the one!

Piece of Cake!

2009-09-13T07:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, J. and I visited the bakery that is making our cake- Le Petit Gateau. Out cake was included in the price for our reception, so fortunately all we had to do was go and taste and choose. Stress free fun! Of course, I came prepared with inspiration, the Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes Book (with key pages flagged) and my wedding planning scrapbook, and I brought our little cake topper dudes too.

Remember these? Try to pretend J. has short curly red hair...

At first, the very simplest designs appealed to me. Especially ones topped with loads of the same ingredient- like sugar flower petals, flakes of coconut, or peaks of meringue.

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So I was a little bit disappointed when the baker told me that my ideas were either outside my contract or wouldn't hold up very well. But then again, I really appreciated the honesty. Goodness knows I don't want a cake wreck on my hands!

Fortunately, the bakery had a number of cute designs in their portfolio to choose from, and so we decided to taste the cake first and then make a decision about the appearance of the cake.

Mmmmmm cake. Om nom nom nom.

We were served six slices of cake, along with sides of various fillings to try. The cakes were (1) chocolate and vanilla cake with mocha cream; (2) red velvet with cream cheese filling, (3) vanilla cake with Bavarian cream (often people add fruit to this); (4) vanilla cake with cannoli cream; (5) vanilla and chocolate cake with raspberry mousse; and (6) vanilla cake with chocolate mousse. On the side, we were served with more Bavarian cream, cannoli cream, chocolate and raspberry mousse, and some unbelievable chocolate ganache, so that we could mix and match flavors. And each cake had some of the buttercream on it that would be covering our final selection, so that we could see how it affected the taste. We dug in, and we were so pleased! The cakes were not too moist or too dry, and the fillings were quite tasty. John immediately loved the cannoli and the ganache, while my favorite was the red velvet and cream cheese. And I really liked how the buttercream did not detract from the cake flavors- like a neutral backdrop. But of course, we needed to eat more to be sure.

After we polished off our favorites, the bakery gave us another round to take home with us. J. and I looked at each other and wondered, were we still in North Jersey? Oh yes please thank you yes.

Our cake, safely secured in the back seat.

Hello breakfast tomorrow.

With our sugar-highs in place, we moved on to making our selections. We decided on a three tiered cake (my pick) in a square shape (J.'s pick). For our top tier, we're going chocolate all the way for J., who claims he is a "chocolate purist"- chocolate cake, with a layer of chocolate ganache, and two layers of chocolate chip cannoli cream. Assuming this survives the year in the freezer, I think its going to be worth the wait. The other tiers will be red velvet with cream cheese and vanilla with chocolate ganache and cannoli cream- our two favorites. The Nyack Seaport serves the cake as part of a trio of desserts- with an apple beggars purse pastry and french vanilla ice cream in a chocolate shell. I think our cake choices will fit perfectly!

We next moved on to deciding on the look of the cake. I didn't want to overpower our little dude cake toppers so I wanted something that wasn't too busy. But I also didn't want something so white that it wouldn't stand out in photos. So we decided to go with the below cake but change the colors and turn it into a square shape. Ours won't have any of the sugar flowers pictured and the sample has the layers purposely off-center, whereas ours will be centered. In addition, the cake below is made with a pearl-tinted fondant, whereas we'll have ivory buttercream. But I'll be choosing a soft antique gold ribbon for the colored bands on each layer, and the baker will match the fancy swirly details to the color of the ribbon. Those sweet little dots that adorn the edges will also be done in the same shade. They even agreed to use my ribbon around the base of the stand! In the end, both J. and I were psyched about how great it will taste and look!

And P.S., I can't say enough good things about Le Petit Gateau. They were so helpful, candid, and fun to talk to about cake! They didn't rush us through the process and seemed as excited as we were about making selections. I can't wait to see the final product!

Hungry yet?

Cheap And Chic Hair

2009-09-12T08:00:00.004-07:00

As you may recall, me and my ladies will be rocking hair accessories at the wedding rehearsal. I made my own hair fascinator to wear, but somehow I doubt they've all been ~~obsessing~~ thinking about the accessory quite as much as me. And somehow I doubt they'll feeling like shelling out a lot of cash for such accessories, as cute as they are. So I did a bit of looking, and I found out that Forever21 of all places makes some seriously cute stuff! I have selected white pieces below, but the store has pretty much every color option on their website.

I do love the high end pieces from Ban.Do. But sadly for me, even on sale this piece is well outside my budget at $105.

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Instead, I recommend THESE! All are a steal at $11 or less! Would you give them a try?

All images courtesy of Forever 21 unless otherwise noted.

Do Not Disturb

2009-09-12T07:21:00.002-07:00

Another engaged friend of mine recently emailed me to ask if I had ever heard of people adding customized door hangers to their OOT bags. And in fact, I had seen one bride do a fantastic door hanger on Wedding Bee. But a quick google search revealed that, in fact, these are a hot, fun project! I think J. might just kill me if I put another project in the hopper, so I'm sharing the love in the hopes that someone else will find a good use for them! Here are some great ones I found, and below each is the link to the relevant tutorial:

This crafty bride came up with a great way to use scrap paper from her other projects!

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I like that this bride incorporated information for the guests into this hanger.

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This seems like it would be the easiest DIY idea ever. I'm thinking you could design inexpensive Vista Print postcards, then its just two holes punched and ribbon.

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This template is actually for mother's day, but it seems like you could easily modify this for a wedding!

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And these, well these are just plain fun!

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So let's say you want to make door hangers, but don't want to have to do a lot of cutting. You can save your hands from years of arthritis for bargain-basement prices with these "Perfectly Plain" hangers which can be run right through your home printer. Just $5.99 for 50, or $7.99 for 100.

And if you want to make your life really easy, you can have someone else make them entirely! For example, check out the magic happening at Print Place. They are $88 for 250, but I have to wonder if they would make a smaller order if you called...

What do you think? Overkill or fun addition?

Happy Friday!

2009-09-11T05:49:00.002-07:00

These four-day work weeks are killer, so I'm especially glad today is Friday. And in honor of Friday I have decided to feature some eye candy- the wedding of my FSIL and her husband, Tami and Steve. Yes, they do look like Barbie and Ken, and no, you can't hate them because they're even nicer than they are cute. This wedding was an absolute stunner from start to finish, with every detail elegant and classic, from the pair of flower girls in their perfect dresses to the pink and white calla lilies! Swoon!

The ceremony was held on August 2, 2008 at the bright and soaring St. Gregory the Great Church in Hamilton, New Jersey, and the reception followed at the ultra-charming Battleground Country Club in Manalapan, New Jersey. For fun, the group also took some photos at Princeton University nearby. I just love the bride's gown by Jasmine, an RK Bridal discovery that the bride customized by altering the bodice to a sweetheart neckline and the back to a deep V shape. It has such a light, airy quality that absolutely floats in the photos. Or maybe it is the bride herself who is floating? And that train! I also adore how the bridesmaids dresses (pink, my favorite!) just pop in every single shot against the black of the groomsmen's tuxedos and the white of her gown. But perhaps the most striking thing of all about these photos, is how absolutely in love these two are. You can't help but smile when you see them!

Enjoy!!

Give Us Your Photos!

2009-09-11T05:46:00.003-07:00

J. and I attended a recent wedding where the couple left cards out for the guests, telling the guests about a Snapfish photo room the couple had created where guests could upload their photos of the wedding. And I loved this idea so much that I just had to incorporate it into our own wedding. Small problem: we did not budget for tiny cute cards. Oh, but I had a solution!

A Snapfish group room is free so it was a *snap* to set that up! (Sorry but I love puns). So the next step was to make these little cards. At first I thought about using Moo Cards, because when you order them, you can make each and every one of the cards different if you wish- but they were a little pricey for something we didn't budget for. And it seemed rather time consuming to make all those little cards for such a small project. So I returned to- you guessed it- Vista Print. You may recall that I've used Vista Print postcards for a number of wedding elements including our save-the-dates, and our recipe cards, so it occurred to me that I might be able to score a deal there on business cards. And I did! [Insert photo of me patting myself on the back here].

If you sign up for Vista Print's email list, be warned that they will send you a ton of email, but they also send out great promos. And thanks to one of those promos, we got 250 of these little cards for free, paying only $5.67 for shipping. They gave us the choice of either glossy (a free upgrade) or matte cards too. I decided to go with the matte, since I think it looks a bit more vintage, but I can say from experience the glossy finish can be nice too. We only need about 150, but the smallest number you could order was 250, so I suppose we'll just have extras.

I should add that these were incredibly easy to make. I used one of their many business card templates and then went into the advanced editing feature to change fonts and formatting. Photoshop experts could do the entire thing from scratch if they wanted, but I went the easy route and it seemed to work out well! I am planning to put one of these little cards in each gift bag with the favors so that people don't lose them or forget them (I hope, anyway).

Have you ever taken advantage of a group photo room?

A Not-At-All-Scientific Survey of Wedding Websites

2009-09-11T05:45:00.006-07:00

I know quite a few recently engaged couples, and it seems like more jump on the wagon every day... so I decided as a service to my recently engaged pals, I'd try to summarize the pros and cons of various wedding websites I've investigated during my planning. Let me just disclaim at the outset that this research is mostly anecdotal, so definitely check these out yourself before you commit! Also, know that all the sites I looked at allow you to choose from various designs, tell your story, and link to registries. And all have user-friendly software (even for the computer-challenged) and allow you to upload personal photos. Would you do a wedding website? Which provider would you use?

