Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wedding Wall

While I write this, we are at 99 day until our wedding! Um, folks, did you hear me right?
Only 99 more days with my current last name, 99 more days of legally being single, and 99 more days of being Mr. High Wire’s fiancée.
But since the post title is alcohol related, I thought we’d dive into the good ole imbibing section of the High Wire wedding.
Our lovely venue allows you to supply your own alcohol. I consider this a really good thing, because we can really tailor our alcohol purchase to what we and our guests enjoy and don’t have to worry about altering any drink packages or struggling to meet any consuming minimums.
I do want to put this out there: I’m not a big drinker. Like, at all. Not even when I was in college. I’ll have a glass of wine now and again or a mimosa at a rare brunch outing, but that is about the extent of my intake.

It isn’t that I have any moral stance against it or wasn’t exposed to any drinking—quite the opposite, actually. I just can’t get over the taste, you guys. Booze tastes yucky to me!

Silly side story: I once waited in the pouring rain (with no umbrella) for TWO HOURS to meet Bethenny Frankel and get her to sign a bottle of her Skinnygirl Margarita…and I didn’t even like the taste.

But, I do know that our friends and family like to celebrate with a good adult beverage now and again, and I am 100% happy to provide it to them on our wedding day. And I also plan to partake in a glass of wine or two on the wedding day since I’ll probably be feeling rather celebratory!
Beer is the drink of choice for most of the people in our lives. And I definitely wouldn’t label any of them beer snobs either, especially not Mr. High Wire. (Bud Light is what he drinks when he’s feeling “fancy,” OK?) So, in order to appeal to the masses we’re going to go the easy route and order a few kegs. My only request was that they be hidden behind a cloth-draped table and served by a bartender (i.e., no keg stands—keeping it classy here, people!). Luckily, that was a requirement from our venue, so it worked out perfectly.
Additionally, our caterer is providing a margarita machine to go alongside our tasty dinner menu, and two bartenders to serve drinks throughout the night.
So, here’s where you guys come in, if you’d be so kind as to help me out. We’ve got a few kegs, a margarita machine, and some white wine on the menu (for my low-tolerance-level drinking if I’m feeling excited). Some people will want some mixed drinks, and most likely toward the beginning of the night before they switch to beer. (Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear; beer before liquor, never sicker.)
Google has provided me very little in the alcohol-shopping-list department, and I have no idea how much of everything we need (red and white wine, assorted liquor, mixers, etc.). I also still have pretty much no idea how many guests are actually going to be in attendance, but let’s just say 150 and hope for the best.
How did you decide how much of each type of alcohol to provide at your wedding? Clearly I need a lot of help here.

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Beach Wedding Invitation

Choosing Wedding Invitations,how?!

Ideas to Make My Own Scrap Wedding Invitations Ideas to Make Your Own Scrap Wedding Invitations

You may think coming up with ideas to make my own scrap wedding invitations is more than you can handle as a busy bride-to-be. But with a little planning and a few helping hands, you can put together beautiful scrapbook-inspired invitations.

Designing the Scrap Invite

Before you get started, you need to decide what you want your invites to look like. Sketch out a design and get feedback from your fiancé, mother, and bridal party members. Having a plan will make assembling the invitations easier after you have picked up your scrap supplies.
Decide on the following things as you design your invitations:

• Shape (square, tea-length, tri-fold, specialty)
• Size
• Colors
• Embellishments
• Layout of wording and decorative accents

The best thing about planning ideas to make my own scrap wedding invitations is that you can revise as often as needed without paying a lot of money. Use leftover scrap supplies to make up mock-invitations to see if you want a ribbon around the top, bottom, or middle of the page. Or maybe you want to create a vellum overlay. Whatever you decide, you can revise as often as needed before finalizing the design.
To gather ideas for scrap invites, visit craft stores, scrap websites, or read card-making magazines. You may also want to check out traditional invitations to get your creative process started. Just remember that many designs are copyright protected, so only use other designs as a way to get your artistic genius jumpstarted.

