There is just no end of fun characters when dealing with a wedding. I love it.
Today, I had the job of purchasing stamps. After staring at this wall of stamps for about ten minutes, I finally picked a very basic (ie kinda boring) stamp. The choices were a bit more limited than I had imagined.
I go to the counter and meet Interesting Invitations Character #2 in the form of an older gentleman who resembled Santa Claus. (I would be willling to assume he works the malls during the season.)
I plunked down my 200 stamps or so (response card stamps included) and he looks at me over his glasses.
“Now….are these for a wedding?” (Santa speaks slowly and deliberately.)
“Yes, sir.”
“Alright…..now….have you had…..your invitations….weighed?”
I see where this is going. “No, I haven’t. I could bring one in though-”
“Because…..I’ve seen many disappointed brides…..all ready to mail their invitations…..and they’re too heavy for….the 37 cent stamp..I’m just…not comfortable..selling you….these 37 cents….unless….you’re sure…the invitation…requires…the 37 cent..stamp.”
“Okay, that makes sense, I don’t suppose there’s a one or two cent stamp-”
“Let me explain to you ….how this works, okay?….There’s a 37 cent stamp…..and there’s the 60 cent stamp……if the invitation is…..too heavy, okay,… for the….37 cent stamp….you HAVE to….buy the 60 cent stamps…,okay…”
“Well, thank you, I’ll have to check on-”
“Do you have… an invitation…with you?”
“No, no, I don’t, but I’ll bring one-.”
“Because….I would really….feel more comfortable….selling you these, okay………if you could…..bring in and weigh…..one of your invitations…”

A more assertive counterpart of myself may have had the nerve to say, “You are..inadvertantly…..speaking to me….in a somewhat….condescending…manner….although…..I appreciate…your..help….I would…..appreciate…..it even more….if you could….speak…more as if…you were communicating…to someone…you consider….your intellectual….equal…”

But I said,”Okay, I will be sure to do that. Thank you.”

Now, in fairness to Santa, I was dressed in a fashion style reminscient of Britney now that she’s in her laid-back pregnancy stage. Lacking make-up, fitting clothes, or clean hair for that matter, I’m sure I looked like a 12 year old junior bridesmaid on a mission. And I do realize that he was only trying to help, and for that, I am appreciative.
So here’s where I’m probably more stubborn than necessary- not to mention passively aggressive. I returned the stamps back to the shelf, drove all the way home, got an invitation example, and drove to another post office branch to have it weighed.
Happy ending- the invitations do only require the 37 cent stamp. Boo-ya.

Yesterday was the only day I had off work last week, and mom and I took full advantage. First we called the Polo Club and made our appointment to discuss the menu. (Only a month or so later than we should have. So much for thinking they would call us.)
Then we drove down to Buckhead and went to a wholesale flower warehouse. I’m trying to make flower decisions without a florist, and I wanted to see some flowers in person before ordering a mass order. (We all remember what happened with the Lily of Valley fiasco.) But we weren’t totally sure they were going to let us in, since we don’t have a business license….or any intent to purchase.
Not surprisingingly, we’ve never been to a wholesale flower warehouse. We walked in and just stood in the first room wondering where the receptionist was. I kept trying to make eye contact with one of the workers there, only to figure out later that some people were actually florists making their purchases. I must have looked like the friendliest little weirdo, smiling and staring at everyone.
Finally, a guy came to our assistance and we were escorted to the large storage room. A walk-in freezer, if you will. Mom and I turned into shivering, curious two year olds. “What’s that? What’s this called? What’s this one?” We ran into the cutest, NICEST florist. She works out of her home, and she was kind enough to answer any flower question we asked her. Not really thinking, but wanting to show my appreciation, I asked for her card. Even though I pleaded a strong case, Mom is of the opinion that we use a local florist whom we can actually get in touch with. So we can’t use her, but I would love it if someone else could. Here’s her information:

Katie Wickstrum
katietraynor@hotmail.com
(404) 229- 3268

Someone please call her. Please. She was so nice.

After leaving the warehouse, we were so cold we just sat in the sun heated car without any air on.
Our next trek was up to Cumming and to where I honestly thought a Publix was located. (ie wedding cake time!) We had to fight Memorial Day weekend’s rush hour traffic for about an hour. We eventually made it to highway 141. And we kept driving. As it turns out, the Publix is off highway 9, not 141. Numbers. We only drove a half hour or so out of the way. The only thing that kept us going was that I had heard this Publix gives free samples of their wedding cakes to help you decide what you want. Well, we went through the whole cake choosing process and we walked out without ANY free samples. By this point, I’d worked myself into such a sugar craving, we had to stop for an ice cream. Good way to end the day, eh?

