ACHIEVED!: Invitations

Or, "snail mail: quite quick, actually"

So after an all nighter of printing invites,buying labels, stuffing envelopes, buying DIFFERENT labels, going to Wal-Mart at midnight to buy ink, going to Kinko's at 4 a.m. to buy seals, individually cutting and stamping each label and reprinting all the labels I inevitably ruined through my own spelling mistakes....invitations are OUT.

They were out on Saturday morning, actually, but I have been sleeping off the aforementioned all nighter. And tomorrow (promises promises) I will show what they looked like and how we made them because I think they are pretty damn spectacular.

I just wanted to make a quick post to say

1.) HOLY COW WE HAVE RSVPs TO THIS WEDDING ALREADY (AHHHHHHH!)

and

2) if you are a guest of the Hallowedding and you are now reading this blog because I (or my mother or whoever) sent you this way after you got your invitation...um, hi? Welcome. Apologies in advance for the inevitable profanity.


Now if you'll excuse me I have a very early show tomorrow with about twenty Iowan preschoolers. I need my rest.



(RSVPs you guys!! It is SO ON.)

FOOOOOOOOD

Food is very, very important to Greg and me. We love to cook, we love going out to eat, our TiVo is full of food network shows...we care about food.



Our love of food makes it extra tragic that one of the most appalling areas of this wedding planning business is catering. I haven't planned or attended many weddings in other cities, but in Omaha, there is one caterer who dominates the scene and it is...not pleasant. I will not name the catering company because I don't want nasty emails, and also there are many people who had to use this company for one reason or another and I think they have suffered enough. I will just refer to them as the Big Bad Catering Company. Many fabulous venues in the metro area have exclusive catering contracts with the BBCC, which is the main reason we passed on many venues that had initially appealed to us. A look at their menus reveals tired old dishes that are VERY expensive and (experience has taught me) don't taste very good. They're not terrible, per se, but if I'm eating something that cost my host $30+ a plate I expect something pretty damn spectacular. Call me picky. I just think that when you're charging that much for a chicken breast you could afford to spare some salt.



Anyway, we wanted to avoid the BBCC at any cost, which is one of the main reasons we went with the Scoular, because they gave us a choice of many caterers and price ranges. In addition to our culinary preferences and budget issues, we wanted a somewhat...unconvential menu. We wanted a menu that was comfortable, casual and fun, much like our wedding. Also, we knew people would be eating in costume and I think prime rib might be a little messy for fairy princesses.



So we wanted soup and sandwiches. Fancy soup and sandwiches, but still.



We looked at the list Scoular gave us, eliminated anyone whose menus started ridiculously high or whose websites discouraged menu tampering, and emailed a few candidates.



Catering Creations emailed us back almost immediately, and their enthusiasm has persisted throughout the process. Before our first meeting we perused their sample menus and pulled out some soup and salad choices that sounded appealing with our sandwiches. However, when we sat down with Jeff, the head chef, he said:

"Okay, I know you guys said you wanted the wild mushroom and creamy onion soups, and I can make those for you and they'll be very good, but if you're doing a Halloween wedding you have to have a roasted pumpkin soup. You just...you have to."

And that, friends, is when I decided that Jeff was my favorite.



So here is our menu. Those of you who are coming to the wedding, look forward to it. Those of you who will not be coming to the wedding...um...you can dream.



Pre-game (Dips):
White Bean, Parmesan, Roasted Garlic with Sundried Tomatoes (I have tasted this one in person and boy howdy was it delicious)
Tomato, Basil, Artichoke and Olive Tapenade
Fresh Guacamole & Hearty Salsa
All Dips Served with Fresh Tortilla Chips



(these will be left out and replenished through most of the dancing time as well for snackers and late comers. I love me some guacamole, I really do.)



Soups and Salads:


Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Dark Pumpernickel Croutons
Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
(Both made with veggie stock to appease our vegetarian friends)


Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

Classic Caesar Salad with Parmesan Croutons



SANDWICHES!


