|  |  |  | | | | | HD Hawaii Wedding Blogs | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  
Looking for a wedding venue in the heart of Santa Barbara Wine Country? Want a venue that is intimate and charming? The Santa Ynez Inn is a luxurious boutique hotel that offers a variety of spaces for your intimate wedding. 
Adorned with plush carpets and beautiful artwork, the historic Coach House is an elegant wedding venue for an intimate celebration. The Coach House was built circa 1900 to house stagecoaches and carriages in the historic village of Santa Ynez. It was fully restored in 2006 as a private special event facility. The full-service prep kitchen makes catering function smoothly. Reception style for 125 guests, banquet style seating for 75 guests, classroom style seating for 55 guests, conference style seating for 30 guests, wedding ceremony seating for 75 guests. The intimate Parlor with a fireplace accommodates wedding receptions for 60 and banquets for 50 guests. 
The Library with a fireplace and access to our gardens is an intimate room for wedding rehearsal dinners or intimate cocktail parties for 12. For wedding ceremonies and receptions in the natural beauty of the outdoors, the beautiful Lawn and Garden area at the Santa Ynez Inn is an idyllic setting for friends and family. 
The Santa Ynez Inn offers a full-service catering kitchen on-site. The executive chef provides custom menus and quotes for all your events. For more information on this elegant Santa Barbara wedding venue go to Santa Ynez Inn. Also check out this real wedding held at the inn. Photo One, Two, Three: Linda Chaja; Photo Six: Lenoce Photography Sponsored Post.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | There are many reasons why I am 100% head over heels in love with Aimee and Matt’s uber cool Big Day held at The Belfry in Wishaw. The venue is actually where Mr O’Shea and I first met on a blind date so it holds many special memories and this is the first time we’ve had the pleasure of featuring it on Rock My Wedding. I completely adore Aimee’s quirky sense of style ( check out the colour pop earrings and extra long lashes lovelies. LUSH I tell you)…… and the bride and groom have chosen a killer turquoise and pink colour scheme with a whole heap of kitsch and unique personal touches that are nothing short of spectacular…. Oh and the groomsmen, some of the most stylish, smartest and all round catwalk-worthy we’ve ever featured I do believe. You guys know we love nothing more than to totally brighten up your Wednesday  All of the gorgeous images are courtesy of Chris Barber Media. 
Disney Princess Locks My bridesmaid and best friend, Laura Findon, did all of the bridal parties hair and make-up. I let her have free rein as we have known each other since we were at school together and she always does an amazing job. Having my friend as my hairdresser made the whole build up to the wedding so much fun and stress free! We kept the makeup natural, and Laura created my dream hair. I had been growing my hair ever since we set the date for the wedding as I wanted the typical Disney princess dream of long flowing hair and with some assistance from Laura the dream became a reality! 
Keeping It Real The shoes were the one piece of my outfit where I knew exactly what I wanted – Converse! (Converse Chuck Taylor All Star lights in white to be exact!) I wanted to keep a piece of me amidst all the glitz and glamour of the dress. To make my Converse extra special my sister, Lisa, screen printed a bride and groom flamingo onto them, this is just the first of many handmade touches made by our talented friends and family that made our day so personal and special to us. 
Something Borrowed Something New My Tiara was from Caroline Jane, it wasn't what I thought I wanted but as soon as I put it on with the dress it looked perfect. The only other jewelry I wore was a bracelet, which was my wedding present from Matt and a ring that belongs to my Mom. I had loved the ring since I was a child when I would play with my Mom's jewelry while she was getting ready to go out.
Cute As A button Neither Matt or myself are particularly green fingered and we knew we wanted something a bit different for the bouquets, browsing through the internet I stumbled across RealBadKitty on Etsy. The button bouquets and boutonnieres fitted the bill perfectly, especially when it was custom made to fit in with our colour scheme. Due to work commitments Matt and I, always doing things a bit backwards, went on a pre honeymoon to Thailand. Whilst browsing through the Chatuchak market in Bangkok we came across this offbeat, bizarre shop selling artificial flowers that looked just like they were made out of sugar. After searching through the stall and 150 baht later we were the proud owners of 18 bunches of these flowers! All it needed then was for Matt and I to put them together to make the flower girls bouquets. We were really pleased with the finished bouquets and the girls were really happy to have something that they could keep For the ceremony and mothers presents we went to Rooms in Bloom in Castle Bromwich. The staff there were great, even though we were only having a couple of pieces they talked us through everything and picked out and maked the most beautiful and unique flower arrangements we had seen.
Film Influences And Space Invaders The Groomsmen wore their own black suits, with Matt's favourite skinny black ties- featuring, of course, space invaders. Each of the groomsmen had a boutonniere to match the bridal parties bouquets. We brought each of the groomsmen cufflinks, which we felt reflected their different personalities to complete the outfits. Matt wanted the groom party to look like something from a Tarantino movie (Yes, if you haven't guessed yet we are HUGE geeks!). His suit was from A39 Savile Row from House of Fraser. A few days before the wedding we saw the turquoise tie in Next and Matt finally relented in not wearing black, at least until the evening! While in Thailand Matt had his shirt tailor-made, which was an experience in itself!
Frockalicious Our bridesmaid dresses were from Coast and we customised them to fit in with the day using turquoise and pink ribbon. Our flower girls dresses and tiaras were from Monsoon. My dress was from Caroline Jane, Caroline and all the staff at the shop are amazingly awesome! I fell in love with my Justin Alexander dress straight away even though I had protested that I didn't want a big dress! I just loved the way it sparkled and made me feel when I put it on. On the wedding day Matt had said that it was the exact dress he thought I would choose, I guess sometimes the dress chooses the bride! 
Photography - Chris Barber Media Dress – Justin Alexander at Caroline Jane Tiara – Caroline Jane as before Button Bouquets – RealBadKitty on Etsy Grooms Suit- A39 Saville Row at House Of Fraser Maids Dresses - Coast and Monsoon Yup I know. ‘Tis a feast of candy coloured gorgeousness. Just wait until you see part 2 Big Converse Wearing Love Charlotte xxx | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Rad wedding favors…huh? These exquisite vintage tablespoons can be personalized with your guests names or a short message, they also would make for pretty awesome place cards. Each word is meticulously hand hammered into the silver plated spoons…and the result is pretty nifty. For more details scoot over to Wooden Hive. {Above images via Wooden Hive} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I've been really looking forward to featuring this latest real wedding, because the Bride and Groom discovered their Wedding Photographer, Eliza Claire, through Love My Dress. And that's something that makes me one extremely delighted Blogger indeed! :) Jools and Nigel tied the knot on 11 September 2010 at Wootton Village in Northampton and Jools wore a lovely vintage style Jenny Packham dress...
"I've always loved Coco Chanel and anything old and French and really loved the art-deco era, so it started there really. I love the fashions of the 1920 and 30s, and tried to find a real vintage dress but unfortunately do not have a 22inch waist as most of them do,so jenny packham was the nearest design to what I was looking for - silk bias cut and simple (im not a meringue kind of girl)" Eliza Claire has done a fabulous job of capturing this art-deco, 1920's inspired wedding on camera. Jools tole me "....Eliza she wass wonderful throughout and even helped iron something and dress the little bridesmaids!" Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Eliza Claire Photography 
I adore the headpiece that Jools wore, another Jenny Packham design... "I loved my Jenny Packham Alicia II headress. I looked at lots prior to purchasing it, but returned to this design as nothing else sparkled quite as much. My necklace and earrings were from monsoon and my art-deco style cuff was from www.stephanie brown.com" 
Those beautiful blue Louboutin heels again... "Shoes are very important to me and I love the colour baby blue, so after looking for hours on many websites at Jimmy Choo etc, I found these Christian Louboutin heels and thought they looked rather vintage. As I kneeled at the alter in the church, I heard someone gasp when the saw my shoes which made me smile! I also kept them on unti 3.30am the day following our wedding!" 
"I searched high and low for vintage looking flowers and they either didn't understand the look, or everything I liked was out of season. So two weeks before, in desperation, I went into Bobbys in Giles Street, Northampton and the staff there were wonderful. All the hydrangeas came from my friend Libby's garden..." 
"I also made vintage looking corsages for a few of my close girlfriends who had helped me greatly in planning my wedding..." 
 
To accessorise her Bridesmaids, Jools brought the younger girls some lace gloves from verbaudet - and they were also given pearl bracelets with teapot charms on then. The teenagers had pearl necklaces from Topshop and the adult bridesmaids had teapot charms to add to their trollbead bracelets, and a vintage evening clutch bag each. "The little ones all brought theirs from Monsoon, and wore capes too..." 
"My ring was found on an antique website by Nigel and my daughter Gabriella (she may be 8 but I've trained her well!) and luckily it fit! Nigel's ring was from a small jewelers in Northampton." 
 
Jools and Nigel decided to stay close to home on their wedding day... "Wooton Village in Northampton is where we live and we wanted an informal, vintage style wedding with a black-tie evening event. I was soo nervous the week before but had a strange calm come over me the day before which really helped..." Instead of a veil, Jools opted for the Tiffany Ostrich Feather cape from Monsoon... 
"I walked down the aisle to The Prince of Denmark March. My friends 12yr old daughter Jess also sang hallelujah which made everyone cry! and we left the church to The Style Council 'Shout to the Top' which the Vicar very kindly let us play - and it really lifted everyones spirits!" 
Nigel wore a Hugo Boss Tuxedo, Jeffery West shoes and Hugo Boss cufflinks. All of Nigel's Groomsmen also wore Tuxedos.... 
 
"Our 18 yr old son Luke's girlfriends from sixth-form kindly helped hand out canapes and drinks and dressed up in vintage tearoom maid outfits which looked so cute!..." 
"All the Page Boys were happy to wear skinny black trousers converse and jersey blasers from Next, with Raybans, and all were too cool for school! my 4yr old teddy was the youngest pageboy and he fell asleep through the whole ceremony and woke as we came out and Eliza caught him just waking on my husbands shoulder and the photo is one of my favourites." 
"My friend dee helped me by spending hours on the web researching 1920s table names we could use, eg, 'Lalique', 'Chanel', 'Orient Express' etc, and instead of favours we had a raffle with the ticket on your wine glass which everyone loved." 
 
"We had an old fashioned sewing machine which was my great Aunts, which my Daughter Frankie made into a sweetie bar for the children, but several adult were spotted with sneaky sweet bags! ..." 
"We also used an old screen to hang photos of ourselves and our children on, and also asked guests to send us their wedding photos which we hung up - everyone was playing 'Guess Who?' all night!" 
"We collected silver teapots from charity shops and carboot sales, with yet more hydrangears from Libby's garden with feathers and pearls draped over (from Primark), black tablecloths and doilies for place settings, with lace around the cutlery. We also had name tags with ribbons on to put on our wishing tree, lottery tickets and dice on each table." 
"The only cake we like is chocolate cake and Nicki, my made of honours Mother-in-law, makes the best! So she made 3 large ones which were eaten as desert with cream and everyone loved it!" 
Words of Wedded Wisdom... "I would recommend you overplan and then just go with it on the day, but what is there really to be nervous about? We only invited people that are dear to us and wish the best for us; take time to enjoy it, look around and take in everybody having a good time as that is my lasting memory."
We couldn't get over how excited everyone was at the wedding, but I think that's because everyone got involved either bringing a dish, helping decorate, collecting rose petals and drying them to use for confetti or prepare the marquee or hair and flowers. In the end, it was a party for everyone which was lovely. We coulnt have done it without everyone's help and it saved us thousands! The children had all gone or put to bed by 9pm so the rest of us got to the dance floor the band played on until 1.30am, and the last guest left at 4.30am!! We danced to 'You're the Best Thing' by the Style Council, as both Nigel and myself love Paul Weller and we have been together for 12 years, so think the words say it all. We didn't want it to end and would love to do it all over again..." 
Thank you so much Jools for sharing this information with Love My Dress, and as always, huge thanks to London and Kent Wedding and Bouodoir Photographer Eliza Claire for allowing me the pleasure of showcasing her beautiful photography.
You can see more from Eliza Claire on the Love My Dress Wedding Blog here.
Check back at 12 noon folks, as I've a rather special post coming up for all you ladies looking for that perfect wedding dress :)
Much love,
Annabel xXx
♥
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength. “ - Oprah A decade. Yep, Mr. Ostrich and I have been together 10 years…with no mini-breakups in between (you know, like Ross and Rachel's “We were on a BREAK!”). It's been a blast—he's my best friend, we spend too much time laughing, and we love each other to pieces… “But 10 years?!” (This is the typical reaction we get, complete with wide eyes of disbelief.) Yeah, the length of our relationship has baffled and frustrated most of our friends, colleagues…even neighbors. (Thank goodness for our non-judgy families—whew.) I like to tell the story of our wedding pressure in three acts. 
ACT ONE: Around the…oh, I don't know, five-year mark (I was 26, and the first major wave of girlfriends were starting to get engaged), I was a bridesmaid at two of my best friends' weddings, and the invasive questioning began. “So I bet next year it'll be you and Mr. Ostrich!”
“Have you and Mr. Ostrich talked about getting married yet?”
“What kind of wedding are you and Mr. O going to have?” Oh, and the bouquets? Strategically thrown at yours truly. And the garters? Yep, fired away at poor Mr. Ostrich. We'd smile and repeat the same responses we always did, “Oh, you guys know more than we do!” “Why ruin the surprise?” and “When we do, you'll be the first to know.” 
{The Ostriches in Japan} INTERMISSION: By this time, Mr. Ostrich and I had figured out we were going to be life partners. But we didn't feel the burning desire to get engaged or have a wedding. We felt confident in our relationship, and for us at that time, getting married was just the “legalization” of it all. It was a really expensive party to celebrate our love, and since we would pay for it on our own, we opted to spend that money on the thing that we wanted to do at that moment—traveling. Then we needed a new car. And those fabulous shoes…and that Chloe handbag…you get the picture. So we figured when the time was right and we'd saved up the funds, we'd get married. But there was no deadline, no scheduled savings plan. We never went ring shopping, but we did share our dreamy ideas of our perfect beach wedding every now and then over waffles and steak and eggs. The rest? We left up to the powers of fate and time. 
{My work team at our holiday party—nine of the thirteen girls were engaged/married at the time.} ACT TWO: Let's see, it was year seven, and something was in the water at work because a young assistant would come in each week with a dazzling ring and a hopelessly romantic proposal story…including my assistant. And every time there was a new engagement, the girls felt awkward telling me, I guess because they were afraid I'd burst into tears of frustration like some of the other girls had. (It was practically a sorority.) And every time Mr. O and I would go on vacation, there would be bets placed on if I'd come home engaged or not. Then finally, one of the young brides in my office turned to me one day and said, “Miss Ostrich, all I want is for you and Mr. O to get married.” It was sweet that she was really rooting for us. But in my heart, we were everything a married couple was, just without that darn legal certificate. So what was the big deal? Why were people so obsessed with us getting married?! WE weren't obsessed with us getting married…but, because of all this watercooler talk, I was starting to feel like that was weird, like I was breaking some secret wedding rule. 
{Some of my fellow BMs and me at B's wedding} ACT THREE: Year eight and a half. I'll never forget it. One of my bestest girlfriends, who had been trying her luck at love and dating throughout the eight years I had known her, had met an awesome guy, and less than a year later he popped the question. They were getting married, I was a bridesmaid, and the wedding was the day before my 30th birthday. Every time I ran into my upstairs neighbor, she asked me when Mr. O was going to propose. I ran into her a lot. And every time I saw my cousins they would say, “What is he waiting for? You don't deserve to wait around forever!” One cousin even had a guy she wanted me to meet. Seriously?! Chip, chip, chip…all this stuff, after all this time, was starting to wear me down. I started to feel like Beth, Jen Aniston's character in He's Just Not That Into You. “So if I hear a story about a girl who's been with a guy for three years and he finally married her, that's the exception…But for guys like Neil, who are with girls like me…for seven years and aren't married…they're never getting married.” 
{source} And that's when the wedding interrogations started to really bug me. I felt like people didn't consider us a legitimate couple because we weren't married. And the fact that we'd been together for so long and weren't married—well, there had to be something wrong with us, right? I was frustrated that our relationship was being judged and compared…and I wanted to hide and everyone to leave us alone. On the outside, though, I kept myself together. I could never let Mr. Ostrich know about these ridiculous thoughts—it would make him feel bad because I knew that we were saving for our own day…but when was that going to be? “Probably another year,” I concluded after doing some quick math in my head. “One more year.” A few months later, my best friend, B, got married, and it was beautiful and perfect, and I was so thrilled for her. The next day I turned 30. The day after that, Mr. Ostrich proposed. EPILOGUE: After we got engaged, I asked Mr. O about why he picked the day after my birthday. “I had a deadline for myself. In your 20s, you and I did everything we wanted to do independently, with our friends, and together as a couple. For your 30s, it'll be a new chapter for us…and I wanted you to start your 30s with that promise and a ring.” Looking back on our crazy 10 years together, I'm really really happy that we waited until now to tie this knot. Here's why… GROW, GROW, GROW: These years have allowed me to grow independently—in my career, in relationships with friends and family, and emotionally. When I was 21 (when I first met Mr. O), I was like Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride —I didn't know what kind of eggs I liked…I was a chameleon, falling in love with new things and trying new personas on for size. Now, I know not only what I like (eggs, poached), but what I want my life to look like…now I just need the directions.  
{source} GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN: Don't get me wrong—Mr. Ostrich and I love hanging out with each other. But our friends and family are also super important to us, and we wanted to have a few adventures with them, independent from each other. So every week, we have our girls’ or guys’ night…and that's when I get to dance it out! And every couple months there were the crazy vacations. Now, our friendships are stronger than ever, and we have some hilarious memories to look back on. 
(Painting the town in NYC) LEAN ON ME: Over the course of 10 years, drama and hardship will find a way to rear their ugly heads. Financial hardships, family deaths, career slumps, family illness—the hurdles came fast and furious…and they were brutal. But we leaned hard and held on tight. And knowing that we made it through these times gives me the confidence that we can get through anything together. 
(The Ostriches at Outside Lands Music Festival, 2010) Now it's your turn, bees. How long have you been with your fiance? And for those who experienced wedding pressure from friends and family (or nosy neighbors), how did you deal?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hive, I don't know why I haven't talked about this sooner! I should have blogged about this right away because this was the very first wedding decision we made—and, for me personally, one of the most important decisions! When Mr. Giraffe and I got engaged, I was still in college, attending school to get my BS in art (with a concentration in graphic design); this means that those semesters of print making and art history, and that bit of color theory, were all super fresh in my mind, and I was dealing with color every day. Color still plays a big huge part in everything I do and what I do every day. As soon as we got engaged, I was over the moon about getting to pick our colors. In my mind, the colors set the tone for the whole day and provide a great way in which to tie all your wedding elements together. I'm known for changing my mind constantly, or choosing something and then changing my mind at least a dozen times…but our wedding colors? No way! In a totally uncharacteristic move on my part, I picked our colors and haven't wavered on my decision once. So, what's it gonna be? Well, let me show you!
Mmmmm, a beautiful powder blue, chocolate brown, and accents of sage green!!! Wait, that needed more exclamation points; here we go!!!!!!!!!!! 
I know, right?! Amazing and totally perfect for a springtime wedding! And because I'm completely obsessed, here's our perfectly perfect colors set up a few different ways just so you can see how wonderfully they work together. 
When choosing colors, I can't tell you exactly why, but I knew exactly what I wanted right away. I'm completely obsessed with brown, so that was a given; and I always lean toward cooler colors, so I think that's why I went with blue. I also associate blue with being formal, so that helps me set the mood I want, and—bonus—it's Mr. Giraffe's favorite color. I knew I wanted a small color palette, just because my anal-retentive mind couldn't handle organizing more than that. I wanted an accent color, so I choose the green because it makes me think “spring!”—and I love how it looks with both brown and blue. What I didn't realize when making this (what I think is a) giant decision, is how hard it is to plan a brown and blue wedding! No joke! Blue weddings are either brown and Tiffany blue (which isn't the same as powder blue, thankyouverymuch) or blue and black! That Tiffany blue is everywhere! Who invited it here? Just kidding! 
(source) 
(source) So, perfectly powder blue and brown may not be the easiest color palette to work with, but it’s one of the things I’m most excited about when it comes to the wedding, for serious. Don't worry though, hive, we've found all sorts of ways to work our perfect shade of blue into this wedding business, but that is a post for another time! Anybody else follow their color-loving heart when it comes to their color scheme?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | What's the Brooch secret reveal? I've lost a lot of weight! 
OMGosh! Can you believe that's me? If you looked at pictures of me growing up and in high school, you might not recognize me today. See for yourself:
(The photo directly above was of me on my 17th birthday!) Let me start from the beginning: I was 10 pounds when I was born. I was tormented as a kid because of my weight and even though I was involved in sports camps during the summer, I never made any of the basketball or soccer teams, because I was too heavy to run the mile in less than 12 minutes (I still can't believe I run as much as I do now)! It's no wonder I couldn't run very far, though. I was carrying around a lot of extra weight. Still don't believe me? This picture says it all: 
(I really thought I was cute! Can you say embarrassing?) 
Another secret that goes along with this one is that during my junior year in High School, when I tried out for the varsity basketball team, I didn't make it. And to add insult to injury, they placed me on the junior varsity team, which ended up losing almost every game of the season! Boo. This picture is from that year: 
It wasn't until I went off to college that I started to lose weight. I walked a lot and didn't have a lot of money for food (I wasn't starving or anything, but my eating habits totally changed). I wasn't living at home with mom and dad anymore, so my pantry looked a lot different! I dropped (unlike most people who gain) about 20 pounds my first year. My high school peeps didn't recognize me! Here are some pictures of me after my first year: 
(This is a picture of my MOH and me during my sophomore year!) 
(The photo directly above was taken about 2 years ago!) It's safe to say I look like a totally different person these days. I still definitely struggle with my self image, and I'm still sensitive about my weight. I know a lot of that still lingers from the years photographed in these pictures. It's something I work really hard to maintain, though. I go to the gym on a regular basis and try to keep my diet in check. It's a lifestyle, though, which all of us have heard before! It's not a quick fix type of deal and unfortunately, I don't have THAT kind of secret in this post! Has your body transformed over the years? Have you lost a lot of weight? When did your weight loss occur, and what triggered it?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | More than two years after the wedding, the thing that stands out to me most among all of the small details (and posts about those things) was my bouquet. Learning that making bouquets was really easy was a big stress-reliever, and I was really proud of how everything turned out. 
Not only was I pleased with how it all turned out on that day, but I've since gone on to make bouquets for the weddings of both of my brothers. The time spent with each of my sisters-in-law the day before their weddings was truly special. And my bouquet making skills, as you can see, improved with each.
K wanted her bridesmaids to have very colorful bouquets, so we took all the flowers that looked good from the North Market and Whole Foods to come up with these: 
I absolutely adored the bride's bouquet: hydrangea and calla lilies. Gorgeous! 
R wanted garden roses and hypericum berries, and arranged via a mail order supplier to get all of the flowers she needed. These turned out the best yet. 
Absolutely stunning. 
Bouquets are an easy thing to spend a lot of money on, but you don't need to. And the alternatives can be pretty aesthetically pleasing, if I do say so myself. ~~~ … or it's damn near impossible to make flowers look bad. By popular demand (and at the special request of soontobemrsc, ambrosia and wondermart, who is making her bouquet this weekend), I present to you the making of the bouquets. (For you monkey lovers, tomorrow's post will be filled with pictures and video of the Monkey Forest.) Around 8:45AM on Friday, the day before the wedding, I headed out with a carload of helpers in search of flowers. I could have contacted a distributor (or at least the manager of Trader Joe's and Costco) about ordering specific flowers, but that required a little more coordination than I was able to handle in the month before the wedding. Besides, it seemed like it would be a lot more fun to not know exactly what flowers I would get. My only requirements were red flowers for the bridesmaids, and white/cream flowers for me. In my ideal world, I would be able to include stock and hydrangeas, which are my two favorite flowers. The first stop was Cleveland's West Side Market. Disappointingly, there was only one flower vendor at the market that morning. Fortunately, the vendor had an abundance of red and white flowers in large quantities. There we gathered together about $70 worth of mums, tulips, stock(!) and assorted other appropriately colored flowers. Having cleaned out the stand, I was still looking for a little bit more variety for my bouquet. From there we headed back across town to Trader Joe's. (Both the market and TJ's are within 20 minutes of my parents' house. In opposite directions. Which meant we spent well over an hour just driving to get the flowers.) Another $50 or so (which includes money spent picking up a small number of groceries and flowers for my mom, as well as hydrangeas(!)), we proceeded to check out. When I very gleefully told the cashier that these were the flowers for my bridal bouquet, he talked with one of the other associates who then came bounding over with a dozen hot pick roses for me, as a congratulations from the store. (It was a thoughtful gesture.) Once back home, the group (which at this point consisted of my maid of honor, her boyfriend, and me) set about to unwrapping the bouquets and pulling the leaves off of the flowers. 
Note the lone dozen hot pink roses in the background. 
The rest of the flowers Following what seemed to work well when I gave it a try back in April, I started to arrange the bouquets. (Much thanks to Autumn who gave me instructions on how to use floral tape. Tape turned out to be much easier than wire.) When the flowers were arranged, I wrapped and secured ribbon around each of the bouquets (for mine, I used fabric that matched my dress.) I then trimmed the stems so that they were even, and set each bouquet in a mason jar with about an inch of water. (The mason jars were my mom's storage suggestion. They worked absolutely perfectly.) As we got done a little bit later than I had anticipated (mostly because we got off to a later start than planned), I didn't take any pictures of the completed bouquets that day. But I do have some non-pro pics of the bouquets in action at the wedding: 
The bouquets, with me and the flower girl. 
Note the stock pot used to transport the bouquets in their mason jars. 
Some last minute arranging. Turns out the tulips in the bouquets each grew about an inch overnight, making the bouquets look a bit like aliens. 
Bridesmaid and flower girl bouquets in action 
Up close and personal with my bouquet (that's my youngest brother's hands in the background) Would I do it again? Absolutely. I really enjoyed arranging the flowers, and didn't really find it very stressful at all. And it's really hard to make flowers look bad, since they are pretty to begin with. Bouquets were not a high priority for me at all, and since I wasn't seeking perfection (if you are, I highly recommend going with a florist), it didn't really bother me that a very small number of flowers in the bouquet looked slightly wilted the day of the wedding. Total costs (in time and dollars): Time: 4.75 hours (2.25 for purchasing; 2.5 for prepping/arranging) Total money spent on flowers and supplies for 5 bouquets: about $110 Lessons Learned: - It was really helpful to have other people stripping off the leaves.
- If we had used roses, it would have taken substantially longer to prepare and arrange the flowers as they would have needed to be de-thorned.
- Tulips, while beautiful, will grow quite a bit overnight. This can leave your bouquet looking like it has alien antennas.
- Assuming you are after "good enough" and not "perfection", plan to allot about a half hour per bouquet. Perfection will take substantially longer.
- Spider mums photograph somewhat strangely.
- The best workspace is a large table or counter
- Have a compost or garbage bag ready for all of the leaves and stems
- Mason jars make great storage vases for the bouquets.
