The Boyes Wedding at GMail!

We're slowly getting this thing running more efficiently. John and I were discussing some cost-effective methods of sending out wedding invitations, receiving RSVPs, posting wedding pictures, and making it easier for people to send blog comments and receive publication updates.

John had the good idea of setting up a specific email account for our blog. It is: theboyeswedding@gmail.com.

For the moment, we have decided to make our invitations ourselves. We have a nice classic, tasteful idea for them that is classy and cost-effective. Instead of paying additional postage and printing costs to have RSVP cards made up, we will encourage people to send their RSVPs to our GMail account. Google accounts also has Picasa Photostudio, so when we post our wedding photos online, they will be available directly through this blog, though it's likely they will be posted in multiple locations.

If you would like to be added to our list of contacts, please let us know. More posts to come, so check back soon!

Important Announcement

Due to the current status of the economy, and the financial impact that we've been experiencing as a result, we have decided to postpone the wedding indefinitely. We simply can't find a way to manage the expense of the wedding in addition to our current expenses.

We are both disappointed, but have decided to use the extra time to make sure that things are planned properly. When the time comes to set a date, we will let you know. In the meantime, there is no rush to go out and buy or plan anything. We will still be posting ideas, but for the time being we have no imminent plans to use them.

Thank you for your understanding and support at this time.

The Dress

Short entry tonight, but I figured that this needed to go up pretty quick. Originally, we had agreed on the Cymbeline Anne dress, but the original was too expensive, and we couldn't find it for less anywhere online, except a knockoff site (and I've read many warnings about going there). So we had to go back to the drawing board. We went back to the consideration of making the dress, and that isn't entirely off the table. That said, John and I have agreed that this idea is the idea we like best. It would be reasonably inexpensive, and easy.

Our idea for my "dress" was inspired by these two photos:

We've seen the appropriate corset in a few stores (though we are open to others, if we can find them) for anywhere between $100-$200. The skirt is up to debate. I'm happy with something fairly simple. If someone has a suggestion about that, let me know. If you've looked around online and found pictures, leave the link in your comment. Thanks!

True Colours Are Beautiful, Like A Rainbow

Just so everyone is on the same page, the colours that John and I agreed upon are champagne, white and black. The inspiration for the colour scheme came from a necklace I bought, and decided I wanted to wear for the wedding. (Sorry I don't have a better picture of it... for the time being I am limited to the camera on my cell phone). It is a white magnolia with pearl paint and pearl accents, set on a gold chain.

There has been a lot of discussion about the colours (people seemed evenly split, for or against). Since the wedding is in the summer, and will likely be taking place in an outdoor garden, we felt that it would be nice to have more subdued colours instead of trying to compete with all of the colours in the environment. It offered a more classic feel. With that said, I am simply posting some pictures that I found online to inspire ideas about what kinds of things we were looking for.

Here are some examples of nice ideas for a dress for a bridesmaid, or a guest who chooses to match the wedding party. The colours don't have to be exact, and there doesn't have to be any specific cut. Bridesmaids are welcome to wear whatever they feel comfortable in, and feel that they look best in, as long as it isn't unsuitable for the occasion. Since I can't afford to supply the bridesmaids with dresses, that is the most I can ask for. I did mention, as well, that a plain black dress with champagne accessories (even just the shoes or jewellery) would be pretty neat, too.

The ideas for the groomsmen, ushers, and ring bearer-bearer are fairly simple. Most men own at least one suit, and it is usually black. If that's the case, if at all possible, champagne accents, like ties, vests, handkerchief are preferable. If the closest anyone can come to that is khaki, gold or light brown, that is also good. Ultimately, since we can't afford to pay for anyone's suits, black is also fine.

John and I are only very specific on one thing: we both want to be the only two people wearing white. John (very much in the tradition of the bride) wants to wear an entirely white tux, and I want to wear an entirely white dress. To that end, we are being quite traditional about the colours. John has made it clear that he feels anyone else to come wearing a white outfit would be in poor taste.

