1,000 Paper Cranes Updated

I have always loved the symbolism of 1,000 origami paper cranes at weddings. Wikipedia tells me that they symbolize the giver's wish for a thousand years of happiness for the new couple, and the internet would not lie to me. My mom reminded me of my love for these cranes when she offered to fold them for me one day, out of the blue, because she is awesome. Besides the symbolism, thinking about the time, effort, and inevitable hand cramps that go into hand-folding 1,000 paper squares makes the gift so special. When was the last time you actually made a wedding gift for someone dear to you instead of buying up the cheapest registry items in Williams-Sonoma? I can safely say that I've never done that. Not that Williams-Sonoma doesn't have some bitchin' cookware, and these gifts are probably more practical and useful. Except for the meatball grilling basket. I just can't wrap my mind around that. And the jalapeno popper roaster. Does anyone own one or both of those and use them? Report back, please. I'm getting off on a bullshit cookware you don't need tangent here...(no disrespect intended if you own one...I own bullshit products too)

Anyway, I stumbled across this piece of artwork today on my favorite, Design*Sponge, and was inspired.

I am in love with the opaque bird cut-outs that overlap and merge to create new swirls of color. Wouldn't it be beautiful to adapt this idea as an alternative to signing a matted picture of the couple? You could cut out 1,000 crane shapes, or any image that is significant to you and yours, from different colored tissue paper or crepe paper and layer them on a canvas or flat surface. This could then be matted for guests to sign, and it would be a sweet reminder of your wedding day to hang in your home. Granted, neither of us are Japanese, but we both have a love of Asian cultures, and the minimalist aesthetic in Japanese design. Maybe this is picking and choosing pieces of a culture to appropriate that is not my own, but that's what Americans are great at! A little of this, a bit of that, and voila! Also, I don't think it's being done in a disrespectful way. At least, that is not my intent. My intent is to honor a tradition that I identify with for whatever reason, even though it isn't part of the culture I was brought up in.

Now, truth be told, I would probably be the first to be extremely frustrated by cutting tissue paper. That's almost asking for a stress-induced meltdown right there...here, cut out a thousand paper birds from the flimsiest material known to craftkind. That's like asking someone to build a suspension bridge out of balsa wood. Totally frustrating. This could probably also be done with stencils and watercolors or gouache if you're more into painting. You'd still get the lovely transparent, blending effect from the thin paint without the pressure of ripped paper (bonus). Has anyone done something similar? I think I need to break out my gouache again and experiment. Thank you costume design class for teaching me about drawing and gouache.

Picture of Kara Maria print via Design*Sponge

Eloping in Madison: Part 1

Just for fun I'm going to elaborate on the following scenario, since I'm sure there are people out there who want ideas for eloping in this town. So, suppose you have 30 days to use your marriage certificate but you don't want a big production. In fact, you want it to be just you and your betrothed...and perhaps your parents and a few close friends. Where do we start? Let's narrow it down to the major players shall we? Ceremony location, reception/celebration, and a few last minute extras.

Ceremony:
The obvious first choice is the courthouse. It conveniently has everything you need already inside, and if you choose one of the officiants listed on the county clerk's website he or she will pick up and deliver your marriage certificate for you. You have to know when your ceremony will take place, where (in this case..courthouse), and who will perform it before you can apply for the license. I don't know if there's an extra fee for using one of these officiants, but that's certainly something you could ask them yourself. You could also hire an outside officiant, like these guys, to marry you, but that would cost a significant amount of extra money. Their basic ceremony fee is $275, and if you're looking to elope partially for monetary reasons that's a decent chunk of change. However, it is an option if you want it. The courthouse is downtown inbetween the square and Lake Monona, so you could easily walk to any number of awesome restaurants, bars, and clubs downtown to celebrate.

You can also get married in one of Madison's many parks for next to nothing. All the information is laid out for you on the website as far as the 15 parks you have to choose from, which ones have shelters, what kind of permits you need, time restrictions, and fees for different locations. The parks department has made their website pretty much a one stop shop for all your wedding/elopement venue needs. Availability does fill up pretty quickly, so if you're planning your elopement at the last minute and you are determined to be married outdoors, it would probably help to go into reserving a park knowing that you won't get first choice of time and day. As long as you are flexible with date, time, and park choice you should hopefully be able to find something lovely.

This has been part 1 of eloping in Madison, WI. Next time let's talk about places to have your elopement/small wedding reception.

The Rules

You can find all the how and where information for getting your Dane County marriage license here.  It took me forever to find out that I had to go to the county clerk's office website and not some state agency.  You have 30 days to use your license after it is issued, and there are a bunch of rules for all the ID you'll need to prove you're you.  Oh, and it's $115...cold hard cash.  I don't think I've ever seen that much cash at one time before, let alone held it in my hand.  I imagine it'll be like that scene in Ghost where Whoopie Goldberg hands that huge check over to the nuns...just grit your teeth and do it.

