chocolate_mango's Xanga

525,600 x 2

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:08:50 GMT

... Minutes, that is, since we've been married. :) What's changed in the last two years?

1. We bought our first home! Thanks to Obama and Schwarzenegger, we were able to take advantage of some first time home buyer tax credits to purchase a 2BR/2BA condo in downtown SF. Never mind that we are too broke to furnish it. Ignore our ghetto "drapes," a.k.a. the faded bed sheet we attached to our window with painters' tape. We have double sinks! Know what that means? I can ignore the nasty, hairy shaver "sand" around Mr. Eggplant's sink! And I'm finally near public transportation so I have an excuse to leave work early; "Sorry guys, gotta go catch my ferry!" :)

Mr. Eggplant looks terrified during a walk through of our condo. His expression is likely due to discovering my wish list of new furniture.

2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Mr. Eggplant decided to pursue higher education. So, along with a full time job, he is going to school part time at night. The transition has been both difficult and easy. Difficult because we don't spend quality time together anymore, our budget is extra tight (tuition is expensive!), and worst of all, Mr. Eggplant transformed my craft room into his man-study, complete with a talking Transformers figure. The horror! On the flip side, we appreciate every last minute we are together. Oh, and I now only have to cook two nights a week!

3. I've discovered a passion. Thanks to Weddingbee, I've become enamored with gorgeous photos and I've taken up photography as a serious hobby/potential future business endeavor. Mr. Eggplant bought me my first DSLR for my birthday last year, and it's been attached to me ever since. After shooting my first wedding in May, I've learned that it's tough work! But, I adore it. Although I'm not quitting my day job, I'm concentrating on becoming the best photographer I can be, without the pressure of building a business.

And after two years, some things never change:

1. We still bicker about money and chores. I spend too much money, he does too little chores (I have a feeling this argument is here to stay).

2. We're still a good team. We went through a lot during our second year of marriage: family illnesses, family deaths, house buying, moving... but we did it as a team. Sure, I lifted more heavy boxes than Mr. Eggplant. He read more contracts than me. We aren't perfect, but somehow, we fill in each others' gaps and make it work. :)

3. Marriage is still 149,265,109,298 times better than the wedding. The wedding was fabu, but being married is indescribable. There's something life changing when another person thinks you're beautiful on your bad days, when you're five pounds bloated with no make-up and haven't shaved/showered in a week. I the daily ups and down of marriage. I love how real the moments are; like when Mr. Eggplant always makes me laugh the very instant I'm trying to be pissed at him. I love that we can fight for hours--days, even--yet I ultimately know that we will make up and our differences can never outweigh our affection. Weddings are fabulous, but marriage is incredible.

Happy anniversary, Mr. Eggplant! Here's to the memories and many more to come.

Wedding photos by the awesome Apertura Photography.

L Letterpress by Lifestyle Crafts

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:35:35 GMT

Letterpress for the home crafter? Could it be?

Since planning my wedding, I've become a HUGE fan of letterpress stationery. Lettpress note cards, greeting cards, and business cards--I love them all! I reallly want to purchase an antique letterpress machine, but Mr. Eggplant axes the idea because my craft room is already packed to the brim with stamps, die cut machines, and paper. Plus, letterpress machines and replacement parts are often hard to find and expensive, and the learning curve can be steep.

But, this week I just got a newsletter in my inbox that this fall, Lifestyle Crafts (a division of QuicKutz Inc.) will be releasing the L Letterpress, a letterpress machine for the home crafter. And the starter kit is only $149! What?! I know nothing can replace true letterpress, but this might be a fun alternative for those of us who don't have the space or money for a real machine (kind of like an easy bake oven versus a Viking convection, yo). I'm crossing my fingers that the L Letterpress machine will allow crafters to create and use printing plates with their own designs too.

Here is a picture tutorial from the Lifestyle Crafts website:

1. Open the L Letterpress and place an adhesive-backed printing plate on the clear lid.

2. Ink the printing plate evenly with the brayer tool.

3. Place paper in desired location on base of letterpress tool. Use registration grid and Paper Placement Guides for greater accuracy and alignment.

4. Close lid and roll L Letterpress through Epic tool. For a deeper impression, add additional packing sheets.

So, what do you think? Great invention? Or complete miss?

