Monday, July 27, 2009

"A Rose By Any Other Name...




...would smell as sweet."


~ William Shakespeare ~



Friday, July 24, 2009

Rainier Cherries




At long last, I had the chance to sample Rainier cherries -- they're every bit as luscious and delectable as they look!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Unexpected Blessings


My last post may have made it sound as though I hate wedding planning! On the contrary, everything is going very smoothly, and I'm enjoying all the creative potential of planning a wedding! I just need a little philosophizing once in a while, to make sure I can keep the right perspective. And by the way -- many thanks for all your comments and suggestions! They are greatly appreciated!

So, with that said, I'm here to post about something that went "wrong!" The colors I chose for the wedding are lavender (My favorite flower/herb/scent!) and green. JoAnn's had lavender dupioni silk, which I decided to use it for the bridesmaids' gowns. I waited for a 50% off coupon and went to purchase it -- at which time I found out they couldn't special order the fabric! I started looking again, and within a few minutes I had found a lovely hunter green matte satin. It is much less expensive than the dupioni, a better fabric to work with, and it's a more "classic" color that will look good on my three bridesmaids -- while still working with my original color scheme. God was so good to lead me to something better than I had orginally planned!



It may have been a small incident -- but it was a good reminder that when situations seem difficult to me, the Lord has something better in store!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Great Expectations


Ah, the “joys” of wedding planning! Over the past few months, the one question that has kept coming to my mind is, "How can there be an entire industry -- and a fifty billion dollar industry, at that! – supported solely by weddings?" Apparently the average wedding costs somewhere around $20,000. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a lot of money to spend in less than 24 hours!



After exploring the world of weddings, I can’t blame all of the excess of the wedding industry on brides. Everyone groans about “Bridezillas,” those unfortunate souls who have let anxiety over that “perfect day” make them selfish and nasty. But the more observe, the more I'm shocked by the expectations that brides have to deal with. Expectations that are primarily established by the wedding industry itself. Of *course* they're going to try convince you that you need a limousine, a string quartet, a Vera Wang gown, embossed place cards, an eight-tiered cake, and caviar at your reception. Then they price those wedding services at a premium, which makes it very difficult for brides who don’t have the time and/or skill to make their own gowns or arrange their own flowers. It’s their livelihoods at stake, after all!

Signing the Register


But expectations can also come pouring in from many other quarters -- including friends, family, and the bride herself. We've all gotten so used to seeing "perfect" weddings, with all the bells and whistles (and individual chocolate-dipped spoons at every place setting), that we've come to regard anything less as shabby and inadequate. And what bride wants that stigma on a day that’s supposed to be the most important of her life?

Thus, The Dilemma. On one hand, I am disgusted with the materialistic, money-grubbing wedding industry. But on the other hand, a wedding is an important covenant (both to God and man), and I want to honor that day!




How does one honor God through a wedding? By putting Christ at the center of it all. That’s easy enough to say, but what bearing does such a statement have on wedding favors and invitation fonts? It may be easy to apply to certain aspects (chossing modest wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses, for instance), but it’s more challenging to apply to others. Even when you try to keep things simple, there are still details to deal with -- and details can be distracting.

So what’s a bride to do? Is there any compromise between ten minutes with a justice of the peace and a $50,000 extravaganza?



I’m still searching out the answers to most of my questions, still questioning myself constantly to find out why I want certain things a certain way. Or why others say certain things should be a certain way. My crafty soul is delighted by all of the creative outlets that a wedding offers, but it’s just as possible to get carried away in DIY land as it is in the pages of BRIDES magazine. What is it, after all, that makes a great wedding? I don’t think it has anything to do with aisle runners, or flower arrangements, or lighting. The most uplifting wedding I have ever attended was also probably the least expensive wedding I have ever attended! I think that wedding was memorable because the bride and groom were more focused on the marriage than the wedding – focused on the lasting reality of establishing a covenant family, not on whether or not their color scheme was trendy.



Deep down, I still want an elegant wedding. Just like every other bride in America. I’m rather curious to find out what my wedding will be like! A strange thought, perhaps, but I think it's the kind of thing you can’t predict. So onward we go, moving ever closer to the “big day,” trying to work through all the details without letting them take over. Trying to discover what makes a wedding elegant and memorable. Trying to redefine what's "necessary" and decide where "more than necessary" is okay. And (hopefully) avoiding the entanglements of trying to satisfy needless expectations!

Friday, July 10, 2009

So It Begins


At long last, I've started working on my wedding gown! Details will have to be kept to a minimum until after the wedding (due to a certain someone who reads my blog and would prefer to be surprised on the day of the wedding!), but I thought I'd share a snapshot of the fabric I'm using:



Isn't it just lucious?




Okay, that was really very naughty of me -- the hideous glazed purple cotton is just for the prototype! My mother picked up about twenty pounds of the stuff at a yard sale, and it's come in quite handy for mock-ups. Combined with olive and scarlet thread (one must use up those old spools of thread somehow), it really makes quite a statement!

So far, everything is working out beautifully. I was a bit frightened to transfer my design from paper to fabric, but there have only been a few easily-smoothed-out bumps in the road -- so far!

I must admit, I'll be very grateful to start working with white -- after a few hours, purple glazed cotton starts taking on all of the appetizing characteristics of pulverized eggplant!

Thursday, July 09, 2009

A Bit of Hubris and Hostility


I can see now why "l'aimable Jane" chose the letter "P" for her alliterated title -- "H" just doesn't have the same ring, does it? Well, literary considerations aside, I've added something new to my Austentations shop, for the Janeites among us:



You can see it in the shop!

Monday, July 06, 2009

Our First Visitor


Today we welcomed our very first visitor to our new home. Rather than invite him inside, we entertained him on our back porch. He seemed more comfortable there, anyway -- and since he had been out in the rain, he had "no desire to leave a watermark."



May I present Mr. Sheldon P. Boximus? You must forgive him for not introducing himself. He is a rather shy and retiring sort of chap!