Invitation to Mother

Quinn's Mom Diane is a beautiful spirit and we wanted to include her in the ceremony... since we will be literally 'tying the knot' with a handfast we thought it would be a wonderful idea to have Diane and my Father Marty tie the cords around our hands.

Here are a few pictures of the card that we sent to Diane requesting she join us on our special day -

Flower Girls!

Brooklyn ....................our daughter


&

Elena.............. our niece

will be blessing us at our ceremony as our flower girls!

In gratitude I gave them both presents I found on etsy -

Brooklyn

received a necklace from Sora Designs

"Sora" means "sky" in Japanese.

Sora Design's motto is "Possibilities are as open as the sky".

Yueh-Wen Chang (Wen) blogs about her life and jewelry ...... http://www.soradesigns.blogspot.com/

Brooklyn really loved it. She recently read a series called The Hunger Games - of which a bird called the Mockingjay was a very important element of the series. She was estatic to have her very own mockingjay necklace ;)

I sent Elena a little package with an adorable clutch purse made by Mary Janes and Golashes this shop is run by a Mother and Daughter who describe their shop as -

"A Mother and Daughter artistic adventure" from southern Wisconson -

MaryJanes, the daughter has her own etsy shop: Tayloredarts.etsy.com

Galoshes, the Mother has her own etsy shop: SommersBreezeAntique.etsy.com

They have also have a blog http://www.maryjanesandgaloshes.com/ with lots of great tutorials and links to crafting websites galore. I think they have a very ecclectic take on the world and really adore their combined creative spirits~

I just adored this clutch purse because I thought it looked alot like Elena - such a super cute girl!

she also got this handmade card......

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning"

Forest Scavenger Hunt

Quinn and I wish to host a green ceremony....

Since all of our family members and friends that will join us on our special day will have to travel - creating a large carbon footprint for our party to begin with - we decided that we wanted to use as much from nature as we could. We also love that gathering things is free, lots of fun and makes for great memories!

I sent off an invitation to the ladies for a day of gathering, a forest scavenger hunt - to spend time enjoying each other and gathering decorations for the ceremony next year.... It turned out to be a lovely day with a few great finds like tiny pinecones and delightful leaves changing color. Here are the invitations that I put together for Melanie and Jennifer....

An acorn stamp and a scroll with the details of our gathering

"Along our merry way... should we find these gifts of the forest ~ may we gather them in gratitude and leave our seeds of thanks."

(in each package was a bag of birdseed for us to sprinkle as we gathered)

The list of items to gather

"Every acorn has in it the potential to be a great oak tree, that is lively, deep rooted, strong, long lasting, air purifying and a place of shelter BUT if it is not placed in soil it will not grow to be all that it can be."

Look at these adorable tiny pinecones ~

Here's a picture of my sexy husband to be crafting at the Denver Art Museum from recycled garbage.

Guestlist. An Intimate Affair.

Now the fun begins. Getting our ducks in a row. Setting up a schedule, budget, guestlist, etc.

I like to be organized and proactive.... being a Virgo it comes naturally....

I spent a few years as a party planner in my early 20s and was pretty damn good at it! I enjoyed the thrill of it. I found it ever so fufilling to engage myself creativily in designing an affair to remember. For every event that I planned I worked tirelessly on setting the mood, transforming a drab and dreary nightclub into an oasis for an evening. I am determined to pull this ceremony off without spending a fortune. I love crafting and expressing myself spiritually through symbolic representations of deeper meanings. I know I can do this! I have wonderful friends to help me and a beautiful and creative family as well.

Our ceremony will require a great deal of planning because we intend to do the majority of it ourselves. The budget being so tight restricts us from spending money on vendors and planners for the event.... but it will not inhibit us from assembling a wonderful handfasting.

In planning the ceremony we approached our first hurdle and of course - worked together to find the perfect place to meet in the middle. Quinn's idea of an ideal ceremony would include two people. Him and me..... and maybe the moon.... not sure if the moon is even welcome ;)

I personally would love to have two hundred of my closest friends and family.....