(1) Wedding Channel's Wedding Website

Pros: It's free! You can choose from about 50 website designs, and your website name is http://yournameandyourname.weddings.com, which is user-friendly for sure.

Cons: It does not appear to have mapping software, and does not appear to be flexible about allowing you to make additional pages to suit your needs (I haven't personally tried though, so don't take my word for certain). Also, this is an often-used website for couples, so your webpage may not be as unique as you'd like.

Real bride H. says: ~~"My experience was that I put it together so half-*ssed that I left it password protected thinking at some point I would finish it and take off the password protection."~~ "I liked that this was free, because I got bored and decided not to complete it."

Verdict: An easy, "go-to" site, with enough theme designs to choose from, good for those who want a straightforward website that won't take too much effort.

(2) Project Wedding

Pros: Its Free! Themes for pages are from big-time stylish stationary houses- and hence can be made to match your wedding invitations if you plan things properly. You can also add pages for different topics as needed, and the mapping software is good. Your website name is www.projectwedding.com/ourwedding/yournameandyourname, which is also pretty easy to work with.

Cons: They don't have a huge selection of themes to choose from, so if you don't find one that works for you, you will be stuck.

Real bride Me says: "This tools are easy to use and helped me create professional looking website for free. And I like free."

Verdict: A professional looking choice if you like the look of the themes.

(3) Wedding Window

Pros: Lots of flexibility and privacy options. You can use it to make fun games for guests, and your site can be as simple or extensive as you prefer. Your website name is www.yournameandyourname.weddingwindow.com, which, like the others, is easy for guests to remember.

Cons: You have to pay for it ($10.99 per month, or 24 months at $119, 30 months at $139, and 36 months at $159).

Real bride P. says: "I've been very happy with Wedding Window. I like that it's not searchable on any search engine, and that you can set up passwords for various aspects of your site. Plus, everything was a choice - whether you want visitors to be able to right-click on your photos, etc. And you have the flexibility to make the site as simple or fancy as you like."

Verdict: A great all-around choice for streamlined, effective pages with all the bells and whistles.

(4) Wedding Tracker (formerly Wed-O-Rama)

Pros: Create your own domain name, like www.yournameandyourname.com. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Cons: It costs $60 per year. Also, users say that sometimes it can be difficult to get your photos to fit into their designated picture areas.

Real bride L. says: "We used [Wedding Tracker] and I thought it was good. If I was a bit more techy I probably would have tried to design our own site but, in the interest of my sanity, I used [Wedding Tracker] and I thought it worked great. We were able to create our own domain name -- and I liked that because rather than having some complicated address, we just used our names. All in all, I was happy with it!"

Verdict: This is a particularly good place to go for user-friendly layouts and a unique domain name without building a website from the ground up!

(5) MomentVille

Pros: Lots of features and flexibility- you can even add music to your site, and guests can subscribe to receive updates about your wedding. And you also have the option of having your own domain name, as with Wed-O-Rama.

Cons: Some of the cooler options cost money.

Real Groom B. says: "Momentville.com was pretty cheap and it was pretty easy to get the hang of. The only extra may have been paying for our domain name."

Verdict: I'm sold on the fact that it lets you play music!

all images on this post sourced from the referenced websites

Pretty Birdies!

2009-09-10T07:02:00.004-07:00

I am clearly on a crafty sharing kick this week, which is why I absolutely HAD to share with you all some photos of the cutest birds you've ever seen, made by Ann Wood. If you haven't seen her blog, you definitely need to go there right now, because you will be addicted for life. My friend H. used these as both wedding decor and cake toppers... and her coordinator actually had to tell guests not to ~~shamelessly steal them~~ mistakenly take them home! Honestly, if I had thought about it I'd have probably tried to steal them myself! Aren't they the best?

You Are Now Entering The Twilight Zone...

2009-09-10T07:01:00.001-07:00

Today is no ordinary Thursday. Oh no, today is a big-deal day for two reasons. One, today I am 30 days from my 30th birthday. And two, today I am 100 days from getting married. Holy moley, the countdown begins! So in thinking about what these next important days would mean, this photo of J. and I immediately came to mind. And it made me think I should have a quick list of goals to help me preserve my sanity over the coming weeks- the peacefulness I was feeling when this photo was taken. And since I've made it public, I think I'll be good for it.

(1) I will prioritize my commitment to and connection with J. above all else. No matter what happens in the coming madness, I won't forget why I'm here.

(2) I will do the best I can with the details, and then I will let go, because I know nobody will mind.

(3) I will remember that every moment of this process is precious, and I will cherish them all.

(4) I will wear my new red dress on my birthday and embrace being 30. Because it really is way better than when I was 20.

(5) And finally, I'm going to try to take better care of my nails. They look pretty bad right now :)

Do you ever find yourself with mid-life resolutions? How do you do with them?
photo by Jessica Morrisey

Nonfloral Bouquets

2009-09-09T05:49:00.002-07:00

Early in the planning process, one of the ideas I toyed with was using nontraditional materials in our bouquets. And when I found Design Whimsy on Etsy, I was enthralled! The materials are stunning and they would make such lovely keepsakes! I immediately began corresponding with the woman there who makes these, and she was incredibly friendly and easy to work with. Her prices were also quite reasonable, and her etsy feedback is perfect. However, we have very few florals happening in the wedding and I was afraid I might miss the fresh scent of flowers, so ultimately I made the difficult decision to say "no" to these beauties. Which is why I'm posting them here. Someone else please use them so I can live vicariously through you!

All images courtesy of Design Whimsey.

You likey?

A Good Bracelet is Hard to Find

2009-09-09T05:48:00.001-07:00

I really want to know- why are vintage bracelets so hard to find? My theory is that the good ones are so very good that their owners don't want to part with them! And the reason I think this is that I have spent several hours now scouring the 'net for the perfect vintage bracelet to wear with my wedding dress. I looked at Ruby Lane, Ebay, Etsy, along with various sellers I found through google, but haven't been able to make up my mind. Here are some of the contenders I have been thinking about:

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Which do you like? Should I hold out for more ebay listings?

How Fascinating...

2009-09-08T05:34:00.001-07:00

I apologize at the outset for the shameless use of the pun. I couldn't help myself!

Like most people, I've totally fallen in love with the look of the birdcage veils that are all the rage right now. Those little fascinators with those little veils attached are vintage and glam, but still whimsical! It was definitely something I considered! At the end of the day, I decided to borrow a veil- my "something borrowed" from a happily married woman, my bridesmaid H. (don't worry, a posting about the veil is forthcoming)! But to satisfy my fascinator fix, I decided I would wear one as part of my rehearsal dinner ensemble. I plan to be entirely overdressed for my wedding rehearsal of course. And I've asked my bridesmaids to join in the fun by wearing a cute hairpiece, headband or hat!

Looking to tutorials like this one from Wedding Bee, I decided to try my hand at my own hair flower.

For my first step, I found a deep blue silk peony and an ivory silk rose- and I ripped those babies apart! I also purchased some interesting looking feathers in black and white, and an alligator clip.

sources: peony, white feathers, black feathers, clip

Supplies in hand, I began layering the different elements until I had something that I liked, and then I used my trusty hot glue gun to adhere the layers together. For the crowning glory, I put a small feather pouf in the center- it spoke to me. I liked it! But it was still missing something. So I decided to add a veil. As per usual, I hit etsy and found some wonderful Swiss dot Russian netting, perfect for my project!

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It took several attempts to get the placement of the netting under the flower just right. I ended up using some thread to gather one edge of the netting, and that helped a lot. And once it was properly placed, all I had to do was pin and hand-stitch the netting into place. Success!

My completed fascinator!

From what I have read, I'll need to steam the netting over a volleyball or the like before I wear it- but we did register for a steamer- so I think its going to be perfect!

Did you DIY any of your wedding attire?

Decisions Decisions

2009-09-07T19:44:00.005-07:00

I have a bridal shower coming up in just a few weeks and I can't wait! I asked my ladies to tell me the date so I didn't go making any conflicting plans, but the details are at their discretion- a surprise! The only thing I've been told is how to dress, and really even that hasn't been much. I was told to wear a dress for a "garden party" and I know it will be early October. That's the sum total of what I know. Fun right?

Off I went in search of the perfect dress. At first, I thought floral. And I found this dress at Urban Outfitters that seemed like it would fit the bill. It was the right weight for the season, it was the right fabric for daytime, and it seemed like I could wear it to work with tights after the shower. I had a coupon code for free shipping, and they offer free returns, so I decided to see if it would work. When the package arrived, I was quite excited! And it did fit, but it just wasn't quite right. The top wasn't as flattering as I'd hoped. Boooo.

I moved on and kept looking, and found a great reddish orangeish dress from French Connection (pictured below in black). It doesn't look like much in the photo, but trust me, its really cute on with those great puffed sleeves. But the top wasn't quite right-- the fit was off, and it was definitely too low cut for work. Still, this dress struck a chord with me. I decided to think it over.

