Location, Location, Location

I'm coming off a strange but very interesting weekend. Friday did not turn out at all as planned and included me driving around wasting 5+ hours of my time & half a tank of very expensive gas for no reason. Then instead of spending the weekend with The Man and The Bug, due to unexpected circumstances I ended up spending nearly all the weekend by myself away from home in a really bad hotel - okay hotel is a too good of a word there....

So on the fly I decided to make a whirlwind weekend of it. I have a new philosophy that if I'm not with The Man or The Bug I should try to get wedding stuff done. I did a ton of wedding research, a little bit of planning and then hit lots of stores. I started by going to a stationery store and looking through books and books of invitations. Of course the ones I liked were $$$$$ letterpress.

But nothing jumped out at me with the exact details I am imagining in my head. I stayed up late one night creating my own which I am fairly certain will be the one we go with. I also got a few good ideas from a couple of shopkeepers that I will incorporate into my ideas to make them much better. Then I spent hours sourcing papers that I wanted online. My eye is seeing very simple, dark wood grain paper with white printing, a small graphic element and a very bright & cheery envelope liner. That's where my head is at now.

I bought a small sand dollar ink stamp that I thought I could incorporate into something as well as a large monstra leaf stencil that I might be able to do some cool things with. I also found more good paper options late last night online.

Yesterday I had to attend a conference for the day and it just happened to be at the place we hope will be our venue. This spot holds a very special place in our hearts. We have spent many, many hours here and hope to share it all soon with our loved ones. At the end of the day I went back and took detailed photos. I have taken photos of this venue many times. Today I tried to take photos of the logistical things: what kind of chairs they have stacked up, what shape tables there are, how one would hang lights, how many benches there are around the outdoor deck, how many lights would you need to set around the perimeter, to outline the path to the parking lot or hotel, etc.

The full moon was just coming out as we arrived and the sand was so sugary soft, the waves were lapping up the shore, I could almost see everyone there having a wonderful time and ending the evening at the fire pit that looked so perfect for hanging out with family and friends. I just wanted every one of our family and friends there that instant.

Amazed at how gorgeous and lit up the beach was I thought we should look for a full moon date, but it turns out that there isn't a full moon even close to the dates we're looking at - darn. Here's a weird fact for you -- the full moon in 2012 will happen in the first 9 days of the month all year long.

Lastly I promise every blog post isn't going to be wedding related. Really, I promise. Hope you have a fantastic week. Thinking of you fondly and so glad you came by for a peek.