Yay purple wedding!

Last week, we finally got the German guest list from Torsten's parents, which means that our guest list is more or less finalized. I don't know what the response rate will be, but I think we still have a hope of keeping our wedding to 75 guests. Our dream of 50 seems unlikely, but on the other hand, if we were to have only 50 guests, it would mean that people who really matter to us weren't there. So I'll be happy with 75. Although who knows what the final number will be.

Anyway, because we have something close to a final number, I was able to order the save-the-dates. I placed the order on Wednesday night, and they are scheduled to arrive sometime next week. I am so excited. We paid the money to have our return address pre-printed on the envelopes, but we plan to address them by hand. By which I mean, I plan to address them by hand, because Torsten's handwriting sucks.

I read all this stuff about calligraphers and whatnot, and while I like calligraphy as much as the next person? I don't see a need to have it, especially given how much it costs. One of my favourite things about receiving letters from friends is the hand-addressed envelope that just screams of "personal" the second you see it in your mailbox, before you even know who it's from. I want our invitations to feel like that. And I have pretty good handwriting. And we're only sending about 60 actual cards.

So, I will be hand-addressing our save-the-dates, and also our invitations. And yes, I will be doing so with a purple pen. Are you really surprised?

And also, I went ahead and ordered the stamps to send the save-the-dates and also to put on the return envelopes for the RSVPs. I only wish I already knew whether the invitations themselves would require extra postage or not. I never knew that those love stamps you always see? Those are designed for weddings. The post office always has a wedding stamp available in 1- and 2-ounce rates. And the current 1-ounce wedding stamp, the one that I ordered? It's purple!

Speaking of our wedding and purple (and the two DO go hand-in-hand), my successful meeting with the florist and our extensive discussion of the decor made me start thinking about the details of our wedding. And honestly? That's almost all that's left. I had a great conversation with a potential officiant on the phone, and he's out of town for a few weeks, but we have a meeting set up with him in early March, and if he's in great in person as he was on the phone, then we're set. And if not, I have several other leads.

The ceremony and reception venue, the caterer, the photographer, the DJ (who will also be doing the ceremony music), and the florist have all been arranged. I'm going to NC to look for a dress in a couple of weeks. As I mentioned, the guest list is done and the save-the-dates have been ordered. The invitations have been chosen, though we don't need to order those yet. The officiant is almost sorted out. The menu has been selected. Blocks of rooms have been booked at two different hotels.

Those are all the big things. The only big thing we haven't done yet is the cake, and that's next on my list. Makeup artist, transportation, tux rentals, and bridesmaid dresses must still be selected--but those things can be dealt with slowly, over time, and don't need to be handled this far out. And from there, it's all about the details. Attendant gifts, guest favors, linen colors, place cards. The fun little stuff that most people probably won't even notice--stuff that will not make or break the party.

I am excited about that stuff. I just arranged a meeting with the "complimentary" day-of coordinator provided by our caterer. We'll be getting together next week at the reception site and reviewing table linen options and other such thrilling details. I haven't asked her specifically about purple, but she mentioned in an email that solid linens in any color are included in our contract. So it seems--knock on wood--that a purple table (similar to the one on my wedding inspiration board) may well be in the cards for us.

So, in view of this upcoming table linen summit, I thought I'd double check with Torsten about my purple tablecloth plan, in case he found the idea upsetting. And his response? "I would be upset if there weren't purple tablecloths!"

And that, right there, is why we are the perfect match.