- Some flowers will break when you are prepping/arranging them, so it is best to generously estimate how many flowers you need.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Disclaimer: This is a money-related post. I will try my best not to offend, but I'd also like to be honest. Bear with me. Lately, I've been experiencing a good bit of guilt about our wedding. Not only are we spending a lot of money on things I would usually find frivolous, we're also asking our guests to spend money on presents, on top of all of their travel expenses. This makes me feel as though I come across like this: 
Source
I wouldn't go as far as to say that I had a humble upbringing. Especially when I compare my parents' background to that of Mr. Lion's parents, who came to this country with very little, I feel incredibly fortunate. My parents were comfortable, but not nearly wealthy. Even if my parents had been well-off, I think Sister Lioness and I would still have been raised with the same morals and values when it comes to money. My parents prioritized travel and education, but they were pretty thrifty with everything else. As soon as I was old enough to work, I did. My parents were more than happy to give me everything I needed, but if I wanted something, I worked for it and bought it myself. This taught me to spend conservatively and carefully consider every purchase.
I now have an internal conflict brewing between the usual scrutiny that takes place over purchases and the more liberal spending I've been doing with our wedding. This makes me feel guilty/sad/awkward/bad. Like this: 
Source We're spending $20,000 on our wedding, which, according to Cost of Wedding, is below the average cost of an Atlanta wedding. But to me, it seems like a fortune. My car was $8,600 when I bought it at age 16. Mr. Lion and I do not own our home. I've just never spent that much money on one thing! So when I look at all those zeros in our budget, I feel a little overwhelmed. I know what you're thinking: “Sooo don't spend that much money. Tah dah! Problem solved!” Well, the issue is that I want certain things for our wedding…certain things that end up adding up to about $20,000. When we first got engaged, my parents offered to contribute $8,000. Anything beyond that was up to us. Could we have a wedding for $8,000? Of course! I've seen some beautiful weddings that end up costing even less than that! But, it's not what we wanted. We made a list of everything we wanted, we researched to determine approximately what those things would cost, and the figure we ended up with was $20,000. After the $8,000 contribution from my parents, we were left with a $12,000 contribution from our own savings. Given our 20-month engagement, we decided that saving this amount was doable. Doable, but still not necessarily ethical in my mind. After over a year of wedding planning (and wedding purchasing), I still have moments where I feel incredibly guilty for the amount of money I'm spending. For example, when we decided to have cupcakes at our wedding, we decided to top those cupcakes with little pinwheels. 
Source Cute, right? And they match our whimsical theme, yes? The only problem was that there was no way I was DIY-ing hundreds of these. I don't have the patience of Mrs. Guinea Pig. I found an Etsy seller who makes pinwheels like these at a price that fit within our budget. Still, I debated about buying them for an embarrassing amount of time. It just seemed so silly to spend money on paper that would attach to a toothpick, stick into a cupcake for a couple of hours, and then get thrown away. After a ridiculous amount of discussion with many people, I finally sucked it up and bought them. I feel the same way about wedding gifts. Mr. Lion and I were thrilled to create gift registries. We greedily ran through Bed Bath & Beyond with our registry gun, zapping everything in sight that we even slightly liked. Then our friends (who are also engaged) told us that they are not registering for their wedding. “We've lived together for a few years already,” they said. “We've already built our home. We already have everything we need.” Well, when you look at it that way, I suppose we have everything we need, too. Sure, our kitchen is full of hand-me-downs from the 1970s (and not in the cool, retro kind of way), but everything works. I was instantly transformed from greedy to guilty. The guilt is something I'm continuing to work on. The good news is that the people who will be attending our wedding would never even think about passing judgment on us or on our spending. They love us, and they support us. I take solace in the fact that this is only an internal conflict, not an external one. I've been feeling better about my spending lately, but the idea of so many people spending money on us still makes me slightly uncomfortable. It's new and foreign to me, but I'm sure that when the time comes, I'll just be happy to have received so much love from our guests! Has anyone else felt this way about their wedding spending or their wedding gifting?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I think it's about time I share the engagement story, don't you? Part one, coming at ya. Mr. Panther and I knew quite a while ago that we wanted to get married in the summer of 2011. Because we wanted to have the ceremony outside, overlooking water of some sort, we knew the date needed to be in the summertime. Mr. Panther didn't want to wait until 2012, because he thinks the world is going to end on December 21. He wanted to have a little more than five months to enjoy being married before we all die, I guess. So, at some point around spring 2009, Mr. Panther started saving for a ring. I'm crazy, crazy picky, so he knew he'd be better off getting my input. And luckily for him, I already had one picked out: 
(Source) But of course that's not what I ended up with. Come on! We all know that I never end up going with my first instinct, right?
See, as it turns out, Tacori settings are just a little bit overpriced. Shocker, right? And round diamonds are also the most expensive cut. Between those two things, Mr. Panther wasn't going to be able to afford very much in the stone department after buying the setting. One of my coworkers has a contact at AmericasMart, which is a big market in Atlanta where vendors sell things to stores. On the jewelry floor, you can buy rings and diamonds almost at-cost, without the price hikes you'd get in a jewelry store. When Mr. Panther went in, he realized that if he bought the setting and the diamond there, he could afford a much better quality center stone. Unfortunately, they don't sell Tacori settings, so he asked me to reconsider my dream ring. The idea of a nicer diamond was pretty enticing, so I joined him on another visit. Since I knew I wouldn't find the unique Tacori setting there, I set my sights on a totally new style: the pavé halo. I brought in lots of photos, and AmericasMart had tons of options. After visiting a few different vendors, Mr. Panther pointed out a setting that had everything I wanted—white gold, a very thin pavé band and very low center stone placement. And that was it: The Ring! The setting was meant for a cushion cut diamond, but the brilliant ovals were more sparkly and a little cheaper, so that's what we went with. Mr. Panther haggled a little bit, got a seriously great deal (it appraised for twice what he paid!), put down a deposit and that was that! Very romantic, isn't it? 
(Personal photos) *Swoon* I love my ring. (I don't know why it looks yellow in that second photo—it's an F!) Even now, eight months later, I find myself staring at it. But after we bought it at AmericasMart, I couldn't have it right away. The jewelers needed to set the stone and size the band, and uh, duh, Mr. Panther had to propose. I went home ringless, but so excited. Next up, how Mr. Panther and I became affianced and I got that sucker on my finger. Did anyone else pick out your own ring? Do you wish you'd let your man surprise you, or are you glad you sacrificed romance to get exactly what you wanted?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Early on the Saturday morning of our wedding, my eyes snapped open. As I lay in bed in my parents’ house, I listened closely to the sound of Mr. G snoring quietly next to me, birds chirping, and not much else. I got up and opened the blinds quickly…beautiful blue skies! The storm that had passed over Los Angeles in the night was gone quicker than those silly weather people had predicted. I ran downstairs to the backyard, still in my pajamas, and pulled off all of the garbage bags that had been protecting the rented tables, chairs, and chafing dishes from the rain. Mr. G joined me in cleaning up the garbage bags eventually. I knew that we had a lot of work to do before the wedding—more than expected because we hadn't been able to set up a lot the night before due to the storm. I hit up Target in a last-minute dash for supplies with my girlfriends from England that were staying at the house. While we were doing that, Mr. G and my dad were doing the grunt work—setting up lights and bringing the heavier things from the garage. 
Meanwhile, my mom was busy arranging the centerpieces and the flowers for our wedding arch.  (guest photo)
We ordered pizza for lunch while everyone worked. The Glasses wedding was a true labor of love, as friends started to stream in to help set the tables and put up decor. 
With the tables set, we placed the centerpieces down the long, rectangular tables. 
With everything in place, eight of us stood back to admire our handiwork. 
The scene was set. The shadows were growing longer, and 4:30 was fast approaching. It was time to say goodbye to Mr. G, get ready, and start having some fun… All photos (except where noted) by our fab photographer, Tam Nguyen  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The lovely Mrs. Perfume shares her favorite posts! Here they are, rolled into one! ~~~ Tonight we finally finished putting together our invitations. We (okay mostly I) really love them! But they were a pain. A real pain. And they weren't even DIY. Well, they were partly DIY in that I wanted to use boxes instead of outer envelopes. Little did I know I was in for such a maddening experience… 
Our finished invitation boxes. (If the Sheraton ever needs gift boxes…) Midway through our planning, I became obsessed with confectionary colored elements (as is well documented here, here, and here), especially Laduree packaging.
Source There's something about that mint box with its candy pink ribbon that is so indulgent and sweet. Literally sweet–they read as sugary! And I love that. Apparently, others do as well—so much so they have taken to painting all things Laduree, as the author of one of my favorite blogs, Parisbreakfast, has done: 
The design is so pretty that even the Laduree truck is appealing: 
Source It's the details of the laurel wreath… 
the finely detailed rococo border… 
Source …and other sweet bits of fine and delicate eye candy that are so delectable. All this has become a real inspiration source for the outside of our invitations. I guess I wanted them to look just as pretty at first blush as the do on the inside. Speaking of which, it was such a treat to work with Lindsey Ryan, who really brought my ridiculous Parisian flea market-1930s French Indochine-chinoiserie-English tea party concept to life. More on those later. For now, here's a sneak peek. 
Belly band mimicry 
Waggish and whimsical, antiqued elements Back to the boxes, well, while Lindsey worked on our invitations, I set out to find a simple green gift box to put them in. Something flat, minty in color that would fit an A7 envelope. Simple, right? WRONG. I thought it a no-brainer when I ordered a sample of a light green box from nashvillewraps.com. They have an amazing selection and the perfect green. But the box measured exactly 5 x 7. Our envelopes measure 5.25 x 7.25. It was wishful thinking on my part as I tried to cram the sample invitation Lindsey sent into the box. So I continued my search (Googling "jewelry gift box", "two piece cardboard gift box", and "jewelry set up box"), but the color or the size was always wrong. There are plenty of resources out there: usbox.com, 800giftbox.com, jewelrysupply.com, papermart.com, nu-era.com, bagsandbowsonline, and about a dozen more! And I scoured every box store known to (wo)man/crazy bride. (So if you decide to do something as nuts as stuffing your invitations in boxes, then you can hopefully save yourself some time with one of these.) Ultimately, I found a good enough, but not perfect box at boxandwrap. 
A box of boxes! They were delivered the same day as the invitations! 
They're 5.5 x 7 and a celery green, rather than the light green I had hoped for. Did I really just say that? "Not perfect because it's celery and not light green." So lame! Yes, I got stupid over these boxes. Like Miss Cheese said, your inner Perfectionista starts rearing her ugly (well-coiffed?) head in these situations… but they work well enough (even though they're a tad tight). Also, I had previously searched all over the internet universe for a very elusive large, oval laurel wreath stamp. I found a place in the UK that had them. The customer service rep there was EXTREMELY helpful and friendly and gave me a little gift of fairy stickers for having to pay international shipping. Not necessary, but very sweet! (If only I had kids or a crafty/scrapbooking bone in my body.) 
I used a block letter 'S' (it was too difficult and repetitive to stamp our three initials) and used gold pigment ink along with the wreath to create the lid decoration. Then I had to find "the perfect pink ribbon". At this point I'm thinking I've officially lost it. Seriously, RIBBON?! One night this week we went to PaperSource and got this thin hot pink thing. But the next day we went to return it and opted for a thicker, paler ribbon (as shown above) that brought together the faded, antiqued feel I was going for. For the first time ever, Mr. P suggested I might be a little bridezilla for being so specific about… freak.in.ribb.on! Mind you, I'm no bridezilla—I don't even know what day it is. 
The not-so-perfect ribbon. Really? Anyway, so much trouble came of these boxes. After all the boxing and stamping and ribbon tying, we then had to wrap them for mailing. And we also made labels (unfortunately after all we spent on packaging, calligraphy was out) for them. 
I tried to get fantzy with the labels and used Vivaldi font to mimic calligraphy and added a little graphic–we'll see what the post office has to say about it tomorrow. Another drawback was that mailing parcels to our international addresses would be fairly costly. So we thought we'd get outer envelopes for them. But–there's always a but–PaperSource doesn't carry A7.5 envelopes in stock; they must be ordered. Bad planning on my part. We wanted to get them out like, last week, so we couldn't really wait much longer. Anyhow, Spain, the UK, Germany and the PRC will have some ugly utilitarian envelopes hit their mail stream in the next couple of weeks. 
So much wrapping my hands hurt. Notice the ugliness on the left there? But in the end, after all the annoying packaging—and despite the havoc the process reeked on our home and patience—we're really happy with they way they came out! 
"That's not happiness to see me"—am I really handling pink bows? 
Mr. P gets in on the fun by meticulously cutting the parcel paper. 
Boxes everywhere, boxes! We got up early, on a mission, to get to the post office to mail our invitation parcels. This required us to actually get in our car (which we rarely do) to drive out to suburban Virginia. We went to the main processing facility in Merrifield, where the service is always great and everyone is… well… merry! 
On a very serious mission We were happily greeted by this guy…  And this guy…
The clerk was very helpful and nice. Thankfully he said our labels and packaging (that we sweated over) were good enough to go through the system. He started weighing our parcels to print out postage, but suggested (after noticing the large amount that we had) it might be more efficient if we just bought stamps and applied them ourselves. 
He even said, "I have some pretty ones for you," after he realized that they were for our wedding. Sweet, huh? (They were images of a frozen lake, which, though beautiful, had nothing to do with us or our wedding.) I was just happy that it was only $1.86 for First Class postage. Supposedly they'll get to their destination in about two days. So we stepped into the lobby and went to work. 
Then we went back to our buddy, and he and Mr. P hand-canceled and stamped "First Class" to each package. 
Then the manager came over to join the fun, and decided to give us advice on the most picturesque parks in the area. Apparently he often suggests for couples to visit these for the best photo ops. He then proceeded to tell us jokes that I didn't quite understand and mentioned that after he retires from the Postal Service, a career in wedding photography awaits him. Such a character! A sort of folksy(er) and friendly (young) Wilfred Brimley! 
"Wilfred" explaining something to us This is what each package looked like after the canceling and stamping. Very messy. I'm glad we didn't pay for calligraphy just so it would be ruined by this…. 
For the invites heading abroad, we put them, as I previously mentioned, in equally ugly yellow envelopes.  But rather than paying $20 to send a parcel, we only had to pay $2 per envelope! So I guess I don't mind that our overseas guests will not see the invitation boxes.
So happy to be done! We left in a very good mood… and I guess it was contagious, because as we got into our car, Wilfred showed up! He had followed us out… He offered/insisted that he take a picture of us (as he is a budding wedding photographer and all–and told us another story about how he took pictures at his cousin's wedding)! 
Happy to be done with the invites! And as he waved goodbye, Wilfred reminded us to come back to the post office after the wedding to show him our pictures. I didn't catch his real name… 
Like I said, very merry at the Merrifield post office! Now that the invitations are in the mail, I can safely show them to you! (And in fact, as I write this I received an email about them from one of our guests. Yay! USPS two-day mail is no joke!!) 
I've been all over the place searching for a way to turn my ideas (i.e. "shite") into something personal, relatable and unique (e.g. "gold"). I didn't have anything really specific in mind, just a mish-mash of themes and impressions of a color scheme all pinned to the corkboard in my head: 
"Shite" Source Originally, I wanted texture and papercutting. I got A LOT of great recommendations from readers, including Kim at Inspired Goodness who referred me to Robert Ryan. I skimmed through the dozens of great ideas you guys gave (this is why I love Weddingbee!). And then I read this comment on my post: I went on Etsy and used the "Alchemy" feature… I put in a description of what I wanted (which was pretty vague, since I was open to anything… it was basically just our colors, season and that the ceremony may be outside). I got back over 35 "bids" from designers, all with different ideas, visions, and images. I found a woman who is making invitations that I'm in LOVE with. I definitely recommend putting in an Alchemy request and seeing who comes to you!
Firefly062 This piqued my curiosity so much that I tried it out that same day, and put this request out: Wedding Invitations–Papercut, baroque, Laduree, shabby empire chic I'd like unique invitations with some sort of texture. Papercutting or engraving (or another idea, I'm open). Looking for a nod towards Laduree packaging, springtime, French empire, shabby chic, English gardens with colors in muted aqua, pale green, cream, with accents of gold, red, and/or pink.
Within 24 hours, I received some 30 amazing proposals! There were several really good ones, including one from a local artist (who is also a Weddingbee reader!) and does a process called letterpress light. It's very similar to traditional letterpress, but is a lot more cost effective and more color combinations are available. She was inspired by my description and came up with this design (I received it after I had already selected someone–but I think her work is worth highlighting!): 
Source It was hard to decide, but one person really, really stood out among them all: Lindsey Ryan. In her proposal she talked about her obsession with French Baroque style and her work included Marie Antoinette designs and other such inspired works of art… and when I checked out her Etsy shop… 
Source I WAS SOLD! I could already see that we had the same taste and she could bring my disjointed Vintage-Parisian-flea-market-French Indochina-English-Tea-party-concept to life! Though I initially wanted tactile texture, I was compelled by the visual "texture" and graphical layering of Lindsey's work. As you know, Mr. P and I made the Laduree-like outer boxes for the invitations. I also was inspired by their rococo border graphics in their wrapping and asked Lindsey to create something similar for our belly band.  Laduree's box and border. Source
Wax stamp - a thistle (typically a Scots symbol, it also generally represents protection) 
We chose Stardream (all the paper is Stardream) Quartz for the "exploding" envelopes. I wanted to have the antiqued, Parisian flea market feel with a lot of rococo flourishes, but a bit whimsical and cheeky at the same time. Lindsey made up several samples and put them in a gallery for me to view online. I chose one with a lush floral bouquet (to reflect our garden wedding) and we then started tweaking it. I chose everything from the crest to the architectural details (but she came up with the rest and added the antiquing effect and the quill–she's a genius). Throughout this (very quick) process, I wanted to make sure that the invitation was as representative and personal as possible (beyond just pretty). I wanted to give a subtle nod to my heritage to include old French-Indochinese (aka Colonial Vietnamese)** elements (e.g. tropical birds, vintage birdcage, and the double happiness). So after a few emails and iterations, we came up with this for the invitation. 
The invitation. It's actually more greenish/aqua than this picture shows. In the soft damask background (which is, BTW, taken from vintage wallpaper), I asked Lindsey to include a double happiness symbol I found. She did such a great job of discreetly blending it–see it next to the flowers (so it appears to be a bit of Chinoiserie)! 
A closer look at the double happiness symbol For the insert and the RSVP card, I wanted something complementary, but not matching. There are so many wonderful images out there, and I definitely wanted a peacock and chandelier. And BTW, thank goodness for wedding websites. The insert was kept fairly spare and was used only to point guests to our website for details and downloadable maps. It also gave them a heads-up for the rehearsal dinner invitations forthcoming.  The insert
And for the RSVP, Lindsey came up with something whimsical (characters from Alice and Wonderland–a tea party)! The only thing I asked her to do was, again, add the double happiness to tie it all together (it's in the middle of the insert in the background, and between the rabbit and frog in the RSVP). For the menu choices, I wanted old fashioned drawings for the entrees of lamb, trout, and vegetables! She found the cutest graphics!! We worked together to choose the fonts and the wording, and she was incredibly patient, accommodating, and had plenty of great suggestions! I highly, highly, highly recommend her!  The RSVP card
Year of the Ox stamp for RSVP envelopes (we'll always remember the year!) So in the end, it literally was Alchemy that made these invitations happen!! (Thank you Lindsey and Firefly062!) *My late father–part of a diminishing generation of French-speaking Vietnamese—was in fact born in French Indochina (before it became modern-day Vietnam)  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | My first minutes of marriage were probably a lot like everyone else's. We were, in the interest of my beloved schedule, of course, shuffled out of the room. Guests were ushered (thanks, ushers) out to the balcony so our catering staff could flip the room into reception mode. Meanwhile and elsewhere, the bride and groom kicked off their most-photographed hour (couldn't believe it was only an hour) of the day. Cocktail hour was, they say, a magical affair, with passed appetizers, the beer-and-wine bar, whatever people had in those flasks, a nice view of City Hall, and life-size cutouts. That's right.
All pics by Ashley Forrette and Gem Photo unless otherwise noted
Cutouts courtesy of Kevin, friend and engagement photographer, are linked throughout these recaps. The story: he jokingly mentions that the engagement-photo files are large enough to produce life-size cutouts. Wheels immediately start turning once we realized the idea is ridiculous enough to work. Kevin learns we need to reshoot the photos so they're a tad bigger, so we reshoot; he prints them, then hand-mounts them into the glorious form you see here. The reshot photo of me is the one I use here on Weddingbee, but its intended purpose in life was always for the cutouts. As a bonus, Kevin and helper Matt, Bridesmaid A's fella, rode public transportation alongside these things on the day of with no detectable traces of irony.
Kevin and Matt stop by the hotel to say hi to the girls and drop stuff off, then immediately take off to set the cutouts in place before anyone sees them. A handful of people, including our parents, saw them first and loved them best, I think. Early-bird guests got a gander, too. But it was mostly a surprise that worked out as planned. Most of our bridal party didn't even know about these, and the ones who knew were either involved in their creation or found out completely by accident. We still joke about how nice it was to enjoy cocktail hour with our guests that way, and I really do get a Disneyland-reminiscent rush of happiness when I see guests' photos of "us" with them.
Guest photo
Guest photo I was struck by how everyone appears to be having a really good time, wouldn't you know it; since we sometimes lament how we'll never know what it was like to be a guest at our own wedding, photographic proof of smiles and laughs became particularly important. After the reception really got going, you better believe the cutouts were put to fun, mildly to moderately inappropriate good use. More on that later. Immediately post-ceremony, we did family portraits and what eventually became our favorite picture with officiant, Mac (see below). Then, it was on to some mister-and-missus time (not in that way, that's what she said, etc., etc.).
Many wedding photogs say the mood is different once the wedding rings are on and pronouncements have been made. As such, the pictures then appear a bit different, too, and not just because of your brand new jewelry. The whole first hour of marriage was another one of those unrepeatable moments in time, so I'm glad we did so many photos at this point.
Ah, this place. I'm glad it also got to shine in these photos because it's a stunner. The building, a city-owned one, doesn't get much use on weekends aside from events, so there weren't any non-guests just wandering around. We really liked having the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and tour buses during our walk to the venue and the bridal-party portraits. But I equally treasured the intimacy of wandering around our wedding venue, inside and out, in relative peace and quiet.
This is one of our favorites. It's just so well composed by our photogs. And you can't tell that my train is starting to get thrashed.
Another favorite above; this one was the first photo we saw in our wedding-day teaser.
So much for putting that away. We both have a problem with this, but I thankfully didn't have pockets for my leash. Er, phone. 
Pic above by friend William, from the balcony After wandering around outside for a bit, we came back in to shoot some more as cocktail hour came to a close. The intimate theme of these photos continues, I think, which is what I enjoy about them the most. If there ever was a time for you and your husband (and two photographers who happen to be there) to forget about the rest of the world, this is definitely it.
Next up: reception gets going with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and full glasses. Catch up with the Tacos' journey from regular to supreme: Ceremony: "comedy hour," not falling, and a Boston terrier. First look, bridal-party portraits, and tourist buses say hello. Getting ready for showtime.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Genetically speaking, I got my dad's eyes, and my mom's guilt. Guilt runs in our family like a dominant gene, and it is exhausting. Here are a few of the many, many issues that I'm wrestling with: 1. I feel guilty that my parents are paying for the majority of our wedding and are just so freaking nice about it. Never once have they made me feel guilty about it…and so, I feel guilty about it. 2. I feel guilty that I let myself get stressed about wedding-related minutia. 99% of my concerns are petty, first-world problems. 3. I feel guilty that bridesmaids are supposed to pay for dresses, presents for shower / wedding, bachelorette stuff, etc. I should pay THEM- a lot- for keeping me sane(ish) since my pre-teens.
4. I feel guilty that my fiance is like, seriously, the sweetest man on the planet, and I am just a biotch sometimes. 5. I feel guilty that we decided to have the wedding in Cincinnati because it's more convenient for us. 6. I feel guilty interviewing multiple vendors and having to reject all but one. 7. I feel guilty about getting legally married, period, because it's not fair that we can and others can't. (Do you like how I sneak the loaded one into the middle?) 8. I feel guilty that my wedding dress was expensive, yet I'm still considering a reception dress. 9. I feel guilty that I'm only inviting family and close friends. 10. I feel guilty that the parking around our church is not great. (record scratch) Yes. I feel guilty that guests of our ceremony might have to walk a block and/or parallel park. Both things are annoying. So I feel guilty. Am I a head case or what? Now that I've typed all of my things out, I'm lettin' 'em go. Like an Arabian princess and some caged-up doves. By all means, unleash your guilt-birds below.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | OK, I'm just going to say it: I hate platform shoes. I know they're all the rage, but I just can't get on board. Please don't hate me all you platform-loving ladies out there. Especially you, Lady Gaga—we're still besties, right!?! 
source
Maybe it's because I'm tall, but I also just don't like the look of platform heels. To me they seem unbalanced and kind of chunky, while I find non-platform shoes to be very classic and elegant.
Audrey isn't a platform fan either. I may not want a platform, but I do want a heel for my wedding shoes. I like the way heels look, and I like how I feel fancier in them. And let's face it: I want to feel pretty fancy on my wedding day. There are times when I'm all about rocking a four-inch heel, but the wedding is not going to be one of those times. Mr. Cheetah is around three inches taller than me. While most days I don't care if I'm a smidgen taller than Mr. Cheetah, for some reason I don't want to be taller on our wedding day. (For the record, Mr. Cheetah doesn't care either way, but then again, his SIL is six inches taller than his brother.) Although the main reason I don't want sky-high heels is that I want to be comfortable and I want to dance. All. Night. Long. My goal wedding-heel height is two-and-a-half inches, but I am willing to go a bit lower or higher. However, platform shoes are so popular, it's becoming difficult to find fashionable heels without a platform. I would love all these shoes if only they were platform-less! 
Adorable—except for that pesky platform. 
Love the color, love the bow. Hate the crazy heel and platform. 
The name of this shoe is Cheetah! Too bad it has a giant platform. It's looking more and more like I will be shopping in my platform-free closet for my wedding shoes, but I have found some cute non-platform options if I decide to get something new. 
Crossing my fingers that these go on sale before March. 
Love the chevrons, love the sparkle! 
I've had these bookmarked for months. How do you feel about platform shoes?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The holidays are coming up fast (but you don’t need me tell you that, do you?) and one of the more meaningful gifts you can give your new husband/wife is something that commemorates the Big Day. And take it from me, your first holiday together is a great time to do it. The wedding and all of the surrounding excitement is still fresh in your mind; your probably still know where your wedding photos are; heck, you probably still look like the people in your wedding photos (can you tell I didn’t take my own advice, opting instead for good intentions?). These customized canvas art pieces from esty seller GeeZees may be just the thing. She has several options available, but my favorites are the ones that feature your wedding vows (because I don’t know about you but mine passed in a blur…). Hanging up in your living room or above your bed they can act as a daily reminder of why you got married and how you can remember to truly love and honor one another.   
