Best Engagement Party Ever! Part One

I don't know if my engagement party was really the best ever, but it was the best one I'd ever been to. The food, the music, the decorations, the guests, everything was exactly as it should be. It really warmed my heart and Mr. Kettle's heart too. Now we only talk about eloping when confronted with overly detailed wedding decisions, instead of every time we thought of the impending too-big-too-succeed wedding.

Momma and Daddy Kettle, along with some help from friends of theirs, put together a wonderful affair.
We had our engagement party at the lovely L26 restaurant and it was better than I could have imagined. So, onto the recaps.

Mr. Kettle and I agreed he wouldn't take any gigs the days of wedding events. He forgot this agreement and took a gig the day of the engagement party. I was concerned he would be late or miss his own party, but I didn't request he cancel the gig. Interestingly enough, I was the one who made us late to the party because I was last-minute shopping in Orland with BM Milk. But I ended up with a great dress. I don't have any full length pictures of me standing up wearing it though. I can't believe I went all night without getting one. Recap fail.

Personal Photo: This is the only photo I have where you can see the whole dress. It is lovely even sitting down isn't it?

One of the better surprises of the day was my best man, BM Doc, deciding at the last minute to come to the party. He got on a bus from St. Louis that morning. I tried to track down a ride for him amongst the bridesmaids, but a friend of mine ended up picking him. They seemed to have hit it off and she's coming with Mr. Kettle, GM Dark, and me to St. Louis this month for a weekend of hanging out.

When I finally got home from the mall, I gave Mr. Kettle the new shirt and shoes I bought him and he and I hurriedly dressed. BM Doc (cause he's in medical school) was already ready to go. Momma Kettle called us at around 5:45 (the party started at 5:00) to see where we were and luckily we were just up the street. Mr. Kettle dropped me off at the door and went to go park the car since it was raining.

I arrived to the restaurant to see a sea of faces sitting there. They were just... staring. They were staring at me unexpectedly and smiling as if I was supposed to break into song and dance or entertain them somehow. It was incredibly awkward. Momma and Daddy Kettle weren't letting anyone eat until we got there. And we were bringing the speakers, so the DJ, GM Mac (cause he owns everything they make), couldn't properly DJ. So there were crickets and I was looking for an escape. "Um... I'm going to get Mr. Kettle. He's parking the car." I hightailed it out of there before anyone could respond.

After I met Mr. Kettle at the entrance of the hotel that housed the restaurant our party was at, I explained what had just happened and how I was apprehensive to go back in that room dripping with expectation. While we were walking, we ran in Mima and Poppa Kettle who were also (and always) late. The four of us walked in together and it just got much better after that. When we got back to the room, everyone wasn't just sitting there anymore. The cameras were out and ready to take pictures of us. Momma Kettle came and pinned Mr. Kettle and I with pins that read Future Bride and Future Groom or something like that.

I began taking photos of the lovely event.


Personal Photo: They took this picture of us right when we came in. Poor Mr. Kettle is still decorated with raindrops on his shoulders.



Personal Photo: They had this photo of us outside the room. I was so impressed by how nice it looked with the balloons. I love balloons so I relish chances to use them since they're not "fancy" enough for our wedding.

Personal Photo: This is an upclose shot. This photo is great isn't it? It looks like it was taken outside, but it was just in front of a window. It's one of my favorite pics of us as a couple.

Personal Photo: Our menu of our delicious food.

Personal Photo: Our delicious food. beef skewers, chicken wings, shrimp on cucmber, punch, fruit. Perfect hors d'ouevres.

Personal Photo: The favors table; can you see all the cute boxes? Lots o' M&Ms, and the world's cutest napkins



Personal Photo: A closeup of napkins. They're in our wedding colors!



Personal Photo: Our cake! It was tasty. Momma Kettle understands my strong love for whipped cream and my strong distaste for buttercream. The frosting was whipped and delicious!

Personal Photo: A shot of the table setup. That fuzzy baby shot was of me. They had lots of matching photos of Mr. Kettle and I on the tables. This was one of the cute ones. We also had our college grad photos, which were cute. But there was a terrible one of each of us...

Personal Photo: More table setup. I had to include another nice photo. They also had our pics from HS graduation. I am definitely not showing the picture of us from elementary school. Let's just say it was rough!

In the next post, I'll finish my recap of the best engagement party ever!