I also spent some time looking around the White House Black Market website, and there, at the top of the page, was this gorgeous dress. So pretty! So vintage! So NOT a daytime dress. Sigh. I moved on.

Then on Friday after work, I headed to the Saks flagship on Fifth Avenue, not really thinking about the dress but hoping to buy some new makeup. I love shopping there for makeup because the ladies who work there do excellent work. After picking up a few things in cosmetics, I decided on a whym to check out the dress selection upstairs. I immediately found a sales lady to help me (for the same reason as the cosmetics- the ladies who work at that particular location usually know their stuff) and after a quick tour of the Milly, D&G and Alice and Olivia sections of the store, we saw Diane von Furstenberg and had an identical "duh" moment. Why didn't I think of it before? I love DVF- her work is always ladylike, vintage inspired, and work appropriate- but still comfortably edgy. Granted, I do not usually buy DVF if it isn't on sale. But just this once, I felt like I could look at dresses and not worry about the price. After all, I am turning thirty in a month (note the shameless use of my thirtieth birthday to justify a splurge; I plan to get major mileage out of this excuse for the next few weeks)!

My new best friend at Saks and I poured over DVF's signature wrap dresses, sheaths and separates. And we found it! A gorgeous dress made of felted wool jersey (work appropriate!) with short sleeves (seasonally appropriate!) in a lovely shade of red (garden party appropriate!) and as an added bonus, it channels my favorite TV character, Joan from Mad Men. Even better, the sales lady saved me big bucks on my dress (and the cosmetics) by opening a Saks charge for me- ok, yes, I know all about the perils of store credit cards, but I pay them off in full every time I do this, I promise! Plus, Saks has a points system and you get gift cards periodically for spending money with them- which is better than most stores do. And so I took this dress home and tried it on for J. and when I saw his face, I knew it was worth it!

My DVF winner! Mine will be red!

Have you splurged on a clothing purchase lately?

Happy Labor Day!

2009-09-07T00:01:00.006-07:00

Happy Labor Day everyone! In honor of getting some R&R, I thought today I would post one of my absolute favorite family recipes- one I made this weekend for my soon-to-be new family! This pudding is not good white-dress-diet food, but it reminds me of home!

Cheers!

Chocolate Pie
based on the recipe from the 1969 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Crust

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter.
Measure 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs (regular or chocolate) into a medium bowl.
Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the graham crackers (and a dash of cinnamon if you like).
Add the melted butter.
Stir or blend together with your hands.
Press into the pie plate or other pan.
Put in the freezer to set while you make the pudding

Filling

2 1-oz squares of unsweetened baking chocolate (I prefer Baker's; Hershey's does not incorporate properly)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

In saucepan, blend sugar, cornstarch, and salt; add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir small amount of hot mixture into yolks to temper; return to hot mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Pour into pie crust; cover with saran wrap if you do not want a skin to form on the surface; chill. Garnish with whipped cream and berries/cinnamon/bananas, or chocolate shavings (I learned how to do those here).
image source

Little Letters Big Impact

2009-09-06T16:01:00.004-07:00

Early in the planning process, I put a lot of thought into how one might plan a day that was cost-effective and cohesive. We are fortunate to have a very nice budget, but its not going to be a platinum wedding, so we wanted to make sure every dollar counts! One of the first things I thought about was how to repeat themes and colors and ideas. And of course, one of the easiest ways to do this- though subtle- is through use of the same fonts throughout stationary and accessories. Looking at fonts is downright captivating, with so many options out there (and by the way, if you are looking for good free fonts, check out www.dafont.com)! After looking at various invitations and deciding on ours, the rest was a piece of cake. Our wedding will, with only one tiny exception, incorporate two fonts: Bickham (with the Swash caps) and Copperplate Gothic Light. One is swirly and decadent, the other is simple and a bit historical. They look good paired together or standing alone, and one or the other always seems to work, no matter what project I'm working on.

Bickham Font

Bickham Swash Caps

Copperplate Gothic Light Font

Once I had decided on fonts, I decided to purchase an embosser incorporating the latter, and let me just say that someone should hide it from me because I've started embossing everything in sight! Yep, these little stamps will be showing up on programs, favors, OOT bags and probably even thank-you notes. I got ours from Wilshire Graphic Press, and I felt they were extremely easy to work with- they sent proofs right away, and I've been able to repurpose that image for a few other projects! They even told me that the original hand-held embosser I had chosen wouldn't leave a good imprint with my stamp, and suggested a better substitute at the same price, thereby saving me hours of hand-cramping madness.

Is there a special little wedding detail captivating you?

Vintage Bride, Vintage Ride

2009-09-06T13:17:00.026-07:00

I am a very lucky lady. For many reasons. But one reason is that, on our wedding day, J. and I won't be riding in any old limo. Not that there is anything wrong with them! But we have it really, really, ridiculously good. My Dad is a car guy. And his father was a car guy. And all their friends have all been car guys. When I was little, this meant we kids got to ride in antique cars in parades, often wearing vintage hats and throwing candy at the crowd. When I was in middle school, my Dad took us to school in the old cars on a regular basis, much to my early teen-aged mortification. And when I got older, I developed a real appreciation for these glam-tastic machines.

So nothing makes me more excited than knowing that on our wedding day, we will be chauffered around by my Dad in an antique car of our choosing! My father literally took me to his museum in Columbus (a former auto-dealership space in German village which he shares with his partner, and stores some of the coolest cars in), and said to me, "pick whichever one you want"! He didn't have to ask me twice!

This (the gray car) is my father's 1934 Packard, in front of the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. You can't see in this photo, but it has a rumble seat! Dead sexy. We won't use it unless the weather is unseasonably warm because I'll be too nervous about the salt on the roads messing up the paint (hilariously, my Dad does not share this nervousness)! But I do love it.

This is my Dad with his 1937 Packard Limo, the car we'll ride in if the weather is charictaristically "December." It seats seven people, has the traditional limo dividing window, and is a gorgeous shade of deep burgundy. The inside has tufted button seats in a similar shade. Gorgeous. I have two more awesome things to tell you about this car. First, my Dad got to drive Patricia Neal in this car, to an event at the Drexel Theater in Bexley, Ohio.

And Second, Miss Ohio recently did a photo shoot at the museum for Columbus Magazine, and took some photos in this car.

My little sis and MOH, B., with Patricia Neal.

Miss Ohio, Natasha Vivoda, in the car as pictured in Columbus Magazine's March 2009 edition. To read an e-version of the article (sadly without all the fabulous photos), go here! Images courtesy of Columbus Monthly archives.

Why look, there's the gray car again!

What makes you feel lucky?

Boutonniere Love

2009-09-04T17:27:00.001-07:00

My friend S. has a very talented mom, who is going to help out with the wedding by making boutonniere's for our guys. Originally, I had considered traditional flowers for the bout's, but when I saw all the good things happening on etsy, I changed my mind! J. liked them too, so it was an easy decision. I mean seriously, check these out!

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You may recognize that last one from my inspiration board-- it's the one we're loosely trying to replicate. I can't wait to see what S.'s mom does!

Would you go the nontraditional route for any of your floral elements?

Why I'm Psyched About A School Bus

2009-09-04T05:00:00.003-07:00

Originally, we didn't think we would have the budget to transport our bridal party of 22 to and from the church, and we didn't think it was a big deal. But we live in NJ, an area filled with crazy divers and crazier rules (no left turns!) So after I had an actual nightmare one night, where everyone got lost on their way and missed the wedding, I asked J. if we could please please please think about getting a limo. Sadly, a big, white pimp-mobile was well outside the budget by thousands of dollars. A school bus on the other hand, will only cost us $211 and it seats 44 (so significant others can come too). Summer brides can't always use them due to the lack of air conditioning, but that won't be an issue in December. And after seeing photos like this, I was totally sold!

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source for both

Are you feeling the school bus love?

What to Wear to a September Wedding?

2009-09-04T04:00:00.010-07:00

September is wonderful. Its not too hot or too cold. Its the edge of fall, the start of apple picking season, back to school time! But it can be kind of hard to figure out what to wear to a September wedding, for those same reasons- will one be a bit cold or a bit hot in their dress? We all know you're not supposed to wear white to a wedding if you're not the bride, but what colors are ok in September? So when Norkle asked me to think about what one might wear to a September wedding, I was all too happy to oblige!

Some ideas...

This one Norkle actually found. The color is stunning!

I like this dress because the pleating is only in the front- not all the way around, which might look ~~like a maternity dress~~ unflattering for many body types. The print would work for summer, and the metallic quality would be perfect for the holidays-- its versatile! AND it has pockets. 'Nuff said.

This dress from Ann Taylor is on sale right now in four colors, and while I'm not the Ann fan I used to be, I find this dress really striking! And there's those pockets again.

This art deco party frock from Anthropologie intrigues me. Sweetheart necklines are really flattering and the pattern on the dress is so architectural. I wonder how it fits?

Last but not least, is the "convertible dress." These dresses are showing up all over the blogosphere for bridesmaids, probably because they're downright easy for most people to work with. This one is the most affordable version I've come across, at Victoria's Secret of all places. I love that you could buy this in black (or navy) and make it your permanent LBD. How many times do you think you could switch things up and re-wear this before someone would see you and realize it's the same dress?

