Monday, August 18, 2008

Fluffy Monday

The weekend was very heavy on wedding-related projects. We took a cue from Nilsa and put ourselves on invitation lockdown. We also got a bunch of other little things done, and even found some time to watch the Olympics. At least, until that got supplanted by our latest interest. But I'll get to that in a minute. First, a list:

1. The wedding invitations are done. Later this morning I'm going to run down to the post office, weigh an invitation one last time just to triple check that the postage is correct, and then drop them all off and happily wave goodbye. And actually, other than our printing issues, the DIY invitation thing was much simpler than we expected. It took a total of maybe eight hours spread over three weekend afternoons (with the help of two amazing friends) to get them done. Pretty painless, relatively speaking. And yes, I took photos, but I'm not going to post them until they've arrived at their destinations. But they turned out great, in my humble opinion. And once they go out, we will be all caught up on that damn Knot checklist.

2. Our best man might not be able to make it to the wedding, for totally understandable reasons. But what do you do about that? This is Torsten's best friend we're talking about. Do you just upgrade one of the other groomsmen? And if so, do you ask someone else to be a groomsman to fill out the party? And if you do that, how do you frame it so they don't feel offended at being a backup selection? And if you don't do that, do you just go without a best man? And then who carries the rings and gives a toast at the reception? And also, how much does it suck not to have your best friend at your wedding? This is just a crappy situation all around.

3. We finally got around to going to try on tuxes. And after all that, we decided not to use them. We don't see much of a difference between a tux and a suit, and the tux store felt gross, and it just seemed like a waste of money to rent tuxes when all the groomsmen already own perfectly nice black suits. We'll just provide purple ties to all of them and call it a day. In fact, we already picked the tie. I can't find a photo, but it is gorgeous. And it was on sale for 70% off.

4. I also ordered the earrings I wanted, thanks to all of your sage advice. I ended up deciding not to go with any of the four that I initially suggested--I thought they were all too casual or a bit too big and noticeable. I ended up going for something a bit more traditional that won't compete as much with the curls and the veil and all that stuff that will be going on around my face. See:


5. In order to take breaks from the huge amounts of tiny wedding details we were dealing with, we were watching the Olympics. But then Mario Kart Wii showed up in the mail. (Not by coincidence--I finally found it available online, at the normal price with free shipping, and ordered it.) And oh my god, a whole world of beauty has opened to me. I always liked video games reasonably much, but got sick of them quickly and never really understood why some people were obsessed with them. But now my eyes have been opened. I get it. Mario Kart is amazing and I could play it all day. And also, I get very competitive, and there might be some swearing at Torsten when he beats me. So yes, the Olympics have been surpassed.

Wow, I've been talking about the wedding a lot recently, haven't I? All these details are just taking over my mind, and thus the blog as well. Writing it all out has been incredibly useful, and you guys being so supportive has been incredibly useful as well. But I'll try to take a break from all the wedding talk for awhile. I think we could all use it. Of course, there are no guarantees. "Awhile" could very well turn out to mean one day.

44 comments:

  1. Two things:

    1. Those earrings are gorgeous, and they look like a perfect choice.

    2. I feel like I spent half the summer looking for Mario Kart for the wii. Of course it would be available now that I blew my budget on end of the summer concert tickets.

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  2. New reader, delurking, to say how perfect those earrings are! The others were lovely, but these do seem more wedding-ish. I get a little thrill at the thought of all the purple touches, please say there will be pictures!

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  3. Super jealous that you're done with the invites. I still haven't done them yet! I have all of the supplies, so I guess I'd better get crackin'. Major props to you, though! And those earrings are lovely. Much better choice, in my opinion :)

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  4. LOVE LOVE those earrings ... what a perfect choice!

    You can talk weddings all day long and I will sigh happily and share in your joy.

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  5. Gorgeous earrings! They are the perfect choice.

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  6. Love the earrings. and yay for invites being done! I'm sure that's a huge weight off your shoulders!

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  7. I think those earrings are exactly right. Can't wait to see the whole thing come together!!

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  8. Those earrings are PERFECT. Simple, tasteful and elegant.

    I got your email. If these are as gorgeous in person as online, I guess you won't be taking me up on my offer. It does, however, still stand. Just in case. :)

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  9. LOVE the earrings. Perfect!

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  10. NO! Wedding stuff is great - and makes me feel better about having it on my brain 24-7.
    I love the earrings, spectacular choice!

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  11. i love the earrings. we are addicted to mario kart wii too. and i get competitive as well, so there is a lot of yelling when joe comes in way before me. :)

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  12. One of my friends recently dealt with the best man issue- they bumped someone up to best man, but not to groomsmen. I think that is more insulting than bumping someone to best man.

    And love the earrings!

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  13. I love, love, LOVE those earrings. I think they will be perfect.

    And Mario Kart Wii?! I'm obsessed with that game too!

    The best man for my best friend's wedding wasn't able to come either. He's in the military wasn't granted leave. They left his name in the program as best man, but didn't really "step up" anyone else. Another groomsman walked me and the other maid of honor (we called ourselves the co-maids, ha) down the aisle and another friend made a quick speech since the best man wasn't able to be there. I liked it, because the groom really wanted his best friend to be the best man and unfortunately he just couldn't be there, but he was still recognizd.

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  14. Those earrings are HELLA gorgeous, seriously. I love them.

    And maybe you could talk about how you're going to meet me. IN FOUR DAYS. ZOMG.

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  15. Those earring are perfect!

    I seriously think my favorite wedding planning moment was mailing those damn invites out. What a relief.

