Menus, and Placecards, and Thank you's OH MY!

Here is the outcome for all of my prints:

Menus, Place Cards, Table Numbers, and Thank You Cards! Yep, you know I designed them!!

Name tents that double as escort cards and place cards, complete w/ table number and meal choice.

7x7 inch table numbers, to be held by stanchions!
Menus! They're half a letter size page cut the long way:

and to show my gratitude to countless guests and vendors:

Last Minute Idea: Late Night Bites

Today I met up with my event coordinator at Heritage Hunt to finalize numbers and give my final payment. We were down to 141 paid guest meals, 14 of which were kid's meals. Not bad considering i was expecting more like 160-170 to make it. It was a real budget saver!

However, I couldn't help but wonder where all this extra money would go? Do I save it for a new dining set? A rainy day? Or do I treat my guests with more food?

My mom has attended 2 weddings in toronto that had this great late night snack portion of the evening, much like italians do at their weddings. I was at one wedding with her. I thought that was great, and we thought well... wouldnt it be nice to do that for our guests as well?

Well, I had previously posted about cookie favors as Late Night snacks, since HH won't let us "bring food," yet we're allowed to bring favors. Would've been clever, but my mom urged me not to, in an effort to save money (and time spent packaging). However, during my 1.5 hour meeting with the catering manager/coordinator at HH, I decided I should at least check into getting something like mini pizzas served later in the evening, during the dance portion of the night.

The price wasnt too bad, so i went with 120 Mini Cheeseburgers and Mini Cheese Pizzas to be served at 9:30pm! They'll be served in chaffing dishes by the door, in case people dip out early and want to grab a snack to go, and then others that are dancing the night away can grab a snack as well!

Late night bites, CHECK!

M&M Favors, Part Deux

In a previous post, I had blogged about utilizing my Gocco Machine, as well as my time stuck in the house during DC's Snowpocalypse 2010, for a wedding project. That was to print little 1oz glassine bags with the graphic flourish that I will use throughout my wedding.

Well, with the help of my skillful mom, I was able to complete the task. Here's what you'll need...

Materials Needed: Glassine bags, M&Ms (or your choice of candy), precut fancy tags w/ your monogram, colored thread, and an awesome sewing machine.

What I used: 1oz White Glassine Bags purchased from papermart.com gocco'd with my flourish, Orange and Pearlized white M&Ms, Precut Tags that say M&M and the date on it, and gold embroidery thread.

You then have to stuff the bags with M&Ms. My mom was extra anal and decided to count the M&Ms so that everyone gets an even amount, but you don't have to do that. You jsut have to make sure you don't put too much in that you cant fold it to sew it later. We did 27 M&Ms per bag.

Another tip, because the orange was so strong, i decided to double bag them. I am actually using 2 bags, one printed and and the inside "liner bag" plain white, so that you can actually see the design i goccoed without too much interference from the orange M&M color.

And then you just fold, add the tag (which is also folded over), and sew them with your trusty singer machine. I won't lie, my mom did the sewing. If i did it, it would be all kinds of crooked.

Here's a tip from my Mom... To save yourself from re-setting up the thread on teh machine, keep the sewing at a continuous loop, and don't snip off the thread of the bags until the next one is sewn. (not sure if i said that right, but it worked out for me)

Here is the finished product!

Hope you like it! I happen to love it!

Tasting at Heritage Hunt

I booked heritage hunt with blind faith that the food would be good. They don't offer tastings before you book. It's a risk. I was nervous.

Mr Smallville was working, and their tasting schedule didn't work with his work schedule, so i brought my sister (who is my maid of honor) and parents to try the food. Below are the entrees we were able to try at the tasting:

clock wise from the top left: Pan seared chicken filet with a madeira cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and sugar snap peas; Rosemary Grilled Chicken breast with wild rice pilaf and buttered cauliflower; Lemon Grilled Chicken and Jumbo Lump crabcake with oven roasted redskinned potatoes and a cherry tomato/zuchini medley; Flounder stuffed with Crabmeat with steamed asparagus and Sweet Potato Mash.

The food was delicious, and put my nerves to rest, THANK GOD! Can you guess my favorites? It'll shock you, but my absolute favorite thing on those 4 dishes was the Buttered Cauliflower? I know! So strange? I hate cauliflower, but anything in that crack-like butter sauce would take my breath away. I admitted that i liekd the rosemary chicken better then the lemon chicken (which goes with the crabcake combo) so we decided to switch it. I loved the flounder stuffed with crab. I kinda wish it was a bigger piece, though. The sweet potato mash was amazing and sweet and interesting, but we found nothing that it could go with on our final menu.

