88 Days

Yesterday I showed you our STDS, today I want to do a break down on the price of each save the date. I haven't figured this out yet, but I feel like Rob and I where able to make nice save the dates with out spending a lot of money. We'll find out together if doing our Save the Dates ourselves were worth it!

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Don't worry, the mess you make on your parents dining room table won't last long. Before you know it you are sending these bad boys out! :)

Scissors, Exacto Knife, and Printer - Already own
65 pd. Cardstock - We used maybe a 1/4 of the paper, the rest we can use later - $14.49
Corner Rounder - which was the best investment ever! - $5.79
Copies at Staples - We had issues with our copies not turning out right, so even though we eventually got all the copies we needed (and where happy with them all) they didn't charge us for all of the copies! - $44.05
Magnets - FREE - Rob has a cousin who works in advertising, so when we helped her out with a project, we got to keep all the little magnets we popped out - which where the magnets we used! (Thanks Lisa!)
Envelopes - FREE - leftover from photo cards printed at Walmart previously!
Stamps - 100 Celebrate Stamps (I had really wanted the King and Queen stamps but they were sold out - boo!) - $44.00

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At least they matched our colors! (kinda!)

So... drum roll please!

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Sorry! It was too cute!

Our grand total (I'm going to include all of the paper, even though we didn't use it all, it will get used in other projects): $108.33

So, since we made 110 save the dates, each save the date, with postage, cost us .98!!
Each save the date, without postage, cost us .54!!

Wow! There was no way we could have bought even just magnet save the dates for that price! We were lucky in that some things we needed to make our STDs we already had, so that helped keep our price down, and that we had some awesome magnet connections! But even buying envelopes and some magnets, our homemade save the dates still would have been cheaper than any that we could have bought.

So, all in all, I'm glad that Rob and I decided to make our own save the dates. We got to make them exactly like we wanted. Score! And we also got some time to work together. Double Score! And really, in the end, that is what matters, being with the one you love.

I'll leave you with some pictures we took sending our babies out! (Yes, we are that couple that takes pictures at the mailbox in front of the post office!)

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I was trying to look sad, but I was happy we finally sent out our STDs into the world! ;)

How much where your STDs? Care to share any cost saving tips?

89 Days

The save the dates that Rob and I ended up making were a little bit of what we both wanted. We both really wanted a magnet, he really wanted a picture of the two of us, and I, being an English geek major, really wanted some kind of poem or quote on it.

Also, to let you know, I am not a computer wizard, and the following STDs where made in MS word! Also, the STDs were completed before I started blogging, so pictures are minimal.


Anyway... To make the background for our STDs we used MS word, and made the page have two columns. Then we played around a lot until we got what we wanted and liked. We then used a business card template to make the magnet portion. Again  - we used the trial and error method. Honestly, I feel bad that I can not offer more advice on how we made these, but this process literally went something like this:
 me: Do you like this?
 him: (moving on little piece a 1/4 over) I think I like this better...
 me: (moving another little piece) What about this?
  .....and this is how it went, each of us moving things until we were happy with how these suckers turned out!

Wanna see our finished Save the Date?

Don't judge them based on my horrible picture taking skills!

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Thats how the guests got them, as one piece, however, the bottom part was a magnet that came off so that people could put in on their fridge! 

And yes, under that horribly done block out box on the magnet is our wedding website!

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And since I know that it is a little hard to read, the bigger piece says:

Rob popped the question, Caitlin said, "Yes!"

Now he's renting a tux, & she's buying a dress. 

The church is booked, the date is set

Please keep this magnet so you don't forget!

...

Formal Invitation to Follow

The magnet just gives the basic info:

Our names, the date and place of our wedding and our wedding website.

Now, these puppies took a lot of time, between designing them, getting them to print right at Staples, cutting them all, corner rounding them all(my poor thumb will never be the same!), putting magnets on them, putting the two pieces together and then stuffing them in envelopes. However, I am really happy with how they turned out! 

I'm also really happy that I have a fiance who was interested in, and also helped out in making these bad boys! 

Now, just to show how crazy we got after all of that cutting and corner rounding, here are some pictures that I will soon regret posting! :)

Getting rid of the sweat he worked up making these suckers! 

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Just generally going crazy... we needed to finish them soon!

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Coming up next: I'll break down the cost on our STDS!

Did you make your own save the dates? Did your fiance help?

90 Days

The first time I realized that shortened form of save the dates  is STD I nearly fell off of my chair laughing. Luckily I was at home and not in the library at school! :)

Talking to friends and family about STDS we were surprised that some people didn't like the tradition of sending out STDs, they said that they are a waste of time and money. I understood that, but Rob and I decided to send out some STDs to our families and friends for two reasons:

   1. Our wedding happens on a holiday weekend. November 27th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 

   2. We are getting married in Lancaster, PA (which I will talk about soon, I promise!) to which everyone, including us, has to travel to get to. We call this our semi-destination wedding. 

So, after we decided we wanted to send out save the dates, we had to then check out some eye candy and decide what we wanted. 

At first we thought maybe a postcard to go with our semi-destination wedding:

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Then we decided we really would like to include a magnet which would include our picture and our wedding website:

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In the end we went with a little bit of both of the above. But if I had seen these boarding pass save the dates before I started my STDs, I probably would have really wanted these, since they go with our semi-destination wedding. Too cute!

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Also, if you really like these puppies and are interested in doing them, here are two different tutorials, here and here for you to check out!

