Unique Locations

If I tell the truth, I wanted to hold the ceremony in this place. But there was just no way that we could cut the guest list down to the fifty or so that might be allowed. I have spent so much of my life in this particular place that it would have suited me perfectly. But I am not the only one getting married, and Mr. Robin has a lot of amazing people in his life that deserve to be a part of our big day. But I still wanted to spend some time there on the big day.

What place am I talking about exactly?

Powell’s City of Books. The largest independent bookstore in the world. Which happens to be right across the street from the Portland Armory, where our wedding is taking place.

Don't get me wrong, I love our location with all my heart now, but this was my first impulse. I didn't even mention it to Mr. Robin because it was so off-the-wall, but I am a big fan of weddings in personal places. I really like this wedding from Offbeat Bride that took place in a library. The aisle is so sweet.

But if like me you can’t fit that unique location into the reality of your plans, don’t give up entirely. I wrote the following somewhat begging-toned letter to the Public Relations department at Powell’s asking them to let me include the store in my wedding in some way:

Hello to whomever it may concern:

I would like to inquire (beg, really if we are being honest) whether it would be possible to take some photos inside of the Powell’s City of Books location.

Some background perhaps: I am getting married on Sat. January X, 2008 at the Portland Armory. Being somewhat obsessed with books I spend quite a lot of time in the Powell’s location on Burnside over the years. It is where I used to go on my birthday (woohoo birthday loot to spend), after school once I got my license, late at night when I lived alone and needed people, on days off to browse during my first job, and was the first stop every time I drove home from college. I love to walk the stacks, and guess what I found myself a man that likes to browse and sip coffee as well. Though, he is down in that strange and foreign rose room I have heard rumors about (blue room, red room myself).

So long story short, I would like to have a few pictures taken inside of Powell’s City of Books on my wedding day. If need be it can simply be myself, my groom and one photographer so as to cause as little disturbance as possible. It is a place we spend time together in our real lives, and I would like to have it in our photos. I understand this may not be possible for myriad of reasons, but if it is even remotely possibly, I would be willing to jump through some hoops to make it happen.

Thanks for considering my silly wedding photo dream.

All the Best,
Miss Robin

And they have agreed! So the Robins' pre-ceremony photo session will be taking place in Powell's, the reveal (where Mr. Robin will see me for the first time) as well as other silly photos. This way I get to include a place that means a lot to me, even if I can’t have the wedding there.

Anyone including a non-traditional site that is personal to you in some way?

Powell's photos from the New York Times.

Taking the Cake...

I had a whole cake plan. Well it was more of a desert plan.

See I don't really love cake. I mean plain birthday/wedding cake type cake with frosting and such. In fact, I border on dislike with a few exceptions. But I love dessert. I love baking and Mr Robin's mom has made wedding cake and other family members have baking talent. So I thought that we would lay out an amazing dessert spread of a small wedding cake, cheesecake, cookies, tres leches cake, and pie. Something like this:

(From Josiah's Catering, a crazy beautiful caterer from Manila)

I still think it is a grand idea, and if it had been any other time of year it would have worked out.
But we put our families in a pinch, we know, by getting married only eleven days after Christmas. There just isn't enough time to do everything that we want.

So, about two weeks before Christmas, we all began to realize that there is a certain love expressed in buying dessert. Love for our families. Though it would be meaningful to have a course supplied by family, it is also meaningful to just let everyone relax and enjoy.

So we turned to Saint Cupcake. Fellow Portlanders will be familiar with Saint Cupcake's amazingly delicious cupcakes, but what they might not know is that the sweet little bakery does full size cakes in the same flavors of their cupcakes, and they will even put together a sweet little arrangement like this:
A small little cake on the top for the two of you to cut and custom dyed cupcakes all around. And since I am slightly obsessed with the Toasted Coconut Cream cupcakes, guess what our little personal cake shall be...

Once again not exactly what I wanted to happen, but I think it turned out for the best.

Getting Down

We need to have control of the music. That was decided from the beginning. I have just heard too many stories from couples who made detailed lists, provided songs, and then heard none or little of what they wanted.

Add to that the fact that a great many of our dates were to concerts and shows and we needed to rock the iPod wedding. So a friend of Mr. Robin will provide ceremony music with her guitar, and then when the reception rolls around we will have an iPod full of all the songs we love.

However, we have an issue... What song are we going to dance to for the first dance?! We have it down to two, which you can listen to thanks to YouTube:
First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes - this is a really sweet video
Why We Like It: This declaration of love and commitment because it is so real. It talks about how amazing love is, but also that it is scary and full of hard work. So awesome.
My Favorite Lyric: "Yours is the first face that I saw/ I swear I was blind before I met you"

I Wasn't Prepared by Eisley
Why We Like It: Because for us it is true. We didn't think when we met that this would be love, we were not prepared at all, and, also we went through a period of separation while we reflected on making this commitment. I think this song really speaks to that. Also we LOVE Eisley.
My Favorite Lyric: "Oh, I wasn't prepared for this..."

