Programs.

We decided to nix the readings at our ceremony, truth be told I know they are important but I get so incredibly bored if someone struggles reading through ee cummings or the entirety of "The Places You Go" by Dr Seuss.

Instead, Zac and I (well, mainly me) gathered some quotes about marriage, some prose, some poetry, lyrics from our ceremony songs and chucked it all in a booklet with our thank-you notes, vows, order of service etc.

This is the result:

Invitations.

Now I finally get to show you our invitations!

Designed by the exceedingly talented Chantelle Malone, we thought they fit so well with our vision for our wedding day and we haven't stopped receiving compliments about them.

We got them letterpressed by a local printer who charged us a pittance and put so much of his integrity into his work. He is a fine example of a human being.

The envelopes were from Annie P Paperie and were slightly cheaper than other stores who carried the same line. They were all calligraphed by me, using white ink and a calligraphy pen that I bought from Riot Art and Crafts.

Steph (my now brother-in-law's girlfriend) sat with me one afternoon and we printed, cut and pasted the envelope liners into the main envelopes and rsvp envelopes (before Zac came home in time to object! Haha!)

The completed package:

Our Invitation:

Information Card & Map:

RSVP Card:

This is what got mailed out:

My handwriting on an rsvp envelope:

Thank You Card:

Seating Cards (big) were at people's reception seats and the Table Cards (little) were at the entrance to the reception and told people where their table was:

Guest book cards - complete the sentence!

PS. if you would like Chantelle to design your stationery (wedding or otherwise...) leave me a comment and I will forward her details to you!

PPS. Stand by for our ceremony programs!

Welcome boxes.

Last night I stayed up writing some notes, I had such fun drawing and writing, I have never successfully drawn a aeroplane, so I'm quite proud of these ones! I've included information like phone numbers, a general map and a few places where we think they can find the best coffee/cake/Italian/sights.

sorry for the rubbish phone pic...

I have this idea of using my friend's MAIL ORDER HOME-MADE BAKED GOODS to accompany the note. 

The boxes are always beautifully wrapped with brown paper and string and I'm going to tuck in a little par avion mail envelope under the string and have a travel-themed package waiting for our friends and family when they arrive.

white chocolate and raspberry blondies...

dark chocolate fudge brownies...

brown paper packages, tied up with string...

all 'miss jones' pics from the Miss Jones website

I don't think anyone will complain, those brownies are to-die-for good. Maybe I'll get some date, walnut and chocolate chip cookies too. Just for me.

Sleuth.

We have been getting RSVPs in my mailbox all of this week, however one arrived yesterday without a name on it. I had read somewhere that you should number your RSVP cards in case this sort of thing happens, but I only remembered once we had sealed our envelopes. Toooooo late.

So, the Sherlock in me will begin sleuthing:

Clue #1: Postmark. 

Visible word "REGION MC" across the stamp. Black envelope makes it hard to see, but ink is shiny. If I hold envelope just so I can make out the word "HUNTER", so altogether it says, "HUNTER REGION MC".

Conclusion: RSVP is from NSW, this means that it is a member from Zac's family or it's Kym Rolle, probably not Stephan and Carla because they live in Sydney, probably not Di, because she lives a little more north than the Hunter, although it is entirely possible her mail went through HUNTER REGION MC.

Possible RSVPers: Clare family, Scarfe family, John and Pat Gageler, Alan and Donna Gageler, Di Gageler, Kym Rolle.

Clue #2: Ink stamp. 

I can make out a square border in the centre of the envelope at the top. So I hold the envelope under a halogen lamp, yields great results. I see a rectangle border with "30 MAY 2010" written within... I also see the letters "AMP" further along, which I can only assume is the end of "STAMPS". Why does it say stamps? Is this a vital piece of the mystery that I am missing. I MUST FIND OUT. Closer inspection reveals a jumble of letters, the ink is already starting to degrade...  "AL" "ISE". OH MY GOSH. IS THIS A SUBURB OR SOMETHING? No, it just says "PERSONALISED STAMPS NOW AVAILABLE". Darn advertising.

Conclusion: This RSVP was sent 30th May. Not much to go on, really.

Clue #3:  The way the dot was done.

Ball point mark was meant to be a dot, they didn't tick. This must have some psychological meaning but I have no idea what it could be... Sherlock would probably say it's because they are a neat person - a girl perhaps, or a boy who can do away with unnecessary flourish. The dot has been gone over a few times, possibly to make the ink darker. Ball point pens don't work so well on the soft cotton paper. The frustration is evident, I can see they've gone over the same spot 2 or 3 times. This must surely have a psychological meaning, but I don't know what it could be...

Conclusion: Not much really.

Clue #4: Writing on RSVP card.