Or if you need a cool bridesmaid or Maid of Honor gift, she will also do up a canvas of words, poems or sayings that have special meaning to you and your friends.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hope you all enjoyed your holiday this week! I am stuffed full of prime rib and hot pot…our typical Chinese-American Thanksgiving. It was our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple, even though it didn't feel all that different since Mr. Lace has been spending Thanksgiving with my family for the past couple of years anyway. More on holiday adjusting later… Anyway, here we are—the bridal party. All photos are courtesy of Hanssie Trainor. Mr. Lace's groomsmen are his oldest and dearest friends and family. His cousin, far left, flew out from Texas to be in the wedding. I had the chance to befriend Cousin Lace in college while he was stationed there before Mr. Lace and I ever became a couple. His other four groomsmen are his childhood friends, and the group still gathers together regularly to play video games (what else, right?). 
 My bridesmaids are a mash up from different parts of my life. On the far left, BM V and I met in fifth grade at a church activity at her house. We were instant friends and wrote letters and hung out all through our school years. BM J's big brother and my brother are best friends. We always say that we were predestined to be friends. We met in sixth grade, but didn't become close friends until we were in high school. BM M was the one who introduced me to Mr. Lace and is one of my dearest friends from college. She and I lived together for our last two years of college. MOH C is also a dear friend from college. We met our freshman year and did a lot of nerdy things like puffy paint Easter eggs for all of our friends and tie up all the supermarket bags to conserve space. BM K also doubles as my sister-in-law! We got along from the moment my brother brought her home, and now that I'm married…we're neighbors! 
A quick side note about what the girls are wearing: I told the girls they could wear whatever shoes they wanted to wear. My only requirement for their jewelry was that it made a statement. I made the hair flowers, and their cute, rewearable dresses were $50 from Anthropologie. WHAT?! A $50 dress from Anthropologie? Impossible. The dress was originally $198. I wrote it off and started looking at other dresses, but then it went on sale…to $49.99. The rest is history. Here are a couple of everyone together in front of this ridiculously tall statue outside the OCPAC. 
And a few of me because I'm apparently very vain. 
Here's one last set of funny photos. So, the flower girls and I were trying to snap a photo. The flower girls are Mr. Lace's cousin’s two daughters (our unofficial nieces?). I found their dresses at Marshalls for $25. I made the hair flowers for the girls. 
So, our photog snapped a photo of Ringbearer R standing there feeling a bit left out. R is my nephew. 
But he quickly moved from sad to angry for being left out! I also am falling over in this picture because one of the flower girls leaned too far into me. 
We had a lot of fun with our bridal party. They were awesome. They were there when they were supposed to be there and so incredibly helpful to us. My BMs were also magically there to help me every time I had to go use the restroom. I hope I left you a nice visual image there. Till next time! Missed something?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This business has paid a fee to be listed on offbeatbride.com because they feel their wedding products and services are in-line with offbeat brides’ philosophies and needs … and I agree. Here’s more info about how advertising works on offbeatbride.com. 
As a Life-Cycle Celebrant®, New Jersey-based Jessie Blum works closely with all of her couples in the area to create original and beautiful wedding, civil union, vow renewal, and commitment ceremonies ... but she also works with couples WORLDWIDE to help you write your ceremony! And the great thing about an Eclectic Unions ceremony is that all beliefs, backgrounds, traditions, and religions (or lack there of) are respected and honored! If the name seems familiar it's because she's been featured before, but now she's back with photos from some of her more offbeat ceremonies as a result of that feature, AND with a special discount!
 It's super important to Jessie that her couples get exactly the kind of wedding they want — traditional, non-traditional, and everywhere in between — she can sculpt a ceremony that's as unique as your special snowflake love. Take Heidi and Ryan pictured above — they were married with an Eclectic Unions ceremony that celebrated her Jewish culture and his Trinidadian background, as well as their own personal love and commitment to each other.
Jessie also says that she loves brainstorming new rituals and adapting existing ones to her couples. Recently, she did a beer sharing ceremony (for a groom who was a beer connoisseur), tree plantings, circles of love, handfastings, water sharing, wishing stone ceremonies, sand unity ceremonies... there are so many wonderful options and Jessie wants to help you craft one just right for your wedding.  For non-East Coasters, Jessie Blum also offers ceremony writing services for couples who want their friend to officiate, or already have an officiant, but want a custom Eclectic Unions wedding ceremony. She also offers ceremony editing services for all of her couples who want to write their own ceremonies, but still want a little bit of help (don't we all?).
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Bottom line — Jessie Blum can take you from engaged and confused to married and ecstatic all while including your cultures, believes and wacky unity ceremony ideas without batting an eye and having as much fun as you are! So hitch your wedding train to Jessie Blum and have an Eclectic Union of your very own!  Click here to comment →
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Writing about my secrets is like being asked to say 3 things about yourself but make one a lie. I immediately default to something stupid like how many siblings I have. I'm just not that interesting, so I hope you're not disappointed. 1. My life's goal is to ski Tuckerman Ravine. Every May for 5 years I have had every intention of hiking Mount Washington and skiing it but then we get incredibly busy and cancel our plans. Zeb's done it and I'm coming for it next. 
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2. I have saved every piece of clothing since I started high school. It's a little ridiculous now that my “memory clothes” are taking up the majority of my storage space. The reason I do this is because I wanted my mother to have saved her clothes when the '70s came back in style. I figure maybe one day my daughter might appreciate my foresight. 
3. I crashed a snow mobile. Every year my family would take a winter vacation with my friends’ families. Britt's father paid for us all to go snow mobiling. Britt's brothers friends, the guys, all began driving. We had a few other people on the tour with us who were really slowing us down. When the guides split and took us on our own he asked if anyone wanted to switch being the driver. Having the balls of steel that I do, I was the only girl to volunteer and Britt's brother was banished to the back of our snow mobile. Without the family to slow us down, the guide took off and before I know it we were going about 50 MPH. There was a turn up ahead and when I turned the handle bars we continued traveling straight into a snow bank. Luckily Britt's brother was used to me embarrassing myself in these ways otherwise I would have been totally mortified (as if I wasn't already). When the guide was able to dig us out, a groomer came by and put us even more in the ditch. 
4. Around this time each year I get a little sad because I could not follow my dream. I was going to be a Rockette y'all. No, seriously, it would have happened…if I wasn't so damn short. At just under 5'4″ I am persona non grata on the Radio City stage. I seriously considered surgery where they break your shins and place a metal rod in order to add a few inches. I obviously wasn't thinking about whether or not I could still dance after the surgery. My mother surprised me with a Rockette experience for Christmas 2000. I was taught a class by a Rockette in their practice space at Radio City. It was most certainly the best highlight from my dancing years. 
5. I like to smoke an occasional cigar. Also not good for when I do shoot up that extra few inches. It's probably not the best habit for my asthma, but it’s relaxing and I like it. 6. And, to close out my lame-o secrets, I have a lame-o party trick. I do the Thriller. Whenever my friends have determined that I've had just enough to drink they inevitably put on the song. I well hem and haw for about as long as it takes the first chorus to play but then the music eventually breaks down my iron cast wall. I can't help it. I have to dance. (But for embarrassment's sake I'm going to spare myself any pictures.) Here's the thing though— don't *actually* know the choreography. Or at least I didn't. My friends would never say anything because they love my many renditions but I lived in fear that someone would come in and blow up my spot. So I learned it. I can now say that I actually know the Thriller. Muahhhh hahahahhahahahah-muaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh hahahahaha! (That's the guy laughing at the end if you didn't gather.)  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I was looking through my old posts trying to pick out my favorite Weddingbee post. I picked this one because I can still remember how ridiculously excited I was when I finally got the email that said that I was going to be a blogger on Weddingbee! You would have thought I won the lotto or something. I was elated and slightly dazed. I am very blessed and lucky to be in the company of such wonderful, creative and supportive individuals. Thank you for allowing me to share and celebrate “everything wedding” with all of you… ~~~ Hi *points to name tag* I am Miss Jelly Beans and I am a weddingplannaholic! Once upon a time (July 2005), in a land far, far away (it's really not that far), Mr. Jelly Beans got down on one knee (he hates getting his clothes dirty, so I knew this was big), on a very windy day (good thing I had a cute white blazer on), at the very top of the Eiffel tower and asked Miss Jelly Beans to be his wife. To this day he claims Tom Cruise stole his idea. We have been together for almost 9 years now and have been in a long distance relationship for 6. I moved from sunny-all-year, Los Angeles to four-seasons, Ottawa 6 years ago with my family. This was not a deterrent but merely a minor navigational glitch in our relationship.
Since that day, I have been envisioning our pink, brown and sparkly wedding with a vintage, Parisian twist. My middle name is Details. People (Mr. Jelly Beans & my mom) refer to me as, Miss Jelly Details Beans. We are both 3/4 Filipino and 1/4 Chinese (Thanks Lolo Johnny) = 1 Perfect match! I swear it was meant to be. We would love to incorporate both cultures in our wedding celebration. I am thankful each and every day that we have been blessed with the existence of sugar! So choosing Miss Jelly Beans was a no-brainer. With all the pretty colors and flavors, what's not to love? Because we all share that special "I have, I am or I will be planning a wedding" bond, I thought I should share a few useless facts about myself and Mr. Jelly Beans. - Mr. Jelly Beans sounds like a little girl when he giggles
- Miss Jelly Beans sounds like a 5 year old boy in the morning (Just ask any telemarketer)
- Mr. Jelly Beans likes to dust every Wednesday
- Miss Jelly Beans likes to put sugar in her spaghetti Now don't you feel like you know so much more about where this jelly has "bean"? I am so excited to bee sharing my wedding journey with all of you. I hope I can inspire you in some way or another as all of you have inspired me. Love and lotsa sugar, Miss Jelly Beans  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I smell a new trend coming on and it smells like freshly cut grass in the city. Meg Perotti is the talented shutterbug behind the lens of this nature-infused, modern wedding that is just overflowing with style and romance. A green, white and gray palette with oodles of soft, romantic touches plays perfectly against the urban backdrop of downtown Los Angeles. For more organic meets metropolitan inspiration check out the full gallery! 
Check out the full wedding gallery for even more inspiration! Very shortly after Adam and I were engaged, we started scouting out wedding venues in Los Angeles. From the moment we first saw Cafe Pinot, we knew it was the perfect place for our wedding. We both wanted to be married outside, ideally in an urban setting ( but one that was not cold). This venue offered a beautiful park and garden setting surrounded by tall buildings on almost every side. This became a big part of the inspiration for our wedding decor. Our colors a rich green, white, and gray were inspired by the colors that we fell in love with at the venue — the green of the trees and grass and the gray of the concrete buildings and sidewalks. As the planning evolved, we decided to add hints of blush pink for a feminine touch. The taller centerpieces on each table featured white and blush colored garden roses (for their soft ruffle effect) and poufs of white hydrangea, contrasted against the shorter centerpieces which contained succulents perched atop gray river rocks. Our escort card holders were hand cut birch branches which displayed the names of our guests in calligraphy done by the amazing Grace Edmands. For our cake stand we used a 6″ thick wood slice from an actual tree. The cake was decorated simply with olive leaves and garden roses. We had our table numbers made using white paper embossed with a wood grain pattern. Since Adam and I both love candy, we thought that candied apples would be the perfect treat to send our guests home with. I came up with the idea to only partially dip the apples so that they looked more organic and rustic (and so the green would show). We had them dipped in caramel and then in white chocolate to match our wedding colors. The amazing staff at Generations of Lee Gelfond Chocolate did such a wonderful job of painstakingly preparing the apples and wrapping each one in a beautiful clear box with a bow and favor tag we provided. Our wedding day was so special and absolutely wonderful — not only because of the incredible that love Adam and I felt for each other, but because of all of the love and warmth that we were so lucky to be surrounded by. Although it rained on the morning of our wedding, looking back on the day this only added to the romantic and dreamy quality of the day (and the photos!). In the end, our organic romantic wedding (as we like to call it) turned out to be even lovelier than we could have imagined thanks to all of the amazing time and energy our vendors put in to help our vision become a reality. 
Wedding Photographer: Meg Perotti Photographer / Wedding Venue: Cafe Pinot / Wedding Coordinator: Chic Ambiance Events / Wedding Cake: Fantasy Frosting / Entertainment: Rossi Music / Florist: The Hidden Garden / Hair and Make-up: T.E.A.M. Hair & Makeup © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cafe Pinot, California, Chic Ambience Events, Classic, Gray, Green, Los Angeles, Meg Perotti, Modern, romantic, Urban, White
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Contemporary, The Blog
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The very lovely Aileen, of Love and Lavender, sent over her sweet DIY wedding the other day… She did such an amazing job pulling the details together…! 
These pretty pinwheels were found throughout the day! 
Bridesmaids dresses, from Anthropologie….  Even the gorgeous bouquets were DIY!   The couple wed outdoors at Beau Lodge, just North of Seattle.  Stay tuned for more photos from their fun, backyard reception! Photos by Simply Rosie Photography. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | After my first make-up trial left me wanting more, I started contacting local makeup artists to get some information. What I found out shocked me. Maybe I'm naive, but I can't believe that these people were charging an average of $200 for wedding day makeup (especially when, if I'd liked the first MUA I'd had a trial with, she'd have charged only $50). Furthermore, everyone I spoke to had a 3 person minimum, which meant that they wouldn't travel to our site just to do my makeup. I could have them do my bridesmaids' makeup, but I really can't afford to pay for everyone, and I don't want to ask the girls to pay for it themselves. Feeling frustrated, I decided to see if I could do my makeup myself. Armed with my giant arsenal of rarely-used products and Miss Rainbow's kick-ass tutorials, I set out to see if I could, as Rainbow says, ace my face. I knew that I probably wouldn't get professional-caliber results, but I figured that I could look at least as good if not better than I did in my first trial, which, as a reminder, looked like this: 
Not bad, but not GOOD. Very average. So here is what I used:
Face:
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer 
Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Flesh 
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in Light 
Benefit High Beam (on cheeks and brow bones) 
Nars Blush in Orgasm 
Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder Eyes: 
Anastasia Brow Express Kit in Brunette 
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion 
  
Urban Decay Eye shadows in Sin (brow bone), Stray Dog (lid) and Smog (crease) 
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner in Bourbon 
Cover Girl LashExact Mascara in Very Black Lips: 
MAC Lip Pencil in Spice 
Nars Lip Gloss in Stella And, finally, here is the result: 
What do you think? I think it's better than my first trial, and if I practice, maybe I'll get it to where I'd like to be. Would you do your own makeup on your wedding day, or would you rather leave it to the pros?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
As the year winds to a close, I’m delighted to get to write a post for Gabriel of Harber Photography of the San Francisco Bay Area, a sponsor of APW who’s work I’m a huge personal fan of (and have been for a decade). Since it’s year end, we decided to make this post a retrospective of some of Gabriel’s favorite images of the year, and I think you will agree that they are absolutely a delight. 
Gabriel is one of those photographers with a personality (Thank God. We turned down a number of photographers back when we were interviewing for our wedding, because they seemed professional… but not really personable. And somehow that seemed wrong for making art together). 
Gabriel has a handlebar mustache (sometimes) and a wicked sense of fun (all of the time), and a fabulous partner who works as his assistant (if you’re lucky). He’s the kind of person I party with in real life, so that should tell you something. 
Gabriel’s wedding photography is just hands down stunning, but a few things always jump out at me from his portfolio. One, he captures that free-wheeling joy, that let-loose time-to-party energy of a wedding reception with this amazing clarity and energy. His party pictures are among the best I’ve ever seen (in fact, he placed in a WPJA/Brides Magazine international photography contest for his dancing pictures this year, and I’m not in the least bit surprised). 
He also captures guy energy amazingly well. So many wedding professionals are women, which is great. You get a lot of femme-y energy when it comes to wedding photography, and I love that. But Gabriel captures that guys-guy energy in this beautiful and effortless way that you see much more rarely. And every time I see that in his pictures, I wonder, “D*mn, why don’t I see that more often?” It’s like you don’t even know that it’s missing until you see it… and then it all falls into place. 
And finally, personally, I’ve always loved the way Gabriel’s work is able to capture the quiet reflective moments. It captures the moments of stillness, and you can see the real quality of a persons life and face. 
Those small moments are the moments from your wedding that you hold in your heart, and what a huge gift to be able to have them captured on film forever. 
Harber Photography is located in Oakland, CA, and Gabriel serves the greater Bay Area (and travel is affordable, so LA? Pacific North West? This might be your guy). He’s worked with lots of Team Practical couples, and I’ve never heard anything but absolute raves. You guys adore him, and that’s a big deal to me. 
Oh. And. On a purely personal note, Gabriel and his partner had a baby this year (one we have yet to meet, which is killing me). When he was collecting some of his favorite shots of the year, he sent me this one, of his partner Lo, and their little son. And it slays me: 
So go browse, enjoy, make music together.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This friend has been with me from the beginning of my wedding DIY adventures but unfortunately will not be there to see them through. My printer has seen its last printing job. I purchased this way back in 2007 (amazing how fast technology changes) with my first work bonus. I have used this to print out more than one mock-up for invites, table names, escort cards, and more. Both Mr. E and I tried to figure out what was wrong, but to no avail. I knew that I couldn't be without a printer, but instead of going all Office Space on it… 
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I did a little research and found a replacement that was 100 times better and of course a third of the price I paid back in the day. 
Oh new printer, I have a lot in store for you! One of the new features I look forward to the most is the automatic double-sided printing. This will come in very handy when it's time to print those passport programs. I hope this printer is up to the task of all my remaining DIY projects because the bulk of the printing is right around the corner! Are there any new major purchases that you made during your wedding planning?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  While we're always open to your feedback, at the end of each year I dedicate a few weeks to doing an official Reader Survey to get all y'all's in-depth thoughts on the site, our tools, and where we should go from here.
I'm not going to lie: conducting a reader survey for a site with this much traffic and this many diverse and passionate opinions can be an emotional challenge. Despite having been online for almost 20 years (holy shit, can that be right? IT CAN.) I still get sensitive. Of course I want to know what y'all think of the site, and of course I want to work to make it better, but every year I find myself surprisingly crushed by the fact that no matter how hard we try, someone will always be disappointed. It's stupid, I know. Don't ask if you don't want to know, etc, etc. And I DO want to know, because I want to make the site better, and some of my very favorite site developments have come from reader suggestions. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that sometimes it's hard. So I'm taking a stiff shot of TOUGHEN UP, STALLINGS and asking each of you: Please take the survey. Be kind, be cruel ... just be sure to tell us your thoughts! Click here to comment →  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I’ve absolutely loved reading all the favorite posts! While I think this post certainly explains how much our wedding ceremony meant to Burger and me, I couldn’t resist re-running this post about this fabulous shower gift I received from my bridesmaids. This easy DIY project was gifted to me by my amazing bridesmaids, and was well received the first time around on the 'Bee. Many have gone on to tackle this themselves, with lots of positive results to speak of! My friend who championed this idea has said over and over that she should go into business making these for people. Give it a read and see what you think? What bride wouldn't love this? I know I did! ~~~ Last weekend during my shower in Pittsburgh I was given some amazing gifts. We really cleaned up and were reminded how insanely generous our families and friends are! And while I could swoon over the registry gifts we received all day, I wanted to share a little something different with you all. Ladies, meet the Panty Parfait. 
(please notice that there is even a "cherry" on top!)
The Cheeseburger Bridesmaids really wowed me with this one! The entire vase (and what a beautiful Waterford vase it is!) was filled with undies of different colors, materials, and styles, and quite a few of them were accompanied by notes!
And then I found out that these notes told a little story when read in order. Come on, follow along with me: Panty #1: A beautiful eggplant pair, our wedding purple!  Ooooh a sexy underwear parfait!? I was intrigued…
Panty #2: Beautiful Bride panties from VS for our wedding day!  I was blushing for sure at this point… nothing like announcing to a room full of my great aunts that I'm not so "innocent".
Panty #3: A sexy red pair for our honeymoon! "The next pair are for your honeymoon So sexy - red and lace We hope you leave the hotel room 'Cause Riviera Maya's a gorgeous place!"  At this point, I decided to hold off on reading these out loud to 60 family members… I revisited the rest for a smaller group later on in the afternoon
Panty #4: A beautiful black pair, the note reads - "For your first knock-down, drag out fight As a married couple When Dan sees you in this little number He'll forgive you on the double!" 
Panty #5: A pretty white pair for our first anniversary 
Panty #6: A pair the same color blue as our scrubs! This one is to signify our graduation from medical school: "When you and Dan become M.D.s and begin to wear your "blues" (they needed something to rhyme, haha )
These will help you keep your sex life From taking a little snooze" 
Panty #6: These are my favorite pairs, hands down… take a look at that poem, too cute!  "When the time is right for you and Dan
And don't be saying maybe
You'll wear a little pink or blue
In honor of your baby!"
Panty #7 & 8: For later down the road, some gorgeous pairs! 
Panty #9: And lastly, a pair of granny panties… the sexiest ones I've seen! 
In addition to the ones with notes, I got a bunch of other beautiful pairs! I have to admit, it's going to be hard to hold off on wearing these, but hey, I think they wanted me to wear them sooner rather than later anyway! 
Were you gifted lingerie in a less than traditional way? Anyone going to bust out this gift to a friend or family member?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Remember the amazing “Ring It. Sing It.” Holiday Contest that our favorite diamond gurus at Blue Nile hosted…you know, where one lucky winner was gifted the perfect proposal weekend complete with a diamond engagement ring from Blue Nile, a trip to NYC and the chance to propose live at NASDAQ!? Well, it’s official. A winner was chosen and the question was popped. And we have all of the amazing details to share with you today. First up, the ring…a 1.26 carat princess cut diamond that has our hearts totally a-flutter. 
And next, the proposal…which judging by the look of total shock/glee/love/amazement on the bride-to-be’s pretty face, ended in a big fat YES. And you can see the whole adorable moment right here. After a huge smooch, the couple was serenaded by Green River Ordinance lead singers Josh Jenkins and Joshua Wilkerson AND Katharine McPhee who performed It's Not Christmas Without You. 
So are you dying to know what the winning couple did to score such a cool opportunity? Here’s the Blue Nile Ring It. Sing It. entry that scored major props with yours truly and the other judges at Blue Nile… I first met Michaela in the 7th grade on my first day at a new school. I was almost popular at my last school, and I was anticipating similar results this time around. Then I met Michaela. I did my best to put on a worthy show. I caught her attention with a smile. I broke the ice with humor. I enticed her with charm. She was unimpressed. I liked her immediately. I still do. You see, Michaela has personality. She runs 10ks. She can entertain a crowd. She gets excited over clean sheets. She loves festivals. She water skis. She adores kids. She mountain bikes. She eats her vegetables. She snow skis. She travels. She runs triathlons. She can feed the penguins. She whitewater rafts. She hot-air balloons. She studies hard. She runs mini-marathons. She even loves football. A lot. And because of her, we do these things together. Yes, Michaela has the unique ability to make others better. She is able to do this because she is secure with herself. She tells the truth. She forgives. She works hard. She sticks up for the weak. She challenges the strong. She does the right thing without being told. In short, Michaela's integrity is unimpeachable. Unsurprisingly, coolness was not in the cards for me that first day of school. Or that year. Or even the years after that. In fact, coolness still eludes me today. But Michaela did not. We became a couple sophomore year of high school. It has been a long time since 7th grade. Thirteen years if you were inclined to count; and through three years of high school, four years of college, and three years of graduate school, I have fully spent half my life with her already. I can't imagine spending the rest with anyone else. Today, she is a bi-lingual nurse for low-income Latinos in Indianapolis; and I am six weeks short of graduating from Indiana University with a joint J.D. /MBA degree. We are the perfect Blue Nile couple because Michaela is the perfect Blue Nile girl. In addition to having a knockout figure, Michaela has character to spare. She is beautiful, smart, educated, witty, and caring. And I am lucky enough to have her. Irrespective of this contest, I will marry Michaela because she is perfect for me. But if you take a closer look, you will find that she is perfect for you too. Plus, she would look pretty damn good on a Jumbotron. I mean seriously. The CUTEST. COUPLE. EVER. A huge thank you to the team at Blue Nile for making such an incredible day possible for this adorable pair. We loved being a part of it and can’t wait to see what the future holds for them. 
© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Our festive friend Mary Swenson put together the sweetest, coziest winter table inspiration for your wedding or holiday event. I like it for an intimate gathering … and the burlap and cranberry combination? Heavenly! 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | When I was in high school, I expressed my teenage angst through my hair. True story. Want proof? OK, I'll show you exactly one photo and then the memories are going back into the deeply-buried vault, where I never have to relive the awkwardness that was high school again… 
Can you believe that was me? Now stop laughing and focus, please.
My hair ran the gamut of colors from the blonde above to red to pink to blue and from short to shorter to (dare I reveal this?) a classic, T-Boz-inspired, mid-'90s asymmetrical cut (it was in seventh grade, shut up!). My friends from high school still won't let me live that one down. But you can stop right there because there's no way in H-E-double hockey sticks I'm showing y'all photographic evidence of that catastrophe! Looking back, it seems pretty obvious to me that the reason behind my ever-changing hairstyle was rooted in my insecurities. I always felt like a total loser in high school, even though to the casual observer, I probably seemed like a happy, well-adjusted (although slightly kooky) teenager. But on the inside, I was writhing in insecurity over every anguished flaw. I look back at journal entries that lamented my hatred of both my physical and mental self and it makes me sad. I wasted a lot of energy being self-conscious. What I never realized at the time was that most of my peers were probably feeling exactly the same way (I mean, come on, isn't it a universal truth that high school sucks?). But I never saw this and instead, used my crazy-colored hair as a distraction technique, so other kids would maybe think I was “cool.” But thankfully, now, as high school memories dim (I'm fast approaching my ten-year reunion), I can look back at who I was then and feel proud of how far I've come. A huge part of that personal growth is due to Mr Trail Mix. He clearly adored me from the get-go (I mean, who wouldn't? Zing!). But I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for finally banishing the insecurity demons that plagued me through high school. Thanks, babe. He also encouraged me to grow my hair out and relax on the coloring/cutting fixations. So while I'm far from perfect and sometimes, I still get down about my strange little quirks (my natural speaking voice is akin to what some might call “shouting.” Quiet, I am not) but overall, I finally feel happy with myself and who I am. It only took me ten years to get to this point and while the road here wasn't always smooth, the end result has left me a happier, healthier Trail Mix. What's your high school hair trauma story? Come on, we all have them, 'fess up!  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Today’s interview is with Ashleigh of Maihar Design – a fabulous new company that designs gorgeous wedding accessories. When I came across their website, I fell in love … and couldn’t wait to share them here on WedLoft! Sisters, Ashleigh and Melanie, started Maihar Design as a combination of their design and entrepreneurial skills. From stunning Ring Bearer Pillows to lovely Flower Wands and Hair Petals … they have the perfect items to accessorize your wedding!  Photo Credit: Matthew Niemann with Aberdeen Studios How long have you been in business?
It's been roughly 18 months; we officially launched and began promoting our products in April 2009. What inspired you to start your business?
Melanie had always been crafting and designing. For as long as I can remember, she always made her own cards, decorated and painted rooms, and was well-versed in her "crafty" skills. While she was living in New York City, she did some freelance work for an event planner. This included designing ring pillows and wands for the clientele. For years we talked about launching Maihar Design, and finally were able to do so recently. Tell us why you think your business is successful.