What would you choose?

Sale at Wisteria

2009-09-03T20:29:00.002-07:00

I was reminded today, while reading The Bride's Guide (a Martha blog) of one of my favorite retailers- Wisteria. They're having a labor day sale right now folks, and look at these finds... mercury glass and a rustic wooden cake stand! Someone hide my credit cards!

Inspired!

2009-09-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

I just realized that while I've made some inspiration boards for others on this blog, I have not yet shown you my own inspiration board! So without further ado here she is! I must say, this thing has been really helpful... whenever I'm thinking about a design element and I'm not sure whether to include it, I go to the board and it helps me decide!

Colors: source, source and source

Nyack Seaport, bridesmaid dresses, invitation, cookie cutter, vintage tags, gable boxes, mercury glass, West Side Presbyterian Church, candelabra, escort card tree, flower girl dress, boutonniere, bird, ring nest, bouquet, ornament

Friendly Fur

2009-09-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

It probably won't surprise you to learn I kind of have a thing for the early vintage Barbie outfits. The 1959-1960 clothing that doll owned make me swoon. And the "Enchanted Evening" outfit was a little girl's dream- shiny, pink, pretty. Especially Barbie's fur wrap!

I think Barbie may have gone the faux fur route in more recent years and I respect that, I really do. As the proud mama of two cats, I don't really think we need fur.

But- and maybe this is denial- something about vintage fur makes me feel like its ok to wear, because no new animals were harmed in the process. If I was going to buy new, I'd buy faux. But if its old, I feel ok about it.

And with this justification in mind, I decided to buy a fur to wear with my wedding dress. Hey, its the holidays, and its going to be cold, and I finally have a chance for my very own enchanted evening ensemble. So I'm going to play the "its my special day" card and wear vintage fur!

One of the biggest benefits of wearing vintage is the price. A quick ebay search reveals a lot of great options under $100, some under $20.

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And plenty of online retailers carry well-edited collections of vintage fur. Sometimes they are pricier, but generally they're worth it.

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I am particularly partial to the wraps with higher-contrast. For myself, after much shopping I settled for this pretty blonde wrap- it is light enough in color to feel bridal, but dark enough that I can wear it for other occasions. It doesn't seem like it will go out of style, and its quite wide so it should keep me warm. And it did not come with the brooch in the photo- but I found an even better, bigger, more sparkly piece in an antique shop I plan to use.

Where do you fall on the fur spectrum?

True Life Weddings NJ Style: First Edition

2009-09-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from a vendor to remain unnamed. Said vendor called me last week to ask if I was in need of photography or videography services for our wedding. I politely told this vendor that I appreciated the call, but that we'd booked a photographer and had decided not to have a videographer. Below is how the call went-- not verbatim, but close enough:

Her: But our prices are half the competition.

Me: I really do appreciate that and I'm sure its great, but we've decided we can't afford it

Her: Well you could just do raw footage, that isn't expensive, its only $[x].

Me: Well, my fiance and I have discussed this and although we agree that wedding videos can be wonderful, we just don't think we want to spend the money right now.

Ok so this is where it gets good...

Her: But how will you remember your wedding?!?!

My internal monologue: Whaaaaat? Who does this lady think she is? I will cut her...

Me: I suppose we'll figure something out.

So she just called me again. Only in North Jersey would someone have the guts to say that, and then call me back a second time to try the same approach!

But actually, this woman did me a favor, because she reminded me how important it is not to get swept up in all the hysteria. We will remember our wedding the old fashioned way- with our memories, our stories, our photos. And if I forget what the table settings looked like, how upset am I really going to be? Isn't the whole point not to dwell on a single day, but to create a lifetime of commitment and love?

(Right now, those who know me are having a good chuckle because I am such a cheeseball).

So how about you? Have you dealt with any nutty vendors?

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Freebie H2O Templates!

2009-09-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

If you're making your own out-of-town bags, this post is for you! Below is a collection of every free water bottle label I could find online. Such an easy DIY project that can make those OOT bags more cohesive- and could easily be repurposed for bachelorette parties, birthdays, and so forth. I'm not going to tell you which ones I've manipulated into my own little labels (I have to keep a few secrets!), but I will tell you I didn't spend a dime doing it!

You're welcome!

This first free template is actually in a power point format. I can vouch for it, its easy to use, and you can change the colors or fonts.

I'm also partial to the second template, with its polka dotted option. Very playful.

This third template is at once both classic and modern. It would work for almost anyone!

I love the playfulness of this next design... and in a few color options too!

And finally, this bride made a template to use on mini bottles (cute cute cute!) but I bet it would work just as well on the larger sizes.

What do you think? Would you give these a go?

Dress Fitting Day!

2009-09-01T08:16:00.001-07:00

I am not focusing very well today... because at 6pm tonight I have my first dress fitting at Priscilla! Oh. My. Goodness. So excited!

In case you forgot, here's my dress. (J. if you look you'll be sorry...) I do not love this dress as much as I love J., but its a close second.

Countdown until 6 begins now!

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A Topper that Takes the Cake

2009-09-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

J. and I will soon be tasting some cake from our bakery, Le Petit Gateau, and when we do we'll also be making some decisions about what the cake will look like. We agreed early on that J. can choose what's on the inside of the cake, so long as I get to choose what's on the outside. I think that's fair, right?

So one of the things I've been thinking about is how to top our cake! And I've had a really good time figuring this one out!

Mix and match bride and groom.

Um, does anyone else think this dude looks uncannily like J.? We couldn't stop laughing when we saw it! We seriously considered whether we were willing to have these on top of our cake since, but in the end, we were unsure whether anyone else would think it was as funny as we do. We think its hilarious...

This next topper is from Bethany Love and I was pretty sure for a while that this was "the one." But there's just too much eye candy out there to choose too early so I kept thinking about it.

I also checked out all the vintage goodies on ebay and various antique websites, for example, this delicate topper dates from around the 1930's. If we had one of these heirlooms in the family I'd be all over it. We don't have anything quite this old in our family, but while talking to my mom about my oh-so-serious cake topper dilemma, she had a great idea!

When I was little, my parents spent a lot of time buying and selling antiques, and when I was along for the ride, I started collecting antique dolls as a way to entertain myself. Over the years, my mom and I amassed quite a collection, which we've since edited down, but I still have my favorite dolls. I get made fun of a LOT for this. Anyhow, one year when I was maybe nine, she put these little guys in my Easter basket.

Are they not the cutest thing ever? They are carnival dolls, a bride and groom from the 1930's made in the Kewpie style. They are extraordinarily fragile, made of thin celluloid and covered in tissue and fabric- materials that were delicate 80 years ago, and are wispy now. I was so excited when my mom suggested I use them that my heart skipped a beat! I'm going to have to figure out a way to get them on a stand of some sort so that they don't get damaged and don't tip over. And since celluloid will explode if too close to heat, I'm also going to have to remember to tell the baker, coordinator, and reception location about that small detail. But I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!

How would you top a cake?

Desert Rose

2009-08-31T19:18:00.001-07:00

My Grandma Doris recently gifted me the most wonderful thing- a set of her Franciscan Desert Rose china. I love it because she loved it. And every single piece has been dearly cared for since her own mother gave it to her as a (very) belated wedding gift in 1954- the year my father was born. She never broke a single piece!

After she gave me the set, I immediately begin looking into its history, and it turns out that it is the best-selling pattern in the history of American dinnerware. It made its debut in 1941, and later First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose it for use in the White House. Its no longer manufactured, so I've started expanding my collection at antique shops and flea markets. And its so much fun!

So in honor of my grandma's gift, here's a pink-inspired palette that invokes vintage flair, florals, and a little bit of Jackie O!

Sources: bouquet, Desert Rose china set, garland, cookies, flower girl headband, shoes, pomander, aisle decor, gown, cake stands, invitation

Are you inspired by an heirloom?

Nontraditional Registries

2009-08-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

A newlywed friend of mine was just saying the other day that she wished she could have registered for things that would have helped them set up their new home. Like many couples, she and her Mr. didn't need a lot of home goodies, but they did need bags of mulch for their garden, paint for their bedroom, and some furniture. And while many places will let you register for home improvement items, or furniture, its rare that one store has everything one might actually want to register for. It got me thinking- how cool would it be to just be able to randomly register for things from different places like that? Turns out you can!
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TheThingsIWant.com- allows you to set up "wish lists." Perfect for the kind of person who can never remember what they want for their birthday when asked... you just make the list and pass it along!

MyRegistry.com– Kind of like the previous website, but a bit more formal looking, this site lets you register for any store (or just cash). Very of-the-moment!

OurWishingWell.com- Similar to the others, but touting the ability to access money before your event and making it possible to ask for contributions towards more expensive gifts (I'd use this feature to register for a dutch warmblood, but people with their priorities in better order might ask for furniture).

GoGift.com- their whole M.O. is to help you "tastefully ask for cash." I don't know if I buy it, but its probably a "know your audience" kind of thing.

Other non-traditional registries that caught my eye during the research of this posting include:

Honeyfund- I'm a personal fan of this website because its one of the only honeymoon sites that doesn't take a commission on your gifts (some take upwards of 7%)!