    That's really a shame Torsten's best friend can't make the wedding. You could always appoint him the "honorary" best man in the program to show he was supposed to be a part of your day, but that won't help with who holds the rings or gives the speech.

    Unless...would he still be willing to WRITE a speech for you guys that someone else could read at the dinner? As far as the rings go, your maid of honor could hold both...You would just have one less guy standing up for Torsten than you have women; I've seen an uneven number of attendants plenty of times.

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  16. I love those earrings! Similar to a pair I suggested if I remember correctly.
    That does suck that the best man won't be able to make it. Maybe you can move up someone else, or is there anyone who could do it who wasn't in the wedding company before? I think I'd probably want to move up one of the others just because they would probably be the next best friend.

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  17. YAAAAY for invitations being done!! and i SO COMPLETELY LOVE those earrings. perfection.

    that totally sucks about the best man though. augh. there are a lot of suggestions here already, which is a good thing, because i have NO IDEA what to suggest :-(

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  18. In a wedding I was in, the best man unfortunately passed away prior to the big day, so it's a little different situation. They didn't appoint anyone new, just left his name on the program as best man. Their program listed out each person in the wedding party and how they knew the bride & Groom so they acknowledged him there. I think it would be fine to have the maid of honor walk alone down the aisle and leave the best man spot empty. I also like the idea of having Torsten's friend still write a speech and having another groomsman say it. That would allow him to still be part of the celebration.

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  19. Those earrings are beautiful, and I never tire of wedding details!

    For our teeny wedding, we each invited our 2 best friends. Mine both came, but only one of his could (the other is in Vienna and has a small child, so it was understandable). The day of our wedding, the other guy called to say he couldn't make it. His wife had had their first baby 5 days before, via c-section, and she wasn't doing well. While we understood, my husband was devastated.

    I don't think I would bump someone up, unless it is a really close friend. Otherwise, just pick one of the groomsmen to hold the rings.

    I hear you on the tux. Bryan just wore a black suit too. He looked so handsome, and he can wear it again (and it was $69 at Target...hehe...fit him best out of all of the suits he tried on, even the expensive ones).

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  20. great choice on earrings!

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  21. The earrings are perfect. YAY on the invites!!! WOO! Can't wait to see pictures. :)
    Sorry about the best man. I'm really trying to convince D to get a Wii and a Wii Fit for my birthday. We'll see...

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  22. The earrings are fantastic. Perfect for a wedding.

    I don't think a guy would take offense to being upgraded to best man. It's not that big of a deal, and I'm sure they know they are still loved, even if they don't hold the 'best friend' title.

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  23. oooooh, those earrings are beautiful!

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  24. Those are beautiful earrings!! My goodness!
    Wedding lock down is great when you can just plow through a lot, congrats!

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  25. Oh yay to be done with the invitations. So glad your process went smoothly. And I love the idea of buying a purple tie for the guys. We're doing something similar ... only they have tuxes with vests and we're buying them a *better* tie than what comes with the tux. Our men are going to look rockin' good, dontcha think?

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  26. Beautiful earrings!

    I don't think the best man has to be the best friend. It's nice if it works out that way, but it often doesn't.

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  27. I love those earrings -- they are a perfect choice!

    Talk on about the wedding. It has been fun sharing the ups and downs with you.

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  28. Uh- like everyone else- I think the earrings are phenom!
    xo

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  29. Very pretty earrings, where did you find them?

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  30. Yeah--what everyone else said. Day-yum, those earrings are perfect! :)

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  31. Those earrings are perfect.

    And you're going to be so pleased with the effect of the suits and ties. We did that at our wedding -- light blue and green, not purple -- and it looked lovely.

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  32. oo! I like those earrings. Those are the best choice by far.

    If I were in your shoes regarding the best man, I would ask one of my groomsmen to step in but not bring on other groomsmen. I would hope nobody would be offended at being asked to help out with the duties that the would-be best man would do. They're all there for your groom, right?

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  33. Those earrins are pretty! Well done! do you have a photo of your assembled invites at all? What did they turn out like?

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  34. Oooooh, pretty earrings! I love them!

    xox

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  35. Those earrings are not only gorgeous, but they're also event perfect! Ooh, and I'm so itching to get Mario Kart for my DS. It's on my want-list!

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  36. Those earrings are so pretty! I love them. Well done.

    So sorry about the best man thing.

    Congrats on getting the invites out: that's awesome!

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  37. I saw your Tweet about the best man and I felt awful for you guys. It's just so unfortunate and puts you both in an uncomfortable position. Can you guys lend him the money to come in so he can take part?

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  38. What happened to the best man? That sucks.

    And YES YES YES the earrings are PERFECT!!!!!!

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  39. I love the wedding talk! I don't want a break! :_

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  40. Love the earring choice! Just stunning!

    As for the best man dilemma- I think asking another good friend would be the best bet.

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  41. I have taken a sabbatical but am back now and am looking forward to catching up on everyting.Congrats getting the invitations finished - the earrings are gorgeous too! Simple yet elegant and understated!

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  42. Hey, great earrings! :-)

    I think you're just going to have to ask someone else to be the best man. I wouldn't want to do without... If your second choice is one of the groomsmen and you have to replace him too, don't worry too much about the replacement being offended at only being a backup selection. If whoever you choose cares about you two, he'll be pleased to be a part of your wedding, if he's offended, he's not really worth worrying about anyway...

    xxx

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  43. I love the simplicity of those earrings - very nice.

    That Knot list may be a pain, but I sure wish my SIL had actually USED IT. Oh my crap were things disorganized! I tried to be nice when I blogged about it but in reality? We wasted way too much of our vacation giving wedding advice and helping finalize details that were NOT our problem. Argh!

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