The Perfect Table

In starting from scratch, I will I begin the search for my black & white table decorations with this picture from Jasmine Star :

I love the idea of a damask table runner on black or white linens. I took a cue from Darci at With This Ring , and have found some pretty inexpensive fabric ($6.95/yard + free shipping) at Buy Fabrics for my table runners:

I also love the idea from the picture below of taking a thick ribbon and tying it around the table if the linens are long. A plum ribbon perhaps!? I am also envisioning tying a thick plum ribbon around the backs of every other chair at the reception and perhaps around the vases that hold white centerpieces.

DIY Bride features black chalkboard votives that you can personalize any way you would like, perhaps with the words "love" "trust" "luck" "hold" etc.

And, of course, one can always look to Toast and Tables for inspiration!

So, to re-cap:

- Damask runner on white or black linens (maybe every other table will alternate between the two linens?!)

- White centerpieces in tall(er) vases wrapped with plum ribbon...or perhaps 2 or 3 arrangements of white flowers of varying heights/vases arranged in the middle of the table.

-4-6 Black chalkboard votives personalized with love-related words

-Plum, or copper, ribbon wrapped around every other chair and perhaps the middle of the linen drape as shown above.

- Betting on white plates and black napkins provided by the venue and hoping for white chairs!

Any other thoughts/advice/pictures you would like to share?!

In Search of an Invitation...Again

With the decision to potentially change my theme/color scheme for my wedding comes the opportunity again to browse through 1000's of beautiful invitations!

Darci from With This Ring was kind enough to share this beautiful fabric that she bought for her table runners and I think that it would be a great start to the inspiration behind our invitations.

I would like to incorporate a pattern similar to this on my invitations. Possibly a strip on the top and the bottom of the invitation itself? (Can you imagine how great this pattern is going to look against the black OR white linens Darci is going to put it on!? I can't wait to see what she does with it!)

I am still loving the above invitations (from the knot) due to the sheer simplicity of each one. Perhaps I could add in a damask corner graphic of some kind!?

My overall vision for the invites is starting to come together slowly but surely. To me, this is one of the most important pieces of a wedding since it is the first taste guests will get of what's ahead.

If anyone has any links to invitations or knottie bios featuring a black/white theme or a damask pattern, I would love to hear from you!

Slimming Down

It's common for the bride-to-be to want to slim down or tone up for the big day. I've never been a fan of dieting or eating healthy for that matter. But I have found one "plan" that has worked for me.
SparkPeople is a free on-line tool that allows you to track your weight, track your calorie intake from food, track your fitness/workouts and calories burned, and provides so many more tools to allow you to slim down or tone up!
In entering your current weight, how many weeks you want to be on the "plan", and your target weight at the end of the "plan", SparkPeople can tell you:

• the range of calories you should intake each day
• the range of calories you should burn each day/week (taking into account how many times a week you are willing to exercise!)

It works! SparkPeople allows you to monitor your calorie intake and outtake, making you aware of what you are putting into your body and what you should take out of it through exercise. What I love most about this plan is its most valuable tool, the calorie counter. Unlike some tracking databases, SparkPeople's calorie counter has a pre-existing database with thousands of foods with nutrition facts already populated! For example, you could type in "Subway 6 inch Turkey Breast Sub" and you won't have to enter in any of the nutrition contents!!
Anyways, I just thought I would pass-along a website that was helpful to me in the past...I highly recommend it! Feel free to contact me with any questions about customizing the site to meet your needs!

Change is in the Air

You may have noticed a few major changes to my blog today!
I am going to re-focus my pre-planning efforts to focus on my new "A Black & White Affair" and put "Tying the Knot" on hold (until I change my mind again!).

Any thoughts on the layout of my "new" blogger page would be much appreciated! Black v. white v. plum background? And I would like to incorporate a splash of color on here somewhere too! If anyone knows of a somewhat easy way to incorporate a damask patten on my blog header...send it my way!

