Paul wants to leave by noon en route our first stop Chambersburg, PA but with a few more errands to run and loading up the car we will see!  My parent’s have given us their Jeep Grand Cherokee for more room.  Thank goodness because I anticipate a very full load.

We have struggled with a few last minute glitches.  The cigar labels we custom design for Paul to give guys coming to Maine are difficult to print on our printer.  Something appears to be not quite right on the label measurements.  After a lot of work on the phone with the label company and in the store Kinko’s, the label company finally agrees to print them and send them to Maine.  It will be worth it.  Peridot Paper’s graphic artist has used the ‘H’ our calligrapher has created for our monogram and put it with a lighthouse and our wedding date all in blue.  Paul has already picked up the cigars at Holt’s cigar shop (we don’t think it is the same Holt’s related to Paul) in Philadelphia after a weekend trip there.   He loves that place and we think other cigar aficionados will too.  www.holts.com

Paul is loaded down with Cigars from Holt's in Philly.

I have sent our photographer Rachel Bell our photo list of all the details and shots we would like her to capture.  She is great.  www.rachelbellphotography.com.  Based in Portland but she will travel.

Paul’s mom is working on a program for our Friday night rehearsal dinner so I’ll try to proof that once we get in the car.  Although I know now how tired I already am since I got about three hours of sleep!

Paul is still out running errands and thankfully picking up my jewelry repairs for me!  Saves me a trip!

Packing the Jeep turns out to be fun because it is like putting together a puzzle.  Heavy things on bottom, valuables in a place where we can take them out every night and Dad’s, Mama Jo’s,  Mom’s, Paul’s and my wedding clothes on top!  Also to be removed everynight along the way to Maine! 

Around 3pm we are finally on the road heading to Chambersburg, PA for my first drum and bugle corps show with Paul!

Packed and on the road in a loaded down Jeep!

Tip #2o-Create a Photo List for your Photographer!  Most good and well-established photographers will already have a starter photo checklists for you to consider.  You should review it with your families and your partner, edit it and send it in an organized fashion to your photographer so he/she can incorporate it into his/her list.  For example, I am not doing a garter toss, nor am I doing a first dance in Maine with my Dad (although I am doing one in NC) so I have deleted these two items from Rachel’s list and added other details that are important to us so she is sure to capture them.  Part of the anxiety of the wedding day is trying to take it all in.  With a well-organized photo list that your photographer has at least a week before the wedding will alleviate some of your anxiety so you don’t have to constantly worry “Oh, I hope the photographer got that detail!”  I promise you will be glad you did when your photos come back and and you didn’t leave anyone or anything out!

August 19th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (1,076)

It is the Thursday before we leave for Blue Hill and Paul’s wedding ring is in and ready to be picked up.  I had it engraved and I’m excited to go get it.  It is a little nerve-wracking because he hasn’t actually tried this one on.  We tried on another brand and sized his finger.  But with the help of my friend Ruby, I selected the Dora brand that he has and really hope it fits Paul!  I’m excited that it is a surprise for him and the first time he will see it is at our wedding ceremony.  www.dorarings.com.    P.S.  I don’t know anything about mine, but my hunch is that it will be an antique that goes my engagement ring. 

Paul is getting a simple, comfort fit gold band from Dora. But he doesn't know it yet!

I also have to take my watch in to my local jeweler for repair and mom’s pearls she is planning to wear on June 27.  I broke them putting them on her during a trial dress rehearsal of her outfit!  After trying a couple of local Oxford jewelers, we decide it is likely faster for me to bring them to DC with hopes of being repaired in time.  Friendship Jewelers on Idaho Avenue in Friendship Heights comes through.  They will have the watch my grandparent’s gave me and mom’s pearls ready for pickup tomorrow by noon.  Lifesaver.  Friendship Jewelers.

www.friendshipjewelersinc.com

3410 Idaho Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016-3033
(202) 362-7414

Today, I am following up with clients and letting them know I am out of the country until then end of July.  Filing Peridot Paper orders and getting things in order to leave my business for awhile.  We are also paying bills and getting envelopes and finacials in order to pay vendors at the wedding.  All the last minute detail of closing up your home and shop to be away more than a month.

