Belly Bands... Like a Hug for Your Invitations

Oh man, Hive, ever since I talked about Packing the Invitations, I've had belly bands on my mind. I've gone through weird belly band phases, where I thought they were just okay, and then loved them, then just okay, and then loved them again.

Well, right now, I currently love them. Love. Them. It amazes me how creative people can get with the bands, and how fantastic they can all look, even if they are different.

I've decided that showing you just 2 photos in my last won't do. I hereby dedicate this enire post to belly bands. That's right! In honor of the hug for our invitations, here are all kinds of belly band eye candy.

Enjoy.

Monogram belly bands! (source 1, source 2, source 3)

Patterned belly bands! (source 1, source 2, source 3)


Fat Belly Bands!
Skinny belly bands!
Belly bands with a seal! (source 1). I found the second image on Google, and the source takes to me a spammy pop-up site, so let me know if you guys have seen it before. Thanks!

Hippo Wedding bands!
Random uncategorized awesome belly bands! (source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5).




Ahhhhh! So much goodness!

All right, Hive. Let's see 'em. Hands up! Who loves belly bands?!

InDesign Info: Money Saving Wallets

It's been too long of a wait for another tech tutorial! We’ve already learned about dotted lines, glyphs, zig zag lines, black & white effects, and thank you masks. Today, we're taking our first stab at InDesign. I personally prefer ID, but if you don't, have no worries. This will be easy!

Have you ever seen invitations that include a photo? Of course you have! Mama Giraffe and Daddy G once received one that included a wallet size photo of the couple and I mentally filed the idea away. I love it. Mr. G and I will be doing this for sure - many of my family members haven't met him yet so I would love for them to get to know "us" a little bit better for the big day.

Here's the thing, Hive, which I find totally strange. Wallet sized photos cost more than your average 4"x6" photo. I'll break it down for you. (Although, keep in mind, wallets come 4 per sheet).

• Winkflash: 4x6 = ¢.08, Wallets = ¢.39 (I order from here all the time, they're great!)
  
• Snapfish: 4x6 = ¢.09, Wallets = ¢.99
• Walgreens: 4x6 = ¢.1o, Wallets = ¢.99
• Shutterfly: 4x6 = ¢.15, Wallets = $1.79

Okay, you guys get the point. Here's the thing, though, you can make your own wallets on one 4x6" page, and the pay the 4x6 price. That's what I'll be doing! You'll be amazed at how easy it is!

Before we begin: All screenshots come from InDesign CS5 on a Mac. Once again, things are comparable to a PC.

Step 1) Make a new document. Type in 6in for the width and 4in for the height. Set your margins to 0. Then click "OK."
Step 2. Once you have your new document open, make a new rectangle
Press the key "M" for the rectangle tool. Then click once and the rectangle dialog box will come up.
Type in "3in" for the width and "2in" for the height. Click "OK".
Then a new rectangle will appear on your screen. Yay!

Step 4.
Use your cursor to move your rectangle to the top left corner of your document. Just click down and drag.
Step 5. Click on your rectangle to select it. The go to File > Place.
A dialog box will pop up. Find the photo you're looking for. Choose it, and click open.
Step 6. InDesign will place the photo into the rectangle you made. My photo is larger than the box I made, so only part of it shows up.
To fix this, go to Object > Fitting > Fit Content Proportionally. You can also use my favorite ID key command which is command+shift+option+E (I use this one all the time!).
Then you're photo will fit like so:
Step 7. Simply Copy & Paste (you can go to edit>copy and edit>paste) so you have for photos. Simply click and drag each photo to each corner of the page.
Step 8. Now, all we have left is to make a JPG. Chose File>Export (key command: command +E).
When the dialog box pops up, name your photo and choose JPG at the bottom.
Another dialog box pops up, and this one is important. Choose "Maximum" for quality, set your resolution as 300, and your color space as CMYK.
Click "Export" !

And that's it! It is that easy! Now all you have to do is upload it to your photo program and order your wallets. Depending how many you order, you could save whole dollars! Hey, every little bit helps!

Anybody tucking wallet photos into their invites?

Packing the Invitations!?

Hive, I'm still alive, I promise you. Lately, I've been so busy. There was a crazy awesome shower I can't wait to tell you about and tons of other stuff going on. I clearly need to quit my job so I can wedding plan & blog full time.

Anyway, I have to talk a little about invitations today. Sure, I should be assembling my invitations this week, but I'm a FAIL bride seeing as I just sent them to print on Monday. I'm going to want to get them out ASAP because it took me forever to send them to print, which means I have to make decisions!

Oh wait, what? I'm horrible at making decisions.

You'd think designing the invitations was the hard part, you's think when that part was over, that you're on easy street. Well you're wrong, or at least I was.