Only 60 days to go! That’s like, 8 weeks! It seems like time is on a rush schedule. Josh and I did a count down just the other day- or what seemed like the other day. We counted 76 days and felt like that was a long time. A few days later and suddenly it’s only 60! Now I’m starting to hit that mode- we won’t say “panic” because that’s too cliche. We’ll say ‘target sighted and locked” mode. Progress is being made, but I can’t let that distract me. There’s always something else to do. That’s the Bride’s mantra, I think.
But today was a pretty productive day, I must say. We rented some of the decorations for the church, signed approval on the invitation proofs, and ordered another sample of potential flowers.
Speaking of invitations, I got a crash course today in proper invitation etiquette. A Swoozies (“Paper, Presents and Pizazz!”) representative was going over the proofs with me, and let me tell you; she knew her stuff. We’ll call her Ms. Post. First, she informed me that including my mom’s name with the return address on the back of the invitation envelope was “not how you do it” and “it would look like a mistake.” Oops.
Later, while discussing the same return address, I was told that Josh and I had forgotten to include it in our original designs. And since we chose a font that Swoozie’s doesn’t carry, they wanted Josh to type the address on his computer that does have the font, burn it on a disc, and bring it in.
That seemed like a lot of effort for two lines on the back on an envelope. I suggested that we just use a font similar to ours that Swoozies does carry. That was a really bad suggestion. Ms. Post shook her head adamantly and said that “if we were going to do that, we might as well include her name on the back! That’s even worse.” I immediately felt deeply apologetic for my ignorance.
However, I have to say that every person who works there is incredibly nice and helpful, so I’ll do whatever they tell me. The only problem I have with Swoozies is that every time I go in there to check on the invitations or to ask questions, I immediately see three or four things I HAVE to buy. Stupid “pizazz.” But I have to admit, I love it when instead of asking if you want something gift wrapped, they offer to “swoozie it up for you.”

Oh, and for the heroic end to the story, Josh called the graphic artist and explained to her how to pull the font from the file he had already given her. He’s a genius, is he not? Oh, and Josh, we got lots of compliments on our design- even from Ms. Emily Post herself. Total success.

About a month ago, Lauren and I stumbled upon a great apartment loft right near the Marietta Square. At the time though, it was too early to reserve a spot for July. But we had to have it.

Time elapsed.

We didn’t look anywhere else after finding out about Brumby and just prayed that a place would be available when the time was right. Well we got more than we had expected upon our visit this past Sunday and we walked away with our first home. Click on the thumbnail below to view a selection of photos we took of the place. And be sure to roll your mouse over the image to see the captions.

The basics:
It’s a 2 bedroom, one bathroom loft in Marietta, GA.
We’ll probably use one of the bedrooms as an office/workspace area.
Big ceilings, 1050 sq ft.
I move in June 1st. Lauren moves in after the honeymoon. :)
Fun. Awesome.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Happy, Happy Birthday to two Beautiful Bridesmaids. Annie Petrella is turning 18 today. She is officially legal to vote, buy tobacco products, and make her own medical decisions. Hopefully, she won’t need take advantage of all of these newfound freedoms, but nonetheless, a happy birthday shout out to her. We held a family party for her last night.
Also celebrating is Miss Tiffany Teague. We love and miss you Tiffany! But we’re also very proud of you as you’re living your dream of fashion design in Paris. If you haven’t already checked your mail, be on the lookout for a few cards from the States. I know I speak for everyone when we say that we can’t wait to see you in a few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy Paris. Eat a cute little french birthday dessert for me. =)
I love the fact that two of the coolest sisters we know share the same birthday. What are the odds? It makes it easier for me to remember the date, that’s for sure.
We love you and hope you both have a wonderful birthday.

My mom and I thought it would be both creative and economic of us to do our own flowers. So we read up on the best deals in our beloved Bridal Bargains and found one website we thought would be perfect. I went through the online photos, get all excited about lily of the valley, and placed a rather expensive trial order. The site owners went through all the trouble of contacting me by phone AND email to confirm the date of delivery and sent us a sturdy looking three foot tall box. It seemed like excellent customer service.

Packed inside the innermost realms was the saddest little bouquet. The only container of appropriate size to hold it was a mug. A vase would have drowned the poor thing.
But it wasn’t the size that was concerning. It was the fact that the leaves were so pale, it was like chlorophyll was unheard of. Essentially, I had spent 60 bucks on yellow grass with white flowers.
The saddest part is that I think I got my heart set on this one particular flower. Am I becoming one of those demanding and obnoxious brides?

Disclaimer: My apologies to all the guys. I know the eyes must have glazed over with this post. Ladies, I hope you’ll appreciate my need to share an anecdote about floral woes.