Poster Board Saves The Day

I have been using Perfect Table Plan to keep track of our RSVP's and I have been loving it. I was able to import our guest list and keep track of their responses with ease. Meal choices, guests, and "who invited them?!" were all included in the handy chart. When it finally came time to start seating people, things got a little trickier. Being able to drag and drop was nice enough and the auto-assign function was a great start. Maybe it was the size of my room or my long rather than round tables, but I was starting to get frustrated.

I fell back on some skills that I picked up when I planned non-profit fundraisers. Whom was sitting with whom was very important and the guest list was changing all the time. The easiest way to plan it out was a big piece of poster board and a post-it note for every guest. I would then hang it up in my cubicle and stare at it until I found the perfect arrangement. Fortunately, I spent the weekend up at the lake rather than in my cubicle, but the trick worked just the same.


Everyone found a seat. This also helped me come up with my best idea yet... the kids table! Mr. Peacock's mom is paying for a babysitter for all of our neices and nephews. I had no idea how I was going to get all six of them at the same table, with the babysitter and their parents- most of whom are in the wedding party. I was never planning on doing a traditional head table with just the wedding party and no dates. We loved the idea of sitting with our immediate family, but our families combined equalled 19 adults, 6 kids and a partridge in a pair tree. Adding a kids table meant that Mr. Peacock and I could sit with our siblings, our parents and grandparents. It also meant that all the adults could have a fun time, leaving the work to the babysitter. Hurray!

How did you figure out your seating plan?

Things To Avoid On The Big Day: Handcuffs, Tasers

There was a brief period of time when Mr. Peacock and I considered scrapping our plans for a big Chicago wedding. We thought it might be sweet and romantic to get married close to his family's lakehome in Southwest Michigan at the delightful Karma Vista winery. Then we found out that Karma Vista does not do special events, that the closest hotel was 20 miles away and the thought of calling a cab was laughable, so we dropped the whole idea. Little did we know the kind of shenanigans possible when Chicagoans attend a Michigan wedding...

The wedding was on a Michigan beach, the reception was in an art gallery --
but a former Chicago couple's wedding night was spent in separate jail cells
after both bride and groom got shocked by a police Taser and arrested at their
raucous reception.

Andy Somora and Anna Pastuszwska's July 19 wedding reception
in tiny Lakeside, Mich., is still the talk of the town after officers from 14
police departments swarmed the art gallery to quell a melee. The groom's father,
uncle, aunt and cousin -- several of whom hail from Villa Park and La Grange
Park -- also got arrested.

"The short version of the story is they didn't want to quit their
partying," said Mike Sepic, Berrien County, Mich., chief assistant prosecutor.
"If you put this in the class of wedding receptions gone bad, I guess this would
take the cake."

And the story didn't end after the reception. Two nights later, the bride
and groom were again arrested in Michigan -- and again shocked by a stun gun --
after struggling with police investigating a noise complaint, Sepic said.

Yup, that's the bride! The Groom is next to her getting cuffed.

Story and photo from the Chicago Sun Times.

So beware, party animals. You don't want the word "taser" to be thrown around as people tell the story of your wedding.

I'm Ready To Get Mawwied!

Mr. Peacock and I stopped by Chicago's City Hall yesterday to pick up our marriage license. Like quite a few bees have mentioned, it was quick and painless. All we needed to bring with us was our drivers licenses. It was nice to scratch one of the "absolutely must happen" things off our to-do list. I have a strange crush on City Hall, so it was kind of an exciting trip anyway.

We were feeling a little snap happy, so here I am with the license and a old school sign that I liked.

And Mr. Peacock in the pretty hallway.


Unfortunately, we had a meeting with our priest immediately following and we had to hand it over. You may have otherwise seen several other nerdy photos of us with our beloved new license. I am totally ready to get this show on the road.