Justgive.org – Charitable giving with over 1 million non-profits to choose from, and its tax deductible for your guests!

I Do Foundation – If you're going to go the traditional route, you still might want to think about this option. Here, you register through certain stores (like Crate and Barrel, Target, Home Depot, Macy’s and Pottery Barn), and up to 10% of your guests' purchases go to your selected charity. A win-win for sure.

Home Depot– I really wanted to register for hardwood flooring at Home Depot. It's too bad Lowes has discontinued their registry option.

Vino Classics- That's right, you can register for WINE. I know what you're thinking and I agree :)

Gifts of Stock – I think this is cool and unique, especially because the company will provide you with a broker to set up your wish portfolio, and then guests buy investments.

What do you think? Would you try these?

To Save-The-Date or Not To Save-The-Date?

2009-08-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia: A save the date notice is an item stating the date of a wedding or other formal event. It typically states the date when a couple plans to marry, so that recipients will know to keep that date free. Save the dates usually take the form of a card, but can also be a refrigerator magnet or similar item. They are generally sent out at least six months before the wedding date, and are usually followed by a formal wedding invitation.

Is it just me, or do save-the-date's seem to be a relatively new phenomenon? They aren't required or even necessary. Though I can't say I didn't have fun making ours. And I adore the magnet save-the-dates, because I can keep them on my fridge forever! How cute are these?!

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But before you go jumping on this super-enticing bandwagon, it is worth thinking about whether you really want to send save-the-dates. For example, I know someone who decided not to send them, because due to financial variables, she was unsure of who she would be able to invite to the wedding. So I've come up with this not at all scientific "Top 10" list of things to ask yourself when deciding whether to ask people to save-the-date! And for even more fun, I made the list purple, because I can.

Top 10 Things To Consider When Deciding Whether To Send Save-The-Dates

1. Is your wedding near a holiday or important event?

2. Is your wedding during a popular time of year (i.e., the first Saturday in June)?

3. Will people have to travel to attend your wedding?

4. Is your wedding a destination wedding?

.5. Is your guest list likely to change due to relationship, financial, or other factors?

6. Are you on a super-tight budget? Would the expense of stationary or extra postage be burdensome?

7. Do you enjoy wedding-related details or do you find them overwhelming?

8. Could you get away with sending save-the-dates to just a portion of your guest list (perhaps just the folks who have to travel)?

9. Will you have time to put together a website with information for curious guests, that you can include on your save-the-date?

10. Do you want to? Its your wedding after all!!

What do you think? Will you send save-the-dates for your wedding?

For the Boudoir

2009-08-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

My good friend C. used to work for Victoria's Secret and we used to have a lot of fun trying things on there and seeing what looked good. And in the process, I became addicted to the Body By Victoria line for basics. But I've found some of their pieces to be a little too in-your-face, over-the-top, overt. So these days, I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for something a little different. And getting married gives you a really good excuse to go looking.

A new favorite of mine, discovered at Bloomingdales last month, is Tra La La Lingerie. It has only been recently been introduced, but this stuff is beyond cute. These vintage pin-up girl pieces have boudoir photo-shoot written all over them.

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I've also been really impressed by the quality of authentic antique pieces you can find online. Stores like Dollhouse Bettie sell some seriously gorgeous goods and much of it is new-old stock, with the original tags still intact!

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But you don't have to shell out mega cash to get a vintage inspired look. I know H&M is carrying a slew of vintage-inspired goodies this season, in great colors, for as close to free as they could probably get. The below image (which is the best I could find) does not even do justice to the mad cuteness happening there.

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And one of my all time favorite places to look for intimates is actually through my good friend M., one of my bridesmaids who I've known since I was 7 years old, who just so happens to be the amazing designer also known as the almightyquinn on etsy! M.'s formidable fashion experience includes her work for fashion giants Lane Bryant and Abercrombie, and she even helped launch the Gilly Hicks line of intimates. She has also been making and selling clothing for years, so its no surprise that she's now turned her talents to undies. M.'s work is handmade in her studio from new, recycled and cherry-picked vintage materials. Check out some of her work!

Have you ever seen anything as creative or cute as these suspender panties, made from a vintage slip?

How about these low-rise bloomers for your "something blue"?

Perhaps a super-soft pair of knickers for your bridesmaids' gifts?
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M's work is cute, comfy, and oh-so-tasteful! It is also ridiculously reasonably priced considering that it is handmade. You can get a pair of her knickers on etsy starting at $14- that is less than a pair of hanky pankies! She'll even do custom! Speaking of custom, guess who is making my garter? *grin*

Do you love looking at lingerie as much as I do?

With this Ring!

2009-08-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today J. and I hit a major milestone. We put our deposit down on our wedding rings! But finding and deciding on the right ones was not as easy as it sounds. The good news is that there is a lot of selection out there in every price point. The bad news is that there is a lot of selection out there in every price point. Aayayay too many choices!

You probably feel really sorry for us, huh?

We started by looking at the local mall just to get a sense of the market and what is out there. We found some nice looking contenders for me at reasonable prices. For example, a simple white gold band its not at all costly, but its simplicity is quite pretty- and I could wear it riding horses.

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We tried some other more sparkly bands for me, but none were quire right, as pretty as they were. So instead of spinning too many wheels on my ring, we moved on to John's ring. At first, J. found that he was drawn to hammered styles, about 6mm thick.

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After doing some research, we found a great many affordable hammered rings on etsy for very reasonable prices. We almost settled on one of them. But not being able to try things in advance made us both a little nervous- what if the fit was off? What if it felt uncomfortable to wear? What if that .00001% chance applied to us and our etsy seller turned out to be a riper-offer? Irrational fear, I know, but still.

So we went back to the jeweler who made the engagement ring and talked to our friend Kiki, our salesperson. After telling her our likes and dislikes (and our budget), we looked at some options and came up with a perfect plan.

J. chose a matte white gold ring because although the hammered styles were gorgeous, this felt more classic, and not likely to go out of style. Plus, J. felt it was comfortable, which was key.

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And after all my debate, I decided on a ring to match my engagement ring. It has some pretty filigree work in the profile and pave diamonds with milgrain trim on the band. Since my engagement ring has a pear center stone, we decided on a wrap-around band, so that my engagement ring will sit flush with my wedding band. At first, I wasn't sure about not being able to wear it when riding horses, etc., but J. and I talked about it and I realized, it doesn't make me any less married if I forgo wearing it while riding.

This ring from Tacori, is a lot like the one I'll have, with some small variations (my bling will only cover half the band, and will curve to "hug" my center stone).

And this is what I'll be wearing it with!
Photo by Jessica Morrisy

Both wedding bands will be engraved with a personal sentiment too. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Now I just need to find the perfect ring pillow, obviously!

Do you ever change your mind a few times before big purchases?

A Way To Say Thanks

2009-08-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know I know, nothing is less necessary than wedding favors. And often in lieu of favors, couples will make a donation to charity instead. I love this idea, and we're going to make a charitable donation, probably to a charity my brother helped start with his college pals called Resolve Uganda (formerly Uganda CAN), an organization whose aim is to achieve peace in war torn Uganda , to promote a better standard of living and human dignity for those who live there.

But I'm a crafty gal and I couldn't not do favors. So I'm making favors for each of our guests to take home. A small way for J. and I to say "thank you" to all those who've gone to such great lengths to join us!

I like to cook, and J. likes to eat what I cook, so the idea of incorporating a food theme made sense to us. And what food says "holidays" better than a Christmas cookie? The idea of gifting cookie cutters was born, and off I went to do the usual research. While copper cookie cutters are expensive and lovely, I found you can get equally cute tin cookie cutters for a fraction of the cost. So order I did! In four styles: a gingerbread man, a tree, a mitten, and a snowflake.

By ordering four styles, hopefully everyone will get to take home one they like- and couples won't have to take home an identical favor. I was pleased with the look of them and J. was pleased I'd stayed on-budget! Score!

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Still, something was missing. I could not just smack these on the tables and expect people to understand that they were favors. So when I found these adorable miniature blown glass ornaments on sale at Pottery Barn (originally intended as vase filler) I snapped up as many as I could!

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These ornaments will be tied to the cookie cutters before I chuck them into my cheap bags that don't look cheap, with some green tissue, and a gold foil circle with our monogram embossed on the front (oh yeah, I have a great embosser, and I'll tell you all about it one of these days).

Oh but I still did not stop there. How can you give out cookie cutters and not also give out a recipe for cookies? Clearly I needed to find a good way to make recipe cards on the cheap. VistaPrint postcards to the rescue! I made these using a recipe I found on the food network, leaving the back of the postcard (the part where the message and address normally go) entirely blank. J. and I will hand write a short "thank you" on the back of each before we bag these with the cookie cutters.

Our recipe card, made on VistaPrint...

I hope the guests like these. I know J. and I do!

Are you giving out favors for your wedding?

The Giving Tree

2009-08-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever read "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein? Such a simple story of friendship and connection, it remains one of my all-time favorites. As 2000 Dollar Budget Wedding has quite cleverly noted, it would make a great gift for those who help with your wedding. So when I saw these save-the-dates I literally almost fell off my chair.

