East "Meets" West

Being in a long-distance relationship is hard stuff. Besides the obvious things like the physical distance, relying on the phone for communication and (for us) the time difference, wedding planning brings on a whole new set of challenges. Our short visits are now packed with appointments, our phone conversations are often wedding related and the time difference makes it hard for Mr. Latte to contact East Coast vendors, adding more items to my never-ending "To Do" list.

The distance has forced us to think of creative solutions to some of the inevitable wedding related problems that arise. Do the pink socks Mr. Latte bought perfectly match my pink shoes? Let's Skype and find out! We both need access to our budget document? Let's share it on Google docs! The wedding party is scattered across the country and will need to meet each other before the wedding? Let's make a wedding party newsletter!

We all know that a fun wedding party = a fun partay. And parties are always more fun when you're with friends. Since most of the guys are on the West Coast, and all the ladies are on the East Coast, having them become the best of friends just wasn't going to happen. (Yes, I realize that doesn't happen in real life either). But even having them meet face-to-face before the wedding was next to impossible. We needed a creative way to have them "meet" each other. Cue newsletter.

Following the lead (and borrowing the ideas) of Miss Piglet and many of the other Bees before me (thanks ladies!), the Latte newsletter was born. I call it...SCOTHEOOP. "The Inside Scoop." Get it? Yeah? I know, cheesy...don't judge.

Here's the cover:

Pages 1 and 2: Table of Contents, The Bride and Groom and The Parents.

Pages 3, 4 and 5: The Ladies, The Guys and The Kids. We wrote a short blurb about each BM, GM, FG and RB (got all that?), explaining how we met, our relationship and a little bit about each person.

Pages 6 and 7: The Colors and The Sneak Peek. We introduced our wedding colors here and I quickly threw together a pseudo-inspiration board to show some of the ways we hope to integrate them into the wedding. After labeling this newsletter "Issue 1," I realized that I will have to make an "Issue 2." And quite possibly an "Issue 3." Sigh.

And there you have it! The wedding party finally "meets"! I hope that they will feel a little bit more comfortable with each other on the wedding day now that they've officially met.

How did you introduce your wedding party to each other?

Source for pictures on pages 6 and 7: (l-r) cupcake lollipops, cake, bouquets, escort cards, peony bouquet, centerpieces, pink shoes/socks, shoes, pomanders, apples, branch centerpiece, hair, flower girl. guys, flower girl dress, bridesmaids, tape, swatches, makeup, flower, hair (by sissi chan).