Quinn is such a wonderful man and I want more than anything for him to enjoy himself. I want him to be comfortable. I want him to feel entirely at home and open. I know that he needs space and privacy to feel that. I'm so grateful to have the people in our lives that Love us. While the guest list is small I will be keeping my heart center open and grounded in gratitude for the connections granted to me in this life.... I will have everyone I Love with me in spirit.

The Guestlist so far....

Wedding PartyAunt Betty, Uncle Louie, Momma Glick, Daddy Gitlin
Bridal party:Jennifer, Melanie, Taisir, Elena, Brooklyn
Grooms Party: Cole, Danny, Jakob
Friends and Family
Cora
Cherie
April
Audra
Seneca
Mommy El-Souessi
Jarrel
Josie
Sharon

We have plans over the next couple of weeks to work on a project.... creating 'Save the Date' cards. Since Quinn is such a talented photographer I am hoping to put those skills to work. ;) We will be making our own cards of course!

Our rings

Quinn and I spoke about that which matters to us when searching for rings and determined that niether of us wants a terribly expensive piece of jewelry on our finger. I am not a ''diamonds are a girls best friend'' type of woman - nor do I want a ring that costs 3 months salary. We have no ties to the "traditional" american wedding ring philosophy. These are things which matter to us -  

• recycled or ecofriendly materials
• symbolism/meaning
• prefer silver color to yellowish gold
• durability
• comfort
• unique design

We went by 'Jared' to find out what size rings our fingers require and to ask some questions about the metals. We definitely do NOT want rings from 'Jared' or any other huge corporation which supports conflict diamonds or the mining industry in general.

Here is some information that the UN has released about conflict diamonds.
Learn more about the diamond industry. DiamondFacts.org

The mining of gold, silver and other metals is also very toxic and harmful to the environment.

There are negative effects on land and water, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, spread of disease.... just to name a few. Here is a great article on the harmful effects of mining on the environment.

I just love etsy and enjoy the idea of supporting an artist who works to make ethical and ecofriendly jewelry. I did some searching on the website and came across these great rings!

'Great Eco-engagement and Wedding Rings' by GreenNotion

A collection of wedding and engagement rings that are eco friendly and gorgeous!

Pine Branch Ring - Diam... esdesigns $880.00	Doubled Pine Branch Rin... PowderMillStud... $140.00	CLOSEOUT - Oregon Sunst... mcfarlanddesig... $299.00	White Sapphire .... Ste... DragonsBreath $275.00
SAMPLE SALE - Moissanit... mcfarlanddesig... $	Hammered Lotus Seed Rin... HeartofWaterJe... $225.00	Rough Diamond Set in 14... valkasinskas $275.00	LIFETIME Wedding Set of... SilverGarden $
Natural Rose Cut Diamon... kristincoffin $850.00	Asi Moran - ecofriendly... naturalezanica $98.00	In The Pines, In The Pi... ashhilton $	In My Secret Garden Rec... luisfernando $175.00
Forest of Trees Ring (s... ginandbutterfl... $315.00	Rough Diamond Ring Trio... artifactum $275.00	Ecogagement One PowderMillStud... $300.00	Chiseled Rainbow Moonst... daniellejewelr... $175.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

We decided upon these beautiful rings made of wood that we will wear during our engagement period from MnMWoodworks

MnM Woodworks makes custom wooden rings and wedding bands. They have some amazing creations in their shop. Absolutely gorgeous! MnM (Matt and Molli) Woodworks is run by a young couple from Tennessee. Matt's grandfather got him interested in woodworking when he was just nine years old. Now he has been creating things from wood for over 14 years! Molli has done very little woodworking. However, she helps with the designing of some items.

The rings we chose are handcrafted by MnM Woodworks out of ancient Kauri (middle) and Blue Mahoe woods.