So which one should we dance to?


Of course we plan to play this song also, because "Love is like a Roll of Tape" just speaks to everyone, right?? Oh and we are goofs who are obsessed with Flight of the Concords.

Merry Christmas WeddingBee!

Merry Crafty Christmas!

Like many of you, I am sure, I spent the last few days cooking and wrapping but I wanted to stop and wish everyone the merriest Christmas. Happy wrapping and unwrapping, and joy in the lovely season that surrounds us!

Oh and say TWO WEEKS!! until I am Mrs. Robin.

Our Only E-Pic

We have had extreme luck in vendors for our wedding. Our caterer/event manager is a family friend of Mr. Robin’s and my make-up/hair artist is my good friend and bridesmaid. As for our photographers, well I spent a long time searching the internet looking at different types of photos.

Then one day I was cruising Offbeat Bride and saw this photo:

I was in love with it. And then I saw the name of the company that did it, FS Weddings. And I thought to myself where have I seen that name before? Hmmm.

Oh right, every third Sunday when I serve at church and my leader e-mails me, that is the end part of his email address. Because he took that photo! Jackpot! I wasted no time in talking with him about the photography.

However, we didn’t really have time for an e-pic session. We kept trying to fit it in somewhere in the schedule, but with only 16 weeks we couldn’t make it fit anywhere, and then it was only 5 weeks to the wedding and it seemed too late.

Luckily for me Ryan and Joelle Flood (the lovely pair behind FS Weddings) are always doing photography for our churches various missional communities and so captured the Robin’s serving at a REACH benefit.

It isn’t a whole session, but I love the look on our faces, especially Mr. Robin. He’s such a goof.

Off the Map

I dread the question. Everyone asks it!

"Where are you guys going to live?"

Here in Portland, what part of the city you live in says a lot about you. Before you ask newly met people what they do for a living, you ask them what part of the city they live in? I live in Alberta currently (crafts oriented, arty, coffee-fueled, funky) and Mr. Robin lives in Sellwood (community-oriented, good food, supports local merchants).



So the fact that we have no idea where we are living is a source of great concern to everyone who asks the question. They don't know where to place us. I have to say it bothers me a little too. I love certain parts of the city, but I don't know if we will be able to afford them right away.

But the truth is, we can't focus there right now. We have this huge trip coming up and we still are waiting in some ways for some direction on what that trip will be about. How can we think of an apartment that we won't occupy for another eight months.

I can tell them where our storage unit is going to be. What questions does everyone ask you about getting married that you just dread?

Glassware Extraordinaire

So I am just not a flowery girl. I will admit something to you all... I don't really get excited about flowers.

That isn't completely accurate. I think flowers are pretty and lovely. But I am only really attracted to strange looking ones. I love lime green flowers like Bells of Ireland. I like it when Mr. Robin gets those for me because I know he really thought about what I love.

But the truth is, for the wedding I just can't see paying hundred of dollars for them. I am mostly ambivalent about my bouquet and the other floral elements.

That is why I didn't think that I could do flowers for the centerpieces during the reception. It just wouldn't be me. But one thing I do love is early and mid-century glassware, so my idea was a mix of glassware in blues, greens and browns. Then, I began to worry I wouldn't have time to gather that much glassware so I bought 33 clear vases from Ikea with the intent to fill them will colored water and floating candles.

Well, they are going back! I just couldn't seem to ignore all the amazing finds out there lurking in discount shops and thrift stores. I love the idea of hundreds and hundreds of candles shining through colored glass.

So my MFIL has been helping me gather tons of vintage pitchers and decanters and cordial glasses! So now the only decision is shall all the glass on each table be the same color, or should each table be a mixture of colors?

All one color

The Blues, Greens, Ambers all together

What do you think?

Maid to Order

I had written in the past of my obsession and desire for custom Lynn Lugo dresses for my bridesmaids. And also I had written of the complete impossibility of getting them given my time constraints. So I gave up that ideas and hunted through hundreds of websites looking for something else I liked ready-made.

The reason that I really wanted the Lynn Lugo dresses is because I could not make up my mind when it came to bridesmaids dresses. I went back and forth between blue to green, back to blue and then to the brown dress below from Nordstom's (because it was the safe choice). But I wasn't really happy with that choice.

So I decided what I really wanted were dresses that reflected all my 'maids personalities, and I wanted to work in all the colors that I love. I decided that I wanted to have a dress in each color. Green for my roommate who loves that color, peacock blue for my close friend who loves color just like me, and brown-gold for my amazing MOH, my sister. So we were back to custom dresses. And to the internet research.

I have had to admit that I have been guilty of not thinking locally. Which is strange because normally I am a huge proponent of supporting local merchants and it is something that Mr. Robin is really passionate about. Luckily I have some bridesmaids who weren't so shortsighted. Strolling along a strip of popular stores on 23^rd Avenue they found Cocoon.

