Paper

Yesterday Mountain boy and I went to expidex (local paper products store) and picked out our invitations. This wasn't the plan. I had intended to go by myself to brows and think and maybe bring home a few samples, but when the boy found out that I was going he wanted to come. After about ten minutes he had picked out one he liked. We ended up getting something the same color but a different layout.

It was an odd experience. Maybe because it wasn't planned (I'm big on planning), but also because I got to see his taste and preference without me pushing for something really different. The only part I was insistent on was that we somehow work in a pocket.

I absolutely love the colors. The outer portion that folds into itself to create the envelope is deep chocolate brown. I bought sheets of deep grass green paper to make a border, and the invitation itself is dark orange/terracotta. The rsvp cards are sage green, and have grass green envelopes. As soon as I can get the camera charged, I'll post pictures, but it's a similar style to the picture above.

proposal update:

P.S. - Still no proposal. We've set a date, booked a place, and told all our friends and family, but technically I'm not engaged.

eh. When have we ever done anything in order?

Yay! We have a date and a location!

Big movements on the planning front: we've booked a location for the reception and picked a site for the ceremony.

We are officially $500 non-refundable deposit committed. Boo-yeah!


It's more beautiful than I had ever imagined. I'm not sure how to explain it. I consciously refused to imaginary-plan my wedding when I was younger. I fought the urge to picture myself in a white dress, blah, blah. So when the idea that I might actually marry Mountain Boy developed I started thinking about a wedding for myself for the first time. I even bought a wedding magazine. It took me the better part of a year to decide for sure that I wanted to have a wedding at all.

Now, I'm so excited. I'm simply amazed at how much fun it's been thinking about what the day will be like. And now, I have a setting, so the imagining is moving from vague to focused.

Not just any setting, either. The most perfect most beautiful place imaginable.

We're booking-out a B&B for two nights, having the ceremony just outside of Arched National Park, and then having the reception in the garden behind the B&B. That stretched out the event over a weekend, and allows us to provide rooms for family and friends coming from out of state. And, as if that weren't enough, the B&B is run by a gourmet chef who will be doing a full dinner. all for less than $2200. The rest is details.

Just amazing.
pictures to come.

The Venue

Mountain Boy and I are going to Moab this weekend to look at reception and ceremony sites. We're trying to decide whether to have the ceremony in Arches National Park or just outside on public land. The park has more facilities, but there are restrictions in other ways. Outside the park will be cheaper, but no facilities. I think it will depend on the locations we find.

I downloaded the OffBeat Bride checklist. It was really helpful in listing some of the consideration associated with picking a venue and date (nice stuff like asking parents about scheduling conflicts). I'm anticipating there will be issues getting Mountain Boy's family in from out of state, but his sister will be a huge help there.

I've been getting a lot of advice about not disclosing that the "event" we are planning is a wedding. We talked about it and both think that lying is out of the question. It's too creepy-dishonest. Though I do think we need to be cautious about people giving us bum deals.

Any advice?

This weekend we started talking about our wedding plans. We've told my parents and Mountain Boy's sister and our friends. So it's getting more and more official: we're having our wedding in September in Moab.

The more I say it the more excited I get.

The most interesting thing is how exciting it is to tell people we are planning a wedding. One friend summed it up pretty well: if you just told people you were planning a party and you wanted them to come visit, maybe one or two would come... but a wedding. It has also be interesting to make such a public declaration of love. For a long time I didn't really understand why people were so into weddings, but now I think I'm starting to get it. I hope it stays this fun.

The planning moves forward

It's been a busy few weeks. Despite to notable absence of a proposal, Mountain Boy and I have started officially planning. We've decided on a date(-ish) and a location.

I'm having a destination wedding! Woot.

For now, I'm keeping the big details relatively under wraps.