Two months before...

Today I'll start sending out the invitations (or more specifically, the text content of the Invitations page with a link thereto -- no big graphics in email!). While a few will be individually emailed, most will be by way of posts to email lists, LiveJournal, Facebook, etc. Hopefully the explanation we wrote will actually get the idea across without confusing too many people :-).

As for the checklist:

• We still need to decide which of the charities we chose for our registry to use for the favors, or if we should pick a third option. Opinions welcome.
• There ceremony is almost written, but we still need to finalize it and the events of the reception. One thing we both agree on: NO Chicken Dance!
• The music list is pretty much done. I'll post that sometime this week.

Like many brides at this point in the process, I've had my moments of "maybe we should just drop the whole thing and elope," but I think we're past that point now. I guess the Powers decided to make sure I didn't miss that part of the bridal experience ;-).

Our previous ceremonies

I've updated the "About" tab with links to our previous virtual wedding (between our characters in the PBEM through which we met), and our legal realspace wedding. After all, we're renewing our vows, so looking at those vows again is rather important :-).

Rings

These are the ones we've been wearing for almost fourteen years, but we still love them and I want to give a shout-out to Walker Metalsmiths Celtic Jewelry, who are still making many gorgeous things!

The design is named "Ceol Mo Chridhe", Gaelic for "Music of My Heart." Ours are white gold, like the images above. I remember at the time how hard is was finding knotwork rings that weren't made of silver, and how pleased I was not only to find something so perfect but that their prices were also affordable (obviously they've gone up since then). I had to have mine resized, but they did it for IIRC the cost of shipping and had it back in time for the ceremony. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about them :-).

Flowers

Lots of pictures in this one, since it's covering a lot of ground :-).

Music: Maybe we should hire these guys for the reception?

Whether I decide to "hire" them or not, I just had to share this. From The MozART GROUP site:

"We exist despite the sober formality of great concert halls, despite the boredom of classical musicians' life, despite fanatic lovers of classical music, despite fans of rock, rap or pop who are afraid of classical music. We treat our Muse with a humorous irony and we're sure, she will have nothing against it!"

Some examples of their work (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLYgVbVRoqk if the video doesn't show):

If you like that, there's more on their YouTube channel.

Three months before...

Some of the checklist items for this week don't feel like they need a whole post, so I'll cover several in one :-).

• Menu: The buffet option from Hornblower's Platinum menu
• Flowers: This gets a separate post.
• Favors: We'll probably be using IDoFoundation.org for these.
• Ceremony is being finalized.
• Programs will be posted when the Big Day arrives :-).
• Rings: These will also get a separate post.

We're still looking for people who are interested in being part of the ceremony, either as readers or soloists. Drop us a note (or post a comment) if you're interested!

Music post #1: Processional

Rather than wait until we have all of the music picked out, I'll post the important pieces as we decide on them. First up is the processional: "Mairi's Wedding"

(If for some reason you can't see the embedded video, it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-RYxRB0ZS4)