Kim and Jennifer arrive and they help me with many details throughout the weekend.

Tip #19:  Pre-write as many checks as possible for your wedding vendors.  Label them and place them in sealed envelopes.  Put them someplace safe (like in a binder) along with your wedding budget, contracts and check book and pen.  Designate someone to be in charge of writing any checks or distributing checks for you if you must pay vendors on your wedding day.  My best friend from college Kim McDonald who works for Bank of America is the perfect person to help me with this task!  She always has taken care of me!

August 11th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (256)

I am dropping off the final three boxes for UPS to send to Maine.  I think I am cutting it a little close for my comfort but I am guaranteed delivery by next Tuesday in Maine.  The shipping has worked well because my Maine florist (Fairwinds Florist) has a UPS drop off and pick-up counter so Cullen, the owner, is now holding about 15 boxes for my arrival.  She is awesome to do this for me.  I have numbered every box and kept a copy of all the contents in a binder that I will keep with me.

So now I have a full packing list for each day in Maine.  We checked the weather online this morning for the wedding week and it’s still raining and pretty chilly so I have adjusted my packing to include more fleeces, muck boots and layers of rain and cool weather gear.  Paul and I received from our friend Vicki a wedding gift certificate to LL Bean in Freeport, Maine so we will stop there en route Blue Hill for any last minute needs (we always stop there!)

http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/04614?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

Here’s the weather forecast for Blue Hill, Maine!

I am also packed for the honeymoon.  I have been told that I should pack like I am packing for Maine.  Highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.  Very casual during the day and nicer casual outfits for evening.  So this proves to be pretty easy.  

I spend most of the day driving back to Washington, DC where a littany of errands await me before Paul and I leave on Saturday for Blue Hill!

Tip #18-For destination weddings, check the 10-day weather forecast online and with locals.  We were glad when my sister-in-law who is already in Maine phoned to tell us to bring muck boots!  Share this weather information with your guests.  I had many guests readjust their packing when I shared the weather with them, and they thanked me later!

August 6th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (410)

Even if your wedding is just down the street from where you live, you should still organize your clothing at least one week before the wedding.  That’s what mom and I are doing today.  Hanging outfits together and bagging them in long garment bags.  Bagged items include an outfit, shoes, accessories like earrings and undergarments.  We even pinned the items’ list to the outside of the bag.  It will make getting ready easy when we have a house full of folks during the wedding weekend.

Mama Jo came over with the matron-of-honor dress she made for Karin and even modeled it for us.  She looks great in it and I’m sure Karin will too!

Tonight we are filling birdseed bags and tying them up with French blue and cream ribbon.

Tip #17-Organize your wedding weekend outfits from top to bottom!

August 6th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (161)

All of our wedding presents have been sent to North Carolina.  It’s great for us because Mom has room to keep them organized and one of everything on display.  She has set up a gift display table in her sun room with a photo of Paul and me on it and that’s really nice.  When folks come to her party on July 4 they can see all the wonderful gifts we have received. 

I am planning a couple of weddings for the Fall and today will be dotted with conference calls and securing vendors for my clients.  Both weddings are in Washington, DC and will allow me to work with many of my favorite vendors and two very special brides.  I am glad to have two weddings booked after my own.  It will give me something to look forward to after the honeymoon!

Mom and I are heading to Total Wine and Beverage, a national chain, but we are going to the Raleigh location today.  We need to pick up wine for the post-wedding lobster bake and bonfire taking place on Saturday evening,  North Carolina beer for Friday night’s rehearsal dinner and Goats Do Roam red and white wine for Mom and Dad’s fourth of July party.  www.totalwine.com.  Total Wine has a great selection and good prices.  After quite a few phone calls in to them, they were able to help me track down what I was looking for and secure quantity discounts.