This is sort-of what I had in mind for the ring-bearer, though he will more likely be wearing a bow-tie, for the sake of safety.

I also brought another idea to Jan, about the dresses for the flower girls. They will not be subjected to the colours. John and I decided that Gillian and Shai-Ann would be more compliant, and enjoy themselves more if they were allowed to wear something "pretty". This is what we were thinking:

Have Your Cake, And Eat It, Too!

In the first little while, following the engagement,
I began surfing the internet, looking for cool ideas. I'm unconventional, though a bit of a traditionalist, so I was looking for something unique, but reasonably simple and convenient. I found all sorts of neat, artsy cakes. One of my favorites was a cake that looked like a stack of colourful throw pillows.

However, after running a few ideas past John, and showing him pictures of the cakes I liked, we agreed on two major things. The cake doesn't have to be overly extravagant, and we don't want everyone to be having to do all of this hard work, cutting and cleaning up (a lot of people make a secondary cake, to cut it up and wrap the pieces for the guests prior to the wedding). That was when we decided that a cupcake tree cake would be the best route.

This way, we can eliminate the concern for making another cake for the guests, it's fairly simple to accomplish, there is little cleanup involved, and each cupcake is a fully adorned, uncut, individual-sized piece of the cake. We haven't chosen a type yet, though John and I are both fans of chocolate and anything coffee-flavored. The cake can't have nuts in it, several of our guests have allergies. If at all possible, we want to find a diabetic-friendly recipe for things, so that myself, and guests who may be sensitive (there are a few) to sugar can enjoy it without too much worry. The top tier of the cake will be a one-piece. We've both decided that we really like this one (just to the waist).

I will have to run it past John again, but I believe we agreed that plain white and pearl were fine for the cake (we didn't want to overdo it with color, because it is already a very intricate cake top). His great idea, though, was to put "sleeves" on the cupcakes. Cupcakes obviously already come in the wax cups, but he thought it might be cool to put corset sleeves on them made out of white paper and string/ribbon. No ideas for adornments on the cupcakes yet, but I wouldn't be dissatisfied if they were relatively plain. We haven't chosen a cake topper yet, or even discussed if one is necessary, given the cake top that we've chosen. John mentioned something about possibly making them himself.

The only other suggestion that I can think of for desserts at the wedding, is something made out of Sugarfree Jello (a jello guitar sounds so cool :P) and a small selection of ice creams. Possibly some whipped cream or cool whip to go with the cake?

Diabetic cake recipes (baking splenda instead of fructose- it is still sugar), prefer ones that are not plan vanilla flavor (vanilla gets boring):

• http://www.easy-diabetic-recipes.com/diabetic-chocolate-cake-recipes.html
• http://www.easy-diabetic-recipes.com/diabetic-wedding-cake-recipe.html
• http://www.easy-diabetic-recipes.com/diabetic-birthday-cake-recipes.html
• http://www.easy-diabetic-recipes.com/diabetic-easter-cake-recipes.html
• http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/0219611
• http://www.healthy-diabetic-recipes.co.uk/Wedding_Cake.html
• http://www.informationaboutdiabetes.com/recipes/Wedding_Cake.htm

Diabetic cookies:

• http://www.facts-about-diabetes.com/diabetic-recipe-wedding-cookies.html

The Day In Question

Hello all!
I don't have time to post anything right this very moment (werk, werk, werk *sigh*), but since I just created this blog, I figured that it should have an introductory entry, in which I give you the mission statement. Everyone is out of the loop somewhere, and John and I have started to lose track of who has been told what and when, and who has been left out of what plans, and so on, and so forth. This is where the failure in communication ends. We are open to help, suggestions and new ideas (we've never been married before and therefore have never planned a wedding. What do we know?). This is so that everyone who knows about this site can come and stay connected and informed. Ideas that are pitched amongst family will be finding their way onto this site, as things develop. (A lot has been done thus far, I just need to spend some time posting it). Feel free to send a link to this blog to anyone I may have forgotten.

Thanks!