We're still very much in a growing phase, but the response from the industry has been phenomenal. I think this is because of our creative approach to a very traditional wedding accessory. We very much are a niche product, but we have a distinctive look and style. Brides are very focused on details and infusing their personal style into the wedding – which is so very important! I think this is why they are drawn to our products. What makes your business unique?
We're a sister-run company that emphasizes quality craftsmanship and superior materials. Our suppliers include some of the leading suppliers for interior designers and decorators. We work closely with them to find quality product that will last long, making our designs more than just an accessory – they truly become keepsakes. Is there a particular niche you target?
Right now we tend to be a higher-end audience, simply because of our price as compared to competitors. Although the materials we use dictate a higher price point, that concept is also translated into the design. Since these are keepsakes, we hope the pillows and wands will be used in babies' rooms as our brides move to the next phase of life as mothers. We have many brides who plan for their pillows to become heirlooms for many generations to come. All those ideas, wrapping up in a tiny pillow is very exciting and romantic. Our brides are creative and forward-looking. What is your company's philosophy when working with wedding couples?
Since we are an accessory product, we tend to work primarily with the brides, brides' mothers or wedding coordinators. We are prompt, thorough and personable – we try to make the process as simple as possible because we know we're just one detail out of a million! How do you help couples customize their weddings?
We have color swatches available on the website to show the ribbons and fabrics available for the pillows. Coordinating more than 20 ribbons options and various silk fabric swatches really ensures we can correspond our pillows with nearly any color scheme. At what point in the planning process do you typically work with couples?
It really just depends – we've had brides order as early as a year ahead of their wedding. We have others contact us as one of the last details. We do ask for at least 3 weeks, as each product is made to order, upon order. We don't have stock items sitting on the shelves, so we do need a little bit of time to complete each order. Basically, as soon as a bride has her color scheme selected is a good time to contact us. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your business?
We are styling our first wedding, which is scheduled for June. A close family friend asked us to help, and it's been such a thrill expanding our network throughout the San Antonio and Austin area. We've drooled over vendors' work, and now we actually get the chance to style a wedding first-hand with some of our favorites. In the future, wedding styling may be a service area we offer to brides throughout South Central Texas.  Photo Credit: Matthew Niemann with Aberdeen Studios Now that you’ve had a little time to swoon over these beautiful products … you’ll be excited to hear that WedLoft is hosting a Maihar Design Giveaway tomorrow!!! Check back in for the giveaway details and to enter for your chance to win!  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | …3/16″ dowel? Our venue doesn't have any no-throw rules. We could get our guests to pelt us with anything we want (except maybe puppies. Definitely not puppies). The thing is, I imagine this happening when we're walking back down the aisle (is that when this usually happens? I've been to 3 weddings in my life!) after being pronounced husband and wife. We walk down the aisle, and guests throw things from their seats. I have seen photos of this happening outside of churches. What are the logistics on that? The couple recesses, hides somewhere, guests go outside, then the newlyweds leave for realsies? Anyway, logistics aside, we could have stuff thrown if we want. But, our ceremony area will become the dance floor later in the night, and home of the photobooth. Our day-of coordinator is going to have 65+ chairs to rearrange, and we don't want to add sweeping to that. It's a big room! So, I've been trying to think of other options. I'm currently obsessed with ribbon wands!
From Style Me Pretty 
Click Photos for Source! So yes. Clean? Check. Adorable? Check. Feeds my need to buy ribbon? Check. Production line-able? Check! I'd brought the idea up with Mr. CB, just to get it in our brain pans, but we hadn't had a conversation about just ribbon wands before I made some.  I bought some wedding-coloured ribbon at Michaels because it was on sale the other day. I've made some flowers out of it (tutorial to come!) and today I tried the ribbon wands. First, I thought about personalizing them. I made a little wedding colour palette in Photoshop the other day, so here it is for a reminder of our wedding colours: 
I've looked, but I haven't yet found text-print ribbon that doesn't say "Happy Birthday" or "I'm Two!" or "Just Married" in colours that don't go. And I don't really want message text, I just want the ribbons to look like they were made out of an antique book. Actual book pages don't have the right flowyness, they'd rip, and most books aren't 2′ long! So I'll just have to make my own! I grabbed one of my Text Style II stamps from Paper Trey Ink (I think this will be my most-used wedding investment!) and went to work on some 7/8″ satin ribbon I had lying around. 
The top ribbon was stamped with Memento Ink, the bottom with StazOn. No, the top of the photo is not blurry, it's the ribbon! This is why it's good to have a few different inks lying around; Memento was right for the napkins, but really blurs on the ribbon. You don't get a perfect impression stamping on fabric, but I'm not going for readability on this, just the essence of book-y. I tried one wand with just knots and thin ribbon: 
5/16″ green grosgrain, 5/16″ sheer teal with borders, 1/8″ green satin. Not bad, but I didn't use any glue, so the ribbons are apt to slide down the dowel. The grosgrain isn't as floaty as the others are. 
Teal 7/8″ grosgrain, 2 strands of 1/8″ green satin. For this one I used double-sided tape. I put some on one end of teal ribbon, then stuck the dowel to it. I put another strip on the ribbon, stuck the 2 small ribbons to it, the rolled it up. This way the raw ends of all the ribbons are hidden under the teal ribbon. The green ones pop up, a little like antennae. All the streamers are between 18-24 inches. This is fun, and weirdly enough, the wider grosgrain has better flap-ability than the thinner green stuff. 
7/8″ satin, 1/8″ satin, 5/16″ sheer bordered ribbon. For this one, I used 24″ of my hand-stamped ribbon, and attached everything the same way as the last wand, only I used the glue gun instead of double-sided tape. The satin ribbon flows much nicer than the grosgrain. I love the look of this one! Stamping the ribbon would be the perfect tedious task for TV-watching or otherwise vegging out. Maybe I could even get my un-listened-to podcast count down to under 50! It'd be a lot of stamping: 2 feet x 65 guests = 130 feet! The stamp is 4.5″ long, so that would make…347 individual impressions? Once I made these samples, Mr. CB and I were able to have a good conversation about them. Instead of waving my hands, I could wave these around! We may or may not have had a sword fight with them. I was worried he might think they were too 'girly' but he thought they were fun and unique! I’ll do a cost breakdown post on these soon! Here's a shot of them all standing up in my button jar: 
Wands in my button jar Want the look, but don't want to DIY? Here's a great Etsy store!  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Matthew R Photo is a Florida-based photographer featured on SnapKnot who recently shared this wonderful gallery of wedding photos from the wedding of Esther and Greg at The Westin hotel on Harbor Island in Tampa. The event took place in what looks like an excellent venue and Matthew’s photos capture everthing perfectly: the lighting during the outdoor ceremony to the details to the joy of the newlywed couple.
In Matthew’s words: Esther sat in her chair patiently as her makeup was applied, making and taking phone calls here and there to make sure everything was just right. Greg ran errands throughout the morning and eventually made his way to his room to get ready. Soon after Greg donned his awesome grey Perry Ellis suit, Esther slid into her amazing dress. Esther looked out her hotel room window at The Westin looking over Harbor Island in Tampa while her dress was laced up. All of this, led to the beautiful ceremony that ensued. This was their wedding day, and I couldn't have been happier to be a part of it. Beautiful Japanese lanterns provided by My Event Design hung over the ceremony, and the light coming in off the river, through the trees was incredible.
Esther and Greg getting ready: 
Esther’s bouquet – nice detail shots: 
Greg croons to his new bride: 
See the full gallery over at Matthew’s blog: Esther and Greg {Wedding}
Mike is Co-founder of SnapKnot, a website dedicated to helping engaged couples find the perfect wedding photographer. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | OK, my favorite is totally silly, but I feel like it sums up my state of being throughout the wedding planning process: ~~~ … because I can't figure out a freakin' veil. After I decided I did not want a birdcage veil, I ordered a nice cut-edge waltz-length veil. It is still in the works… Meanwhile, my indecisive wedding headgear tendencies flared up, so I ordered an inexpensive birdcage veil… just in case. Well, it arrived. And I attempted to put it on. Erm, yeah. I cannot, for the life of me, figure this sucker out. A little picture tour, shall we? 
Here I am with my very lovely Anthropologie back-up hair flower (our florist will craft some living hair adornment, but, thanks to hive advice, I bought this flower just in case something happened with the other) and the accursed birdcage veil. Doesn't look right, huh? Trust me, it is all downhill from here.
Further back? Newp. Now it is a halo of birdcage. So I flipped over the comb, thinking this would solve the problem. 
It didn't. Note my enthusiasm. 
Annoyed. 
Another adjustment, another veil fail. I particularly like the sticking-straight-up look. 
Another try… readjusted and still wrong (and starting to get rather amused at my ineptitude). At this point, I'm simultaneously annoyed and tickled at my inability to master a yard of french veiling and a metal comb, so I just start sticking it any ole' place in my head… mostly for comedic enjoyment. 
Attractive photo, no? 
Um, what? 
Yeah, I devolve quickly… I think the little bits of hair coming loose really add to the "I AM NOT CRAZY!" look… 
The biggest fail yet… 
I think my head may just be too big for a birdcage. (I can't wear hats, so this wouldn't be too much of a surprise…) 
Finally, I settle on this look. (at this point Mr. Snow walked in wondering what in heck I was doing and why I was laughing at myself… he quickly walked back out of the office.) 
Perhaps I should just stick with a hair flower and cut my losses, eh? (By the way, that hair flower's diameter is SEVEN inches if that puts into perspective the ginormity of my head…) Moral of the story: Maybe that "I don't want a birdcage veil" epiphany was on the mark… So, umm, any tips for how to work this thing?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As one of the premiere wedding planners in Southern California, Lisa Gorjestani of Details Event Planning exceeds expectations for celebrities and a host of discerning clientele. Today we are thrilled to bring you a glimpse of what makes Lisa stand out from the crowd and some of her great ideas for transforming your reception space into a place your guests will never forget.  Junebug: Lisa, your passion for what you do is obvious. What drives you the most and makes you work so hard? Lisa: I love everything about my job, but I live for the moment when I look out on the dance floor and see smiles all around. I know the day has unfolded perfectly and that my goals have been accomplished, and it is so rewarding. By the time that moment comes, I've become friends with the bride and groom and many of their friends and family members, so it really matters to me deeply. Junebug: What creative ideas are you most excited about right now? Lisa: I work a lot at private estates and I absolutely love employing out of box ideas to create one-of-a-kind spaces. This year I designed an informal wedding at a pier in Malibu and it inspired me to start looking at spaces in a whole new way. Throughout the year I've explored incorporating decor into existing surroundings to create unique event spaces. Junebug: Of the weddings you've done recently, what three stand out for you most? Lisa: The first one is a 200 person event held on a private estate near Santa Barbara. The estate had expansive views of the ocean and a large polo field. Rather than creating an obvious outdoor layout for this property we extended the living room out to the patio and connected the decor so it became very intimate. Everybody felt close and connected. We complemented the formal, elegant interior of the home using silk Duponi tablecloths with overlays, tons of candles, gold Chiavari chairs, and outdoor chandeliers to match those already in the home.  Lisa: The next one would be in Malibu, where we used a beautiful bridge connected to a private home and vineyard to create a warm, welcoming reception for 60 people. The multi-course dinner party catered by Café Delfini featured an extraordinary Italian menu. The couple I was working with wanted the decor to harmonize with the environment so they choose a flax, natural linen tablecloth. Each seat had a place card with a photograph of the guest seated there, from a memorable time spent with the bride and/or groom.  Lisa: Then, if I have to choose just three, I would say the last one would be another private estate wedding in Santa Barbara for 230 guests. The ceremony was held in a courtyard overlooking the beach of the main house, and the cocktail hour was held in the pool and patio area with a backdrop of beautiful blood orange groves and a tiered infinity pool. For dinner, the guests were taken by the Santa Barbara Trolleys to a lovely circular part of the property where we used two hexagon shaped tents to set off the space. This couple wanted their dinner to be very quiet, intimate and focused on toasts, so when it was over we brought the energy up luring the guests to the tennis court dance floor with the music of four a cappella singers.
 Junebug: From your photos, it's obvious you've had a lot of experience. How many years have you been a wedding designer? Lisa: I've been designing weddings for the last 14 years. I got my start from planning parties in the restaurant business. The more events I did, the more people began to notice, and my work and business just took off. Junebug: Do you travel a lot to plan destination weddings? Lisa: Yes, I travel frequently. I am comfortable planning weddings anywhere and I've planned several in Mexico, Hawaii, and all over California. Junebug: What trends do you see on the horizon? Lisa: Right now when it comes to trends, I love mixing metals; gold, silver, and bronze. The combination creates a classically elegant, yet modern feel. Junebug: If you were getting married today what cake flavor would you choose? Lisa: Chocolate Fleur de Sel. Love it! Junebug: What are your favorite flowers? Lisa: I love gardenias and peonies but I only use them when they fit in exactly with my client's vision. The bouquet is always important to a bride, so I let her make her own call. Thank you so much Lisa! As always your ideas are fresh and inspiring. For more informaiton on Lisa and Details Event Planning, be sure to check out her website and blog. Readers, did you, or are you, creating a one of a kind space for your wedding? We'd love to hear about it! (First and third sets of wedding images by Elizabeth Messina, second set of wedding images by Starla Fortunato)
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I last left off with our joyful recessional, set to The Beatles' “All You Need Is Love.” As we finished our walk down the aisle and came to the entryway of the Tannery, we stopped short. Much to our dismay, it was raining. (I know, I can't shut up about the rain. Sorry.) And not just a light sprinkle, either, but full-on raining.
Before the ceremony, our photographer had instructed us to book it out of the Tannery as soon as we walked down the aisle; otherwise we'd be mobbed by well-wishing guests, and an impromptu receiving line would form (something we were looking to avoid). So with Kelly's advice still in our heads, the sound of raindrops ringing in our ears, and the realization that our bridal party was quickly moving down the aisle, we made a panicked, split-second decision to grab an umbrella and get outta there! Now, here's the funny coda to this story: During the cocktail hour, Mr. Trail Mix was talking with a few buddies from college and one of them exclaimed,
“Some a$$hole stole our umbrella! Can you believe that? It was a good one, too—it was huge!” Busted! Mr. Trail Mix instantly knew that we were the ones who had pilfered the umbrella, a fear that was confirmed when he asked his friend if it was green. “Yes, have you seen it?” “Um, sorry, dude, that was us.” Luckily, his friend had a sense of humor about the whole thing, and they shared a good laugh over the mix-up, but it was pretty funny. Anyway, here's the infamous green umbrella in action! This is the first picture taken of us after we exited the Tannery. I think we were so caught up in the moment that we didn't know what to do with ourselves. 
Closed Circle Photography Our photographer instructed us to smooch, and we happily obliged. 
Closed Circle Photography We stopped in front of this pretty doorway, since it matched our umbrella perfectly. 
Closed Circle Photography From there, Kelly spotted this fire escape, and up we climbed. You'd think we were in an urban, city landscape with this next shot, and while it doesn't really fit in with the vibe of the rest of the wedding, I still think it's mad cool. 
Closed Circle Photography Mr. Trail Mix totally slipped on his way down the fire escape, which made me laugh hysterically, although he was kind of ticked since he got rust on his suit. Oh well. Since the rain was picking up, we posed outside the Darrow School's library before heading in. 
Closed Circle Photography Once inside, we found a huge, small-paned window to take some photos by, and in spite of the rain, we had some beautiful lighting from it. Here's my one and only “bridal shot.” I refused to waste any time taking pictures of just myself because seriously, what was I going to do with a whole bunch of photos of just me? So there's only this one (but I like how it came out!). 
Closed Circle Photography Here's the window I was talking about. Isn't it beautiful? 
Closed Circle Photography All right, I guess I kinda lied since this one is mostly just me (although Mr. TM is in the photo, so it's not really a bridal portrait). 
Closed Circle Photography Our rings! Note the placement of them on the map, directly above Venezuela (where we honeymooned). So clever of Kelly. 
Closed Circle Photography Finally, the rain let up enough for us to head outside and get a few more pics of us together. This is the only “normal” shot of the two of us from the entire day, and I actually (ironically, after all my BS about only wanting artsy, photojournalist shots) like it. Kinda wish we'd taken a few more of us just posed happily next to each other, but the next series makes up for the lack of those. 
Closed Circle Photography We made sure to get a photo with my “Thank You” sign for our cards. 
Closed Circle Photography Then Kelly directed us back to the gray rock wall that had served as the backdrop for all our family portraits, and she got some of my absolute favorite shots from the entire day. 
Closed Circle Photography 
Closed Circle Photography 
Closed Circle Photography This last one is the photo—the one that I feel most perfectly defines us and our wedding. There is an 8 x 10 print framed on our living-room wall, and I'll never get tired of looking at it. *Love-filled siiiiiiigh*…so happy… 
Closed Circle Photography And with that, we were released from our model duties and given free reign to join the cocktail hour. (These photos took about 30 minutes, so we still had another 45 or so left to get in on the party!) It was time to eat, drink, and be merry! Follow along, if ya want! - All My Love, All My Life: Ceremony, Part Deux
- All My Love, All My Life: Ceremony, Part 1
- All My Love, All My Life: Before The Ceremony
- All My Love, All My Life: Portraits
- All My Love, All My Life: Fancy Meetin' You Here!
- All My Love, All My Life: Commence Panic!
- All My Love, All My Life: Get My Pretty One
- All My Love, All My Life: Post-Dinner Partyin', Yo!
- All My Love, All My Life: Rehearsal's Done, Let's Feast!
- All My Love, All My Life: We Rehearse
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | These playful candy bags make great favors for a wedding, shower or party!
 Total cost for each is around .50. Supplies: Colored mini paper bags (ours are from Michael’s)
White Pen
String
Scissors
Candy
 Steps:
1. Write names (with table numbers if needed) on each bag.  2. Cut the sides of the bag about an inch at the top.
 3. Fill with candy.
4. Fluff the top, gather, and tie with string.  Tips: Fluff out the top of the bag to make it look festive and keep the strings long.
No time? Buy it: Martha Stewart Candy Bags from Michael’s Oh, how we love Frolic! Chelsea's daily inspiration blog is always chock-full of pretty ideas that feel effortless and chic. So, we're so happy that she'll be posting DIY projects that easy to do while packing a big punch. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Aside from being insanely beautiful, the reason that I fell so hard for this next little number is that the couple did what we preach over and over on SMP…they created a wedding brand. A perfect detail that was threaded through each and every element of the day. Actually, they created two brands which is even better. The gorgeous monogram crest and the amazing use of herbs. For me, a wedding brand is that key ingredient that will take your wedding style to another level. It brings a sense of cohesion, of beauty, of defined style to your look in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the design. And if ever there was a glimpse into crafting the perfect branded affair…this wedding, designed by Rebecca Stone at Duet Weddings, would be it. Click here to see even more! 
click here to see the full wedding gallery! When David proposed to me on the beach at my parent’s summer cottage on Lake Michigan, we immediately started to think about where we wanted to get married. David grew up in the Village in NYC, but has been a California boy since he was 19. I grew up in a myriad of places: Chicago, Boston, Boca Raton, etc…but have been happily settled in Los Angeles for 7 years now. So it made sense to us to celebrate the place where we found each other, instead of where we grew up and Santa Barbara was at the top of the list, both of us being big wine-lovers. We knew we wanted to plan something outside and laid back, yet with a classy feel to it. We had spent many weekends up in Santa Barbara while dating and while we knew the area quite well, when we started looking, we found it challenging to find the perfect venue. Enter – Roblar Winery. The moment we walked in the door of this fairly new Santa Ynez winery, we were instantly in love! It was absolutely what we had been looking for. Once we had picked our venue, the rest was a fun creative process that we gladly shared with Rebecca from Duet Weddings. She helped us shape our wedding into an entire weekend of events that just felt like us. We started by designing our own monogram that we used throughout the year. Not only did it go on all of our wedding stationary and thank you cards, but we also ended up putting it on the market bags we filled for the hotel rooms and on the cover of the cd we made for everyone. Both David and I love to cook, and at home, we are dedicated to eating locally from the various LA Farmer’s Markets. This ended up being a kind of theme for our wedding, as we decided to get herbs from our friend’s Agoura Hills Farm (Maggie’s Farm) and dry them and make our own herb mix to give out as favors. This went in our welcome market bag along with the cd, vineyard maps, itinerary, welcome letter, snacks, etc…. We didn’t have a very large budget for flowers and I knew I wanted to use flowers that grew locally and that were in season. So, when I met with Juniper to discuss ideas, we talked about using white and blue hygrangeas, along with simple white and green flowers, so as not to compete with the natural beauty of the vineyard. We also discussed adding the herb theme in that area as well, so we placed pots of herbs in various places. An idea I got from looking at countless Style Me Pretty posts over the last year! We lucked out when my husband’s sister, Susan, offered to bake our wedding cake for us as a gift. She is an accomplished baker and had made a few others in the past and we gladly accepted. It turned out AMAZING. Definitely one of the tastier wedding cakes we had ever eaten and it was so special that she was able to make it for us. Our wedding day was unbelievable…and very peaceful. At the winery, we served a red sangria for pre-ceremony enjoyment. There was also an atrium room adjacent to the cocktails where guests could, keeping with the herb theme, fill paper cones with rose petals, sage leaves,rosemary, lavendar, etc…to throw at us at the end of the ceremony. We also had a table of vintage handkerchiefs laid out for “tears of joy” and Rebecca had brought lots of snuggly brown pashminas to display by the fireplace for later in the evening. Rebecca and her team placed hand-painted wooden signs all over the property, so as guests walked in to the wedding, they passed sentiments such as “To have and to hold” and “From this day forward” which added to the romantic rustic feel we were going for. Chef Ryan at Roblar catered our wedding and we decided to do a huge cheese and charcuterie station for the cocktail hour (he smokes his own prosciutto!) and then a heavy pass of hors d’oeuvres and a few stations. The whole menu was dedicated to fresh local ingredients and the kind of food preparation that David and I enjoy at home. Simple, fresh and seasonal. Local rock shrimp, baby lamp chops, grilled filet mignon, risotto, etc.. And after discovering that Roblar had an outdoor pizza oven, we decided to have 3 kinds of gourmet pizzas passed as well. We kept with our rustic theme using Roblar’s wooden tables and forgoing the white linens (another great money saver!). Instead of a guest book, Rebecca had guests write little notes to us and drop them in large vases throughout the night. At the end of the wedding, we were presented with a beautifully wrapped box of notes to open on our 1-year anniversary! One very special picture that I will cherish forever is the one of my mom putting my veil on me. She wore that veil 42 years ago at her own wedding and time had failed to alter it in the slightest way. Jenny Lee ( who made my dress) was nice enough to alter it to fit me, and also told me that the lace in her veil was from the exact same place as the lace in my wedding dress! All in all, it was a beautiful night at a beautiful venue with our favorite people in the world. There was a lot of laughter, music, delicious food and wine…and I married my best friend. What more could you possibly ask for? I can truly say that if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t change one thing. And I’m a perfectionist, so that’s pretty huge! It’s an amazing feeling…. 
Coordinator: Rebecca Stone, Duet Weddings / Flowers: Juniper Designs / Photography: Amy Nave at MaryJane Photography / Venue & Catering: Roblar Winery / Band – The Martini Kings / Calligraphy: Little Miss Press / Strings – Diane Siminski’s Festival Strings / Hair & Make-up – TEAM Hair & Makeup / Dress: Jenny Lee / Tux: Hugo Boss / Bridesmaid’s Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Groomsmen’s Tux: Calvin Klein / Cake – Susan Sheinkopf © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California, Calvin Klein, Duet Weddings, Herbs, Hugo Boss, Jenny Lee, Juniper Designs, Monogram, Priscilla of Boston, Roblar Winery, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, TEAM Hair & Maike-up, Wedding Brand
Post categories: Traditional Elegance
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I've loved reading all of the quirky and embarrassing and fabulous stories that other bees have shared throughout this series. When I decided to jump on the bandwagon, I had trouble deciding what to write about, and not because I couldn't think of a quirk…I've just kinda been sharing them all along! I've been totally honest about my Disney obsession. I haven't hidden my Gators or Red Sox fanaticisms. I've even talked about how I wear nothing but J.Crew but listen to nothing but reggae! So, instead of talking about my abnormalities, I thought I'd talk about my normal side. Let's discuss something I rarely talk about on here: my job. I'm very passionate about being a physical therapist. During my final year of school, I had the incredible opportunity to take that passion abroad. My program sent 10 of us (along with 3 instructors) to Las Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro, a long-term acute care hospital in Antigua, Guatemala. This hospital not only treats patients with acute illnesses and injuries, it serves as a home to many residents. Many of these residents are children who have been abandoned or orphaned.
Guatemala has a very high incidence of cerebral palsy (and similar neurological conditions) due to poor prenatal and neonatal care. We were able to bring down lots of donated equipment to give to this population. We also worked with the local physical therapists to develop sustainable treatment programs. For example, we taught the local PTs how to make hand splints to help open up clenched fists. 
This hand used to be closed shut due to spasticity. In addition to teaching, we also learned a lot working with this patient population. And we had a lot of fun, too! 
{photos cropped to protect patient privacy} We were also fortunate enough to learn about the beautiful country of Guatemala. 
We even had a little time to play tourists! 
At a market with my PT School BFFs (who are now readers in our wedding ceremony), and… 
…climbing an active volcano! It was such an amazing trip. It was so incredibly rewarding, and I learned things that I take to my practice every day. If any of you have an interest in doing some kind of a service trip, whether abroad or in your own country, I strongly encourage you to go for it! You'll end up with a life-changing experience.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I simply adore the rich fall colors in Bethany and Jason’s wedding. Even in the warm Florida autumn, the chocolate brown and burgundy tones feel crisp and fresh, and perfectly embody the season! Tallahassee’s SouthWood House was the beautiful backdrop for the event, and Forever Photography by Kylene captured all of the lovely images. 
Bethany and Jason’s pup Zoe was the “Flower Dog” – look how well-behaved she is!  
Bethany’s gown and garter were handmade by a family friend. Bethany and her mother looked for months to find the “perfect” lace for the gown, and the garter was made with lace from Bethany’s mother’s wedding gown. 
 
Jason’s mother made cranberry-strawberry preserves, which guests received as favors. 
 
 
 
 
Bethany, thank you for sharing the special details of your day with us! The following Tallahassee wedding vendors contributed to Bethany and Jason’s wedding: Photography – Forever Photography by Kylene
Venue – SouthWood House
Floral – Bella Flora
Day of Coordinator – Lee Ann Sherlock
Stationery – Karmanos Printing
Calligraphy – Francesca Simmons Preston
Favors – Homemade preserves made by Margaret Graham, mother of the groom
Gown – Wedding Gown handmade by Margaret Boyette. Lace from Jay’s Fabric Center
Bridesmaids dresses – J. Crew
Hair – Charlotte Cobb and Changes Hair Studio
Makeup – Randi Buchanan
Catering – Lagran Saunders
Bakery – Katie’s Cakes
Rentals and linens – In Tents Events
Band – Richard Summa Trio
DJ – Bill Kelly’s Starflight Music Systems
Rings – The Gem Collection
Bartender – On the Rocks
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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | LA has so much to offer (including the sunny weather!) it would make an amazing honeymoon-or minimoon for those of you within easy driving distance! Mr. Cheetah and I love to play hosts to guests from near and far, so here's a sample of some of the things we might take you to do if you came to visit LaLa land for a week. 