Cute, right?! And you can make these for FREE! Check out the instructions at Merriment Design here!

This got me thinking. Could you make this a wedding theme?? I think you could!

Tree favors

Wedding programs from seeded paper

Wouldn't this family tree from Red Envelope be a great gift... or guest book?

You could even decorate the cake with the Magical Marzipan Forest Cake Kit from Wendy Kromer!

A custom tree embosser from Wilshire Graphic Press would be a great touch on envelopes.

And you didn't really think I was going to miss the chance to feature a botanically inspired gown did you? This one is by Melissa Sweet, and sweet it is!

Would you use a theme like this for your wedding?

Outfitting the Men

2009-08-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

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When J. and I first started planning our wedding, we envisioned a not-too-formal affair, maybe a destination wedding, something that would allow us to avoid renting tuxedos. Not that we dislike tuxes, we do like them! But ill-fitted tuxedos are bad news bears, and sadly, all too prevalent in our worlds.

Soon it became apparent, however, that our informal, backyard vision was not going to happen. Rather, we settled on a Holiday wedding in December. Our vision of an intimate chapel turned out not available to us, so we went with a stunning larger church who could accommodate our group. And the colors we chose, moss green and gold, were more gatsby than casual.

We reconsidered the tuxes. After all, both my FSIL and my good friend H. had found some seriously good looking tuxes for their weddings. The photos were lovely, and I'd never even thought about the fact that the tuxes had been rented- this was a good sign!

I got online and began fiddling with the Men's Warehouse website. Did you know MW has a free tool where you can select up to six types of fabric swatches (for the vests) and they will send them to you in the mail? Sounds good right? Except when you get them in the mail, they are not fabric at all- they send you a piece of paper with the computer images printed on the paper. I was not impressed.

But we didn't want to rule out MW yet, since they seem to be located everywhere, and our bridal party is basically also located everywhere. To be responsible, J. and I went and visited our local MW. Although we were surrounded by cheesy marketing, and although 90% of their tuxes were not exactly our taste, we did end up finding a nice looking tux that J. looked great in. And we were treated well by the employee who helped us. She was extremely patient and good-natured and I appreciated that she let me pour over all of the fabrics and samples repeatedly, without pressuring us for a choice!

The tuxes our guys will be rocking, sans all the pink...

While MW did not have a huge selection of vests to choose from, we got really lucky because they make a vest in a color called Fern, which looks very olive here but was more moss in real life. It was a solid choice, and the fabric was of surprisingly good quality (and here I'd been expecting them to feel like umbrella fabric)!

The vests!

J. will be wearing the same pattern vest in ivory, and I think he's going to look great! Of course, the proof will be in the pudding and we won't know for sure until we get them, but I think the moral of the story is that even brides like me who want to avoid stereotypical wedding vendors, sometimes have to cave. And sometimes its worth it!

And PS- MW gives the groom his tux for free if five groomsmen rent there. Pretty good incentive if you ask me.

Were you surprised by any of your wedding decisions?

"Surviving" the Big Day

2009-08-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

I can't resist posting about this little gem that seems to have made its way around the blogs a million times, but never stops being cute. The bridesmaid's survival kit. What a great way to gift your girls some essentials to get them through a lot of primping, then a lot of smiling, followed by a lot of revelry! I feel like these tap into that little girl part of us that still likes goodie bags- don't act like you don't know- its the same part of us that sends us off to the makeup counters for bonus time, whether we need something or not! What a fun, simple pleasure!

$18 from Mr. & Mrs.

I really wanted to do this for my ladies, but I have ten bridesmaids and I wanted to get them more than one gift. And while there are many vendors out there with super-cute ideas, all of the options I found were just a little too pricey. Fortunately, 100 Layer Cake posted this great tutorial (complete with freebie template!) for how to make your own survival kits at home. How fun are these?

Obviously I'm not going to give out the deets for what mine look like or what's in them (I don't want to spill the beans if one of them happens to read this post) but suffice it to say, I'm having a good time with this one. *grin*

Do you think this would be a good gift for someone in your bridal party?

Cheap Gift Bags That Don't Look Cheap

2009-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yeah you read that correctly. I've been searching and searching for affordable gift bags that don't look cheap, for a project I'll share later. So I was thrilled when I found these great bags at Dunwoody Booth. For $56, you can get 100 little white bags, perfect for favors, bridal party gifts, thank you's-- and they look universal enough that you can re-use extras with colored tissue paper after the wedding.

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If you sign up for their free "preferred program" you can save 5% off your purchase too. Not to mention a quick google search will find you various coupon codes you can use.

Best of all, they are offering a gift with $100 purchase right now, 200 of these vintage botanical stickers. It is my new goal in life to figure out how to use these... they don't go with my wedding but I've got so many ideas for how to use them in my head. Like, on extra white bags, for bridal shower gifts perhaps? On care packages for my grandma? Recipe cards maybe? Hmmm...

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Have you scored any good wedding deals lately?

Shoes, Glorious Shoes

2009-08-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

Most women like shoes. Indeed, most of us love shoes. Iconic beauties like Carrie Bradshaw's "Something Blue" Manolo's have haunted my dreams ever since I saw the Sex and the City movie. And oh what pleasant dreams they were!

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But not everyone can afford to, or wishes to, shell out the $945 for a shoe that isn't quite practical. I know people who believe that if you're going to spend that much on shoes, they'd better be able to make you dinner.

But don't lose heart ladies! There are workarounds! Dyeable shoes are making a comeback, and these are not your 1980's matchy-matchies. Lela Rose recently designed a line of very reasonable, dyeable shoes for Payless and from what I hear, they're actually pretty comfy. And if you want to spend more than $25 but less than $945, My Glass Slipper has a great selection of dyeables from Kate Spade, Badgley Mischka, Cole Haan, and more, for price points in the $200-300 range.

At $25 from Payless these would look great in blue!

If I thought I could actually walk in these Badgley Mischka's, I'd have bought them already! ($215)

So let's say you love the idea of a wedding-shoe splurge but you want to make sure your shoes are re-wearable. One thing you might want to consider is adding shoe clips to your wedding attire. And I'm not talking about the clip on bows we all used to throw on our mary-janes when we were kids. Oh no, today you can find the most lovely shoe clips, vintage and new, studded with rhinestones, feathers, fabrics and more. I'll save my own shoes for another posting, but suffice it to say, a great pair of vintage shoes, and a great pair of art deco shoe clips can be restored by the experts more easily than you think, and for less than you'd expect!

$85 for silver and marcasite on ebay

$20 baguettes from Simple Elegance

$25 pearly bling from Shoeworthy

If you happen to have a pair of clip-on earrings that you love, I bet you could incorporate them the same way. My grandmother used to wear clip-ons because she thought ear-piercing was "barbaric." I never quite understood why it was ok to look like you had barbarically pierced your ears, so long as you didn't actually do so (but I digress). A great pair of costume jewelery earrings might be just the right thing for a cute pair of shoes!

Source

What kind of shoes will you wear for your wedding?

Autumn is Just Around the Corner

2009-08-26T12:36:00.001-07:00

My brother A. and his fiance D. have just started planning their October 2010 wedding and what a fete it is going to be! At the stunning Hotel Allegro in Chicago no less.

And so I've located some inspiration for the lovebirds, using shades of orange as a starting point. Who says this fab fall hue has to come off looking like a punkin' patch?

Source

Of course, there are other ways to play with orange that are modern and unexpected! Look how great it looks when paired with chic, cool gray!

snippet and ink does it again

Oh but how does one invite someone to an orange themed wedding? With a little bit of Hemingway style, that's how!

Source

What are your wedding colors?

Bridesmaids

2009-08-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Nobody has a better group of bridesmaids than me. Some might have it as good as me, but nobody has it better. These ten (yes, ten!) ladies represent a cross section of my life from as far back as I can remember! And I love them! So I've tried really hard to be good to them during this process. After all, a wedding is about gathering together all the people you care about in celebration, and the rest is really just "terminal silliness," as my "favorite" supreme court justice would say.

Oh Justice Scalia...

So my bridesmaids all got to pick one of eight potential dress styles, in the hopes that they'd all feel as good as possible in them. I don't really mind what shoes or jewelery people wear, I'm not making everyone get their hair and makeup done, and I'm totally ok with the fact that these amazing women with jobs and lives may not make it to every single event.

Some of my bridesmaids dresses in my color, moss green. I hope they love them as much as I do! (Source)

And that's why I have to take a stand against all the crazy ladies out there (you may or may not know who you are) who sit around and demand people shell out crazy cash for their 7 day bachelorette extravaganzas, or force their friends to pay for hair and makeup they hate. I know someone who has been told in no uncertain terms that she will be making a multi-thousand-dollar contribution towards the bachelorette party for a bride who chose to have a 5-star wedding. I know another person who was asked to buy a dress that cost upwards of $500 and needed much alteration, and was then required to pay someone to tease her hair into oblivion and apply harem-style lipstick. This for a girl who usually wears her perfect skin bare, with lip gloss and mascara. Its a miracle friendships survive this kind of madness.

I'm not saying a well-planned destination bachelorette party can't be wonderful or that hair and makeup aren't worthwhile- they certainly can be, and I'm usually the first to sign up to for both! But there is a not-so-fine line between asking someone to don a dress and stand up for you, and asking them to completely ignore their own interests and personalities.