Black ball point pen used, no name, no number of guests. God forbid they have an allergy to peanuts because we'll never know their dietary requirements! And, they are attending our wedding. Yay! If only we knew who they are and how many there are.

Conclusion: Kym Rolle did not send this RSVP. She is arty and creative, she would have whipped out all sorts of pens and because she is creative and knows it, she would have written her name all over that junk. The Clare family's RSVP would have been written by Michelle, who will at least have written the amount of people coming along (which we know to be 4). The Scarfe's family response would have been so thorough that they also would have written how many were attending, they are very thorough people. I'm betting John and Pat Gageler would have written their names and dietary requirements and that they are both attending. 

Possible RSVPers: Alan and Donna Gageler, Di Gageler.

Final Conclusion: 

This RSVP was most probably sent by Alan Gageler (which would explain the frustration of grinding the ball point pen over the same spot and missing the other things to fill out. Perhaps he was frustrated because he had already filled out an online RSVP before he got the invitation and didn't want to do it again?

OR, it's Aunty Di, who was so excited by getting the invitation (as she has mentioned on facebook) that she grabbed the nearest pen, realised it didn't work and in her haste and excitement forgot to write whether she is allergic to peanuts or not.

Case Closed.

Drive.

So this is google maps from the last couple of days.

We hit the central suburbs together on Sunday night, Monday night I hit the southern suburbs, this afternoon was north&east.

via

Driving clears my head and that's exactly what I needed this week - just getting away from work, singing, being amazed by Safety Bay at midnight, Waterman's Bay at midday, kangaroos in a field near Ellenbrook, Darlington pine trees, wondering if you'll make it home before you pee.

I have 2 invitations left to deliver. I need to re-do their envelopes, woooops.

This Week.

The past couple of weeks we've been busy little beavers.

Our cupcake boxes arrived, and saved us a pretty penny because Ebay is so much nicer to us than a brick-and-mortor store, about $50 nicer. Unfortunate but true. I almost had a picture but we ate the cupcake too quickly...

I had another meeting with the florist this week. I had emailed her the pictures that I showed her in our initial meeting, but she thought they were really different? Went in to clear up any confusion and hopefully bring the price down by simplifying the bridesmaid's bouquets. Found out all sorts of lovely information like when we can pick the flowers up etc.

We sent our paper off to the nice, scatterbrained man at the Print Shop. We are getting some films made up at the moment which he will turn into plates and then magically - voila! - Our invites will be done. Probably a week later than I initially hoped. I have been addressing envelopes all week. Sick of it. But I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I still have to line and stuff them....

I bought my girls a gift. It's on it's way. I hope they like it.... but I won't post a picture because they both check the blog. Haha, sorry Sarah - sorry Chantelle!

We had a meal tasting at The Old Brewery with Mum, Lisa and Phil. It was lovely and will make a good Winter lunch. I got full very quickly and promptly got grumpy because I needed to sleep it off. I'm glad I found this out before the wedding day. Poor Zac! I won't each as much on the day or else I will be like a sleepy winter bear! Sorry no pictures. Was too busy eating.

We also found out that they have changed the carpet and painted the big, huge, ugly red wall in our function room. I am thankful for small mercies. I had no idea how to decorate with that red wall clashing with all the neutral tones in the room. Yik!

Did I tell you we found some friends with nice cars to use on the day? I can't remember, but we have. They are even grey-coloured. How coordinated is that? I do feel a little bit bogan though. Riding in a Holden. Haha!

Photo via

We filled out our Notice of Intention to Marry form. Laughed when we had to tick Yes or No when it asked if we were related.* Mentioned to Paul Morrison about getting together to talk ceremony specifics. Trying to find a time to talk with him about it is like nailing jellyfish to a wall. Impossible! Haha... love that guy :)

Perhaps the biggest thing this week is that Lisa and Phillip bought Zac a suit in the UK, again. The UK is a much better friend than AUS. About $600 worth a better friend. Here is the suit on an model who has a seedy-looking-porno moustache:

from Hugo Boss UK

Perhaps the best thing about Zac getting a suit is that we can know for certain that he will be wearing something at the wedding. No more jokes about wearing his 'birthday suit'.

*We ticked 'no'. Just clarifying.

Exciting.

A little sneak peek of something special:

That is all :)

Paper Pretty.

Been loving these styles recently, they are providing inspiration for our own design which we are yet to see. Chantelle is designing them and we know that they will be lovely!

We love the calligraphy, borders, modern interpretations of old fashioned ideas, patterns, colours, unexpected details...

from Studio on Fire

above: see the typeface we bought in action?

from Bella Figura

I love the envelopes in this suite, I wish I could buy them separately! Maybe Zac could buy me this desk set for my birthday?! Perhaps!?

Via Elum Designs

Can't wait to see what our invitations will turn out to look like... I just love surprises!