the hangover (kit)

UPDATE (1/16/13):
Thank you all for the kind words and interest in my bachelor party hangover kit tags! Due to the influx of requests, please email me at hmgmcguire at gmail dot com to inquire about availability and pricing for customized hangover kit tags.

Please note that I prefer to be emailed directly (hmgmcguire at gmail dot com). I will not reply to comments left on my blog.

Thank you again for your interest!

-Heather


 Original post:

This weekend the future mister went to Charleston for his Bachelor Party. A grand time was had by all and luckily there were no babies, tigers, missing teeth or lost and sunburned grooms. I did have a bit of fun on Thursday night (and a much needed break from invitations) while I created these for the guys:

Hangover Kits! They each contained two bottles of water, two mini bottles of Gatorade, a travel bottle of Advil, Pepto-Bismol, hand sanitizing wipes, gum, and some Airborne for extra antioxidants and electrolytes. Oh, and the future mister got a small box of BC Powder, his preferred headache medicine.

And here's a closeup of the tags I made for each guy (Warning: there is some foul language on some of them. Not meant to offend, just quotes from the movie).

images from imdb.com, photoshopped by me

I was told my kits were "life savers" on Saturday morning.

What did your fiance do for his bachelor party?

bride-to-be's little helper

It's just about time for the invitations to go out and I have more work than my two little hands can handle. At the same time, though, I'm too much of a perfectionist-control-freak to let anyone help me because the thought of relinquishing my control gives me more anxiety than actually doing it myself. Wow, I think I just made myself sound quite insane.

Anyway...

Yesterday I was convinced by a very willing future mister to let him help. And help he did. While I traced, he cut out about one hundred or so envelope liners.



Unfortunately, he's not all that comfortable helping me with the remaining invitation tasks (due to their skill level). But every little bit helps!

Did your fiance lend a hand with any wedding crafts?

black, black, black and blue

This past Saturday, the future mister and I met with our officiant for the first time - wooo! And he didn't "fail" us or deem us unfit to be wed (not that I actually thought he would) - double wooo!

While we were in the area, we decided to hit up the outlet stores. After finding some new clothes at J Crew, we made our way down to Brooks Brothers to check out the ties.

There, nestled in between the other blue ties, was the PERFECT color. The color that I never in a million years thought I would be able to find (in a tie).

(good thing I carry the bridesmaid dress swatches with me wherever I go)

BUT there was only one and we would need six. The very nice salesman who was helping us out left to make a phone call. We were in luck - the closest other store had five ties and could ship them to us for free. Wait a second...could things really fall into place that easily?? I tell you, it was wedding serendipity at it's finest, so I snatched those babies right up.

I was so amazed by my good fortune that I sadly didn't listen very closely to the future mister's opinion. He agreed that the blue was the perfect color, but he wanted skinny black ties. We decided to try the suit on with both ties (since he already has a black skinny one from our e-photos) and, luckily, we can always return the blue ones - so no harm, no foul.

Cute, but very traditional/very wedding-y

Oh my gosh - hold me back! Are you sure you aren't a GQ model??

I have to hand it to him - the future mister was right with this one. The blue may look perfect in theory, but the black tie can't be beat. Now we just have to find black ties for the rest of the groomsmen.

Which would you choose - black or blue? Were you ever quick to make a wedding decision (that you were soooo sure about) only to be proven wrong after the fact?

four

They say that love will find you when you least expect it. I didn't believe them.

Four years of college almost over and nothing more than a few dates with a few guys and some talking. Nothing ever went anywhere. High school had ended with much of the same, except instead of dates, they were at least boyfriends. But does it really count when nothing ever lasted for more then three months? If I said that thinking something was wrong with me never crossed my mind, I'd be lying. My mom told me that it was because I was the marrying kind, not the dating kind. Smart woman.

Then at the beginning of spring semester senior year a friend/sorority sister suggested that I meet her best guy friend. This wasn't the first mention, but I had already forgotten that she had wanted me to bring said guy as my semi-formal date in the fall. I said no and opted to go alone because he had just broken up with his long term girlfriend. Formals aren't much fun if your date is hurt, brooding and pissed off at the female kind, which is what I assumed his mindset would be after a breakup.

