I Saw the Sign

Back when we met with our reception venue to taste the (delicious) food and settle on a menu, we discussed the display for our cupcakes- scrumptious little morsels that will take the place of a wedding cake. 

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We're still working out the specifics of the display for these puppies, but I went ahead and made a little sign for them.

The event coordinator suggested we lay out some sort of sign near the display discouraging guests from taking one right away.  We won't have all of the cupcakes out at first- just a small arrangement to give people an idea of what they have to look forward to, just as a wedding cake is displayed throughout the entire reception before it's cut- but there will be other food, as well as the candy buffet, available for the taking right as guests walk in.  The coordinator pointed out that even though cupcakes are "trendy" at the moment in replacement of wedding cakes, people that don't follow the blogosphere (read: most people) might not realize that the cupcakes should be left until "cake-cutting" time.  I have a few other signs to make for the reception- something for the candy buffet, a list of drinks for the bar, etc, etc- so here's what I've done so far!

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 I knew I wanted our signs printed on map backgrounds- the adventure bit of "A Geeky Adventure"- so it was absolutely perfect when I found this calendar of vintage maps at Paper Source.  Then I headed to Goodwill and snapped up a few simple wooden frames.  Last but not least, I snagged some ink pads in our colors, as well as some cute letter stamps, from that other man in my life, Michaels.  Time for a super-simple craft project!

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First, I cut the maps to fit the frames, then lightly marked, in pencil, the border of what's actually seen inside the frame so none of my letters would be cut off.  I used the cardboard backing as practice and laid out my stamps to spell out the messages.  Obviously size was the limiting factor here, so I had to be creative in my wording so everything would fit and not look cramped. 

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The cupcake sign was done in red and says "Please wait before enjoying cupcakes."  The candy buffet sign was done in purple and says "How sweet it is to be loved by you / Take some candy with you!"  I'm no master stamper (a thing I just made up) so you can definitely tell the letters were stamped on- by the dots inside the d's and the corners on some of the letters.  I kind of like the imperfect look, though- I like that you can tell they're handmade.

Like I said, I still have a few more signs to do, but I'm really happy with how cute these turned out- and how fast and easy it was to create them!

Now here's my question for you, dear readers:

These frames are all different shades of "natural" wood, and I had initially planned to sand and paint them all the same color- either a bright green or orange.  However, I'm kind of liking the eclectic look of the mis-matched frames.  So what should I do?

-Paint them orange!
-Paint them green!
-Paint them grey/silver!
-Don't paint them at all!

Much love,
The Geeks

Bridesmaid Update!

My mom just sent me an email with some lovely pictures attached- my sisters' dresses have come back from alterations and they look fantastic!

photo by Mom Geek

Aren't they gorgeous?  I can't wait to see everyone together all gussied up.

photo by Mom Geek

Just as a refresher- these are Alfred Sung D448 in Barcelona and Majestic.

It's the end of September now...we're less than 50 days away...we've been planning this for almost a year now...

Oh.my.goodness.

I've gotta get those DiY's done!

When did it hit you that it was crunch time?

Much love,
The Geeks

What Not to Wear

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-On the formal-casual spectrum, our wedding falls juuuuuuuuuuuuuust slightly on the casual side.
-The bridesmaids will be wearing short dresses, and so will the MOB and MOG
-The groom and his men will be wearing grey suits and handmade bow ties

...but what will the guests wear?

Sometimes, the dress code for a wedding is obvious- black tie, beach, semi-formal.

For ours, it's...not-so-obvious.  Since we have this fantastic wedding website for such things as the reception song request and RSVP, we figured we may as well give guests a hint as to what to wear- that is, not too formal and not too casual.  Guests can now find the following helpful graphics:

Guys:

Adam Gregory via Famewatcher / Tommy Hilfiger / J Crew

Ties are always a good option for a wedding, but how should you wear one to this wedding?  The typical go-to of a formal dark suit and a tie might be a bit too formal for our big day.  Formal shirts and ties paired with jeans and sneakers definitely create an interesting contrast in an outfit but we're going to ask that you kindly refrain from jeans.  If you're a tie guy, you'd probably be most comfortable in slacks and a long-sleeved shirt- and those sleeves will probably find themselves rolled up to the elbow when it's time to dance!