Hooray for Hollywood! Day 1: The Entertainment Capital of the World When in LA you have to see Hollywood and experience some of the entertainment industry.
The Hollywood Sign, The Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars) and Mann's Chinese Theater (stars' cement hand & foot prints). To see all of this just head over to Hollywood & Highland, a shopping complex right in the thick of it. While in the neighborhood check out the best ice cream in the city, Mashti Malone's. I'm partial to the unique flavors made with rosewater (Creamy Rosewater is my fave), but they also have many of the standard flavors for you ice cream traditionalists. 
Get in my belly! Next hit up one of the studios for a tour, or better yet, a show taping. Many, many TV shows tape in front of a live audience. Some are relatively easy to get tickets for, some are difficult and involve waiting in long lines (people line up for The Price is Right the night before). You can look for tickets (which may or may not actually guarantee you a seat) here or just check out your favorite show's website for more information. I recommend trying to see Craig Ferguson or Jimmy Kimmel Live. They tape almost daily, have shorter waits, quick taping schedules and can be a lot of fun. Get there early (you will have to wait some) and dress nicely-you'll get better seats (avoid white, it doesn't look good on camera). 
Lights, Camera, Action! If you have any energy left, end your night with drinks (but dine elsewhere) at the Dresden, where you can watch and listen to Marty & Elayne (made famous by the movie Swingers) croon, jam on the piano, and rock out on the jazz flute. 
“Do be da be dooo…”
Day 2: Shop 'til You Drop
Cher shopping on Rodeo There is shopping all over LA, but here are a few suggestions to get your vacay shop on: -
Melrose - This avenue in Hollywood boasts trendy shops and dining at numerous price points. -
Farmer's Market/The Grove - At the corner of 3rd & Fairfax, LA's Farmer's Market is a collection of open air restaurants, souvenir shops, and small grocers that has been in the same location since 1934. The Mexican food at ¡Loteria! is widely loved, the ice cream at Bennett's is delish, and make sure to check out the amazing selection of soft drinks at The Refresher. Right next-door is The Grove shopping center. Many of the stores can be found all over the country, but people enjoy the "Disneyland-like" atmosphere. 
It's not that different now! - 3rd Street - Check out boutiques and yummy eats while along 3rd Street.
- Silver Lake - If your tastes skew arty and edgy, head to Sunset Boulevard and nearby streets in the Silver Lake area of LA.
- Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills - While checking out the posh shops, drift off Rodeo for more affordable stores and of course, Sprinkles Cupcakes. And pick me up a Black & White Cupcake-Thanks!
yummmmm Day 3: Nature! LA has parks! Big, glorious parks! Two of my very favorite places to visit in Los Angeles are parks. Yup, car-crazy LA has spaces of nature too! Head up to Pasadena to visit The Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens. A few Museum buildings exhibiting everything from art to manuscripts to scientific artifacts are nestled on the grounds of the botanic gardens. The gardens are vast and varied. My personal favorites are the Desert Garden and the Japanese Garden, but they are all fabulous. There is a tearoom off of the Rose Garden, but reservations must be booked at least 2 weeks prior to your visit. 
The Japanese Gardens at The Huntington Griffith Park is one of the largest city parks in the world. Situated in the hills above the city, Griffith park offers amazing views, great hikes, and much more. Some of the many other attractions are the LA Zoo, golf courses, horse trails, and my favorite, The Griffith Observatory. 
Griffith Observatory Day 4: Beach Day! While in LA you'll want to hit up one of the beaches. Whether you want to spend all day in the sand, go for a hike in search of tidal pools, or go on a whale watching cruise (Mr. Cheetah & I recently saw blue whales!), a day near/in/on the ocean is a must-do. - Santa Monica - Large beach and pier with a tiny amusement park. Lots of shopping and dining nearby.
- El Matador Beach - If you're looking for a romantic, beautiful beach, this is it.
- Venice - Enjoy the sand and the extraordinary cast of characters!
El Matador Beach Day 5: Art, Museums, & More!
See Art here: - The Getty Center - Gorgeous views, grounds, and architecture-but don't forget to check out the art!
- LACMA - The LA County Art Museum has a large collection of all kinds of artwork. The new BCAM houses the contemporary collection. Also check out the nearby art galleries on Wilshire and if you go on a weekday near lunch time make sure to eat at one of the many food trucks that line Wilshire just blocks from the museum.
Chris Burden's Urban Light in front of LACMA - MOCA - The Museum of Contemporary Art has three locations: downtown (checkout the nearby Disney Concert Hall designed by ?), Little Tokyo (Not far from downtown, after the art head into little Tokyo for some of my favorite food in the city-I heart the katsudon at T.O.T big time.)
- Chinatown Galleries - Chinatown is home to many a contemporary art gallery.
Other Museums: - The Page Museum & Tar Pits. Located right next to LACMA, I love taking out of town guests to the Tar Pits (you can also visit the museum for a fee). The Tar Pits are exactly what they sound like: big and small tar pits bubbling up in the middle of the city. It is still an active excavation site, as bones of many prehistoric creatures have been found in the area. Watch your step, tar can bubble up in unexpected places!
The bubbling tar is real. The elephants are not. - Exposition Park - Numerous museums (such as the California ScienCenter and Natural History Museum), parks & garden areas, The Coliseum, and more. I love seeing the rings from the '84 Olympics around the park.
And More! - Watts Towers - Large folk art structure built by one man, Sam Rodia.
- Union Station - This Spanish & Deco styled station is the main train and bus hub of the city. Also nearby are Olvera Street and Philippe's.
- Accomplice - A unique scavenger-hunt-type experience through the streets of Hollywood. I haven't done this yet, but I'm dying to!
- The Gift Shop at the Coroner's Office - For reals. The LA Coroner's Office has a secret gift shop. I have never been, but if you are looking for some unusual gifts, this may be the perfect place to go.
Watts Towers
Day 6: Hit the Road for a Day Trip! Southern California has so many wonderful places to visit, so why not rent a car and check out some more of So Cal. Here are some Cheetah-endorsed day trips from LA: - Palm Springs - Woo-hoo! The site of our semi-destination wedding! Read about The Ribbon's fantastic honeymoon in Palm Springs here, and here.
- Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara is one of the most gorgeous little cities is the US. Nestled in between the ocean and mountains, Santa Barbara has everything you would want in a vacation. Shopping, dinning, and bars along State Street. Great beaches. Wineries. And even a zoo with a crooked-necked giraffe. Make sure to check out the Mission and the courthouse.
- Disneyland - Disneyland needs no explanation. So instead, here are the Cheetahs’ favorite rides. Ms. Cheetah: Indiana Jones. Mr. Cheetah: Space Mountain.
- Big Bear - If you love the mountains, drive up to Big Bear, a cute ski town on a lake with plenty to do year round.
Day 7: Return home and begin contemplating your move to Los Angeles.
 Come visit LA!
~~~ See all the posts in the Honeymoon in my Hometown Series here!
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Talk about taking your passions to an all new height! Kurt and Tammi’s aviation wedding from Boutwell Studio ~ literally, takes the cake! 
Tammi and Kurt tied the knot in an airplane hangar in Orange County, CA. As an ode to Kurt’s love-affair with flying, the couple chose to surround themselves with classic airplanes and a vintage travel theme, complete with a postcard “guestbook” and luggage tags as favors and placecards. The most memorable moment, however, was Kurt and Tammi’s grand entrance! The happy couple exited from a private jet, which rolled down the runway of John Wayne Airport and right in to the airplane hangar where the reception took place. ~ Boutwell Studio 
To see more of Tammi & Kurt’s wedding, take a look at their entire feature on the Boutwell Studio’s blog! 
Photography: Chenin Boutwell, Boutwell Studio / Cinematography: Luv Bug Films / Flowers: Karla Flores, Elegant by Design / Ceremony Location: Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, Newport Beach, CA /Invitations: ileedesigns / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Dress: Model Novias / Cake: The Confectionist / Jewelry: Lugano Diamonds / Lighting Design: Atmosphere / Band: Tijuana Dogs © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Airport Hangar, Atmosphere, Aviation, Badgley Mischka, Boutwell Studio, Elegant by Design, illeedesigns, Lugano Diamonds, Luv Bug Films, Model Novias, Newport Beach, The Confectionist, Tijuana Dogs
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic, Wedding Photography, Whimsical
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Making our wedding a bit green was really important to both Mr. Peep and me (hence the green peep toe shoes). While we reduced the impact of our wedding by having the ceremony and reception all in one location, the majority of our guests came in from around the country (and Norway). Offsetting our wedding was something small that we may have done just for us, but it's something I can look at and say that we made a difference. Plus, I LOVED our chocolate treats that we served with this quote: Reduce what you can.
Offset what you can't.*
In honor of our time together,
we have offset the weekend
through a donation to carbonfund.org. ~~~ Hi Hive, Happy Earth Day!! 
You all know that Mr. PT and are trying our best to incorporate a few eco-chic elements into our wedding, so for us, Earth Day for us is a great reminder that we could be doing better. One thing that is really important to the two of us is carbon offsetting our wedding! What does that mean? Let's go straight to the experts on this subject. This is what Terrapass has to say about potential carbon emissions of your wedding: What's included in my wedding's carbon footprint?
The wedding calculator takes into account four different sources of emissions: - Airline emissions from guest travel. For most weddings, this is by far the most important category of emissions. Planes burn a lot of fuel, and these days most weddings bring together people from all over the country and the world.
- Automobile emissions from guest travel. Cars aren't likely to be a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions for your wedding, but if you have a lot of local guests, they will collectively burn a modest amount of gasoline getting to the event.
- Energy use in hotel rooms. Hot showers, lighting, and air conditioning all require electricity. For large weddings, this energy use can add up.
- Energy use for the wedding itself. The DJ, the caterer, temperature control, lighting – whether you have your wedding on the beach or in a banquet hall, the event itself requires some energy. Truth be told, the amount of emissions from the event itself is small – about one ton of CO2 or less – so we just add a little to the total to cover it.
The biggest impact of our wedding is that almost everyone is coming in from out of town. Out of our 60-person guest list, 42 people will be flying!! That impact is HUGE!! And unfortunately, unavoidable. So Mr. PT and I spent an evening figuring out our Wedding Carbon Footprint. Like any good researchers, we compared a couple sites that let you offset your wedding. First, figuring out which site was the best carbon offset site was difficult. I found these two articles, but they still didn't tell me a whole lot. Luckily, the Environmental Defense Fund (which I have grown to know and trust) has already done my research for me!! I noticed right off the bat that Terrapass and Carbonfund.org both were listed on their site as offset programs that actually make a difference, and both have a calculator to offset your Wedding Carbon Footprint. Bingo!! First review: Terrapass Here's the Peep Toe wedding break down: 
Air travel How many guests are taking short flights? 22 A short flight takes less than two hours.
For example, Boston to Washington, DC. How many guests are taking medium flights? 5 A medium flight takes about four hours.
For example, New York to Dallas. How many guests are taking long flights? 15 A long flight is anything over four hours.
For example, New York to Los Angeles. Car travel How many cars are being driven to the event? 12 The average one-way trip length in miles? 153 Hotel: How many hotel room nights total will guests need? 67
(A huge number, but many of our guests are staying Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. At least both of the hotels are Green Friendly.) Total Carbon Emissions: 55,000 lbs. or 27.5 tons That's huge!! It makes me sad, and I wish our impact was smaller, but that is just what it is. The cost for us to offset our wedding on Terrapass is: $320.00 Next, I went to Carbonfund.org This site is very similar, but they ask specifically for the average guest flight distance. This caused me to put on my glasses and do an Excel Spreadsheet!!! (Excel fanatics unite!!) Here's a snapshot of my incredibly dorky spreadsheet. Sorry for the horrible quality. 
I actually used Terrapass to figure out the distance from San Francisco to the various guest destinations one-way. The number was doubled if it is a couple. Then I added it all up and divided by the number of guests. Once I knew the exact average distance traveled, I plugged in our numbers to the calculator: - # Guests: 60
- # Flights: 42
- Average Flight Distance One Way: 1,266
- # Cars: 12
- Average Driving Distance: 153
- Hotel Room Nights: 67
Total Carbon Emissions: 43,000 lbs. or 21.5 tons Total Cost: $215. Again, a huge impact and very disappointing. Why aren't we going to City Hall? Oh right, because these people love us. And no matter what, they want to witness our big event!! Hmm, what's a bride to do? One site says that our wedding would produce 27 tons, and the other says 21.5 tons. I have to guess that the Carbonfund.org calculator was a bit more specific, since I actually figured out the average flight distance of our guests, rather than just plugging in average flight lengths. Plus, Carbonfund is a non-profit, and they seem highly recommended by Environmental Defense Fund. So, that's how I picked which site we would use to offset our wedding (not very scientific, but how scientific does a wedding need to be??). Now that you've read through all this, you might be wondering how you can do all of this yourself (well, minus the dorky spreadsheet). The great part about Carbonfund is they have a general calculator to estimate how much you need to offset your wedding: - 8 ton offset for $80: For under a 100 guests and most of them local.
- 5 ton offset for $150: They estimate that about 100 guests, with some of them flying.
- 50 ton offset for $500: They estimate over 200 guests, with most of them flying.
While ours didn't fall directly into these categories, I have to assume that with so many guests flying and staying in hotel rooms, we aren't the norm. So there you have it. This is our Earth Day contribution, and this will serve as 'our favor' to the guests. It's not a lot to pay to make us feel like we made a small difference. What are you doing today to celebrate the Earth? Has anyone else calculated their Carbon Footprint? Or, do you have recommendations to offset your wedding?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For our guestbook, we have decided to do a "yearbook" style book on Shutterfly or Snapfish using pictures of us from diapers to "I do" that our guests can sign like a yearbook. I have used both companies for photo albums in the past and have yet to decide on which one to use. I'm sure it will all come down to who offers the best price. Anyhoo…in preparation for this grand guestbook and our memory jars, I have started unearthing boxes from our garage and closets to search for treasures of our pasts, and yes, they are indeed treasures. The pictures of Mr Waffle as a mini Waffle are soooooo adorable. I squealed, oohed and awwwwwed my way through his photo albums whilst he blushed and looked at me suspiciously out of the corner of his eye. How excited am I about putting this together? Super extremely excited!!! I have already scanned the majority of our childhoods that has made it past the preliminary round of cuts. We are also asking our parents and close friends to send us copies of their favorite photos of us so we can add them. The Waffs is slightly scared to see what will arrive.
Here are a few of my favorites so far… 
Brother Waffle and me skatin' 
Mr Waffle skatin' 
School Play @ 7 years old 
Mr Waffle as a tree 
The Waffs and his dad 
Mama Waffle and her Wafflette 
Mr Waffle playin' around at school 
First day of school with Brother Waffle I have a feeling it will take quite a while just to scan all of this business into my computer, but I will love every second of it! Are you having a photo guestbook? What kinds of pictures are you including and how will you organize it?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Photo credit: Caroline Tran Photography Weddings are such a wonderful day in a couple's life that every engaged couple wants to make their wedding more personable and unique than the last. Here is one wedding idea that is budget friendly and truly unique. Incorporating paper planes into your wedding! This is a very unique idea which integrates a vintage childhood craft. The best part of having a paper plane themed wedding is that most of the wedding projects can be DYI projects and the craft materials are very minimal. A paper plane themed wedding can also work with a travel themed wedding, or a destination wedding. There are many ways that a bride and groom can incorporate planes into their wedding … just look below  Photo credit: www.snippetandink.com  Photo credit: www.snippetandink.com How about getting married in an airplane? This is definitely a new way to get married. Just throw in some paper planes and peanuts and your all set!  Photo credit: Caroline Tran Photography Taking an engagement photo shoot at the airport? Using paper plane props is picture perfect.  Photo credit: Amoretti  Photo credit: www.w-weddinginvitations.com  Photo credit: www.swsmag.net Paper plane invitations? Absolutely wonderful! Your invites can have printed planes on them or they can even be folded into a paper plane!  Photo credit: Caroline Tran Photography  Photo credit: Caroline Tran Photography More paper plane details can be used as insoles of shoes or in your reception decor and table centerpieces. Happy Planning   | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Just glancing at this first wedding had me instantly smitten. Abigail Seymour’s images reside in a happy spot where casual elegance and a dash of southern charm co-mingle in such a beautiful way. And as if that weren’t enough for a major wedding crush, this little soiree also happens to be fabulously eco-friendly. Gorgeous and Green? Yep, the swoon factor just went through the roof. See every last pretty detail designed and styled by Leigh Pearce Weddings in the little ol’ gallery. 
see all the pretty details in the gallery! You could say that this wedding owes its Southern charm to an anonymous little kid selling lemonade on her front lawn — one day last year Jennifer and Craig (neither of whom are born and bred Southerners) were walking in their Greensboro, North Carolina, neighborhood and came across a little girl calling out in a thick drawl, "Lemo-nayyyyde, come getcha some lemo-nayde!" Something about that moment cemented for both of them that they wanted to settle in the South for good — and, of course, host their upcoming wedding there. Jen and Craig’s starting vision for their wedding style came from their recently purchased 1930s bungalow — it represents their shared love and appreciation for family, history, and is itself a perfect balance of new and old. Their home is a very eclectic mix of vintage family treasures and modern design, so they worked closely with a planner to bring these ideas to the wedding day. Every detail of their day was every bit as stylish, thoughtful and eco-friendly as the couple themselves. Some of the Green Details… * The whole event was hosted at The Proximity Hotel, the nation's most cutting-edge LEED-certified "green" hotel. * Their invitations were tree-free, and they used chalkboards instead of escort cards to conserve resources. * The table cards (each with a different favorite Southern-ism) were made with recycled paper, and the locally-grown flowers were displayed on the tables in a mix of apothecary bottles and glassware rented from the florist. * The keys that were hand-tied each key with raffia onto dried lavender for the aisle flowers were rented from a local antiques store, as was the antique birdcage on the gift table.
Venue and Catering: Proximity Hotel / Event Planning and Design: Leigh Pearce Weddings / Dress: Amsale / Flowers: The Farmer’s Wife / Photography: Abigail Seymour Photography / Skeleton keys and bird cage rentals: Mary’s Antiques / Cake: Delicious Bakery / Scarves on the tables: Design Archives / Table name cards: pertyfultings / Favors: DIY by the mother of the bride / Bride’s hair piece: Made by the bride / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Abigail Seymour Photography, Amsale, Delicious Bakery, Design Archives, Greensboro, J. Crew, Leigh Pearce Weddings, Mary's Antiques, North Carolina, pertyfultings, Proximity Hotel, The Farmer's Wife
Post categories: Real Weddings, Vintage Chic
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Every once in a while we get to share something truly special on the blog and today is one of those days. Because one of the reasons for starting Rock My Wedding (and I feel fairly confident to share this on Charlotte’s behalf,) wasn’t just to share amazing weddings, but to showcase brilliant photography and banish the mug-shot-line-up from the pages of UK wedding albums. This afternoon, cast aside your preconceptions about Engagement Shoots and just feel the L-O-V-E, as I defy anyone not to be moved by these images and the oodles of love on display between this recently engaged couple, who also happen to be Photographers themselves… Tobiah Tayo and his fiance, Laura. And as I like to think everyone who reads this blog has a burgeoning interest in superb photography or at least a passing interest, sit back and just take in the quality of these shots by Pete and Laura Lawson of Lawson Photography . The Light. Oh the light… *sigh* 
Let’s hear a little more about the shoot from Lawson Photography“>Laura Lawson… This shoot was part of a little get together with lots of our photographer friends from around the country. Tobiah and Laura volunteered themselves as models and we spent a day wandering around some pretty woods in Staffordshire. They we AMAZING subjects, and we feel so darned lucky that we get to shoot their wedding next year! 
Taking pictures for fellow photographers is a bit different to taking pictures of a regular client. For a start it is much more terrifying, and they will laugh at you if you leave your lens cap on. On a more positive note, they tend to be more trusting of your vision and (certainly in Tobiah and Laura’s case) willing to walk for miles through the freezing cold woods to find the ‘good light’! 
The key thing that made this shoot a dream was that Laura and Tobiah were relaxed and totally at ease in front of the camera. As always (apart from choosing pretty locations with fabulous light) most of the direction we gave them was shouting things like “LOVE EACH OTHER!” every now and again. This means every hug, every look between them is real, and hopefully these pictures will reflect who they are and how they feel about each other. 
They brought a car boot full of outfit changes which was brilliant. If you’re going to have a portrait shoot I recommend you do the same – you end up with lots of totally different pictures which you can have all over your house without it getting boring. I was particularly in love with Laura’s cute baker boy cap and that gorgeous All Saints maxi dress. Oh and Tobiah’s hair of course  
I love the shots with the old sofa (which was carried around by fellow snappers Cris Matthews and Ian Olsson who were also getting in on the picture taking fun), I wish I could take one everywhere I go! 
And what did Tobiah have to say about it? We were delighted with the photos and how they had captured us perfectly! The Lawson’s ROCK! I’m inclined to agree! I have to also say how immensely honoured we are that Laura and Pete chose to share these images with us that I know they are so very proud of themselves (and rightly so.) They are truly stunning guys. Yours Truly, Rebecca
xoxo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The hunt is still on for floral centrepieces that I can create myself. I've been busy bookmarking any and all viable options, especially if they're sticking with green and white/ivory colour combinations. It's amazing how once you have a colour scheme in your mind, images seem to jump right out at you, wherever you go! Here are just a few more inspiration pictures that have made the cut so far this month. You'll have to imagine quite a lot of them to be surrounded by candles, since I'm planning on going just a little overboard with the dim lighting in our reception venue. Loving: low-lying vases and uniform white flowers. 
{Source}
Loving: the messy look and multiple vases. 
{Source} Loving: orchids, candles, and soothing zen boxes.
{Source} Loving: water, rocks, and the perfect hanging table-name tree. 
{Source} What have you been adding to your inspiration folder this month?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | How did I find Weddingbee? I was engaged for about 5 minutes before I started doing research for our wedding. Weddingbee came up several times during my initial research - Mrs. Bee's posts about some of the venues we were also considering turned out to be extremely helpful. Weddingbee would come up over and over as I looked things up, and slowly slowly, I became totally, and hopelessly, addicted. I read the blog every day and eventually became active on the boards. Weddingbee provided some invaluable inspiration to me throughout our engagement, and the boards became a great community for me to talk wedding. My application story: I was not an avid user of the internet before I started wedding planning. I mean, I could do a mean “search” but words like “blog” and “twitter” were totally foreign to me.
However, once I became comfortable on the 'Bee Boards, I decided to try my hand at blogging. I loved it! I started in January 2010, and applied in February. One month later, I got my email. A nice big, “I'm sorry but…” Discouraged for a few days, I realized that I missed blogging (and of course, I couldn't spend more than 5 minutes away from the 'Bee). I started up again, and when the time came a month later, sent my little application off once again. The sea creatures had been released and I was in love! Every time one of those adorable little icons was snapped up, I was a little more worried. I all but held my breath and two weeks later, huzzah! This time it was a yes! I couldn't resist the adorable Hermit Crab, still available, and that's how I came to bee. Mr. HC likes to tease me that I was way more excited to find out that I was a bee than when I got into Graduate school. He might have actually been right! On being a Weddingbee blogger: I am so so grateful to have been able to join the 'Hive. This is a truly unique and wonderful community, and the love and support is unmeasurable. During planning, I owe much of my inspiration to the ladies who came before me, and the members on the boards. Though I did not talk about this too much before the wedding, our engagement was pretty stressful. We dealt with a lot of family stresses, along with life changes (leaving our community in Syracuse, graduating, changing jobs, etc.) and it was a pretty emotional 20 months for us. However, blogging allowed me to focus on the wedding planning itself, which I absolutely loved! I read each and every comment (usually more than once!) and appreciate all your support and feedback so much. I love weddings—-they are such happy occasions, and I feel so lucky to be able to share my journey with this amazing community, and hear your stories! Hermit Crab's tips for the road: I am hardly an expert on blogging, but I will say this: blog for yourself first. A wedding blog can be an invaluable memory of your journey that you will be able to look back on for years to come. Take the time to develop your voice. You will evolve as you write, and eventually you will find your comfortable writing place. This may be obvious, but each and every member is an invaluable part of the community here at Weddingbee. Your comments are always heard (read?), and this is a truly unique community on the interwebs—supportive and friendly. Thank you! Please keep doing what you're doing! See all the posts in the "Becoming a Bee" series here! Tell me something about you! How did you find Weddingbee? Are you as hopelessly addicted to the 'Bee as I am?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban exchanged wedding vows four years ago, but it appears as though they're still as blissfully happy as two newlyweds in love.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | It seems as though Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt marriage rumors are as plentiful as whisperings of their imminent divorce. However, this latest bit of gossip relates to the former.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If there's one girl out there who has had it with the press, it's Lily Allen. The raven-haired singer, who is currently in a relationship with Brit Sam Cooper, unfortunately experienced a miscarriage a few months ago.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mandy Moore has been wearing a wedding ring for about a year now, but don't expect the girl to give the world any juicy details about her marriage. In fact, the pretty performer, who is now known as Mrs. Ryan Adams, admits there aren't any titillating tidbits to share
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Day two of Rock Your Wedding week features a drumming couple who each sat in with the wedding band. Did I mention that their first dance was on roller skates? Awesome! -Becca
The offbeat bride: Melissa Truelove, Teacher Her offbeat partner: Erik Truelove, Drummer Location & date of wedding: Rancho Valle Milagro, Tucson, AZ — November 8, 2009 What made our wedding offbeat: Erik and I are both drummers. We decided to get married by our mutual friend who is also a drummer. The vows and ceremony all had that theme tied in, complete with a snare and crash cymbal on the altar to highlight corny jokes. We even had miniature drum sets on the top of our cupcakes as our cake topper. The officiator's band played the reception, and both Erik and I sat in with the band.  We danced down the aisle to Earth, Wind, and Fire's Got to Get You into My Life as our processional. We roller skated for our first dance (in tux and gown) and made the experience truly ours. We had [the wedding] at a gorgeous mansion in Tucson, and because we knew the owner, and I shopped around a lot for everything, we were able to do the whole wedding for less than $4500.  Tell us about the ceremony: We incorporated themes from music and drumming throughout our ceremony. We all came in to an upbeat song, my Dad spun me as we walked down the aisle and the groomsman and bridesmaids had temptations-esque dance moves choreographed out.
The officiator talked about how marriage was like music, like a song, like a groove and every time he made a corny joke he hit the snare and cymbal on the altar. Erik and I gave our own vows one of mine was "I promise to make sure we laugh enough." One of his was that he promised to never charge me for another drum lesson (he was my drum teacher — that's how we met). And to tie in my Jewish background he stomped on a glass at the end of the ceremony.
 The groom rockin' the drums  The bride rockin' the drums My favorite moment: - The vows
- Skating our first dance
- Sitting in with the band
My funniest moment: Definitely skating out on our first dance. We kept it a secret from everyone (even the groomsman and bridesmaids). We stayed after the rehearsal and tried to skate on the patio to see how it would work. We set up the tables and practiced a bit.  First roller skate! When the time came, I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't end up in the pool. Thankfully it all worked out and we had a great time. The guests thought it was great.  Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? I am adopted and my wedding was the first opportunity for my biological family and adopted family to meet. It put me on edge; however, when everyone met, it was great. Everyone got along beautifully.
