invitation party

This is how our invitation making/my 25th birthday party went:

General revelry and more importantly, chili eating. Thanks to my Dad for supplying us with the sustenance and making my birthday party awesome.

Yay for Micaela Pritts, an important part of the evening's festivities...as well as her mom, Lisa,and the always suave, Michael Johnson

Family! Thanks for helping, hey, and that's one of my bridesmaids, my sister, Hope.








More family! I love my Dad and his chili. :)

Let the invitation making commence!



The uniqueness to each and every invitation! It's fun to play with colorful ink and stamps. (And no, Mink is not a hand model...but if anyone's an agent, I'm willing to lend her hands out :) )








Ray, our map designer, is also great with his hands...and a paper cutter. He hand cut each and every reception/direction card. He's also in the wedding! Thank him when you flawlessly traverse the streets of Chicagoland on your way to the wedding.

Sarah admires Chris' aptly placed embossing powder.

(don't we all really?)

The feather cutters, labelers, invitation gluers, and handwriters! So very important to the process...all of whom are also incredibly photogenic. If Brad didn't cut feathers so well, we would fire him...for not letting his photogenicicity shine. He's in our wedding party, Jenn, the belle next to him is also in the wedding and Sarah (of whom there are many more pics) is also a b-maid and of course, those good looking peeps on the right as well....

Sarah has never been photographed before. So she decided to make up for lost time.

Such a happy and scary couple.

Possibly my favorite photo from the evening. See? Isn't he suave? At the very least, creative. And yes, ladies, feel free to ask for his number :)

Speaking of scary...

Also scary...I like how Brad's face is pretty much the same in this as the last. Oh well...it's better than the lovers faces they usually make when photographed together.

The sibs...sorry you couldn't make it, Al!

The almost finished product. But, then, you know how the finished product came out. Hope you enjoyed the invitation. And the picture show.

Introducing...

the Mantourage and the Ladies in Waiting:

-George. brother of the groom. USMC [insert impressive sounding rank here]. Guitar Hero master. Jacksonville, NC

-Sparky. aka Alex Parrish. ex-step-brother of the groom ("brother" for short). UMD Senior! College Park, MD

-Andrew/Michael Collins. brother of the bride. Pele impersonator. Poli-Sci major at Incarnate Word. San Antonio, TX

-Andrew Unger. whipping boy of the groom. Canadian ex-patriot. NES all-star. youth minister extraordinaire; MBI grad. Wheaton, IL

-Ray Wu. son of the groom. Artistic wizard/creative genius. kung fu jedi AND Chinese (read: dangerous) Wheaton, IL

-Brad Pritts. fellow servant of Church of the Resurrection. philosophical revolutionary; new dad! bald by choice. West Chicago, IL

-Hope. sister of the bride (though, looks nothing like the bride- except in smile). itinerant baby-sitter. Wheaton College Bio Senior (i.e., for hire, but not in biology). carol stream, IL.

-Al. other sister of the bride. Queen of the animal kingdom. mother of ethan (nephew of bride). not engaged to Greg. San Antonio, TX.

-Mink. aka Rachel Mink and Grand Minksta Flash. monastic flirt. C.S.Lewis aficionado. wheaton, IL.

-Jenn. slashie award winner of the bride (roomate/co-worker/bridesmaid

/confidante). champion of psycho-social justice. wheaton, IL.

-tri*Sarah*tops. blossoming fellow LOSTie. prayer consultant of bride. lover of the au natural (not as in naked but as in trees). wheaton, IL...but c'mon y'all, her sweet home? Alabama!

Sometimes a bridesmaid (but gets to keep the title honorarily), sometimes a missionary to India:
-Carrie. fellow LOST freak of the bride. ex-boss. she's crafty (that's Beastie Boys, Greg!). Settlers of Catan annihilator. Mother of leyroy and i-pod (unofficial nephews of bride). carol stream, IL.