Fool me once, Gocco, shame on you!

So, when we set out to make these invites, we decided that the best thing to do would be to start with the back of the RSVP cards. We chose the last design from the previous post:

I am going to document this whole crazy process because it is simply fascinating to me!

So, first, let's meet the Gocco P6. Here is me trying to set up a guideline for where to place the master and cards to be printed.

Then we put the master, which is a photo copy of our desired image onto that yellow pad

and put bulbs into that yellow trapezoidal pyramid on the left of the picture above.

Then insert a blue mesh into that glass screen

and press down.

It makes an electrical connection and

BAM

there is a huge pop of light and you have burned the image into the mesh screen. The light bulbs crack like crazy and have to be thrown away. They are also a great source of heat!

We have to put these sticky sponge things between where the colors are supposed to be different to prevent them (colors) from running.

We then ink it up

and spread it around

Then, we simply put the blank card that we want to print to on the yellow pad. We have inserted the inked mesh screen into the top (see it below).

And VOILA! We got a whole bunch of crap...

So, we quit for that day and started again the next.

The REAL invitations ACTUALLY WORKED.
But Sam Mammen doesn't want me to ruin the surprise...

Who says you have to pick just one?

From Carnival Cruise Lines which is supposed to be the best! I am pretty much sold!


We are considering taking off that whole first week after the wedding and chilling in Houston for a few days and then going to SA to relax and flying out the next Sunday for a weeklong cruise!

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya...

SO WE ARE TRYING TO HONEYMOON PLOT. ACTUALLY WE ARE MINI-MOON PLOTTING. WE WILL HONEYMOON IN THAILAND NEXT YEAR.

At first we were thinking Moab, Utah or Miami, FL, something "local". BUT honestly, we can get to central America or the Caribbean and spend the same money.
So now, Panama is at the top of my list. Also, Costa Rica and Belize are on the list. I love Puerto Rico but have been there so I am not sure if that is quite right...

Have you guys been to any of these places? Have another south-of the border favorite?

As inspiration, I point you to this awesome Astrology based honeymoon planner!

Taurus Honeymoons: You always want to be comfortable and appreciate familiar surroundings. You’ll be willing to spend more for something special, like a sensual spa or private bungalow. Or you might go for complete relaxation at a romantic inn.

Taurus Cities: Billings, Montana; Durham, North Carolina; Gary, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Miami, Florida; Newport, Rhode Island; Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Maine; Reno, Nevada; Santa Barbara, California; Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Taurus Countries: Ecuador, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Monaco, Tanzania.

Sagittarius Honeymoons: You want to go everywhere and do everything, but you especially love knowledge and adventure. Go to a Buddhist monastery, on a road trip, railroad tour, safari, or to a horse-riding resort. If it piques your zest for exploration, it’ll make you happy.

Sagittarius Cities: Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; Kansas City, Kansas; Long Beach, California;Montgomery, Alabama; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Jose, California.

Sagittarius Countries: Barbados, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Iceland, Finland, Kenya, Surinam, Sweden, United Kingdom.

How freakin' true is mine???

Click here for the rest of em: The Brides Guide

And the nominees are!

So, we really need to get these sarees ORDERED! This will ensure that we have time for alterations and for things to go wrong...
I have picked a couple more and maybe we can reach some sort of concensus.
I have taken all of your opinions into account and hope we all like some of the same ones.
It's important to note that we are somewhat limited by our crimson and champagne color scheme. Namely, these are traditional Indian wedding colors and thus most of the sarees are ACTUALLY wedding dresses. It would be the equivalent of all of us wearing a WWD.
I think we have found some great *formal* options.
(Some of the others were vetoed by the higher ups for not being formal enough...)

Saree 1
Saree 2
Saree 3
Saree 4
Saree 5
Saree 6

So, I need everyone's first, second, and third choices.
I will use a highly-complicated mathematical formula to determine which "wins"!
Yay!
Voting will close in one week. (How does that sound?)

Trying to measure up...

Get a friend, a tape measure, and a bottle of wine (I'll reimburse this later), it's time to start measuring yourselves.

Some of these are superfluous (1) but lets just get all of the measurements and email them to me so that I have them.
A word about each graphic:
2 should be how low you would want a neckline to go.
7 the Sari Sapne place likes to measure this RIDICULOUSLY tight (FYI)
10 make this the length your cap sleeve should be, just over the bumb in the shoulder, agreed?
(Feedback appreciated, put it in the comments)
8 and 13 are superfluous but lets get them anyway so our numbering doesn't get messed up.