The Love Lab

Once again, Design*Sponge, you have come through for me.  I came across this diy flower lab a while ago and loved the idea of giving our reception a hint of a theme of a laboratory.  (I'm surprisingly getting really carried away with this science thing.)  Feast your eyes on this!

I think this is the bee's knees.  It's clean and beautiful and seems like it would be easy to set up yourself.  You could take it one step further and use acutual laboratory equipment instead of containers that only look like beakers and graduated cylinders.  Cute, so cute.

Yes, there is an apple fritter where my head should be. This apple fritter makes life worth living, and it is brought to you by the fine folks at Greenbush Bakery. Greenbush is this tiny bakery tucked into the corner of a strip mall, and you could blink and miss it, but it's worth a special trip. All the reviews I read about it were pretty spot on - there will be surly hipster cashiers who are rude and act like you're bothering them (except for that one guy) even though their job is to sell you donuts (whatever, hipsters), and the donuts will change your life! This is totally true. Apple fritter aside, the boston creams are filled with some of the most velvety, rich, thick custard I've ever had in a donut. This place is no joke. People go out of their way to stop at Greenbush when they drive by Madison from out of state.

This is the kind of local awesomeness I hope to expose everyone to during our future wedding weekend. They would be great as part of a dessert buffet, or a breakfast or brunch. Or, if I'm really honest, just because you have an unchecked need for sugar. I'm sure you can get great apple fritters in your town, but are they as big as your face? Are they locally famous? They may be, but each place does it a little differntly, and that's what's so great about regional flavor. It's specific to your town, your life, and is part of what makes it great. It's so much fun to share these kinds of finds with people and watch their reactions.

Wait, I just had a brilliant thought. Greenbush is close to the zoo, which is free. Grabbing an epic donut and spending the afternoon at a cute, free zoo in a beautiful neighborhood would be a great event for wedding weekend! It costs next to nothing and it's great for children of all ages. Yes! One more idea for the list. For now, I'll just leave you with this...

Father-Daughter Dunk?

As I was thinking about ways to personalize my wedding I thought about the father-daughter dance. It just doesn't feel right for my dad and I because we don't dance together. Plus, the first dance songs tend to come off as more incestuous than sweet. You all know you've heard one. We could, of course, but I have other great memories from childhood. Like Basketball!!!

I spent many weekends with my dad at the park learning how to shoot, so what better way to honor him? See dad, I still got my skills! (Actually I don't. Andrew and I shoot hoops in the gym sometimes, and he kicks my ass evey time. The other guys make fun of me, "Trying out for the WNBA, huh?") I may not be as accurate, but I still have the correct form at least, and that's what he worked so hard to teach me. Having a dad who took the time to teach me and share something he loves with me seems to be a somewhat rare thing, and I am so thankful he did that for me. I think this would be a great option for us instead of a dance and WAY more fun. I don't know his feelings about it, and I kind of hope he doesn't read this and this post gives it away, but I think it would be so much more personal, more us. It would make the "first" about something we truly share rather than simply doing what is expected by the wedding world. Plus, the idea of swaying back and forth for 3 minutes isn't appealing AT ALL. Now, to find a venue with a basketball hoop!

Pictures from Flickr and RussellMartinPhotography.com respectively. How much do you love that bride playing b-ball with her ladies?!

Elopement Daydream

Oh dear readers, I've been thinking about eloping. Again. In fact, that was the first thing we though about. Wouldn't it be great to get married here?

Right on the beach. Sugar white sand, aqua water, and the sea breeze in your hair. Is there anything better? We've talked about eloping, but have sort of decided that our families would be left out. That's not something I want to do because it's about our families too as much as it's about us. I keep thinking about how great it will be to have both our families and friends in our town for a weekend for a giant fun reunion..oh yeah, and there will be a wedding somewhere in there to interrupt the fun. I want to throw a party for my family and friends. I want the ones I love to witness our marriage. But sometimes I want to run away to a tropical island and do the damn thing already! I want to avoid the stress of planning. I'm already not a big fan of large-scale party planning, but maybe i'll feel differently when I'm working on mine. Mostly I'm secretly afraid no one will come.

I've tried to plan get-togethers my whole life and they always fall through. It's so consistent it's like a bad joke. If I plan something, nobody comes or they back out at the last minute. Now, I'm a fun, party loving gal but this is rediculous. I'm afraid, deep down in my heart of hearts, that I will put all this energy into planning and no one will show up because that's what happens to me. Of course I know someone will come. My rational brain knows that having 0 people turn up is highly unlikely as there are people who love us too much to miss it. I am so grateful for that...but still. I have a record.