (thus the quality... sigh.)

This is my pretty, pretty baby. Now, unlike some people - I can't tell you anything about this ring other than the price and (obviously!) the story of how I got it. I have no idea how many carats I have or how big the diamond is. In fact, I didn't know the total price until I took over opening the mail. (I won't say why... but there may be someone in this household that brings the mail in, sets it on the counter and never touches it again. Again, I won't say who... but only two of us live here.)

So I guess according to most, I'm a little backwards in that I know the price and not any of the details. Oh well! 

But moving on: the band. Prior to purchasing the rings, I had about a million ideas in what I wanted in my ring. First I wanted one of the bands to be a different metal - vetoed, because we all knew I would get tired of it. Then I wanted one of the bands to cross - again, vetoed, because I realized no matter what kind of rings I got (exception being custom rings, of course) that the two rings would never sit flush against each other. Finally, I decided to go with the matching band to my engagement ring.

It's not as yellow as I photographed it - bad photo!

But even with the gorgeous rings (!!!) there are still decisions to be made. The big one? To solder or not to solder.

The pro is obviously that my rings would be permanently fixed in the perfect, aligned position. The cons are more numerous. There would be damage to my ring, and once you put them together, you can't ever really get them apart. Another issue - I know some people choose to wear their rings separately on occasion. I don't foresee myself doing that any other time than being pregnant and even at that, I wouldn't wear the band alone because it's cut to match the e-ring.

BUT... that's a big foreseeable thing - because I do see us having babies. So if I'm pregnant and my rings are soldered, they may not be wearable. A big concern for me since we're paying quite a chunk of change for my beauties.

More cons than pros, but of course that doesn't mean I can make up my mind! ;) If you have an e-ring and band, what did you choose to do? Solder or not? 

Ring Talk - Part 1

Ah, rings. Before I talk about my bling again (and trust me - it's killing me to wait!) - let me tell you something about the groom's ring vs. my ring - the price difference was insane. While we browsed men's rings when we looked at engagement rings, we didn't look at PRICE TAGS. So we were very pleasantly surprised to see the price tags on the men's rings.

The designs though... let's just say some of those weren't our style.

If one of these rings is the one for you - awesome! They definitely aren't Mr. Otter's style. He has a way more laid back personality and enjoys clothing that is more timeless than up with the trends. (The man would dress in a suit DAILY if he could.) That's what lead us to these rings as possible options for him:

These rings? Both less than $200. Crazy! Especially in comparison so my much more expensive set.

What do you think about groom's rings? And another question - did you take your groom to try on rings? I know we'll have to for sizing, but do they do the same as women and try on different styles?

* All photos here courtesy of Kay Jewelers

Getting Dressed: The Men

Today I'm talking about THE MEN (I want to make them feel important, hence the all caps. ;) Ha!) and their attire today.

So we definitely have a plan: dark grey and light grey. Grey is Mr. Otter's favorite color, so we already decided that he would be wearing grey at the wedding. I want to differentiate the fathers from the groom + his guys, so we decided the light and dark would be the best way to go. 

Image via Trend Setting Wedding / Photo by Red Ribbon Studio

We're thinking something like this for the groom + guys. 

Image via OneWed / Photo by Brett and Jessica

Something more like this for the dads.

Image via OneWed / Photo by Rebekah Westover Photography

Ending up with something like this for the guys as a group! (Except they'll all be wearing jackets, as of now...) This would be a great contrast, and it will make the dads stand out from anyone else who chooses to wear a suit for the wedding!

The guys are going to be easy - the only thing to figure out are the shoes. What do you think? Should we go casual or dressy for the shoes?