Just send em all.This is your back.

How far do we think this back thing is supposed to go?
OK, get to work!

Crimson Love

So! Our wedding invitation paper has arrived! AND I must announce that Paper Source is having a sale on Stardream Mars paper so we got some great deals!















Today we are cutting the 5x7 cards down to 3.5x5 RSVP cards. Yay! It's beginning!

Invitation Station

So, here is a preview of our invitation that I spent all day on. That's right, we skipped work!
It isn't completely done and you must imagine it on pearlescent paper with a pearly crimson cardstock border and backing. Yum!
We debated using more inventive or creative wording but have decided that the best place for that would be on the reception card. (Preview later.)



This leads to the RSVP card. It has been giving us a ton of trouble. We haven't seen any good wording choices on the internet. Right now, I have something simple that suits the invitation fine but if anyone has seen anything better let me know.
Also, the RSVP card must get the message across that not everyone gets a "+1". Anyone with a spouse, boyfriend, partner, etc will get an invite with both of their names. People traveling to Houston for the wedding also get a plus one. But (due to the not huge size of our venue) we aren't offering plus ones to all of my high school friends and family friends from Houston. We figure these people should know at least a dozen people at the wedding and thus don't need a buffer or someone to share a hotel room with.


We also have two options I have created for the back of the RSVP card. It will be a postcard so this is where the typical "Greeting from Florida" part would go. Which do you prefer?

Big GIMPin'

So, I have discovered my new favorite open-source software (sorry Microsoft!): GIMP.
It is a totally free program that works EXACTLY like Photoshop!
It even comes with a fantastic easy to manage GUI (interface) that I couldn't rave about more. A lot of open-source stuff is only navigable by true techies and that definitely isn't me. BUT I have created a few little invitation masterpieces I shall share shortly.
It took me a little while to find my way around the program but 24 hours later, I couldn't be more thrilled! The help and support is even great. Sold. (Except it's free!)

So, if you (like me) have recently been considering leaving your job to tinker around in graphic design, I suggest GIMP.

Go here to download it.

Say "Yes!" to the Dress

Without further adieu (sp?) here are my dresses. I absolutely love them. So thanks to all of you who shopped with me, voted on dresses and generally enjoyed the ride!

Ceremony:

Here is a close up of the detailing on the bottom that will be mimicked on the hem of the saree.

It's gorgeous. Payal can attest that the buying experience was hysterical. We actually cut strips out of two sarees available at the store to get the EXACT color we wanted. (Well, the saleslady did the cutting but whatever.) They are pretty much identical to the colors above. One might call them (light) crimson and champagne!

Now for the reception. I must say I never realized how beautiful these two dresses look together. They are made to be worn by one bride on a very special day.




So there you go. No voting required (or allowed!). But this should also help us with the bridesmaid dress options.

Love you girls!

James Bond gets Married

So, Sam has a penchant for all things spy-y. You may have noticed. He dreams of wearing this to the wedding:
Call me crazy but this conjures images of:
At first I fought him on it but Mama Bollywood has been teaching me some lessons in acceptance. So, for Christmas I bought Sam a skinny black tie from Urban Outfitters. (It's now on sale by the way and super cute!) He will probably wear a dressier one for the wedding but I think he appreciated the gesture.

And who knows, maybe he'll look more like this: (!)
Photo Credit: Dean McDonald / Splash News

So, off to the MW Tux website to see what we can find along these lines... As a side note we are choosing MW Tux because all of the groomsmen can get their tux in their respective states, the prices are right, and Sam's is free!


This research has made me realize what distinguishes tuxes (This is completely unscientific.)

1. The number of buttons: 1, 2, 3, or 4
   
2. How high up the first button hits
3. The length of the coat
4. The collar: shawl or regular, thickness, notched or not, satin or matte
   
5. The pockets: slits or flaps, satin or matte

Our opinions on these things are:

1. 1 or 2
2. Lower is better, between the third and fourth vest button is best
3. Should just clear your butt
4. Regular, not to thin, notched, satin
5. Slits, satin preferred but not required
   

Our first tux is a Calvin Klein Two-Button Super 100's Notch
Sam is even considering the vest! I think the vest would add a formal touch and definitely in the vest's corner, but we'll have to see what he decides.
The next tux is a Joseph & Feiss One-Button Notch Lapel. This one has a slightly thicker lapel but we'd have to see it on to know what difference it makes.
These are really the only two that we both liked. To the store this weekend!
Did you know there were so many variables in the tux world? Which one do you like?