Purple wedding details

Well. Today is October 1, which means that it is exactly one month until the wedding. Since our wedding is on the first day of November, we won't have that moment where it becomes our wedding month until it is our actual wedding day, so for us, October is it. This is our month. Surprisingly, my calmness remains. I am starting to think that maybe all that early organization paid off. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the stereotypical bridal freakout to begin, but as the wedding gets closer, the less time there is for me to turn into a huge ball of stress. Of course, perhaps things will start going wrong at the last minute and it'll happen. But for now: I am zen.

The wedding being a month away means: Details! I have been working on a lot of them over the past week, with pretty great results. We have only a couple outstanding RSVPs, and we have worked out a pretty solid seating plan. The seating actually seems to be working out fabulously--friend groups fit nicely at tables, and there are groups of people who don't know each other but who we think will get along fabulously. I have been working on a tentative version of the seating plan for months, discussing with Torsten, my mother, and various friends who would get along, painstakingly moving people around, making sure there aren't any rifts I'm unaware of, etc. We aren't going as far as assigning specific places at the tables, but we are assigning tables to try to make sure that everyone has a good group of people to chat with while they eat.

And that means: Escort cards! Table name cards! Menu cards! Programs! And most of those are done. I was torn about how to do the cards, since they wouldn't fit in our printer, and finally decided that I was overthinking it and that there was nothing wrong with just stamping the table names on the cards and leaving it at that. So I bought a set of alphabet stamps and a purple inkpad and set to work. And while I was buying stamps, I found a "You are seated at" stamp that was just PERFECT for the escort cards. So: problem solved.

Also, the table names are set, thanks in part to your input: there are nine tables, and they will be named Purple, Violet, Lavender, Lilac, Plum, Amethyst, Grape, Aubergine, and Indigo. Or, if you'd like to see for yourselves:


I wasn't totally sure that I'd like the stamp thing, but in fact I think it's perfect. I love the slightly imperfect, homemade feel. Our wedding isn't being put together by a professional planner; in fact, we are doing pretty much everything ourselves, and there is nothing wrong with people being able to tell. So, homemade cards it is, warts and all.

For the escort cards, I used the "You are seated at" stamp along with die-cut silver stars to spice things up a bit. Since these photos were taken, each card has been filled out with the appropriate table name and inserted into a matching, business card-sized, dark purple envelope with the guest's name written in purple on an ivory dot. The whole thing (except the star) matches our invitations.




I used the stamps plus a purple pen to make the instructional sign for the guestbook. I plan to use the same approach for the menu cards: 1 per table (it's a buffet so it's just for informational purposes), each stamped with the word "menu" and then with the actual menu handwritten below it. My apologies for the blurry photo.


And I used the stamps to make a "Relief for Tired Feet" sign to go on the flip-flop bucket. If I'd bought the stamps earlier, I'd have used them to make the size tags for the shoes themselves, but I made those with a purple Sharpie before I had the stamps. Also, further evidence of my OCD-ness: I twisted the ribbon holding the size tags as I was tying it so that both loops of the bow had the shiny side of the ribbon facing out. I'm aware that nobody will notice. But isn't that what this blog is for? Proclaiming left and right about ridiculous details that nobody cares about?


The programs are laid out in InDesign and ready to be printed, pending a couple of final ceremony details that need to be added. The purple paper for printing them on has been purchased. The thank-you tags are also ready to be printed and then tied on to the favors with the remaining ribbon. And then the final DIY detail will be creating some sort of purple card box for the gift table.

And then--I'm almost afraid to say it--the details will be done. All that will be left will be logistical details, timelines and final song choices and making sure that everything gets delivered to the right place at the right time. And writing a lot of checks. And then the whole part where we actually get married. Which is pretty much the best part. Although all of the little purple details are a close second. Perhaps all this purple is what's making me so calm.