BYO.... Nothing!

Booze, canned heat, cocktail, ethanol, firewater, hard stuff, hooch, intoxicant, liquor, moonshine, palliative, red-eye, rotgut, sauce, spirits, tipple, toddy, snakewater, vino.

This has been a rather large topic of discussion between Jace and I.  We are not drinkers.  Sure, the occasional glass of wine with a nice meal or while unwinding from a rough day; a hearty ale when we go to Oktoberfest.  We are not total teetotalers but we are aged enough (and grew up in WI; the "beast" has been a part of our lives since.....4!) to realize that our livers have been shot since we were of legal drinking age; that hang-overs suck SO HARD, that upchucking booze is highly less fun the tossing it back.  I also know that I have alcoholics crawling all over both sides of my family; that a Walker girl is trained to never say no to a free drink; that when I get going, I forget my limit; that I HATE getting sick! So I just quit.
Jace chooses not to drink due to his bodybuilding - it just makes him feel like crap.  In fact - it makes us both feel like shit.  

So how do we have a wedding without booze?

This may not seem like a "problem" to most people but for us; for me, it is.  Our guest list is small and the majority of the people we are inviting are not hard core drinkers by any means.  There are a few though that can't seem to make it though anything without a beer in their hand.  :/

My family - my bio dads side - is know for their spectacular  wedding throw downs.  And funerals, birthday parties, holidays, church.........

I DO NOT WANT DRAMA!

I have already combated this problem by making sure the guests are people that are going to be there for us.  Not for any other reason then to help us celebrate the day.  It sucks that my family has to be split up - certain people are like oil and water and I had to make a lot of hard decisions - which is not fair.  You would think that adults could act human for one day..........you would think.
So I basically had to choose the "best behaved" from my family.  Let me tell you - that is such a weird flipping way to choose guests; like I'm inviting dogs!  So for those family members that see this and don't get a invite - I'm sorry.  But I was worried that you might soil the carpet and punch granny in the face.  Maybe next time.


So - did we want a dry wedding?  No!  I know at some point this lass is gonna need a drink.  A stiff one.  It is only inevitable.  Do we want kegs?  NO! The wedding is going to be outdoors in the wilderness - with bears and wolves (no lie!) and I do not feel like having my reception turn into a episode of "When Drunks Poke Bears With Sticks."  Nor do I feel like wrangling drunks the whole evening.  Plus - there is going to be kids.  I cannot in good conscious let people (especially with kiddos) drink and drive and since there is not a hotel/motel for 20 miles; there needs to be a limit on liquor.  I'm sure that my parents don't want 40 people passed out in the back yard the next morning.

So we decided that we were going to get a few dozen or so of our favorite local (http://www.autumnharvestwinery.com/wines.html) wines and that is that.  For the guest that don't drink wine or at all - there will be a multitude of drinks - Punch, non-alcoholic mojitos, mint juleps, H2O.  If they do not like the options - there is a country bar down the road.  I'll just ask that they do not return.

Walker weddings are normally dramatic and someone (usually me) ends up crying; another bleeding; someone goes missing......not this time.

No chaos.  No fighting.  No drama.  I just want a day for Jace and I surrounded by the people that love and support this.  Alcohol is not needed.

So just bring yourselves to the wedding and lets us worry about everything else!  Trust me - you won't need alcohol to have a good time! <3

     Is there anyone else that is having a dry wedding or has to deal with a lot of the issue we have to; would love to hear alternate ideas on what I can do to appease the drinkers in my crowd without having to sauce them up!


Hanie

Holy Brooches, Batman!

Yes!  My Ebay obsession is finally paying off - the packages have started rolling in!!!  I am single handedly keeping the Chinese postal service in business.  I have found the majority of the larger pieces for my bouquet at local thrift sales and antique shops; plus family borrowing me a few precious pieces.  I am now purchasing the filler pieces.  I want to include all of the important people in our lives into the piece.  I have a Siamese cat antique pin for Ms. Maia, a Cart with Horse pin for my Maternal Great-Grandparents.  My Grandpa Doug's dog tags are being made into a brooch and I am using a corner of his army blanket to make a handkerchief to tuck into my dress. For my daddy I got a deer and motorcycle.  My sisters will both have their initials tucked into it and for Sara, I have a childhood cancer ribbon. For Kristie, I got a heart made with her birthstones.  My brother also has his initials and I got a soccer kit pin.  My mom reads this (Hi mommy!) so she gets to wait!  =D For my grandma I couldn't pick one so I have a lilac bough, a sewing basket with knitting needles and an adorable floppy hat with gardening shears.  I am really excited about starting this but have been warned against starting it to soon as the weight can cause it to go wonky before your big day - so I keep drawing it and thinking of how it is all going to fit together in my head.  I can't wait to actually start it and place each trinket and pin in a special place.  