See, before you send out your invitations, you have to decided how to package them, per se. Making this decision is literally making me uncomfortable because I simply cannot decided. If I haven't been able to make my mind up in the last 2 years, I don't know how I expected myself to do it in a week, but I've gotta!

Here are our options, guys.

1. The ever popular belly band. Always classy, avoids the need for inner envelopes therefore saving you some money on postage. Source

2. You can also rock the belly band with ribbon. I love this. Source
3. The pocketfold. These also look nice and even expensive, but I personally don't want to use one because I feel everyone around my area uses them. I wanted something a little different.

4. The always traditional, but also reliable, inner envelope.
5. The invitation folder. I love how these look, and you still get the "BAM" factor of a pocketfold, without the actual pocketfold.
6. The notched ribbon. Both genius and sexy.
7. The clear envelope. Easily the most hip option here.
8. Baker's twine. All brides have to love baker's twine; it's like a wedding law.
9. The Vellum Envelope (a la Mrs. Gloss). I love everything about this look, and that's all I can say about that.
I know, I know, it's almost too many options.

I'd love to know what you guys are doing! So, hive, how are you packaging your invitations?

Outta Site!

Here's the thing, hive, I was totally anti-wedding website. I thought they were nice, but I didn't think people really needed them (unless you're having a destination wedding). . . I was seriously against them. I felt they were really just time (and maybe a little cash) that I didn't want to spend.

There. End of story.

Except. . . Except the Ostrich has one. And when she told us about hers, then I had to have one.

Gerbera commented on Miss O's post that she used Yola to create her wedding site. Gerbera was even nice enough to share her site with me (thanks!). It was like a light bulb going off above my head. See, I all read have a paid Yola account and 1 site through them. Funny story, if you have a (paid) account with them, you can make up to 25 sites. I also never used the credit they give you for a domain name, so I got that for free too!

Whoo! The only Yola downside is that you have to use one of their templates. Honestly though, once you begin with the template, you can then customize most backgrounds and headers (each template lets you know what's customizable before you choose it).

Here's my advice to you guys, because I kind of felt the same way. Don't be turned off by places where you have to use their templates or options. Yola's site builder is super easy to use and navigate so I was able to turn a blah template into something I loved. Part of me does feel a little silly creating a site so close to the wedding, but whatever. I'm more excited than anything else.

Here's where I started:

Yola Screenshot

And here's where I finished:

With the customizable background, I was able to make a heart-argyle (heartgyle!) pattern in Illustrator and use it on our website.

Anybody else have a wedding change of heart about something?

Gift Expectations

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . Just kidding! But wedding planning does make you think like that sometimes, doesn’t it? For realsies.

Anyway Hive, here’s a weird story for you. This was all back in Mid-December, by the way. Sure, it was a little while ago, but just go with it. (source)

I live with the Giraffe parents, and we get a local newspaper a few days a week, and the Chicago Trib on Sunday mornings. Shortly before the holidays, we received our paper and rubber-banded to the outside of it, was a half sheet of orange construction paper.

When we opened the paper, that was clearly cut (possibly with kid's scissors) in half. It said in marker “Merry X-Mas”. On the side, also in sloppy marker handwriting was a name, address, and “NO checks.” There were also two snowflakes drawn with blue marker, I guess that made it festive.

Okay, wait, what? Clearly our paper person was expecting something from us for the holidays. I think this is weird. It would be one thing if we had made our own decision before they left us the note, but we didn’t. I also think it’s weird because, my family has never once even seen our paper delivery person. They drop they paper off super early. What it seemed like to us, was that this person whom we’ve never seen, talked to, or received any other notes from before, was expecting a gift from us.

I’m sure you guys know where I’m going; this is a wedding site, after all ;-).

What about wedding gifts? Do we/should we expect them?

Until I got into wedding planning, I had no idea how expensive weddings can be. I now try to follow the rule of covering your plate, but I realize this doesn’t always happen. The last wedding Mr. Giraffe and I attended together, we gave a gift of $50 for the both of us. I doubt it covered both our plates, but Mr. G was still in school and I was making $80 a week at the grocery store. We really couldn’t afford much else.

Here’s where I stand I guess, to be honest, a little bit of me does expect gifts. This could be because people have been asking where we’re registered. I mean, hey, if you get us something I’m not going to complain! (source)

On the other hand, my friends are all in their early 20s We have no money, I get it, I’m there too. (Although I would have money if it wasn’t for this wedding hehehe, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!). A lot of my friends are making minimum wage and have rent and food to worry about. I’d much rather them show up to the wedding sans gift, rather than spend money they seriously need on us. My wedding isn’t a business; I mean, I like gifts as much as the next person, but I don’t expect my friends to buy me all that Le Creuset cookware. Yeah, it’s on my registry, but that’s because I’m saving up for it myself. I’ll hopefully be using my ‘registry completion’ discount in the future.

