Table Numbers: Warning, Cuteness Overload

You have already seen my wooden table numbers, and now I wanted to share with you what else will be going on the tables. I am so excited to finally show you what I have been working on!

I had the idea for this as soon as we got engaged. Of course, I left it until the last two months to complete, but it's coming out amazingly either way. Our tables will be numbered traditionally - numerically, from 1 - 26. However, on each of the tables will be pictures of each of us at that age; for example, at Table Five, there will be pictures of us at age 5. Are you ready to see how I've put it together? I'm going to split these into several posts because otherwise you may actually go into cuteness shock! (All pictures are personal photos).

Us before age one - I'm not sure what to put on here for age, any suggestions?

Just FYI - Mr. Hermit Crab is always on the left (although, of course, I think that will be fairly obvious). Also, I cut off the blue border on the bottom in this picture, sorry!

You'll probably notice that I've used flowers in each of them - I thought it would be a great way to tie them all together (sorry about the flash spot!)

As it turns out, Mr. Hermit Crab really will be a doctor when he grows up! And of course, I have never stopped loving the phone :)

Age seven - this might be the last time Mr. Hermit Crab played soccer

So what if we had professional pictures taken, didn't everyone? ;)

Stay tuned for the second installment: The Awkward Years, the Teen Years and Present!

I cut the paper to 8 x 10 so I can put them in standard frames on each table. I also have another plan for these babies (eek!) which I will reveal soon.

Did you have a project you were particularly excited about? Did you have an idea for project really early on but still leave it for the end, like me?

Shower Tips

As you have seen, I have recently had the pleasure of attending three bridal showers - one for my Friend Y, for whom I will be a bridesmaid in July, and two for moi! I have picked out some of the highlights to share with you from all three showers.

1. Serve delicious food. This may seem obvious, but it can come in so many different ways! Friend Y served sushi, dumplings and salads and it deliciously unique. My Syracuse shower featured homemade food from nearly all the attendees - there was too much to choose from! My family shower had a shmorgousboard (is there a correct way to spell that?) of bagels, spread, fruits and desserts, and everyone left happy and full. I would say that the food was integral to all three events, and though different, always delicious.

2. Take pictures! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures from my Syracuse shower, and it would have been a great opportunity to take pictures of many of the women here that I will soon be leaving. Believe me, I won't miss that opportunity again at my going away party! On the other hand, I got some great pictures from my family shower, seizing the opportunity to take family shots with people that I do not get to see often.

3. Make bonding opportunities. This can come in many forms - at Friend Y's shower, it was when we all wrapped her in toilet paper - most of the bridesmaids had never met, and this was a great way for us to work together. At my Syracuse shower, it was when everyone shared a story from their own weddings - we were given a little piece of insight into each other's past, and we were all laughing the whole time. At my family shower, it was the game where Mr. Hermit Crab and I had to correctly guess each other answers. My extended family got to learn a lot about the two of us, and they would share related stories as we went along - it was an amazing bonding experience.

4. ENJOY! This is such a big "duh" that I can't even really say more. It would have been easy to be annoyed at my mom, or worried about having a shower where most of the guests weren't invited, but I went, enjoyed, and came away with amazing memories.

All pictures are personal photos

Do you have tips on a great shower? Share!

April Showers Bring...

June weddings!

In April, I was lucky enough to have not one, but two bridal showers thrown for me!

Cake topper from my bridal shower

The first was here in Syracuse, thrown for me by close friends of mine in the synagogue that I work in, and all the women in the synagogue were invited to attend. At first I felt funny about this party because I was not able to invite many people from Syracuse to the wedding, including most of the people who came to the shower, but I was assured by my friend that people just wanted to celebrate with me, and would understand that I couldn't invite everyone. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures, but about 30 women came out, and most brought something delicious for a dessert potluck. At one point, we went around the room and all the women shared something funny from their own weddings - we had stories including everything from disruptive father in laws, to lost pants and everything in between. It was a really nice afternoon, and I loved hearing a little about everyone's past!

Then, my mom, my cousin F, and my Aunt Bobbe threw me a shower for the women in mine and Mr. Hermit Crab's families. We wound up with 18 people and it was just wonderful! There was a never-ending spread of bagels, cream cheese, fruits and veggies and of course, dessert. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. Hermit Crab's sister had made a video of asking him questions that I had to guess the answer on. For every question I answered incorrectly, I had to chew a piece of bubblicious. Luckily, I did not get that many wrong, because man! that stuff takes up a lot of room! Actually, I would say that Mr. Hermit Crab and I did remarkably well on that game - I guess we really do know each other ;).

The spread - yum!



The cake - people couldn't stop saying how delicious it was! If you look closely, you'll see that the girl on the cake looks a bit, how should I put...preggers! (see above picture at the top of the post for a better view). I didn't know if someone was trying to send me a hint or something, but I assured everything that this was just a bridal shower and nothing else!

My FMIL, Stepmom and little sister, and my Mom, finishing out the toast

The lovely ladies of my generation on my mom's side of the family - just to my left, Cousin F threw the shower for me and just got engaged herself! So exciting that we get to plan another wedding together for next year :)

The Hermit Crab ladies - Bubbe (grandma) Hermit Crab (flew all the way in from Milwaukee to celebrate with me!), Little Sister and Stepmom Hermit Crab

Finally, me and mama Hermit Crab - everyone kept saying we look like sisters, she loves that!

(All pictures are personal photos)

Part of what I've loved about the wedding are the opportunities here and there to get together with small group of people that I love and share this time with them. I can honestly say that that has been my favorite part of this whole experience!

Did you have showers? What has been your favorite part of being engaged?