You're Not Seeing Double, No Need To Adjust Your Screen

In our wedding, we have lots o' people. That may have been mentioned once or twice so far. Our wedding will look like this:

Image: 34 Person Wedding Party / Photography by Digital Photography School

That wedding had 34 people. Ours is just shy of that. We are including everyone in our count because they're all important. Mr. Kettle and I both have a Best Man and Maid of Honor. So that's 4.

He has 8 more groomsmen, bringing our total to 12. I have 2 more men standing up with me which brings our total to 14. I also have 6 more bridesmaids, bringing our total to 20. Add in 2 jr. bridesmaids and we're at 22. Then 2 ring bearers and 2 flower girls and we're at 26. Tack on 3 hostesses and 2 ushers and the number is now 31. Don't forget our 2, yes 2, officiants and we're at 33. Don't forget Daddy Kettle, Mr. Kettle, and me. That makes 36! Yup. 36 people.

I want to take this time to answer I've gotten in comments on previous posts. The question was about our hostesses and ushers and what exactly they were. Some people double groomsmen as usher, helping to seat people as they arrive to the ceremony. That's not the case with us.

Momma Kettle, ever the etiquette stickler (I get it honest, you know, so I  know exactly what to rebel against), tells us we should have one usher/hostess for ever 50 guests. This is particularly important when our venue is at a house that has thousands of square feet spread over 3 stories. We'll need people to help get all those people into the ballroom conservatory for the ceremony, out to the rest of the house for cocktail hour, then back into the ballroom for the reception. They'll need to know where to sit and when. The mansion provides staff to do this, but having extra people on hand could only help out.

Think of a combination between a hostess at a restaurant mixed with a regular usher at a wedding, and that's what our hostesses and ushers will be. Why not make them honorary bridesmaids and groomsmen? Well, because then they'd get their names on the programs and we'd get no work out of them! Just kidding, but I know they'd want to be involved more than just in name.

One of our hostesses is my niece, Hostess Cheery, who's 19 and too old to be a jr. bridesmaid. The other is a high school girl I mentor, Hostess High,  who's friendly with Mr. Kettle ever since they were both in the wedding I met Mr. Kettle at last summer. The third is one of his nieces, FNIL Sniffles, who's also in college and also to old to be a jr. bridesmaid. One of our ushers is my god-brother and the other is Mr. Kettle's cousin. They're both in high school.

Our wedding has been used as a tool to accommodate all our close family and friends that have been in our lives for a long time. Besides the flowers girls and ring bearers who are both 6 years old, we've known everybody else in our wedding party at least 10 years (including the officiants).

So, yeah there are a lot of folks, but they're our close friends. We're both just super friendly people who are close to our families. It happens.

And now for your viewing pleasure, some lovely photos of random wedding party members.

Personal Photo: our two flower girls. My lovely new nieces. Aren't they adorable twins?



Personal Photo: our two ring bearers. They're also twins, they just don't look it as much.



Personal Photo: FNIL Sniffles and Hostess High at our engagements party.

GM Hubby, MOH Sis, GM Mac, Mr. Kettle, GM Cuz, GM Light at the engagement party. I really should do something special for whoever can keep all these folks straight!

BM Doc, BM Mon, BM Law, BM Libra, BM Milk, me at our engagement party

 BM in this case stands for Bridesman and Bridesmaid. We're still sorting out exactly what to call everybody in our wedding party.

Personal Photo: GM Dark at a gig we all went to. I love the look on his face. He was resigning himself to being the only single and never-married one of his friends. His level of melodrama fits in nicely with Mr. Kettle and I.

Personal Photo: I love this pic.
From left to right: FNIL Tiny, Mr. Kettle, FNIL Sniffles, and BM Cuz's daughter who's my new great-niece.

Soooo many people. Judging by the engagement party, I know our wedding will be exactly what we want: a big party that includes all the people we love and cherish. I will now stop alluding to our engagement party and actually give recaps in my next posts.

Bridal Hair 101 - Au Naturel

Au naturel is defined as

adj.
1.
       a.   Nude.
       b.    In a natural state: an au naturel hairstyle.
2.    Cooked simply.

I won't be naked at my wedding, if only because my dress is too pretty! I certainly won't be whipping up a simple meal for possibly 300 people! So all that's left is an au naturel hairstyle. This simple hairstyle I will have won't actually be simple, it will just be natural.

As an African-American, we have a myriad of hair issues that run the gamut depending on the state of our hair. I must admit I feel especially proud of my decision to have natural hair. To stop straightening my hair and let it just be itself wasn't easy. Anyone who's ever contemplating keratin treating curly hair or putting curly perm in straight hair should feel my pain.

