Get With the Program

wedding preparations, originally uploaded by Vegan_Noodle.

All this wedding stuff might make me crafty after all! My mom and I put together the programs for the wedding this past weekend (thanks mom for doing most of the work!!). Can you see the green theme continuing?

Rehearse History

Colonial Inn, originally uploaded by Vegan_Noodle.

The rehearsal dinner will be at the historic Concord Colonial Inn. John was a dishwasher here back in the day! We are excited to spend an evening with our families on the eve of the wedding. We are even more excited about the fact that we don't have to have an actual rehearsal along with our rehearsal dinner. We all know the drill, right?

Embossing Excitement

Just a quick update on how things are going, I am planning a more elaborate post hopefully this weekend!! We are less than a month away from our wedding date as of yesterday! Can't believe it will be here that soon, the excitement is crazy!

Last week, with the help of my mom, we did some embossing for the wedding favors. I never knew it was easy and so much fun! I have been going around eversince embossing all kinds of things. I'm even planning on purchasing more stamps to continue the fun! Here's a look at the process:

Step 1. Stamp the desired image on paper, press firmly and careful not to smudge!



Step 2: Pour embossing powder over the stamped image as quickly as possible, then remove excess powder.

Step 3: Apply heat source to stamp until embossing powder melts and becomes a raised image (don't worry, you will see the transformation take place before your very eyes!)

And finally, you can admire the finished product! Isn't the sleeping pig adorable? In my next post I'll explain the significance of using this stamp on the party favors. And no, I'm not going to tell you what the party favor is, another detail you'll have to wait for!

Eco-Honeymoon

We finally booked our honeymoon!! The plan is to spend a week on St. John (how appropriate I thought) in the U.S. Virgin Islands (also helpful that it's U.S. since my passport is expiring!). We decided to wait until December to honeymoon, mainly to avoid the fall hurricane season in the Caribbean. During our time on this tropical island, we will be splitting our time between three resorts.



The first four days we will be staying at two eco-resorts, the Estate Concordia Studios and Maho Bay Harmony Studios. Concordia is located in the southern part of the island, adjacent to the US Virgin Islands National Park. We will have views across Salt Bay Pond and be able to enjoy the secluded beaches and lush vegetation on this isolated part of the island. Then we move north to Maho Bay, and a little closer to civilization. In addition to all of the beach and hiking activities, they also have glassblowing, pottery, and yoga classes! These resorts are constructed almost entirely from recycled materials, are powered by the sun and wind, and are built using techniques to help preserve the delicate ecosystem that exists on the island. Definitely something to feel good about while we're kicking back on the beach or enjoying a hike in the forest.

Then we will move further west to Caneel Bay, where we will spend our final few nights on the island. Here we will enjoy a luxurious resort that has plenty to offer, including kayaking, sailing trips, and rum tastings!

I can't wait till December gets here!!

Something Blue

I won't repeat the rhyme, but you know what I'm talking about. Weddings are full of tradition, sometimes too much if you ask me. So I've tried to take some traditions and put a personal twist on them, making them a bit more unique and a little updated for the times. And what better way than to combine two traditions in one? For my something blue and my "garter" I am instead wearing a handmade anklet made by my soon to be sister-in-law!! Here is a peak at one of the anklets I will be wearing:

I was so excited when John's sister (referred to from here on as L.) suggested the idea of an anklet rather than a garter and furthermore that she was willing to knit one for me! We have several of L.'s knitted creations already and they are all so beautiful. She chose colors to match my Green Dream necklace. The dainty flowers and the shades of green and blue are a perfect addition to my wedding outfit. This anklet I will save as a keepsake, you will have to wait to see the one I'm going to toss until the reception! Get ready single guys....

Weather Prediction

Here's what the farmer's almanac has to say about the weather in New England for September 2007:


September 20071st-3rd. Wet weather New England. Farther south, scattered showers, thunderstorms Labor Day holiday. 4th-7th. Fair, pleasant. 8th-11th. Hurricane threat for Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts. Thunderstorms sweep in from west, then clearing. 12th-15th. Fair skies. 16th-19th. Rain, then turning fair, cooler. 20th-23rd. Fair skies persist. 24th-27th. Thunderstorms rumble rapidly across region, then clearing, cooler conditions. 28th-30th. Fair skies, then scattered rain showers.

Oh, The Places We've Been

I have always found table numbering at wedding receptions to be rather dull and somewhat "status" driven (i.e. family gets #1). So in brainstorming to figure out a different method, we came up with naming tables after places we have vacationed together. Then the idea expanded to adding cute, miniature photo albums to each table for the chosen destination. I found an amazingly talented artist and crafter, Nycole from etsy, who agreed to custom design the photo albums using the wedding colors (various shades of green and orange) and even adding the photos for me!


As you can see, she did a wonderful job! Each album is unique with different types of paper, flower cut-outs, and embellishments. These will be out on each table at the wedding reception, and hopefully our guests will enjoy seeing some of the beautiful places that we have explored together including Patagonia, Colorado, Oregon, Sedona, Park City, Banff, and England. We left one album blank, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands, which is where we will spend our honeymoon! (more on that in a different post)

Here is a peak inside one of the albums....

Thanks to Nycole for being so creative in putting these together! We will enjoy these mini accordian albums long after the wedding and honeymoon are over.

Let's Dance!!

This is your chance!! John and I are putting together the iPod playlist for the reception and we would like your suggestions on what you want to hear! Otherwise you might get stuck doing the Marcarena, cotton-eyed joe, and the chicken dance all night long. Just click on the comments button below to submit your request, it can even be anonymous! We welcome all genres and types of music, from classical to rock to hip hop to country. Even if you aren't going to be able to make it to the wedding, we would love to play a song in your honor.

Put It On (Recycled) Paper

With the recent arrival of the wedding invitations, now the date seems even closer!! Here is a peek at the invitations and the guest book, all made out of handmade recycled paper.


We ordered our invitations from Twisted Limb Paperworks, a small studio in the heartland of America (Indiana) that makes their paper out of recycled office paper, junk mail, grocery bags, and grass cutting from their own fields. The paper used for the invitations is called Green Tea and the guest book is accented with Mango paper. Along with a signed thank you note, they also included a bookmark with the words from a famous Beatles song. What a coincidence, this song will be used in the wedding (not telling where yet)! That must be a sign of good luck. I was extremely happy with how the invites turned out and would highly recommend their services. And remember, after you've enjoyed the invitation on your refrigerator door (or wherever), be sure to recycle it!! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...