Until then - I will spend countless hours sniping brooches from slower, less aggressive Ebay users and steal ideas from Pinterest!

Sorry I have been lacking in my post lately - I have been sick and work has been intensely busy.  Though I have a feeling that the work issue is slowly working itself out.  Life lesson 1,276,456,957,974 - never work for family or "friends!" :/

Tschuss Lovelies!

Hanie

Glückliches Ostern!

Happy Easter from our little family to yours!!!!!


Hanie and Jace

Invitations - Blerg

I wish I could just call everyone and just say "Hey, come to our shindig!  We will have wine and foodz; no presents please."  I'm pretty sure that crosses so many lines of tacky.......but I want to keep this wedding as "green" as possible.
Plus - this is yet another thing that I just cannot get Jason interested in.
Food.  Wine. Outfit. Music - these things he has a strong opinion on.  The rest is just small potatoes to him.

I can't find anything I (we) like!!!  They are either too fancy or too plain.  I'm crafty but my handwriting is atrocious and I want the guests to be able to read them.

Anyone have ANY ideas on DIY wedding invitations?  I do't just want the standard type but can't seem to find anything that has peaked my interest or has not been done to death.

I should consider hiring a planner........... :/

Back Google!

Hanie

Oh, FedEx Man!

Here are just a few of my latest purchases for my bouquet.  Between Ebay, Etsy and Fabulous Brooch.com; I'm going to be keeping the FedEx man running! Sorry for the short post - work has been busy and the weather gorgeous; have been enjoying all my free time with Jace outside!  In shorts!  In March!  Let's just hope next Spring is as lovely!

I told you to expect color and whimsy and fun; did I not?!  Now, I need a Boston Red Sox's pin, a German flag pin and one that looks like sweet Maia - they are next on my list!  This will all come together and I am so excited for the packages to start rolling in!   Then it might feel more real - still have 401 days to put together something wonderful and lovely.  No pressure!

Hanie

Wedding Bouquet

When it came to making lists, I made sure to make one of all the things I missed or was not given the opportunity to do; in the practice wedding of '05.  Which was basically everything.  One thing that was top on my list of "wants" is wedding bouquet that is NOT made of flowers.
Flowers are lovely.  I am getting gorgeous centerpieces made and the whole wedding is going to be dripping in the native growing flowers and the simplicity of nature already.  I want something different.  Off beat.  Me.
So I Googled.  I don't Bing.  Neither should you.
Google is a DIY wedding planners dream - you can find anything and tutorial on how to do things that you would normally pay someone $$$$ to do; when in reality - it is all a cinch.  You just need craftiness, a trip to Michael's and the ability to realize that it is going to be perfect.  Your perfect.


So Google led me to "Brooch Bouquets."  I have seen them before but they look awfully expensive and really hard to make.    I was wrong - DIY is so much cheaper and I  feel like this wedding is going to be just that much more special if I make the memories.  It is just one day but I want to have all this stuff to look back on.
Derailed - back on track.  So here is some ideas of brooch bouquets:

This is my favorite one - the one I'm using for inspiration.  LOVE the colors!

Here is a pretty one with flowers - which kind of defeats the purpose of my "anti-flower" bouquet but still a option in case I can't come up with the 50 - 75 broaches/earrings in 18 months!

I am considering one like this but with antique and vintage "hankies" instead of gauche fabric.

 Another option - the brooch ball.  You carry it around your wrist.  Love it!

Mum and I spent Saturday together and hit up a few antique and vintage stores (she hates them; other people's "junk."  LOL!)  and I found my first few pieces.  I'm not going with any "theme" here; other brides will only use flower brooches or white gold or certain colors palettes.    I want color and whimsy and sparkle and BAM!  I want to be the bride everyone copies =D


Here are the first few sweet pieces that have been added, thus far:

Mum bought this one for me - it has all of the colors that I choose (I did pick a color scheme; Wisteria, but I plan on it being a color explosion.) and a great jumping off piece!!!  My favorite by far!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE pink.  I <3 Butterfly's.  This brooch is ideal and says "me"!

It came with 2 clip on earrings - which I plan on incorporating in the bouquet or the mothers pin somehow.

If you know me - you know I am not the biggest fan of "gold" gold;  I prefer white gold.  As a redhead it clashes HORRIBLY with my skin!  I still couldn't pass up this sweet little garnet flower.  There will be more "gold" gold added as the days go by (I assume), and this little petal stole my heart.

I'll post more as the brooches come in and the bouquet starts taking shape.  As always, would appreciate any and all comments regarding this idea or any of the others that will start floating around.  I'm using this blog as my DIY spring board and will be using all of you as a sounding board.  Sound on!

Off to enjoy the 65 degree weather with Jace down by the river!