I'll be back to posting regularly this evening,,,,

Cheating on my Photographer-to-Be

As I mentioned before, I am thisclose to booking Jessica Strickland as my photographer. She is one of the first photographers I looked into and I am in love with her work. But I have one problem with her, she doesn't update her blog twice a day...not even once a day!!! I don't think that I'm asking too much! I mean have you seen her work!? Phenomenal. I check her blog at least twice a day.

So to cope, I have started turning to other photographers blogs ohhh and ahhh over as I wait for Jessica to post again!
I'm not sure which one of the blogs that I read daily pointed me to Jasmine Star , but check out these AMAZING photos:




The one above is hilarious! I want 4 flower girls and ring bearers just to get this pict!
The board below is for those of you that are entertaining a pink and brown theme!

And now, a little inspiration for myself! I love how simple and beautiful the white table linens and chairs are with the gold background and the centerpieces with the creative branch-y centerpiece.

all photos in this post are from the lens of Jasmine Star

A Black & White Affair

Here is my first inspiration board for my tempting color scheme of black, white, plum, and a splash of copper. I like to think of it as "A Black and White Affair"....enjoy!!

Row 1: With This Ring , The Knot , Lucky Me!

Row 2: J Crew , The Knot no idea...yikes!

Row 3: Springchic's Knot Bio, no idea...yikes!!, Jessica R Strickland

I love the damask table runner that Darci has created over at With This Ring...it would work with either white or back table linens. The flowers with black centers would be beautiful for the bridesmaids to hold against black J Crew dresses. However, I am toying with the idea of plum or a copper/gold BM's dress....or maybe replicating the BM's dress that SpringChic used featuring the damask-ish pattern. Love the classy invites, LOVE the monogram, and who wouldn't love those aisle decorations!?!

Thoughts?!

The "Pre-Planning" Stage

I like to call my current stage in the wedding planning process the "pre-planning" stage. As in, I'm not yet engaged, but I'm planning like a fiend!! Here's a status update:

Accomplished in the pre-planning process thus far:
- tentative date set
- my half of the wedding party is set, but not yet being revealed
- dead set on bridesmaids dresses from j. crew
- one step away from booking Jessica Strickland as my photographer
- in possession of a list of 10 churches in the downtown area
- ideas swirling for an invitation and save the date design,

- planning on engagement picts being taken in early April

Waiting on C to pop the question before:
- drafting a guest list
- deciding on a location (downtown or north of Indianapolis ), church, and reception hall
- selecting the his half of the wedding party & ushers
- deciding on a theme:

“tying the knot” : blue, green, nautical white rope

OR “a black & white affair” : black, white, plum, and a speck of gold

both pictures taken from knottie wtbe07's bio

Stuck on:
- An affordable wedding website…that will let my guests RSVP on-line

- Designing the invites myself v. using a template from
Not From a Box,
My Gatsby,
Uniquity Invitations

Note: For a great wedding timeline/planning tool, download Mrs. Daffodil's Timeline from Weddingbee!

Thanks!

Once again, I would like to thank all of you that stop by my blog daily, weekly, etc. Your kind words and helpful comments have made my "pre-planning" process easier and my love of blogging grow each day!
I am always looking for new inspiration, so please comment below and leave me a link to your blog if you have not already!

Little Things

I recently got to see my Aunt and Uncle and of course a little wedding talk came up. She told me this cute little story about how, at her wedding, a guest looked at her watch and wrote down the time the pastor/priest pronounced them husband and wife. The wedding program she wrote it on was later handed to my Aunt for her to keep. My Aunt has always treasured knowing the exact time (2:22pm) they became husband and wife.

How precious would it be to get a note book like the one below from White Aisle and fill the pages with wedding/love related quotes, thoughts about the bride and grooms wedding, well wishes and then saving the last page to write down the time that they were pronounced husband and wife. What a thoughtful little gift that could later be attached to the wedding present.
If you're like me, you cry at every wedding when the bride walks down the aisle...even if you don't really know her. Having the ushers hand these tissue holders to the female guests as they are escorted to their seats would be much appreciated!

Both images from this post were taken from White Aisle.