We made a few edits and switched around some side dishes. I couldn't get enough of that butter sauce so I requested it for the combination choice. We basically moved the flounder over to the plate the rosemary chicken was on. I also switched out the chickens for the combo platter since i didnt liek the super citric flavor of the lemon chicken.

Here are our final menu choices:

Meat Only Choice:

• Seared Chicken Filet with Madeira Cream Sauce
• Garlic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
• Steamed Green Beans

Fish Only Choice:

• Flounder Stuffed with Crabmeat
• Buttered Cauliflower
• Wild Rice Pilaf

Combination Choice:

• Grilled Rosemary Chicken Breast
• Jumbo Lump Crabcake
• Oven-Roasted Red Skinned Potatoes
• Buttered Broccoli

There will also be a children's meal of chicken tenders, french fries, and a fruit cup.

I was nervous to find out that the Event Manager, Katie Simmons, was leaving, but after meeting her stand-in, Leah Stewart, my nerves were also put to rest. Leah was very comforting and reassuring that they had most everything covered. I didn't realize they'd be setting up the room to my standards without needing help from my bridal party. That makes me so happy! Hopefully she delivers on what she says!

Food choices, check! Now onto the invitations next...

A Busy Weekend Coming!

This Saturday, 12 noon: Tasting at Heritage Hunt

I will be sampling the dish options I will be providing my guests. My sister is coming with me.

I knew I have a few issues considering Mr. Smallville and his family are finicky eaters. They don't like seafood, most vegetables, and many other things. I didn't want to serve them things they wouldn't enjoy, so I had to come up with a meat option.

I have a few friends who are pescatarians (they love fish and other things from the sea) and will only eat that much, so i have to provide a fish option.

The Filipinos would probably want a crack at both.

Here are the options:
Pan Seared Chicken Filet on Garlic Mashed potatoeswith a light Madeira cream sauce, caramalized shallots
Jumbo Lump Crab Cake and Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken Breast served with Roasted Tomato Coulis
Flounder Stuffed with Crabmeat nested on Julienne seasoned vegetables with a lemon-chive butter sauce

Starters will be:
Ceasar Starter Salad (Romaine Lettuce is the only vegetable the groom will eat)
Hot Rolls and Butter

For sides I'm choosing the same two for all three dishes:
Garlic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans (The only vegetable other than Lettuce that the Groom's parents will eat).

The tasting will help me solidify these choices so I can finally send my invitations to print!


This Sunday, 12 Noon: Choosing Tuxedos at Men's Wearhouse

Mr. Smallville will be in town this weekend, so we will be choosing our tuxedos and colors.

I know you saw my post about choosing colors for the Euro Tie and the vest for the tuxedos.

We'll be ironing those details this weekend, so wish us luck!

The Graphic Designer Bride

In case any of you don't know this by now, I'm a motion graphics artist and a graphic designer by day. I have a lot of training on things such as layout, and typography. I know trade secrets liek "the grid," and the all important "white space."

I LOVE GREAT DESIGN.

And incase you haven't figured it out... i also love weddings.

About six years ago I offered to do my cousin's wedding invitations and reception print items. I designed them, printed them, etc. I found it to be stressful (what design job isn't) but fun at the same time! To do design work that doesn't have a department of defense theme or a higher education accounting concept is WONDERFUL!

I've done about seven weddings since my cousin's in 2006. I am even in the middle of another wedding reception design right now!

As you all know, with the work I’m trying to get into with print design for weddings, I have a bunch of ideas for my own event. It’s my way to showcase what I can do, so a lot of what I’ve planned is a bit involved. Since I’ve got my tasting this Saturday, I’ll be able to secure the entrée choices and schedule. Printing for invites will go out a week from today, so after the weekend of 4^th , it’ll be go time!