I wasn't very interested in this second attempt at matchmaking. There were four more months until graduation and my biggest concern, at that point, was what I was going to do with my life. Why on earth would I spend the time and energy getting to know someone new when it would all end the moment after the cap and gown came off and my tiny car left my little college town behind?

But my friend got my roommates involved. Soon he started showing up at the places I hung out. The first time I saw him in person and not just in facebook photos was at a party at my house. He was a bright red hat in a sea of mostly sorority girls. We were never introduced. And we didn't talk to each other. But I could hear him nearby talking to other people while I stood near my kitchen sink chatting with friends. Then he showed up at my sorority little sister's house one night. This time it was a much smaller group of people. Five or six, I think. Still no formal introduction. There wasn't any one on one interaction, but I remember making fun of his accent.

I'm not exactly sure when, but soon after that we started chatting online. It was around my birthday/Valentine's Day that he began to express interest (to our friend) in wanting to ask me out on a date. Maybe in the next few weeks, was my reply. I had been on a few first-ish dates around Valentine's Day before and they always ended up awkward. Add a birthday to the mix and it's just too much pressure (in my opinion).

Well, today marks four years since our first date (and three months until our wedding!). I remember exactly what I wore - jeans, a pink tank top and an aqua sweater. I picked the restaurant and then forgot how to get there (and since this was pre-smartphone days, neither one of us could look up the directions). We were two (almost) strangers, aimlessly driving around a city 30 minutes from where we attended school, trying to get our bearings. Luckily we eventually made it, albeit late for our reservation. Surprisingly, though, there was no awkwardness (aside from first date nerves) - not during the long car ride, not during dinner. We shared a bottle of wine and got to know each other.

That night was the beginning of a wonderful thing. It was the beginning of a relationship spanning four years, four states, many moves, two grad schools, two jobs, one crazy roommate, an amazing engagement, lots of memories, smiles, laughter, stress and tears. It was the beginning of me realizing that they are right - love does find you when you least expect it.

Happy four years to my soon to be husband. The first four were wonderful and I have no doubt that, between now and forever, the rest will be wonderful, too.

just call him mr. suave

Happy Friday!!

A few weeks ago, while we were in Charlotte picking out and picking up our rings, we also purchased the future mister's wedding suit! It is the Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald 1818 suit in charcoal gray. Both the sales consultant and tailor commented that the future mister had the perfect build for this suit (we have to agree since we kept coming back to it after looking at Jos A Bank, Macy's, etc.). It did need a few minor alterations though, so we left it in Charlotte. And this week, a shiny, new, tailored suit arrived on our doorstep!

don't let him fool you, the future mister really is excited about his new suit

now that's better!

I get so giddy thinking about how this is what he will be wearing when we get married! Now we just have to find some ties for him and the groomsmen and maybe a new shirt and new shoes.

Did any of you get excited when picking out your fiance's wedding day attire?

groom gift guide

We're still over six months out from the wedding, so this post is probably a bit premature. But, with the future mister's birthday quickly approaching and the holidays coming up I thought I would share some of the gift ideas I've been compiling as they could be great inspiration for groom or groomsmen gifts.

for the eco-conscious:

Alex Bottle

for the stylish techno guy:

macbook skin by Karvt - made out of real wood!

(they also make iPad and iPhone skins)

for the history buff:

shaving kit

vintage toiletry kit

pocket watch

for the world traveler:

world map with pins

for the (forgetful) outdoorsman:

polarized sunglasses

and croakies so that they don't get lost (again*)

Since I don't think I have to worry about the future mister reading this before his birthday on Wednesday, I ended up getting him the Alex Bottle. Ever since taking up running, he's been mentioning that a Nalgene would be nice to have because he currently uses a pretty beat-up plastic Gatorade bottle. I considered just getting him a Nalgene (they are less expensive), but the Alex Bottle was too neat to pass up. First, it comes apart at the middle, so it's super easy to clean, unlike most bottles. The other great thing is that when not in use, it's super compactable - just take it apart, invert it and twist back together. Hopefully he'll be just as excited about it as I am.

What unique or thoughtful gifts have you gifted your guy?

*Yes, the future mister bought himself that exact pair of L.L. Bean sunglasses in the summer and as of September they were nowhere to be found.