Chocolate Explosion Centre Pieces

I like the idea of having chocolate and sweets worked into my centre pieces that guests can pick at:

Place Settings

Had a wonderful weekend with the girlies and hashed out some decent wedding ideas with my bridesmaid.  We swiftly came to the conclusion that we can make a lot of wedding items ourselves - not necessarily to avoid the cost but because it gives a more personal and involved feel.  I don't want a lot of meaningless stuff hanging about on tables.  Is it really that special if it's been mass produced and pulled out of a box by a press-ganged waiter two hours before the ceremony?

I was tempted to let Anna make my mother's wedding hat but decided my Mum probably wouldn't appreciate it when words like "flamingo" and "velociraptor" started cropping up as decoration ideas.  Although, to her credit, Lisa did go away and come back with an excellent Dinosaur Origami book...

One of the ideas I'm most pleased with is the idea of personally painted Kokeshi dolls as place settings.  It also doubles as a personalised gift for guests to take away as a wedding keepsake:

And yes, I fully intend for the cast of Star Trek to make an appearance in doll form...

Rings & Things

I have resorted to considering that which we've already done.  Rings.  I figure I have a head start here as I already have an engagement ring.  Jay and I are similar in that we both prefer the idea of a plain ring.  We want matching rings all round, and as my engagement ring is 18ct white gold, that's another question already dealt with.

It has occurred to me that a round ring isn't going to work as my diamond isn't that small and it sticks out, meaning that a standard band isn't going to sit flush and will inevitably drive me nuts.  I went with the same jewellers that we used before and the options come down to two choices:

I think I prefer the first ring but the second looks like it would fit better around my princess cut rock.  Those are both in the region of half a grand.  J likes this one for himself:

It's double the cost of mine, much to J's annoyance.  However, given the cost of the ring I already have I reckon we can afford to spend a bit more on his ring than mine.  After all, the way I see it, it's going to be on your hand - which you use pretty much all day every day - for the rest of your life.  I want a set of really good quality rings that can stand up to the hardships of our lifestyles.

We have decided on getting some engraving on the inside but we're not sure what yet.  For two reasons: it prevents them getting mixed up with other rings while they're away for cleaning and also makes them harder to steal and sell on.

Pasties and registry offices

Spoke to my parents on the 'phone earlier and informed them of the decision to start putting aside funds for a wedding.  Was entertained to hear my Dad choking and spluttering in the background. 

I'm not sure where to start really, in terms of organising / budgeting for a wedding.  Suggested to my mother that we just stop in at the registry office and then pop down to Gregs afterwards.  To say the idea wasn't well received is a vast understatement...

Becoming a Wedding Ninja

I am one of those people that got engaged and made the mistake of not immediately setting a date for the big day.  Five years later, I've decided that decisive action is required. 

For this reason I have decided to become a Wedding Ninja and approach the whole thing like a military campaign.  How hard can it be?