Wedding Three threads in one. Woot!

[luckystar112]

So I just made these gift bags for our guests and sent them out. They were a HUGE HIT!!! I got the idea from Harleigh. I made one per couple attending (so, six).

Background in case you''re new/forgot: Wedding is a DW in Jamaica

The bag itself is actually a cooler/tote that is able to carry 8 cans of soda.
Inside the tote is:

1) A CD of jamaican tunes I burned for them. It said "Som-ting to get you in de mood, MON!"
2) Sunblock
3) SPF chapstick
4) Beach hats
5) A beach ball (still in the package, obviously).
6) Two sets of goggles (from the dollar store, came in packs of two)
7) Tropical punch flavored kool-aid packet, although I''m not sure if Jamiaca is considered a tropical island.
A small jamaican flag/patch
9) A personalized letter thanking them for coming to our wedding, trying to get them excited
10) A copy of a literary Journal that I was recently published in (my first time being published! whoo hoo! And I won a prize). I figured the whole journal was pretty good reading material......but that brings me to topic number 2:


TOPIC NUMBER TWO:
Everyone was very interested in reading the story, so I sent everyone a copy of the journal--including two sets of Aunts and Uncle''s on FI''s side that I''ve never met. Thing is, the story is sort of "dark". Well, I mean, it''s just not a "happy" story. Okay, it''s about a mother dealing with her son''s suicide. I''m afraid I''m going to be judged for this. Is that an irrational fear? I''m scared everyone is going to think something wrong with me! lol. Especially since one of the couples just had a son. Ouch. I didn''t even think about it until I sent it though. What do you gals think?

Topic 3 coming right up!!!

 

[luckystar112]

Mom got me a bouqet made since Sandal''s bouqets (am I spelling that right? it looks weird) are pretty darn expensive unless you go with carnations or daisies. I''m talking over $200.

Thing is, you obviously can''t bring real flowers to another country, so we had a silk one made. This is it. Does it look very obviously FAKE to you?

Here it is...it''s made up of hydrangea (I have NO idea how to spell that), callas, and white feathers.

Even if it does look crazily fake, do you think it will in pictures? I guess I''ve seen WORSE. And I can always go for the daisies if these look too fake.

Just remembered something....STAY TUNED FOR TOPIC 4!

 

[luckystar112]

This was the inspiration bouqet from the knot

 

[luckystar112]

LAST TOPIC:

From my other thread "tham" these are the thank you cards that we ended up going with.
Cute?
$15 for fifty of them, sounds good to me!


So there''s my update everyone.

 

[neatfreak]

I LOVE the bags lucky! And the thank you cards are perfect.

As for the bouquet, yes it looks fake in that close up shot. But I don't necessarily think it will in far away shots, and really who cares. If you love it more than the daisies the resort can provide, that is what you should have!

Just avoid bouquet close-ups and you will be fine.

 

[pocahontas]

Luckystar,

I'm also having a destination wedding - most likely the Dominican Republic - and I was planning on giving my guests a similar gift (i.e. beach bag, sunblock, etc.). I hope you don't mind, but I'll be copying you all the way

. Duh, I hadn't even thought of burning a CD (merengue in my case - maybe salsa and bachata too) or including chapstick and a pair of goggles - pure genius

Okay, I'm off to bookmark this thread...

ETA: I like your thank you cards too

Can you just order duplicates of everything and save me the headaches - lol!

 

[luckystar112]

Thanks NEATFREAK!

My mom sent me the flowers in the mail, so I guess I''ll have a better idea once they get here.
Maybe I''ll take some practice photos too.

The other thing is that at Sandals only the daisies and carnations are real...all the upgrades are silk. So, if I''m going to go with silk either way it might as well be this boquet!

Pocahontas,
Thanks for the compliments! Do you have a dollar store nearby? I got almost everything from there with the exception of the bags (target $8.99 each) the CD (I burned myself) and the literary journal (free). The sunblock, hats, beach ball, goggles, etc were all from the dollar store. Shipping was the most expensive, but these were all going across the country.

As for the thank you cards, I got them online $15 for 50 (She did custom auctions so I asked her for 50 and half of the money back)!
Here is the auction if you''re interested. She''s very accomodating.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=160240090256

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 5/20/2008 6:03:32 PM
Author: luckystar112
Thanks NEATFREAK!


My mom sent me the flowers in the mail, so I guess I''ll have a better idea once they get here.

Maybe I''ll take some practice photos too.


The other thing is that at Sandals only the daisies and carnations are real...all the upgrades are silk. So, if I''m going to go with silk either way it might as well be this boquet!

