Getting down to the details

We're starting to feel like we've got most of the big things taken care of-- the venue, the food, the cake, the dress, etc. and now we're starting in on the details, some of which require just as much thought and probably more creativity. Two weeks ago, we visited Paper Love, a small, very cute stationary shop in Park Slope (http://www.paperxoxo.com/). After looking through all of their books and not finding anything that really felt like "us", the owner offered to design something for us, if we had a particular image in mind. We have a print hanging in our living room, which Elliott bought as a housewarming gift to me when we moved in a couple of years ago, of a sillhouette of a couple sitting under a flowering tree, which we thought was appropriately romantic, nature-inspired, artsy and personal, and the artist was very happy to let us use it. We are planning to go back to the store this coming weekend to make our deposit and put in the order. We'll be working on the wording of the invite this week, which we'll definitely run by all of the parents. These customized invites will actually be cheaper than the pre-designed sets, and I think we've decided to use letterpress printing, since it is only slightly more expensive and looks really special.

We're also focusing on planning the ceremony with Bella, our cantor who will be officiating, and she's sent us some reading material to get us thinking about what we'd like to include. Both of us are also reading The New Jewish Wedding by Anita Diamant (author of The Red Tent and fellow at the Brandeis Womens Studies Research Center, where I worked in college :-)). The book is in turns too religious, too hippy woo-woo (to use a technical publishing term) and very helpful. Bella also gave us a form to fill out that includes all of the basic info about us, our families and wedding party, including the Hebrew names of all of our parents. Let us know what yours are! It also turns out that I may have been given a bogus Hebrew name at my Bat Mitzvah, so I may need a new, legitimate one for the wedding. We're also starting to think about some of the religious "accessories", like the chuppah, rings and ketubah. We'll probably take another look at rings next weekend.

Out in Sonoma, my mom is still comparison shopping for lighting vendors. We do want to make sure the room looks warm and festive, and lighting will be key in making that happen. Our choice seems to be between a company in San Francisco and one in Sonoma, and we're leaning towards the local one at this point, since they know the venue better and are nearby if there are any problems. Hanging lanterns seems to be the most expensive aspect of the lighting, but is my favorite decorative element for the room overall, so it may still be worth spurging on. We did just sign a contract for a DJ, who was recommended by the caterers and by Cline, and I think we'll be very happy with them. We'll be able to build a playlist on their website, so let us know if you have favorite songs you'd like to hear! Monster Mash is already on the list ;-)

I think that's all for now. Let us know what you think!