Flower Power! Introducing our flower girls.

In January of 2010 (whoa), I started babysitting two absolutely terrific, fabulous girls. 

In keeping with the theme of giving everyone nicknames (even though I’ll be posting pictures throughout this blog, so it’s totally more for fun than identity-saving. . .whatevs), I shall refer to them as Pad (the oldest, currently 6 - 7 this summer, which makes me want to vomit) and Pie (the youngest; now FIVE. Freaking five). These are pretty close to their actual nicknames, and I would put money down on a bet stating that should their mom choose to read this to them, they will be furious that I didn’t give them ‘prettier’ names or use their real names.

Their mom and I consistently talk about this (in hour-plus long conversations at the dining room table long after the girlies are asleep), but I’m a firm believer that we are a part of each other’s lives for a reason. First and foremost, we found each other on Craigs List. I know, I know, you're thinking: REALLY? Childcare on CRAIGSLIST?!  But it worked. I needed a job that wasn't too demanding but would put money in my pocket as I was interning at a local TV station and she needed a trustworthy, dependable adult who wasn't afraid to be a kid with her wonderful but slightly off-the-wall kids. I arrived for an interview that we didn't call an interview and fell in love. I fell in love with their house, their stinkypants dog Bodhi, with the girls, with all of it. It started off as an every Thursday event, while Mom PadPie (Lol) ran errands, went to meetings, whatever. It stemmed into other nights, as needed, and these girls - and Mom - wormed their way right the f into my heart. I'm getting ridiculously teary-eyed as I even type this, thinking about the first time Pie brought me over a piece of paper on which she had painstakingly written 'I love you Stephanie,' and the first time Pad cried when I was leaving. Granted, since then there's been a lot of 'YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME!'s, tantrums and time outs, but I figure that's how you know you've made it into a kid's life - when they don't mind standing in the middle of the hallway naked screaming at you. 

My First DIY Adventure: Puzzle Piece Fail Whale

I started out with a theme idea, and it was put to bed. I started out with a favor idea after I accepted a new theme idea (or lack thereof, really), and it was slowly but surely dying as well. I was beginning to wonder if I should just set out bags of Jordan almonds and call it a day. . .

After my fairly melodramatic e-mail to Bridesmaid Y, she responded (like a true BM should, in my opinion) with: “Don’t let the idea die yet!” As the day went on, amidst our normal gossip and such (you wouldn’t think two people who talk 984907834098 times a day and see each other at least once a week would still have things to say to each other, but we really don't ever stop), we would bounce ideas back and forth off of one another, but nothing would stick. 

On my lunch, I was multi-tasking, like I do best, by shoving food in my mouth and plowing through wedding websites. I returned to Google and found the originally discarded puzzle pieces again, so I went to that website for a second look. I noticed, perhaps a tiny bit ashamedly, for the first time, the two arrows and ‘6 of 8’ caught my eye. 

image via Hobby Lobby website | The 'DUH, self' editing all me, thanks to MSPaint. Just to clarify. 

I furiously clicked the arrow and VOILA (for real this time)!

image via Hobby Lobby website | FREAKING. WOODEN. PUZZLE. PIECES. I found them! 

There aren't really appropriate words, just a lot of !!!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately e-mailed Bridesmaid Y, completely in caps, about these puzzle pieces and my idea to stick a magnet on the back. Hello, place card setting favor, I have been searching for you for ohsolong.

The First Decision: Our Venue!

I may have lied. . .it's not TECHNICALLY the first decision. I mean, it's the first decision we've paid for, so that should count as the first decision, right?

True Confessions, hive: I've been planning this wedding for years. Mr. Palm Tree and I were together for almost eight years before we got engaged. I've had visions for forever. I used to joke that the engagement just meant I could move things into the execution stage, because almost everything was planned. 

Because of this, decisions came kind of easy-ish to us. We were able to make decisions regarding our DJ and our photographer, but we didn't 'officially' book either of them immediately. We were really hoping that this particular venue came through, because we had found it and LOVED it, but didn't want to start making decisions in case it didn't come through and we had to adjust our date. . .spoiler alert: THE VENUE DID COME THROUGH!

When Mr. Palm Tree first proposed, we just "tentatively" agreed on May 25, 2013 as the date. We started dating in May all those years ago (May 27, 2004, to be exact) and figured we'll just keep it as close to the same date as possible. We could be flexible if needed, but wanted to just go with that and see what we could find. As far as venues went, we knew we wanted to get married in Pittsburgh - or as close to Pittsburgh as possible.

A bit of background information: we grew up in a very small town, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. I speak from experience when I say that there's a 98% change that ANY 'large' event (like weddings and graduation parties) took place at one of many fairly typical banquet halls. They were all buffet-style (to clarify: DELICIOUS Italian buffet-style, like oodles of homemade pasta and chicken and mmmm) and they all followed a similar style: dollar dance, cake walk, bridal party dance, COOKIE TABLE VISITS!, etc. (here's a really great article explaining the cookie table phenom, if you're unfamiliar. It was only this year that I realized this wasn't standard across the board). As much as we've loved our experiences, we didn't want this wedding.**

However, one bonus to these weddings in our old neck of the woods is that they're cheapola. The Pittsburgh area in general has an uber-low cost of living, but our hometown takes the cake (ha). So as I started looking around at various venues in the area, I was having heart palpitations. First of all, WHAT DO YOU MEAN we cannot bring in our own food?! This news turned me Southern, hive. I may or may not have said "well, I NEVER!" and fanned myself. I am so used to family members making the food! I was floored. Second of all, WHAT DO YOU MEAN the $10,000 price tag is just for the space? No tables, no chairs, no food, say whaaa? Or, I'd fall in love with a reasonably priced and/or gorgeous place (Morning Glory Inn, in the South Side, for example) and they'd only hold a number far less than our estimated 200 guests. I kept clicking though, and voila! THE FEZ.

photo from The Fez | The Fez's Facebook page | A shot of the Balconade Room, set up for a wedding this past June.