My advice for offbeat brides: It isn't all about the wedding, it's about the marriage — so make sure your wedding includes aspects of what you as a couple find important in your marriage. If you have things in common — things you both find fun — things that make you laugh, celebrate them. Smile a lot. Chill out. Everyone will appreciate it if you're 100% into it. What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? - To celebrate my husband and my relationship everyday
- To have fun and keep laughing.
 Care to share a few vendor/shopping links? Enough talk — show me the wedding porn!
Click here to comment →  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Another Tuesday = Another Giveaway. This week I have an amazing giveaway to wrap up 2010 with {no worries, the weekly giveaways resume in January, just taking a bit of a break for a new holiday feature that starts tomorrow}. Remember the Kiss, Love, Sweet Inspiration Shoot I posted about last Wednesday that was also featured on Style Me Pretty? Well, I have some amazing goodies from the shoot for 3 lucky readers of Brenda's Wedding Blog. 
The grand prize winner will receive the hand-painted Kiss parasol from Cherin of Customized Wedding Creations, 2 hand-made dupioni silk peony flowers {one large in teal and one small in brown} from Marie of Emici Bridal, and one garter from Julianne of The Garter Girl. Second prize is one large teal flower and one small flower with a garter. And, third prize is one small teal flower and one small brown flower with a garter as well. The flowers from Marie can be used in so many ways - attached to napkin rings, in the hair, attached to a bouquet wrap - the ideas are endless. To enter the contest, please leave me a comment {wedding thought} with your wedding date, your favorite detail from the shoot and how you plan to use your prizes. The contest runs thru Monday December 6th, with a winner being selected on Tuesday December 7th. Please be sure to leave your email address on the comment form so I can email you if you're the lucky winner {it will not be published}. PS: don't forget to share this post with all your friends. Contest prize: One of 3 prizes that include a parasol for the grand prize winner and dupioni silk flower brooches and garters for all winners
Contest Deadline: Monday December 6th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST
Contest Question to Answer: What is your favorite detail from the inspiration shoot and how do you plan to use your prizes? {PS: don't forget to include your wedding date to be eligible to win} Would you like two additional entries into the giveaway? Simply follow me on twitter and then come back here to leave an additional comment letting me know you're now a twitter follower with your twitter id. And, for another entry, come like me on Facebook and then come back here to leave another comment letting me know you're now following on Facebook too. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Today’s wedding graduate post is all in the APW family, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Emily of Emily Takes Photos has been reading APW since the very very beginning. She was starting her photography business just as I was starting a blog, and somehow we stumbled upon each other. Emily’s been an APW sponsor for about as long as I’ve had sponsors, and has shot… 20 or 25 (depending on how you’re counting) Team Practical weddings. Plus, she shot our engagement pictures, and hosts APW books clubs, and everything. ANYWAY! A year and a half ago I got a really excited email from Emily that she and Ed had gotten engaged, and I knew it was going to be the most APW-esq wedding of all time (because **none** of us has gone to as many Team Practical weddings as Emily). And sure enough, the woman is wise, her wedding was hopping, and the joy exploding off the page. Oh. And I LOVE that she paid it forward by hiring a brand new central coast wedding photographer. Love. So, with out further ado, I bring you Emily: 
I'm a wedding photographer, so naturally, I go to lots of weddings. There comes a point every time during the reception, usually after the cake has been cut and the party starts to wind down, that I think to myself, "That's it. All those months of preparation and planning, and now it's over." Don't get me wrong, those parties never disappoint, but those moments during each wedding helped me keep perspective when it came to planning my own. No matter how much time and effort I was going to put into this event, it would eventually end. That single thought is what ultimately kept me grounded throughout the planning process. 
I took on most of the work myself, though my husband did have a hand in planning. I had worked as an event coordinator a few years back, and I had an arsenal of wedding inspiration from working in the industry, so it just made sense. For a minute, and not much longer, I was worried that we fell into that category of bride-who-decides-everything and groom-who-nods-quietly, but I realized that was dumb, and the way were doing things made absolute sense for us and even mirrored our life together: he speaks up when he feels particular about something, the rest he leaves to me, knowing I'll do what I think is best for both of us, making it pretty while I do it, because damn it, I care about the aesthetics! 
By the time we got engaged, we had been living together for nearly four years, so I wasn't expecting a huge transformation or enlightenment during our engagement or even after our wedding. What surprised me is that during our engagement and planning, I learned more about my relationships with other people in my life than I did about Ed's and my relationship. 
I learned that my family (even the more prim and proper side) didn't have as many opinions as I thought they would have. Would they think having a dinosaur-shaped piñata was odd? Nope. Would they appreciate my smart-ass invitations? Well, they kind of saw that one coming. Would my Catholic-priest uncle think the wedding was an abomination if there was no mention of God during the ceremony? Not even a little bit. I learned that some friends, while they mean the best, really just won't come through when you need them to, which can be kind of heart-breaking. I also learned that other friends, who you don't think you can count on, so you don't even bother asking, will surprise you with support (or manual labor) when you least expect it. I wasn't really there for the setup of the wedding, but I left it in capable hands (my parents and a good friend). I was delightfully surprised to learn later that so many of our friends came by early to help with all the setup (giving my mum time to run home and change)! 
The hardest thing I had to struggle with was letting myself fully enjoy the planning process. I was so conscious of being labeled a "silly little bride" that I found myself shrugging off just about everything I did, or feeling the need to defend why the process was so easy for me. Whenever I did anything crafty (which I LOVE doing, I'm an artsy person, and as I've said, I care about aesthetics), I felt the need to add on "oh I had a couple hours to kill, so I made napkins, no big deal, blah blah blah." I had this self-imposed pressure to act nonchalant about everything, while secretly I was enjoying the hell out of it. Looking back, I realize how ridiculous that was and wish I had allowed myself to be more outwardly excited. I wish I had been saying, "hell yeah I'm excited; I'm getting married to an awesome guy, and we're throwing one kick-ass party to celebrate!" Oh well, I'm saying it now! 
One thing I thought would matter, but in the end didn't, was the aesthetics of the day. Twist! I had a picture in my mind of how I wanted things to look, and if we had hired an event designer to go nuts with details, that picture would have become a reality. But in real life, I didn't care that much. I put in as much love and effort as I felt like putting in, and I'm pleased with the result. Sure, my wedding won't grace the cover of Martha Stewart Weddings, but I thought it was pretty, and I was proud of my work. 
At the end of the day, the only things that really mattered to me were A) that Ed and I ended up married to each other (very important detail), B) we didn't have a bunch of strangers at our wedding (thank you small venue capacity) and C) that we hired a new-but-talented photographer Samantha Kelly Photo; someone gave me my first wedding, and I wanted to be able to pay that forward. 
I have one piece of advice for couples planning their weddings, especially if they're doing a lot of the work themselves: If you can, take an extra day or two off from work to focus on the wedding and visit with everyone as they arrive early. We got married in my hometown (about three hours south from our place), and we had friends coming in from the East Coast and family coming up from Australia. I had planned to go down the Wednesday before our Sunday wedding, but fortunately was able to go down that Monday instead. It gave me plenty of time to visit with everyone, prep the flowers, help bake cakes, run last minute errands, and still feel relaxed. Everyone kept mentioning how they were surprised by my calmness, and I really do believe those extra days were key to keeping me sane. Of course, not everyone has the luxury to take time off to dedicate to their sanity, so in that case, I say make a list of what you need to do, and delegate whatever you can so you can focus on enjoying yourselves. 
The wedding day itself was amazing. It was a great party with wonderful people who love and support us… and hey, we got to Lindy.  
During my dance with my dad, he asked me about the wedding "So kid, what do you think?" I took a look around and said "it's exactly what I pictured it to be, and I'm really pleased." 
Later in the afternoon I played a song onstage with the band. While I warmed up on the guitar, I looked down at everyone dancing and enjoying themselves, and I thought, "This is it. All those months of preparation and planning and the party is almost over. And what a damn fine party is was." 
Photos are mostly by Samantha Kelly Photo (though a few are by family and friends)  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hi All :) I'm busy working on two real wedding features to share with you tomorrow that you are going to LOVE, but for the time being, I just had to show you these absolutely beautiful art-deco style wedding art, courtesy of Alexander & Co. Alexander & Co is a creative collaboration between Chicago based artist, Alexander Doll and you. Alexander & Co. artwork can be fully customised with your personal details (name, wedding venue, venue etc) - giving you the options to create your own custom piece of art. I am utterly in LOVE with these designs which can be converted into framed prints, posters, fridge magnets, save the date and thank you cards! Aren't they just beautiful? Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Imagery Copyright (c) 2010, Alexanda & Co 
Items can be ordered as a framed print in various sizes, as a poster or as a set of thank you cards - using the price guide below... Classic Signing System (24" x 36"), $500 (£320)
24" x 36" Framed Print, $500 (£320)
Table Top Signing System (18" x 24"), $300 (£193)
18" x 24" Framed Print, $300 (£193)
24" x 36" Poster Only, $300 (£193)
18" x 24" Poster Only, $200 (£128)
500 Large Magnets (4.25" x 5.5"), $1250 (£800)
200 Large Magnets (4.25" x 5.5"), $600 (£285)
100 Large Magnets (4.25" x 5.5"), $350 (£225)
500 Small Magnets (1.93" x 3.43"), $500 (£320)
200 Small Magnets (1.93" x 3.43"), $300 (£193)
100 Small Magnets (1.93" x 3.43"), $200 (£128)
500 Save-the-Date Postcards (4.25" x 5.5"), $500 (£320)
250 Save-the-Date Postcards (4.25" x 5.5"), $375 (£240)
100 Save-the-Date Postcards (4.25" x 5.5"), $200 (£128)
500 Thank You Cards (4.25" x 5.5"), $1250 (£800)
200 Thank You Cards (4.25" x 5.5"), $600 (£385)
100 Thank You Cards (4.25" x 5.5"), $350 (£225) Shipping costs to the UK will also apply - email Alexander & Co for quotations... 
 
Stunning - and another item to add to my Christmas wish list! For further information, email Marty Mulcahy or visit the Alexander & Co. website. Much love, Annabel xXx ♥ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | It's now time to announce the winning recipient of the 5 custom created DVDs with photos of their choice from Pavel Shpak Photography. This DVD is perfect for either the rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself or as a keepsake after the wedding with photos from their special day. I asked entrants to tell me how they will you use the custom photo DVDs from Pavel Shpak Photography. I'm overwhelmed with all the touching stories, thank you all for entering. The winner is Krystal who wrote: "Hi. My name is Krystal and id like to try to become the winner. Me and my fiance will be getting married April 27, 2011. If we were to win this great deal we would use it towards something special for our parents. Mainly my dad, he is battling grade 3 brain cancer and isn't doing all that great, we are trying to get the wedding together so he can have his wish of walking his little girl down the aisle. As would i love to happen. If we won we would take all our photos of me and my fiance at our special day as well as photos of us with my dad to give to him and my mom to have for him to look at anywhere he is, so that he can see his little girl. And for when he passes it will be for my mom to see the two of us together. Thats the main purpose of this great opportunity. I thank you for giving us the chance to win and we hope to hear from you. God Bless thank you Krystal & Keith" Congratulations Krystal - I'll be emailing you personally today for your mailing address. Please note: winner(s) have 48 business hours to reply or another winner will be selected. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [Kate's blog, Wit + Delight, is aptly named as Kate is always posting delightful fashion and design finds. And since she's a recent bride herself, you'll find some wonderfully chic wedding inspiration on her blog, too. So glad she stopped by to guest blog today!] Hello Snippet and Ink readers! Today I have pulled some different looks for a variety of wedding-related occasions to suit different styles and budgets. Whether you choose a non-traditional wedding gown, a flirty frock for your bachelorette party, or a sophisticated number for your bridal shower, you just might consider wearing one of these dresses again, really. - Kate from Wit + Delight A Dress for Every Occasion 
The Non-Traditionalist: one, two, three, four | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Have you been wondering what the top wedding dress trends are for this year? Perhaps youre tired of the same old wedding dresses and are looking for something a little different. The trends this year offer many options that will take you from the traditional wedding gown to something that screams high fashion. From short dresses to gowns with some colour, you wont look like every other bride if you fancy the latest trends. Best of all, you can still find your cheap wedding dress by looking at second hand stores or designer samples offered at a discount in bridal boutiques. For more of the latest wedding dress trends, read this article.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Have you been wondering what the top wedding dress trends are for this year? Perhaps youre tired of the same old wedding dresses and are looking for something a little different. The trends this year offer many options that will take you from the traditional wedding gown to something that screams high fashion. From short dresses to gowns with some colour, you wont look like every other bride if you fancy the latest trends. Best of all, you can still find your cheap wedding dress by looking at second hand stores or designer samples offered at a discount in bridal boutiques. For more of the latest wedding dress trends, read this article.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Love candied walnuts? I have an easy recipe for you – and a tutorial for DIY wedding favors. The first time I tried candied nuts was a couple of years ago at a performance of the Nutcracker in Detroit, Michigan. DE-LISH! I couldn’t believe that it had taken me that long to discover such a yummy snack! Now I’m onto making my own candied walnuts. Making candied walnuts is really simple. They make fabulous wedding favors – and edible Christmas gifts! If you’re in a pinch for a hostess gift, you can whip these up in a snap! Here’s a scrumptious recipe for candied walnuts (from Allrecipes.com): Ingredients 1 pound walnut halves (Don’t like walnuts? You can use almonds or pecans.) I didn’t use the full pound for this tutorial because I didn’t have that many on hand, so my nuts were extra coated. If you like them extra sugary, cut down on the amount of nuts. 1 cup of white sugar 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. 
Roast for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven. 
Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt and milk in a medium saucepan. 
Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage of 236 degrees. 
Remove from heat and add vanilla. 
Add walnuts to syrup mixture and stir to coat. 
Spoon walnuts onto parchment paper and separate with a fork. 
Cool and store in airtight containers. If you are making them as wedding favors, place desired amount of candied walnuts into cellophane bags. 
Staple top of bags. 
Cut out a piece of decorative paper to cover the top of the bag. (I used a rounder punch around the edges.) 
Staple piece of paper onto the bag. 
Tie a ribbon around the paper to hide staples. 
I got a head start this year and made some of these for Christmas, but I’m sad to say they’re almost gone! My 7-year old who dislikes walnuts in just about everything is like a little chipmunk when she’s around these treats. Admittedly, thought, I ate most of them. On to the next batch!!!  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I am so thrilled this week to be inviting a new new Sponsor on board, creator of the most fabulous 1950's style dresses, Vivien of Holloway. Vivien of Holloway's clothing is not simply retro fashion. It is closer in style to the couture pieces of the 1950s, the really high-end garments that were tailored to fit and flatter women's figures. A lot of time is spent by Vivien and her team, sourcing authentic prints, and vintage-perfect fabrics; and everything is made using genuine vintage patterns as a starting point, with Vivien working hard to adapt them slightly for modern figures and construction methods. Vivien of Holloway's 50's style dresses sculpt the body, with very fitted waists that nip, well-cut skirts, and strategic boning to enhance the bust and torso. They flatter all shapes and sizes, but look especially spectacular on larger ladies. "Vivien of Holloway clothing draws inspiration from the 1940s to the 1960s, where women looked feminine and clothes fitted the body perfectly. It was the absolute heyday of clothing design as far as we're concerned – from flattering cuts to interesting prints and fabulous detailing. We're all about glamour, every day!" Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Jazz Hans Photography  
Vivien is the owner, designer and brains behind Vivien of Holloway. Vivien began sewing her own clothes at the tender age of ten, and her clothes always had a very 1950s flavour. Devoted to the music and style of the Fifties, at thirteen, she started sneaking out at night to see local rock 'n' roll bands play, and by the age of 18 she had her own stall at Kensington market, selling her Savehandmade 1950s reproductions to fellow aficionados. As all her friends lived the lifestyle too, with flats full of mid-century furniture, driving 50s cars, and going dancing every night, she had a ready-made customer base. She was soon designing her own range, and ten years ago, the Vivien of Holloway label was born. The first shop was in an atmospheric, Camden motorcycle garage, but last year the brand expanded into its own boutique in its spiritual home of Holloway Road. The shop quickly became a key destination for any vintage-lovers visiting London as as well as the whole range of day-wear and special occasion collections, it contains all the limited edition fabrics and styles, and even has some of Vivien's own vintage collection for sale. Photography below, Copyright (c) Malcolm Davis Photography  
Vivien is still very much hands-on in the business, designing everything, and cutting much of it. New styles are brought out regularly, with new fabrics being constantly introduced to existing styles. The staff of the Holloway Road boutique are friendly and knowledgeable – always on hand to help with advice on sizing and styles – you almost get a mini style consultation to ensure you're picking a look that will work wonders for you! These gorgeous Vivien of Holloway Bridesmaids dresses made an appearance on the Love My Dress Wedding in October.... Photography below, Copyright (c) 2010, Emma Case 
I asked Vivien why she thinks the 1950's style is so popular with Brides... "Women always want to look drop-dead gorgeous on their big day, and in our 1950s style gowns, it's impossible not to! It doesn't matter if you have an hourglass figure naturally, or if you need a helping hand, the gentle sculpting and strategic bodice boning, combined with a gorgeously full skirt creates a killer figure with a wasp waist and perfectly supported bust. The past also contained so many examples of beautiful vintage hair and makeup, as well as a slightly rosy view of life... it makes sense to us that brides would want to recreate an idyllic past in their modern-day wedding..." Bride Lucy looks amazing in her 1950's style wedding dress of lace, created by Viven of Holloway wedding dress - the second dress she wore on her wedding day, to allow her to move freely on the dancefloor... Photography below, Copyright (c) 2010, Emma Case 
Vivien describe's her signature style as 'Mid-century chic'! Even vintage style daywear looks fantastically glamorous, whether it's our 1940s trousers and tops, Day dresses or tea dresses – they can be worn for the office, and out on the town afterwards. But Vivien of Holloway is especially known for our 50s style circle dresses – they look amazing on everyone, from swing dancers to blushing brides! We have so many amazing fabric choices too, from shining satin, novelty prints and shimmering overlaid luxury gowns, which are very popular with brides." Image below, Copyright (c) 2010, Olivia Brabbs 
Price Guide? "Our gowns are ideal for those on a budget, who want all the exquisite glamour of 1950s couture without the hefty price tag. Our purse-friendly prices range from £79 for a silky acetate satin gown or 1940s style sarong, or £89 for a circle dress in tactile Duchesse satin. Bolero jackets cost just £25, and can be bought in matching or contrasting colours. Many choose to match their bolero to their belt or petticoat, both of which can be found at our boutique, of course! Our luxury range of gowns, with stunning lace or organza overlays are £98. Any of our plain or patterned dresses also make wonderful bridesmaids gowns! We encourage any brides-to-be to come along to our Holloway Road shop and spend some time with us chatting to the staff, and trying on some different sizes and styles to get the perfect fit. We can even offer advice on what adjustments might be needed to ensure a gown that looks like it was made for you. We look forward to welcoming you soon!"  
I love!!! And I'll be ordering my Viven of Holloway Christmas party dress very soon :) You can see more from Viviene of Holloway on the Love My Dress Wedding Blog here :) Much love, Annabel xXx ♥ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Things I love… Autumn leaves and colours.
The team at Planet Flowers and their amazing floral designs.
Wicked Photography by Elemental. And yup – this one’s got ‘em all Louise and Nick were married on 16th October at St Giles' Cathedral followed by a reception at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Au Naturel I wanted to be completely natural. My hair was done by a local hairdresser (Ruth at U-star). I had a trial which made it look too formal so she did another trial a few days before and it looked much more me. 
I got caught in the rain the night before the wedding and my hair looked exactly the same! I loved the fact that it took a whole 15 minutes on the morning of the wedding – perfect for the sort of person I am. Make up was the same. I am quite lazy with things like that so I don't wear much and I didn't want it to make me look false. I absolutely loved what Louise (from EyeCandy) did. Bespoke beautiful I tried various dresses in places around Edinburgh and got some ideas of what I didn't like. Then I scribbled a design on a receipt in a coffee shop and went to visit Mette Bailie at Freja Design. Everything about her dressmaking and the overall service was just fab! 
I wore pearl earrings and necklace, given to me by my Grandparents years ago. I always wear the earrings, even when I was sailing half way around the world. The veil and tiara were borrowed from my sister. 
I am not really a shoe fanatic. I wore Rainbow ivory Shelly style shoes because they were comfy and the they fitted with my dress. Fire in Flowers Gemma and the team at Planet Flowers were fantastic. 
I knew I wanted an autumnal theme and it needed to fit the modern venue. I didn't expect to be too bothered by the flowers, having never really taken notice at other weddings but they did such a brilliant job. 
Lots of guests commented on the amazing table decorations, attention to detail and variety. So did many people on the flight home as I clutched my bouquet and a collection of physalis (chinese lanterns). I could rave for hours about how pleased I was with everything they did! 
We had candles/flowers/fir cones/crab apples/leaves everywhere (except on the floor!) Autumnal Style Nick wore the same as the ushers but with a slightly different tie. He also wore houndstooth trousers with his morning suit, instead of stripy. 
My husband's mother is a fantastic seamstress and she made the waistcoats for the wedding party. (All 9 of them ) Being autumnal, we tried to tie everything into a burnt orange/autumnal colour scheme. They found the perfect colour in fabric and as they were done first (by a long time!) we decided we had better stick to it! 
We got bridesmaids dresses from Ted Baker – the only place we found a burnt orange dress! I was keen to get something off the peg that didn't look too "bridesmaid-y." Their dresses were great but I was very lucky that they both have great figures for wearing that sort of slinky short dress – I don't think I could've done it! Mette who made my dress then used the remains of the waistcoat fabric to make a sash for our flower girl who wore her own dress. Flexible Photography 
We chose Elemental photography because we liked what we had seen on their blog and particularly didn't want lots of posed photography. Christina was really friendly and chased up my initial enquiry. We liked the fact that they would give us the disc of pictures too. 
They were very flexible with meeting up and always replied to emails – great when you are organising things from a far. A Unique Cake Nick's mum makes brilliant cakes. I think I asked her to make our cake whilst drunk at a wedding about 3 years before we even got engaged! 
We both love fruit cakes so that was an easy decision. We left the decoration decision to Val but she knew we wanted something relevant to our lives. It was incredible. There was so much perfect detail. Even the bride and groom were caricatures including Nick's big forehead and my pearls! Celidh but Contemporary We had Callanish because we knew others who had used them and they were able to do a mix of ceilidh and contemporary music. 
"You got a friend" – the Randy Newman song featured in Toy Story. We weren't going to have a first dance but we watched Toy Story 3 whilst in Australia in the summer. We were just on a real high and decided the words were just what we wanted. And it was only 2 minutes long! A Brides Advice I would just say, that if you have a place or an idea in mind, stick with it. I have always thought about getting married with the autumn colours at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. I had to do quite a bit of convincing that this was a good idea and even then several still had their doubts. Maybe they still do but I love that it was different, I love that people came and enjoyed Edinburgh for a few days either side and I love that we can go back there any time we like.
I for one am a huge fan of a seasonal wedding and Autumn is so ablaze with colour it makes for a brilliant pallet. The colours have certainly been done justice here by Elemental! Makes you want to go kick some leaves doesn’t it?! Thanks to Louise and Nick for allowing us to share their day and to Elemental Photography for sending it in! Yours Truly, Rebecca
xoxo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Is your wedding day close to a holiday? Or maybe you’re having a holiday themed engagement party? We LOVE these DIY ideas from Better Homes & Gardens and think they would make fabulous centerpieces for any event, especially those close to some of our favorite winter celebrations.  
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Since my brain is a bit obsessed with wedding details at the moment, I've recently been spending some time thinking about our first kiss. I suspect this is something most people don't actually plan (or, um, make their fiances rehearse—I may or may not be kidding), but come on, I don't want us to have an awkward first kiss. What not to do:
Source
Here's a few of our options: The restrained yet lovely Mr. and Mrs. Taco: 
Source I saw this in Mrs. Taco's post and thought it looked gorgeous. Restrained yet very elegant and sweet. I love this one: 
Source It's so sweet, and this particular picture reminds me of 1940s wartime romance. The problem is that Mr. Knitting is actually quite a bit taller than me, so I'm not sure this would work for us. Also, if I put my hands anywhere near his face he's going to assume I'm going for the “Susan Lucci on Friends Kiss” and he'd probably do the same, and then our kiss would just be silly (but hilarious!). This is pretty much our normal kissing position, so I suspect we'll end up with something like this: 
Source 
Source Something we will not be doing anything like is this: 
Source 
Source I love these kinds of kisses, but there's no way we could pull this off without looking ridiculous and/or me falling. I have a tendency to throw myself into a back bend and then be shocked when Mr. Knitting hasn't realized that he's supposed to be holding me up. Oops…Not so much what I have in mind. All that being said, I don't think we'll actually plan out our first kiss. That seems like one moment that does not need to be scripted. It's just nice to have thought about it a bit so we don't freeze and do nothing or do something really awkward. One thing we have decided on is that we don't want our officiant to tell Mr. Knitting he can kiss his bride. I don't have a huge issue with this more traditional wording, but it just doesn't feel like us. I'm the in-charge go getter in our relationship, so for Mr. K to be told to kiss me just seemed odd. Instead, our officiant will be saying, “…I pronounce you husband and wife and invite you to kiss one another.” What was your first kiss like? Did you go with the more traditional wording, or did you try something new?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hey there, hive. My favorite post from a writing standpoint has always been the one I wrote about my physical struggle to squeeze myself into the sausage casing of a pair of Spanx in the smallest dressing room known to mankind while sweating. To this day, I still laugh over the commotion I caused in that dressing room. But the most valuable post I have written has to do with something quite sentimental. Specifically, a post I wrote about how my father was able to participate in our wedding as he and I had always imagined, even though he was disabled. My father, a man I loved deeply, passed away last December. We were incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity for him to meet our son, to reminisce about the joy in our lives and to say goodbye. As I look back on the wedding we held so very long ago…I mean seriously…back when photo booths were up-and-coming…I find myself eternally grateful to have been able to give my father an experience he always dreamed of instead of holding both of ourselves back with his disability. ~~~ This installment of my 'Looking Back' series* focuses on one of the details about my big day that I am very, very grateful for: I was able to work out a way for my dad to participate. My father is a wonderful, amazing man. I am so incredibly fortunate to be loved by someone with such a big heart. As ridiculously sentimental as this sounds, two of the things I was most looking forward to the day of our wedding were 1) walking down the aisle with my dad and 2) dancing with him at the reception. As many of you know, my father is handicapped; he walks with a walker and can handle a cane, but only for short bouts and definitely only if the ground is flat.
The walk from the fort (where I was hiding out) to the top of the aisle was 105 yards over a field. There was no way my dad could walk all of that. So we arranged for me to be escorted to the top of the aisle where my dad met me and we walked the rest of the way together.  Dad was so excited that he was 'in place' long before the guests even sat down. He also apparently was in his tux and 'ready to go' at 11:00AM. PS - more on those Revolutionary War Reenacters later…
For our first dance, he requested "Butterfly Kisses", which is not only the sappiest song on the planet, but is also the l-o-n-g-e-s-t, which wasn't going to bode well for my poor dad and his diabetic feet. So I worked with the band to cut the song, but keep in the important parts. And during the dance, when my dad got tired, he just sat on his walker and we continued dancing.
