Corks & Labels

This post is for one of my best friends, Kristen who is going to be the first of "us" to get married in May. Kristen is going to use wine corks to hold her escort/place cards and I thought of her when I saw this:

Knottie ibekatieg was behind the above escort card holders and she also came up with one of THE neatest ideas for a “guestbook." She brought in 5 bottles of their favorite wines and asked each guest to sign the label of one of the bottles. For each of their first 5 wedding anniversaries, they will use one of the bottles to celebrate, and look back on their big day and the people who were there to celebrate it with them.

For more info and tips on how to pull off the wine guestbook, see this post.
For more wine inspired ideas/details for your wedding day, Check out these posts:

Brooklyn Bride- Turn wine glasses into table lamps for your reception or rehearsal dinner!

An Imagined Reality - An insight into a winery wedding
Our Wedding Plus - Custom wine labels!
The Preppy Wedding - A great wedding shower idea!

Tag!

I've been tagged by Tara at In This Instance! Here it goes:
1. What is your occupation? Auditor. And yes, it’s just as boring as it sounds.
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks. Although today I debated buying THE cutest J Crew socks. They didn’t come home with me. Hence the no socks.
3. What are you listening to right now? I’ll tell you what I’m NOT listening to. Alicia Keys- “No One” and Fergie- “Clumsy”. Both are overplayed and now sound like nails on the chalkboard.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Hardee’s. I was on the road and desperate. It was all I had to choose from on the exit.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes! My first and so far only car is a Yellow Jeep Wrangler. At times the stick shift is “fun”, but you try driving/shifting, talking on the phone and trying to wolf down fast food all at the same time. That is when I want an automatic.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Kelly Green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My fiance
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes! Her blog is being stalked by my Google reader. Here is one of her inspiration boards (my favorite):

9. Favorite drink? Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, Diet Coke, or a Blue Moon.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? NFL football on Sundays & my college basketball team

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Hasn’t everyone?!

12. Pets? Eagerly awaiting the day and I Chris get a puppy. Too bad I’ll be eagerly awaiting that day for quite some time.

13. Favorite food? Penn Station, Puccini’s Pizza, Pickles, Chicken Noodle Soup

14. Last movie you watched? 27 Dresses.
15. Favorite Day of the year? Halloween. The date Chris and I started dating and the day her proposed 2 years later.

16. What do you do to vent anger? Vent about the issue to Chris in an e-mail. Normally the more upset I get, the louder I start to punch the keys….

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Mom said that when I was REALLY little that I used to get the most joy out of playing with an empty Kleenex box. Hmmm.

18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall. Hooded sweatshirts, campfires, carving pumpkins, Halloween…

19. Hugs or kisses? Hugs.

20. What kind of pie? I’ll pass on the pie. Unless it’s a pie chart. Those are always fun for an auditor.

21. Living arrangements? A cozy apartment with my MOH and bridesmaid.

22. When was the last time you cried? About a week ago. I had it up to “here” with the wedding planning stress.

23. What is on the floor of your closet? Gold shoes to wear in KTo’s wedding that I haven’t had a chance to break in yet. All my other shoes and clothes are scattered all over my room. Nothing is where it should be. But I will be able to find those shoes come May.

24. Favorite smell? Chris’s cologne, the smell of fall and campfires, the smell of the lake in the summer
25. What inspires you? People with great hair, family & friends, people who can go with the flow.

26. What are you afraid of? Having a bad hair day on our wedding day, heights, the feeling when your stomach drops out when you are falling.

27. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Plain with extra pickles only. I despise cheese. I know, I am a freak.

28. Favorite car? Anything with a trunk, since my Jeep doesn’t have one.

29. Favorite cat breed? I’m a dog lover. But if I ever got a cat I would get a big gray or black SUPER poofy one. Like Bridget has on “The Girls Next Door”.

30. Number of keys on your key ring? No idea. Too lazy to look.

31. How many years at your current job? Went to college, got my masters, and passed the cpa exam. Entered the real world 5 months ago.

