questions: dress.. guest book pen.. candles or sand.. etc

1. my dress.. i dont think my dress will be in til around june 10th or so.. my wedding is on june 27th! isnt that too late.. and won't i not have time for alterations!? im freaking out! ;(

2. has anyone or is anyone having the unity sand or the candles in their ceremony?! which one do you perfer?

3. guest book pen.. is this necessary?! a pretty pen just to sign the guest book?!

1. Call your dress shop. They should have your dress coming in time for alterations...when you ordered, did they tell you if you would have time?
2. No, Im not doing either, but both are nice, I think candles for a more formal affair, sand otherwise.
3. Nah, unless you find a great deal on a pen somewhere, I wouldn't worry about it. I bet you could find a nice looking one at Rite Aid or Longs even. :)

1. my destination dress is going to be here mid-july and we are on the plane aug 3 - that's 2 weeks... they told me this ahead of time - but luckily they do in-house alterations... i alread have shoes and my undergarments so right when my dress gets in i can go in and they can do what they gotta do...

2. i'm not having the sand ceremony - i didnt even know what it was until a fellow pw bride told me what it was ( think miss mandy?? thanks btw!)

3. i dont think it has to be a mont blanc or anything - i agree with kohler44, you can find a nice one at longs or even kinkos...

1. The store should have known your date etc. when ordering, and know the ETD- so its there issue IMO

2. I'm doing a candle b/c the chapel already has that all set up. Its really a personal preference. I'm getting my candle from www.idooriginals.com if you want to see an idea.. Both ideas are SUPER easy!

3. Get whatever you want!!!! There are so many cheap cute options. My friend had a photo book with a bunch of those wrapped flower pens. Another friend had a feather pen. Lastly, another friend had colored sharpies- See the possibilities are endless :) My guest book will be black so I'm probably doing colored metallic pens... No biggie, just grab some pens you like :) Maybe have them a little bit matchy matchy to your theme/colors? :)

1. See if they can do a rush on it if you're concerned. I know my dress was supposed to be coming in this month (my date is the day after yours) and it ended up coming in early. I think if you call them you might get some more options to work with.

2. I'm not doing either. I like both though! We just want a more simple, short & sweet ceremony. Haven't ruled anything out completely yet though.

3. I think it's nice to have a designated pen so that all of the sig's & well wishes are in the same ink. Maybe I'm a nerd though =) I am definitely not going to buy one of those mega-priced pens though- like Kohler said you can find nice pens pretty much anywhere now!

oooo - HMM's suggestion of metallic pens!! love it!!!

HMM- i was thinkin the same for our pens.
our guest book pages are also black! so we would obviously have to use something along those lines for the ink to show up. i was just wondering because obviously gel pens dont have the specific "wedding look". so yey! gel pens it is!

mrstong- i DID do a rush! im praying with all my might that mine comes early just like yours did :( ill call them later.

d1rty- my bridal shop does in house alterations as well.. so i guess i shouldnt freak out too fast lol

kholer- my dress shop said id have it the begining of june. but then i got the little post card in the mail with my estimated date and it said june 12th. :( ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

1. Eh, I don't know -- but yeah, I'd check with your dress shop, too. I got mine WAAAAAAAAAAY early because it just happened to be part of another shipment. But I'd understand your concern and would want to allow enough time for alterations.

2. We were going to have a unity candle ceremony, but since my parents aren't coming to the wedding, we opted to change to a sand ceremony last minute. I actually like this idea better because we purchased the four paned frame that allows us to put a photo of each other on it and then between the glass, we'll put in the sand and have a nice keepsake.

3. I think it's necessary if you'd like others to sign! We're having a wish tree, so I bought these cute handmade pens that look like flower/roses and I'll put them in a little terracotta pot with rice and then more can sign at once!

1. Ditto what everyone else said. Call the shop and get a better estimate on the time than what the postcard says. If it's still estimated to come it June 12th, then talk to them about rushing alterations once it arrives. Make sure they're aware of this even before the gown arrives.

2. I think either can be beautiful. I would advise against doing the unity candle if your ceremony is outdoors. Even a slight breeze can make it difficult. If you really want the unity candle ceremony, look at hurricane candle options.

3. Provide multiple pens and don't worry about them being pretty. Since your pages are black, gel pens can look awesome. Try them out on similar paper to check if they will smear. I'm a lefty and often smear my writing. As a bride I was really anal about getting pens that didn't smear. Fine point Sharpies worked best.

Good luck!

yeah i agreee....call the shop and see. They should be able to tell you the exact date. Some places that do alterations can do them in a week or two depending on the work.
We did a unity candle and it was nice. The church already had it out for us and we kept the candle.
We had a simple guest book pen sitting in a little stand...not too fancy.