Dr. House via Zap2it / J Crew / Leonardo DiCaprio via JustJared

 But maybe you do like the feel of a suit with a nice jacket!  Again, although Dr House sure can rock the blazer-with-jeans look, we wouldn't want him showing up to the church dressed like that.  And Leo looks awful dapper in his tuxedo, but it'll be 11:00 in the morning!  Maybe switch things up a bit and go for slacks and a sport coat- super trendy and the perfect compromise.

The Ninth Doctor via chachadesu / The Eleventh Doctor via Rocking the Time-Space Continuum / The Tenth Doctor via Honorary Doctor

Still not getting it?  The Doctor is an awfully fashionable man, so let's let him demonstrate.  The Tenth Doctor's pinstripes are a little too formal for this shindig- though the Chucks do, admittedly, tone it down a bit- whereas the Ninth Doctor's t-shirt and leather jacket are a bit too casual.  The Eleventh Doctor has it juuuuuust right- that tweed jacket is so very fall and that bow tie is so very cool (just ask our groomsmen!) that he would get along swimmingly on our big day.  Allons-y!

Girls:

Chambray of the Week Dress via ModCloth / Gillian Dress in Navy by Dear Creatures via Ruche / Amy Adams via Style Bakery

 A dress is the obvious choice for a wedding guest, but length and fabric are really the key to getting it right.  Amy Adams looks fantastic in her blue one-shoulder gown, but that really fits in better on the Red Carpet than the dance floor at our reception.  That shirt dress from ModCloth would look adorable paired with leggings, but it's a little too short and a little too casual for our church wedding.  The shoulder-covering, knee-length dress from Ruche would be just perfect for the most stylish guest on our big day.

ModCloth / ModCloth / Nordstrom

  Maybe you'd rather go with separates than a dress?  That grey number from Nordstrom is a little too mother-of-the-bride- and not even the actual mother of the bride will be wearing anything like this!  However, the get-up on the left from ModCloth is just too summer-camp-banquet- the flannel and the miniskirt are two reasons to not wear it to this wedding.  The outfit from ModCloth in the middle hits all the right notes- slightly more formal fabrics than the outfit on the left, but a shorter skirt than the outfit on the right.  The key is knee-length to tea-length skirts, covered shoulders, and daytime colors and fabrics.

Keiko Lynn / Delightfully Tacky / Little Chief Honeybee

If you've been reading the blog, you know that our wedding is going to be a little quirky, and maybe your fashion muse is a quirky style blogger.  I have to admit, I really like this look on Keiko Lynn and would love to steal it for myself- but denim shorts are just too casual for our wedding.  Kaelah of Little Chief Honeybee looks fantastic as always, but the dress she's styled is made of a sheer chiffon with metallic polka dots- more prom than our big day.  (Of course she's styled it down with that awesome sweater, so this look probably would work ^_^)  As she always does, Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky hits the nail on the head with a sundress made November-worthy by layering it over this feminine top and pairing it with ankle booties.  I'd wear that!  (Okay fine I'd wear all three of these.)

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Does your wedding website include a what-to-wear guide?  Would you appreciate one as a wedding guest?

Much love,
The Geeks

How to RSVP to the Geek Wedding

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-Our wedding invitations are...different, to say the least
-And we're trying something...different...for the RSVPs-
- -online RSVPs!

So let's pretend you got one of these in the mail recently:

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Well, inside you'd find one of these:

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And you'd visit the website printed on the card:

{screenshot of our wedding website}

And then you'd click on RSVP in the side bar menu and be taken to a page with this form- whether you're planning to come or not:

{screencapture from our wedding website}

And in that last space you'd enter the code found on your invitation before clicking "submit".  And the information would populate our Google Docs spreadsheet and we'd know whether or not you're coming and how many people you're bringing.  And you'll do all of this BEFORE the deadline printed on the card, and Miss Geek will not go insane.

Any questions?