After deciding to be natural, I had a number of styles. Time to dig into the photo archives on this one.

Personal Photo: This was an interesting style. It's slicked down and wavy, I wish I had a better picture of this style because I liked it.

Personal Photo: This was some of my favorite hair right at the end of college. I was wearing it curly and free. 

Personal Photo: This was during medical school, more purposely kinky than curly, even more free.

Personal Photo: This was last New Year's Eve (duh) with my new dreadlocks. I was wearing a tube top, so now you understand better why I must have pretty clothes in order to not be naked, haha.

Personal Photo: This was me in Florida this past April. The locs were getting longer. More tube tops...

It's funny that I'm always saying Mr. Kettle needs to put on pants. Apparently, he's not the only one who needs to wear more clothes...

Personal Photo: A recent photo of my hair dyed red and even longer.

I can't wait to see how long my hair will be by the time we have to style it for the wedding. You never know because most African-American women don't have hair that grows at fast rates. I expect mine will be just past my shoulders by then. That should be enough to play with.

My hairstylist told me to check out hairstyles I might want and we'll figure it out through hair trials in the weeks preceding the wedding. She can work magic so I'm not limited to just styles specifically for locs.

Some basic things about my locs:

• Don't call them 'dreads'. They're dreadlocks or locs. The first time has a derogatory slant to it and doesn't support the loving culture shared by those with natural hair.
• I like playing with my hair. I'm always pinning it up or pulling it back into semi-intricate styles.




Personal Photo: A not-so-good shot of one of the complicated styles I come up with for myself. I swear it's a great style.


• I get it done once a month. That means going to a shop and letting my stylist wash, condition, and re-twist my hair.
• It drives me crazy that I can't wash my hair more often, but it's the nature of the beast when you can't do your own locs. I do use a hair oil that keeps it smelling good at least.
• The freedom to get up and go whenever because my hair is now incredibly manageable has improved my life more than I can tell.

I'm not the first bee to have natural hair and have an interesting path to the altar in terms of that natural hair. Shot Out To Mrs. Swan with the natural hair! Check her out if you haven't yet.

I'm Ready For My Close Up - Our First Photographer Option

Mr. Kettle has only had a couple of jobs to do for this wedding. He was in charge of securing our musicians, which he took care of basically in under 24 hours. Go Mr. Kettle! He was also responsible for picking out the clothes for the guys, which he also took care of. The other big job he had was to find us a photographer.

Neither of us really wanted to do this job, but he saw how much it was stressing me out when my cell phone was being stalked by photographers trying to follow up.

Image:

 Mr. Kettle doesn't like me stressed, so he amazingly stepped in to help. Mima Kettle and FSIL Grand offered a suggestion for a photographer of a wedding they loved the pictures from. He's setup a phone meeting with them for Sunday and I'm excited to hear about what they have to offer.

Wanting to look at more than one photographer, trying to explore my options, (Momma Kettle and Mr Kettle must be rubbing off on me), we looked for others. We basically ignored all the ones I'd previously e-mailed. Perhaps it was their stalking that made us not want to work with them? We are people who need our space. Isn't that weird that when someone doesn't act like they want my business, I will walk away, but I'll also walk away when they seem like they're trying too hard? Wedding planning teaches you interesting things about yourself.

Wedding Planning Tip #7
Pay attention to your consistent responses. You'll learn a lot about yourself while planning your wedding if you pay attention.

So just how did we find this other photographer? Well, my best internet friend Google, this time in the form of gmail came to the rescue. Because Google collect user search data, they direct which ads you see while browsing their websites. I was checking my gmail and at the top of the screen was an advertisement for Jolie Images. I took a look at their website because their amazing prices drew me in.

I liked what I saw, so Mr. Kettle set up a meeting. We went to meet with them last week and they told us all about their wonderful packages. We really liked the personalities of everyone there (it's a family-run business) and we really liked the eye they had for pictures.

I was, in true-to-me fashion, ready to put down a deposit right then and there. But we will be meeting with the photographers suggested by our family and seeing what they have to offer. So now, some photographer wedding photos to give you an idea of why I liked them so much!

All Images provided by Jolie Images

I can already see our version of this picture!

How dreamy...

Gotta love this crazy shot

I would kill Mr. Kettle!

This one feels like us. Reminds me of our engagement photos.

OMG!! A rebel shot! I can only hope and pray we could do something like this somewhere on our wedding property.