Venues of the Big Day

I am slowly starting to gather information on downtown Indianapolis catholic churches and reception venues. Without a headcount, definite date, etc, it's a little hard to nail down plans and sign contracts!
My only "issue" right now is that most of the catholic churches that I have looked into have made it mandatory that the wedding conclude by 3 or 4pm on a Saturday in order to allow clean-up before a 4pm mass. It seems to me that the reception would most likely begin around 5pm or 6pm. With a 4 hour reception, wouldn't the night conclude a little early? Thoughts/suggestions/solutions?!

I have contacted Jessica Strickland , the photographer who's work I am in LOVE with, and she is still available for our tentative date! How exciting!! Below is a picture she took of a reception in Indianapolis at Union Station and another at the Omni Severin hotel....how breathtaking!

I have seen a lot of (darker) golds in the churches and reception venues that I have been looking at. What are your thoughts of an attempt at throwing in flakes of gold to my navy/green/white nautical theme? I think it could work!!

Black....Plum....White

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been toying with the idea of changing my color scheme. I do so with a heavy heart because I have come to know and love my theme and color scheme. My friend over at Snippet & Ink has made it harder for me to choose as she posted this board today:

I have recently come to love the thought of a black, white, plum, and perhaps a little copper scheme.

Envisioning: black BM dresses (copper sash?!), plum BM flowers, white flowers for me, copper accents, white reception centerpieces, a baroque pattern, etc. I just think that this concept is so much more elegant than my so-called preppy "tying the knot" theme.
I suppose I can let C have the final word on this one....unless any of you have thoughts/inspiration to share!!

Rants and Raves

Rant: I am thinking about changing my color scheme and dropping the "tying the knot" theme. So sad. Tomorrow's post will feature the details of my new color pallet/idea. But it is somewhat inspired by the board below (from Snippet & Ink) and this knot bio.

Rave: C and I have set a tentative date!! SO EXCITING!! Annnnd we went ring BROWSING. Making progress!!
Rant: The date might change if the photographer I have already found is not available that day.
Rave: The company I work for gives a great service to its employees...a concierge! Last week I had the concierge service look up catholic churches in downtown Indianapolis for me. I received a detailed list back from within two days and I didn't have to lift a finger! I plan on using them to look up reception halls next!
Rant: My search is now on for a wedding website. So many options! Any thoughts or recommendations!? Maybe a project for the concierge!
Rave: I am in love with the monograms from Lucky Me! I can't wait to order one!!

Not Funny

Normally I like to think that I have some pretty great friends. Not after tonight.
Two of my friends played a mean and cruel joke on me. I won't name names, but they are in the picture below. And they are both sitting next to each other on the couch. On the right. And their initials might just be TF and CS aka mean friends.

We were partaking in our weekly ritual of watching Grey's Anatomy and gossiping when I notice their friend (J) has a HUGE rock on a very important finger. Of course, I interrupted the convo immediately and asked her what her gorgeous new accessory was as I gushed over the ring. She told us their story, how their engagement happend, etc.

After Grey's we were all talking about my friend K's wedding and I was getting excited about all things wedding related when CS busted out laughing and made TF tell me that everything about their friend's engagement was untrue and only staged (with a fake ring) because they knew that I would see it, stare at it, and then demand to discuss wedding plans.

And I fell right into their little trap. That's the last time I invite those two over for McSteamy & a bottle of wine. To top it off, I told them that I was going to blog about the cruel trick they played and CS shouted "Yesssssss!!!" And so CS, here is my post to you and your mean roommate TF who played a mean, mean joke on an un-engaged girl. Don't toy with my pre-planning unengaged emotions like that.

But I still love you both. And now CS, your life long dream of being featured on my blog is complete.