Much love,
The Geeks

No Admittance Except on Party Business

Well folks, invitations are in the mail, and by now at least a few guests will have received theirs.  So, in the tradition of Weddingbee bloggers, I can finally reveal our design!

Making a (Stylish) Getaway, Part 3

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-Limos are a little...high school prom- to me, anyway
-So we'll be driving to Disney in my car!
-And I need a short white dress for this getaway

So I know I said no limos...but if there were some way to hire Alfred as chauffeur, I think we'd be okay with riding in the Batmobile to Disney :)

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This was taken in the parking lot of a Lowe's in Chantilly.  Somebody took an old limo and added on some pieces to the body to make it look like the Batmobile.  When he went into the store to go shopping, we (and a bunch of other people) used the opportunity to snap a bunch of pictures.  Before anyone had a chance to talk to him about this project, however, he had already hopped back in and driven away in a huff.  Apparently he didn't understand the bystanders' fascination.

Anyway.

I found a getaway dress!  I was at Kohl's the other day snapping up some pieces for a business trip when I found this hanging on a sale rack:

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 These are elbow-length sleeves as opposed to long sleeves but gah this dress was just calling to me!  And it's more of a cream than a white but hey- so is my wedding gown.

I can already think of about a million ways to wear this dress and I really want to wear it now...but I'm going to force myself to wait until the big day.

So what do you think?  Would you hitch a ride with Batman on your big day?  Do you like this creamy, lacy, adorable getaway dress?

Much love,
The Geeks

So, You're Still Going Through with This?

When you tell people you're engaged, or when you share wedding details, you sort of expect a certain reaction.

"Congratulations!"

Or, perhaps,

"That sounds great!"

When you're planning a wedding with slightly offbeat details, you have to expect a certain amount of...resistance.

Raised eyebrows.

Arguments.

This post isn't about any of that.

This post is about the comments and questions that come seemingly out of nowhere from people you wouldn't expect to make those statements.

"So, you're still going through with this?"

"Is he the one, then?"

"Is this going to be, you know, long-term?"

What I want to know is: have any of you ever had similar conversations during your engagement?

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"So, you're still going through with this?"

This might not be an unreasonable question in all situations, especially since it came from a close friend of mine who really cares about me.  Perhaps if a friend notices from the outside that a relationship is unhealthy, or that the couple has major, violent fights all the time, or that either party has been unfaithful, or if the couple had at any point broken up in the past...then yes, this would be a reasonable question to ask.

Except none of these things are true in our relationship, and the friend who asked this question knows that.  She's known me since Mr. Geek and I started dating, she's seen how this has been the healthiest relationship I've ever had, she knows that my day can be instantly improved just by talking about him.  And yet, a few months ago, after asking a few polite questions about wedding planning, she looked me in the eye and asked this question.

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"Is he the one, then?"

This might be a reasonable question before the ring comes.  Like, way before the ring comes, when you're first starting to talk about forever, and the word "marriage" is first starting to circulate in your vocabulary.  When you first broach the topic with your girlfriends- "So...we're talking about maybe getting married..."- that's when you expect this question.

Except this question came just a couple of weeks ago, and from a total stranger.  In and of itself, this question wouldn't have necessarily bothered me, except the particular stranger asking the question was a very pushy salesgirl at a clothing store and the entire experience pissed me the hell off.  My friend and I had just come from Paper Source where, yes, I picked up some things for the wedding, then we walked into a cute little boutique just with the intention of looking around.

Apparently business was particularly slow that day because we were assaulted by sales consultants that followed us around and wouldn't leave us alone.  One noticed the Paper Source bag and pelted me with questions about what was inside and why I'd bought them- it clearly took all of her self-control to not rifle through the bag herself.  I felt the easiest explanation was, "I'm getting married in November..." but that led to this airheaded question.

Gee, we're about to get married in a couple of months, but you know, I'm not quite sure if he's the one.  Never put any thought into that question.

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"Is this going to be, you know, long-term?"

This might be a reasonable question a close friend asks when a relationship is first beginning, or first starting to move into serious territory.

That is the opposite of the conversation I was having when this question was asked.

