Photobooth

My photographer, cousin Rolf, sent me a facebook message last summer/fall encouraging us to do a photobooth. I had been wanting one of these, but since I was getting the family discount, I didn't want to impose and cause him to have to do more. So, with Rolf's go-ahead, I started thinking and ordering supplies.

Rolf is going to supply the backdrop for the "booth."

I purchased a box full of photobooth props from someone off of the Weddingbee Classifieds. The box is full of awesome stuff: red parasol, big sunglasses, hats, and feather boas...

Picture seller put up in the ad.

I thought I'd make a few things to add to the pile of stuff. It is always nice to see messages from friends and family, so I made a wooden chalkboard sign:

Unfortunately, the wood's natural lines show through the paint even though I put on lots of layers.


I also made lips and mustaches on sticks. I don't have a personal photo, but this is pretty much what they look like:

Etsy Seller

Of course these are a little nicer than mine. This etsy seller is actually talented at working with clay.

All in all, I think I have enough costume/decorations for the photobooth and it is going to be epic!

Are you thinking of doing a photobooth? How will you provide props?

On your mark, get set, ...

With just under 3 months left, I have begun to stress a bit. There is soooo much to do! It is comforting to have less items on the to-do list than have been done, but the ones still on there look so daunting.

Over the past week, the groomsmen gifts arrived, I've been putting together the invitations, I purchased the flower girl and ring bearer gifts, and made some of our parents gifts.

I will take some photos and get them posted ASAP, I promise!

Forgive my lack of posts, please! I've been getting things crossed off.

DIY Pocketfolds

I was able to find some instructions on how to make my own pocketfold:


Mrs. Ballet Flats gave instructions on how to use a 7" x 19" piece of cardstock.
Mrs. Deviled Egg gave instructions on how to use a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock.

I chose to use Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions since I knew 12" x 12" cardstock is very easy to find and comes in many different colors. The pocketfold would be black allowing for red and white to be featured elsewhere in the invitation. I then did some research to find black #80 cardstock at a good price.

I ordered 80lb 12x12 cardstock (CV12-BK) from LCI paper. For 3 packs of 50 I paid $46. Beat that pocketfold seller people!

On the blogs and boards, everyone was saying to use double-sided tape. I went to my local Michael's and chose the tape that looked the strongest. I needed strong tape because I was working against physics. The pocket has flaps that are folded under and taped to the invitation. This flap will be pushing out against the tape holding it down.

I followed Mrs. Deviled Egg's instructions and used the double-sided tape. The fold didn't want to stay on the invitation. So I tried different tape, no luck. I went back to Michael's to look for another adhesive option and that is when I found the most wonderful glue EVER! I mean it, this stuff is awesome. It is called 2 Way Glue. It is blue when wet but dries colorless. If you adhere two things together while wet (wet bond), it is permanent. If you allow the glue to dry and adhere something to it (dry bond), it is temporary.

2 Way Glue

It was a little more than I wanted to spend ($6 before I used a 40% off coupon) but it was WELL worth it! I applied the glue to the flaps and held them down for a few seconds. I then put the invitation under something heavy and allowed it to dry while I made more. None of the ~130 invites I have made have come undone. This bottle of glue lasted me through all of the invites and for some other projects.

So for $52, I made ~130 pocketfold invitations, 1/3 the price if I had purchased them pre-made.

Have you had huge savings so far in your planning process?

Pocketfold Wha????

Once I had decided our invitations would be pocketfolds, I needed to investigate our options. I new I wanted to keep it to 5" x 7" instead of square invites due to postage charges.

The pocketfold can me arranged in many different orientations:

The Himalaya (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 for 50 (envelopme)

Himalaya

The Cascade (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 (envelopme)

Cascade

The Atlas (A7): $35.99 for 50 (paperandmore), $75.50 for 50 (envelopme), $35.75 for 25 (LCI paper)

Atlas

I was beginning to see that purchasing the pocketfolds was going to be very expensive since I needed to send out 121 invites. The orientation I fell in love with was the Atlas, so I now needed to find instructions on how to make my own pocketfold.

Preparation for Invitation

Over the years I have had the pleasure of being invited to friends and family's weddings. So far, most of the invitations looked the same. Very simple and sweet. Usually one page with a ribbon bow at the top. Even though this is very nice, I knew I wanted something different. Maybe a bit more complicated, so I started searching for inspiration.

Miss Sloth

A increasingly popular invitation is the kind that is similar to a concert poster. Mixing and matching colors and fonts easily make these invitations appealing. We have seen these from a few brides on the weddingbe; such as Miss Sloth and Mrs. Sand Dollar.

Then there are some invites that are more simple but still styled differently from those I have received before:

Mrs. Argyle

Mrs. Beagle

An then there is the wonderful letter press:

Mrs. Scissors

Last, but not least, the pocketfold:

Mrs. Apple Cider

Once I saw the pocketfold invitations, I new exactly what I HAD to have. I could keep the design of the invitation simple while making the invitation as a whole more exciting.

Next, a cost breakdown.

Where did you seek invitation inspiration?

She's Bringing Out the Crazy

I had a crazy moment yesterday. I want to have paper lanterns at the wedding, but they are pretty expensive. I could afford them, but do I want to pay >$1 - $3 per lantern? NO!

My next thought: make the lanterns myself. Hmmm...

A little research turned up a little info:

paper lanterns

These are neat, but not what I pictured hanging at the wedding.

paper lantern

This one is very cool, but I couldn't find the instructions on how to make this. It is supposedly made on a Martha Stewart Blog.

String Lantern

This is very cool and I've done something like this before to make a Halloween decoration. But it won't have the same effect as the paper lanterns.

This is when the CRAZY popped up. I thought, why not combine the idea behind the string lantern and the paper. I could paper mache lanterns made from tissue paper. My next step is to try this out...

Have you had some crazy moments during your planning?

Drinky Drinks

Last post I told you about the straws I purchased for our guests to use, but I haven't yet told you what liquids we will be providing our guests.

First and foremost, we are having a backyard (frontyard) BBQ wedding, so we MUST have H2O, lemonade, and iced tea.

Tea and Lemonade

Secondly, we will be having some alcoholic beverages for our peeps to enjoy. Many of you may not be aware of the fabulousness of Virginia wineries. Virginia has sooo many wineries and actually, a good number of them surround Charlottesville. I have tasted many of the wines from local vineyards at different festivals as well as at the vineyards. I don't want to go crazy with the wine, but I do want to feature the local Virginia wines.

Barboursville Vineyards

Veritas Vineyards

Hilltop Berry Farm (Meade Wines)

Also, there are 4 breweries near our farm (2 of them are ~5 minutes away). So, I'd also like to feature a few beers from them. The most popular of these breweries is Starr Hill. I believe I can get a keg from them, and my friends have already informed me of the beer I should will be choosing. I still need to go to the other 3 and do some taste testing.

Blue Mountain Brewery

Devil's Backbone

Not all of our guests drink alcohol, and they may feel left out without anything bubbly, so I also am looking to get some sparkling cider. Alpenglow cider is made in the Shenandoah Valley which is where we grew up. So I have been scouring Charlottesville looking for it but have only found it in one location (a very expensive general store). This is the best sparkling cider I have EVER tasted!

Alpenglow Cider

Are you looking to feature local wines and beers at your reception?