Wedding update

Well, we've been engaged for 8 months now, 7 months to go until the wedding.

Luke & I met at a race. We've run constantly throughout our 3 years. Gone to many races together; where I’ve cheered him on, where he’s supported me, I’ve even got him to run a marathon in July in Michigan! He came in 3rd overall! Running is what brought us together, running is part of who we are as individuals and as a couple and I love that.

So yes, this wedding day will have the running theme alllll thru it!

So first it started out with the Save the Dates. It let everyone know who we are. I came up with an idea to have us both holding a running shoe, interlink our arms and we’re wearing running clothes & I designed bibs that have Save the Date & our date on it. My communication writer co-worker came up with loads of different “race names” that we could call this day. I chose 2 Hearts Racing. My graphic designer co-worker came up with a great logo that will be sprinkled throughout the planning. Luke’s brother-in-law took some great engagement shots of us, normal ones against a family barn but then some running shots & the above described photo. I threw it all in Photoshop and wham, Save the Date made! Printed them at Wal-Mart, laminated the photos, bought magnet rolls & cut out business card sizes pieces, stuck them on the back. Bought card stock and photo corners and 5x7 envelopes and mailed them off! DIY Success!

That is not the real website for our wedding. Email me if you want to see the site.
It hasn't gotten many hits so I think I made it too small on the Save the Date

Since I’m treating this like a “race” (of marriage), I decided to have the invitation also be running themed. It’s going to look like a race brochure. Either tri or quad folded and on one of the sides will be our “sponsors.” Not really but my family’s employers, his family’s employers and of course ours. Ours & my dad’s employer logos will be prominently displayed since our paychecks will be used to pay for this wedding! I haven’t started these yet; I can wait until next year to start on them.

I do plan on wearing running shoes under my wedding dress. The bridesmaids will not be wearing them. I think it’ll look funny in a short dress. I would like Luke to wear them, but it’s up to him whether or not to have his groomsmen wear them. My shoes below... my something blue!

The wedding ceremony itself won’t have that much running related items in it besides the shoes. It’s going to be a very traditional ceremony. In front of the church, there’ll be a yard sign out front that has our logo and START on it. That’s about it. However, the party is where it’s at anyway right?!

The first thing guests when they arrive is the FINISH sign. Can't have a START without a FINISH right?! And when they enter the building, they'll see a sign that says Registration Table and on it will have their place cards. They'll look like bibs almost like the ones we wore in our Save the Date picture. Their names will also be on the bib since I enjoy it when I run in races that have the names on them so that spectators can cheer loudly and by name! Of course, they won't know that and in this case it’s so they can find where they’re sitting! To explain the high number on their card, I’m going to have a few photos of Luke & I wearing bibs at races on the table. Hopefully they’ll get the point.

After they find their seat at the table, they’ll see that the table numbers are the actual BIBS from the races that we have done together; from Luke’s surprise visit to the Milwaukee Marathon just a few months after we started dating to his first marathon in July, our first race together, and the race that he was going to propose after (that ended up not going as planned). On each table, I’ll have an 8.5x11 piece of paper that will describe the race, what we did, where it was, etc. and I will include a few photos on it as well. I’ll encourage people to go around and read the other races if they feel so inclined.

Above the food buffet line, I’ll have a sign that says Food Tent. There are 2 bars in this building; I’ll have one for wine/beer and one for water/coffee/pop. I’ll have a sign above one that says Water Station. I do hope to borrow a Gatorade jug from the running community & buy some disposable cups for the water for decoration or use.

We plan on having a Photo Booth. I’m going to have a sign that says Post-Race Photos can be found here. They’ll be printed out 2 copies of their photos in a long strip; one for them to keep & one to give us. I hope to use them in a guest book and have them write on the pages next to their photo.

Since chocolate milk is all the rage with athletes and at races & we’re going to have 25 kids at this wedding, I plan on having a metal bucket with ice & little jugs of chocolate milk for the kids.

The favours are uber cute. I designed ribbons using our logo, date & a Thank You note on them. Also will be a cotton drawstring bag that has Jelly Belly jelly beans (instead of Sports Beans) and a single-serve Gatorade powder mix. Those plus the ribbon will be attached to the bib place card. I’m attaching the favours to the bibs so that only the adults will get them.

The kids are going to get activity books about us, pictures to colour, match the photos, word find, photo hunt, crossword puzzle. It starts out easy for the younger kids and gets older at the book goes on. It’s about 12 pages or so. They'll also get Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - Hello Kitty for the girls and I'll have to figure something else for the boys.

I’m DIY-ing the cupcake stand. So far I have decorated only the top of the cardboard circles but I went with a collage of our race bibs. I don’t know if I’ll stick with that idea. It might be too busy, so I might just paint them white or something.

I'm the type of bride that doesn't want to bother anyone when it comes to helping me. I want to make this wedding as simple as possible for everyone, unfortunately, this means I'm doing most of everything. From picking the photographer to photo booth, I've done it. I've handed off the hotel to Luke and I told him I wanted the contract signed this month, unfortunately, tomorrow is the 31st and no contract signed. I've even given him the list of invitees & what hotel I've suggested. I've also given him the task of finding the cupcake baker & the caterer. I originally also wanted that done this month but I knew he wasn't up for all those tasks so I postponed it til November. I don't see those getting done either. So I'm set to work on those next month myself. Which I'm very disappointed with in him. The one person I've asked to help.

But I've asked no one else for help. I wouldn't be able to stand it if someone started feeling like I was being too needy and just wanted to get this wedding done & over with. I feel awful for asking girls to buy their dresses & take time to stand up with me. I've even been trying on the bridesmaid dresses with 2 of my girls before I even try on mine. There's 4 of them I have to make happy and only 1 of me. I'm worried that someone will feel uncomfortable in them, I'm worried that they'll never wear the dress again and they'll view it as a waste of money, so I'm trying to find the most wearable again design.

I'm also trying to do a DIY on this wedding & reception as much as possible; to save on costs and to allow me a chance to be crafty. So far what I'm making/designing myself is:

• Save the Dates DONE
• Invites NEXT YEAR
• Flower Girl pomanders DONE

• Ring Bearers signs (there are 3 of them so they won’t be holding a pillow) DONE

• Mosaic Candle votives STARTED BUT STOPPED

Might scratch this idea & go with clear candle votives instead As you can see I've done several versions. Tissue Paper modpoged and flat marbles, some that I've grouted and some that I haven't. I originally wanted stained glass but I don't know how to do stained glass and these took enough of my time so I don't want to have it take up any more and cutting the glass would take forever!

• Children's activity books DONE
• Mad Libs for the adults (my mother-in-law is working on wording, I've already created the design)
• Cupcake Stand ALMOST DONE
• Place cards for the guest to find their tables DONE
• Table numbers (bibs from races) DONE
• Race descriptions to go with each table DONE
• Designed ribbons for favours DONE
• The "Start" and "Finish" yard signs in front of the church and in front of the reception STARTED

I think that might be all that I do DIY. I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head, right now.

Any suggestions from fellow runners out there? I don’t want this to seem cheesy and I hope I haven’t gone overboard with the running theme. After watching My Fair Wedding with David Tutera I realize that there is a fine line between sweet & cheesy. I just hope I haven’t crossed it.

And I've never planned a wedding before (shocker, I know) so I have no idea if I'm missing something that I've overlooked. I'll take any advice out there, folks!

Categories: Luke, wedding