About four months into the engagement, I was in a manager's office having a yearly "let's talk about your career" conversation- you know, one of those b.s. talks that HR requires your supervisor to conduct so they can pretend like they care about you as an individual.  This particular manager didn't know much about my personal life, but she did know I was engaged- I mean, I wasn't exactly keeping it a secret.  She thought this would be an appropriate question to ask next.

But it doesn't stop there.

After a slight pause, I answered that yes, yes this will be "long-term" because marriage is until death do we part.

"Because, you know, when I went into my first marriage, I knew that I'd have an exit plan."

I'm sorry, what does any of this have to do with the training classes I'd like to take this year?

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So y'all, I'm curious- at any point during your engagement, did someone ask an inappropriate or otherwise jaw-droppingly-rude question?  How did you handle the situation?

Much love,
The Geeks

Shower the People You Love with Love

**10 cool points if you can name that singer!**

So last weekend was the most awesome party I've ever attended- and that's really saying something, as I myself have thrown a few awesome parties in my day.

**all photos in this post are courtesy of Mr. Geek**

Mom Geek, BM BabySis, me, MOH

It was my 50's Housewife - themed bridal shower!

My sister- the artist and most awesome maid of honor- organized a lovely afternoon of food, games, and gift-giving.  As everyone arrived, they were given an apron she had decorated with ribbons and fabric paint in one of our wedding colors- and mine was decorated with all four.  Since Mom Geek and MOH are wearing red in the wedding, they got red ribbon on their aprons, and BM BabySis is wearing purple, so hers was purple- clever, right?  Each guest's name was written across the top- notice the name on my apron?- and she used the names I've always used for these important women in my life, so my mom's says "Mom" and my grandmothers' say "Mammaw" and "Grandma".  The bottom of each apron had my and Mr. Geek's names and the wedding date.  The pocket of each apron was stuffed with a wooden spoon decorated with another ribbon.

all decked out in my vintage-inspired get-up

a yummy spread featuring a lovely silk flower arrangement courtesy of my super talented MOH

Everyone worked hard to pull together a delicious spread of 50's-inspired party food including deviled eggs, spinach dip, and a delicious punch.  There were even tiny glass bottles of Coke!

these were a huge hit with my younger cousins

As guests grabbed snacks, they were asked to contribute to a few secret games that were then revealed when we all sat down together.

BM BabySis reads the "love story" everyone helped assemble

First, there was the "love story".  BM BabySis started the story by giving it a title- "A Geeky Adventure", of course!- and writing the first line.  Then she handed it to the next person to write another sentence.  Then the paper was folded backwards so that all that was visible to the next person was the line that was just written.  This continued, with guests adding just one sentence to the story at a time while only being able to read the sentence that came before.  BabySis added the last sentence, knowing how it started, and then read the whole thing to me:

A Geeky Adventure
-A long time ago, in a geeky summer camp far, far away, our two lovebirds met for the first time.
-Miss Geek saw Mr. Geek and said, "Wow, his calculator is hot!"  Mr. Geek thought Miss Geek was cute, so he called her a nerd.
-Miss Geek knew she could really love and nurture a nerd.
-They were made for each other.
-And then they broke the mold.
-And so they lived happily ever after <3
-Sometimes there are rainbows and sometimes clouds.
-But Miss Geek is always a princess.
-Except for that one time when...
-You two crashed while texting each other.
-But then they had hospital rooms across from each other.
-They cried and cried to be together and soon they united and got well.
-They lived happily ever after and had seven geeky children.
THE END

...it got a little dramatic towards the end there.  They said it's because every good love story has some tragedy in it.  Trust me, though- we don't text and drive :D

MOH reading the advice she collected from everyone

Then, there was some advice.  Everyone's pockets contained a slip of paper on which MOH had printed some tips that every good housewife should know.  Guests were asked to include their own advice on the back, and then MOH read them all aloud.  Most of the advice was actually very sincere words of wisdom for a happy marriage, met with many chuckles and caveats to "Do as we say, not as we do!"  The most repeated bits of advice were to "not sweat the small stuff" and to "not go to bed angry"- which we later all admitted might mean that I'd never get any sleep!  Some of the advice was more humorous; one of my younger cousins, for example, advised that I should always let my future children have candy before school, and BM BabySis gave what sounded like sage advice for any dog owner- give him plenty of food and belly rubs.  All in all, I think I've got a nice list of rules to follow to be a successful housewife :)

Then, of course, it was time for presents!

thumbs up for the KitchenAid!