The Kauri they used has been buried in a bog in New Zealand for thousands of years. Ancient Kauri is the oldest workable timber on Earth. Every tree grew for at least 1,200 years and was preserved underground for 50,000 years or more! The process that is used to extract the Kauri is eco-friendly because the excavated land is returned to its natural state and no living trees are harvested.

We love our rings. They are beautiful! Pure artistry and craftsmanship. We decided that we would wear them for this year of engagement because we want to preserve them in a special shadowbox. We are both fairly 'rough' on our hands and have discovered that we will probably wind up destroying our rings after a few years. We will exchange another set of rings at our ceremony and have these beautiful wooden rings set in a shadowbox so that we might display them in our home for all of time.

The rings which we found for our wedding rings were also an etsy discovery! We found them in a lovely shop called Sudlow Jewelry.

Rachael is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Photography and Jewelry making - and she has a lovely etsy shop. You can sign up for Rachael's newsletter where she offers special sales and deals here. Be sure to check out the rest of her site for some really beautiful jewelry. She is quite talented! Rachael was a pleasure to work with and gave me lots of personal attention and she even sent me several pictures as my ring was being developed. Check out this pic of the ring before it was set with a stone..

The oak and the acorn have become a very prevalent symbol in our relationship. They are symbolic of family, loyalty and longevity. From the tiny acorn the mighty oak grows and is rooted in earth but reaches for the sky. It was the perfect choice for our wedding bands. Here is a slideshow of our rings.....

(please feel free to click on over to my flickr page)

Some information about peridots:

Peridot is associated with Venus and is known as a stone of my sun sign Virgo. Peridot is said to clear the heart chakra, strengthen breath of life, prosperity, growth and openness. It has been used to treat emotional states such as anger, jealousy and irritation. It's color as well as the stone, inspires healing, renewal, purification, rebirth and growth. Peridot is said to have the ability to bring healing and vitality to the whole body, and to increase patience, confidence and assertiveness.


The joyful and friendly energy of this stone helps make and seal friendships. It clears the heart, releases the ego, which in turn cleanses jealousy and anger, hence bringing about a sense of peace and quiet amusement. A visionary stone, peridot helps connect us to our destinies and to an understanding of the purpose of existence

Green is one of my favorite colors. My Grandma Lee gave me a ring when I was younger with a beautiful peridot set within it and I cherished it. Alas, I lost the ring long ago... this stone reminds me of many pleasant things. I just adore it

Bridal Party Invitations

I am so excited for our ceremony. Our gathering will be small and intimate and I have selected three women that I cherish to stand by my side next November. The lovely miss Jennifer Alligood as my maitron of honor, as well as Melanie Minard and Taisir El-Souessi for my bridesmaids. These women have been such an important part of my life and I adore their friendships. I am so very grateful to know them and admire each of them. I sent my girls packages of appreciation for their friendship and for joining me on my special day.

Jennifer Alligood

I have known Jennifer since I was 15 years old and have absolutely loved her from the day that I met her. She has this intense light shining from her heart that you can't help but feel after only moments in her presence. Jennifer is wise and strong and a very good friend. Jenn has a super versatile personality and can mesh with just about anyone out there. She is altruistic, beautiful, intelligent and is FIERCE! Look out! Rawr. I know she always got my back ;)

Jennifer is constantly showing me bright new worlds that I didn't know existed. She knows exactly what my heart needs when it is aching and what my mind wants when it wanders. I can really trust her with any secret and can talk to her forever and never get bored. I always feel completely and utterly at peace in our silent moments together. Jennifer has the power to make me smile - no matter what is making me frown.

I have been asking her to move here for years and finally got my wish! I am so happy that she and her family have recently moved to Colorado. She is my bestest girlfriend and I am elated that she agreed to play such an important part in my ceremony. I feel honored to have her friendship and commitment.

For Jennifer's card I chose a picture of a heart made from corks and the lyrics to "Sister" by Dave Matthews....