I don't know what's better about this photographer. The personalities, the prices, the photos all are fighting for top spot. Did I mention they also work with a videographer who also charges surprisingly low prices (at least for Chicago). The piece de resistance: because our wedding is in February, we'll get our photos back in less than 8 weeks. This includes copyrights for all photos, access to the website, a cd and DVD with all the pics and video footage, the wedding video, and the picture album! Ah-mazing!

I can't wait to see what the other photographers have to offer so we can make our choice and check another big wedding decision off the list!

My Mansion For A Day

In my last post, I talked about re-designing the budget. I mentioned that Momma Kettle was looking to move our wedding venue somewhere else other than Chateau Bu-Sche. I glossed over it at the time, but now I'm ready to talk about it.

Actually, hive, I want to shout it from the rooftops!! But first a bit of background for anyone who hasn't been stalking my Weddingbee posts. We started our wedding venue search looking for somewhere we could have the ceremony and reception. We found a great place that just wasn't right for us.

We moved on to another venue that I fell in love with, but was outside our budget. Ultimately, we went with a venue I liked and had some details that worked for us, even if it wasn't a perfect fit.

Now, back to my shouting!

Image: Houston Streaming Video

We have switched our venue to the Patrick C. Haley Mansion!!!! This was the venue I fell in love with but was outside our budget. All our budget re-working was to make this venue happen. Our classy yet raging party we all hoped to have is going to go down there! Woot!

I truly didn't believe it when Momma and Daddy Kettle told me and Mr. Kettle we were making the switch. I hesitated to believe it when they took Mima and Poppa Kettle out to Joliet to take a look. They loved it too. Then my parents came back with a contract for me to sign to transfer the deposit from Chateau Bu-Sche to the Mansion.

When I got the confirmation e-mail from the Mansion, then I believed it. It was true. The Chateau people agreed to transfer our deposit so we didn't lose it. Thank God they're owned by the same people.

So now we're having our lovely, possibly 300 guest-attended, winter wedding at the venue of my dreams. Just to remind you...

Personal Photo

Personal Photo

Personal Photo: I can't believe I'm actually truly really getting reading in this room!!

I figured most people wouldn't take the time to scroll down the right side of the page on my posts for Weddingbee to see that the venue listed isn't the same as the one I've been saying was our venue. Only one person asked me about it. I was glad about it since I wanted to tell our story in the order that it happened instead of glossing over the details. But now my story reflects what's posted. Yay!

Figuring Out A Wedding Budget

Every bride should know that it's very important to have your priorities in mind when figuring out where the money for your budget will go. I knew this. I just didn't know my priorities weren't so set in stone.

At first, my priorities were:
1. Food
2. Flowers
3. Clothes
4. Everything else in no particular order.

But then... I realized every venue I was even remotely interested in made their own food. So finding the perfect caterer to fill all my wedding culinary dreams wasn't going to happen. I also realized that I really love roses and wasn't very interested in much else. Variety was over-rated (at least for now).

Also, choosing the clothes for the wedding party was a relatively simple process that didn't involve more than 1 store visit to 2 store for each group of people getting clothed. And since each clothing item came in under budget, I had to reconfigure my budget priorities.

Food was now included in the reception budget that now also included ceremony budget since we were one-stop-shopping. Clothes ended up being a less significant portion of the budget. Flowers still has the same budget for now, but that's subject to change once we actually start meeting with florists.

After coming to terms with our large guest list, I realized that venue, stationary, and photography were going to have to move up in priority. Momma Kettle was also realizing around this time that perhaps Chateau Bu-Sche wasn't really where we should have the wedding. On the recommendation of a couple of colleagues/friends, she began to reconsider.

She and Daddy Kettle sat down with Mr. Kettle and I to revise our budget. This was the second time we had done this.

We discussed all the options available to us, including reducing our honeymoon budget and photography budget in order to accommodate a large number at guests at a nicer venue. We played with the numbers and ultimately decided it was worth it to try and make the change.

We knew photography was important, but we decided to find a photographer to fit into the new budget instead of splurging. Our final (for now) budget split is as follows:

Image: Calculator by Discovery Education

Music: 2.5% (yay for marrying a musician)
Wedding Day & Prep Beauty: 0.7%
Brides Clothes/Accessories: 3.3% (yay for already owning most of what I'm wearing)
Flowers: 2.25%
Gifts/Favors: 1%
Invitations: 3.75%
Photography & Videography: 6.25%
Engagement Party: 4.25%
Wedding/Reception [food, linens, decorations, drinks, etc.]: 76%

Being a one-stop-shop is expensive. But we'll get everything we want and need. It's definitely not the budget I thought we'd have, but it's the one that will give us the wedding of our dreams. When I say "our" I mean it. I think Momma Kettle has been dreaming about my wedding longer than I have.

