Call Us Crazy

A recent conversation with a friend helped me realize that we have severely underestimated the cost of what one might call a "necessity" for our upcoming wedding. I take a lot of pride in our thriftiness.  You might even say that thriftiness is what brought us together.  Well, you could say that because it actually did. But in planning for the wedding I realized there are some places where you can cut corners and other areas you can just, well, cut.

There are, however, certain things that are better left to the pros.

Take photography for example.  We already talked about how much we love photos and I have to say, Evan is a pretty darn good photog, but the thought of us holding a camera out at arm's length, pressing our cheeks together for a toothy grin, made me realize it's probably not the best option for our wedding day.  So, we hired some pros.

Secondly, I bar-tended my way through college.  And while I can make a mean vodka tonic, I'd rather enjoy one made specially for me and our guests, then to ever think about being a mix-master on this day.

And while I actually did attempt to make my wedding dress, an idea that seemed completely logical and perfectly perfunctory at first, it turns out I neither sew nor have any dress making credentials whatsoever.

And after trying on my prototype one might also argue I am severely lacking in taste as well.

Ahhhh.....the search continues..... but I digress....


But back to our "necessity".  We have made a few rules for wedding planning and they go something like this:

1.  This is our day.  We do what means something special to us.
2.  We don't compare ourselves or our day to what anyone else is doing/capable of.
3. If we can make it, grow it, assemble it and re purpose it, it's a go.
4. I am not allowed within 100 yards of any type of fancy paper/stationary store.

I have a few things I am willing to spend money on.  Boots. Soap.  And the occasional, incredible, light fixture.  Aside from that I am pretty cheap.   I have always loved lovely paper and when we first got engaged, I remember walking through our local Paper Source in awe of the mountainous possibilities.  I decided we could purchase some incredible invitations with beautiful paper and loads of fancy design and have the most incredible display of invitational beauty the world has ever seen!

The possibilities were both exhilarating and entirely too many.
 
I tallied up the numbers.

Nope.

Compared some notes (in violation of rule no. 2).

Not gonna happen.

Then made a decision - which might sound easy, but I am notoriously known for my inability to make a decision.  But I did: 


This we can do ourselves.

Maybe we're crazy, but somehow the thought of breaking the bank over paper didn't sit too well with us.  I know everyone says it's important because it's the first impression people get of your big day, and it IS important, but for us that's all the more reason to DIY these babies and give them the personal touch.

Maybe this is one of those posts I will later look back on and shake my head, thinking how silly I was back then!  There is the possibility, that with anything we do, we may fail miserably.

But I think we can handle this.

We're not graphic designers.  Not even close.  I won't even tell you what program I use for graphic-design-type projects (Paint).  And we've never really designed a project like this.  But if the idea is to set the stage for what the event will be, then I think we're on the right track.  After all, almost everything there will have been imagined, constructed, decorated and brought to life by us, there doesn't seem to be any reason why this "necessity" shouldn't be as well.  

So the process has begun and while we're not ready for our designs to be shown, a few more sneak peeks can't hurt.   We did after all say we would be highlighting a few vendors.  In this case, those vendors are us!

 
Crazy?  Maybe.....but that remains to be seen. We have 300 pieces of paper printed already and shipping to us (there are a variety of pieces) and so far, $30 spent.  Music to my cheap and crazy ears.