Scrap Supplies and Embellishments

The little touches are what makes scrap wedding invitations unique. Cardstock, patterned paper, and vellum are often used in making handmade custom wedding invitations.
To make your invite stand out, add any of the following embellishments:

• Grommets
• Ribbons
• Beads
• Embossed stamp
• Die cuts
• Stickers
• Clips
• Shaped punches, like hearts or floral motifs
• Chalk techniques
• Stencils
• Eyelets

Three dimensional objects add a bit of pizzazz to a scrap wedding invitation. Consider using a sealing wax on your envelope and stamp with your last name initial. Affixing small charms, like hearts, palm trees, cowboy boots, or rings to the center of a ribbon bow can add a certain appeal to your invitation that preprinted ones lack.
As you choose your papers and embellishments, do not be afraid to experiment with patterns. Paisleys, graphics, dots, and stripes have a contemporary feel to them, while traditional plain pages, flowers, doves, hearts, or scroll work designs give a traditional impression. A western wedding invitation may even have a small stripe of cowboy boots lining the edges.

Using Kits for Ideas to Make My Own Scrap Wedding Invitations

For the less crafty among us-or the time challenged-using a kit to make scrap invitations can be a great time saver but still allow you the freedom to add your own touch. A large number of kits come with everything you need, from envelopes to response cards to the cardstock, while others are simply the invitation and envelope.

Host an Invitation Assembling Party

Once you have your layout designed, supplies purchased, and information printed, you need to put the invitations together. Because you are taking a personal touch to each invitation, this is the time to call in favors from your mom, bridal party members, future husband, in-laws, and anyone who has volunteered to help with wedding related business.Make an assembly line, assigning each person a specific duty, such as gluing charms, tying ribbons, or stuffing envelopes. Have supplies and invites laid out before your help arrives.
Have plenty of refreshments on hand or order take-out half way through the project to give everyone a chance to recharge. Just be sure to keep food and drink away from the invitation assembly area. Playing upbeat party music can help pass the time more quickly, too. Don't forget thank you notes for everyone who has helped out!


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Classy But Cheap Wedding Invitations on a Budget

Weddings can cost a great deal of money. Usually included into the cost are full-color custom printed premium invitations. High-quality invitations can cost a significant amount of money and take a considerable amount of time to print. When you want classy invitations and your budget and schedule require that you produce cheap invitations, you should not feel that you do not have options. It is possible for you to produce cheap, unique invitations that complement your wedding theme without looking cheap. Although you won't spend a lot of money for them, you can add your own personal touch to make them appealing. You might start with cheap wedding invitations, but when you see the finished product, you won't be able to tell they are cheap at all.
You won't have to travel very far to find cheap wedding invitations. Most greeting card stores carry a variety of invitations, including cheap, unique wedding invitations. Another avenue for affordable wedding invitations is to create your own using a software program. There are numerous software programs available that will enable you to create invitations that look like you spent a fortune. Wedding invitation software usually includes a variety of templates, generally created by professional designers, for you to use as a guide.
Using Templates
Using templates to create invitations is simple. You basically choose the paper and template you want to use, create your message, and click the print button on your printer. Greeting card shops offer cheap unique wedding invitations in a variety of themes, such as seasonal invitations. Just decide what you want and you have won half the battle of creating sensational wedding invitations!

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Choosing Wedding Invitations,how?!

 

Winter wedding invitations, featured in snow and plum blossom

Winter themed wedding is romantic and remarkable. The wonderfully charm of the season makes for great feeling of fun and genuine happiness. You can make your special wedding deliver all the wonderful feelings.

While you are preparing a wedding in winter, all things and decorations can be designed with this theme, especially you invitations. Actually, there many things you can do for your winter wedding invitations. Besides, you can possibly buy them in discounted price for it is not the time when the requirement is high. The seller will be happy to sell out their production in lower prices.

Once you select the printer that you desire, no matter what the way you will use, begin referring to the invitation they have created for wonderful ideas. You can select a color that is white or creamy, even blue, which will be suitable for winter. Red and black are also proper if the wedding is to be held around the Christmas day.

According to the color of paper stock you decide, you can pair the invitation with vivid red or blue ink, so that it will be warmer for the whole feel. You can contain the colors of some nice flowers and embellishment to reflex your color options in the invitation. It is simpler to make the entire wedding colors in white winter than in the hot summer when any option is great so it can make it too difficult to choose them.

It is a good idea to have the snow wedding invitations to have a winter atmosphere. When taking use of this factor, you will have a lot of creations, such as snow flower, snowman, snow trees and so on. The design that you like can gain that excess something to the invitation that make it your own.

Moreover, it is also wonderful to have plum blossom wedding invitation, for plum blossom is bloomed in winter, and representative for strong faith, so many couples will choose it in their invitation.

If you have enough money, a white ribbon of some sort must be perfect for the design. The selections are so many that you have a lot to choose from. As we all know, the bride pay a lot in her dresses, but we also can’t forget our invitations. 