Rants and Raves

Today my raves will be all about Martha Stewart and some delights that I found this morning on MS:

Rant: MS is perfection. Although I will try and try and try to come up with something close to a MS creation, it will never be as good. I am setting myself up for disappointment.
Rave: It's almost Halloween! This is my favorite time of the year because:

• Its during fall when the leaves are changing and everyone is bundled up in sweatshirts next to fire pits sharing a nice bottle (or 2...) of wine
• My anniversary with C is on Halloween itself!
• Weekends are filled with getting spooked at Haunted Houses and carving charming pumpkins like the one below:

Rant: I will be out of town all of next week and next weekend so I won't be at home to enjoy my carved pumpkin at night. Sad.
Rave: Forget the idea of a candy bar at my wedding reception...that was so a month ago. My new favorite concept is to have a cookie bar! I personally love the big cookies like the one's from the Cookie Cottage in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Yum.

Rant: Now starts the 3 month stretch of decorating for the holidays. Come December-ish, my storage closet will start to overflow after I buy the entire section of cute Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations from Target.

Rave: I have been in love with this way to display escort cards since the early days of my "pre-planning" process. My vision/concept is to change the background fabric to navy blue, add in blue and white ribbons to hold the escort cards, and include various widths of my white nylon rope to tie in the "tying the knot" theme.

Rock Me All Night Long...

Over the past month or two I haven’t obsessed AS much over the music that will be played at the reception as I have over the reception table centerpieces, escort cards, and the venue of the actual reception. However, I do know that the music has to be a-mazing enough to keep the dance floor packed all night. photo by: Jessica Claire via Knottie Mrs. Hoya
Thus, the music has to apply to 20-somethings and 50-somethings.
Here’s a list of songs that I am throwing around and believing that EVERYONE can put up with and dance to:

• Brickhouse - Commodores
• Come on Eileen - Dexy’s Midnight Runners
• Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
• I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
• I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett
• Jack and Diane - John Mellencamp
• Lets Get it On - Marvin Gaye
• Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
• Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
• Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) - Big & Rich
• Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
• I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
• Summer Of '69 - Bryan Adams
• Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

Any recommendations?!

Request the Honor of Your....Input

Tonight I went for my first attempt at my DIY invitation.

I'll post it first and then chat/blog about it...(excuse the editing that cut off the top right corner graphic & I edited out our full names and changed the date...but you get the idea!)

• The backing will be navy blue and the actual card stock will be white with navy printing as shown.
• Not too sure about the exact shade of green I will be using....or if I want to change the green text into silver or gold...
• I would like to turn the back of the invitations into where our rsvp, directions, accommodations, and reception cards will be housed, like KerCo's invitations I mentioned in a previous post. (You will have to check out the end of her bio to see the back of the invites!)
• In keeping with KerCo's invitations, I would like to replace her beautiful ribbon with a thin white nautical nylon rope to wrap the invitations in and coordinate with the "tying the knot theme."
• I am still struggling with a way to use my "we're tying the knot" saying/theme into the invitations without making it tacky since I want to keep my invitations elegant and clean. Perhaps some sort of a tag affixed to the rope like KerCo attached to the ribbon:

John & Jane Guest

"we're tying the knot!"

• The corner graphic is taken straight from KerCo's invitation and supplied to me by Knottie MrsPinkAJV (find her on the Grand Rapids, MI board!) You can also find other corner graphics at istockphoto .

Any input on the current design, how to make it better, or other thoughts/ideas would be much appreciated!

Finding the Save-the-Dates

The other day I was searching for save-the-dates. Of course, I had quite a few requirements for my save-the-dates:
1. Fit into my "tying the knot"/nautical theme in one way or another.
2. A main color of navy

3. A picture of the two of us is a must
4. Feature the phrase "We're Tying the Knot"
5. Be somewhat affordable.

Although I haven't had much luck at my first go-around, I did find this save-the-date at Then Comes Marriage :

I love the design, fonts, and all the pictures! However, the chocolate brown bars aren't anywhere close to my theme/scheme.

And then through The Knot, I found Aletha at Pearls Events who told me that she might be able to help me design the invites that I raved about in one of my most recent posts. I cannot wait to hear back from her!

Any other thoughts on a save-the-date that would fit my requirements?

