We got hitched!! Part One

We did it!
And it turned out awesome! All our hard work was so worth it.
Our theme was essentially "home made" but it was also "Alice in Wonderland." I know a lot of people had a hard time understanding how that was all going to fit together, but I think they understood once they saw it.
We wanted it to contain aspects of all the things we love: hand made, Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, Harry Potter, zombies, ninjas, good food, beer, etc. But most of all we wanted it to be fun.
Jess and I have been together for ten years, so it feels like we've already been married for awhile now. And since neither one of us likes being the center of attention, so we tried to make it less about "everyone gush over the happy couple" and more of the coming together of families and friends.
Since I have a ton of pictures, I thought I would separate them and do two posts. This one I thought I would just show all the decorations we had worked on. The next post I'll put pictures of the actual wedding.
But first, I wanted to show off the awesome gifts that we received at our rehearsal dinner.
We got this painting of Sally and Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" from my friend Valerie and her brother Brian. Brian painted it

Here's the nameplate:
Our friend Viet painted this for usWe have really talented friends!
Malachi already wants some beer. Uncle Jess was very proud
Our wedding was held in Jess's brother Paul's backyard.
We didn't really have a dance floor, so we improvised. Jess made pillars to hang paper lanterns from
I crocheted party favors for the guests. Here's little guys I created using patterns from Christen Haden's book "Creepy Cute Crochet"
Here's a ninja
Here's some Pygmy Puffs (Harry Potter) from this pattern: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/crafts/crochet/pygmypuff
I made Mome Raths based on this: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/07/crafts_by_alices_crocheted_mom.htmlI crocheted our wedding cake. The goblets next to it were a gift from my aunt and uncle. Thanks Neenie and Woody!
Jess made five or six batches of homemade beer and mead and gave them all Alice in Wonderland theme names like "The Mad Hatter's Tea" and "Beware the Jabberwock."
For center pieces, we just filled mason jars with buttons, put one of those battery-powered LED lights on top, put tulle over the jar and put the lid back on with ribbon. My Mom sewed checker board placemats
Paul really doesn't like their shed and his wife Melissa really dislikes this big mirror they have, so Paul and Jess made a "looking glass." They covered the shed with yellow plastic and put the big mirror in front. Tada!
It worked out perfectly because all the little ones enjoyed looking at themselves in the mirror.
Jess and I made the Mad Hatter and the March Hare out of sculpey clay
They sat next to the guest book Jess made and the card cage I decorated.
These were our centerpieces at the food table that my friend Kellie helped me put together
Here was our kids table. The adults seemed to like it too
I glued tea cups to dowels and make these cute little path markers. We put LED lights in them and lit 'em up.
I also made big flowers out of ribbon and yarn, but didn't really get any good pictures of those.
We had a lot of fun making everything and wished we had more time to do more. But Paul and Melissa's backyard was so beautiful it didn't need that much.
Thanks again for letting us invade your house, Paul, Melissa, and Malachi! We love you guys!

Gifts from the heart

We love our friends. They are awesome. They have helped us out so much that we wanted to do something special for them.
Our friend, Viet, is making our wedding bands and is also going to be our "flower girl" even though he is a 29 year old man.
He is also a big fan of the show "Futurama." So I decided to crochet him "Dr. Zoidberg":
I think he turned out really adorable. I might just have to make myself one, too ;)
Our officiant is our friend Dustin who happens to be fond of "Star Wars." What does one make a "Star Wars" fan? Why, a crocheted Boba Fett, of course!
I'm such a nerdHere's his jetpack:
That's pretty much what I've been working on. All my free time goes towards crocheting. And I love every minute of it ;)

Time flies when you're not prepared...

Ok, so it's not that we aren't prepared, it's that we still have so much left to do to Paul and Melissa's yard. We went over to their house to start planning what we want to accomplish and I think I spent more time playing with Malachi.


How can you resist? Too cute :)
Two more months exactly till my wedding.
Whoa...
I can't believe how many wonderful people I have in my life. So many friends and family doing what they can to make me and Jess feel special. We feel so loved :) You guys are awesome!
And holy crap! Our guest list is almost up to 200, and we could have kept going.
There are some people who are no longer a part of my life, and they are definitely not missed. I found out some things after the fact that I wasn't aware of and I am now ecstatic that they are gone. And I wish I could take back all the nice things I said to them, but have no desire to ever speak to them again. I don't need those deceptive people in my life.
I know I am not the easiest person to be close friends with (I have to have my alone time, I have a hard time trusting people, etc.) but those who understand that that is just the way I am are friends worth having.
And apparently, I have a lot of them :)
I had an amazing bridal shower that I was apprehensive about at first because I don't feel comfortable making people buy me presents, but it was a lot of fun. Rachel, Melissa, and Valerie put it together at my Mom's house. Thank you everybody!!! Unfortunately we had to change the date because of the weather, so not everyone could attend, but I think it was for the better. I don't think I could have handled many more people. I'm trying so hard to get used to being the center of attention. Meh.