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A Little Bit Vintage Wedding from Offbeat Bride

Brianna and Nick had a pretty rockin’ wedding close to Halloween (their favorite holiday). The wedding photos from their photographer Kisa Koenig are “a little bit vintage and little bit rock and roll” and FULL of beautiful black details that just left me salivating.
Did your wedding location and date hold a special significance for you?:

We definitely chose Teton Springs because Nick and I love the fall, when we took our first tour we knew it was right for us. It is surrounded by beautiful aspen trees that made for the most amazing back drop for our photos. Our wedding date was Oct. 23, we had originally talked about getting married on Halloween for two reasons, we are both Halloween FANATICS and our first date was actually Halloween 2006. After many conversations we decided we wanted an October wedding but selfishly didn’t want to give up our Halloween so we decided on Oct. 23.

Tell us about the details of the day.

The day started out pretty traditionally, Nick and I didn’t see each other before the festivities began. A fun twist to that was that not only had Nick never seen my wedding dress but he didn’t allow me to see what his and all of the boys tux’s looked like so it was such a fun surprise for us when we saw each other for the first time.  Our fabulous photographer Kisa Koenig made taking the picture’s such a stress free and fun adventure. It was actually kind of an adventure because we ran short on time for the pictures we wanted taken before the ceremony. Kisa got a close friend of ours to speed up in his Jeep sweep us away to the most beautiful aspen grove, she snapped our favorite pictures of the day and then we speed back just in time for the ceremony!  The ceremony was performed by one of our dear friends, it was short and sweet and we were finally a married couple (WOO HOO). The rest of the night was great, we kept the wedding small just our very best friends and family so it was like a fun party. Great food, it was all amazing but the cupcakes were sinful. Good music, we used our IPOD as a DJ so we had a lot of fun making the play list for the day. That was part of what made our day really unique to us. It was a mix of everything like Dean Martin, lots of indie rock and even a few metal songs. There was a lot of fun dancing and laughs. The day was a blast.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their wedding?
Our advice is to keep it simple. Weddings have become this big event that can make people crazy. Just remember it’s about someone loving you so much they want to spend the rest of their life with you. We decided at the first stages of planning the wedding that if it stops being fun we were not going to do it.

Any final thoughts?

I had such a great time planning the wedding. Fabulous websites like this one, Offbeat Bride, and others make planning a wedding a lot easier for a couple like Nick and I, who are a little bit vintage and a little bit rock and roll!

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Green And Eco Wedding Invitations

More couples are saying “I Do” to green weddings these days, planning an eco-friendly big day. Invites are incredibly important when it comes to the initial planning process—invites set the tone and “first impression” for the wedding, and there are SO many options out there. Online invites or regular paper invites? Recycled paper? Eco-friendly inks? How does one stick with the “green wedding” philosophy, and what ARE the different “green wedding” options when it comes to letting everyone know about the big day?
We got that very question from one user and went to our Marriage.com forums to see how engaged couples, expert wedding professionals and married couples were responding to this question.
Anisha K. wrote “Does anyone have eco invitation ideas? We are trying to plan an eco wedding. We are still going to include traditional, paper invitations. But, are there ways to incorporate green alternatives for our invitations?” We’re glad she asked—this situation is so common nowadays, with many couples still liking customary paper invites while wanting to explore greener ways to implement them.