Nautical Inspiration

I have been waiting all day to post these Inspiration Boards I saw today at Snippet & Ink :

I love the simplicity of the cake, the unique flags to wave instead of throwing rice or petals, l-o-v-e the flower centerpieces that I have featured on my blog before, and I wish I could find some way to incorporate the nautical flag/streamers and the boat/yacht into my wedding! But the paper boat place cards caught my eye immediately.
How amazing! You can find the instructions here. I am now thinking of placing these on each guests place settings. Or, if my time or budget is too limited, the boats would be nice decorations near the gift table, next to my DIY Initials Project, or perhaps as an accent to the centerpieces on the table.

This second board is pretty much just as amazing as the first board.
The picture of the various knots is actually from one of my prior posts! I also LOVE the sailor tote bag, the seashells turned candles, and the idea Elizabeth had to use an Oar as a guest book!

I cannot wait to start the DIY projects that I have already lined up for myself!

Surfing for Inspiration

Last night I was surfing for inspiration and I came across the Delightful Blogs listing.
Delightful Blogs puts together a listing of the most fabulous wedding blogs and many of my favorite daily reads are listed!
One of my new favorites is Bellissima Vita and check out She Walks in Beauty for some great inspiration! I found these mini cakes on She Walks in Beauty:

But then I found these candles and I will find a way to incorporate them into my wedding, perhaps around the cake table?

So, for the handful of readers that visit my blog, I hope that you have found some new daily reads thanks to Delightful Blogs.

And I must mention, to my friends (you know who you are and I love you all!) who snicker when I tell you about my blog/start talking about the "pre-planning" I have done before my engagement: you should be thankful that I have started planning so early....otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop talking your ear off about it when I do get engaged and have less than a year to plan. Annnnd when you get ready to get married, you can thank me again as you come to my blog and gather inspiration. I'll be waiting for your thank you card in the mail.

Rants and Raves

And its time for another Rants and Raves session!

Rave: I just found Mrs. KerCo's Bio on The Knot and I am in l-o-v-e with her invitations and save the dates...which were only $.93 each!!

(photo of KerCo's invitations from her knot bio.)

I would even trade out the ribbon for the rope for my tying the knot theme! Can I sub in our names/color scheme/info and send it all off to the printers to be able to cross stationary and save the dates off my to-do list?

Rant: My to-do list is growing by the minute
Rave: I found this http://www.llbean.com/ tote that you can customize with different colors. I love the stripes...it's much more nautical! Now I don't know what tote I will gift my BM's with!

Rant: I cannot find navy tablecloth runners ANYWHERE!

Rave: I found Glamour This today. What a great find! And Lucky Me! has become one of my new fav's. And of course Sarah from Toast and Tables gave me some extra inspiration this week....thanks again!

Toast and Tables

And just when I needed inspiration the most I saw that Sarah Dennis at Toast and Tables had received an e-mail asking to be inspired from a bride-to-be named Elizabeth whom is also planning a navy/green/and white color scheme for her wedding. And this is what Sarah whipped up:

The picture in the middle is my FAVORITE. How cute and charming are those striped navy and white napkin ties?!

I had begun to veto the idea of having any shade of blue flowers in my wedding, but the three flower setting above would look amazing on the tables at the reception...perhaps on a white tablecloth with a navy runner?

Thank you Sarah!!

To Be Inspired....

I am hitting a brick wall at the moment. Despite the go-ahead from C to plan, plan, plan there is only so much I can do without having set a date/have the groom's seal of approval (since it is his wedding too!). And as much inspiration that I have gathered from the Internet and my various favorite daily blog reads, I think a main source of inspiration would be one's wedding dress!!

In casually looking at various designers, I found Melissa Sweet:

above: the Sydney dress. below: the Lia dress.

I have yet to decide if trying on dresses for me will be more like pulling teeth or one of the most exciting times in my life. I imagine somewhere in between!

Change of Season...Change of Mind

Maybe it's because the seasons are beginning to change and its beginning to feel like fall from the campfires I smell to the displays of Halloween candy in the stores. Or maybe its because I have seen so many great wedding themes/ideas from all the blog snooping/browsing I have been doing. I don't know what it is, but every since I saw that anexcitedbride is changing her wedding colors, I have been beginning to re-think my navy and green wedding color scheme.