(my mom checking out the bridesmaids dresses)

At Cocoon Silk there are racks and racks of lovely dresses to choose from. However, that isn't the best part. Any of the dresses that you see can be made in any of a wide range of different colored silks. So I was able to set my dearest women loose in the store to choose any style they fancied. My only conditions were that the dresses be knee or just below the knee length. And after they chose and were measured, we got to sift through these amazing silk swatches and choose each woman's color and accents.

It was such a great experience because the store seemed to care so much about each woman in my party. The owner made suggestions and was willing to alter the details, such as length and straps, on any one of his designs, and was willing to work with my insane one and a half month deadline. And I got exactly what I wanted.

So here they are the first fitting:

I think that because I spend so much time and energy planning and writing about my wedding on the internet that sometimes I forget there are great finds in my own Portland.

What is your greatest wedding find in your city?

Rehearsing Casual

Our wedding is fairly elaborate for a being in the planning stages for only three months. And I will admit to being stressed (that is code word for going slightly crazy). However, I knew this was coming. From the moment we decided that our absolute maximum engagement length was four months, I knew by the end I would be tired.

Which is why I have been standing my ground on my rehearsal dinner plan. I knew exactly what I wanted from day one... Actually before that, I knew before Mr. Robin ever proposed.

Here is a vision of my perfect rehearsal dinner:

(center image from Banana Republic)

Red wine. Spicy pepperoni pizza. My favorite jeans. All our friends.

This is the last time I will see Mr. Robin until we are all suited up and ready. I want to relax. I want to chat. I want not to think about the details. I got the idea from my sister, who just wanted margaritas and Mexican food for her rehearsal dinner. But she didn't get it, she graciously gave way to family demands for a very fancy, formal rehearsal dinner. But I have been saving her idea for about seven years now. And I am determined to get my way.

Which is why I have rented out Portland's most haunted building, Old Town Pizza. They have a large upstairs room which can accommodate the wedding party, and out-of-town travelers, so that we can all eat some amazing pizza and just be together.

A Total Bust(le)

**Sorry Mr. Robin, skip this one too**

I had originally thought to have my aunt, who does costumes for theater, make the alterations and bustle on my dress. I began to have second thoughts when faced with my time crunch however. It is a beautiful thing to have friends and family do things for your wedding and they can save you tons of money. In fact, we have personal relationships with our caterer, photographer, invitation designer and my hairstylist, but since I needed the alterations done quickly, having a business relationship only sounded nice. I am so much more comfortable being picky (and lets face it, demanding) with someone who views me only as their client.

And when I saw this picture in the David's Bridal Bustle Guide, I was sold on having them do it:

That is my dress! And I love the way it is bustled with a brooch, mimicking the draping above. I decided the minute I saw it that I wanted it.

There is one small problem however. I went for my first fitting last week and the seamstress stared at me blankly when I mentioned the style. When I mentioned the Bustle Guide she cocked her head and said she didn't know what I was talking about. Of course, thinking since they had created the guide and would therefore have it in the store, I hadn't printed the page off the internet and couldn't show it to her. But finally she found an employee who knew to what I was referring. It was then that I was informed, that though the guide is put out by David's Bridal, not all styles are available in all areas. They don't carry the brooch to do that style in little ole Portland, Oregon.

Well, I still love it and I have my heart set. So I am having her put in a bustle with pearl button and ribbon ties to create the draping effect and now am going to find a brooch and just pin it over. Now the only question is what color and what style? Here's what I am thinking.

a lovely vintage faux pearl brooch from Agataga.

I like the idea of a light blue, like this cameo from Ebon Swan.

Too bad this one is sold. It was on Vintage Costume Jewelry and is the perfect colors with two lovebirds painted on it.

Other suggestions?

One Sick & Tired Bird

I am very sorry to have been absent from writing all week. There were two very different reasons for this.

One was that I have been feeling the pressure. With only a little more than a month left to go I have had to really think about what it possible and what is probable, in terms of projects. I have a million ideas for programs, guest book, centerpieces, etc. But I have had to face the hard truth that they may not all happen. But now that I have sorted what I think I can get done, the projects will be coming fast and furious now.

The other reason is that I fell prey to something that I think is probably pretty common among women as busy as we are. I was burning the candle not only at both ends, but sometimes in the middle. I went to work, planned for the wedding, wrote a lot, taught jewelry making for Advent Conspiracy at my church, failed at reading a new book, tried to hang out with friends, and spend meaningful time with Mr. Robin, then bake for Thanksgiving and on, and on. I was averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep per night, and eating terrible because I had no time to cook.

So I got sick. And not like little sick. Like my boss sent me home from work because I was so ill, and then it only got worse. I was a miserable Miss Robin for a few days.

Planning a wedding, while also trying to keep up with the commitments of the holiday season can take a toll the healthiest person so, please learn from my mistake and do not try and do too much. Take care of yourselves also, during this season when it is so sad to be ill, but so easy to become so.