Little Pockets

In order to add a bit of a homemade feel to my invites, I came up with the idea of creating cloth envelopes as an inner envelope. It was something I had never seen before, but it sounded simple enough. My original idea was to make them from inexpensive muslin. I would use my Gocco to stamp a monogram on the top, so that the guest would see it first when he or she opened the outer envelope. I would them use a label to address the inner envelope. This would clear up any confusion over who was actually invited to the wedding, while simultaneously closing the "pocket."

When shopping for muslin, however, my mom and I came up with a better plan. We found some gold and ivory fabric that perfectly matched the ink and paper of my invites. Due to a lovely sale, it was actually cheaper than the muslin. I discarded the stamp idea for the sake of simplicity. I did keep the label for practical purposes. My mom and sister were roped in as part of my DISE (Do It, Someone Else) plan and, lucky for me, they pulled it off beautifully.

Thank you, mom and Elise!

They did not weigh any more than a traditional envelope might. They were crazy simple to make. We cut strips that were an inch wider, on each side, than the invitation. My little elves sewed them closed on each side, using the fold as the bottom and leaving the top open. We then cleaned up the top with scalloped scissors and voila! I stuffed them with the invite, the RSVP, the RSVP envelope and the directions card and then sealed them closed with soft white oval labels from the Paper Source. I hope this will help my guests keep the invite and map together, but either way, I love them!

Did anyone else incorporate an nontraditional material into their invitations?

DISE: Do It, Someone Else

I believe that I have reached a stage in my planning where I am throwing in the towel on chunks of my to-do list. Its time to cash in my chips and admit my losses. Fortunately, I have a wonderful family and a few patient friends to help.

1. I could not find a cake topper. After months of searching, I gave up this weekend. I asked my extremely talented aunt to make one for me and she gladly obliged. With only weeks to go, she will be making me two little lovebirds out of felt. That she makes herself. Out of wool. From her own sheep. Her craftiness is literally blowing my mind. I can't believe that I didn't ask her sooner!!! I sent her several little birds to serve as models and she is going to town. I didn't want to give too much direction because I trust her crafty skills.
   
2. I never learned how to sew. This inhibited my ability to make little fabric pockets for my invites and covers for my programs. My mom and sister stepped up on the pockets and I dropped the programs. I haven't looked back. My mom and Mr. Peacock's mom are also making the flowergirl/junior bridesmaid dresses, although I never once thought that I could pull that off. Those poor girls would be walking down the aisle in silk potato sacks.
3. I still don't understand Photoshop. Mr. Peacock had to make the little maps for our invites and he did a WAY better job than I ever could. He rules. This is one of the many things that he is doing for the wedding, and one of the many reasons that he rules.
   
4. I cannot run the wedding myself and still have a good time. I hired a friend who is just starting a wedding coordination business to be my DOC. I'm not sure what your definition of "day of" is, but it probably doesn't include running venue walkthroughs and handling crabby vendors well before that big day. Mr. Peacock called her my insurance policy this morning and I could not agree more.

Before I became a student, I planned events for a living. I loved my job. I have never been worried about losing my cool throughout this process. I had a very "been there, done that" attitude. A wedding is a unique event, at least for the people getting married. There are some crazy emotions involved and, frankly, I am getting a little tired. Thank goodness I have all these wonderful people to support me :)

Is anyone else learning to love delegating?

Box Full of Letters

The invites went out a little over a month ago and the deadline recently passed, so the wonderful experience of running to the mailbox is almost at its end. Sad. I thought I would relive it by sharing them with you.

My first plan was to make the invitations myself. After several cracks at Photoshop and a slew of other handmade invites and cards, I threw that idea out the window. I had also spent countless hours drooling over letterpress invitations on the millions of wedding blogs that I read and had developed an obsession. Then I found Margot of Atelier Isabey. Her work was just what I had in mind, I could customize it to be exactly what I wanted and she was as sweet as could be. I was still able to sneak in a little DIY, but they are mostly a whole lotta genius from Margot. I asked for vintage garden- that is definitely what I got. I love, love, love, love them.