My amazing friend Kellie helped me with the bouquets and the corsages and they are so much better than what I imagined. Thanks Kellie!! You are so talented, my friend!
Sorry, I really want to show them off but I don't want to give away too much so no pictures until after the wedding.
The same goes for the decorations, party favors, and other stuff we have planned. Let's just say that we have a lot of surprises up our sleeves and it will definitely be a lot of fun.
People seem very curious about our Alice in Wonderland/homemade theme. Hee hee! You never know what you might see! We're silly that way ;)
Everyone seemed to love our wedding invitations (I can post pictures of them because they have already been sent). Jess and I (well, mostly I) designed them. Not too much lovey dovey (that's just not our style) and lots of humor and mischief. Awesome.






The back of the cards:


We made these golden tickets for the people who are attending the ceremony. It would be way too much to have everyone there, so we're inviting immediate family, close friends, and people who are traveling from other states or countries. We wish we could have everyone there, but the yard would just be too crowded.
Yay! That's about all for now.

Ten little things that make me happy today

Free Lunch – It’s only fair that I get a sandwich too, after the guys at my work forgot to tell me that they had this big meeting today and I had to scramble to get lunch for them.


People named “Kermit” – Seriously. I got a letter today at work from a man named “Kermit.” That’s awesome.


The thought of going to see my family – Jess and I are going to Arizona for Thanksgiving and he finally gets to meet some more of my Mom’s side of the family. My Uncle Curt will be there, my cousin Shane and his wife (whom I’ve never met), and possibly even my cousin Josh. Jess hasn’t met any of them yet and I'm excited!

Friends coming back from other states and distant countries – Yay friends! I've missed you!

Vetoing a money-induced Christmas that starts before Halloween is even over – That was ridiculous. It was the day before Halloween and some of the stores I went to were already taking down the Halloween stuff and putting up nothing but Christmas stuff. What the crap?!? So, Thanksgiving doesn’t even count anymore? There are still people who buy Halloween stuff the day before Halloween. I would be dorky enough to do that.
Because of this and the fact that the radio is already playing Christmas music (and because we are extremely broke), I am going to spend as little money as possible on Christmas decorations and paraphernalia and make my own. Plus, I don’t have to have Santas and reindeer and all the other overdone symbols of Christmas and just make spooky decorations so that Halloween is three months long instead. Ha! Take that Christmas!! But my “Hallow-mas” is awesome because you not only get candy, you get presents too!!!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like Christmas. It’s just that the stupid stores, radio stations, T.V. commercials and everything else that starts with the Christmas sh!t way too early have a tendency to ruin it for me. It’s overkill, and you know the only reason they make such a big deal about Christmas is so that we’ll spend more money. That’s not what Christmas should be about. Oh! I forgot about all the people in my family who are Scrooges and big downers and ruin the whole thing for me too. My family is not that big and the Scrooges outnumber the non-Scrooges. I think it’s probably because we don’t have any little ones in our family. It’s too bad that grownups need children around to get them in the holiday spirit.


Finding friends who share the same interests – The internet is an amazing thing. Without it, I would truly feel like an outcast. Who knew there were so many weirdoes out there just like me who love to create and make things out of paper, thread, paint, yarn, buttons, etc., who love to cook and bake like I do, who love all these obscure bands just like me, who know and love movies that not many people have heard of, and who still are a bit on the childish side. And oddly enough, a lot of them have birthdays in October too. Weird!



My kitty sleeping (and purring) at my side or in my lap– This is the first pet that's been mine and only mine. My other pets belonged to the whole family, not just me (well, technically, Sally belongs to Jesse too, but he's my other half, so it counts). I never knew how comforting it is to have a purring kitty at your side until I had one. It’s meditative, like knitting. She's so sweet and loving and mischievous and bratty, just like me ;)




New projects -Don't get me wrong, I love my current projects. But when it comes to crafting, I have a form of ADD. I am easily distracted, especially when I find a really cool pattern for a scarf or get it in my head that I need to play with sculpy right now! That would be why I have so many unfinished projects. *sigh*



Soup – I love soup. Especially Jesse’s homemade potato soup. It’s never the same every time he makes it. Sometimes it’s potato and leek soup, sometimes he uses sweet potatoes, sometimes he adds celery; but every time it’s scrumptious. With so many varieties, I could eat it for every meal and never get sick of it.


Ghost Hunters - I am addicted to that show now. I blame Brian. It just gives me more reason to believe in ghosts. Like I really needed one ;)