Paul’s Uncle  Wayne has helped secure Henkell Trocken German Sekt for the wedding reception.  It is coincidental that this is a favorite of my sister-in-law Karin (who lives with my brother in Vilsek, Germany), and is the same sekt Paul and I share with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Louise every New Year’s Eve.  The Henkell Trocken was difficult for me to find but Uncle Wayne found it in the Buffalo, New York area and for a great price!   So he’s bringing that to Maine for us (one less thing for my car!) 

We asked Paul’s mom Jane to help us find a white wine we could pair with our wedding luncheon menu and she sent several things that we tasted in May with our Maine caterer.  We selected Dr. Frank Constantine’s semi-dry Riesling to go with our lemon-thyme chicken over organic mesclun greens and local first season snow peas.  It’s a perfect match.  Dad knows the owners of RagApple Lassie Vineyards in Boonville, North Carolina so I have had a ton of fun working with Lenna Hobson and her husband Frank to find a wine we can use during the wedding weekend.  Mom, Jill (Paul’s sister) and I met in Maine in May and had no trouble determining that the RagApple Lassie Chardonnay would work best with the luncheon’s first course-a Vermont cheddar soup.

After all the alcohol shopping which proved to really be a pick-up of items, we are going to get final accessories for the wedding weekend outfits.  Mom and I both need hose for the wedding day.  Going in to a small village like Blue Hill where the next large town is Bangor (45 minutes away) means you should try to pack and take as much with you that you will anticipate needing.

We are still editing the program and the menu card today as we had a moment of panic this morning when Uncle Robby caught a mistake in the musical program last night.  After talking with Paul and the calligrapher through it this morning, we are all set .  Both the Saturday lunch menu card and wedding program are off to the printers.  Thankful to be over this!

Tip #16-Incorporate wine, champagne, beer and any cocktails that have meaning to you and your family.  Paul and I highlighted each of our home states in their wine-making and beer-making success. This can also translate into a favorite cocktail too as long as it has meaning!

August 6th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (1,738)

Later today I am driving to North Carolina to do final packing for the wedding (pack my wedding dress), clean my room and start packing for our honeymoon!  A quick two-day trip to my parent’s house will be quite busy.  We have final items to be shipped to Maine like electric blankets for our beds (the harsh Winter chill has yet to release Summer on Maine) and extra shoes that won’t fit in our suitcases.  Mom and Mama Jo are set to fill round netting circles with bird seed so we can ship those too.  One less thing to do when we get to Maine so that means more time for haning our with our family and friends. 

I am really focusing on the final details of everything now and Paul and our families are being a huge help.  Today, Paul and I worked to finalize our wedding program.  We have had the enormous help of my Uncle Robby, who is also a minister and will marry us.  Aunt Claudette (married to Uncle Robby) is also helping as she is preparing a special musical program for our family and us.  We have decided to use our printed program to recognize alot of the meaningful details of our ceremony and so we don’t want to leave anyone or anything out.  Paul’s sister Jill is also editing from her home computer in Maine with us.  Much of the wedding ceremony details are a surprise for our family and friends so we don’t want to share it with too many people.  Our editing team is working hard now to get our final edits so we can get everything to the printer tomorrow.

Our calligrapher Lee Ann Clark is hanging right in the editing process with us.  She has prepared thematic artwork for the program cover and has typeset the inside left and right as well as the back cover.  She has an amazing eye for editing as does my fiance Paul.  All of those speeches and memos he’s edited over the years for the White House has prepared him to be the perfect person for this job.  Lee Ann agrees!  Uncle Robby and Aunt Claudette are particularly good too as they have done weddings a 1000 times more than Paul and me.

It is a relief to finally send the final program edits off to Lee Ann and get on the road to NC.

Tip #15-Use your printed ceremony program to be creative and recognize details you’d like to remember forever.  Printed words are keepsakes that will last long after the day is done.