And, if tragically, you should succumb, here is a great Ginger Tea recipe that really helps me when I can’t breathe and my throat hurts. It is unbelievably good. This tea and lots of spicy Tom Yum soup pulled me through.

Ginger Tea

• 1 inch fresh ginger root, sliced thin or grated
• 1/2 a fresh lemon, sliced (peel & all)
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 2 cups of water
• tablespoon or two of honey

Place everything but the honey into a saucepan and then bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer gently for 20 min. Strain and add lots of honey. The garlic, honey and ginger in this tea are both very good for cold symptoms, such as sore throat, upset stomach, chills, etc. Caution though if you let it sit it will get stronger! (adapted from a recipe by Kim Goddard)

You can also make a simpler version by grating ginger into a mug then pour hot water over it along with a peppermint, green or black tea bag.

Post Holiday Wine Down

Having decided that we were not participating in the usual Black Friday craziness this year, Mr. Robin and I instead launched ourselves into a road trip down the breathtaking Columbia Gorge under the guise of running some errands for the wedding. First drinks, both wine and beer, and then gathering intelligence for possible mini-moon places for the week after the wedding.

(the Gorge, Portland Ground)

Of course let's talk wine first.

We have decided to go through our caterer for the wine at the reception. The selection is very good and it is much more practical in that they assume all the risks associated with Oregon Liquor Control licensing (which is very very strict). However, wine for us is very personal. You know we like you when we invite you to our weekly wine tasting location.

I would really encourage the use of wine that has been personally selected or that has special meaning or even that is grown close geographically for the wedding and accompanying events. The wine becomes a part of your memories that can be uncorked and relived for years. We have two cases of the rioja reserva that we drank right before Mr. Robin proposed labeled “Engagement Wine” in his cellar. That is 24 times that I will get to smile over a glass at him and remember that day in the taste of smooth tempranillo grapes.

Finding a wine that is personal to you as a couple is still very doable even if you aren't very wine savvy. If you live near a wine producing region, make an adventure out of it! It is a great way to escape from the daily pressures of wedding tasks, with the excuse that you are accomplishing a wedding task.

(Grapes growing at Cathedral Ridge Winery)

Tips for Touring and Finding the Wedding Wine (and having a rocking time!!)

1. Have a general idea of your objectives for this trip. This can be as general as you would like two reds and a white at the end of the day. Or you would like to get all the wine from a single vineyard. Or that you would like one from this valley and another from another, across the state (in most states this will take two trips, score!).

2. Bring the following: maps (can be picked up at the tourist office), camera, and notebook. Use this notebook to take notes on wineries, directions, release dates, shipping information. Otherwise, I know from experience, you will either forget the details or write them on brochures, only half of which will make it home with you. Use the camera to take silly pictures of each other.

3. Go to a bigger, more well-known winery first and get pours. It may be more expensive and crowded but it will give you a jumping off point you can find. If you were in Portland, doing the Columbia Gorge like us, I would recommend Maryhill Winery. This winery is perched on the cliffs high above the river offering amazing views as you sip their award winning Zinfindel.
   

   (deck overlooking the Columbia River at Maryhill Winery)
   

   Going to a big winery like this first lets you become comfortable with the rituals of wine tasting, and they usually have a larger staff and more professional promotional materials that will allow you to learn more of the region's wine history, and grape varieties. Also sometimes live music!

4. While at the large winery ask your wine server what their favorite wineries in the region are (besides the one they work at). Then ask them if they could only go to one, which would it be? And why?

   These people will usually know the region very well and are often eager to offer their opinions. They also may have taken note of the things you liked at their winery and can steer you toward wineries that have strengths in those areas/varietals.

5. Compare their recommendations to your list of stated objectives. If you wanted everything from one vineyard, head to their number one pick. About a year ago, Mr. Robin and I found an amazing winery this way. Marshal's Winery is a kick, and the antithesis of every stuffy winery you've ever been to. The owner is a retired welder, who now vints amazing syrahs, cabernet francs, and a great $10 blend that is just right for dinner at home. On holidays, like Friday, you will find heaping plates of free food, generous pours. And they serve Cheetos to clear your palate. Classic!

   If your wants are more variety, tour several your server listed and any other that catches your fancy along the way. We have stopped for no other reason than a winery had an outdoor Bocce court, and I wanted to play and sip. Or that Pheasant Valley has this great fireplace. You might taste some mediocre wine, but you will have fun picking at random.

6. Talk to people! Tell them what you liked about the wine and what you didn't prefer. In the smaller wineries the person behind the counter might even be the vintner themselves, and they will definitely know how to find you a wine you will love.

7. Don't buy it if you aren't convinced. Remember that while the wineries often discount cases and wave tasting fee for those who buy, returns usually aren't an option. Therefore, it is better to wait than make a costly mistake.

8. One of the wines should be something you love. Not all your guests will have similar tastes, so you will have to buy a variety of different varietals, but there should be one that you can drink for years to come. This is all about making the day about the two of you and having a memory sitting in the bottle, ready to drink.

