Cowgirl (type)Style

You all remember Dr. Cowgirl, whose inimitable style sparked a thousand clicks (well, at least a couple dozen), right?

Well, she's designing her own Western-inflected wedding invitations, with assistance from our favorite print shop, for her August shindig in Idaho. I can hardly wait!

She felt that the invite was not quite right, so I offered to seek out some Western style fonts to spice up her invitation.

Since she might not be the only one designing her own invite, or working on a Western theme, I offer the fruits of my labors here. These are some of the best cowgirl-style fonts I found, all freely-downloadable, except for the last one.

Tanglewood (#24)

Playbill

A bunch of Western fonts here

Mesquite

Old Towne

Nashville



Available here for $50 (along with a bunch of other western style fonts).

Dear Yelp!

Dear Yelp!

You are such a godsend. What would I do without you? You introduced me to a great salon, led me to a good, fast and reasonably-priced pedicure, showed me the best sushi in my neighborhood.

And now you've introduced me to a fabulous DJ, who doesn't advertise, and got right away the fact that "basically, you guys just want to have an awesome dance party, right?"

When he said that he likes to meet potential customers in person to make sure that they're not going to expect him to wear a tux or play the Chicken Dance, I was in love. We talked to a lot of people, and he was the one who tuned in immediately to what we want - going so far as to glance at our playlist, and then spin a mix that included songs we love but had neglected to write down.

We're so excited to have a fabulous dance party with DJ Jeremy, and we couldn't have done it without you, Yelp!

Thanks a bunch!
kisses!

Do I dare?

from Bridalcheek, via Credit Crunch Bride

Do I dare go for this wild and crazy Alice In Wonderland theme?

As Credit Crunch Bride says:

It excuses all sorts of ridiculous randomness, wonky home-made cakes, mismatching decorations and strange behaviour. In fact, it encourages it.

Yes! A theme that encompasses goofiness and has room for things that aren't perfect! This is the sort of theme I could embrace.

Other necessities for an Alice In Wonderland theme:

• Croquet (Mr. Barefoot's fav lawn game!)
• Stopped clocks (We have a plethora, along with chronically slow watches (all mine))
• Rakish top hats (some of the faculty members wear these with their academic garb - perfect)
• Door mice and rabbit holes (should be plentiful at an outdoor site)
• Cheshire cat-like grins (hell yeah! we're getting married!)
  

Plus, all sorts of goofiness and bizarre conduct can fall under the umbrella of 'playing into the theme'...

A non-theme theme. See more wacky and whimisical brilliance here.

Notes from the field: a progressive dinner

When we last left Data Monkey and Mountain Man, they were departing from their wedding ceremony in the redwood grove amidst a swirl of bubbles. So beautiful!

The guests adjourned to a patio near the redwood grove for drinks and nibbles, while the nearly-married couple had a moment alone. I believe this is originally a Jewish tradition - well worth borrowing, given the general excitement and busy-ness of a wedding day or weekend.


The next phase of the evening took place in the Meadow, requiring a short walk through the beautiful Pema Ose Ling grounds. (I stopped by the car to trade my heels for flip-flops at this point). We strolled past the temple that housed an enormous statue of one of the great teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, and arrived at an al fresco dinner, where we re-met the couple.



The adorable newlyweds shared a sweetheart table, surrounded by round tables of eight to ten guests. Dining while the sun set on a warm spring evening was pure delight.


And how 'bout that lighter-than-air veil, and lace-up corset back of the dress??? Pure poetry!

The final stage of the progressive dinner took us back to the dance hall, next to the patio where we began, for cake cutting, and cutting the rug.


(here's another look at that spectacular veil!)

Text from a Dead show

from here, via FFFOUND!

Mr. Barefoot: Asked ___ about wedding officiating ___ said yes yeah!

Me: oh wow! thats sooooo exciting! give ___ a big hug 4 me. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(so that's half the deal. now I'm supposed to ask a friend, and we'll have them co-officiate. with the sound of the waves in the background.)

Notes from the field: ceremony in a redwood grove

As you may recall from a week ago, I was privileged to attend an amazingly fun wedding in the Santa Cruz mountains, completed with bocce, Buddhist prayer flags, and a bonfire. I'm back with some pictures... clearly, I won't be competing with the pros anytime soon, but these give you a feeling for the loveliness of the site.

The ceremony took place in a redwood grove - such a perfectly peaceful setting. I'm a little envious. We considered holding our ceremony at a redwood grove, but the designated sites at Muir Woods, where we hiked the day we got engaged, accommodate only 30 people. (But - wow! - what a glorious site!)

In any case, the redwood grove at Pema Ose Ling was lovely, decorated with flowers and colorful paper lanterns.


A harpist provided the processional and recessional.

An effervescent minister, who clearly knew the couple very well, led the ceremony. Two of my favorite moments were the passing of the rings throughout the assembled friends and family, so that each person in attendance could bless them, and the Blessing in Seven Parts, offered by the parents of the bride and groom.

And the bubbles! Perfectly ethereal!



(and, PS - Data Monkey and Mountain Man: I'm definitely looking forward to your annual vow renewal/ wedding redux parties!!! That was too much fun to do just once!)

Flip flops for One Measely Buck-a-roo

If you're thinking of offering your guests flip flops for their weary dancing feet, you might want to head over to Old Navy on Saturday, May 23.

They've got flip flops for $1. Each person can purchase 5, so take your fiance, best friend and posse of bridesmaids!

Even if you can't make it on Saturday, solid colored flip flops are only $1.65/each when you buy 3 or more! Get extra coupons here.

I'm thinking that most everyone will bring their own flip flops since they know we're having a beach wedding, but it can't hurt to have a few extra on hand - the ones I stowed in the car at the Santa Cruz mountains wedding a couple weeks ago totally saved my feet.