Smoked Beef Sandwich on Foccacia Bread with Caramelized Onions & Arugula with Red Pepper Feta Spread
Blackened Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese, Golden Raisins, with Alfalfa Sprouts and Avocados Served on Ciabatta Bread





Doesn't that sound AMAZING?



And super bonus--they also catered Nick and Erika's wedding in August, giving us the opportunity to see them in action and it was spectacular. The service was great, the set up was clean and pretty, and the food was super tasty.



So we got the menu we wanted, with the price we wanted, with people who actually seem happy to be serving us. Count our catering amongst the victories over the big nasty wedding industry!

naked finger

As the wedding swiftly approaches, things are getting done (what a novel idea...do wedding stuff before the wedding. Awesome idea, Shan) but sometimes being on the ball has it's consequences. Yesterday I gave away my engagement ring. And by that I mean I gave it back to the lovely folks at Custom Gems so they can make me a weddin' band.
As you know, Greg had my engagement ring custom made using (among other things) diamonds from my mom's wedding band. Here is probably the clearest picture I have ever taken of it--it's white gold with sparkly diamonds so it usually just appears as a big blob of shiny. If you click on it you can really clearly see it.
(this a post-shower picture of my presents from super rockstar Jenny Lassley. I took pics of the presents so i could remember things for my thank you cards later, and because I'm craaaaazyyyy)

Well as much as I love my ring, finding a wedding band to fit under it's strange curly shape is pretty much impossible. We considered many options: wearing a band under it, getting a plain band and switching my e-ring to my right hand, getting a fancy band and only wearing the band on fancy occasions, etc. It seems it took forever for us to realize that if Custom Gems could make us a custom ring to fit our diamonds, it could make a custom band to fit that same ring.
Why must we always try to reinvent the wheel over here?
So I dropped off the ring and they'll make a mold of it, then use that mold to make a band that will fit my ring.

I'm very excited for this to happen, but I miss my ring terribly. Especially since in the last year I have developed a habit of twirling it with my thumb whenever I drive, and now I'm just scratching at my bare finger. I also miss having something to subtly flash at boys who get a little too chatty at the store. Now there's no visual proof that I am taken and nothing for me to fiddle with all day and it's driving me nuts.

I would like to say, however, that Custom Gems rocks my shit, and if you have any custom jewelry needs, it is veeeerry reasonable. I won't say how reasonable, but it'll blow the socks right off your feet for sure.

awwwwwww

Man, I wish this card from rarrarpress had been around when Greg and I were doing the long distance thing. It's so sweet.

Although, it should probably be noted that if this were made for us with a map of the U.S. with hearts that big they would almost completely cover each other because Lincoln to Omaha really WASN'T that far...really.

(it just SEEMED far, because I missed him...oh, and I can't drive).


Check out all of rarrar's stuff. It's hilarious/adorable/beautiful. It is also (that word that is almost orgasmic to all brides-to-be) letterpressed. Might I suggest this poster for an absolutely incredible wedding present? We'd love you forever! It will hang over our mantle in our eventual home. Our children will fight over it when we die.

politics: wedding edition

This has nothing to do with politics, but when it comes down to dresses...I'm for Obama.

(found at Manolo for the Brides)

fifty

Fifty days.


Shit shit shit shit shit.

sweet somethings

I heard somewhere that it is sometimes customary to give the hostess of your shower a thank you gift. I don't know if this is Something You Have to Do or Something the Wedding Industry Wants You To Think You Have to Do, but either way I was really thankful and I really really like putting presents together.

I wanted to get a fun little something for Miss OH Ashley, since she planned the whole thing out and hosted it in her SUPER CUTE new apartment, but since bridesmaid Krystal and Mrs OH Jessie made a TON of food for the shower (the leftovers of which I am currently eating straight out of the tupperwear...classy) I got them a little something too.
All the girls got sweet notecards that looked like baked goods (and were vanilla scented!) some pink fancy bubble bath, scrub, and/or body butter, and kool aid lip gloss (because we're five). Ashley, as the actual hostess, also got a loaf of home made bread (no knead bread...best invention EVER!) and a cute little basket.
And then, because I was so excited that I got ready like three hours before my shower, I took a little extra time to make cute little thank you tags.