Did you and your fiance decide to send out save the dates or did you forgo this rather new tradition?

91 Days

So, you know how we met, you know how he proposed, and you know I said "Yes!" (well, eventually!) Now do you want to see the beautiful ring he picked out to surprise me with?

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Rob took me to many different jewelry stores to try to get an idea of what I liked, as far as a ring was concerned. (He already knew I liked him!) At first I kept telling him that I didn't want to look, that I wanted him to pick out my engagement ring all by himself.

But we all know how that goes,,, I eventually did give in and went to look at rings with him. The pull of shiny bling was to hard to resist. :) I tried on a few different styles of rings and found myself almost instantly drawn to the three stone rings.

So, once Rob found out what I liked, white gold and three stones, he went searching for the perfect ring. And he did awesome! I got my three stone ring, and he got to put his own little spin on it with the setting. Check it out:

This ring is 'set on love'

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This was the best I could find of the side of the ring, the gold and diamonds make three little hearts! My ring is perfect for me, just like my fiance!

Did you help your fiance out with the style of your ring?

92 Days

Colors was one of the next items to be decided. I wanted to get colors out of the way so that it could be established throughout the whole planning process. I had all different ideas on colors at first, thinking fall colors such as oranges and browns, but I wanted my girls to be in a color they would like to wear, and honestly, who looks good in orange? Not me for one. Then I came across this picture:

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And fell in love! Cranberry! Why didn't I think of such a season appropriate color myself! Then I proceeded to second guess myself. I thought I needed two colors, a main color and an accent color. I searched all over the web trying to find a color that went with this perfect cranberry color that I envisioned. I even had myself thinking of orange and cranberry for a while, based on this picture:

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However, I realized that the cranberry in my head and orange did not really go well together, so I let that combination go as much as I loved the above pumpkin centerpiece. Finally, sitting down at my computer one afternoon, I thought back to my original inspiration photo... Finally seeing my two colors. Cranberry and white! So simple, and to me, very classy. 

Funny how sometimes we don't see what is right in front of us because we are to preoccupied with other ideas. If I had just taken the time to really look at the picture of dresses that I had come to covet, I would have realized that my search for colors was done!
What were your colors and how did you choose them?

93 Days

Yesterday I left you wondering about which cover band we chose.

If you guessed:

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then you where correct!

We loved their fun party vibe, and laid back performance. Rob and I love to go see them play, and we try to get a group of friends together at least once a month to go and dance all night long to their sets.

And besides... who wouldn't love a band that dresses up like this:

Um... Elvis is in the building!

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My grandmother is a huge Elvis fan, so she should love when the lead singer comes onto stage like this! We are so excited that we decided to go with a cover band and even though it is a big investment, we know it is worth it! We're going to dance the night afternoon away!

Are you having a live band at your reception? A DJ? An Ipod?

94 Days

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but Rob is a music teacher and has played trombone since he was a little boy, and I was involved in musicals from third grade straight though until I graduated high school. Oh... and did I mention we dj? Yup, as if the two of us aren't busy enough, we dj on the side. Honestly, this works out well for us, we get to be together, act like goofs and make money all at the same time!

So, obviously, after we got engaged music was one of the very first things we talked about concerning our wedding. Since he was little, Rob always knew he wanted to have a live band at his wedding. I, on the other hand, would have been fine with a good dj. However, about a year ago we started to go out and see some local cover bands, and I found that I loved them just as much as he did! There is something a live band can bring to our big day that a dj just can't.

Ok, we're not having Rascal Flatts, but I wish!

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However, we did narrow our bands down to two... and don't mind the crazy names... their awesome performances and stage presence make up for it!

The first contender was Don't Call Me Francis:

Look at that full horn line!

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This band has an awesome horn line, and a clean way of performing. They play almost all new/modern music, and are a blast to go to sing and dance to!
Click here to see some of their videos from their website.

The second contender was Drop Dead Sexy:

Singing some Lady Gaga.

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They are an energetic bunch of guys you know you would have fun at a party with! They play a mix of all types of music, old and modern. They are a lot of fun to go and listen to, sing to, and dance to! Oh, and they also like to dress up in crazy costumes!
Click here to see some of their videos from their website.

So, which band do you think we chose? Obviously, a live cover band was in... but which band? 

95 Days

After I finally said "YES!" We decided to walk up to Willow Valley and get breakfast. As we were walking up to the doors Rob suggested I call my mom and tell her the great news. I look down and start digging in my purse for my phone. Then he says to me, "Or you could just look up and tell them yourself!"

I was so surprised when I saw so many familiar faces looking out of those top windows!

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Would you believe, I looked up to the window he was pointing at and I saw both of our families looking down at us waving! Rob had gotten our families, my parents, brother and grandparents, and his parents, siblings and grandparents, to come down to Lancaster and witness the engagement! I was so shocked I broke into another wave of tears!

Didn't you wonder how we got this amazing photograph?

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When we walked up the stairs and walked into the restaurant everyone in the restaurant burst into applause! We later learned that everyone was wondering why our families kept looking out of the window, so everyone in the restaurant watched as Rob proposed to me! It was amazing, and a perfect way to get engaged!

Us right after walking into Willow Valley and all of the applause!

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Rob planned our engagement so that we had our own quiet engagement by ourselves, well mostly, and we still got to celebrate right after with our families! It was the perfect engagement for us!

Was your engagement just you and your fiance, or where you in the presence of family and friends?