" Pass the time with you in mind It's a rather quiet night.Feel the ground against my back, counting stars against the black.Thinking bout another day, wishing I was far away.Whether they were dreams or worries you were there with me.Sister, I hear you laugh my heart fills up" ~ Dave Matthews

I didn't snap any shots of her little package but I put these cute little kokeshi pins and a coffee/tea sleeve in it....

Melanie Minard

I met Melanie through Livejournal in 2003. I was moving back to Colorado and had joined several of the LJ communities. We had so much in common so I messaged her and we hit it off right away. When I finally met Melanie in person I was instantly enchanted by her warmth and compassion for others. I knew right away that we would be friends for a long time. Melanie was very gracious and welcomed me into her circle.

I have come to know her as one of the kindest souls I have ever met. Melanie has a smile that can part clouds and shine rainbows directly into your heart. Her friendship reminds me of the sweetest of childhood delights - unicorns, fairytales, and magic.... Whenever I am around Melanie I always feel lifted to new heights in spirit.

I've grown quite attached to her and love her dearly. I am so very grateful that our paths crossed and that we were meant to be close companions. She is constantly teaching me new things and is an amazing chef! I feel so lucky whenever she is feeding me delicious vegan delights!

I created this card for Melanie - from a variety of materials I gathered over time. A napkin, some origami paper, a print of two pretty Kokeshi dolls. The flower on the kokeshi's head is from a bracelet I once gave my daughter on her birthday. The bracelet broke and my daughter gave it to me to craft with. I just love that the flower has been gifted and regifted and recreated! I thought it brought such a sparkle and gave Melanie's card a three dimensional feel

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

This circlet was a gift for Melanie from du plume's etsy shop. (We plan on using it for inspiration when crafting for the bridal party) Du Plume has some really great stuff.... I just adore the feather bouquets. They also have another shop called the old goat where they gush over vintage finds! Du Plume is: "Lots of feathers, lots of fancy, lots of fabulosity! "

Melanie also likes to enjoy hot tea and adores the planet as much as I do... so I found these cute coffee/tea sleeves for her and Jenn. I found them on etsy at margeabbot's shop.

Marge is a stay at home mom with 3 amazing boys. When she is not up to her eyeballs in dirty dishes and even dirtier laundry she is crafting.... she has some really cute stuff for sale from time to time! I just love supporting stay at home Mom's who make an effort to reuse, recycle and restore!

Taisir El-Souessi

Taisir is my sister. I would not be the woman I am this day if it were not for the love and support of her and her Mommy. Taisir and I have traveled so many roads together and I love her with all of my heart. She has been there for me through every difficult experience I have ever had and has always had loving and intelligent advice.

We have often said that we are one person in two bodies and have spent years developing a secret language of inside jokes that nobody else really understands...... Whenever we spend time together before long - people are rolling their eyes because we don't make a lick of sense to anyone else. I love our unique and intimate bond and wish that she did not live so far away. Far too often, I find myself lump throaty and wet eyed when I think of her laugh or the way she would tell me exactly how it is.... I miss her and HATE that there are thousands of miles between us.

Taisir is an incredible Mother and extremely talented woman. She is one of those people who can do ANYTHING she wants to. It does not take her long to learn any skill she desires. She is so very intelligent, powerful, spiritual and wise. I love my sister so very much and am beside myself with joy that she will be at my side next November.

Her card was created with gathered materials as well. For her package I sent a couple of Colorado tea bags and a necklace that I found at Marolsha by Maddy 's etsy shop with the perfect sentiment on it.

Marolsha by Maddy's has a selection of mod and vintage style jewelry in their shop. They are located out of Singapore. "I try to focus on repurposing, or recycling a vintage pieces and am inspired by nature, people, things around me, and anything that makes me happy while creating a particular jewelry." ~ Maddy

"Je T'aime Plus Qu'Hier Moins Que Demain"

~ Love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow