Red, Blue, White, & Lobster-ish

By now, I'm sure that every bride-to-be that has read her fair share of blogs in the last couple of months has seen the a-mazing wedding of Jen & Gabe shot by Stacey Kane.I was so in love with this storyboard that I found my way to Stacey Kane's blog. You HAVE to go here and watch the slide show featuring more pictures from this charming wedding/reception. Stacey's photography work is incredible. The couple's vision was so different and distinct and carried through to every aspect of their day. From the khaki shorts for the groomsmen and the rope boutonnieres to the red boxed favors and the red and white ribbon streamers made this wedding awe inspiring. Hopefully I will be able to pull off my theme as well as Jen and Gabe did!

Re-thinking the Favors

About a month ago, I blogged about the problems that I have/had with various wedding favors that I had seen on-line. Favors such as small candles, tiny picture frames, and key chains never really get used by the guest or are often forgotten and left at the venue. How sad...especially when each favor can cost $2 to $3 per guest. So, I began to consider not giving out favors...until I came across the candy bar buffet!

What a great idea! The candy bar buffet can be displayed throughout the reception, allowing guests to graze as the night goes on. Whats even better is that the leftover candy can be eaten and the bride and groom will not end up with thirty 3.5inch by 3 inch rhinestone frames!

What makes this idea even more attractive is the affordability and the customization that comes with it! Buying candy in bulk is easily done and stores like Ikea and Target offer the various sizes of vases and bowls at cheap/reasonable prices. If I decide to spoil my guests with the candy buffet at my wedding, I would purchase blue, green, & white M&M's and almonds, green & white gummy bears, green & blue skittles, green Swedish fish, and perhaps some green & blue sour patch straws (have to stay with the navy and green color scheme!)!

Standstill

I think I am at a standstill.

I mean honestly, until actually getting engaged and at least letting the groom-to-be have an opinion on/say in the wedding details, how much more can I plan!?

So, in the mean time I continue to look for more inspiration, more blogs, and cheap nylon rope!!

I wish that my entry into the reception could be like this: (photo by Jessica Claire). I think it would go with my "tying the knot"/nautical-ish theme quite well!

I would absolutely frame this picture of the wedding party: (photo by Jessica Claire)

Today I picked up the new Rascal Flatts CD (my boyfriend and I met at a Rascal Flatts concert in 2005). Maybe my next DIY project could be attempting to get RF to sing/play at my wedding/reception...

Wishful thinking.

Copycat

If I could copy one wedding (out of the knottie bios I have searched thus far), it would be this one: Mrs. Anayisnin's Bio all pictures are the wonderful work of Laura Novak.

I love, love, love everything about her wedding...right down to the hanging initials!!!

And then there is her bouquet!!!! To die for. See her bio for a close up of her bouquet, her bridesmaids bouquet, and the boutonniere for the groom and groomsmen.
The scene stealer at this amazing reception has to be the cake. How elegant! Check out her bio for more detailed pictures and info about the baker.

But you know that I fell in love with the name plaques ("Amanda & Brett") displayed on the escort card table. How precious!!
A couple of days ago I wrote about how hard it was for me to blog about something other than MY wedding. Now I'm just hoping that I don't end up changing my color scheme/theme to something else...like this wedding/reception!

Caught in the Act

So this weekend I was caught in the act by my boyfriend...visiting weddingbee! Oops!

Seeing as how we're not engaged YET, I knew he would give me a "look" and ask why I was visiting such a site. I applied my most innocent smile and told him that I was just browsing and getting inspiration...which is true!!

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about table names for the reception. Should I go with names of various knots (bowline, clove hitch, square knot, etc), different synonyms for love(Commitment, Honor, Devotion, Faith, etc.), or other nautical images such as the flags below: (from theknot)

Although I l-o-v-e this look, I feel as though I am too much of a color-coordinating freak and I wouldn't be able to handle a red and yellow with my navy and green details. So....I am leaning towards the different kinds of knots to substitute as table numbers.

Thank You!

I just wanted to post a quick thank you to everyone that has visited my blog, left comments/suggestions, and have inspired me or led me to inspiration! Blogging has become an obsession and I love to see what others are up to! Coming across a new blog literally makes my day. Please send me the links to your blog (or leave them in the comment section), I would love to pay your page a visit!

My favorite blogs are listed to the right...I visit each of them at least 4 times a day!!

Here are some of the recent blogs/bios that I have come across:
magnificentbliss See the bios of MrsHoya, MrsRobsButton, and MrsAnayisnin
Wahl-Flowers Wedding
Faye and Greer
Style Me Pretty

I look forward to making your blogs a daily read of mine!

J&C Initials

Today, my dreams came true.