I scanned the image from a satirical etiquette book from the sixties that I got at a library book sale in like the fourth grade. The wedding etiquette chapter has this image of a bride running towards the aisle so fast that the little attendants are left flying...it's really cute and even way back then, I knew I wanted it involved in my eventual wedding somehow.
See how neat? I have no idea who the artist is but I want prints all over my house.

I changed the color not to be clever but because I'm out of black ink (eh) and then I used a pretty font on the bottom. The brownish hue and the unevenness of the color made it look like a rubber stamp. That also wasn't intentional, but made it look like I put more effort into it than I actually did. Score!

I think they turned out pretty well, since this, like the shower, was my "first time." I wanted to make sure that this present didn't have similar things as the actual bridesmaid gifts which have...um...secrets in them. SECRETS I SAY! (runs away)

bridal shower!

Saturday was My Very First Bridal Shower, and by very first, I mean that I...um...haven't gone to one before. Ever.

Greg made fun of me beforehand by saying I was "Always a bride, never a bridesmaid." Thanks.
i have a ton of pictures of just rooms of people milling around...what should one do with these things?

So I didn't know what to expect out of a shower, but it ended up being really fun! There was a nice mixture of college girls and married ladies, friends and family, and there were a bunch of foods that were based on either sugar, cheese, or meat...you can't go wrong, really. Cupcakes were also present, much to the delight of the bride to be and the flower girl to be (who ate part of my cupcake in addition to her own)

I was a little afraid that we would play Stupid Party Games, but we just did one game of Shannon and Greg trivia. It was funny, but I suspect that most bridal shower trivia games are a little...um...less weird.

Some of my favorite questions:

before they met in person, what was shannon's opinion of greg? --that he should date katie--

when greg assisted directed a uno show, he had to direct shannon in a scene in which she did what? --had sex with another dude.

(many people got this one right, and answers varied from 'kissed another boy' to 'humped jeff bell' and it was by far the one people were most enthusiastic about answering) shannon and greg once had a large shouting match in public. they were arguing about the best plan of defense in the face of what sort of attack? --zombies-- what is ruffles' favorite movie? Kate & Leopold

(this...um...has nothing to do with us as a couple about to be married. But somebody actually got it right!)

And of course, there were presents. I'm not going to lie...I was pretty excited about the presents.
The theme of the shower was...time? Clocks? I don't know exactly what you call it. Everyone got a specific time of day (8 a.m., midnight) and they were supposed to bring corresponding gifts. Luckily, I am in the kitchen like sixteen hours a day, because I wanted cooking stuff and boy brother, did I get it! Cookie sheets, muffin pans, mixing bowls, pyrex (in red! I didn't know they made red pyrex!), candles, towels, goblets from an honest to god ren fair, and all the awesome plates we registered for from CB2 (the commas from Katie M and the "mmm" from Katie C...Katies love CB2 I guess?) and a whole lot more. It was awesome, and everyone was so generous and you could tell with some presents that the people really thought about what Greg and I would most use and like.

Oh, and did I mention:




Ohhhhhhhhhh, lover.

Okay, I knew my mom was getting me the mixer because she told me. But she said she was giving it to me at the wedding. So when I opened it at the shower I made a lot of fluttery hand gestures and high pitched noises because it was MINE right then and there.
Which is a little Veruca Salt of me but whatevs.

I felt kinda bad flipping out like that. I liked everyone's presents equally it's just...you know...it's a stand mixer. Everything I have ever wanted in a kitchen. My mom had decided that she was bringing so much other junk up for the wedding week that she would just give it to me now to save space in her car...but she pointed out that this WAS IT. Shower, wedding, birthday, Christmas...and I'm like THAT IS FINE CAN I TAKE THIS OUT OF THE BOX NOW?