August 5th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (161)

Mom and Paul’s Mom have stayed around for a really exciting event.  My great friends Lea Berman and Allie Beth Allman and her daughter Amy are having a DC girlfriends shower for me today!  We are all so excited!  As much as I have tried to be organized for all of my events from hostess gifts to attire, today is a challenge.  The white A-line cotton sheath I am scheduled to wear has not been tried on in recent weeks!  When I finally try it on about 9am, it’s too big!  I am grateful for the report Paul and I have with the Lee family who owns our Capitol Hill neighborhood dry cleaners, Society Cleaners, so a dash over to see Mrs. Lee and the dress will be tailored by 11:30am in time for the party.  Whew. 

I'm wearing the blue jeweled bracelet Paul's father gave his mom. This is my something blue for our wedding day too. Mom and I are holding Peridot Paper wrapped hostess gifts.

Amy and Me!

Mom wraps George Henry Limited white and French blue dotted hemstitch guest towels for each hostess.  She uses Peridot Paper hot pink contemporary gift bags and peach satin ribbon tied in trailing knots.  The packaging is just as pretty as the guest towel!  Thanks Mom!

We arrive at the party to see that it is being catered by one of my very favorite caterers-Blair Downing of Susan Gage Caterers!  Blair and I have had events together for over 10 years now.  He’s like family!  The next two hours are filled with the best girlfriends in the world.  Volunteers I worked with for years at the Vice President’s Residence, girlfriends that have been colleagues and role models through my Washington years.  We had so much fun gabbing, eating and catching up.  Amy’s home in Georgetown is gorgeous!  I opted not to open presents at the party because we were all having so much fun telling stories and laughing! This was a party like the rest, I just didn’t want to end.  And to send us off,  we had the most thoughtful favors-colored glass votives with a printed note from the hostesses.   So sweet and thoughtful, just like every detail that went into the planning of the party-from the pretty peridot green party invitations to selecting the perfect food catered by Susan Gage www.susangage.com I am forever grateful to these friends for a happy time I will never forget.

Great Friends and Wonderful Hostesses-Allie Beth, Amy and Lea

Mom headed back to NC and Jane and I headed home with all the fabulous presents to let Paul have some fun opening gifts for once!  He enjoyed playing the “bride” while I recorded all the glorious, creative and thoughtful gifts we received!

Tip #14-Share present opening fun with your groom!  Many of the gifts we received we creatively selected and put together not from our registry, but were gifts that truly reflected knowing Paul and me.  He really enjoyed opening books on China and seeing some of the items he had picked out from our registry!

Paul is thrilled with Gifts about our move to China!

August 5th, 2009 | Tags: Amy and Me! | Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off

This morning was spent delivering linens to clients for George Henry Ltd and meeting with Melissa, the president of George Henry Ltd.  My mom is still visiting so she came along and as a linen connoisseur herself, she was thrilled to be in on these errands.  I am representing George Henry Ltd in the Washington DC area as well as Virginia, North Carolina and Texas.  As an event planner who has travelled to some of the finest linen factories in the world, I have seen linens of all types in various places–Portugal, Lithuania, France, Italy.  The story of the George Henry family and their product is compelling.  In my opinion, no table or bed should be without their finest linens.  My favorite is the hemstitch they do in an assortment of colors–sheets and tabletop.  I registered for single hemstitch cocktail napkins in light gray, coral, white and cream.  12 of each although I could use about 100 of the cream.  They are all so yummy!  www.GeorgeHenryLinens.com to shop for yourself.  Retailers may contact me directly for wholesale pricing.  