Let me explain. I have been envisioning a DIY project for my reception for about 2 months now. I have been searching high and low and all over the internet for a "J" "&" "C" initials that are 12inches or greater in a brushed silver or white.
So imagine my delight when Sarah from "toast and tables" blogspot pointed me towards one of her recent posts:

http://toastandtables.blogspot.com/2007/08/initial-impact.html

OMG! Made my day!
Back to my DIY project:
The "J" "&" "C" initials will be displayed at the reception. When the guests enter the reception venue they will pick up their escort cards. Attached to the escort card will be a 1/4 inch diameter(ish) white nylon rope about 4 inches long (ala the "tying the knot" theme). Written on the end of the rope in navy permanent marker (in VERY small print) will be the name(s) of the guest..."The Smiths". If the guest(s) are friends of the bride, they will tie their rope in a knot on the "J" initial. Friends of the groom will tie their rope in a knot around the "C" initial. Family members of the bride and the groom will tie their rope in a knot on the "&". After the reception I would like to put the initials into a large shadow box to display in our home and have a visible reminder of the day we "tied the knot" and all of the people that were there to support us.

I am so excited!! Thank you Sarah for your help! Hopefully my paragraph above explains my DIY project somewhat clearly...if not, I hope to have a test run soon for my idea with some pictures!

Expanding My Horizons

I must confess that this blog has become my baby the last 2-3 months. I have only really posted about ideas for MY wedding, MY color scheme, and anything important to me. I suppose there comes a time when one has to let go and blog about all things wedding and not be so self-centered. The time has come. (Besides, there's only so much I can blog about regarding my own weddnig if I'm not even engaged yet!)

If I was brave enough to have an outdoor reception....this is what I would want.

However, the thought of rain on my wedding day/reception is something that I would have sleepless nights over. Thus, my wedding/reception will be indoors.

Ok there, I did it. I blogged about something other than what will be occuring at MY wedding. That was a big step.

My Inspiration Board

Ta-da!!
My updated inspirration board...a little classier, a little better pictures, a little more me.

1. candy jars filled with white, green, and possibly blue candies.

2. ties for the groomsmen

3, 6, 8, 11. potential table settings that i LOVE

4. DIY for the church doors and reception with the initials J&C

5. church pew decorations...so classy

7. signiture drinks in blue and green

9. my ring...i hope and wish!

10. rope for the "tying the knot" theme

12. at the lake for labor day weekend

13, 16. bridesmaids flowers and dress

14, 15. invitations in navy and white and a neat way to address them

(pictures are from jcrew, the knot, myself, and a few of my favorite blogs!)

Asking the BM's

Two of my bridesmaids live far far away (Minnesota and Texas) and I always thought it would be cute to ask them in some other way than the typical phone call.

So I found this adorable card!!

The writing says: "Will you be my bridesmaid? I promise not to make you wear an ugly dress."

LOVE IT.

Nautical Totes for the BM's

In thinking about gifts for my BM's I have a few objectives in mind:

• gifts correlate with the tying the knot theme / nautical vibe


• gifts can actually be used/appreciated and can serve more than one purpose

Let me preface the rest of this post with the statement that I am obsessed with totes. Show me a great tote and I will show you my money.
So you can imagine my delight when I found this tote: (from: Nautigear)

And then these totes: (http://www.vivaterra.com/)Love at first sight. All bags are made from actual sail cloth (ala my navy and green color scheme and nautical-ish theme)!! The bags would serve as a tote on the day of the wedding and would also serve as gift bags that hold lots of other goodies for my lovely BM's (such as the typical flip flops, necklace for the big day to coordinate with the dress, etc).

I'm so excited about them and they aren't even for me!!

Full Stem Ahead...Almost

I would be full steam ahead IF I had gotten engaged this weekend. But another weekend goes by and my finger remains "naked".

I have officially started my new job and spent all of last week in Chicago in a training room the size of a large closet. Over the weekend I flew into Dayton for one of my good friend's engagement party. Engagement parties complete with other friends that are engaged get me more excited to finally be able to OPENLY plan my wedding (and share this blog!). This week puts me back in Chicago and back inside the training room. However, I promise to post more often....as long as I can find the inspiration while I am stuffed in training/a small closet.

My naked finger and I are off to find more inspiration...

Inspiration Board

My inspiration board:

Now this is JUST the beginning!! I haven't gotten the chance yet to really play around with the the Mosaic Maker that I used to make the board. Annnd there's only so much planning that a girl can do without being engaged!!

