RSVP

B and I guessed who would be the first to get the RSVP in and we both picked the same person. Well, said person's RSVP arrived today. Yay!!!

I also added a new widget to the blog near the countdown - RSVP counter. So for anyone interested, you can see the progress of my mail. If you are not interested, then just don't scroll down.

They are hitting mailboxes!

I have received word that certain people in Mass (Keith/Jen) and NYC (Erica) have invites in hand.

I hope they have all the parts. Erica can most likely figure it out but Keith is a crapshot.

They are out!

I just dropped off the invites at the post office. Rather I put them in the box outside the post office because I wanted them out of my house. I just hope that all the envelopes have all the pieces they should. I am confident that they have the invite and the RSVP card so it can't be too bad.

B and I have rsvp'ed yes and we put it in the spreadsheet. We wonder whose RSVP will be the first we receive. I figure it has to be someone from Mass just because of the short amount of time to mail.

Also Ann called to tell me she received the invites and all is well.

I have a picture of them but I couldn't download it but hopefully I can fix that tonight.

B is a happy camper

Xbox 360 is here. In the house. I am so excited (insert sarcasm here).

We did get a vacuum though which again is more for him than me. But he did use it already on the couches so I am a happy. I wanted to mail out the invites today but I didn't motivate myself to go to the post office.

BC football starts today.

My problem aka random thoughts of the morning

I have realized I have no problems with authority but I do have a problem with idiots in a position of authority - namely my boss.

I have sent email chains to others and they agree with my assessment.

Only four days...

Long weekend this weekend with fun filled shopping (we realized that fall clothes are coming and B only has one pair of swim trunks. We are hoping to get some honeymoon gear), golf for B, cleaning for the both of us, a Sox game, sleep, movies (for me), mailing of the invites, and some running.

We also created a JOINT savings account. Big day for us!! Hmmmm, I should get the login and password before I put any of my money in there.

Invites galore!

So BM Kim and I stuffed, stamped, and addressed the invites on Saturday afternoon. B helped with the stamping part in between naps, the Mets, and Joe Biden's speech. Since a large majority of the work was done while listening to Obama and Biden speak, we hope that the invites were infused with lots of democratic vibes that will spread across the nation. Sorry Republicans!

Also, we sent some invites to politicians and B added David Wright to list. I decided at the last minute to invite him with guest because he wont' know anyone at the wedding and it seemed like the right thing to do. I wonder if he will respond?

Versamarker...

A little trick that I learned from some peeps is that you have a code on all the RSVP cards that links back to a guest. This way if someone forgets to write in their name on the card, we know the response (and more importantly the food choice).

So to do this we are using Versamarker. It will put a mark on the back like a watermark and it will be inconspicuous for the most part. I just bought mine since we are doing invitations next month (I am taking any offers of help. I have some wine and may spring for the pizza. Anyone?)

More post card info

So remember the postcard debacle of '08? While I was away my wonderful fiance B went to the Brookline Paper Source (all on his own, I never told him or asked him) and found the LAST package of Soft White post cards. The package didn't specify the color but he and the sales person compared it to a bunch of other colors and it aligned with the soft white. When he got home he also compared it to the package we already had and it was a PERFECT match!



So now we can start working on the direction cards!

Speaking of the New York Football Giants...

I just got this email...

New York Football Giants fans,

It is with great pleasure that we announce a partnership with CruisesOnly to provide “Big Blue” fans an opportunity to interact with Giants players on a themed cruise. The inaugural seven night voyage, “Cruise with the Champions”, will take place on the Norwegian Gem in March 2009, depart/return from Manhattan and visit The Bahamas and Florida, and provide a “Super” trip down memory’s lane.

We invite you to join several players from the championship team as they share their insights and memories from the historic season. Key players such as Kevin Boss, Antonio Pierce, Justin Tuck, Lawrence Tynes, and others are scheduled to attend and participate in meet & greets, interactive events, and provide their unique feedback. This will truly be the experience of a lifetime for any Giants fan!

Our partner, CruisesOnly, has developing pricing ranging from approximately $1,200 to $1,925 (per person; excludes taxes/fees) for interior to mini-suite cabins. Included in the prices are a spectacular variety of meal choices plus access to other scheduled entertainment and onboard events.

CruisesOnly is the exclusive booking agent for this cruise and has reserved a limited number of cabins for this memorable group activity! We urge you to act quickly as we anticipate the cabins selling out prior to the start of the 2008 NFL season. Please click the link below or call 1-877-711-0748 to find out additional information on how to reserve your cabin today plus take advantage of an early bird discount and group bonus. We hope to see you on board!

Sincerely,

The New York Football Giants

LINK: http://www.giants.com/cruiselanding.asp

Maybe I will invite some NY Football Giants to the wedding. That would be fun. I just hope they are better behaved than Vikings Players...

Postcard mania

B has started to work on the directions card for the invites (the last missing piece before the stuffing party in August which the date may have to change - sorry ladies!). And we had purchased the last set of soft white postcards at the Cambridge PaperSource. The salesperson called around and had a set held for me at the Boston location.

So last night I walk to Boston from Cambridge (it was hot) and when I get to PaperSource they don't have the postcards in Soft White instead they have Luxe Cream for me on hold. I am annoyed. The salesperson looks and can't find any but then finds an open pack with about 40 postcars. Perfect I say but as she is ringing it up I realize the paper is scored and these are not postcards but PLACE cards. Ugh! So I struck out again.