Yes, I consider myself a feminist. And that may not mean the same thing to me as it does to you. But it makes me sad when women turn a ceremony about love, commitment and community, into an awkward, me-first extravaganza of selfishness.

Soapbox concluded.

Have you known any bridezillas in your life?

Unify This!

2009-08-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Why must unity candles be so.... predictable? I feel like I see overpriced-candles covered in plastic pearls all time time, and if you like that sort of thing, I won't judge, but personally its not for me.

I do, however, love all that a unity candle symbolizes. The coming together of two families into one, united. And I don't mind that its only a 30-40 year old invention of the wedding industrial complex, according to wikipedia.

So of course, when it came time to consider the unity candle for our wedding, I wasn't about to buy one! Nope, instead I went back to Wedding Bee (yep, I'm a certified WB stalker) and found a wonderful tutorial from Mrs. Deviled Egg for making your own unity candle. Impressive, no?

Miss Deviled Egg's Candle

I also found designs like this one on Road to the Aisle, where DIY-ers printed images on vellum and then finished the look with Ribbon. It really is cute, and adds a great personal touch!

Heather's Candle, from Road to the Aisle

With this wonderful inspiration in hand, I set out to create my own personalized unity candle:

(1) Like Mrs. Deviled Egg, I taped two floral foam bricks side-by-side using floral tape. This became my base.

(2) Using hot glue, I covered that bad boy on three sides with moss, leaving the bottom flat. Messy but worth it!

(3) I then secured candle holder picks on either end of the brick, and a pillar candle platform in the center.

(4) Next, I layered a few types of ribbon I had on hand until I liked the look, securing the layers with spray adhesive. I made enough to cover all three candles.

(5) Using iron-on transfer letters leftover from a previous project, I carefully ironed our monogram onto a piece of my layered ribbon for the center pillar candle.

(6) Once finished, I cut additional layered ribbon wraps to size for the tapers, using more spray adhesive to make sure the ribbon stuck to the candles.

(7) I stuck some coordinating bows, mushroom birds, and clay flowers into the foam and voila! The great thing about using moss is that you can make a mistake in your placement and change your mind- you can't see the holes you make through the moss!

I love how the moss is rustic and holiday appropriate, but not too fussy!

Awe look at that cute lil' guy! I seriously can't stop using these peeps.

And that's the story of how we got our unity candle using (mostly) leftover craft supplies. Whee!

Are you incorporating a unity candle into your ceremony?

If Money Were No Object

2009-08-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have a not-so-secret confession to make. I. Love. Paper. So. Much. Yep, I'm fully aware people throw wedding invitations away, but that does not mean I love them any less. So one of the things I've spent a gazillion hours obsessing over is how to address mine. That said, J. and I made an early decision to try to save money on our wedding paper so that we could afford other things like our great band, and my fabulous dress (J. don't even think about clicking on that link)! While I really wanted some heavy-weight, letterpressed fabulousness from the White Aisle, it just wasn't going to happen unless I won a contest (I tried and I did not win).

Ultimately, I found great invitations at a great price (to be discussed after mailing), so it all worked out. But a small, whiny, vociferous part of me still felt like, hey, if I have to compromise on the invites, can't I at least have calligraphy?

I mean really, when you look at something like this, how can you not luurve it? And in my beloved Bickahm font too? But all this gorgeousness comes with an experienced calligrapher and a hefty price tag- $4 per envelope! I could not justify spending more on calligraphy than I did on my invitations! (Source: Rose Calligraphy)

So I turned to the ultimate wedding survival resource, Etsy, and found that there are many calligraphers outside of New York City, who will charge significantly less for similar services. For example, DancingPen charges only $1.25 per envelope for this cute french script! But as lovely as it is, the price was still more than I wanted to spend, and not quite "us," so I continued my search.

The next place I looked was the Wedding Bee boards, where I found Calligraphy by Tammy! Tammy's work is simply lovely, and her pricing was spot on- $93 for all my invitations! But I just couldn't pull the trigger. So I did what any responsible person would do (something quite uncharacteristic of me): I slept on it. And I talked to J. about it. And we both felt that if we were going to spend $93 on something that would be tossed away with the envelope it was written on, we really ought to love it. So I kept thinking.

One idea I stumbled upon, which held real potential, was that of "faux-ligraphy." The idea is that you use your home printer to print addresses on your envelopes in the desired font using the lightest possible gray ink. Then, you trace over the print with an ink pen. Apparently this technique is quite effective. Card Girl's tutorial makes it looks easy! But I lack a steady hand. And my slippery metallic envelopes might not survive the printer. And would I have the patience to do this 100 times?

I turned to The Martha. And she was there for me in my time of need with this great idea for wrap-around mailing labels. Vintage? Check! Pretty? Check! Cheap? Cheeeeeck! Martha's weren't quite right for my theme, but armed with inspiration, much research ensued!

Friends, let me tell you, there's so much free mailing label goodness on the internet superhighway. Whether you want polka dots, cherry blossoms, or damask, its out there. Unfortunately, free vintage-green labels were more difficult to find. Back to etsy I went!

And that's how I found Sarah Guze Brown at Belletristics! Sarah worked with me to choose colors, fonts, sizing and spacing, until we created the perfect wrap around mailing label. We went through a couple of rounds of proofs and for the low low price of only $10, we had mailing labels. Ta- da!

To see my wrap-around label in all its glory, and many other fabulous designs, visit Belletristics' blog!

Sarah made the labels in a word document, so that I could add the addresses and print them myself on a package of $15 sticky paper. Then I can cut them out and apply them to my envelopes. Considering that a package of basic Avery mailing labels costs about $25 (which while effective, does not exactly make me feel weak in the knees) I'm pretty psyched at how my alternative came out!

How did you address your wedding invitations?

Photobooths and Fauxtobooths

2009-08-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend P. is, like me, planning her wedding right now, and she's planning to incorporate one of my most favorite trends at her reception: the photobooth! Who doesn't love making silly faces four times and displaying them on the fridge! Plus, many photobooth vendors will set up a "guest book" for the bride and groom, with copies of all the photos taken during the reception, thereby creating an amazing keepsake! J. and I would love to do this ourselves, but alas we've run out of budget, so we'll just have to live vicariously through P.!

Option #1 considered by P. is NYC Photobooth, which has a very nice looking photobooth you can rent, but it takes vintage style digital photos, not the film strip style she really wants. Renting one of these is about $1000, which is not terribly costly when you think about what you're getting.

Source: www.polkadotevents.com/blogs/index.php

Option #2, Classic Photobooth, is even cooler. These cost a bit more to rent (ok, like twice as much) but they actually develop film strips of four photos in color or black and white for the guests. And they'll give your guests these perfect photo frames to keep their photo in.

Option #3, from Aardvark Amusements, is less pricey than # 2 and does digital photos in the film strip style. Do you miss the actual film strip-y-ness for these, or are they a good close second?

Option #4, Party Booths, is actually the least expensive, starting at $845, and they have a cute looking booth and the photos look fun! They aren't vintage-styled though. Would you mind?

If you're out there wanting a photobooth like but don't have the budget, there are still options though. Consider a "fauxtobooth" for your wedding! Brides and grooms everywhere seem to be coming up with great, low-cost and no-cost ways to incorporate this element into their weddings!

For example, Sasha Souza worked with this bride to create this fun backdrop for photos. Check out the action over at Kiss the Groom to learn how they did it!

And Miss Bunny over at Wedding Bee came up with a great, FREE way to use her macbook to capture fun pictures of family and friends at her wedding.

I've even heard about folks breaking out their old Polaroid cameras for some good clean shake-the-picture fun!

Would you have a photobooth at your wedding?

A Basket For My Flower Girl

2009-08-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Its no secret in the world of weddings that little details cost big bucks. For example, flower girl's baskets from my florist start at $50. Heck, just a bag of rose petals is $30. What's a girl to do?

Make one of course!

I actually sort of made this up as I went along, based on a little moss basket I found at the Christmas Tree Shop after Easter for $.50. I don't think Christmas Tree carries them anymore, but I found these from A Beautiful Life at 2 for $26, so I'm sure a savvy shopper could find them for less.

Anyhow, my less-pretty version of the basket came with funny looking garland around the top. Which was not going to work. So I ripped it off and hot glued some "artfully curled" [read: haphazardly applied] white ribbon to cover the rough edge. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Add some mushroom birds, white clay flowers (to make your own, check out The Martha's How To) and a basic
bow, and you've got yourself a cute, Christmasy flower girl basket for less than $5!

What will your flower girl carry down the aisle?

A Latin Inspired Fiesta for Norkle

2009-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have a friend, whom I will refer to as Norkle. Norkle is not engaged, but because she lives abroad, I want her to become engaged so I can come to her fabulous destination wedding! I started thinking about all the fun ways one could put together an elegant, latin-inspired affair, and look at all the eye candy I found online!

Check out this lovely Mexican inspiration board from Style Me Pretty. I love the delicate papel picado and
vintage table linens! Swoon!

I am equally enamored with this board, from Snippet & Ink. From fruit kebobs to dreamy dresses, and a recipe from The Martha for Mexican Wedding Cookies. Yes please!