If you can't go to a wine region, often the wine shops in your town will either have regular tastings or will be happy to set up a tasting for you. Grab some friends (or your bridal party) and make finding the wine it's own memory.

Gown-istically Challanged

I admit it, I was a gown novice.

It was soon after I started looking online that I realized I was a little out of my league. Which was an odd feeling for someone who usually considers herself stylish. I didn't even know what the names of the styles referred to. When someone started discussing “girls with pick-ups,” I knew that the mental picture I had of a woman in a Ford F150 probably wasn't right. I was going to need help, and fast.

*** Mr. Robin stop reading right here****

My first real impression of what wedding gowns could be was when I lived in Spain. Down the street was a small wedding store, and every week they turned their front window into the very picture of style. Sweet, sassy, modern, vintage. Through the months that I walked to class past that window, and every Monday was new mood, a new study in outrageous Spanish wedding finery.

(a gorgeous Pronovias gown)

I loved those dresses, and actually thought of them occasionally as the years past. But when my actually engagement arrived I realized that their elegant couture was not only out of my price range, unfeasible in my time line and out of my budget, but also they weren't really me. And I didn't know what was...

This is when a bridal megastore like David's Bridal becomes a great solution. They have a lot of styles. From formal to casual, yards of lace to ultra simple, just about everything was covered. And since I had decided to bust open the budget right away on booking the venue, the dresses at David's fit nicely into my price range.

One thing that I am glad that I did was bring so many people.. This is odd because normally I shop alone. I love shopping, but for me often it is just not a team sport, so usually having four other women with me would not be ideal. In this case, having so many companions was important for several reasons beyond their opinions and advice. First, apparently it is very normal for each dresser/salesperson to have more than one client at a time, so it was nice to have my mom and friend take over the fetching of veils and lacing aspects so that I didn't have to wait.

Also,I was able to let them loose within the store with the instructions to bring me anything and everything that they liked. This was great for someone who didn't know anything about what I wanted in a gown because they brought me things that normally I would not try on. Like this all lace number I love the sweetheart neckline.

I also was in love with the lace detailing on this Oleg Cassini gown below. In the end though, I could not do strapless. I kept folding my hands below my chest like I had to hold the dresses up. There was no way they were going anywhere as these things are well reinforced, it was all mental, but whenever I stopped thinking about there my hands would go. Not attractive.

I don't remember who picked out my dress. But I remember being doubtful upon seeing it. I have both a chest and hips and was concerned that it looked so slim. But it had a feeling to it, just a smidge of vintage sweetness.. And it was divine on. The halter makes me feel more secure and the back has a deep V which makes my arms and back look slimmer. These aren't the best pictures, being from the website, but I have my fitting next week and should have some more by then.

Another great thing about shopping at a large chain when planning a wedding quickly, I got to walk away with the dress that day. No worrying that it won't be here in time. And with all these tight deadlines, knowing the dress is hanging in the closet at my mother's has been such a relief.

Invitation to Disaster, Part 2 - Design & Assembly

Well this part had a lot more actual invitations, and a lot more challenge if not disaster.

We were on a very tight time constraint for invitations, due to the fact that there was simply not very much time between beginning planning and the actual wedding date. Also, my roommate donated her time and talent to make these, and I did not really want her to lose sleep or become a crazy shut-in because she felt she had to meet some sort of extreme deadline. Therefore the invites took several weeks to complete, and finally last week they were proofed, checked and ready to print.
Someone was kind enough to let me use their very expensive printers free of charge to print out each of the three inserts and then the title sheet as well, saving me tons in printing costs. But this is also where my only bridal fit-throwing thus far comes in. I ordered, foolishly, the paper inserts already cut into 5x7 inch pieces, not knowing that it would have been far easier and cheaper from a production standpoint to get full sheets and have them cut later. As it turned out the green paper (my favorite, to be used for our postcard-style response cards) was far thicker than the other two colors and when the printer grabbed it, smears, shadows, sadness.

It might have made a difference if I could have done two inserts per full size sheet because then the printer would have been grabbing in a different, less inky section, but as I mentioned, they were sadly precut. So after much threating of the printer, and slamming down of Diet Coke cans, I had to walk away. I had to give up on the design, even though I loved it. It wasn't going to work, and the biggest tantrum in the world wasn't going to change it.

So, after talking to my roommate and Mr Robin via cell, it was on to plan B. I ran to the paper store, bought two more packages of the cream paper (luckily the only one they carry in store) while my roommate tweaked the design, so that the green was all ink. It would fool anyone into thinking that paper is green unless they were looking hard, since we printed both sides fully green and then just printed brown text on top. Problem solved. I still like the first design better, but this at least got the invitations out the door.

(the least troublesome piece, good ole parking. Also weirdly the piece that made me cry because I thought it was beautiful)

Waiting at my house was a “Forced Labor Party.” We gathered up the nearest and dearest (those that can't say “no”) my mom, my future MIL, my sister, and the bridesmaids. And made them help Mr Robin and I put it all together.