Hanie

  

Oh! The list making!!!!

The only upside to my first wedding is that it gave me a very literal list of things I wished I would have done/wouldn't have done.  Some of them are silly little things that did not matter in the whole scheme of things; others were glaringly obvious and needed to be fixed for Wedding 2.0 to be perfect.  I fell asleep last night thinking of bird cages and jell candles and Jordan almonds.


~This wedding WILL be about us.  Just us.  Two people.  Zwei.  Dos. Deux.  Jace and Hanie.  No third or fourth wheels.  Opinions and ideas will be great appreciated and will be taken into consideration; but I won't let my self feel guilty though this whole process.


~My dress will be non-traditional and probably have some color in it.  Deal with it.


~The guest list is going to be small. Sorry - I'm not inviting my insurance agent even if she gave me a great rate on my insurance this year!  See the first little squiggle line - it's about US.  If us does't know you on a close, familiar basis; us won't be sending you a cool invite.  


~I'm sending save the dates.  I don't care Jace, if it is only 30 people. And they are going to be magnets.  I don't care how cliche and dorky and over done it is.  I will not be denied this a second time!

~Most of my budget will be spent on the photographer.  The last one was a "family friend" and I could have taken better shots with my camera phone.  Now I know why she was a "steal" at 300 bucks........she had zero aim.  This wedding is going to be DIY and intimate and cozy and charming and rustic and I want it all captured.  Everyone knows I am  a photography junkie.  I need this to happen and will get a 2nd AND 3rd job, if need be, to get a decent photog.  I have already begun the search because even though the wedding is not until the summer of 2013; I don't want to lose the best one.  Stay tuned for the fights that will ensue due to this - Jace does not exactly see eye to eye with me on this.  The importance of a perfect picture is lost on men.  He'd rather spend it on the honeymoon.  I charmingly disagree.  


~NO gifts.  I'm old-ish-er now and have done this before.  It's tacky, and frankly - I'm lazy.  I don't want to go to Target to scan crap anymore then you want to go to Target and get the list of my scanned crap and search for something on there to purchase.  That is why I am thinking charities. Donating everything to a cause that "us" feels passionate about.  Sea Shepherd seems to be the best and most likely candidate at this point but I'm not sure all our guest share our same views; I'll need to look into that some more.


~Eco-friendly.  When I think about all the Styrofoam at wedding 1.0 - I feel sad and guilty.  This wedding is going to be all reclaimed pieces and vintage dress and jewelry.  If I can't find it online or at a vintage store or antique shoppe; obviously my wedding does not need it that bad.  


~Wedding favors with meaning.  A bag of M&M's?!  I think not!  I still have every wedding favor that I ever  got from a wedding that had actual meaning to it.  A seashell magnet with the date (hi AB!), a maple leaf cookie cutter with a maple cut-out cookie recipe, candles with the date inscribed.  Never kept a bag of M&M's.  Sorry.  I just want people to look back at our wedding and see every detail as perfect. Is that high reaching and unrealistic.  Maybe.  But I'm doing it!


~Short and sweet.  Yes.  It is fun to do the chicken dance with your drunk uncle and your sugar-rushed nephew.  But how over-played it that?  I want our reception to (again) be about US and what we like.  How about music playing in the background while we play yard games or sit around a fire chatting, blow bubbles with the kids, play cribbage and spades? A few bottles of wine and s'mores for the kidlets.  A quick ceremony in the late afternoon, a simple yet elegant dinner; quality time with the family - then everyone is on their way home by 10 and we are jetting to Bali!  Sounds perfect and so US! 


 ~Religion not included.  At all.  This is kinda tricky seeing how the whole thing is based on the "bible" but I'm slowly working my way though this.  No unity candle for US.  Mom, don't expect any reading from the Corinthians nor will any hymns be sung.  There will probably be a hippy on guitar but that is about it.


~Imperfect.  I don't want everything to be cohesive and color coordinated.  I'm picking a palette and going for it.  I don't want my bridesmaids to match nor do I want them shelling out a lot of money for a dress.
"$15 bucks at Savers and it is in my color palette?!  Well done!"  I want it to have a seamless elegance but at the same time; I want it to be slightly imperfect.  Comfortable for all - a day well spent.


~The Honeymoon.  Screw you.  Our phones will be off - I don't want to hear about your cat.  End of story. Fin.


I'm sure that I'll add to this as the months roll by.  Right now I am in the very beginning planning stages so things will change but I know that I want to stay true the things above.  That is all something we both have agreed on and it makes a big difference.  We wanted to forego the "traditional" courthouse get 'er done with something a little more wedding-esque while still keeping it simple, cost effective and entirely US.  That is my goal.  I hope that in a year, I'm well on my way to completion! 


Hanie