Catherine & Mark's Beach Wedding

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:18:01 GMT

Last week I shared Catherine & Mark's lovely beach themed invitations with you. Today, I'm going to share some images from their wedding.

As I mentioned, the lunch reception was hosted at the Marine Room in San Diego and this picture above was the amazing view that was right outside the window next to me. In fact, I took this picture while waiting for my first course to be served. It was a mid-January day, but no one would've known it with the 70 degree weather!

Dark red roses and stargazer lilies added a perfect splash of color to the white tables. Mark & Catherine used pictures from their engagement session in their table numbers and also sprinkled sea shells around.

The food was sooooo good. On the left, a crab cake appetizer. On the right, roasted chicken.

Mark & Catherine had a fake cake--only the top tier was real. For dessert, we were served a delicious and hearty slice of ice cream cake.

Photography blog stalkers, can you guess who the two shooters are in this picture? They're Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser of The Image is Found. The bride and groom hired them to document their lovely wedding day.

The couple did an after shoot on the beach with Orange Turtle Photography. Cindy, the principle shooter for Orange Turtle (wearing red in the pic), was one of the bridesmaids, so she couldn't shoot the wedding and did an after shoot instead. The other shooters in the picture are my friends who were guests of the wedding. They're huge photography geeks and they lug their gear everywhere; I thought this pic was amusing and quite fitting. Mr. Eggplant is the one with the Flip video cam, filming the events.

And lastly, because I love me some wedding eye candy, I wanted to share some of the stunning images from Catherine & Mark's shoot on the beaches of San Diego. I'm swooning over these images. Catherine is gorgeous--she looks like a classic Chinese movie star. The pictures make me drool and wish that I could frolic on the beach in my wedding gown too! Seriously, I'm itching to dress Mr. Eggplant in a tux and drag him into the waves with me.

All the photos below property of Orange Turtle Photography:

Catherine & Mark's Gorgeous Beach Themed Invitations

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:29:40 GMT

Last month, Mr. Eggplant was the best man for our friends' wedding in San Diego. Coincidentally, one of my bridesmaids was the maid of honor! The wedding was gorgeous. Our friends hosted a lunch reception at the Marine Room, a restaurant with an AMAZING ocean front view. The beach was literally right outside the window. Unbelievable. And the food… Oh. Mah. Gah. It wedding food I’ve ever tasted.

Hubs gave a hilarious Best Man speech where he made fun of the Cal/Stanford rivalry between the couple (Mark, the groom, graduated from Cal and Catherine, the bride, from Stanford). Hubs got some good chuckles from the crowd–he’s such a ham. He also prepared a slideshow for the couple, which was better than the slideshow he prepared for us! Why? Well, Hubs did something super sweet for the bride and groom: he emailed all of their close friends who couldn’t attend the wedding and asked them to record a short video sending well wishes to the newlyweds. Then Hubs added the footage at the end of the slideshow as a surprise! The couple was definitely surprised. How stinkin’ sweet is that? I’m so proud of Hubs. He thought the idea up all by himself.

I had an opportunity to work on the couple's wedding invitations with the talented Emily of Emma and Bear. I'm totally addicted to Emily's blog where she shares her lovely crafts and posts the most adorable photos of her puppy! Emily did a fantastic job designing the ocean themed cards while I came up with the color scheme, monogram, and invitation suite presentation. Catherine picked out cranberry colored BM dresses for the ladies and wanted to keep an ocean feel to her wedding, so I suggested a color scheme of cranberry and sky blue .

Once the design was finalized, I goccoed and assembled the entire project by hand. Yes, 150 invitations with four cards and one envelope per set. I'm going to pat myself on the back here, because--I won't lie--it was a LOT of work. The project took two full weekends, plus several weeknight evenings. In the end, it was all worth it. I think they turned out rather well! Most importantly, the bride and groom were happy with the finished product.

Catherine wanted a cover that would act as a pocket fold, but wouldn't cost as much. I came up with the idea of folding a sheet of thick card stock in half and using a ribbon to secure the cards inside. The metallic paper was only $0.30 per sheet from www.paperandmore.com and I was able to cut two folders per sheet. This option was much cheaper than a pocket fold. The entire invitation suite was less than $2.50 per set, including all the paper, envelopes, Gocco screens, ink, and embellishments. Not bad!