32. Favorite day of the week? Friday. It’s when the long week is over and I get to see Chris

33. How many states have you lived in? Sadly, only Indiana.

34. How many countries have you been to? Sadly none. Cannot wait for the honeymoon!

The Parents

The happiest people witnessing our big day will undoubtedly be our parents. For all of the things that they have done for us over the years, I am looking for little special ways to thank them during over the course the day.

Renee & Joel's wedding

The bride got the button idea from Martha Stewart’s Wedding magazine. And her husband-to-be made all of them with a button maker! I am a fan of the "Thanks Dad" button!

Travis Hoehne

A special label marks the seat of the Mother of the Bride at this wedding. As seen above, the thought could be carried through to the place cards and escort cards.

How are you planning on honoring your parents on your wedding day?

Aqua, Navy, & Chocolate

Out of the 5 weddings I am going to or going to be in this summer, three of color palettes focus on a hue of plum, including the wedding of yours truly. And clearly gray is the new pink (or chocolate) for weddings this season. Just check out all the gray posts on Elizabeth Anne Designs and the "Gray is the New Black" post at Style Me Pretty. Yellow is becoming more popular, thanks in part to Knottie Springchic. And, of course there are the ever-popular pink and green color palettes. But what about blue?! I fell in love some of the images from the wedding of Brett & Steve featured on The Brides Cafe. So, I thought I would share my love for a color scheme that hasn't been overdone, or done much at all: Aqua, Navy, and Chocolate:

(The Brides Cafe, The Brides Cafe, The Knot)

(The Knot, The Knot, Preston Bailey)

Why strictly stick with one or two colors? I like the look of going with a color family, like illustrated on the inspiration board, and letting the colors compliment themselves. Various shades of tiffany blue, aqua, and navy look so great when paired with this chocolate color....who would have thought?!

I would love to hear from you, are you going out on a limb and picking a unique color palette?

A Locket for the Bouquet

I always knew that on my wedding day I would hand-tie a locket to my bouquet with the pictures of my grandparents inside. It is one of the details that I won't overlook or forgo.

(oh happy blog)

The locket can be placed on the very front of the bouquet, like the one in the picture above. Or it can be hidden under the petals and facing the bride. However its done, its a sweet way to honor important people in your life that cannot physically join you for your big day.

(the preppy wedding)

{Update: See Mrs. Magnolias' bouquet lockets here }

Favor Ideas

One of my daily reads led me right to bakerella, were I started drooling over this:
And now, I present to you: The Favors

(All images from bakerella)

I don't know how I am going to display them, or if they will be packaged. I don't know if it's possible to make plum and or raspberry colored icing. And I sure don't know how I am going to make them a day before the wedding and get them to the reception site to be stored. But what I do know is that our guests will be taking them home as favors (or devouring them right then and there).

Get excited. And visit bakerella! Her blog is loaded with all sorts of easy-to-make treats perfect for wedding showers, favors, or Grey's Anatomy viewing parties (returning April 24, mark your calendars!).

Because I Can

Because I can, today's post will be filled with inspiring images of "this and that." Some eye candy, if you will.

I received such a great response on my Ring Shot post the other day that I put together another one! My favorites are the pink and the blue in the middle. Breathtaking.

(evoke, nicole green, evoke, apertura photo, the brides cafe, evoke)

I think it would be neat to blow it up your ring shot onto a canvas or putting it into an oversize frame and hanging it on a wall in your home. Ours will be on display for sure.

Definitely enjoying this low centerpiece arrangement shot by Jennifer Skog . I was originally going with white centerpieces. Now, of course, I am changing my mind.

Erin over at Lucky Me! had this invitation designed (by her Mom!) for her baby shower. I'm totally ripping it off for our save the dates (the magnet idea is out. tear.) Our picture will replace the damask on the right and then all the save the date info will take up the other 2/3 of the invite. Get excited!

The socks, people. We need to find these socks. ASAP. This shot (by Jose Villa) WILL be recreated at our wedding. The socks are imperative to make the shot work, but I cannot find them. Help!?

Poll: Save the Date Pictures!

