Invitations are out- hopefully you've received yours!

 Hello!

Although it has been quite awhile since we've posted to the grassroots wedding blog, we've been busy with multiple wedding projects which you'll soon read about here, including berry picking, jam making, junking and thrifting, and scoring stuff on the "free" section of craigslist.  Before we get to all of that, however, we wanted to share a little bit about the process of creating the wedding invitations.

Here's Chad, stamping and stuffing.  What a champ!

(keep reading....)

Paper goods, favors and fonts

In writing yesterday's post, I got a bit distracted while looking at the Airstream Wedding on Once Wed (where I pulled that great photo of bridesmaids in front of an Aistream, so sweet!), and I am still thinking of it, it was so so so beautiful.

I really love the paper goods that were created by Miss Pickles Press. In particular, how cute are these ideas?

source

Food, glorious food!

Well, we have a food decision, folks!  Yes, that's right, we know who will be providing our scrumptious wedding meal.  We had a few criteria, of course, that went into our catering decision.  First, our food needed to be affordable, because we're expecting 200+ guests.  Second, it needed to be elegant and yummy.  Third, we wanted it to make use of local, seasonally-available food.  Fourth, we wanted to do something a little unconventional, a little offbeat.  What did we come up with?  I present...... Skillet Streetfood!

 

(pic from Skillet's website)

Our Jewish Consultant, Rabbi Rachel

Most of you know that I am Jewish, and Chad is not.  Even though I'm not terribly observant, Judaism is important to me and I have always envisioned having a Jewish wedding.  Jewish wedding ceremonies feel very authentic to me, and I find meaning in the traditions:  standing under the chuppah, breaking the glass, signing of the ketubah, reciting the seven blessings, and of course, doing the chair dance!

 

Ketubah signing (source)

Anyhow, Chad has been really gracious about letting me incorporate Jewish traditions into our wedding.  That being said, he has valid concerns about the ceremony reflecting both of our values, traditions and personalities.  To figure out how to blend our different backgrounds into a beautiful, cohesive ceremony, we've enlisted the help of our "Jewish Consultant,"........

Wedding photographer confirmed!

I've spent the past few months methodically searching for a photographer. While photography is one of the most important elements of the wedding to us, we're on a relatively tight budget, so we wanted to limit our photographer cost to about 10% of our total wedding budget. I of course fell in love with all beautiful, elegant photographers advertised on Project Wedding, the Knot and on Once Wed, but got discouraged after contacting a few after learning about their prices (gasp!). Anyhow, I've been on a mission to find a talented, personable, reasonably-priced wedding photographer. We also had a few specific criteria....

Wedding idea board

I've rounded up some of my favorite images from around the weddingweb (many are from Project Wedding, thank you!) and put them into a photo collage idea board, to start to paint a picture of the colors/ style we're thinking of.

What exactly is a grassroots wedding?

Chad and I are really excited about the concept of a "grassroots wedding." The idea is that we do as much as possible using the strengths and talents of people in our community. I see a few great advantages in this concept; one, we'll hopefully save some money. Two, it will give friends and family a chance to feel really invested in our event, progressively building community so that by the actual wedding weekend, everyone will be great friends!

So far, friends have agreed to brew beer, to make our wedding video, to do my makeup and hair, to help us make the chuppah (or borrow a chuppah, thanks for those offers!!), and to can peaches and/ or make jam for wedding favors. We also have friends doing the wedding music- for the ceremony, for the crazy Klezmer dancefest after the ceremony, and for the dance party after dinner.

There are lots of other tasks I'd love a hand with- designing/ making a photo booth, making soy candles, making vases out of wine bottles, making wedding signage, decorating the tables, even growing flowers for potted plant centerpieces! Anyhow, if you're interested in helping out, leave a comment here or send me an email. Or, if you have any other great ideas you think might fit in to our wedding, send 'em my way! I'm going to keep a running list of DIY tasks, as well as people who have agreed to help, on the wedding website. Hopefully the website can serve as a kind of DIY hub for all of these projects.

We've set a date! Well, at least a weekend....

Well, it is official- Chad and I are getting married the weekend of August 20-23, 2010 in the Methow Valley. We are spending the entire weekend at Spring Creek Ranch, in Winthrop, WA. This is really the ideal location for us, for so many reasons. First, it is on a river. Rivers have been a fundamental part of our relationship, seeing that we first fell in love while fly fishing (on the Little Spokane River). Since then, we've had many adventures on rivers together, some solidly on the crazy/ hairy side of the risk spectrum! Rivers also symbolize continual movement- ever flowing and changing, a perfect allegory for a healthy relationship.

Second, the ranch is within walking distance to downtown Winthrop. This really appeals to me, as an urban planner by training. I love the idea that folks who choose to can walk or bike to the venue, or camp on site. I'm glad that after a long journey, we'll all be able to enjoy each other's company in a human-scale environment. Of course, there is also plenty of parking available for people staying further away or who are not able to or choose not to walk or bike long distances.

Also, the ranch has the perfect feel we were looking for- wide open, unpretentious, with views of the surrounding mountains. There are weepy willows and a few rustic barns and outbuildings, to add some photographic interest to the already beautiful surroundings. There is not much event "infrastructure," meaning that we will have to rent our own tables and chairs, as well as outhouses for guests camping overnight, lighting, etc. - but I'm looking forward to handling those details, honestly. And, the place is really a blank slate- we have total freedom to make it feel like home for the weekend.

Finally, the woman who runs the ranch, Sarah, is Jewish! As many of you know, we will be incorporating many Jewish traditions and customs into our wedding, so it is immensely relieving to me to know that Sarah will know about these ahead of time.

Woo hoo, it is going to be a great party! More details coming soon.