(my dedicated mother, hard at work)

Actually, I highly recommend doing it this way. It is a very special memory for me to have had these women around us all working together and laughing as we put together the invitations to an event that touches all our lives and makes us all a family together. It was originally done because of budget constraints, we could not spend very much on invitations at all, but I am glad that we did it this way because having it have been a community project was so much more touching for me.

The entire package

This project taught me more good lessons though:

1. Plan B is often just as good as Plan A, because nothing will be perfect. Which feeds right into

2. Walk away if you are becoming upset. Very few things will ruin the day that you marry the person you were meant for and remembering that is more than half the battle.

3. Pounding on the hand letterpress kit will relieve much stress and makes lovely envelope seals.

4. I am definitely marrying the right man, mid- printer beating, he calms me on the phone, asks if he can do anything, and then shows up with Bellagios pizza. That's a man who knows me.

Invitation to Disaster - Part 1 - Paper

It is amazing to me how quickly things can spiral out of control. The invitation creation process has easily been the most stressful part of wedding planning so far, and that is silly because I would have sworn that invitations was a piece of planning that I wasn't really interested in. We started with a simple concept for invitations, a brightly colored one sheet announcement with the all information, and RSVP by phone or email, drawing inspiration from the fabulous invites of Unless Designs. Her designs have a cheerful poster-like feeling to them which I love. Like you could frame your invitation afterward and hang it in the dining room.

(a cute Unless Designs piece)

But then my fabulous roommate/bridesmaid began to brainstorm designs and her work is so lovely, I wanted more instead of less. Then, I went paper shopping and our simple project is now not so simple. It is absolutely gorgeous don’t get me wrong, these are the invites of my dreams, but let me tell you that the stress level ratcheted up with every piece of enclosure that I added.

The place I went wrong was walking into the paper store. It was just something I ought not to have done. Because once in there, surrounded by all the pretty papers, I went into some sort of impulse buying fog. The new colors for Envelopements were there and they just happened to be my wedding colors. I can't resist those colors, it is a sickness.

So I ordered them. Without any real direction because I hadn't counted the invites we needed to make, hadn't discussed this type of design with my graphic designer roommate, hadn't really done any research. Then the employee tells me that these pieces of paper will take 2-3 weeks to arrive! At which point, another cashier pipes up and says "Oh, sometimes it takes as long as 4 weeks." OH MY GOSH!

Stupid impulse buying! I couldn't wait that long. We are getting married in January! We need to get this show on the road.

So, the next day, I came back down from the freak out, and battened down to do what I do best. Find things on the internet. Within two hours I had found Paper by Joy who could promise me shipment of my order, in the colors and sizes I needed, within 10 business days for no extra charge. And for a fraction (40% less) of the cost of my local paper store. Super bonus? They arrived much sooner, four days after I ordered with free ground shipping.

But the moral of this story is to have a plan. I shouldn't have plunked down the debit card without a clear idea of where I was going with these papers no matter how lovely, and definately not without putting in some time to research whether this was a fair price. I could have made a costly mistake if I had not been able to cancel the original order.

Giving and Recieving

Sometime, during the endless rounds of conversation about where we should register and for what, Mr. Robin came up with the idea of asking our guests to consider gifting to several charities that we either donate to, or are involved with. I loved the idea of giving more through our wedding, and so we wrote the following note one afternoon after church to accompany our invitations:

I know that it breaks the rule about mentioning registries, but we didn’t think that anyone would mind that much.

Now, that the invitation designs are complete, and we go to assemble them I am having these uncomfortable feelings about it. You know, this little voice whispering in my head, “But I like presents” and “You know this means you could get NO presents, right?” I guess I didn’t know how much I actually had internalized the cultural idea that getting married = getting presents. It is very disturbing, because I guess I thought that I was more generous and less acquisitive than this. Also more practical, because storing all those things would be a pain while we travel!

One thing that I am thankful for is that I have great supportive friends and family, even though some may think we are crazy. I really want to have this chance to give more, and know that I will look back on this and be grateful I made the choice I did. Perhaps even more grateful because it wasn't easy, and sometimes the hard choices in life are the ones God uses change us.

Art Deco Meets Umbrellas

The Story of a Practical Theme

You may of heard a little something about Portland, Oregon… it rains. According to our reputation almost incessantly. It is my opinion that generally the city gets a bad rap, because the rain is fairly seasonal and the natural beauty it creates is breathtaking. But I digress. Suffice to say that, like any stereotype, there is a part to this one which is true. And that part is that every winter there comes upon the city a rainstorm that begins in early December and keeps on going pretty much until the end of January. Our wedding date is smack in the middle of that.

The part of town where the venue is located is amazing in terms of architecture and city history. Up until fifteen years ago it was an industrial district housing two breweries, and various warehouses and loading docks. Now shops line those loading docks and lofts occupy former brewery space. It is neat. And I want to go out and take pictures in it.