Sooo if I haven't already mentioned it, I have a new best friend. Our photographer Nicole Green. I could go on and on about how great she is, but I will let her work speak for itself. She grabbed some pictures of us this past weekend and now we have to pick one to put on our save the dates. Which one is your fave?!

(Option 1: The Alley)

Having your picture taken in the alley is the "in" thing to do.

(Option 2: On The Circle)
Our Mom's Favorite.

(Option 3: On The Streets of Indy)

These are 2 (amazing) pictures. We would go with the one on the left.

Please please please take the time to vote for your favorite! We have a hard decision in front of us that we need to make before next week! Help us pick the pict. that will go on refrigerators around the Midwest for the next 5ish months!

Thanks to Nicole for taking so many great shots of us in the short time that we spent together! You are so great to work with!

{Results: 27 votes! alley: 4, on the circle: 17, in the street: 6}

One Last Plug

I have blogged about weddingbee before. To be honest, it is one of the reasons why I started this blog. A while ago, I applied to become a blogger for the site. Weddingbee was then at blogger capacity and wasn't accepting any more "bees" for the time being. But I did get word that they wanted to hang onto my application and re-evaluate it in a couple of months. Well, that time is now. So I've got one last chance to earn a place in the hive. Here it goes:

Dearest weddingbee:
I want you to want me. Seriously. I mean, what's not to love!? Let me highlight a few for you.
- Chris and I are quite photogenic. See below. Who wouldn't want us in their hive!? And we have a super-cute story of how we met and how we got engaged. I'd say we're just an all-around cute couple.

- I'm not picky when it comes to my "hive name". Some of the bees have the cutest names like Miss Cupcake, Miss Lovebug, Miss Tulip, etc. I would take anything from Miss Dustbunny, Miss Toothbrush, Miss Leaf, etc. Perhaps I wouldn't stoop that low, but I'll take almost anything.

- Pinkie-promise that I will blog everyday. Pinkie. Promise. And I will post pretty pictures alongside each post...like this one:

(photo by our wonderful photographer: Nicole Green)

- I have readers and they will travel! My blog is a rockin' (so says Google Reader) with readers that visit my little blog everyday. Pretty sure that they already read weddingbee, but now maybe they will come more often! P.S. I've got all-stars. THE Jasmine Star once commented on my blog, Elizabeth Anne Designs and I are like thisclose, and one of your bees' is designing my invitations!

- And lastly, I need the hive just as much as it needs me. I seriously have TOO MANY pictures, posts and ideas saved on my computer. I simply cannot use them all. This I have to dump them on someone else and live thru them. I only have four other friends that are getting married this coming summer and I still have ideas that want to get out. Let me help your readers! But I need your readers too because they are chalk full of good ideas and helpful hints. And their comments would bring warm fuzzies to me....and you wouldn't want to take that away from me would you!?

Can I get an "Amen" on this post?! Cross your fingers that I get accepted into the hive!

The Ring Shot

I love seeing "the ring shot" photographers manage to capture on the big day. Each one is so different, so unique, and allows each ring to be stunning in its own way. The rings below are a little eye candy:

(Jessica Strickland, Bobbi + Mike, Bobbi + Mike)
(Nicole Green, Pen Carlson, Turtle Pond Photography)

I can't wait to see what Nicole comes up with for our ring shot!
And speaking of Nicole, she (and her Mom!) braved the cold to shoot a couple photos of Chris and I on Saturday for our "save the date" cards. Let me tell you, from the few that she has let us glimpse at so far, they are phenomenal. We love them! Perhaps that will be tomorrow's eye candy!

Tidbits

Tidbits:
1. This is the palette. With a splash of black and white.

And yes, the palette was SUPPOSED to be black and white with a splash of plum. I won't even go into all of the reasons why the black is being pushed to the back. And don't even tempt me to throw some gray into the mix, because I would in a heart beat. Let us not forget, my original color scheme was navy and green...apparently we have done a 180 because neither one of those colors have made it into the current color palette. So if anyone wants to decide my color palette for me (and hold me to it), I would really appreciate it. I'm actually tired of changing my mind.