Can You Wear Your Birthday Suit To Your Engagement Party?

No matter how much you want to bury your head in the sand and try and forget about the million and one details of wedding planning, you must take time and find actual clothes to wear. Not doing that is against the law. At least in Illinois. With this in mind, I had to figure out something to wear to my engagement party. It was shaping up be a big party, so I had to be dressed impeccably.

Well, I think I put too much pressure on myself. I didn't really have the time or money to shop the way I'd like. And I had the silly notion I should wear our wedding colors. There's only one problem with that. "Regency" isn't really in right now.

Personal photo of wedding color palette
Left to right: regency, black, taupe, ivory, gold

Color fail.

 So I branched out. I found a great dress at Delia's that I bought. I know you want to see it.

Image: Prima Ballerina Dress by Delia's

Because I am so very short, it stops right at my knees, making it perfect cocktail length. And it's a great color for summer. But it's just... plain. I'd have to jazz it up. I and don't really do jazzy. I don't have a blingy belt or jewelry or anything else like that. Sexy high heeled shoes is about all I have. So this dress would have required waaay more shopping to get it perfect.

I started searching for either another dress or some killer accessories. Of course, I started with Macy's because that store never lets me down. They had tons to choose from. I wanted something cute and sexy, but not too sexy. I wanted it simple, but not too plain. With that vague idea in mind, I came up with some favorites.

Image: Sleevless One Shoulder Ruched Cocktail Dress by Lauren by Ralph Lauren at Macy's

 Sexy and simple. But is it too simple? And should I really be wearing black to a party in the middle of August? I don't know.

Image: Floral Pleated A-Line Dress by Ellen Tracy at Macy's

 Girly and sweet, but is it sexy? On me, it will go below my knee and it looks like something I'd wear to church or work maybe...

Image: Beaded One Shoulder Draped Satin Dress by Nine West at Macy's [Temporarily unavailable]

 Let's be honest, one shoulder dresses are not my thing. I only own one and it was forced upon me through participation in a wedding. And perhaps it's too sexy? And I will clash with all the golden decorations, won't I?

Image: Asymmetrical Neck Cocktail Dress by Jessica Howard at Macy's

This one is actually called a cocktail dress. And it's exactly my style. But is it too sweet? Is it too blue? And might it be too hot for an August party at which I'll already be nervous?

Image: One Shoulder Belted Mini Cocktail Dress by BCBGMaxAzria at Macy's

Everything this man makes looks great on me. It's sexy and a soft tone, so I wouldn't be overdoing it. But I have a small frame. Perhaps it's just one detail too many. That's a lot o' ruffles. And I have a small frame, but not small hips. Le sigh.


Image: < haref="http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=550578&CategoryID=5449&LinkType=#fn=SPECIAL_OCCASIONS%3DLittle Black Dress%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D70">Sleeveless Beaded Sheath by Ellen Tracy at Macy's

 This one kept catching my eye, but when I look at it, all I can think is my grandmother telling me I need more color and pizazz in my wardrobe. This dress is just my style though. But perhaps it's not enough. Ultimately, I decided to take a trip to the store. When shopping in-store, I always start with The Limited.

BM Milk and I, along with her adorable son, went to the mall the day of the party. Yes, I waited that long. A mix of work and other priorities made this the case. But out we went and we struck gold at The Limited. I tried on several dresses that didn't work. But the clearance rack saved us with something lovely. I'll show you the picture from the website, but you'll have to wait til the post about the party to see me in the dress.

Image: Cowlneck Dress by The Limited

Put On Some Pants!

Alternate Post Title: Clothing The Kettle Men. I chose this title because one of my favorite moments in The Hangover. It makes me think of Mr. Kettle because he's morally opposed to wearing pants when he doesn't have to. I alluded to that in a comment about MOH Sis in a previous post. Our wedding is such an occasion for which he must wear pants.

Watch the clip here. Around 2:43 is when the pants funniness begins.

Needing to have pants for our wedding, Mr. Kettle went with his best man to find tuxes for the males in our wedding party. There are a lot of males in our wedding party. There is: Mr. Kettle, my best man, his best man, my two guy attendants, and his eight groomsman. Oh, plus both our fathers, 2 ushers, and 2 ring bearers. That makes 17! Yikes!