Rain or shine! Before the ceremony! My sister is aghast. I can feel some of you shuddering right now.

But wait, I have a solution. Umbrellas, cute ones too. I ordered Chinese oiled paper umbrellas for us to use to get from location to location if it is raining. And if it isn’t… well, they look pretty cool too.
Around the time of this decision, my roommate and I had been rooting around in Powell's Art Section for ideas on invitations. While there we kept running across these amazing Art Deco posters, with stylized graphic shapes and amazing fonts. I wanted a way to evoke this era and style in our invitations and other paper, then I suddenly thought, "Why not Art Deco Umbrellas everywhere?"

They are a quirky fun nod to Portland and its reputation of rainy-ness, and is still in keeping with our vintage modern style. I love it when practical details turn into great inspiration.

Crippled by the Modern Age

I am serious. I didn’t realize it before now, but I don’t know many of my friends’ addresses. I know their personal e-mail addresses, their work e-mail addresses, and their cell phone numbers. I am their myspace friend, and their facebook friend (but I refuse to join friendster). I read their blogs, watch their videos online, and have long instant message conversations.

I have been to many if not all of their houses, but I don’t remember such things, I just plug the address in Google maps and go. Or know that they live four houses to the left of Hot Lips Pizza.
It is amazing in this world of instant, accessible communication, that you can be friends with someone and never know their precise location to mail them something as simple as a letter.

Mr. Robin has been on the phone for two days gathering addresses from friends and family alike! The guest list however, is finally almost done. Hooray!

Shades of Robin

Why pick only two wedding colors, when you could have three. And why stick to only three, when you could have three different colors and two shades of each of those.

At least that is my motto. I am a big fan of color, as anyone in my life would tell you. My shoe collection is such a rainbow that the other day I was bemoaning the fact I couldn’t find a pair of neutral (black or brown) flats to wear.

And if something is so much a part of your personality, then I say work it into your wedding day. So, as I stood in the Dutch Boy paint aisle of a local Fred Meyer’s I was torn. There were two different greens and two different blues that I was in love with, and I couldn’t choose. So I didn’t.

And here is the color palette in all its glory:

The only one that isn't showing up well is the darker blue, it is much less turquoise than it appears.

Literally I live my life in these colors, if you open my sweater drawer or my closet these are the colors that greet you. My favorite bag is the darker blue, my favorite knee high socks the darker green, and my couch is the Barley brown, the walls of my bedroom the light blue.

Also it is fun to play with so many colors; it has given us a lot of flexibility in making design and accent choices. I also highly recommend getting paint swatches to carry that are your wedding colors. They are small and easy to keep in your purse and you will know in a second if a color is slightly different than what you were envisioning.

Additionally, when the wedding is all done, and we are back from traveling I think it will be great to paint a room with a combo of two of the colors, just to remind us of this meaningful day.

Current Random Obsession

Chalkboard Spray Paint.

I like to play with things. I admit it. I will buy paint, art supplies, and vintage furniture with no real idea to what purpose I will use them. I just like the idea of some things. And this is how I came to have a can of chalkboard spray paint.

I desperately want to find some element in the reception to which I could apply this chalkboard spray paint to. There has to be something at the reception upon which the ability to draw would bring great joy to the guests. What I have no idea, because our wedding is very modern glam (with Asian influences), and I am not sure that the whole chalkboard thing would fit.

But here are some ideas I came up with:

1) A sandwich board at the door painted at the door welcoming everyone. If I buy a permit (and it isn’t raining) I could even put it outside for those guests who might be confused by the whole wedding in a theater concept.

2) Chalk Board Chargers or discs at the tables with cups of cool colored chalk. Like these coasters that Beau Coup used to carry:

Any other ideas on chalkboard crafts that would be fun at a wedding?

Diamond Dilemma

I wish that I could say that the beginning of my desire for a ring without a diamond was due to a higher sort of emotion, concern for the growing problem with conflict diamonds, and the ways in which the trade of these diamonds lead to violence, war and death for the peoples of the African Continent. Or from the desire to say no to consumerism in a culture that urges us to have too many things and too little compassion or even to say “No” to a jewelry industry where I have observed retailer make men feel like they have to have insurance for their loves to say yes ( Every Kiss Begin with… right.).

These things are definitely a part of my feelings about diamonds and are some of the reason I told Mr. Robin pre-proposal that I would want to help choose the ring together. But the truth is it is that it was plain affinity that had me passing on the diamond ring. I have just never been awed by the sparkle of a diamond like I have for the way light refracts through emeralds, or dances across sapphires. I love color! This is not my ring, as mine is set in a band than is thinner and a little more feminine, but the stone setting is the same. Five amazing blue sapphires set together in a rectangle. I wish I could show you, but my digital camera is insisting that it is broken:

Ring by Divinti

And I don’t want to insult those brides who are rocking their rocks. I just think that those us sporting the alternatives could use some support. The pressure to sport a huge diamond is enormous. I picked up the InStyle Wedding for this month, and the Choose Your Perfect Ring spread had seven lovely pages of rings. And not one ring that wasn’t a diamond. Also, I personally have had girls squeal “Let me see the ring!” and then when I extend my hand with its art deco sapphires their faces fall. I have even had a few express the sentiment, “Well I am sure that when you are more established, then he will get you one.”