This morning mom and I also headed over to Frank Milwee Antiques in Georgetown.  Over the years of living in DC, I have gotten to know and have become quite fond of this silver master on M Street.  I am still in search of the perfect groom’s gift to give Paul.  I don’t wish to overpower the symbolism that I see asthe greatest gifts of our wedding day…1.  our committment to each other and 2. the gold wedding band.  So this gift must be small in nature (a token) and something he will love getting from me.  Frank Milwee Antiques is a trove of fine historical items, usually in silver.  Just going into see Mr. Milwee and talking with him produces a plethera of ideas.  He knows Paul is an Army officer.  He knows Paul worked at the White House.  He knows Paul likes to smoke cigars.  From those three things we start our search through his shop and finally come up with the perfect gift.  A unique silver cigar tray that has a sliding, adjustable divider that will sit perfectly on top of a bureau and hold cigars, cutters, lighers and other cigar accessories.   I always like engraving items with a message or a date.  Mr. Milwee likes this too.  Afterall, without an engraving, what will it mean to our great-grandchildren?  Mr. Milwee asks if we have a Haenle family crest or a monogram.  I decide that it should be engraved with the custom “H” that our wedding calligrapher Lee Ann Clark has created for our wedding invitations, wedding programs and menu cards.   That “H” with the date will be places on the tray on a circular brass plate attached to the side of the tray.  Mr. Milwee personally drove the tray to the engraver to make sure I get it back in time for our departure.   Unique gifts and great customer service.  Frank Milwee Antiques 2912 M St NW Washington, DC 20007. Telephone: 202-333-4811

Mom, Melissa and I head to the Supreme Court to meet up with Paul, his mom and sister Jill for a tour of the Supreme Court Chambers–something we have never done before in all the years of living and visiting DC.  It was a fabulous tour and the docent was terrific!

Paul and his sister Jill in front of the gorgeos U.S. Supreme Court

Tip #13-The Right Gift for your Groom or Bride should be simple, meaningful and sweet and SECOND to the wedding band.  So I suggest something other than jewelry.  The band is the most symbolic wedding day jewelry gift and should not be overshadowed by any other gift.  Find some thing that recognizes a hobby or something meaningful for your future spouse.  It need not be overly extravagant but something that should last a lifetime-just like you two!

August 5th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (358)

Last night our family gathered for a wonderful party to celebrate our upcoming wedding.  A former boss and her family hosted an intimate gathering to celebrate our send-off to Maine.   Our parents, aunts and uncles and longtime friends were their guests for the evening.  Paul and I were honored to have been with them and to be completely surrounded by professional and personal role models from various stages of our lives.  From former bosses to the friends we first made when we moved to DC, Paul and I were truly blessed to be in the company of those that mean so much to us.  We are grateful to our hosts for the best gift of all–time with our loved ones. 

To sweeten the evening, Sarah, a good friend of mine and a fabulous baker, made each guest a mini wedding cake to takeaway at the end of the party.  Each delicate vanilla or chocolate cake was rolled in white fondant icing and tied with a French blue fondant ribbon bow.  I was delighted to hear today from many couples and guests that did exactly what Paul and I did when we got  home last night-shared our cake right out the box, two forks in-hand standing in the kitchen!  Thank you Sarah.  You are an amazing talent and sweet too!  She is for hire, so email me if you need a great cake, cookie or cupcake!

Every couple took home a French Blue fondant cake in their choice of chocolate or vanilla--all created by Sarah!

Tip #12:  When you can, ask a photographer to cover special events leading up to your wedding.  Paul and I were blessed when former White House photographer Joyce offered to shoot the party in candid shots for us.  Joyce is now free-lancing and so it made perfect sense for us to have her with us.  She captured beautiful memories for us from a beautiful night.  If you are interested in hiring Joyce, please contact me at liz@peridotpaper.com.  You will be so glad you did!

Paul and me on our way to a party for us.

In May, interior designer and a mentor of mine Frank Babb Randolph hosted a lovely party for us in his home. Daniel Espejel made beautiful floral arrangements and Blair Downing performed superbly for Susan Gage Caterers. Here Frank is holiding a Spring lace fern transfer on white gold by Janet Fry Rogers. It is a gift from Paul and me. He is holding it with a boutique mother of pearl inlay piece by another favorite artist of ours--New York City based Nancy Lorenz. Beauty all the way around!

A Southern Tea Party. Mom, me and our hostesses LaVerne and Heather Pope. Look at the beautiful table!

August 5th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (10,405)