Well then heck yea stay with this one. It looks as nice as any fakes can look I think!!! I should add that I am a fresh flowers snob, so take that into consideration with my opinion.

But even then I don''t think it looks bad at all...just that you can tell it''s fake close up.

 

[mia1181]

Awww The gifts bags are awesome!

Love the thank you cards!

I think the literary journal was such a nice touch because eveyone can appreciate some good reading material while relaxing on the beach. Plus it''s personalized since its your work! I think its a great idea and most people can appreciate art for art and fiction for fiction. Don''t worry about it, be proud!

 

[mia1181]

Oh yeah, and the bouquet.... I think it looks nice, you shouldn''t be able to tell from far away. See if you like it in person. But it sounds like you''d have to buy fake ones either way.

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 5/20/2008 6:03:32 PM
Author: luckystar112
Pocahontas,

Thanks for the compliments! Do you have a dollar store nearby? I got almost everything from there with the exception of the bags (target $8.99 each) the CD (I burned myself) and the literary journal (free). The sunblock, hats, beach ball, goggles, etc were all from the dollar store. Shipping was the most expensive, but these were all going across the country.

As for the thank you cards, I got them online $15 for 50 (She did custom auctions so I asked her for 50 and half of the money back)!

Here is the auction if you're interested. She's very accomodating.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=160240090256

Yah! I found a wedding planner and her name is Luckystar

Thanks for the information and link - I appreciate it

By the way, like Neatfreak, I'm all about the fresh flowers, but I think your bouquet looks lovely and I agree that from a distance especially that no one will be able to tell the difference.

 

[pjean]

To tackle only the non-wedding threadlet about the darkness of your story:

One of the weirdest things about starting to show creative work of any sort to other people (I think especially writing, but that might just be because I''ve never done anything else) is OMG What Will They Think Of Me? This comes slightly after OMG What If They Think I''m a Talentless Hack? It is very hard to picture, for example, one''s mother reading a sex scene. Or one''s aunts and uncles reading this dark story. You are definitely not the only person to freak over this! So first of all, congrats for sending it before you chickened out. (Well, first of all, congrats on being published, and on winning a prize.)

In the end, it''s a little like planning a wedding - you can''t take their opinions to heart. You have to write what you''re going to write, and hope that they keep their opinions to themselves. It''s not crazy of you to think about it, but it''s also not helpful. Among other things, a great inducer of writer''s block! And even if they do think there''s something wrong with you, only the hopelessly, unsalvageably rude would actually *say* that to you.

Kind of like someone who doesn''t like your wedding.

 

[luckystar112]

Thank you pjean!
FI''s mom is an English teacher and she actually brought the story to school to read to her class. So that''s cool! At least SHE doesn''t think I''m crazy.

 

[pjean]

Date: 5/21/2008 12:20:59 PM
Author: luckystar112

FI''s mom is an English teacher and she actually brought the story to school to read to her class. So that''s cool! At least SHE doesn''t think I''m crazy.

Or she thinks you''re crazy but a good writer.

I know. I''m so helpful.

 

[iheartscience]

1. Cute bag idea!
2. I think they''ll get that the story is fiction and be impressed with you and your prize!
3. I don''t think the bouquet looks fake, actually...am I just a big dummy? Before I saw that it was fake flowers I was like "Oh pretty...I like the orchid!"
4. Perfect cards!

 

[luckystar112]

haha I think I''m a dummy too because I have a hard time telling the difference between fake and silk. But that could be because I''m not around a ton of fresh flowers all the time.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 5/21/2008 7:40:18 PM
Author: luckystar112
haha I think I''m a dummy too because I have a hard time telling the difference between fake and silk. But that could be because I''m not around a ton of fresh flowers all the time.

I think (especially in pictures) nice silk flowers look so real! And orchids always kind of look fake to me because they''re so perfect and weird, so that probably helps!

 

[Harleigh]

Woohoo! I was the inspiration for something??? How exciting is that, I ask you???

Everything looks great, and I''m sure they''ll be a terrific hit. As for the literary journal, I think people will appreciate it for what it is (how cool is it that you were published, for goodness sakes?) and hopefully look at it for the the literary entertainment it can provide, as many pieces such as that are meant to. Try not to stress over it!

I guess I should start getting my OOT Welcome Bags together one day soon and start posting about it! I think I have about 17 to do...ugh! Just one more thing I''ll need to pay extra for with the airlines!

I''m so glad everything is coming together for you!!!