Handmade, but not by me

In my original inspiration board, my ring bearer pillow looked like this:

I found it on eBay, and although it's cheap and nice enough, I wasn't completely sold on it. The color and pattern look great, but who knows how the color would actually look in person. So, I decided to look for other options.

Enter Etsy. I'd never bought anything from Etsy before because most things on there are either too expensive, something I could make myself, or both. But any items that require sewing are definitely not in the "I can just make that myself " category. Fortunately, I found one I liked that wasn't too expensive either.

I ended up buying this ring bearer pillow from Etsy seller Addie's Creations. Her pillows are less expensive than the one on eBay, and I was happy with the quality of the one I bought. Not only that, but I bought it on a Friday and received it on the following Monday!

After my first Etsy experience, I ended up buying each of my bridesmaids a gift from Etsy as well. Two of them have come in the mail, and they're even better than I expected. They both came in beautiful wrapping, and one even came with a thank you note.

So, don't be afraid to shop at Etsy. Sure, some items are absolute junk or just bizarre (like this one), but there are still some really awesome ones too (check out these wedding cake toppers).

Music to walk by

For my wedding music, I knew that I wanted to have strings. A piano was kind of out of the question since we're having our wedding in the park, but I like the sound of string music better anyway. My mom, who has been playing violin professionally for over 30 years, was sort of my "music coordinator." She pulled out all of her wedding music to play for me and hired the two violinists who will be playing at our wedding.

For the prelude, I chose three selections: Mendelssohn's "Spring Song," Handel's Air from "Water Music," and Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."









The wedding party (including parents) will walk in to Pachelbel's "Canon in D." I know it's not that original, but it's just what I think of when I think of weddings, and it's pretty.




We wanted something peppy for the recessional, so we went with "La Rejouissance" from Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks."




For the bridal processional, I've chosen something a little less traditional. I'm not posting it here because I can't find any versions of it that quite fit what I have in mind. But in my head it sounds perfect, so I hope it will be.

I'm also not posting the song for our unity ceremony because, well, we haven't quite figured out what we're doing as the unity ceremony and the song might change. But the song I'm currently thinking about is by John Lennon.

What are your favorite wedding songs? What's a song that you've never heard used at a wedding that you think should be?

Making my card box

You know you're getting down to the last few weeks of wedding planning when you have to get a cart at Hobby Lobby for the first time ever.

...and when your dining room looks like this:

...and you spend your lunch break doing this:

Among my recent Hobby Lobby purchases were supplies to make a card box.

A paper maché box, wine colored ribbon, white tempera paint, and a black 3D sticker.

I used three light coats of paint. This is how it looked after the first coat.

I used an X-Acto knife to cut a slot in the top of the lid. This didn't work too well since the box was so thick, but I smoothed out my bad cutting job with some fine grit sandpaper.

I wrapped both the rim of the lid and the middle of the box with ribbon, gluing it on with a glue stick as I went.

I also made a bow for the top of the box using the same ribbon.

The 3D sticker went on the front..

And voila! 

Including the paint, this project cost me about $8.50. I could have used something cheaper for our guests to put their cards in, but it wouldn't have fit our wedding colors and style this well. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

It's for real! I guess.

Invitations have been printed...

...and cut.

Envelopes have been addressed...

...and stamped and mailed.

Other wedding bloggers have said that they felt like the wedding was "for real" when the invitations went out, but after all of the tedious hours of assembling them, I really just felt tired. The closest I've come to having a "We're really getting married!" moment was when Nathan tried on his wedding band. He's never worn a ring before, so seeing one on his finger really emphasized the point that we're entering a new stage of life.  Like marriage, wearing rings will be a permanent change for both of us, and it will take some getting used to. But I'm ready for that change.

Change your name and pay?

I recently read a post on Weddingbee that referenced this article about women taking their husband's names. According to a recent study, "women using their husbands’ last names are...judged as more dependent and less ambitious than women who keep their maiden names — but also as more kind and caring. More alarmingly, members of the Mrs. league earn nearly $1,500 less per month."


I'd really like to know what kind of people were involved in this study. Growing up in a smallish town in Indiana, I encountered few women who had kept their maiden names and was a teenager before I even realized that some women go back to their maiden names after they divorce. For me, changing my name when I get married was never something that needed to be debated. I want to have the same name as my husband and children. I realize sometimes husbands take their wives' names, and other couples create a new name, but the traditional method works for me. 

I'm really not worried about the negative impact that it could have on my career. I'm not a doctor or lawyer and have only been out of college for a year, so it's not as if I've built that much of a name for myself. Also, if I were to make $1,500 less a month than what I currently make, well, let's not even go there.

The only thing I'll miss about my maiden name is how unique it is. All but one of the Google results for my name are actually about me; my name is literally one in a billion. But I also don't necessarily like how easy it is to find information about me. When I was a freshman, a reporter for my college newspaper randomly asked me questions, and you can still find the quote I gave her. No one needs to read that.

I think I'll take my chances and change my name. If that makes me less ambitious, I'm fine with that. And if the only thing employers look at on my resume is my name, then I'm not sure I want to work for them.

Is/was whether or not to change your name a big decision for you?