Squee! Save-the-date time!

Tweets:

@CelestialAxis - Squee! Save-the-date time! #wedding http://yfrog.com/j1nrroj

@CelestialAxis - OMFG I am going to kill WeddingWire.com.  I can't seem to export my guest list with ALL guest names in one household.  Trying TheKnot.com.

@CelestialAxis - Breakdown time.  TheKnot.com guest list exporter isn't working.  I'm going to kill myself.  #wedding

@CelestialAxis - Chocolate covered espresso beans = bride crack.  #wedding

@CelestialAxis - Now how the fudge do I merge Excel data into a Word envelope label document???

@CelestialAxis - It's awesome when you exactly follow step-by-step instructions on how to do something and it fails.  GAH!  #wedding

@CelestialAxis - But it f*****g worked for Simon!  G*******T!  At least it's done.

@CelestialAxis - It helps to turn the printer on before trying to print.  *headdesk*

@CelestialAxis - HOLY effing gods, I FINALLY have address labels for my save-the-dates.  #wedding

@CelestialAxis - Save-the-dates are coming along!  #wedding  http://yfrog.com/4xattpj

@CelestialAxis - Jesus Christ.  Simon just asked for 3 more cuz he had 3 labels left.  Gave me back a pile which contained 3 blank envelopes.  *headdesk*

@CelestialAxis - I even sealed 2 of them without realizing.

@CelestialAxis - Done!  55 save-the-dates ready to send.  All licked shut cuz my envelope wetter over-wets them.  #wedding  http://yfrog.com/2mhnsj

First of all, I apologize for half my blog being tweets, but you can’t get a feel for the day I had without them.  Second of all, I apologize for my language; I’m PG-13 at the best of times, and I was having one of those days.  I censored myself the best I could.  ;-)

So on Sunday, we finally tackled the save-the-dates.  A week later than I wanted to, but oh well.  I sat down at my computer to make the address labels.  No, I’m not addressing them by hand, sorry.  I have my guest list saved on both WeddingWire.com and TheKnot.com.  I already had a simple version of the list in an Excel on my computer from the engagement announcements (no separate address for kids 18+, etc.).  I tried to export my list from Wedding Wire to Excel, but it would only format it with everyone’s name separately and in alphabetical order, instead of all names in one household together.  I was NOT going to sort through that mess.

Then I logged into The Knot to try it from there.  I picked the info I needed and clicked “Export”…and got a “runtime error” page.  Tried again, same result.  I really was banging my head on my desk by this point.  Simon gave me some chocolate covered espresso beans, which I began to devour.  Then he mocked my freak-out.  Bad idea.  =P

I finally decided to manually edit the current Excel I had.  I updated two addresses that were old, then separated out the 18+ kids so they got their own.  After checking and re-checking it against my online ones, they finally matched: 55 addresses.  Okay, now all I have to do is a mail merge to make labels right?  I went into Word and tried to import the list, to no avail.  I looked up step-by-step instructions online, and that failed too.  I told Simon to do it, and it worked.  Of course, he is an IT director.

Yay, I have two pages of labels on my screen!  I printed a test page on regular paper to make sure they lined up with the labels.  Compared them, they worked .  Printed them (after a couple of failed attempts).  After seriously TWO hours, I had labels.

I stuffed the envelopes, Simon placed the address labels on them, then I sealed them.  Like you saw above, he requested three more after I could have sworn I gave him 55, but it turned out he had just missed three envelopes somehow and put them in the “done” pile.  I even sealed two before realizing they were blank.  Good thing I have plenty of extras!  I have an envelope wetter, but it completely saturates them no matter what I do, and I didn’t want soggy magnets, so I just licked them.  All 55 of them.  Yeah, not hugely pleasant.

Once the pile was done I gazed upon them proudly.  We’re getting married!!!

Simon mailed them out Monday.  Here we go!