Invitations: Paper Choices

Now that you've seen all there is to see of our invitation suite, and you're probably sick of it, there is one last thing I want to talk about.

(Just in case you needed a refresher - photo sent to me by Kristin at Twin Ravens Press)

We were pretty set on using certain paper, and I think you'll be interested to hear about it. In case you've forgotten, here's the whole suite. The booklet almost contained one final page that would have read the following:

About these booklets

The interior pages of this wedding invitation booklet were letterpress printed on post-consumer recycled, cotton fiber blend paper that has been embedded with wildflower seeds that will grow almost anywhere. If you don't wish to retain this wedding invitation, simply moisten its pages and plant just under the surface of some soil in a sunny spot. Water regularly until seeds germinate and watch them grow!

This cover of this booklet and lining of the envelopes are made from handmade lotka paper imported from Nepal. This paper is made using centuries-old traditions with fibrous bark from the daphne cannabina shrub, which grows at high altitudes in the Himalayas. Because these papers are handmade and hand-dyed in Nepal, they are subject to slight variation in color and thickness, making each and every piece unique.

Not only was it important to us that these invitations be unique, but we tried to be eco-conscious. I don't think that everyone is going to plant our invitations, but if they throw them away, (they are not! they will save them forever!) they will at least be totally biodegradeable. (I do realize, of course, how much paper this used, but we tried where we could!)

Speaking of plantable invitations, remember our save the dates? Some people have planted them and they are really beginning to sprout! So exciting!

So that concludes the invitations saga. I am so enjoying getting the rsvps back - I especially love when people write little notes, or how a couple of people have actually used the drawing and colored it in or added their own flowers!

Did you try to make eco-friendly choices throughout your planning? Share your eco-conscious secrets!

Invitations: The Final Product!

It is the moment I have been waiting for for SO long! I absolutely love our invitations and could not wait to share them with you! These were a true collaboration between so many wonderful artists - our letterpress printer Kristin of Twin Ravens Press, our incredible map maker Crystal Kluge, our calligrapher Fran of Little Flower Calligraphy (for wording in the invitation and also our envelopes), and our Hebrew calligrapher Jerise. I found each of these artists (with the exception of Crystal) on Etsy, and I cannot begin to recommend this site enough. You can literally find someone for everything, and I have been incredibly happy working with each person - and anything that I haven't found, I have been able to find here on the 'Bee!

So you're like, enough already, give us the goods...and without further adieu:

Just a warning: this post is chock full of pretty pictures. (It pained me to blot them out even a little but you can use your imagination!) All pictures sent to me from the amazing and talented Kristin from Twin Ravens Press.

Here is the first thing that our guests saw on the back on the envelope. They would carefully, carefully open the seal (yeah, right) to reveal...

An envelope lined with pretty petal embedded lotka paper ("Wow, what a neat detail," they would notice) and then...

This pretty blue booklet with a dried pressed flower on the cover! "I can't wait to see more!" they would exclaim.

The first page is a traditional Hebrew poem, often used during weddings. The words in English are:

Again may these be heard in the cities of Judah
And in the streets of Jerusalem
The voices of gladness and voices of happiness
The voice of bridegroom and bride

And a close up of the writing - this page alone features the talent of three different artists! Kristin of Twin Ravens Press dress the flowers (and did the letterpress), Jerise did the Hebrew Calligraphy and Fran of Little Flower Calligraphy did the English calligraphy. I love how well all the styles came together.

They would turn the page to find the information. "Oh how lovely! I can't wait until June!" was their enthusiastic response.

And a close up here because it is just so beautiful! The same three artists came together here. We chose to use three colors to make this page pop.

Ah, the map. Crystal Kluge is responsible for this lovely little surprise! Our guests will now remark how whimsical this map is, and how they love getting to know us just a little bit better this way. Coming soon, you'll see how we use this little guy again!

Hm, the accommodations page. Our guests will surely book their hotel rooms just as soon as they read this!

The RSVP card! Pretty even on its own, it is going to be the inspiration for our thank you cards, which are in the works.



I loved the light blue envelope with the RSVP card, just another pop of color and a little addition of interest. Of course our guests saw this and said, "Oh! I must send this back right away!" Right...

And the final piece to our set. Not to be forgotten, the directions page is a lovely way to end the tour through our invitations.

So here is the whole suite, just as our guests laid them out when they received them, I'm sure ;)
In honesty, these so far exceed my expectations, I could not be happier with the way that they came out. I was able to work with so many talented artists and truly make our invitation dream a reality. I wouldn't change a thing!

We were very conscious in our choices, though, that we made for this suite. Stay tuned for Invitations: Paper Choices.

Did any of your wedding projects exceed your expectations? Share your happy stories!

THE Look

This weekend I will be going for my first dress fitting, so I thought I would take a moment and put together my look for you.

(source, source, source, source, source, the rest are personal photos)

I have yet to purchase my shoes, but I am pretty sure this is the look that I will be going for - fun, pink and silvery. I usually wear sparkles on my nail polish, so I think it will be a great pair with pink. My small centerpieces will be a guide for my bouquet, and the colors will be vibrant. What do you think of this look? Any suggestions?

Have you put your look together? Hows it coming?

Inspiration Check In

Now that we're getting closer, I decided to take my original inspiration, and make an inspiration board to see how things are coming together.

I made this:

into this:

source for chocolate fountain
source for chuppah
source for Botanical Garden reception
all other pictures are personal photos

So far, so good! I think it's really coming together (anyway, I hope so, being less than two months out!). My vision for whimsical and colorful, fun and still sophisticated seems to be shaping up. Is your wedding coming together as you imagined it would?