I received many wonderful things for our kitchen, and Mr. Geek is salivating already at the thought of all the dinners- and most importantly, desserts- I'll be making with all my fancy new gadgets and serving on my fancy new plates.  And then my cousin's wife presented me with the most creative gift we've received so far- remember how we translated our names into Tolkien's Elvish for our invitations?  She downloaded the same font I mentioned in that blog post and cut out our names with her vinyl cutter for a gorgeous piece of framed art that will be making an appearance as a wedding decoration!

so.  freaking.  cool.

But I'm not the only one who received gifts!  There were two contests played during the festivities.  The first prize went to the guest whose birthday is closest to The Big Day- my cousin, one of our flower girls.

MOH and I posing with the contest winner // also, see those tissue poms?  MOH is quite the Martha Stewart;)

Then we played a rousing game of Wedding Pictionary.  In teams of 3 and 4, we raced to guess the wedding-themed drawings of our teammates, and each round involved a different restriction- sometimes you had to draw with your eyes closed, or with the opposite hand, or without lifting the pen from the paper.  There were a few freebie rounds, though, and that's when my team did the best.  The winning team was awarded kitchen accessory prizes for being the best artists and fastest guessers (mostly the latter).

Finally, we nibbled on cake, guzzled some more of that delicious punch, and headed outside for a group picture of all the lovely ladies that attended.  Sisters, grandmothers, aunts, my mom, and a whole slew of cousins- we're quite the clan!

  Did your bridal shower have a theme?  Did you receive any creative not-on-the-registry gifts?

Much love,
The Geeks

Foooooooooooood

Last week, during the Week of Wedding Work, Part 2, we tackled a very difficult task.

Seriously, it was probably the hardest part of wedding prep thus far.

I'm talking, of course, about our reception food tasting.

Seriously, y'all, this was a very, very hard thing to do.

But before we get to the details...

This is My Jam

First- many apologies on a lack of posts this past week or so!  We are SO FREAKING BUSY with wedding crap- namely, invitations- and then we took a road trip down to Alabama for more work and a fantabulous bridal shower which I will be blogging about soon!  

And now- back to the planning!

Like I mentioned last time, the main activity at our reception will (hopefully) be dancing.  We have a few tricks up our sleeve to ensure this happens, and one of which is, obviously, song requests!

We've assembled a simple little wedding website- the url of which will be included in the invitations, should they ever be finished- which will be used for many important things the closer we get to the wedding.  When a guest receives an invitation, they can visit the website to RSVP, and while they're there, they can request a song!

screencap from our website (click to enlarge)

Here's the homepage of our website that we put together with Google Sites.  Guests can click on Song Request in the menu and be taken to this page:

screencap from our website (click to enlarge)

They're greeted with these instructions:

- If your song is played, you must shout "THAT'S MY JAM!" and proceed to the center of the dance floor where you will show us your best moves.  Failure to comply may result in denial of cake.
- We won't play anything that makes our ears bleed- that means no "Call Me Maybe"
- We won't play anything considered to be an abomination of music- that means no Justin Bieber
-  We won't play anything with terribly explicit lyrics- that means no Nicki Minaj

If these rules aren't deemed too restricting, guests can scroll down and fill out this request form:

screencap from our website (click to enlarge)

This nifty little form lets guests request a song (including their names, so people have to own up to their guilty pleasures!) and deposits the results in a nifty little Google Docs spreadsheet, so we can start searching Amazon MP3 for anything that isn't already in our music collections because guess what- our DJ is my laptop!

**Just to note, the form won't be completely "live" until the invitations go out, so if any snooping readers find it before then, your entries won't be counted!

Would you ever consider DJ'ing your own wedding?  Did you take song requests from your guests?

Much love,
The Geeks