Ugh, it pains me to have to block parts of that out. But, I'm a safety girl!

That little chandelier was a special request. It perfectly matches the pair hanging from the ceiling of Cafe Brauer. I still can't believe that Margot was able to create that. She is very talented.

Most of the set. More on that little pocket and a missing map later.

Yes, that is my little Maisy saying hello. I told you I would get her in the wedding somehow!

I would definitely recommend Atelier Isabey if you are looking for some beautiful letterpress. I knew I would be happy the moment that I saw my first draft. She was very willing to incorporate my suggestions and appreciated the feedback. I had a bit of a color issue and she was always coming up with great ideas. Her prices are also reasonable, compared to other letterpress designers, particularly when you consider that these were made just for me.

Mr. Peacock has taken on an impressive list of wedding jobs, but this was solidly on my list. I loved every minute of it. Was the invitation creation process anyone else's favorite part of planning?

My Lill Bag Is HERE!

Hurray! My Lill bag is here! It was even a few days early. I picked them all up yesterday afternoon. I walked out of there with one little black and white bag for each bridesmaid and my mom, the bursting with bright red tissue. I looked like one of those rich lady shoppers in the movies. It was really quite fun.

Not as much fun as investigating my bag when I got home! I love it! I apologize in advance for these photos, they are kind of stinky. There is much more warmth to the fabric than it appears.

A little something blue

Here was my inspiration, the ribbon that I bought for my bouquet. They look gorgeous together.


Anyone else a little too excited about their wedding day purse?

More Goodies for the Bachelorette

My sister wanted to make something unique as a favor at the bachelorette party. She's not terribly crafty, unless you are talking fashion, so it had to be something easily made but also inexpensive and fun. She came up with undies. She bought a variety of cute ones from Victoria's Secret and had a custom stamp made online. She then bought some fabric friendly stamp pads and went to town. Here is my pair.



And here are the rest, being enjoyed with their goody bags. Silly girls. I love them!

The bridesmaid on the right is in the Weddingbee protection program.

What is the best bachelorette party favor that you have seen?

Bachelorette Party Run Down

I wasn't quite sure how to share the details from my bachelorette weekend. There are a lot of pictures of my friends in bikinis, drinking strawberry lemonade vodkas and reading Us Weekly. Other than a boat ride around the lake, we didn't really go anywhere or do anything- and I LOVED it! It doesn't make for a very exciting recap. There is one slightly NSFW image, however, just to keep you on your toes.

The party started when my sister (MOH) and I arrived late on Thursday night. Half of the other guests arrived on Friday and the rest on Saturday. My sister and my mom have been working on this weekend for the past few months. They had lots of surprises in store! First off, my unconventional bride shirt. Here is something that I will be happy to wear again and again.

Mrs. Peacock!

I had to share our collection of mags with you. This pile grew and grew over the weekend as everyone came prepared. Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan were a frequent topic of discussion.

This was only my second time driving the boat. Mr. Peacock's sisters and I realized a little too late that we let the guys do everything when we are on the lake. That means that there were a few scary moments as we pulled the boat out of the slip, drove it carefully around the lake and then brought it back in. Here I am thinking "oh, crap!" while everyone else enjoys the ride. Good thing I got to dip into that lovely pitcher of margaritas after someone else took the wheel.

After the sunset cruise, we were back home for showers, tacos and a little dessert. Please meet the manliest cake you have ever seen.

Yes, he was anatomically correct.

Here was me seeing him for the first time.

After a few sweet personal gifts, we played a little "How well does Ms. Peacock know Mr. Peacock?" and then "How well do Ms. Peacock's bridesmaids know her?" The maids did better than I did. I missed several questions, such as "What kind of animal would Mr. Peacock be?" and "How many girlfriends has Mr. Peacock had?" After a late night discussion of the pros and cons of online dating, the night was over. We had a quick breakfast in the morning and everyone was on their way home.

Did anyone else have a low key bachelorette party and love it?