I won't say 'I told you so'. . .

I mentioned how I'm super crazy with the pre-planning, right? 

I may or may not have also mentioned that I get a lot of lighthearted-but-completely-serious-in-sentiment comments akin to "that shit cray" when I mention that I want to start my favors and see what they look like, or that I have certain things booked. But, friends, I am not alone. Take it from Mrs. Sparkler over at Wedding Bee. . . 

An excerpt:

Plans for My First DIY Favor Adventure

Alternate Title: How I will inevitably end up gluing my hand to something. . .True Confessions: I am the farrrrthest thing from a Do-It-Yourselfer. My arts and crafts capabilities mimic those of a five year old.

You know what? Scratch that. The two little girls I babysit (who are also our flower girls and two of the cutest girls in the entire universe) are super adept at arts and crafts, and they’re both under ten. In fact, as I told a friend this morning, they often ask me to do arts and crafts and I end up having to dissuade them (“don’t you want to play Simon Says?”).

Image from Amazon | This is about as arts and craft-y as I get, folks.

Pre-Planning - Or: Everything I know, I learned from the Baby Sitter's Club

It’s always said that all little girls practice being brides by putting pillowcases and other lacy things over their heads and saying “I do”.

One of my favorite parts of a Baby Sitter’s Club (honestly, I think I’m just overcome with growing-up-nostalgia, because I have been relating EVERYTHING to the BSC** lately. It really did set a solid foundation for so much in my life, and if you read the books and say you didn’t want to start a literal baby sitting club when you were a kid, you’re a liar. Period) book is when they’re running the BSC camp for the week leading up to Elizabeth Thomas (Kristy’s mom) and Watson Brewer’s wedding.

source | Kristy's Big Day, July 1987 (WHOA!) **

Introduction: The Five W's

Thanks in large part to the Baby Sitter's Club, I've always felt that The Five W's (who, what, where, when and why) are a great way to kick off anything new and/or unfamiliar.

Who: My name is Stephanie. I'm a 23 year old Lease Analyst (if you don't know what that means, just know this: I LOVE my job) engaged to an absolutely wonderful, special man named Jonathon who is finishing up his Computer Engineering degree.

What: This blog is going to detail my wedding planning adventures (see Wedding Bee for my inspiration). I want to be able to document all of the fun and excitement (and inevitably the frustration and irritation) and also share everything with our loved ones - as well as any readers who may stumble across this humble blog.

Where: Jon and I currently reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (you know, the city that's been voted the Most Livable City a few times, the city with one of the best Sports teams ever as evidenced by ESPN's Towel Around the World commercial and website, the city that served and/or will serve as the movie set for over 30 films since 2010 - including The Dark Knight Rises. . .God, I love this freaking city).

When: Our wedding date is May 25, 2013.

Why: Lately, I've realized how much I freaking miss writing. When I was younger I used to fill journal after journal. My poems and short stories have been published in anthologies (from when I was a kid, though - I'm talking like fifth grade and below, nothing fancy). It kind of tapered off, and although I would start something every now and again, it usually remained unfinished. I was back home for a funeral, however, and was sitting with some family I hadn't seen in quite some time when one of my cousins said to me, "When we went to see the last Harry Potter movie, all I could think of was you. I kept saying, 'Stephanie could have written ALL of this." My other cousin confirmed it and added that she always refers to me as "My brilliant cousin Stephanie, the writer." It made me wistful and truthfully, a bit sad for my former self. Shortly after that, I was at a Christmas dinner with other family members, and a cousin asked, "Are you still writing?" Granted, this cousin has asked me this almost every year we see each other, because it's a shared interest of ours, but this time it struck a chord in me. I thought about the last time I wrote something that wasn't a paper for a class (in all fairness, most of my collegiate grades/classes were centered on papers - I think I was all written out, so to speak, by the time I graduated) and I thought of two things: 1. when I was on the Newspaper staff in high school, and 2. a short-lived, but fun, attempt at a blog with a friend of mine. I told myself that I would get over it and then the bees over at WeddingBee (seriously, go check it out, I cannot plug that site enough) just kicked it into gear. After it was confirmed by a dear friend that I should go for it, here I am.  Plus, I really do want to share all of my stories, document them and keep everyone in the loop.

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I might be a bit rusty here, friends, but I have decided to make this promise to myself. If you could please stick with me until I get my groove back, I'd be super pumped. Another favor: please, please, PLEASE interact with me via comments and such. That's a huge part of why I'm doing this (and aforementioned dear friend knew this, as part of her confirmation was, "you will LOVE interacting with all of the readers!"). So, without further ado, I bring you The Miss to Mrs. Adventures. . .of a type A bride-to-be with slight OCD. :)