On the cover, I used two different sized square punches to cut out the monogram. The unsightly ribbon ends were hidden beneath the square.

Here's the lovely reception card in all of it's Goccoed glory. Emily carried the whimsical wave motif and starfish on all the cards.

And above is the RSVP card.

Once the project was finished, I packaged the lovely paper goods in ribbon and sent them off to be shipped!

Next up, I'll share some of the dazzling, gorgeous images from Catherine & Mark's beach themed wedding.

My Arm is Famous!

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:52:22 GMT

Thanks to our superawesome photographers, Ray & Erwin of Apertura, Mrs. Eggplant's right arm has now been published in a national wedding mag! Apertura printed their very first full-spread ad in this month's issue of Inside weddings, smack in the middle of the magazine too. Watch out, Hollywood... here I come.

The image on the right side of the page spread was taken just before I walked down the church aisle. My cousin, Monica, was fixing my lipstick as little Jillian watched in wonder. Jillian was the cutest little flower girl ever and she definitely stole the show. I'm so glad this moment was caught on camera! I'm also so very glad we picked Apertura to document our wedding day. Best wedding decision ever.

It's a super awesome feeling to see an image from our humble wedding in print, especially in one of the most extravagant wedding publications in the industry. My right arm is very grateful. Now I just wish I had done more tricep exercises...

FSIL's Bridesmaid Newsletter

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:29:04 GMT

Hiya, bees. How are ya? Long time, no blog!

I'm back today because I wanted to share my wedding experiences from the other side. Not the married side, but the bridesmaid side! I'm a bridesmaid in my future sister in law's (FSIL Eggplant) and brother's wedding next year. They recently got engaged and set their wedding date for October 2009 and I couldn't be happier for them! I couldn't have picked a better match for little Brother Eggplant if I had chosen her myself.

Last week, I got my very first bridesmaid newsletter from FSIL Eggplant. It was so stinkin' adorable, I just had to share it with the hive.

The newsletter was called, Bridesmaid Aisle Style. FSIL Eggplant and Brother Eggplant picked pink and brown as their wedding colors and each page was coordinated in shades of pink and brown. FSIL Eggplant wrote a sweet welcome message on the first page.

Second page, she wrote introductions for the bridal party members. We don't all know each other, so the blurbs were a great touch.

The third page showcased photos of our BM dresses. FSIL Eggplant already purchased our gowns for us! Now that's stress free wedding planning at its best.

On the fourth page, FSIL Eggplant included some suggestions for affordable, cute footwear.

Next, FSIL's showed us the results of her makeup trial with Wow Pretty. Wow, she definitely looks purdy!

FSIL also introduced the designer who will be doing the reception florals. FSIL suggested making our own bouquets the night before the wedding to save a bit of money and spend some quality time together.

On the last page was everyone's contact info, useful for bridal shower planning.

As a former bride myself, I loved receiving this newsletter in the mail and I appreciated the organized presentation of information. With busy schedules and limited time, it's hard to stay current with everyone's happenings. Newsletters are a wonderful and impressive method to keep in touch. They can be sent via snail mail or email in PDF format, although I personally prefer getting something in the mailbox myself.

Thanks for letting me post this, FSIL Eggplant! I'm looking forward to your wedding day!

Gocco: Going, Going, Gone

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:09:11 GMT

It is a very sad day indeed.

On Saturday, Brother Eggplant gave me a Riso Print Gocco PG-11 as a surprise gift for designing his wedding stationery. I was so excited to start printing! I promptly began googling all articles Gocco related, until I came across a letter posted on Flickr from an a representative of NEHOC, an Australian Riso distributer:

Re: Print Lamps
As sad as it is to type we all have to move on (well eventually when stocks do run out), Print Lamps will not be remanufactured.

The main reason PRINT GOCCO has been discontinued is the overall problem with manufacturing a batch of Print Lamps, not just the initial $$ outlay (RISO have the $$) but the fact it will take 15-20 years get the return on investment as they have to manufacture so many. You are right in thinking it's a few million to make a batch, take the figure you are thinking, double it, then double it again.

No shareholder in their right mind would authorise tens of millions on a product that will take 15-20 years to become profitable. The board would be sacked. It's the fact it will take so long to recover costs that makes the Lamps unfeasible. Problem for us all is there's nothing else to use in the GOCCO.