I also realize that some people (actually, a lot of people) will be traveling from out of state to sweet home Chicago. Traveling is a lot of money, yo! (I know that is expensive for serious seeing as I just bought a plane ticket to fly Mr. G out for his bachelor party camping, hiking, skiing week about 15 minutes ago). It's hard to expect people to buy you gifts when they're using their money to come out for you in the first place.

Bottom line? I want friends and family to be part of our day. Them being present (ha!) for our wedding means a lot more than any gift the could get us.

. . . unless, of course, it's the matching Snuggies we registered for, because I'm sure those would mean a lot.

What about you, hive? What are your gift expectations?

Like the Fourth of July

Yes, I'm continuing with my Katy Perry references. Don't judge me ;-).

Hive, hive, hive, I've got some news for you all. You see, ever since I shared my big news that Daddy G (who works for Melrose Pyrotechnics) surprised me with the fact that we'll be having fireworks at our reception, it's all I can think about.

Picture fireworks right now. Did you do it yet? Amazing. Now picture them at a wedding reception. Double Amazing, you say?

Well, that's what I said too, and then I realized that my imagination couldn't do it justice. I could let you enjoy all of those pretty images in your head, but instead I just have to show you what I'm looking forward to. No, the fireworks in these photos weren't done by my dad, but they are amazing and I can only hope for something this epic on my big day.

Enough talking; on to the goods!source

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What are you guys looking forward to on your big day?

My Space

Mr. Giraffe and I are currently in the middle of a fight. Just thought I'd let you all know.

What is the fight about, you ask? Who knows. I'm pretty sure it was not a big deal and then got completely blown out of proportion and then, due to us being at least a little immature, we're now in deep freeze mode and being frosty to each other.

She's clearly thinking, "He forgot to order the centerpieces!"

Does this bother me? I mean, does it bother me that we fight? No, not at all. Everybody fights. I think anyone in a stable, long term relationship knows that relationships are, indeed, work and to make them strong and lasting, communication has to happen. Of course, there are those time where communication isn't quite clean and lines get crossed and then misunderstandings happen. Totally normal, I get it; no sweat of my back.

Not to mention that Mr. Giraffe and I both have strong personalities. You put someone as stubborn as Mr. G, next to someone who is as "my way or the high way" like me and we're bound to butt heads. It happens, no big deal.

Fights happen, arguments happen, and I'm sure there are plenty of relationships where maybe it doesn't seem worth the work to make it past the bumps in the road (or giant hills, if the case may be).

In my world, an argument with Mr. Giraffe is essentially meaningless. This doesn't mean I don't like to work things out and (of course, maybe more than anything else) make my opinion heard, but, honestly, arguing is a lot of work. It's tiring. In the grand scheme of things, never once has a disagreement with my main squeeze changed my view of our future together. Even when I'm rolling my eyes at the kid and getting annoyed, I still want to get married, have a million babies, and grow old and wrinkly together.

So why am I telling you guys this now? Well, here's the thing: Mr. Giraffe and I deal with arguments and the anger that comes with them differently. I get angry, pout (usually a lot), and then subsequently get over it.

Mr. Giraffe, on the other hand, needs space. Whenever he gets angry, directly afterwards, he wants to be left alone. He wants his space, he doesn't want to be talked to, and he doesn't want to be bothered.

I get it. Of course, 5 years ago, I didn't get it and him walking away from me after an argument made me more upset and just made a whole mess of everything. Now, he tells me he needs space, and I give it to him. Then we move on and have happily ever after.

This is where I'm thinking trouble might happen. My freshman and sophomore years of college, Mr. G and I lived on floor 11 and 12 of the same dorm. In the same way a new relationship infatuates you with one another, we spent probably every waking minute not in class together. We still had our separate spaces, our separate dorm rooms, though. Junior year, I was in an apartment and he was in a dorm. My senior year we lived in a four bedroom apartment with two other room mates. We spent nearly all our time with each other (and sharing a place is seriously awesome), but we still had our own rooms.

Now, I live with the Giraffe parents to save money, and Mr. G lives in a 2 bedroom apartment with one of his brothers. Once again, we each have our own space.

In three months from now, we're not going to have our own space. We're going to live together. We're also going to have to share a bedroom (which, secretly, I kind of want my own). We're going to have the same bathroom, same kitchen, same everything. . . .

More importantly, where will I put all my stuff?

How do people do this?

Like I said, we argue sometimes, which is fine, but how to people work thorough their issues if they can't even get away from one another?

More importantly, why does everyone assume once I get married, I'm going to spend all this time with Mr. G? I mean, I love the guy of course, but I do have my own life.

So married/co-habiting bees, please let me know all your secrets. How do you manage without your own space?