The problems that I have with the navy/green theme are:

-The navy BM dresses clashing with the GM's black tux's

-Is the green too bright? I LOVE the green flowers. They would appear in the bouquets and in the centerpieces but I'm worried about using too much of the green because it's not too nautical-ish and I'm worrying it might be overwhelming and too much of a "pop".
Other alternatives I have been toying with:

-A navy and champagne/almost brown scheme. It's still nautical-ish. However, without the green, or another color it seems somewhat bland. And I would still have the prob with the navy BM dresses and the black tux.

-A navy and a plum color scheme (too dark?)

-Skip the green, navy, and tying the knot theme all together and have the BM wear black dresses.

Help.

Potential BM gifts

I thought that a nice change from the somewhat "standard" pearl necklace gift for the BM's would be this bracelet that I found on Tie It With a Bow . These bracelets can be engraved with the BM's names and I know that they will be able to wear them again....and want to wear them again!
And I liked these rings from Tie It With a Bow too:And going along with this post, I found another tote for my BM's where I could put all of their gifts and they could carry it around with them on the day of the wedding. And what makes it even better is that its from J. Crew!

Rants and Raves

I decided that a great new addition to my blog would be a post called Rants & Raves. You know, just a way for me to rant & rave and for others to have to listen to my rants and maybe become inspired by my raves!
So here it goes...
Rant: I cannot book a photographer, church, or a reception hall without a date! I'm not really raving about this, I suppose if I wasn't "pre-planning," I wouldn't have this issue to "rant" about!! But when I can book a photographer, it will be Jessica Strickland . I mean, how could you pass this up:

Rave: My favorite blogs never cease to disappoint me when they post something FABULOUS each and every day. An Excited Bride made this post yesterday and proved that you can get a J. Crew (bridesmaids) dress from ebay for about $40....made my night!
Rant: Some of my fellow bloggers have been falling behind...where are you!? I miss your posts and the inspiration that you use to give me everyday!
Rave: Coke Zero. Tastes just like Coke, not like diet, and 0 calories....amen.
Rant: When you search for navy and green wedding colors/schemes on google, it gives you the UGLIEST pictures. I won't even post them they are so nasty.
Rave: My new favorite bloggers: Snippet & Ink, Perfect Bound, and Living the Swell Life!

Daily Boards

Tonight I stumbled upon another great find thanks to a favorite blogger of mine, Classic Bride.
Snippet and Ink will be my new daily read. Everyday she will (hopefully) post an inspiration board based around a theme, palette, or mood! Maybe I can convince her to do one for me!!
Here are some of my favorites:

What a lovely fall inspiration board! I especially love the pumpkins on the fence, the pumpkin beer cooler, and the tree ceremony site!

This inspiration board is entitled "Shipwrecked" so I just couldn't resist posting it! I love the ribbons blowing in the wind against the clear blue sky.

Checking out Snippet & Ink is a must. Cross your fingers she will post everyday because I cannot wait to see what she has in store!

Something to Smile About...

...pictures! Even though the photographer is crucial and undoubtedly a must, I haven't thought much about who will be lucky enough to snap the pictures of C & I on our special day....until now. Tonight, after looking at about 5 Indianapolis photographers blogs and being unimpressed, I was smitten.
I came upon Jessica Strickland's website. L-O-V-E.
I am in love with Kelly & Tim's photos. And then I came across Kelli and Jeremy's photos and that's when I knew that I wanted Jessica as my photographer. Check some of Kelli and Jeremy's pictures out:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THIS IS MY DREAM PHOTO. When it's actually C& I in there it will be framed in our house FOREVER.

love love love love. i want. where is the dotted line?

To Have & To Hold

Today I sent out an e-mail to a couple of my sorority sisters about this blog. I can't say that many of them were too suprised in finding out that I have been "pre-planning" my wedding for over a month now. So ladies, I hope you enjoy!!

Annnnd in case any of them were wanting to get me something for my upcoming (fingers crossed) engagement, these orbs from Scarlett Alley would be a precious gift that I would treasure forever:

Just a thought! =)