Freak Out! Image by Bezinga

Okay, hive, I just had to get that out. I'm calm.

Mr. Kettle went out that first time and narrowed down the possibilities to two options. I asked him to take photos for the hive... but... well... there aren't any. He went back with his best man GM Light and another groomsman GM Dark (named for their skin tones, think white chocolate and dark chocolate, they have great skin) to try on the suits again.

The one picture he took shows his preference for clothing. They decided on black tuxes and black vests. Apparently, colored vest look too prom-y. This is what I get for telling Mr. Kettle the clothing was all his decision. The other thing is that he wants to wear an ascot. An ascot!!

Hive, am I being ridiculous for hating the idea of Mr. Kettle in an ascot? He likes it a lot. A lot. I think it makes him look short. I think it makes him look pretentious. He disagrees. I don't know what to do except let it go and let him wear what he wants so he's happy in his clothes on our big day. At least the groomsman will be in regular ties...

Here's a picture from my inspiration board on Weddingwire. It's more along the lines of what I saw the men wearing.



Image via

Personal image: Mr. Kettle's crappy iPhone pic

Poll: If you could choose would you go for no ascot or ascot? In full disclosure, he's going to wear a solid one, not a striped one.

Option 1: Ascot Yes! Why don't you see how awesome this looks?
Option 2: No Ascot! Is he trying to be funny by suggesting this?

Kettle Tea Party Reminder, Take Two

After the EPIC FAIL that was my first Save-the-Date mailings, I had to get back to work to send them out. By this point, we were only about 4 weeks out from our engagement party. We knew we were going to send out the STDs and the e-party invites together, along with a moo card. The moo card was going in the STD so that we wouldn't have to put it in our actual invites (how gauche and all that...)

To review, here's how I failed before:
1. Neglecting to include the DIY SAVE-THE-DATE bunting FSIL Hon and I spent hours making.
2. Not having a design that could easily be changed to our bridesmaid-dress-induced wedding color palette change.
3. Ordering too many STDs the first time around. Did I mention I ordered 1000 of the original moo cards, thinking I would put them in every mailing? And I put the wrong date on those? Major not-yet-mentioned fail!
4. Incorrect wording that could easily be fixed, but was still a pain.

So I got back on the computer and loaded up Microsoft Word and vistaprint.com. I was determined to fix my previous wrongs. And it took me a couple tries, mostly just moving things around and messing with fonts, but I got it done!

Wanna see it? Wanna see it? Sure ya do!

Here are our Moo Cards. Can anyone tell me why they're called Moo Card? Is it an acronym? Are there cows involved?

Personal photo

Personal Photo

That lovely monogram you see there we got for free at Things Remembered for buying their set of champagne flutes and cake cutters. I'm currently very much in love with the included Christmas tree ornament. Christmas is always on mind, even in July. They have some amazing designs and we're getting them engraved with our monogram.

Here are our Save The Dates.

Personal photo

Personal Photo: I truly love love love that banner!

As you see, I still haven't blotted our my new last name. I love it so much, I want it to show. I couldn't bear to cover it up. I'm gonna be a McBride, lol! Get it? No? It's just me who watches too much Grey's Anatomy? That's fine. Moving on.

Here are our engagement party invites.

Personal photo

Personal Photo: I left up the address for the restaurant cause they're soooo good. Seriously, if you're in Chicago, try them!

We got these babies designed, ordered, assembled, and shipped in record time once we tracked down the addresses. As long as hardly anyone moves between now and the wedding, we're set!

I'm really proud of myself that I designed these all myself and they turned out to be exactly what I want our wedding to be: classic with a festive twist. I really like them, but I have to admit they're not as artistic as I'd like. They get the job done, but they are quite basic, and not quite as polished as they would be had a professional done them.

Mr. Kettle has been a well of goodness in this whole wedding planning thing. Every time I'm stumped as to the best route to go, he ends up supplying, without trying, the perfect solution. The best example of this is our wedding musicians, but I've already posted about that.

A good friend of his will be attending our wedding. His girlfriend is very sweet. She's also... wait for it... a photographer/graphic designer!! You can check out her blog here.

She agreed to take a look to see what we'd like done and we agreed to pay her for her trouble. If she designs something wonderful, I won't be surprised, but I'll be very glad I will have successfully outsourced something that is not my passion to someone who would love to do it and be good at it. So far her preliminary sketches look great and I can't wait to see how the design evolves.

Are you outsourcing any big projects you probably could DIY? Did you try to do something yourself only to graciously embrace what is/isn't a natural talent for you?