There wasn't a dry eye in the tent. 
Both my father and I would have been crushed if he hadn't been able to participate in the wedding the way he had imagined he would since I was a little girl. Thankfully, with some forethought, we were able to work around his disability and have the magical evening we both deserved.
—–
*Previously in this series… I'm so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Before I went into hiding, an extremely important (and wonderful) delivery was made to the venue. The cake. Oh, the cake. Now, I realize that I am not the first bee to get insanely excited about her cake…cough cough…Mrs. Hamster…cough cough…but I seriously almost lost it when our cake baker arrived with my three tiers of gorgeousness… 
I pretty much started cheering at the sight of it. I almost wanted to cry. 
I completely dropped what I was doing and followed Nomeda, from Cakes by Nomeda, to the cake table. She placed my cake topper on as I stood in awe of her masterpiece. 
Honestly, my expectations for the cake were not only met, they were exceeded exponentially. Nomeda had been excited about my lacework inspiration photos, but I had absolutely no idea that my cake would turn out this extraordinary. I almost didn't want to cut into it later on in the evening! I mean…come on—just look at it! 
Every single lace detail was piped by hand by Nomeda…I can't imagine how long this took her—it is so perfect! 
Of course, we can't forget my cake topper from Vintage by Crystal, which I think matched the cake perfectly! The little vintage birds stole my heart from the moment I first saw them months ago… 
*Sigh…* 
I don't know if a prettier cake will ever exist in this world. I do realize I am biased, though… *All photos courtesy of Pilster Photography* Previously… The girls got ready, then the guys got ready. I became a bride, but our first look wasn't what I'd hoped. We took some photos alone and then with our bridal party. Everyone hopped on the trolley, and then we took a few family portraits.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Who says you have to stick to traditional wedding ideas or two or three wedding colours? Certainly not me! I'm crazy for colourful wedding decor and the above wedding executed it brilliantly. The big design hit has got to be the colourful thrift store bottle and vases; plus the green grass table runners. A new trend is set! {Above images via oh happy day; Photography by Rachel Thurston} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Almost every other bride I've ever known has kept a giant wedding binder full of receipts, clippings, schedules, contracts, etc. Well, I decided right off the bat that I didn't want to do that. I know myself, and I'm way too unorganized to keep track of a giant bundle of paper. Instead, I used digital tools to stay as organized as possible. And so far, I've got to say, it's going really well! I haven't found one tool that I like for all purposes, but I've found a handful of applications that have worked together to be better than any binder, in my opinion. Here are some of the tools I've been using. 1. Delicious.com 
Delicious is basically a bookmarking site. I use this whenever I'm surfing the web and see an interesting blog post, DIY, inspiration photo, or anything else that I'd like to keep. Just bookmark it to your Delicious profile, and then it's there at your fingertips. Sure, you could always just bookmark the page in your browser, but with Delicious, you can access your bookmarks from any computer or mobile device, not just your home system.
2. Dropbox 
Dropbox is a file sharing system that lets you sync files, folders, what have you, across all of your devices. Once installed, it looks just like a regular folder on your system, and you can organize the subfolders however you like. What I like about Dropbox is that, if I want to add something to my Dropbox on my work computer, I can do so, and then it will be updated and synced on my home computer at well. (Well, except that I don't ever update my wedding stuff at work. Never ever. Ever. That's my story and I'm sticking to it). 3. My Wedding Workbook 
Myweddingworkbook.com
has a lot of great organization features, but I only use two: the budget tool and the guest list manager. Those tools are intuitive, easy to use, and very helpful. The budget tool will help you keep track of when payments are due and even how you paid (check vs. credit card), while the guest list manager will help you keep track of RSVPs and the guest list of other wedding events like showers or the rehearsal dinner. 4. Spreadsheets 
You can use Excel, you can use Google Docs, you can use anything you want! But spreadsheets are one of the simplest methods of keeping track of anything. Above is part of the spreadsheet I began with my recent florist search. I keep track of contact info, addresses, prices, availability and any other info I need. My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE spreadsheet is one that I found from Shanbrite Designs' template list. You can scroll down to “Receptions” to download the Seating Chart spreadsheet, or just download it here. This spreadsheet is awesome. You can enter in your guests and table numbers, and the sheet has formulas in it to keep track of how many guests you've placed at each table! Amazing. 5. Google Calendar. 
This is a simple way to keep track of appointments and deadlines. My favorite part of this is that I can access it from my phone, so that I'll never miss an appointment while I'm on the go. Other tips: - Every time I get a contract or receipt from a vendor, I scan it in and save the digital copy in my Dropbox. I do have a folder in my desk with all of the hard copies, but this way, I never have to go searching for them.
- When I buy something wedding-related online, I save the email receipt as a PDF and save it in my Dropbox as well.
And that's it. Organization, no binder needed! And now I won't end up looking like this: 
Source Are you using technology to help organize your wedding?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive! Exciting news right here that I just HAVE to randomly blog about: I just found my wedding dress! So, really, this post is kind of lame when you think about it. I'm a blogger, posting on a wedding blog (an awesome wedding blog at that!), and I'm excited about the most ridiculously obvious of events—I mean, buying a dress is pretty inevitable. But if you've gathered anything about me from my posting, it's that I'm the most ridiculously indecisive person around. I over think everything, I've always been petrified of not finding the right dress for my bigger body shape, and I'm the queen of putting things off until the last possible second. And here I am, midway through our pre-wedding-moon in gorgeous, gorgeous (and freezing cold) Canada—and I found my wedding dress. I FOUND MY WEDDING DRESS. And it's nothing, nothing, like what I had ever pictured I would wear. And, of course, I'm in love with it and think it's fabulous. Squee!
You know I'm going to keep you in suspense for just a few more weeks, right? Because as of tomorrow, I'm off to Calgary and the Rocky Mountains and won't be online much—but all I could think about was sharing the news with you all. You'll forgive me for making you wait to see it, won't you? And you know I want to hear all about that exact moment when you knew you had your dress: make me feel less crazy about going slightly insane with happiness! Behold: the “Omigosh, I just bought myself a dress” clutch hold of excitement. This is really happening! 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | After being married for over two years, looking back at our wedding day, I have to say that apart from the “I dos,” my favorite moment was when my daddy said his speech, followed by the father/daughter dance. I still get emotional to this day when I re-read his speech. It was definitely one of the highlights of our wedding. ~~~ After we finished our first dance, we made our way to our seats and heard a little "ching ching". I looked around and saw my father standing up, sweating bullets and trying to keep his cool. I knew from that nervous smile of his, it was time… he was ready to give his speech. 
"I want my speech to be perfect," he had told me earlier that week. "Perfect, because you deserve no less." I started tearing up. Who wouldn't after those heartfelt words?
I looked at my daddy, and instantly, all the memories of my childhood, of him and me, flashed before my eyes… and I smiled. I took a deep breath, just as he did, and tried to keep the lump in my throat under control. 
And he started (originally written in French; translated by me): Dear parents, family and friends, I would like to thank each and every one of you for being part of this special day, Kelly and Marc-Andres' wedding day. Dear Kelly,
I look at you today and with my father heart, I will summarize the movie of your life: From the day you were born I have been touched…
Touched by the memory of the first time I held you in my arms.
Touched by looking at your grow through the years. And I am so proud of the woman you've become.
Touched when you took my arm this afternoon and we walked down the aisle together. And today my dear Kelly, the next scene of your movie arrives, the one about your union, your couple life. You stand beside an exceptional man that I cherish, appreciate, and love very much. I wish you both lots of love, happiness, and hope that I will be moved by becoming a grandfather one day.
Tears steaming down my face, he looked up at me and invited me to join him and dance by his side for our father/daughter dance to the song In my Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride. He had chosen this song carefully because he wanted words that represented "US". 
In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes
- Lyrics of In my Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride 
I had not shed a single tear until this moment. I had found a way to keep my cool all through the ceremony and even the first dance… but this was too much. So, my father and I cried together while we danced our dance. It was a very important part of my wedding day… 
We looked around and our guests circled us while shedding a tear or two. Mid-way through the song, we invited all fathers to finish the dance with their daughters… it was simply priceless. Just writing about it makes me emotional. What was the most emotional part of your wedding day? Up next: Boogie on down… Images taken by Ipi-events and guests ~~~ Now, today, I completed his story… and made him officially a grandpa. 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | My mama, like so many mamas, loves antique shopping. And since the South is a great place for a bargain, we did some antiquing while she was visiting. We still haven't nailed down a true centerpiece theme (mercury glass? antique silver? birdcages? hurricane lanterns? wood branches?), but I think we're just going to combine all those, really. Yes, I know that sounds like it'll be too much, but dude, we'll figure it out. I'm not worried. If it looks "eclectic," so be it. We're eclectic human beings, Mr. Panther and I. With that in mind, check out all the stuff we got! 
Can you tell I'm excited?
Admittedly, not all of them are antiques. We got some great vintage pieces, but once we got the ball rolling, we couldn't stop buying things! Let's take a closer look, shall we?
There's actually only two antiques in this shot. The silver candlestick, which has a partner in the next photo, is from a shop that just has "ANTIQUES" on the sign, but I'm pretty sure it's called Providence. The silver pitcher behind it is from one of the many antique shops in downtown Marietta, Georgia. The rest of the pieces are new! How embarrassing. The footed mercury glass canister is from Vintage-ology in Marietta, but it's not really vintage. Shhhhh. The peacock mirror is from Urban Outfitters, the crystal candlestick is from Anthropologie and the mercury glass vase is from T.J. Maxx. 
Check out that sweeeeeeet silver champagne cooler! When we found it, Brad said he thought it looked like the Stanley Cup, but I looked it up, and I think that's a little inaccurate: 
(Source) Am I right? Anyway, it's from an antique shop in Marietta, and it's going to look AWESOME with flowers in it, as will the pitcher, footed mercury glass containers and mercury glass vase. We can't keep buying centerpiece containers at these prices, of course. We'll need at least 23 centerpieces, and some of those containers are going to have to be rented or wholesale. But I think we're off to a good start! Did you collect your own wedding decor, or did you leave the centerpieces to the pros? (All personal photos except for the Stanley Cup shot)  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The hardest part of planning this wedding, or as my dad referred to it the other day “that little party you're organizing,” is the guest list. 
source
Mr. Cheetah and I want a semi-intimate wedding. We want to include all of our family and closest friends, we want to know (and like) all the guests, and we want it small enough where we can at least greet everyone personally. Out first draft of the guest list was around 150. Our venue maxes out around 140—it seemed like a perfect fit. But we should've known it wasn't going to be so easy. We realized that we had forgotten some people from our original guest list. Plus there were obligatory invites we overlooked. And of course our parents keep wanting to add…and add, and add…So we are left with a very tight A-list, and an ever growing B-list. For some reason we even have a short C-list. Don't get me started on the dreaded plus-one debate. Don't even get me started. We have a bunch of friends hovering on the B-list, and I find myself avoiding them. I don't want to talk about the wedding around them or indicate in any way whether or not they are invited—since we don't even know yet. I feel so guilty that I haven't made plans with any of the “B-listers” in a couple months. I'm likely over thinking everything; I'm sure most of our friends would understand and may not even expect to be invited. I've realized that it's just guest-list paranoia, so I'm going to stop worrying about it. Is anyone else suffering from guest-list paranoia?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | One of my biggest pet peeves, in wedding planning and life, is the One-Upper. When you mention something in casual conversation, and they have to take it a step further. It's worst when it's a fellow bride. She asks about your invitations, and you mention that you're doing them yourself. So she says, “You're designing your own invitations? Oh, I did too. I have a PhD in graphic design, and I've been featured in MSW seventeen times. My invitations are being letterpressed by Oprah, with calligraphy by the guy who did Angelina Jolie's tattoos. We're putting confetti inside the invites, only it's not confetti—it's real gold shavings.” The only thing worse than a Penelope is person who says: “Oh, I wish I had time for that.” It's always said in the most patronizing way possible. You know—the type of girl who always has so much going on. “OMG, I'm so swamped with work right now, and I'm volunteering, and I'm blahblahblah. What's that? You're designing your own invitations? Oh, I wish I had time for that.” Last time I checked, everyone on the planet has the exact same amount of time.
24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. Yes, most of us work at least 40 hours a week. Some people also go to school. Or have kids. Maybe all 3, I don't know. What I do know is that we make CHOICES for what we do with our time. When you say “Oh I wish I had time for that,” what you mean is: “I don't budget the time I do have for it.” It means it's not a priority for you. And that's FINE. But should we really make another bride feel bad for putting time into the details? There are a lot—a LOT—of wedding things that I'm simply unwilling to make time for. I have as much time as the next person who works full-time…but I just don't care enough to spend my spare time on it. I already have a few beloved ways that I spend my extra time, and I'm not willing to sacrifice them for wedding crafts or whatever. But if I come across a bride who is devoting her spare time to thoughtful little details, I would never, EVER try to tell her that I don't have time. I am just lazy. That is what I would tell her. Have you encountered any One-Uppers or OMG-I'm-so-swamped types?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | (Note: please don't open this post if you have an aversion to decorated, whole roast pigs.) All right. We had a great wedding, and I can't complain. But if I can, just for a minute, serve as a warning to other planning brides—do not trust your vendors when they say they can provide signs for the buffet food. If you haven't seen the sign, just don't trust it. 
Half sheets of paper, printed out with big, icky font. When I think of buffet-table signs, I think tent cards. These never crossed my mind as a possibility. *Sigh*
It's good that I never actually saw the signs until the wedding pictures came in, or for sure I would have been doing a flying leap to remove the offense. Anyway, the noodle-bar appetizer was pretty cool, though I suppose we should have explained how to eat cold noodles since a few confused guests tried to eat it like soup. (For the record, you dip the noodles in the sauce, then eat!) 
After our short first dance, my cousin prayed over the food, and everyone hit the buffet line. We had a slideshow going on in the background, which my parents had created. It had funny pictures of us throughout our six years together, as well as wedding photos from various family members in attendance. 
(Photo by family) 
Although the signs were regrettable, at least the food looked good! 
(Photos by family) 
(Photo by family) And I can't believe how awesome our roast piggu was! He's so festive with his hat, earring, and tusks! Oh, and he was delicious, too! 
And in regards to food, here comes mistake number two. When we chose our buffet items, we were given a list to circle. Mr. Sew and I matter-of-factly circled all our favorites. Beef sukiyaki, lemon chicken, lechon, etc. 
Do you see what the problem with this is? We did not circle ANY vegetables. It was all meat and carbs. 
I'm ashamed, people. What kind of gluttons are we that we failed to see the lack of a balanced meal? Luckily I like fruit, so we at least had a fruit tray. And Sewing-Mom at the last minute decided Chinese chicken salad would be a good addition, so there were some greens (though I still don't think it counts as a legit veggie dish, since the emphasis is on the chicken and deep-fried-noodle topping). 
(Photo by family) 
Though despite our major fail with the food selection, I haven't heard any complaints. Thankfully, it seems most of our guests are meat-and-potatoes gluttons like ourselves. Mr. Sew received plenty of compliments on the tasty food from his family members! *Phew* 
They look like they are enjoying themselves! (Photo by family) Sadly, though, I didn't really get to try most of the food. At this point, I was back in the dressing room—changing into reception “dress” number one! (Unless otherwise noted, all images by Terra Photography) Our wedding week in review:  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mr Meerkat and I LOVE living in Michigan (minus when we get huge snow storms) and to be able to share it with you… *squeal* Yea, I am that excited. I promise to try my best to keep each category to my top three choices otherwise this could get really long, really quickly. Things to see 1. Kalamazoo Air Zoo The Air Zoo is #1 on my list of things to do in Kalamazoo. Basically it's a interactive museum that has AMAZING displays of transportation from the first hot air balloon to present day. It has some old hot air balloons and bi-planes: 
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WWI and WWII planes: 
sourcea and even some of the most modern and amazing planes/jets you will ever see: 
And while your there don't forget to give the flight simulators a test! 2. Wine Trails and Tours 
source Michigan has some of these most amazing wineries in the country. You can visit the tasting rooms, take a long walk around the beautiful grounds or even hire a private tour to take you from winery to winery. If you want to see what Michigan country side is really like the wine trails are the place to do it. 3. Lake Michigan Beaches 
source Michigan is also renowned for some amazing beaches. If your looking for a nice relaxing day head on over to Silver Beach in Saint Joseph. (I grew up just 15 minutes from the beach so I have a warm, fuzzy spot for it.) When your tired of laying in the sun walk on up to the bluff to browse some eclectic shops. Don't forget to stop and get some fudge and ice cream at Kilwin's. I promise you won't be disappointed. Where to eat 1. Sushiya & Sakura For the sushi lover in you! *grin* Mr. Meerkat and I both have a affinity for sushi. Seriously we probably go out a few times a month for it. While my heart belong to Sakura, Sushiya is also an amazing place. They also have amazing hibachi if someone in your group doesn't like sushi. (I am looking at you Mama-In-Law Meerkat!) 2. Erbellis TO DIE FOR PIZZA! Erbellis is a local favorite and every time Mr. Meerkat's family comes into town they request to eat here. Everything from the pizza to the calzones to the salads are amazing. For real—the best Italian food I have ever had. 3. Bangkok Flavor If you like spicy food like Mr. Meerkat, this is the place to eat (but don't worry, they have mild versions too). The menu is pretty authentic as the family who owns it closes down for a month each fall to visit family in Thailand. You can order any of the food with your choice of spiciness: no spice, mild, medium, medium plus, Bangkok hot. I always go for mild or no spice, while Mr. Meerkat goes medium plus. 4. Smash Burger Sometimes there is nothing like a greasy burger and fries. Smash Burger is actually a chain but they make one of the most amazing burgers I have ever had. Pick the make your own combination so you can add blue cheese and cherry BBQ (which you can only get at Michigan Smash Burgers). *drool* Where to stay 1. Henderson Castle 
source This B&B would be my number one choice for where to stay in Kalamazoo. Even thought it was built in 1895 the grounds are amazing and all the amenities are very modern! Not to mention, the people who run it make you feel special. My favorite thing is that each room is decorated in a different theme from around the world, which of course, the traveler in me loves. 2. Radisson in Downtown Kalamazoo 
source It’s right in downtown Kalamazoo and probably one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen. What I love most about this hotel is that you are right in walking distance of many restaurants and the Arcadia grounds where each weekend during the summer there is a festival of some type going on. You check out all the things to do in downtown Kalamazoo here. Ok, ok I am going to stop here because if you let me I would go on and on about Kalamazoo. We really do love it here because we have the best of both the countryside and city life. After reading this I know you’re dying to book your trip to Kalamazoo. So when you get that all set, let us know so we can all go to dinner!  ~~~ See all the posts in the Honeymoon in my Hometown Series here!  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Yay, it’s Cyber Monday! (Big surprise, right?). It’s one of our favorite shopping days because, for all the hype, it’s a great chance to save big on wedding items you’ll probably be purchasing anyway. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites but be sure to let us know what deals we missed!
These eco-friendly wedding favors include a flower pot with peat pellet and take just a bit of water to turn into a plant. 25 sets from Nature Favors – 25% off How I wish I would have know about this Etsy seller when I was getting married! Instead I made 150 of these suckers by hand while slowing eroding my brain with reality TV… 8 Tissue Paper Poms from PomMagic – 15% off ModCloth is having a crazy sale over on their site – I saw (and, ahem, maybe added to my cart) several dresses that would be great for showers, bachelorette parties and even a bridesmaid dress for a destination beach wedding. Plus, there’s this necklace that would be gorgeous with the right wedding dress (and is only $17.99!). Amazon is having some crazy deals on engagement rings and wedding bands (60% off and more!). If you know specifically what you like, it could be the way to go… Didn’t get all of your place settings you registered for (or just want to get a jump start)? Crate and Barrel is offering 25% off all glass stemware, barware and dinnerware place settings! Love these individually wrapped tea bags in decorative paper that can be customized to match your wedding colors. 68 tea bags from Kristy N Skards – already discounted in price You all know what big fans we are of Forgetful Gentlemen’s line of letterpress cards, designed specifically for men? Now you can save 10% off their correspondence sets using the code THANKS10 (while you’re there be sure to check out their new line of leather goods – gorgeous!). What did I miss? Share any cool, wedding Cyber Monday deals with us in the comment section! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In the spirit of post-Thanksgiving, I wanted to repeat what Ariel said last week. I am also incredibly thankful for all of you and for the hours of joy and LOLs that all of your wedding photos provide me. Give yourself a high-five, because you all rock! Anyway, getting back to business, this week's Monday Montage starts off with a bang (pun intended  ). It also has some impressive lookin' ladies, a little steam-punk, a little goth, a few umbrellas and some good old fashioned boogie time.
Watch out. Jessica, has a gun and she knows how to use it... 
... She also has a gaggle of immaculately dress groomsmen escorting her — I wouldn't wanna mess with that. Also, the antique feel of this photo totally plays up the Victorian/Steam-punk theme. I dig.
Speaking of antiques, how neat is Adrian's antique, gold locket?
Now, I'll zoom out a little so you can see how insanely beautiful the rest of Adrian looks. The purple dress was definitely a good choice, the color really makes Adrian's baby blues pop, and that bouquet matches it phenomenally. THE COLORS!
The only thing better then one uber hot bride in a gorgeous wedding dress... TWO beautiful ladies in lovely dresses.
Check out these two ghosts or Justin and Kelly having their first dance. Spooky. Also, you MUST take a closer look at their mind-blowing make-up. They sure know how to throw a Halloween wedding.
Dancing photos are my favorite. This costume-filled Conga Line from Alyson and Jeff's wedding certainly doesn't disappoint.
Alex and Greg do a damn good job at pulling off this American Gothic inspired wedding photo.
Now, we shall move on from American Gothic to Victorian gothic, with this sex-ay photo of Autumn and Robert. They had their victorian-themed wedding at the Edgar Allen Poe Museum.
Thanks to Murphy's Law, it started to rain pour during Cristin and Neb's wedding ceremony. Luckily, they came prepared... with umbrellas! Even though the rain ruined their CD player (which meant no ceremonial music) and nearly destroyed their wedding papers, they sloughed it off and had an amazing wedding.
Speaking of weather, this couple didn't leave it to Mother Nature to decide. They get what they want, which meant getting a snow machine for their reception. The result looks freakin' cool.
Hey, photographers! I love you and do my best to attribute all photos I feature in the Monday Montage, but sometimes brides don't include your info when they submit photos to us. If I've featured your work but it isn't properly credited, email me!
Click here to comment →  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In the spirit of post-Thanksgiving, I wanted to repeat what Ariel said last week. I am also incredibly thankful for all of you and for the hours of joy and LOLs that all of your wedding photos provide me. Give yourself a high-five, because you all rock! Anyway, getting back to business, this week's Monday Montage starts off with a bang (pun intended ). It also has some impressive lookin' ladies, a little steampunk, a little goth, a few umbrellas and some good old fashioned boogie time.
Watch out. Jessica, has a gun and she knows how to use it...
... She also has a gaggle of immaculately dress groomsmen escorting her — I wouldn't wanna mess with that. Also, the antique feel of this photo totally plays up the Victorian/Steam-punk theme. I dig.
Speaking of antiques, how neat is Adrian's antique, gold locket?
Now, I'll zoom out a little so you can see how insanely beautiful the rest of Adrian looks. The purple dress was definitely a good choice, the color really makes Adrian's baby blues pop, and that bouquet matches it phenomenally. THE COLORS!
The only thing better then one uber hot bride in a gorgeous wedding dress... TWO beautiful ladies in lovely dresses.
Check out these two ghosts or Justin and Kelly having their first dance. Spooky. Also, you MUST take a closer look at their mind-blowing make-up. They sure know how to throw a Halloween wedding.
Dancing photos are my favorite. This costume-filled Conga Line from Alyson and Jeff's wedding certainly doesn't disappoint.
Alex and Greg do a damn good job at pulling off this American Gothic inspired wedding photo.
Now, we shall move on from American Gothic to Victorian gothic, with this sex-ay photo of Autumn and Robert. They had their victorian-themed wedding at the Edgar Allen Poe Museum.
Thanks to Murphy's Law, it started to rain pour during Cristin and Neb's wedding ceremony. Luckily, they came prepared... with umbrellas! Even though the rain ruined their CD player (which meant no ceremonial music) and nearly destroyed their wedding papers, they sloughed it off and had an amazing wedding.
Speaking of weather, this couple didn't leave it to Mother Nature to decide. They get what they want, which meant getting a snow machine for their reception. The result looks freakin' cool.
Hey, photographers! I love you and do my best to attribute all photos I feature in the Monday Montage, but sometimes brides don't include your info when they submit photos to us. If I've featured your work but it isn't properly credited, email me!
Click here to comment → | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A few weeks ago I went to an antique store called Uncommon Objects on South Congress here in Austin. Oh, bees…not a good idea. I found and fell in love with an antique blue mason jar full of vintage buttons only to discover that they had many more of them hidden in nooks and crannies around the store. I behaved myself and only bought one, thank you, but I may have to go back for more. I also found this little gem… 
And what is this little gem?
It's a jar full of old knick-knacks such as a shell necklace, vintage spools of string and twine, buttons, a star appliqué and plastic rings. The lid is covered in pages from a book and tied with antique ribbon. I wanted to possibly make more of these jars myself and find a way to incorporate them in our wedding decor along with the jars of buttons. Then, I had an even better idea. Instead of filling jars with other people's old string and mementos, I should fill them with ours. I should make little memory jars that are distinctly us. Goodness knows the both of us hang onto movie tickets and other kitschy objects that are just packed away in boxes. We Waffles should get them out, display them and have little conversation starters. What a great way to get all that craziness from 30-something years on this planet out of the closet and out in the open! What little detail has spurred your wedding inspiration lately?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If you read through my posts (which I am *so* sure you will do immediately after reading this post), you'll see that I am the bottom of the barrel when it comes to being a wedding blogger. I am neither crafty nor DIY inclined, but worse yet, my posts don't even have a ton of inspiration or research for you. Practically useless! However, the biggest kick I got out of blogging was being random and sharing some humor during the often hand-wringing process of wedding planning. While my earlier posts started on the straightforward and narrow, at some point I veered sharply into attempting to be funny and entertaining. Whether I succeeded is questionable, although I sure got a giggle out of the whole thing. Wow…where am I going with this. Anyway, this is one of my favorite posts because it's perfectly random—it doesn't share anything useful with readers, doesn't reveal anything interesting about my wedding, but I love it anyway because I think I'm so damn funny. ~~~ Get it? Get it? Today I'm talking about trains! Betcha thought this was about me getting a yummy pair of Jimmy Choos, huh? Well no. Although perhaps that would have been a way cooler post.* Back to choo-choo. I didn't think much about the train in purchasing a wedding dress, but then I found so many lovely photos you can get with a train. And guess what I realized? Your train can be pretty demanding. It refuses to be left out, and bulldozes its way into every phase of the wedding. Needy, needy train, about to bore down with frightening might and speed on your wedding. The train getting ready, *without you*. I mean, the TRAIN has its own getting ready pic? 
Source [train speaking:] Bow to me. 'Nuff said. And someone get me a steamer. Bitches.