There is now only one factory in Japan that lays dormant until Print Lamps are produced, then a few hundred people are employed (yep hundreds), to manufacture the batch, then the factory is closed again. The raw materials are now harder to get, more expensive and I feel the factory land is now more valuable than the product it produces.

The Print Lamp situation is a mess as (personally speaking here) I think RISO started running out much faster than expected (everyone else noticed PRINT GOCCO sales are ironically increasing!) leaving them short of time and lacking a plan to stop GOCCO so customers were prepared. Although I feel if we had known earlier we simply would have bought them out of stock quicker than we did. I have been rightly accused of making the US problems worse by taking RISO's Lamp stocks - sorry - but we saw it coming a few years ago and bought up big so we are OK for the next 8-10yrs, but after that . . . . . . :(

OK back to lurking for me but before I stop typing this 100 page essay, can I please request customers (and wholesalers) in the US to stop asking me for PRINT GOCCO supplies. NEHOC is currently under contact with RISO and will not supply to the US. Frustrating for me to see the situation you are in too as I have a warehouse full of lamps & GOCCO stock but I just can't supply you at this point in time - sorry.

Gocco is no good without lamps, and Riso is discontinuing production! It looks like nothing can save Gocco this time around. This has to be one of the most disappointing pieces of news I've heard all week, especially since Paper Source was selling brand new machines as recent as this year. I was lucky enough to stock up on a big stash of bulbs and screens through various online retailers, but for those who own a Gocco, I strongly recommend seeking out supplies (especially bulbs) if you don't want to be left with an unusable machine.

Gocco Supply Resources:

Paper Source (I ordered from here yesterday). If Gocco supplies are out of stock, click the link to be notified via email when they're back in stock.
Marlenewatson.com still has bulbs and screens in stock (I last checked on Wednesday, 10/28).
Printaddict.net is selling the new packages of Riso supplies that come with two screens and four bulbs.
If all the above options fail, you can purchase from Etchworld.com, but beware, the bulbs are nearly twice the price as other sites!
The Yahoo Gocco Group (gocco@yahoogroups.com). Rumor has it that people are experimenting with alternatives for Gocco, and you'll get the info first hand here.

Long live Gocco!

The Sweetest Day: All Good Things Must End

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:21:50 GMT

Well, folks, as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end." This is the final installment of the Eggplants' wedding recaps (*sob*). How fitting that today (10/20) is our one year wedding anniversary. It has been such a pleasure getting to know you all and sharing the most joyous period of my life with you.

But, an ended wedding can't keep this bee off the web. To follow my chronicles as a Mrs., you can find me at my personal blog, The Sunset House, where I write about my unhealthy obsession with rubber stamps and paper crafts (seriously, I have issues). And, of course I will continue to stop by to share all my wedding related projects with you guys. I'm helping Brother Eggplant with his 2009 wedding, so you know I'll be back soon! Once a bee, always a bee!

But, enough with the mushy stuff... onto the final recap!

All photos property of the fabulous Apertura Photography

My father/daughter dance was one of the most touching moments of the night. You'd have to know my relationship with my dad to understand. We're just not the mushy types.We rarely hug. I can't remember the last time we said, "I love you." We just know, by our acts of service, that we love each other. So, for me, this symbolic dance was more than a wedding tradition. It was a chance to step out of our comfort zone and show one another affection.

Mr. Eggplant and his mom joined us halfway through the song.

Kid-friendly weddings are not for everyone. For me, I wouldn't have had it any other way. The little ones brought so much energy, spunk, and innocence to our day, I couldn't imagine my wedding without them.

Although a well-planned wedding doesn't always equal a meaningful event, good planning enables the fun. However, I can't take all the credit for hosting a great party. Our DJ/MC, Kevin, ran the entire show. He was able to read the crowd, play all the right music at all the right times, and make people play cheesy games (and actually have fun doing it). If there's one piece of advice I hope to pass on to others, it would be to spend time selecting an MC. This person has an all access pass to running your event, so he (or she) deserves careful thought.

Here's another funny thing about weddings: No one ever tells a couple how a to properly cut a cake! It sounds silly, but if you can, give it a quick practice run through before your big day, so you're not left fumbling around like we were. Our photographers instructed us on how to cut our cake!