Tonight B will be near the Brookline store and he will hopefully have time to check in and see if they have the postcards. If not, I wil have to find another 50 postcards somewhere.

If B is unsuccessful (by the store being out or him not going) then I will try to stop by Paper Presentation this weekend when I am living la vida loca with BM Kim in NYC. I checked Staples and Office Max and they only sell white postcard paper. I never thought it would be the directions card to provide so much angst.

Invite Party - One Non-Respondent

I have one non-respondent for the invite party and it is B. I have reminded him twice to RSVP and he claims he can't see the date options. I think he is trying to back out of it. I don't know why. I mean who doesn't want to spend an afternoon with some wine, stuffing envelopes with me, BM Kim, bridal assistant Laura and Dr. Alett. I mean to me that sounds like a kick ass group but I am biased.

And the wine really can't be consumed until the invites are done because I will kill if red wine is spilled or people keep messing up because they are intoxicated.

Invite Party

I am having a "Wedding-Invite-a-Palooza" in August so if you are around let me know and I can add you to the evite (seriously there is one).

Birthday shout out to BM Extraordinaire Kim. I made this cake for her.

And the winner is no...

I did not print any of the envelopes last night so if you voted "no" you won. What you won is up to you. I instead went through all the things I have printed and put the discards in a pile - these will not be wasted as they will be sent to the politcians and celebrities we invite to tthe wedding.

In a discussion with B I was patting myself on the back for not doing wedding crafts on Sunday and being okay. Apparently he has a different take as he said I was walking around the apartment restless and unsettled looking for something to do. It is all about perspective.

BM Kim is still a BM

BM Kim did not let us down. I received the envelopes today and they are very nice and just the color I wanted. Good job BM Kim!

Anyone want to take a bet on whether or not I Gocco the envelopes tonight (with my address)?

A mission not so impossible

BM Kim was given a mission when she was out to visit. It was a simple one but if done incorrectly, could set off a tidal wave fury that she is ill-equipped to handle. She had to go to Paper Presentation and see if the coco envelopes they sell would match the invitations and were a similar color to the chocolate brown envelopes from Paper Source. Online the envelopes from Paper Presentations appeared too light but envelopes there are about half the price of Paper Source.

On Wednesday, I arrived home to find this email message waiting for me:
"Mission accomplished. The coco brown is rich and luxurious and I think it will compliment your invitations nicely.

It is the color of a hershey bar. Milk, not the Special Dark."

B was a little apprehensive to purchase based on BM Kim's opinion because he did not understand what her qualifications were. But once I explained that she saw the Paper Source version of the envelope, saw the invitation color scheme in person and knew I would hurt if she steered me wrong, he took her word as gospel.

I have placed my order and they are expected to arrive tomorrow.

Invites galore

So I did the actual text of the invites and they are done. The only parts left of the invitations are the directions card (B is in charge and those will not be printed by hand) and the envelopes. In the end, I am really happy with the invites. We did have a minor printing issue but because I am brilliant the pain was minimal. The only real problem with adding my text was my need to get started right away without making room for the paper to dry. So I started the printing and was basically just putting invites any where I could get to and nothing was in a neat line. Kind of like this:


B came by after he noticed I was putting the invites in weird places, specifically here:


B left the Mets game and Celtics game (both losses) that he was watching to set it up like this for me:

But the hardest part is over.

Begining of the end

So I started on the actual invitation portion of the invites. And this one is more difficult because I have to Gocco twice on each card. I started with the border and next I will add the text. Because of the size of the invitations, we had to get creative in laying out the cards.

B took time out of watching the Ranger/Penguins (GO RANGERS!) game to assist in laying out the cards. I am a lucky woman.

So the next part will be the last part of the invitations - then I will gocco my address on the envelopes but I am not as worried about those.

B will be printing direction cards for these using a regular printer and not a gocco - I am not that loco! (I had to do it eventually.)

RSVP Take 2

I noticed a small error on the RSVPs that I had already made and it was annoying me. So to make myself feel better and move on, I reprinted the RSVPs. This time I did it with BM Kim. She was amazed by the Gocco machine (it will blow your mind seriously people).

So she helped me line up the cards as I printed them and she drank wine (I partook in the red wine after I was finished so as to not GUI - gocco under the influence). Not a bad job by BM Kim. She has earned the right to still be a BM.

BM Kim is on a bus back to New York and we are sad.

That's what friends are for...

Has hell frozen over? B and I always say that no one comes up to visit us but here we are about to have a visitor for the second weekend in a row. Yay! Last week we had POTFRK and this week we have BM Kim. Things I want to do with Kim here:

• Go to Somerville Open Studios
• Gocco more of the invites
• Dress her up like a doll
• Go out to dinner

I put new sheets on the bed last night and that is it. It is not the Ritz Carlton so I hope she doesn't expect turn down or concierge service.

Shout out to Maureen - Happy Birthday you foxy minx!

Cocktails, dinner, and dancing!

Reception cards on done and they are my best work ever! Seriously, I hope the actual invitations come out as nice. B was here to help me place the cards out for drying after I inked them. You can tell I had help since they were placed in order and not scattered like the response cards. But these cards are smaller and there are aout 15 less.

Here are the reception cards:

Birthday shoutouts to Jackie and Cake Baker Extraordinaire Kristin.