Yep, we’ve done it again. Found another wedding contest that is (partially) based on votes. We have to make it into the top 50 to be considered, so we have a long way to go and not much time.

This contest is for a dream wedding, sponsored by Crate & Barrel. Runners-up will receive C&B gift cards – quite nice for furnishing a new home.

If you’d like to vote for us, we’d appreciate it. One vote per person.

http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/30584

If you want to hit the “share” button to help us spread the word on Facebook, that would be great.

Thank you sooo much for all your love and support for us.

(Oh, and stay tuned for the save-the-dates update. They’ll be in the mail in a day or two!)

I got a “sample” save-the-date all packaged up last night and then called Michael to tell him how happy I was with it. My exact words were: “I have serious likeage.”

Now to get these bundles finished up and in the mail! That’s the goal for this weekend. After they start finding themselves in other people’s mailboxes, I can post pictures.

I edited one of the photos from our “impromptu photo shoot” the other day and then signed up at Kodak Gallery to get them printed. My order for 100 4×6 prints cost me a total of $1.99 – I only paid for shipping. If you need photos printed for save the dates, thank you cards, or invitations, you can get the same deal for a few more days.

First, sign up for a new account with Kodak Gallery. You’ll automatically get 50 FREE prints added to your account. (These have to be ordered within 14 days.)

Add 100 prints to your cart. These can be multiples of the same photo or 100 different photos and you can choose either matte or glossy.

When you checkout enter the code 50FREE for an additional 50 FREE prints. (This code can only be used once per customer and expires on March 11, 2010).

Voila! You’ve got 100 prints for about $0.02 each! Kodak Gallery processed and shipped my order with amazing speed. I ordered on Tuesday morning and I got all my photos in the mail on Wednesday afternoon. Wow!

While I was down in Richmond this weekend, I asked Michael if we could make time for a quick photo shoot at the park so we could get a picture for our save the dates. It was rather spur-of-the-moment (hence his “scruffy” chin) and when we arrived I discovered that, in my haste, I had left my tripod behind. I’m not really great at hand-holding for self-portraits, so we found a sign with a post sturdy enough to hold the camera, set it on self-timer, and had a lot of fun running back and forth from pressing the shutter button to posing.

The picture we ended up using for our save-the-dates won’t be posted till after those are sent out, but I did get a couple shots of Michael.

“Move back. Farther. Farther. Good. Now step to your left a little. Great. Right there.” He’s such a good sport.

This was the last one I took of him before we started the timer and I jumped in. He thought he’d moved out of range,  but I still caught him.

I’m working furiously on getting our save-the-dates finished. After four or five trashed ideas, I’ve finally settled on something that I like and can move forward. Sometimes perfectionist tendencies are annoying.

As I’ve been working on these, I’ve been wondering how far in advance y’all sent/are sending your save-the-dates (if you’re sending them at all). We all know how far in advance they’re SUPPOSED to be mailed, but I’m curious as to when other brides have really popped those little goodies in the mail. Ten months in advance? Six? Four?

By the time ours make into the mail we’ll be about four-and-a-half months from the wedding. The invitations will be going out in just over two months. Really, we don’t need the save-the-dates at all. But for us, this is a step of faith. We still don’t have a wedding location, so we’ve been inching forward with the details. It’s tough to plan without a venue. I think these save-the-date cards are a much needed faith-booster, at least for me, that the wedding IS going to happen.

And posting this here means I HAVE to get these done and mailed! No coming back in a week or two and saying I procrastinated or perfectionist-ed too long and didn’t get them out.

So, our save-the-dates will go out about four-and-a-half months in advance. What about yours?