Another Eggplant tip: A cheesy game can be really enjoyable. We played the Shoe Game, a favorite of our MC's and one that had the crowd laughing hysterically. Mrs. Tomato also played this at her wedding.

Here's how the shoe game works: We both took off our shoes and traded one, so I had one of my shoes plus one of Mr. Eggplant's shoes. Then, Kevin (our MC) positioned us back-to-back, so that we could not see each other. Kevin instructed us that he would ask us questions about our relationship (for example, Who is more romantic?) and we were to respond by holding up the appropriate corresponding shoe: my white flip flop or Mr. Eggplant's tuxedo shoe.

If this game is played right and the questions are funny enough, the results can be hysterical. Questions like, who has more athletic ability? (I said me, Mr. Eggplant said himself), who is the better cook? (we both said me) or who controls the checkbook? (we both said Mr. Eggplant, but only after I paused for a minute) are sure to garner some entertaining results.

People often say that a wedding day passes quickly for a couple. This is, indeed, true. Our wedding day flew by in an instant. One minute, I was applying mascara, the next, I was tossing my bouquet. With so many activities pulling us from place to place, I wish Mr. Eggplant and I had a moment to reflect upon our day alone together. When all was said and done and we were engaging in pillow talk, all we could remember was how loved and happy we felt.

I know I've said this before: your wedding will probably be the only day when you will have so many loved ones, from both sides, in one room together. Friends and family aren't coming to be impressed by gobo lighting or matching favors + tablecloths + flowers; they're coming to support and celebrate you. So, regardless of the vendor that screwed up or the dress that got stained, no one will remember that little stuff in the end. All they'll remember is how beautiful and in love you looked, and how happy they were for you.

Another Eggplant wedding tip: Men are notorious for not participating in the garter toss. To get them excited, attach a token gift certificate in a small amount (e.g. $10). They'll be fighting for the goods and it'll make for a great photo op.

Proof that bribing works!

I've always wondered, who said wedding ideas have to be original? Sometimes, the best ideas are tried and true. For example, our chocolate fountain, which has been done a thousand times. Although it wasn't a new idea, it was still a smashing hit.

Sometimes, the most inexpensive wedding ideas become the most meaningful. Making our guestbook pages was one of our best decisions. They cost the price of one pack of card stock, but they gave us a wonderful souvenir that will last a lifetime.

If there's one thing I regret about the wedding, it's that I wish I could have invited more people. We hosted 180 guests, which was the maximum people our venue could comfortably accommodate. But, knowing what I know now, I would have cut back expenses in some areas if I could add another table. I often think about the new friends I made while we were planning our guest list--friends that we have since become closer to--and I wish we invited them to our wedding. Flowers will die, but friendships and wedding memories live forever.

I used to be insanely jealous of destination weddings. The California bay area seems so boring compared to Maui or Mexico. But, as I reflect upon our wedding, it was a blessing that our parents forced us to have a wedding at home. With the failing health of some family members, they would not have made the long trek to a destination wedding, and we wouldn't have this picture of Mr. Eggplant's grandparents dancing to Justin Timberlake.

Although much of our wedding day was a blur, my emotions were crystal clear. In fact, I remember them even now--one full year later. I felt utterly grateful that I was marrying my best friend and surrounded by my most favorite people. For me, life is all about relationships, and our wedding was a celebration of each special person in our lives.

*Sigh.* Now that I'm at our last wedding picture, I'm reminded that that all good things must end.

Our wedding day is still engraved in my memory as one of the best days of my life. I'm deeply appreciative that I could write here and share it with you all! You've not only helped me in my planning, you've helped me forever preserve our memories. I wish everyone joy-filled weddings with love and laughter!

To my wonderful husband: Happy one year anniversary, honey! You are my favorite person in the world. I love you and I look forward to our relationship growing in depth and joy over the coming years.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eggplant

The Sweetest Day: Dinner & Dancin'

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:05:25 GMT

Wedding receptions are often the most anticipated portion of a nuptial event, and it's no wonder why; it will probably be the only time that all of your closest friends and family from both sides will gather in one place. As Mr. Eggplant described, we had a captive audience, which he took full advantage of.

After cocktail hour, the guests were seated and the bridal party waited outside of the reception room to be introduced. Our best man planned a big entrance, which involved downing a beer and throwing a long pass.

