Cupcake presentation

Generally, I've been pretty laid-back about wedding stuff lately. I feel like the pressure is off.

I've finalized or near-finalized:

catering,

locations (ceremony and reception),

flowers,

hotel,

invitations (and sent out the StDs),

flowers,

bought my dress, and

decided on rings! (more to come on many of these things soon)

I feel good. I feel like I've got the major stuff taken care of. What's left seems manageable, and doesn't seem too urgent. And the stuff that I know I was procrastinating on because I didn't want to deal with it, I've delegated to my mom. Perfect.

So now, I feel like I should be tackling the stuff that isn't urgent, but can be done ahead of time. Since I'll be baking cookies (more on this to comme, too) and cupcakes for the wedding, I would like to only have to worry about those two things (and the unexpected things that I'm sure will come up) for the last couple of weeks before the wedding. So I've been trying to figure out what I can go ahead and take care of.

And so began the cupcake tower project. I found a great tutorial online for making a tower out of foamcore. Sounded prefectly budget-friendly, and like something that my limited craft skills could handle. Right? Well, it actually is. However, after building two of the levels, I'm not sure that it's really the scale that I had in mind. I mean, it's GIANT. I guess that's OK. It just isn't what I was expecting. I read the directions and didn't think anything of 6" high sides on each level - but in person... that's really high! So, I guess I could just cut the sides shorter. I can figure that out, right?

And the way it's designed, so that the sides of each level are the supports, doesn't actually leave a lot of area for the cupcakes. But I'm sure I could modify that too, right? Maybe do an x-shaped support that leaves the whole bottom open for cupcakes, like a friend of mine did. Or just move the sides in, so that there is a partial overhang above each level. Or use regular wedding cake pillars for support at each corner. There are definitely options.

Maybe some pillars like these guys?

But then I started thinking about other options, and came across an old copy of Martha Stewart Weddings.

How cute would the cupcakes be in their own little boxes, just stacked into a tower shape? And even though it would mean that I'd have to individually box them, it would also mean that I wouldn't have to build a tower. Not a bad trade-off. But then the questions becomes whether to use clear boxes and show off the cupcakes, or cute boxes like Martha's favor boxes, that are their own display, and have the pretty cupcakes as a nice surprise when people open them? Or round boxes? And will boxes discourage people from digging in? Or make it too hard to tell what kind of cupcake is in each (I plan to have 3 different flavors)?

So many choices.

Save the date magnets?

Originally, I had in mind that I would do postcard STDs with a business card-sized magnet attached. But then, while working with the stationer, it was easy (and I was happy) to do letterpress STDs that matched the invitations - simple, classy, and in an envelope. And I'm really excited about them. I had completely dropped the idea of including magnets (thinking that they wouldn't really match the new style).

...and then I found marble magnets! (see Mormon Chic, Quidnunc.org, and NotMartha, et al.)
So I did a test run. As it turns out, my graphic design skills are seriously lacking. But here's what I came up with. I'm still not sure if it's worth including with the save-the-dates or not. They are way easy, so that's not a problem, at least. I'm just not sure if they are pretty/cool/neat enough to make it worth including. I guess I have to decide sometime this week, because I should be sending them out by this time next week!

wedding bells at every price point.

I fully intend to stay until the end of our reception. If I put this much time and money and thought into an event, I want to enjoy every moment of it! So I don't see any need for a send-off from the reception (ie. sparklers, rice, etc.).

And I plan to take photos at the church after the ceremony, so no big send-off there either. Just a receiving line and then sneaking off to get down to pictures.

But I do like the idea of guest participation in something. Enter, bells. I'd like to have bells for people to ring as we exit the church. I figure I'll let my immediate family know the plan so that they can start the ringing, just in case other people aren't 100% of when and where to use them. but what kind of bells to hand out?

This is what I had in mind before I started looking. A simple, classic silver bell. Beautiful. Unfortunately, at >$2 each, this looks like a less-viable option unless I can find someone reselling theirs for cheaper. So far, no luck. (Her Wedding Favors, $2.75 each; Open Tip, $2.80 each; Favor Favor, $1.85 each; Amazon, $3.14 each (incl. organza ribbon and printed hang tag))

Then I saw these. Beautiful, classy, and perhaps even easier to ring? And way cheaper. Thank you, Martha. But I'm just not sure that I can get over the fact that they remind me of Christmas. It would be an easy DIY project though - I could feel like I was actually DIYing something for the wedding. (Wedding Bee Classifieds, 150 bells with ribbon and bag for $50; This and That 4 You, 144 plain bells for $28.79; PaperMart, 25 velour bags for $3; PaperMart, 50 yards of 1 1/2inch double-faced satin ribbon for $7.95 (That's $54.74 to DIY 150!))

Then there are these guys. They are ity-bitty, and definitely look cheaper to me. And the cheapest of these come with a card with some sort of kissing poem (that I don't want). But, they are <$1 each, and I'm sure I could remove the cards. And they come in both silver and gold (I'd go with silver). (Oriental Trading Co., 50 for $4.99; Century Novelty, 24 for $8.98; Future Memories, 24 for $10.65 )

I just can't bring myself to commit to the cheap ones. I love the price. I do. Maybe I'm just being snotty. Or maybe, I should run my A.C. Moore (I think I've seen them there), and at least test run the tiny bells and the jingle bells and see if I even like the way they sound - that's what really matters, right?

Signs!

I found out that I may put signs on the U of R campus to direct people to the chapel. Thank Goodness! I've been on the campus a few times now, and I think it's incredibly confusing. And I'm pretty sure that I got my awful sense of direction from my family, so I feel the need to help them find it however I can.

I'm including directions in the invitations, but I really wanted to make sure that everyone could find it ok, even if they left them at home or had trouble following my detailed directions.

So, obviously that means that I get to shop for signs!

I've only just begun looking at pictures, but I think this is my favorite so far. Of course, the chances of me paying over $40 per sign are pretty slim, but I really think that this is something that I could make (I'm just not sure how much it would cut the price to DIY this). And if I made it myself, I could paint the background navy AND I'd have the option of putting our names on it too. Very tempting.

This is another good bet, and at $25 for six signs (complete with ribbons and balloons), the price really can't be beat. And although it's cardboard, I don't think it looks cheap. But it definitely looks like it will catch people's eyes, which is really the point, right? And as a bonus, I don't have to figure out what to do with a bunch of wooden arrows after the wedding. Oriental Trading to the rescue!

And there are these cute coordinating signs for the reception. I find it all very tempting.