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About a year ago, I would think of some random detail for the wedding, and go off frantically searching for the best option for an hour or two, realize we still had a lot of time to make a decision, and leave it for the time being.  One of these details that I searched for multiple times was the guest book.  But now, with under 100 days left, I think it is time to actually make a decision!

I won't lie, I immediate dismissed the idea of a fingerprint tree.  I really don't like the idea of my fingerprint being on someone else's wall, or anyone's being on mine.  It's just a little weird.  Lucky for me, Dino totally agrees.

But I do love trees.  We're trying to work in some wood elements into the decor, so a tree would actually fit quite well.  At my cousin's wedding, they did a tree where you signed a leaf and stuck it to the tree, which was very cute.  But I don't want to copy them!  So this is a nice alternative:

Cool wooden tree, with signatures.  Photo via Etsy seller TotallySalinda

I also like the idea of incorporating the rain, since we're in Seattle.  Hopefully it won't be raining on the wedding day, but I do like images of rain!  I think something like this could be cool, except with rain drops you sign and put on the print, rather than fingerprints...

I can't decide if I like the caricatures or not, but it's a cute idea!  Photo via Teardrop Paperie

Back to the wood theme, here is a "Guest Log."  I love this idea because of the pun involved!  Yep, my humor is pretty terrible sometimes, but it makes me giggle, and I think it looks cool.

See, it's funny 'cause it looks like a crosssection of a log, but it's also a record, or log, of people who attended!  Image via 100LayerCake

Dino's family has a tradition of putting together puzzles together at Christmas, and I have always enjoyed puzzles, so I like this next idea because of that connection.  I was also thinking we could attach an escort card to a blank puzzle piece, so everyone got one to fill out, but I have a feeling more than one wouldn't make it back to us, and there is nothing worse (okay, lots of things are worse) than a puzzle with a piece missing!  Also, it would be ridiculously hard to solve this puzzle, since there is no image to go off of...  But I still like it!

So fun and personal!  Image via Etsy Seller BellaPuzzlesToo

This idea combines the puzzles with the trees.  And I LOVE it.  Aside from the price tag, which is a little higher than I would like to spend.  But it looks so cool, and is just awesome!

See? They can even do custom shapes hidden in the puzzle, like a heart, or a cupcake, or something else meaningful!  Image via Etsy Seller KeystonePuzzles

The last idea is fairly common these days, and might be what we end up using.  The engagement photo book.  I even went ahead and made a book, using Picaboo (with a hefty discount!).  Dino had mentioned that he thought we should just keep it simple, and liked this idea, plus I figured we'd want a book with our engagement photos anyway.  The only problem is that I didn't leave enough white space, I have a feeling, and I'm worried someone will give us mustaches.  But it is an option, and a reasonable one considering we now have the book, and would just need to get some pens.

Which would you use?  A more traditional engagement photo book, or something more out of the box?

Under 100!

We've reached a fairly big milestone: we have less than 100 days left until the wedding!  Double digits, baby!  Heck yes!

And we are just about ready to cross another big item off the list: invitations!  After designing probably 15 different invitations, and not being able to agree on anything, from font to wording to text placement... I found some invitations online that I liked, ordered a sample, and we fell in love.  Dino said "Let's just get these!" when I showed him the sample, and my mom, in typical wonderful mom fashion, gushed over them and said we HAD to get them.  She went so far to say that the look of them was not too fussy, a bit modern, and very much just like us, which I like!  So I ordered them last night, and am going to go over the proofs with Dino tonight, and hopefully we'll have some beautiful invitations in our hot little hands in less than 2 weeks!  Man!

I've also been DIY-ing some, but I'll save all of that for separate posts.  Lets just say my hands are tired of all the sanding, and I'm getting excited to break out the spray paint!  

Finally, my grandma is doing somewhat better now.  She is physically just about fine, able to walk, sit up, feed herself, and all that.  But her memory is still mostly gone.  She seems to remember her husband, and asks for him, but doesn't really remember my dad, her son, or any of us.  We went to see her on Mother's Day, and my dad "introduced" me to her, and she didn't say the right name (a similar sounding name that is more common instead).  Granted, she's been hard of hearing for awhile, but the fact that my name didn't come to her mind first makes me sad and worry that her memories of me are gone.  She should be transferred to a rehab center where they will work with her more closely to regain her memories.  It was super weird to hear her voice say nonsensical things, like she told my brother that he wasn't hiding the things, which my dad somehow translated to mean he hadn't shaved (my brother keeps a pretty rugged beard these days!).  She told me to turn on the green machine, which I can't really translate, except that I used to drive a green Jeep, and I was into environmental studies in college...  While we were there for like, 20 minutes, she said "wake me when it's Thursday" probably 10 times, then either slept, or faked sleeping.  It was so weird to hear her saying some things she totally would have said, in a voice she totally would have used, but not to be herself inside.  I think the fact that there were 5 of us visiting at once scared her a little, and she seemed really nervous and kept talking about how cold it was and hiding.  Basically, it was weird, and she wasn't my grandma that I know, but I believe she is making some progress, which is hopeful.

So things are pretty much okay right now.  Lots of great things, some good things.  I can't believe that in less than 100 days my love and I will be married and this whole wedding planning journey will be over!

Family

I love my family.  I was blessed to be born into a loving, fun, and just overall wonderful family.  My parents are amazing.  My brother, who is actually staying with us right now, is the coolest kid, incredibly smart and funny, and just all around a great guy (ladies, he's single!!!).  I'm so happy my brother will be my "bridesdude," and that my parents are enjoying planning this wedding so much.

I have cousins, and aunts and uncles, spread all over the US, but they all are kind, caring, and hilarious people.  Seeing them, even if it has been years, feels right and you settle back into familial relationships.  I have cousins and and aunt and uncle who live closer too, who feel basically like an extension of my immediate family.  We celebrate all birthdays and most holidays together.

And then more than anything, I am super lucky to have all four of my grandparents living still.  They all live about 8 hours away, and I've discussed before that I don't think my mom's parents will be able to make the wedding.  But my dad's parents?  The grandparents who recently took a 6 month trip across the US in an RV, who are incredibly self sufficient in and decent health?  Well, I was certain they would be at the wedding!

But life happens, and throws a wrench in my plans.  I don't know why I assumed my elite status as a grandchild with all grandparents living and healthy would never change.  But it might very soon.

My grandma, my Gammy, is in the hospital.  She fell and hit her head, had cranial bleeding and broke her spine in a couple spots.  So she had surgery for that, and it went well.  The next day, however, she had a stroke, and kept having mini strokes.  She currently doesn't recognize any of her family, and isn't terribly responsive.  It's really weird.  Physically, she is pretty much fine now, but because of the surgery they can't treat the stroke.  Which means I might never get my Gammy back.  I might never again hear her crazy sneeze, or get a big bear hug, or hear her talk about all sorts of people I never remember.  It's weird.  It's weirder still for my grandpa, Papa.  Seeing him alone?  It's just so weird.

Dino lost both of his grandmas in the past few years, which has been strange to me.  So now, I don't know if we'll have a single grandma at our wedding, which sounds crazy self centered and lame, but I can't bear to think of not getting a picture with Gammy, or having her there.  I see that picture with the hands of three generations of women and their rings, and I probably won't get that photo for myself.  I'm so glad she got to meet Steve, and that she liked him.

Mostly, its the suddenness.  Sure, my grandparents have been getting older, and she's been slowing down, but they're still travelling all the time!  I went to see her today, and it's not the same person at all in that hospital bed.  So strange.

Whatever happens, I am glad my family is around her and we will be there for each other as well.  I am hoping for a miracle!