I can't wait to break that baby in. I think I will call her Nigella.

But, um, back to the shower...I really liked it, and I had a lot of fun. I already have my thank you cards done (I just have no stamps) and I put everything away that I could, minus things like the mixer and the really pretty mixing bowls, which I"m just going to display for a while.

I think I want someone else to get married so I can GO to a shower. I would even like to plan one someday, although I think at this point it'll probably be a baby shower instead. Whatevs. I like making cupcakes in all shapes and sizes.

10 Pictures of Shannon and Greg

Thanks, facebook! These are the ten greatest pictures I found on the internet...a little fluff for your Thursday. So, in no particular order:

Love in an Elevator
Taken on one of the first days of school in 2004--we finally lived in the same city and it was pretty great. Even though we had been dating for like eight months this is around the first time we called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. Aw, kids. Also, yes, this is what it looks like when you grow out your bangs poorly. Learn from my failures.



I Can Make Your Casse-role
This was taken through a basement window at a party a couple of years ago. People were dancing in the basement and Greg and I took a break. Apparently someone brought a potato casserole (I think Rachel Samson) and we ate it out of keg cups. As college kids are wont to do.

St. Pat's at the Max
St Patrick's day two years ago, at The Max. Greg shaved his head for a show in February and it was finally growing back--a lot of our cutest pictures are from the "Greg has incredibly short hair" phase of our relationship.

"This is how I eat cupcakes all the time!"
Ah, the FAUST Hell Banquet. I think this sums up a lot of our relationship right here. One of us acts kooky, the other makes an accepting but pained face. We make it work.

CHRISTMAS!!
We took this picture to give to our families a few years ago. We forgot about it until the last minute and underneath our warm wooly coats we are totally wearing pajamas. It's like three in the morning.

We Are The Ones Who Have The Fun
Yes, it looks like we're on a roller coaster, but we are actually just on a hayrack ride at the pumpkin patch. It was kinda rainy. Apparently that was adventure enough.

V.I.P.
Spring break in Austin during SxSW, at the VIP party for Blender. Probably the night we saw Nelly McKay. See what I'm saying about the no hair and the cute pictures? Yes, we are both very drunk, but I love it--is Greg snorgling me in this pic, or passing out a little bit?...little of column A, little of column B

Karaoeke Queens
We didn't sing karaoeke together for years into our relationship, but once we started we unleashed a powerful force that has been rocking the socks off the Omaha scene ever since. Usually we sing Danger! High Voltage, but this particular picture was snapped during the second round of a fundraising contest, and we're starting Styx's Renegade.
It is widly believed that we were robbed of the crown, but whatever, we know our station.

Of Course It's On Here
I love this picture for many, many reasons. One, obviously, it is one of the first pictures after we got engaged, and it sums up most of the engagment in one picture: he asked on a pumpkin and I said yes. The Burger King is left out of it. But I also love Greg's face in this picture because it is ADORABLE, and also the fact that his shirt says "Feelings are Boring, Kissing is Awesome"
Fitting.







And I know I said there was no particular order, but I did save the best for last. From when we did Man of La Mancha together, and I played a nasty old lady and he played a jerk in pumpkin pants.....










If we aren't going to make an amazing married couple, I don't know who stands a chance in this crazy world.

crochet mask

Three posts in a night! Booya!

The girls and I have decided to make masks for ourselves for the reception--this allows us to both customize our looks and have a party where we make things with sequins and feathers, which is every little girl's dream, I'm sure.

So these masks aren't something I'm considering, but I thought they were so cool I had to show you guys what this girl can do with crochet.

She also offers them in custom colors! Man...for the hundreth time in this process, I wish I could crochet.

All from the amazing Totus Mel etsy shop. She does amazing things with scarves as well.