The train elbowing its way into your bridal shots:
Source Lady, you and your damn shoes are getting in the way of my photo. And if that heel gets anywhere near me I swear to… 
Source Yeah, scootch over hon. Uh huh and don't crinkle me either, lift that butt up. The train crashing your first look: 
Source Huh, you think that's *your* man? Well guess what he's really looking at? Yeah, me! He's only pretending to be excited looking at your face-he's really just pumped that in a few seconds he's going to get to reach his hand around your ass and feel me up. The train tagging along at the ceremony: 
Source Daddy always liked me better. You know it's true. And just because I don't have legs to walk on my own doesn't mean that I'm not Numero Uno. The train, front and center at your ceremony: 
Source OMG blah blah blah soooo boring. 
Source That's right, bridesmaids, back the hell up away from my majesty-ness. The train at your formal portraits: 
Source Who are these riffraff and what are they doing in my picture? Who are you people? Your train breaking it down, at *your* reception: 
Source Look at me swish! Bride, nobody wants to see your face. This is my time! And you thought the wedding was about you and your loved one. Aw, that's so sweet… (look of pity) Anyone ready to flaunt their train? *Nowadays I feel like we hear all about the Louboutins and to a certain extent the Manolos-what happened to Jimmy Choo? Where are you Choo fans?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This wedding from the always-amazing Erin Hearts Court is capital C, COOL! It is super chic and modern but has the attitude and feel-good vibe of a house party. The hip Shade Hotel sets the scene for this contemporary, Southern California celebration filled with loads of comfy lounge furniture and incredible, fresh florals from JL DESIGNS. And that ceremony is just jaw-dropping awesome!!! Head on over to the full gallery to get your style fix for the afternoon.
Click here for even more inspiration in the full wedding gallery! My husband, Morgan, and I were married this past August 2010 at Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, CA. I was never the girl who pictured or planned her wedding growing up, but sure enough, soon after we got engaged, we had a very clear picture of the wedding we wanted. We are natural party hosts; one of our favorite activities is having people at our home. We wanted the wedding to feel like our parties do: free flowing, fun, and filled with lots of good music, food, and drink. With that image in mind, we began planning the wedding design and style. As soon as we moved to Manhattan Beach after college, I fell in love with Shade Hotel. It is modern, clean, and simple—a style that describes our taste perfectly. Shade's unique layout made us think differently about the flow of the wedding. We had no assigned seats, all different types of seating, and stations all around the courtyard for the food. We had rented the entire small hotel out, so the weekend felt like a long slumber party with our closes family and friends. Shade had recommended Carissa from JL DESIGNS for our florist, and she really helped my vision come to life. Not only were her florals gorgeous, she really took the role as the event designer and helped us get the right rentals and linens in place. We went with green and white flowers and included some of my favorites, tulips, cala lilies, orchids, and succulents. One of my favorite parts is the fact that each of my bridesmaids carried a bouquet of a different green flower. They looked beautiful held against their gray J.Crew bridesmaid dresses. As for the other details, design-savvy Morgan designed our invitations, website, and paper goods, we used our friends at Jamaica's Cakes for our delicious cake, bought tons of details from different Etsy vendors, had the same ceremony guitarist from my parents’ wedding (with some of the same Cat Stevens songs.) Luckily, our wonderful photographers, Erin Hearts Court, beautifully captured all of it. 
Wedding Venue: Shade Hotel / Wedding Photographers: Erin Hearts Court / Wedding Cinematographer: Living Cinema / Wedding Florist: JL DESIGNS / Lighting and Rentals: Level 4 International / Linens: Wildflower Linen / DJ: Aaron Massey from VOX DJs / Officiant: Greg Mohr from You May Kiss the Bride / Ceremony Music: Marty Kaniger / Hair and Makeup: Nicole DeAnne Bridal Hair and Makeup / Bride's Hair Accessory: 5eizen / Bride's Dress: Modern Trousseau from The White Dress / Bride's Shoes: Charles David / Bride's Shoe Clips: bpoetic / Bride's bracelet: emin jewelry / Bridesmaid Dresses and Shoes: J. Crew and Nine West / Groom's Suit: J. Crew / Groomsmen Accessories: The Tie Bar, Express, and Converse / Flower Girl Tutu: tutugirl / Wedding Bands: Pasha Fine Jewelry / Wedding Cake: Jamaica's Cakes / Wedding Cake Toppers: RedLight Studio / Favors: Gotta Have S'more © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California, Chic, Erin Heart's Court, Gotta Have S'mores, JL Designs, Living Cinema, Manhattan Beach, Modern, Modern Trosseau
Post categories: Contemporary, The Blog
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I've never been good at describing myself, so I'll just share a wedding-related story from back in the day and some photos. When it came time for senior prom, instead of choosing a fun bright-colored prom dress like my classmates, I chose a big white ball gown. Which cost me more than I'd like to share. Sister Starfish told me I was crazy. At the time I justified it by telling her I was going to wear it when I got married. She wanted to place a bet on it, which luckily, we didn't do. I worked every weekend so I could afford my dream dress, and I would have worn it as my wedding dress if it still fit. It's funny how so much has changed in seven years, but some things are still the same. 
Take a look at my “original” wedding dress versus the one I ended up with.  I didn't realize how similar the styles are until I hung my wedding dress in my closet, which happend to go next to my prom dress—yes I still have it. Starfish Mom saw it and pointed out how similar they are. They both are strapless A-lines with a bit of flower detail. My jewelry choices haven't changed much, either; I chose pearls for both my prom and wedding day.
Sky Pup was even around for this. I didn't have a date for my senior prom, so I took a photo with Sky instead. Over seven years later, he still takes photos with me on special occassions, like the day after we got engaged. 
Another thing that hasn't changed since high school—my love for reality TV. Can you name the reality stars below? 
Spring Break 2003 
Fall 2008 Has your style changed since high school?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | One of my favorite comments I've gotten on a post was something along the lines of, “Wow—three posts about STDs, and you haven't made a decision yet. If you don't make one soon, you'll never be ready by May!” It made me laugh because it's so true, but it also made me smile because, I swear, Mr. G says something along those lines to me every single time we're talking about wedding projects. But, yes, it's true, I've talked a lot about STDs. Invite- and STD-inspiration posts are some of my favorites to read and follow (and I'm sure there are others like me) so, in the words of Mr. Mathers, I ain't quite finished yet. Our actual save the dates aren't quite ready for their Weddingbee debut, but today I wanted to share an STD that didn't quite make the cut. Our wedding guests won't get to see it, but I wanted to share because this little guy grew on me for a little while. (That, and I love following people's design processes). I designed this at the point where I didn't want a magnet and I was obsessed with the 9″ x 4″ size—and I was obsessed with that size for a good couple of weeks. 
(Click for a larger view)
Mama Giraffe kept asking me why my name was bigger than Mr. Giraffe's…I swear, it just happened that way. I totally didn't plan it…Really… Also, I feel compelled to point out that I have another version of this one where “Shoes and Socks” got replaced with “Batman and Robin.” We probably would've gone with that one if we had to choose (but only because “Wolverine and Adamantium” didn't have the same ring to it…). I've actually made sure to save all of the designs we didn't go with just so I could scrapbook them later. Anybody else going through a million versions of their save the dates?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I chose this post as my favorite because of the sense of community I experienced in the responses. Truthfully, I thought the reactions would be lukewarm, at best, and expected a fairly low number of comments. Instead, all you incredible hive members made me feel like a rock star. I read the comments with tears streaming down my face and have never felt so supported like I did at that moment. When I joined Weddingbee in June of 2009, I never expected to feel so welcomed and a part of something, not only in my wedding plans but in my life as well. The spirit of support within readers is something that has touched all of the blogger bees in various moments, and for me, this was my moment when all I could think was, “Wow. These people are amazing.” Because you guys really, truly are. Thank you for helping me push myself to run my fastest marathon yet! ~~~ 26.2 miles were run on Monday in Beantown. It wasn't pretty but it's done, and damn, if it wasn't crazy-fun yet totally torturous all at the same time. Words are failing me at the moment so some picture narratives will have to do instead: 
Finally, I am the proud owner of the highly-prestigious/much-coveted (fine, only in the running world but still…) BAA marathon jacket. Seriously, every time I've seen someone wearing one of these while running in the park, I had a major case of the envies. Until now.
Pre-race, taken at about 6:00 AM on Marathon Monday, which would explain my lack of open eyes. I was on my way to take the shuttle (school) bus out to start line, Gatorade and banana in hand. 
My mom took this one (and the rest of them, come to think of it) at Mile 17. Truth be told, I was totally majorly hurting by this point and it felt like if I stopped at all, even for a second, I'd never be able to start again. Therefore, I am gesturing a bit wildly to Mom to "Take a picture!" because I couldn't stop! 
Action shot at Mile 22. Definitely could not stop by this point. Again, I was pretty much fading but I think I managed to put on a good show for the camera. 
Finally, finally finished. But not without some war wounds. Between a massive blister on my heel and several more on my toes, plus chafing and a bruise/scrape from when I tripped and fell (while warming up. I'm such an effin' klutz…) I was kind of a mess. 
And one with my parents. Who schlepped to Boston, stayed in a ridiculously overpriced Holiday Inn, fed me pasta the night before and got up with me early in the morning, all for the chance to see me run in the marathon. For about a total of 7 seconds. Thanks, mom and dad! I had a wonderful weekend in Boston and the marathon was incredible. I know not everyone feels like this when they reach the finish line of a marathon but for a lot of people, it truly is an event filled with emotion. Trust me when I say that 26.2 miles really is as far as it seems. And it's an awesome feeling to realize that you did it. Secret confession: I cried when I crossed the finish line. OK, I guess for those who know me that's not really much of a secret confession, but I'm still slightly embarrassed by the fact. Good thing the only people around me were lots of sweaty, tired runners, most of whom were in too much pain to notice anything else. And even though I went out way way way too fast, I still managed to take 6 minutes off my best marathon time. Greeeeat success! (Borat voice.) And my final confession for the day? I brought (OK, fine, wore) my finisher's medal to school to show to all my students. It was awesome. Who has crossed the finish line of a race and felt emotional about it? It's a good metaphor for the "race to the altar", don't you think?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I couldn't think of one big shocking secret to reveal to you (yeah I know, I'm so boring), but I thought it might be fun to use this post to tell you some things about myself ( a la Cupcake and Espresso) that most people don't know about. I've narrowed it down to the five least-boring I could think of, just for you: 1. I have eaten snake. 
Not this exact snake, but the same type: Burmese Python
Long story short, we were staying the night with some Karen refugees in Thailand (near the Burmese border) when I was 14 and the biggest snake I have ever seen in my life (and I have seen quite a few) woke us up. It was over 2 metres long (I measured). The people we were staying with made some kind of meatballs out of it…the dish wasn't my favourite, to be honest. Spicy, and full of tiny bones. But hey, it makes a good story, right? Now that I think of it I have eaten a few weird and wonderful things: camel (yum!), crocodile, water buffalo, bat, grub, cicada, etc. But I think the snake is the most interesting of them all. 2. I'm bird-obsessed. Ever since I was about 11 I haven't been able to get enough of them. I started off with pet budgies, graduated to cockatiels, and then I even had some Eclectus parrots, and a fig parrot or two. Take a look at two of my gorgeous babies, Walter (the green one) and Ruby (the red and blue), both Eclectus parrots: 
(personal pics) I even wanted to be an avian veterinarian at one point. I have so many magazines and books on bird care that it isn't even funny. Sadly, I'm birdless at the moment, but hopefully in the future when we get more “settled” that won't be the case. 3. I'm afraid of escalators. Isn't that the most pathetic thing to be scared of ever?! Yeah well, I hate them and think they are evil. I'm forced to go on them occasionally when there are no stairs as an alternative, but the whole time I'm imagining accidentally missing the moving step, falling over, getting my leg ripped open and bleeding to death right there. When I have to hop on an escalator I even wait a few seconds and count to three before making the step just to make sure. Silly Miss E. 
aaaaah! 4. One of my little fantasies (no, not that sort of fantasy!), is to own a small homemade craft and sweets shop. One of those places that is filled with random but gorgeous trinkets and what-not, where brides or anyone can come in to find something special…and eat cupcakes and have a cup of tea with me of course. Then I could wear fun aprons like this one all day long: 
source That would be the life….unfortunately it doesn't really jive with my grand PhD and professor-ing dreams, but hey, a girl can dream of other things. 5. I have yet to come out of the closet about my blogging. 
source Believe it or not, hardly anyone, you know, in “real life,” knows I blog. Mr E knows, and my mother and sisters know. That's it. For some reason I just haven't told anyone else because I'm not sure if they would be interested and I kinda like the freedom I have with relative anonymity. Plus I don't want our guests to know every single detail about our wedding.  There you have it: five things not everyone knows about me. Anyone else out there who has eaten snake, loves birds, has a silly escalator fear, fantasies about craft shops, or is a closet-blogger?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 
The wonderful Olivia Kanaley just created this DIY project - wreath escort cards - for us! It is so festive and fabulous, and you can get the how-to over in our wedding ideas section. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I recently traveled to Fiji to see what I could learn about wedding and honeymoon travel over there. I wrote a post about gay travel in Fiji and shared some photos from a wedding I got to crash. And, as promised, here is the bigger meatier post full of tips and advice. If you're considering an island destination wedding or honeymoon getaway, this is the post for you. If you're not ... well, I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I arrived VERY early Saturday morning to Nadi, Fiji. My very first impression of Fiji was that I have never met a warmer, friendlier, more outgoing group of people... especially at 4am! From the guy who drove me from the airport to my hotel who excited told me as much about his home as he could squeeze in to a seventeen minute car ride, to the man who welcomed me, grabbed my hand and walked me to my room ... everyone was so incredibly friendly.
Unfortunately, the rainy weather arrived with me. I wanted to drop my bags and immediately relax in the early morning sun, but the weather had other ideas. My SPF 50 sunblock mocked me for several days. Since I couldn't have a typical beach vacation, I had a lot of opportunities to look into, well, all of Y'ALL'S opportunities...
The money situation
The thing about Fiji is that it's costly as hell to get here — even with my plane ticket comped, we still couldn't afford for my husband to come with — but once you're here, everything is really reasonably priced! $1 US = (approx) $.50 FJ The legalities
Except for gay weddings, all weddings held in Fiji are recognized as legal worldwide. You don't really need to jump through any extra hoops. Where not to stay
Once you've paid the dough to fly yourselves to a totally different country... a place like the Sheraton or the Westin would not be the place to experience the local culture. The feeling when I got there was just like, "this could be any decent hotel on any beach anywhere in the world." I spent two days at the Sheraton itching to leave! Later, I stayed for two days on a tiny island and never got bored ... so I'm gonna say that I found the international chain resorts a little lame. Feeling good about spending dough
 My room at the Intercontinental The Intercontinental is definitely NOT for your budget wedding. It may not even be the place for a wildly nontraditional wedding. But it may be a great place for your splurgefest Fijian honeymoon. Because, if you want to make sure that your tourist dollars are going towards the local economy, the Intercontinental is THEE place for you to stay and feel amazing about it. Sanjeshni told me all about how this place is Fijian owned and operated, which means everything spent there goes straight to helping the locals. Speaking of locals, the hotel is situated right next to a Fijian village and the villagers were given a space in the hotel to sell their goods. I got to catch an amazing show that they're hired by the hotel to perform for the guests. The singing was the best I heard on Fiji. It gave me chills. Having a combined honeymoon and wedding
 Me on the boat jetty with Mana island in the background. They put me up in a honeymoon bure, which was great ... although a little sad to be there alone. But I did get to go in the ocean for the first (and only) time while I was in Fiji. And the honeymoon bures (which rent for roughly $500 US a night) have their own private beach, their own outdoor shower, and jacuzzi tub ... and they give you use of your own personal golf cart. It's also situated right near the entrance of a pretty neat little hike. Basically, it would make for the most amazing honeymoon, if you have the funds and didn't want to go the luxury hotel route.  Hey look, it's that awesome bathing suit again! Yes, Mana island, would be a fucking sweet location for a perfect Fiji island wedding and honeymoon. If you are a couple who is more into the eco-friendly way of life and/or would like to offset the carbon footprint of that long flight, you guys would really love Matava Fiji's Premier Eco Resort — we're talking a VERY eco-friendly wedding or honeymoon on this island with a 100% off-the-grid hotel, running primarily on solar power! For more info about eco-friendly digs on Fiji check out this post from a fellow Fiji blogger. Offbeat wedding opportunities
The only good thing that came out of my stay at the Sheraton was that I got to meat with a company called Adrenaline Fiji who are very interested in orchestrating nontraditional weddings. We're talking... - Hot air balloon weddings.
- Underwater weddings in a number of prime diving locations.
- Weddings that take place on a disappearing sand bar that you and your entire wedding party could jet ski to, while they bring the rest of your guests in by boat.
- Or having your wedding and first romantic night as a married couple held entirely on a boat while touring various Fijian sites.
The folks on Mana Island also said that they could do underwater weddings, and another hotel I got to visit, Sonaisali, told me that they often have bride or groom make a grand entrance on a boat to the wedding site!  Either way, there are tons of people on Fiji who are excited about helping you have a ridiculous and wonderful wedding. In closing...
Bottom line, Fijans are keen on hosting weddings, so call either one of the places I mentioned and see what they can do for you. Like I said, most everything is was relatively reasonable and you get A LOT for what you pay for. For if you're looking for a great island wedding location, have saved enough money for a big plane ticket, want your dollars to go towards the greater good and want to get a cultural experience to boot, Fiji is a solid option. (Psst: For more Fiji info and vacation ideas, including more photos and a lot of awkward self-made videos, check out this section of my personal blog.) Click here to comment →  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
When we were thinking of how to deliver the video, sending an email with a link seemed way too informal, but sending an over-produced package didn’t seem right, either. The solution? A DIY sleeve made to look (and work) like a record sleeve. We’ve provided a pattern for you so you can design your own jacket, along with a blank record so you can put in your own text. It could be super cute to use a custom stamp kit (kind of like these business cards or this wedding invitation suite over at design sponge), or hire a calligrapher to write out your names and the date of your wedding, then use that on the jacket and record. We opted for a transparent envelope with a wrap-around label so that the picture of Mike and Amber would show through, but you could also use any other 5″ square envelope. After you’re done designing, the assembly is easy. Cut out your “record jacket” with an exacto knife (be sure you use a sharp one, or you’ll get kind of fuzzy edges like I did) and ruler, and score the lines between the flaps and the front of the jacket. Fold with a bone folder (to make your creases nice and crisp), and glue the flaps to the back of the jacket. Use the record template to customize the template that comes with your cd labels. The possibilities are endless! If you’re stuck, Trent Bailey and You + ME* offers custom packaging design along with stop motion save the dates. Download the templates here: Record graphic CD packaging Label sheet [images from Trent Bailey] Trent Bailey and You + Me* are sponsors of Brooklyn Bride 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | How perfect for an e-session? This cool shot of Kristian and Zach was taken by Jessica Valle. 
So… did anyone get engaged over the Thanksgiving holiday?! We’re planning to have Photo of the Week as a regular feature on One Lovely Day… Got a great pic? Send submissions to blog {@} projectwedding.com. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | “To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart. “ - Phyllis Theroux 
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When it comes to online wedding shopping…I know we all loooooove Etsy (yours truly included), but eBay and its “Buy It Now” button have been just as helpful on my quest for those little, thoughtful details that us brides-to-be feel make all the difference… Like stamps! Postage stamps. Yep, add this one to the pile of details that I'm crushing on and spending way too much time searching for. I think it may date back to my pen-pal-letter-writing days way back in the day—writing letters in purple pen, sprinkling a few glitter stickers on the envelope seal, and mailing it with a few butterfly postage stamps. This was the best kind of mail I ever found in our mailbox. Fast forward to present day. For our wedding invites (which should be finished any minute now!), I'm hoping to decorate our envelopes like this… 
{source} OK, maybe not 10 different types of stamps. That might put me over the edge. But I am really a fan of how this little “mosaic” of stamps gives the envelope so much personality! And thanks to the wonderful world of eBay, I've found an awesome stamp-obsessed seller who is selling every possible stamp I could ever want. Want to see a few? A heart, some Hawaiian surfers, L-O-V-E, vintage Air Mail, and exotic flowers…all symbolize something about our beach wedding and look fun side by side… 
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{source} What about you, bees? What stamps will you be including for your STDs and invitations? What other thoughtful details are you having fun with?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I want to marry this next wedding. Seriously. I want to marry this wedding and live happily ever after together. It’s just that beautiful. Which doesn’t come as any surprise considering the photographer behind the lens was Tanja Lippert who always sends us the greatest weddings ever. The kind of weddings that make you cringe with jealousy and cheer with delight at the exact same time. And this one, just might be her best one yet. And there is SO much more in the gallery. 
click here to see the full wedding gallery! We married on a warm summer day at my grandparent's house on the lake where I grew up. The day was old-fashioned, personal, and full of love. During the day, guests played bocce ball, croquet, horseshoes and badminton, which were set up around the property with handpainted wooden signs marking the areas. One of my favorite details was using one of the antique wooden badminton racquets from my childhood to decorate the sign post. A string quartet, who were friends from my grandmother’s days in the local symphony, played a mix of classical, swing and motown tunes, followed by a hip young backwater blues band that kept the party hopping till midnight. Our 100 guests enjoyed summer cocktails with quirky names, a menu of Spanish tapas selected by the groom, a Spanish professor, and buttercream-frosted chocolate-and-raspberry and carrot wedding cake. Under a driftwood arbor I built with my dad, a close friend officiated, using words which described not only our love, but the meaning of bringing friends and family to this place filled with so much history and meaning. My father also built the long farm tables, the bar, and helped with the extensive restoration of the property, which had fallen into neglect since my beloved grandfather's death. My wedding was a tribute to my grandpa, my most-loved role model, and his love of gardening and of literature. In the year before our wedding, we grew the lavender as well as nearly all the wedding flowers used for the tables and bouquets. We planted over 80 Grosso lavender plants around the ceremony arbor. I recommend doing this more than one year in advance, however! Before the wedding, I was lucky enough to spend an entire week with my maid of honor, my best friend since third grade; she helped me prep the flowers as I arranged bouquets, centerpieces and aisle flowers. I letterpress printed our four-color save the dates, invitations, and signage seen around the ceremony and reception. It took 50 hours at the old platen press, but was well worth it. I made a lifelong friend of my letterpress mentor, Robert Johnson. Part of the letterpress design included a drawing of a mason jar hanging from a branch by a ribbon, and I knew just where to mimic that—from a twisted oak branch hanging over the ceremony area. While I was never one to fantasize much about my wedding as a child, I did always have a favorite "wedding" book: A Frog Went A-Courting, so I used illustrations from the book as backings on our program fans. To celebrate my mother, a children's librarian, we included a reading based on The Runaway Bunny. Marrying near the willow trees was appropriate because I used to beg my grandfather to plant one so I could get married beneath a willow "just like in Frog Went A-Courting." He was adamantly against it, saying it would block the view of the lake. But about six years before he died, he planted not one but four willow trees, sprinkled around the lakeshore. He wanted to fulfill my dream. Style Me Pretty was a huge source of inspiration for me. I truly enjoyed designing our wedding from scratch on an affordable budget: collecting vintage jars from antique shops, beverage dispensers, café lights, apothecary jars and other décor second-hand; handmaking eyelet lace candle holders, birch wood centerpieces, calligraphy drink name tags which we hung on a magnet mirror, and spending hours crafting eyelet candy favor boxes and other DIY projects. I have since helped several friends with their letterpress, floral and design needs. Thus my event planning and design business was born, Clementine & Clover, based in Southern California. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are planning a wedding and are in need of a swift sidekick, a deft day-of designer or a fiesty florist! 
Wedding and Floral Design: Elizabeth Nixon of Clementine & Clover / Catering: Chic le Chef / Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet / Wedding Hair: Danielle's Dream Salon in Lakeport / Bridesmaid Dresses: David's Bridal / Menswear: Jos Bank / Wedding Cake: McKee Somerville in Kelseyville / Graphic Design: Bellew Creative / Letterpress Printing: Clementine & Clover / Band: Quinn De Veaux and The Blue Beat Review / Photography: Tanja Lippert © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Backyard, California, Clementine & Clover, David's Bridal, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, dock, lakeside, Melissa Sweet, Southern California, Tanja Lippert
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | I was hoping to get some use out of our engagement pictures, and after reading how pleased Mrs. Cheeseburger was with her AdoramaPix wedding album and seeing how Miss Meerkat had used AdoramaPix for her guestbook, I was sold. I went to AdoramaPix.com and created a 26-page 8″ x 10″ photo book to use as our guestbook. Not only was it super easy (and dare I say fun?), but the book just arrived yesterday and I am totally impressed with the quality. Let's take a peek, shall we? I used one of our landscape photos to create the wraparound album cover. 
Then I placed smaller pictures throughout the album, leaving plenty of white space for guests to write messages. 
What's great about AdoramaPix’s online photo-book building tool is that it's super easy to make a photo fill an entire page like this: 
Or even make a photo fill an entire spread like this: 
And since the pages lie flat, the seam between the two pages is barely noticeable. I'm super happy with how it turned out, and it was totally a great deal! When I went online to register for the site, they gave me a $10 credit, making my grand total $42.40, including tax (because apparently it's made in New York) and shipping ('cause I was too lazy to pick it up from the New York City lab). There's no way I would have ever heard of AdoramaPix if it weren't for the hive, and I'm so happy that I found it!!! Are there things you're using for your wedding that you would not have heard about had it not been for the hive?  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This week 5 Star Wedding Directory enjoyed stunning views over the Thames and St Pauls during lunch and champagne hosted by The Swan at Shakespeare's Globe, on London's Southbank. The Shakespeare's Globe, is not only, as many might think, a dramatic open-air theatre, but a rather magical and yet unassuming London venue steeped in literary history. The two striking event spaces can cater perfectly for different sized weddings.  Swan at te Globe We dined in the Balcony Room which holds up to 120 guests and serves as a perfect setting for photos with its romantic Juliet Balcony opening out onto unsurpassed views of the River Thames. The unique Underglobe, which is located directly beneath the theatre stage, can accommodate up to 400 guests and provides couples with the opportunity to create a more dramatic backdrop with its artificial oak tree, permanent staging, mezzanine level and sweeping staircase – we loved the idea of vintage birdcage chandeliers and lanterns to create a Midsummer Night's Dream setting. Drummers, aerial acrobats, vintage dressing up booths, buskers, sonnets and soliloquies can all be organised to ensure you and your guests experience an authentic and enchanting wedding night. The Swan's in-house event chefs develop exciting menus each season, including sumptuous feasts, innovative canapés and theatrical food stations. Hard as it was, not to devour the whole platter of Kashmiri Chicken Poppadom canapés, I held back for the delicious Sea Bass main and was glad that I had when finally presented with my mango brulee dessert. Unfortunately my petit fours missed out but I was blissfully full from The Swan's delightful example of its wedding breakfast. A Wedding Ceremony at St Pauls or Southwark Registry Office followed by a reception at the Shakespeare's Globe is perfect for those in search of tradition and drama conveniently located in the heart of London. For more information visit www.swanattheglobe.co.uk or call 020 7928 9444   | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
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