Just to give you an idea of what I’m gonna do, here are some ideas revealed:

Invites:

http://www.mygatsby.com/product.jsp?ProductID=405856

• So that's the format, but with a much better design and layout than the rotating gif above (which to me is a little too generic. sorry mygatsby, but its the truth).
• the cards that are actually printed will be from a real print house in Maryland. They’re using something called “offset” printing. I’m using a great uncoated (Nonmetallic) textured ivory paper and a dark orange metallic ink, and an uncoated chocolate ink. I’m using my gocco to add a gold swirl to the main invite card (to save money b/c a new color means an extra $200).
• The cards in the pocket will be taller than what you see in the picture. Some people will have 4 cards for the rehearsal dinner invite. There will be an extra vellum sheet behind the directions which is the map of the area.
• The metallic ivory gatefolds will be wrapped in a vellum/ribbon sleeve with the swirly design. The sleeve a little monogram of our first names as a seal on top (see picture below, but without the cheesy bow) and then stuffed w/ a metallic ivory envelope which is lined w/ the same swirly designed vellum.

Yes, I just reread that and it sounds just as confusing to me as you might feel right now. But it will be awesome. I promise! lol

Programs:

http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/05/10/programs-done/

• I have the gold thread to sew them together and all, just like Mrs. Plumeria did (who happens to be a graphic designer too. I got the idea of sew-binding a book from my bookmaking class in graduate school
  

.

• The cover won’t be vellum like the example online. It will be a hard cover (same paper as my invites), but there will be a vellum page utilizing 2 of the awesome engagement photos that Trang did for me in march.
  

Ceramic Favors (to be done by one of my witnesses/godmothers/primary sponsors):

• They will be stuffed in this box with chocolate colored tissue paper:
  

• They’ll then have a vellum sleeve that matches the one that wraps around the invite, just to bring in some continuity… kinda like this, but without the cheesy bows:
  

·

M&M Favors:

• These are my very bags, of course w/ my swirly design:
  
  

• and then im ordering orange and cream M&Ms (and since they’ve already got M on them, I don’t need to do any special printing.
• these are what I plan on doing with the bags, but with gold thread:
  

The favors will alternate on the tables between place settings (ie you get M&Ms and the people on either side of you get candle holder.

Other items that we’ll have that im doing myself are:

• Table Numbers/Names
  
• Menu cards per place setting
  
• Escort Cards/Place Cards
  
• Welcome Bags for Hotel
  
• Cookie Favor Bags
  

Table Runners!

We bought the left at williamsburg Pottery for $6/each (but there were only 10), and had the left one made in Manila for even less!

Dessert Favors too??

So right now all I have for dessert is a cake.

This concerns me.

That and in 2008 my family and I attended a wedding in Toronto where it's a fad to provide midnight snacks to your guests-- an adopted Italian tradition that they just made standard for all weddings up there. My mother and I were intrigued.

The venue doesn't allow for us to bring in our own food to serve. It must be ordered through them... But they're pricey. And I'm a budget bride.

However, I do know they allow FAVORS.

So I am adding yet another idea to my seemingly neverending list of favors.

This time, these favors will be self-service, and you pick them up at one table. You can snack on them right there if you want. You can even bring them home.

I can individually bag treats (cellophane bags) and label them w/ our monogram and a thank you note. Options for these are:

• Brownies from Becky's Kitchen in Manila - fudgy goodness. something about chocolate desserts in manila have a very indulgent factor to them.
• Cookies from Costco - they're large and their good. Nuff said
• Peanuts and Peanut Candies from Whitley's Peanut Factory - over by Mr Smallville's house. Virginia peanuts, sometimes hand dipped in awesome chocolate.

I may do some. I may do all. who knows?

One of my many brainstorm posts.

The Chiavari Chair

They upgrade any event space, turning the most unconventional into a glamorous, elegant setting.

My venue has some very comfortable, bluish grey and gold chairs:

while they are not completely an eyesore, they don't exactly go with my colors of Burnt Orange, Chocolate, Gold, and Ivory. I could've rented chair covers and sashes as well, but i actually don't like the look as much as the Chiavari Chairs.

The drawback: Usually, rental for Chiavari Chairs are somewhere between $7-15 per chair! Yikes!

It was totally out of the question...

until...

I ran into this one blog where the bride was talking about how she rented chiavari chairs for $5/chair for a nearby venue. Turns out her vendor was the same vendor the venue uses, only you didn't have to pay the surcharge for it!

So I'm renting with Leslee Addison of Special Occasions for gold chairs with ivory cushions for $5/chair, and chocolate colored napkins for $0.40/napkin. (My venue only carries, black, white, ivory, pink, and red, and rental for other colors is $2.50 per napkin).

What a find!

One of a Kind Favors

Ceramic Lace/Filigree Candle/Votive Holders!