Now it doesn’t bother me so much, because the women in my life who know me, every time shout “It is so you!” However, I know women who weren’t into diamonds, who felt they had to get one because everyone was expecting it. There are plenty of good reasons to choose your ring with care. Women choose a ring they will wear forever based on history, culture, affinity, moral feelings, sentimentality, the list goes on. I just think that there is room in the industry for rings beyond diamonds, and we all should have a hand in supporting every bride’s right to wear the ring that symbolizes love in her opinion, whatever stone that might be.

Our Moment in Mexico

I sort of knew the proposal was coming. The minute Mr. Robin told me that we would spend the rest of our lives together on the phone, I knew. We had been very careful to make no statements of commitment that we could not back up out of respect for each other. This is mostly because last February we took four months apart while Mr. Robin lived in Mexico to figure out our relationship, as after a year we had reached the point of either committing to marriage or not dating any longer. We were not together as a couple during these months (though after about a month we began talking over Skype at least once a week for several hours). So, sometimes when I am feeling silly, and people ask “how long have you been dating?’ I answer: “Three months.”

So for him to say something about “forever” was Major (with a capital M)! And then he started saying things like “After we are married…” or “In a few years…” Ummm, did I miss the proposal? But no, little did I know that Mr. Robin had sneaked off to my parent’s house, in far away Sherwood, and asked their permission to marry me. However, the question plagued him about where to do the formal question popping. Setting is as important to him as it is to me, so it had to be someplace special. Meanwhile, we had been planning a last minute trip to Mexico for a few weeks, to visit his good friends, and so we could attend la Feria in Zacatecas. So he thought, well it has to be special because this moment only comes once, so why not wait until Mexico? THREE weeks away. I was dying of anticipation and my poor mother, who knew it was coming with certainty, was forced to tell one other person each day to keep her sanity. (Thanks all those people for keeping the secret!)

I, who was tingling with anticipation every day, was starting to get a bit irritated and scared after three and a half weeks of sans engagement by the time we reached Zacatecas. But the city is gorgeous. The most amazing colonial city tucked away in the mountains, with almost no American tourists. I had really wanted to eat at La Quinta Real, a former bullfighting ring turned luxury hotel, and so our second night in town Mr. Robin and I strolled beneath the colonial aqueduct, around fountains and over the cobblestones to La Quinta (everyone but me would realize where this was going) and ate a fabulous meal of sopa tortilla, steak and fine wine at their restaurant. This is the view from our table out into what used to be the floor of the bullring.

As we are walking back to the lobby through the glassed in walkway atop the bullring, Mr. Robin suddenly walks up to one of the doors out onto the former seats, and casually lifts the lever that locks the door and pulls on my hand. “Let’s go out here.” It is obvious that this is not a public area, as some seats are still crumbling and if there is something to know about Mr. Robin and I, it is that I am the rule follower, and he is the rule breaker. Which means that I immediately start babbling something like this, “I don’t think we can be out here… I mean, I don’t think that this is a public… They are going to kick us out...”

At this point Mr. Robin turns on the steps to look at me and says with a smile, “You think they will kick us out?” To which I nod vigorously. “Do you think they will kick us out soon?” More desperate nodding and a pull on his hand to get back to the safety of the hallway (I also have a thing with heights). “Well then I better do this quick” and with that he dropped to one knee, and I forgot about where we were, and the height, and everything. He began to say amazing things about thinking long and hard about this, about wanting me as his wife, about following God, and how I could and should take time and think about my answer.

It was at this point that I, crying, dropped to my knees and said “YES!” Though I said it into his shoulder because I was hugging him so hard, he had to peel me off and get me to say it again, intelligibly this time. And then we took this series of photos.

The Robins, newly engaged

The spot where it happened

After that we, grinning hugely, walked downstairs to the hotel bar. This bar is amazing, as it is where they used to keep the bulls before fights and so is warren of arches and private cubby holes. We took the most private cubby and ordered a fat Cuban cigar and Banderas to celebrate. A Bandera is a sipping drink that is composed of a shot glass of lime juice, a shot glass of tequila, and a shot glass of sangrita (a sweet, spicy tomato juice). And there we sat and discussed all manner of things for hours as dusk fell into night, the hotel lit up around us, and the cigar became just a stub.

In the end I am glad that Mr. Robin waited until we could have this amazing memory of getting engaged. Before I thought I was ready to throttle him because I didn’t know why he was determined to have it be a special moment, because that question will make any moment special. But we will forever have this magic night, and I am glad that he planned it out in detail.