Party Planning

I have to be honest here guys, December is sucking the life out of me. I swear. It's just one thing after another, every task taking a little piece of my sanity along with it. Don't get me wrong, life is good, I'm happy, no worries there. It's just that everything that needs to be done happens at once and I have to split into 15 me's to get it all done. Work is the main culprit, being followed closely by my "can't-say-no-to-anyone" projects for friends and family. And Christmas, ugh, don't get me started. Just over a week from Christmas and I'm not even halfway through my shopping list. I tried desperately to get all my bridesmaids together to look at dresses before BM H moves to Texas (next weekend) but it's just not going to work. And I've spent so much time trying to do MOH K's wedding stationery and BM S's photo thank you note cards and my own save-the-dates that I've completely slacked off on planning MOH K's Bachelorette party, which is in a month! Scold me, go ahead, I deserve it. But honestly I have the whole thing planned in my head and in a spreadsheet (lol) and all I have to do is finalize where we are having it. Yeah, that's the most important part. I'm working on it!

Since I'm trying to get that little shindig planned, I thought I'd share some of the things I'm going to try to do. I am only divulging this little bit of info because I know my sis doesn't read this blog. The plan is to have the all the bridesmaids and the bride-to-be meet first at my place to have snacks and wine and girlie time. Then we will go to the restaurant/bar (tbd) and have the rest of the guests meet there for dinner, dessert, more drinks, gifts, and dancing of course. I've got some cute ideas for games, party favors, and lots more.

The Theme: Classy and Fabulous

The Food:
My sis LOVES spinach artichoke dip. I found a relatively easy and delicious looking recipe over at Annie's Eats that I plan on attempting. If that doesn't work I'll go buy a batch of TGIFriday's frozen version :)

The Drinks:
Wine, hello! But not just any wine, my sister's fave Ed Hardy Sangria.

Ed Hardy Sangria

The Favors:
Glittered wine glasses for each girl in the bridal party.

Glittered Wine Glasses

And for the main event, we will have a game in which each guest brings a gift of a pair of panties. The bride then has to guess who brought what panties as she opens them. This was her idea, and I think with 16 people on the guest list she will have her work cut out for her!

I also plan on having a few little "giveaways" which will consist of sets of cocktailing accessories that we make at my work...

A small sampling of our products. From top left: can hugger, coaster, beverage napkin,
bottle tote, bottle attire, and another bottle tote - personal image

I'm working on the invites now, and I will share with you once they are sent out and we have some responses. But one thing I've incorporated into it is a QR code that links to a website I set up that gives guests information about the party. They can RSVP there, get maps to the event, and much more.  Unnecessary? Maybe for some, but to me the thought of getting an invitation with a QR code on it, scanning it with my phone, and RSVP'ing right on the website is pretty cool and simple! What do you think?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Color of the Year 2013

Pantone has announced the color of the year for 2013! I always get so excited to see what it is every year! For those of you who aren't designers or in the fashion or home decor fields, Pantone is a company that creates color management tools for people in those fields. They also predict the trend colors for every year, and are usually right on. They just announced that the color of the year for 2013 will be...

Emerald! - via Pantone

Such a crisp and earthy color! I think we can expect to start seeing even more of this color in wedding palettes very soon. I have already seen some really cute wedding ideas utilizing this color:

Fringy Emerald & Aqua Garland - Design Sponge

Emerald Fringe Place Cards - Design Sponge

Emerald & Aqua Invitation Suite (I'm sensing a theme here with the aqua) - Oh So Beautiful Paper

Emerald Shoes! - Style Me Pretty

Centerpieces and Table Settings - Elizabeth Anne Designs

Mossy Ring Bearer's Pillow - Your Perfect Day blog

Bouquet - My Wedding Place blog

Textured Cake with Emerald Band - Silver Spoon Cakes

This color also makes me think of Irish weddings. And since I have an Irish heritage, I would want to incorporate a little "luck" into my wedding day with these cute garters:

Getting "lucky" on your wedding night? haha! - Etsy

Happy planning!

Miss Spaghetti

Vows and Public Speaking

I am at a loss for words to describe how crazy busy this week is for me. We have our National Sales Conference at work starting tonight through Friday evening, and yours truly gets to do her own presentation! Woo hoo!

Can you sense my excitement? I'm one of those crazy people who actually doesn't mind speaking in front of large groups. I used to love speech and debate in high school and college. Sick, isn't it! So my presentation is tomorrow, and as weird as it sounds, it has got me thinking about our vows. Mr. S and I decided a loooooong time ago that we wanted to write at least some of our vows ourselves. I told him I would probably not pre-write anything, and I would just say what was in my heart when we get up there. Maybe I'm crazy? But I just know I'll get up there, and start talking without even reading what I've written anyway! I think he is a bit more nervous about it, since he is NOT a fan of public speaking. Even though it will be a crowd of family and close friends, I think it will be much harder for him than it will be for me.

Our officiant is a very close family friend of my dad's since they were kids. He's like an uncle to me, and has been a part of the family as long as I can remember. I love that our ceremony is going to be a close, meaningful event that is about our marriage. It is what I've always dreamed of, and writing a portion of our own vows just makes it that much more sentimental to me. Did anyone else write their own vows?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Thinking of My Grandma

This weekend was my Grandma's 82nd birthday. She's had a lot of health problems in her later years, including a recent stint in a rehab hospital after cracking her hip during a fall. She not cannot be left alone even for a minute. Luckily, my mom lives with her, and she is there to take care of her. My sister (MOH K), my cousin (BM S) and I went in on a photo book for her birthday gift. We put pics of S's wedding, K's engagements (her wedding is in February) and Mr. S and my engagements. She loved it, as I expected she would since she could spend hours just looking at pics of our family. After we left though, my mom texted and told me that Gram asked her what the book was. Gram thought she was seeing it for the first time. Yep, dementia. She's been more and more forgetful, but after her last surgery she's been really bad.

I've always wanted my Grandma to be there when I get married. She means the world to me, and she's the one Grandparent that I have left in this world. But I feel so bad that she probably won't remember even being there. I don't think I would feel complete if she weren't at our wedding. I'm beginning to worry that even if she's still physically in this world in June, she might not be physically or mentally able to come.

These are just some thoughts I've been having since seeing my Gram on Saturday. I wanted to share in hopes that others had family or friends that were not able, or were no longer there to celebrate this time with them. Anyone had an experience like this during their wedding planning?

Miss Spaghetti