Alternative Paper
Marissa C. wrote: “There are options to use organic paper and ink. Such papers include cotton, hemp and bamboo.” And she’s right: nowadays, there are tons of options for 100% recycled or partially recycled papers from wedding invitation suppliers or designers—think handmade or DIY invitations too! Choose chlorine-free paper, no matter what you do, and look for vegetable or soy-based inks. If you really want to go tree-free, there are tons of tree-free paper made out of hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, banana stalks, discarded/reused cloth, flowers, silk, grass, and more—all very unique options which will create a lasting impression on your guests and look just as good as paper, if not even better!
Reducing Paper
Consider reducing the paper you include in your invites too—one user, Chaundra M., mentioned “I’ve seen pretty cute wedding invites that were just post cards—way better than having tons of envelopes and sheets of unnecessary paper, ribbons, and all of that kind of stuff.” Amanda K. also agreed, saying “There are plenty of ways to glam up your invites—extra pieces of paper aren’t the only way to do it!” It’s also a great way to reduce the cost of postage, if you’re on a budget—invitations are often bulky and heavy.
Online Alternatives
Want to avoid using all paper? Marissa G. suggested: “What about using online invitations or a wedding website instead of paper stationery? I know it may not seem traditional, but I notice more and more couples using these online options…”—very true! If you’re on a budget and want to stay “green”, online invites or wedding websites are inexpensive and eco-friendly to the max. Plus, they can be easily personalized—match invites exactly to your wedding colors, add photos, favorite songs, details, and even videos! Also, the RSVP process online is MUCH easier. Not only is there less hassle (no RSVPs lost in the mail, mailed late, or missed calls on your answering machine), but it’s so straightforward —simply view all the RSVPs online instead of trying to collect them on your own.
Do Both
In the end, what’s one easy option for Anisha or other brides who are thinking of a paper/online invite duo? “Have guests RSVP online instead of mail back responses,” suggested Amanda K. “My friend just did this and it was a super cute way to get to her custom-made website.” We think the best alternative is send out eco-friendly paper invites made from an organic, recycled, or alternative types of paper (with limited extra fluff and inserts, of course. Extra waste? No thanks!) with a link to your personalized wedding website where guests can directly RSVP online. If you add photos, venue details, and all of the extra information that you couldn’t fit on a tiny slip of paper, your guests, wallet, and Mother Earth will thank you!

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Beach Wedding Invitation

If you're planning a wedding on the sand, you need an appropriate beach wedding invitation to share your celebration with family members and friends. Fortunately, beach weddings are growing more and more popular, and there are many beautiful wedding invitation designs that can coordinate with sandy nuptials.

Coordinating a Themed Invitation

The first notice your prospective guests have about your wedding theme is through your invitation. A beach design is instantly recognizable and will let guests know how you plan to celebrate your union, but the invitation should also be coordinated in other ways. Many beach invitations, for example, are brightly colored, but a bold color palette is not as appropriate for a formal evening affair. Instead, you can opt for softer shades or a monochrome look with a beach theme. There are many invitation colors available to match your wedding colors, but take care not to overdo your use of color. A beach wedding invitation should also match the style of the beach's geographical location: an invitation with a beach and lighthouse is perfect for a Maine beach wedding but less suitable for an Oahu beach wedding.

Beach Wedding Invitation Designs

There are hundreds of designs for beach themed invitations, just as there are many variations for traditional wedding invitations. The cards may be single sheets or folded, may include a vellum overlay or accents, and can be nearly any size or shape including edges scalloped like waves. Colors range from simple, formal monochromes to delicate pastels to vibrant rainbows. Most invitations, however, use a single beach-oriented image as a focal point, either as a border, background, or beautiful accent to the invitation text. Popular images for invitations for beach weddings include:

• Shells, starfish, or sand dollars
• Palm trees or tropical beach flowers
• Cruise ships or yachts
• Treasure maps
• Beach chairs
• Sandcastles
• Fish, seahorses, dolphins, sea turtles, or other marine life
• Waves, shorelines, or other basic beach scenes
• Sunsets over the beach
• Lighthouses or docks
• Pearls
• Flip flops, beach umbrellas, or other associated beach accessories

If a couple can't find the right beach invitations for their event, another option is to create photo invitations with pictures of the beach where they will wed. Basic beach images, such as hearts or the wedding date drawn in the surf, are popular images to choose. Couples can also search for invitations with destination or nautical themes for other options that may suit their beach wedding.

Adding Accents

Many couples choose to add accents to a basic wedding invitation to create a custom, personalized look. Popular accents for beach invitations include:

• Tulle or other lightweight ribbon, usually in white, teal, aqua, or other beach colors
• An enclosed packet of beach sand or sand glued to the paper
• Small shells glued to the invitation or enclosed with it
• Beach themed charms such as a shell, sand dollar, ship, or fish

When adding these accents, however, couples should be aware that they can drastically increase the price of the invitation and the postage necessary to deliver it.

Crucial Invitation Information

While the basic wedding invitation wording is the same for a beach wedding as for any other wedding, invitations to this type of destination wedding do require some special considerations.

• If many guests will need to travel to the event, the invitations should be mailed earlier to allow them to find the best travel deals and arrange for any other travel plans.
• Considerate couples will note if the ceremony will take place on the sand so guests can dress appropriately, especially for footwear.
• Many beaches have only limited parking available, and enclosing a map of the area and alternative parking is a good idea to help guests find the site with ease.

The right beach wedding invitation can help your celebration set sail with elegance and distinction. With dozens of designs to choose from and many retailers offering these themed invitations, every couple is sure to find the perfect beach note for their happily ever after.

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