Different, elegant, and something classy for a wedding!

I'm going "home" to Manila in April to get a hundred or so of these beauties. They're very cost effective if ordered from there.

Now, pictured above are examples of it. Mine will be square or round candle holders that are no larger than 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

They will be packaged in a 4x4 inch tuck top box I got from papermart.com.

It will then be wrapped in a sleeve that matches the sleeve that will wrap around my Folio Pocket for my invitation.

It will be placed at the table setting, every other seat, alternating with the M&M Bags that I began creating during the storm.

More to come soon...

A DJ... 'Coz we likes to partay!!

I was originally going with an old friend who DJs in big clubs in LA and is flown all over the country to work parties and clubs.

That was the dream, at least.

He said he'd offer me a great rate. And he did.

Unfortunately, I had to fly him and his partner out in addition to the fee. Eventually, it wasnt looking good for my wedding budget, so i had to keep looking.

Steven Hessing

That was the name my cousin gave me for her DJ in 2006. In fact he also DJ'ed another friend's wedding in 2007. I thought he was decent, and when I called him, i found him to be a great person!

So I sent him a list of music:

Dinner: great love songs from the 80s, 90's and 2000s, and some choice country ballads to appease the groom and his fam.

Dancing: Oh so much...

Lots of Black Eyed Peas

Lots of Justin Timberlake

Lots of Gwen Stefani

Lots of Pussycat Dolls

Lots of Pitbull

Lots of Music Produced by Timbaland

Lots of Bad Boy Records circa mid-90s

A few Michael Jackson greats (I like his songs before thriller the best)

Q-Tip - Vivirant thang, and Breathe and Stop

BBD - Poison

Wrecks n Effect - Rumpshaker

Line Dancing songs for the oldies: Electric Slide, Chacha Slide, Achy Breaky Heart

Other Oldies Dancing Songs: One being a few selections from Jive Bunny and teh Master Mixers!

a party classic from my youth: Rob Base - It Takes Two

and much much more.

The Venue

So one thing I found out about my town:

Weddings. Are. Expensive.

That's just it. You just have to deal with it. Of course, there are ways around it.

I could follow in my cousin's footsteps who married into Vietnamese families and go with a chinese restaurant, with the per-head costs being half of what a standard american reception would cost here. Thing is, Mr. Smallville and his family aren't even Asian, and they're partial to American food. Not really an option there.

Then there is another option. I could always rent a community center or a moose lodge, have Aunt Mary and Cousin Jamie's family make a few dishes, buy some plastic cups and paper plates and be done with it in a couple thousand for the whole thing? Right?

Wrong.

I do consider myself somewhat of a bridey-bride. I've known (since I met him) how this day would go. In fact i did some "preliminary research" about weddings wayyy before we were engaged (like say beginning late 2007). Yes, I know I was jumping the gun but when you know.. you just... well.. KNOW.

Criteria:

• In Virginia - Though it's up here in the DC area, and all of the groom's family will be travellng for the festivities, i wanted to be respectful enough to my In-Law's side that its not blatantly have it in DC or Maryland. Somehow psychologically, I think keeping it in "Virginia" looks better.
• No/Minimal Rental Fee - Gorgeous places here have a price tag from $5,000-$12,000 JUST FOR THE SPACE! That is NOT within my budget!
• Reasonable Food & Beverage per head cost for: cocktail hour, seated dinner, and drinks
• Outdoor ceremony space - garden weddings are so lovely
• Great back-up plan for ceremony in case of Inclement Weather - because you just never know
• Seats 180-200 folks comfortably with a sizeable dance floor. - because i'm filipino, and we have big families, and we love to party and dance the night away

Anyway, after countless research into venues with rental pricetags in the thousands, and caterers with per head costs that would send you to the hospital... I found my venue.

Wait for it...

Wait for it

oh .. here it is!

The Heritage Hunt Golf and Country Club in Gainesville, VA offers a beautiful setting and lovely/elegant facilities with full service catering at a reasonable price (for the area).

It has a small fee for the site rental if you're not a member or a resident of Heritage Hunt. There is also an additional fee for an outdoor wedding set up, but nothing too outrageous compared to others.



I loved their ballroom. It was newly renovated this past spring!

Below you see the picture of a ceremony that takes place in their courtyard. Weather permitting, that is where we will have ours! If it rains, the ceremony will be held in the ballroom.