Tip for a setting the tone for a fun wedding: Get your bridal party into party mode! As the bridal party goes, so will the wedding reception. We were lucky that our bridal party was willing to dance their way into the room. Mr. Eggplant also wrote a quick blurb about each person so that our MC could introduce everyone with something fun and witty.

Our BM/MOH went long for their intro, with the football heading straight for our wedding cake!

Fortunately the cake was narrowly missed! *Phew*

We waited anxiously in the courtyard for our turn.

Then, Kevin (our MC) announced us, and we "danced" our way into the reception, if you could even call this dancing. Mr. Eggplant looks like he's pushing a shopping cart, while I'm preparing to place a fruit into it.

We went right into our first dance, a good opener, since guests won't dance at a reception until the bride and groom have done the honors.

After our first dance, everyone was seated and dinner was served.

In this jar were names of couples who had to kiss, should anyone dare to clink their glasses. No kissing unless you kiss first!

Halfway through the salads, our MOH and BM gave their speeches. Christine (MOH) gave a wonderful, touching speech that required tissues.

Brian (our BM) gave the most hilarious BM speech ever. First, he shared how he and Mr. Eggplant would have nightly conversations on the phone until 3am, until he realized that it was abnormal for male buddies to chit chat that much. I guess it must've been guy love? Consequently, he also serenaded Mr. Eggplant with the song from Scrubs, Guy Love. HILARIOUS.

Brian brought the Scrubs video to accompany his serenade.

Next up: My dad! He wrote such a funny, touching speech! People told me it was the best father-of-the-bride toast ever. Papa Eggplant is a really good speaker. He used to be terrified of public speaking, until he joined Toastmasters. Eventually, conquered his fear and even won Toastmaster of the Year!

MIL Eggplant had the cutest mother-of-the-groom speech ever also.

Finally, Mr. Eggplant shared warm and funny words of joy and thanks.

Once the main courses were almost done, our MC played our slideshow, on which Mr. Eggplant had spent many long hours arranging. He thought carefully about his captive audience while preparing the funny video.

The reaction was unanimous: our guests loved all the dorky pictures of the Eggplants' awkward adolescent phases. Tip for a successful slideshow: the more embarrasing the picture, the funnier the slideshow!

I, on the other hand, was regretting that I gave Mr. Eggplant access to my high school yearbooks.

But, I had no time to be shy; we had a cake to cut, a bouquet to toss, and dancing shoes to break in! Next up: the final Eggplant wedding recap!

The Eggplants' Ribbon Board & Placecards

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:01:42 GMT

The one project I unfortunately didn't get many photos of on W-Day was our ribbon board with our decorated place cards. I say unfortunately, because this baby took hours upon hours of grueling labor. We finished the project the night before our wedding rehearsal!

To make the board and cards, I needed the following materials:

Martha Stewart border punch and EK Success flower punch
Many spools of pink, green, white, and brown ribbon
Six foam boards (to make three ribbon boards)
Sewing pins
Place cards from Paper Source
Metal brads

First, the ribbon boards. My cousin came up with the idea to take a piece of foam board, layer the colored ribbon across it, and use pins to on the backside to keep the strands in place. It worked out well. I also think a staple gun would've done the trick.

Once we covered the entire board had been with ribbon, we took a second piece of foam board and pinned it to the back to cover up the unsightly ribbon ends. When pinning the board in place, we shoved the pins in place at varying angles. This kept the second board from slipping off.

If you're interested in creating a ribbon board for your wedding, I recently found this link with simple instructions on making one.

Here's our ribbon board, half completed.

My cousin, exhausted and wondering how she volunteered herself into this mess.

And here's a shot of the completed ribbon boards.

Next, the placecards. These were very easy, but very time consuming. To make the cards, I typed out our guests' names in a template I created in Adobe InDesign, and hand fed the cards one-by-one through my printer. Unfortunately, the printer kept eating our cards when I tried to let the unit feed automatically, so I had no other option than to hand feed.

After printing, I used my Martha Stewart border punch on the bottom edges of the card stock. Then, I adhered a small strip of ribbon and a colored flower with a brad. The flower colors were based on the guest's meal choice. Green = vegetarian, dark pink = beef, light pink = chicken.

(Above photo by Apertura Photography)

And here are the finished boards with the placecards.

(Above photo by Apertura Photography)

And here's a very, very tired bride.