From the top left:

1. Love the initial in green mums for the doors of the church
2. The white nylon rope that will appear on my programs, invites, etc.
3. On the pier at the lake over Labor Day weekend
4. My ideal ring...fingers crossed!
5. The tie for the groomsmen that will match the bridesmaids flowers
6. The bridesmaids flowers
7. Funky writing for the invitations
8. Clean invitations that i love
9. Bridesmaids dresses from J.Crew

Initials

I found this cute arrangement on the "Classic Bride" blog.

I love it for the following reasons:

1. The green mums would work perfectly with my color scheme

2. It would look beautiful on the doors to the church or by the gift table at the reception

3. Its a DIY project!!

Pretty Writing

I recently found this caligraphy example on one of the 10 blogs that I visit daily. I am in LOVE.

I have thought about addressing the envelopes myself. I feel as though I am somewhat "artsy." As in, I can make it work. But, this is divine.

And I want to use navy ink since my invitations will most likely be navy and white. I wonder how many navy sharpies/caligraphy pens I will have to go thru to make my invitation envelopes look anything like the above images.

Invitation Inspiration

I came across this invitation on the classic bride blog:

How clean and crisp! I think that I would like to do something similar in navy and white (with the nylon rope that I have been raving about!) Buuut until I have an engagement ring on my finger...there is only so much I can plan!

Favors?

Many wedding websites feature hundreds of favors for the bride and groom give to their guests as a way of thanking them for being part of/coming to their special day. There are DIY favors, extravagant favors, and everything in between from $1-???.

How cute would this favor be? It would "tie" into my nautical/knot theme somewhat well:



But....these little favors run for about $2. That means for 100 people at our wedding (and there will be more than that), we're already looking at $200!

Here are the problems that I have with favors:

• at the weddings that I've been to, I haven't even gotten a favor


• who uses the favor anyway? I never listen to the songs on the CD, I probably wouldn't have much use for a glass or frame with the couples wedding date on it, and truthfully, I probably would never use the sailboat candle holder.

I don't think that I'm going to do the whole favor "thing". I would rather put that $200+ towards better food at the reception....or towards my honeymoon!

Not Done Yet

As much as I THINK that I have planned a lot ahead of time for my wedding, I realized today that there are still a lot of details that I have yet to explore. For example:

• The actual DATE!! I feel as though maybe this should be a decision we both make. haha.


• Although I know the style of the cake I want, I have no idea where to start with any flavors or fillings for it.


• DJ, church, and reception venue have yet to be determined


• The song playlist for the reception


• The guest list...ugh


• The programs for the ceremony


• Incorporating the white nylon rope into the invitations


• Flower centerpieces for the reception. I am thinking green roses/green berries/other green flowers with a rope around the vase. Something like:

Clean, contrasting, and eye catching. Love it. I guess I have this bullet point taken care of!



Ugh. I can see how wedding planning becomes overwhelming...and I'm not even supposed to be planning yet!! But I am honestly loving every second of it... so far!!

For the Groomsmen

Now I know that it is normally the Groom that gets to pick out the gifts for his attendants...but I would like to have a say!

One of the things that I would like to see presented to the GM is:

(excuse the poor picture quality) I think that this tie would look great on the GM against their black suits/tuxedos. Annndddd it would coordinate with the BM's flowers:

Everything is coming together...even though there's no actual engagement yet!!

Ring Shopping...

...without the Groom-to-Be. C refuses to go ring shopping with me due to his wish to pick out the ring himself. So we came to the agreement that I could go shopping myself and tell him if there are any styles/settings that I do not like. Thus, it will still be his decision as he picks out the ring himself.

So I took my friend DDD with me today to Preston's Rocks where we were in awe. I found that the "setting" that I like the most is something like the following:A thinner band with diamonds on the band. I know that he will do a great job in p:icking out a bea-u-tiful rock!

For the Bridesmaids

I am in love with this navy bridesmaids dress from JCrew:

Hopefully the price will come down about a hundred dollars or I can find a good knockoff.

I am also in love with these green roses for the bridesmaids bouquet. I think the green would be a great accent to the navy dresses. My original plan was to go with a bouquet of green orchids, but I like the simplicity of the roses.

I had an inspiration board all ready to go, but the formatting is still a little off. I think it might come down to printing it off, scanning it in, and THEN posting it.

Wishful Thinking

So, this Labor Day Weekend passed with no proposal. If Chris would have proposed this weekend, it would have "tied" in perfectly with my previously mentioned "Tying the Knot" theme. But, Im sure that when it happens, the moment and the proposal itself will be perfect.

However, I did manage to get the picture I fell in love with....against all of Chris's wishes:

So, its not exactly what I pictured, but it will have to do for now.

However, I am still full steam ahead with my nautical theme. Obsessed is a good word to describe my love for it.