There is a great tutorial for these wonderful DIY fan programs on Wedding Bee right now. These would be easy to customize for any wedding theme, and would be such a fun, whimsical way to keep guests busy during the wedding wait!

And finally, no inspiration post would be complete without a dress. I'm crazy about this lovely from Alix and Kelly... as seen on Daily Candy Weddings!

Cheers to you, Norkle! xoxo!

The Pros and Cons of a Honeymoon Registry

2009-08-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

One of the hot topics on all wedding websites is where to register. And for us, that one was tough! John and I are not exactly spring chickens. We both own our own homes, we've spend considerable time and money furnishing them, and somehow our lives have come together in a comfortable, adult kind of way. We like it. We don't need towels. We don't even want more towels.

So when we got engaged, we were immediately drawn to the idea of a honeymoon registry. A honeymoon registry is a place where, just like a traditional registry, guests can buy you a gift-- only instead of towels, you receive a portion of your honeymoon (a night in your hotel, a portion of your airfare, or an activity for two)! For two people who don't need anything, we were pretty thrilled with the idea! So we set up our registry at www.honeyfund.com, which was one of the only websites we found that did not charge a "commission" on our gifts. The website is user friendly, and allows you to customize your requests to your honeymoon. And if you upgrade for about $20, you get a space that is ad-free!

Since setting up our registry, I've heard a few comments from people saying they feel honeymoon registries are "in poor taste" or that "people should pay for their own honeymoons." I was totally taken aback by these comments though. Of course we can pay for our own honeymoon. We would never have booked it otherwise. Yikes!

Frankly, neither of us really cares if people buy us anything. It will be wonderful enough to have family and friends around us to celebrate our special day with us. But alas, registries are one of those "things people expect." So to satisfy any concerned citizens, we also set up a registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond. And, happily, there are no towels on it! Rather, we registered for a nice set of sheets, some kitchen gadgets and appliances we've managed not yet to acquire, and shamwow (holds twelve times its weight in water, or so I hear)! If people want to buy us gifts off either registry, we'll be honored and thrilled. And if not, we'll still be honored and thrilled that they came to the wedding. Hopefully now the distasteful comments will come to an end!

Has anyone else heard negative feedback on their registry ideas?

free image courtesy of www.fotosearch.com

Hotel Blocks: What I've Learned

2009-08-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every bride's life when she must take the inevitable step of booking hotel blocks for out of town guests. How glamorous? But the ugly truth is that your choice in hotel actually does matter. I know I once went to a wedding where the hotel smelled like smoke, and my resulting headache ruined my night. I've also been to weddings where the hotel prices were so unbelievably sky high, I had to develop little mantras to make myself feel better about spending the money ("he's been a good friend, he's been a good friend, he's been a good friend...").

So yes, they do matter. But I learned something in these recessionista-bargain-hunting times. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it, hotels will work with you in return! For example, sometimes it makes more sense to have lots of rooms at one hotel, rather than planning smaller blocks at multiple hotels, because the larger your group, the more likely economies of scale are to kick in. Our hotel, the Pearl River Hilton (pictured above) threw in complimentary shuttle service to and from our reception for our guests, with a minimum booking. It literally saved us thousands! Another hotel I spoke with was willing to set up a complimentary day-after brunch for our guests at no additional cost (breakfast was included anyways, so they were willing to set up our own breakfast in a private room).

Ultimately, determining which resources, amenities, and price points will work best for you comes down to "knowing your audience." For example, a hotel that offers a substantial military discount (mine does!) can be a great resource for some. For others, the free breakfast will be the right choice hands down.

No matter what you decide, there is one piece of advice I know will serve you well (one that was given to me early in the process): don't procrastinate! Get this done early so you can move on to better wedding times!

What have you learned in booking your hotel blocks?

Stamps, Woah Yeah

2009-08-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you've spent countless hours pouring over wedding invitation websites, ordering needless numbers of samples and debating various wordings until you no longer understand the meaning of the words themselves. Which is why, when your invitation is FINALLY ready, if you're like me you also want to make sure the envelope looks as good as its contents!

And so, if you're like me, you'll flip over the custom wedding stamps over at Zazzle! Oh. My. Goodness! Since we saved so much money making our save-the-dates, we decided to make our own custom stamps for them, and couldn't be happier with the end result!

It is easy to upload a custom image to their website, OR you can pick from the many images they have in stock. In fact, if you're skilled with photoshop you can even upload images, and collect royalties when people use yours. If you do it early enough, your project might pay for itself!

Of course, don't forget to check out the handy dandy post office. They've got myriad cuteness going on over there, and they don't charge extra for it. Looking at these almost makes me forget the Post Office is part of the government!

For example, traditional wedding cuteness in form of rings, hearts, and cake...

Wouldn't these lighthouses, this mountain range, or this island image be great for a destination wedding?

This one would be great for an art deco styled or big city wedding (it almost made the cut for my own invites!)

...and my personal favorite, which will be making an appearance on a certain green and gold invitation suite...
the King and Queen of Hearts!

What kind of stamps are you planning to use for your invitations?

No JonBenéts In Our Wedding!

2009-08-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

In most aspects of my life, I subscribe to a "to each their own" philosophy, but one thing I just can't seem to get behind is this idea of little girls dressed for weddings like mini-brides. Isn't the whole point of having children in your wedding that they look like children-- and not pageant queens?

Enter our ring bearer M. and flower girl A. These two simply don't need to be fancified, they are utter perfection just the way they are!

So I did my best to find outfits for them to wear to the wedding which were both age-appropriate and which they could re-wear for other dressy occasions. Sadly, Little A. won't see her dress until the wedding rehearsal, but I think little M. looks great in his ensemble (indeed, he started crying when his mother wanted him to put it away)! I can't wait to see them all dressed up on the big day!

Little A.'s green velvet dress (source: Flower Girl Princess) and Little M. showing off his tuxedo.
Money saving tip- boys' tuxedos can be found for a song on ebay and can save you $50-100 off the price of a rental!

How did you choose the wedding attire for the kids in your wedding?

Why I Heart Engagement Photos

2009-08-24T14:15:00.001-07:00

Ok, everyone knows engagement photos are not a "necessary" element of a wedding. And there are plenty of solid reasons why some people choose not to have them taken. Everyone has to choose what works best for their budget and personality! But if your photographer is willing to give them to you as a part of your package, I say DO THEM! (Especially if you love your photographer as much as I love mine, Jessica Morrisy! All photos in this post were taken by Jessica).

Seriously, when else will you get images of yourself and your fiance being...

goofy

smoochy

adorkable

No matter how many cute snapshots we have together, nothing compares to the work of a good photographer! And besides, we're getting major mileage out of these puppies! We're using the photos for our guest book (I'll save the details for a future post) and we had 100 of these postcards printed on VistaPrint for our save-the-dates. Ok, they are not the most creative or luxurious save-the-dates (for those, I recommend you talk to the folks at Ceci, sigh!) but they were inexpensive, easy to make, and had quick turnaround time!

Are you incorporating engagement photos into your wedding preparation?

My "I can't belive I actually made this" Aisle Runner

2009-08-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

So to start things off with a bang, today I thought I'd share one of my favorite DIY projects. I certainly can't take credit for coming up with this idea, but if I can execute this, anyone can!

By way of background, I should note that originally I did NOT want an aisle runner. I thought said runners were tacky and a waste of money. That was before I saw Miss Spring Roll's uber helpful tutorial at WeddingBee. I was inspired! I decided maybe Mom was right- we are having a December wedding, and guests might track water, mud or dirt into the church, and I don't want it getting on my dress... this walked the perfect line between unnecessary expense and cute enhancement!

How to:

(1) I ordered a $15 aisle runner from Save-on-Crafts, but you can find cute ones at Oriental Trading Company for about $25 too.

(2) Using the Bickham font, which I downloaded for free, I printed our names as big as I could make them, along with two copies of a giant free flourish image the same way. There are a great many photoshop-savvy ways you could do this. Me, I just blew up the image and then printed out different portions of the image on power point slides. Not regulation, but effective!

(3) Finally, I taped all those printed pieces of paper together to make a template, and literally traced the image onto my aisle runner using paint pens! If you're like me and lack a steady hand, paint pens are definitely the way to go, but a more skillful artist could work with paint and brushes. Just be sure to place a layer of wax paper between your runner and the paper so that your paint does not bleed onto the surface below.

(4) Be sure you're painting the correct side of your aisle runner before you begin! I made the silly mistake of painting the wrong side first. Oops! Fortunately, when you're working on the correct side the painting is easier!

(5) Last but not least, I poured a glass of Sauv Blanc and congratulated myself for not only completing, but loving this project I didn't really think I could do!

Do you have a wedding project you're especially proud of?

First Post!

2009-08-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

So after much hemming and hawing over whether I'd have time and whether it would be worth the trouble, I've decided to throw caution to the wind and try my hand at a little bloggerson! I now have the perfect to place to memorialize all the special things I've fallen in love with over the past months, and a place to share some of my favorite did-it-myself projects! Yay!

Hopefully you'll have as much fun reading about the journey as I'm having experiencing it!

xoxo,
Sarah