2. Our save the dates will go out soon (God willing) and we are taking the pictures this weekend (God willing). Don't laugh...I bought a raspberry scarf from GAP to wear with my black coat/sweater when we take the pictures that will go on our plum colored save the dates.

Yes, I am purposely, but subtly, bringing in our color palette into the save the dates. And proud of it.

3. If you haven't already, check out ibekatieg's knottie bio.

4. New favorite engagement pictures from Jasmine Star . I wonder if there are any giant cacti in Indianapolis...

5. The Real Simple Celebrations coffee table book would be a great gift for the women hosting your wedding showers (Thanks to C$ and Mrs. L for that great find!).

6. weddingbee has put together a list of other blogs that readers visit daily...hope you can find some new fasvorites!

7. You HAVE to visit Such Great Heights and These Little Moments. These girls are hilarious and I wish I would have found their blogs months ago!!

Photo Shoot Preperation

As I mentioned before, our wonderful photographer Nicole is going to snap a couple of picts of Chris and I on Sunday for use on our save the dates cards.
I am beyond excited. But I am also nervous and worried I don't have the right outfit....

So I was thinking about the shoot itself and the image(s) I want to take away from it. I don't want the typical stand-next-to-eachother-and-smile-facing-forward-while-looking-at-the-camera look. But I also don't want the pict to be from too far away since it's going to be the main image on our save the dates.

Perhaps something along these lines:

(clockwise top l to r: jasmine star, the wiebners, jessica strickland, bobbi + mike)

Do you have any "save the date photo shoot" tips to share or fab pictures we should recreate?!

PS: This has to be one of the most amazing backdrop for an engagement shoot I have ever seen. Jealous.

Polls: Invitation Insert Cards

In a previous post, I gushed about how much I love the invitation proofs that "a friend" made for us. From the results of the poll, it appears as though the clear favorite is the invitation without the bars on it!!

Over the weekend, our super-fabulous invitation designer whipped up some proofs for the inserts that will be included in the invitation packets (rsvp card, reception info, directions, etc.). She did a great job of carrying over the look of the invitation and the general feel of what we wanted in our invitation suite.

So, which style of insert card do you like best from the proofs below?! The design will be carried over to the other inserts (rsvp card, directions, etc.) to make everything look cohesive.

Please please please vote on the poll for this week and let us know your thoughts! And if you didn't get to vote on the poll about our invitations themselves, feel free to view them here and leave a comment on this post!

(Option #1) formal

(Option #2) ampersand

(Option #3) swirly
(Option #4) watermark

{Results: 30 votes! formal: 5, ampersand: 5, swirly: 10, watermark: 10}

No Topper, Please

This is the picture of a cake first cake that I ever "saved" to my wedding file on my desktop. To this day, I am still in love with it.

(Jenn Skog's Cake by Juliet Nicole photography via Simply Sparkling Events)

Love the black ribbon, love the broach, love it all. I was so in love with it's simple beauty that I didn't even realize that something was missing....a cake topper! I guess I just assumed that every cake always has a topper. Some cakes are adorned with flowers, others with monogrammed initials, and even others with the traditional b&g statutes. But I must confess, I think I like my cake without a topper.

I searched the knot and found the cakes above sans a cake topper and I think they all turned out ok. What do you think...must a cake have a topper?

In Style Finds

The other day I chuckled at In Style Weddings BM gift ideas that would cost around a years worth of rent payments for me to afford. But, I did find a couple of pictures that I adored:
If I had to do my color scheme all over again, I would do a soft pink and navy scheme. I l-o-v-e the look of these romantic flowers combined together a simple centerpiece cluster.

This buffet combines the best of everything!! Cookies, cupcakes, and candy...how could one possibily resist?!

I especially loved this reception card. I'm a sucker for ampersands and I couldn't help but love the pretty script. I am crossing my fingers that our turn out this beautiful!!

VIP Valentines Day

I blogged a long time ago about how Chris and I met at a Rascal Flatts concert back in 2005. I love telling the story of how we met and I will always be a fan of Rascal Flatts since they brought us together.

This past Spring we took a trip to NYC. A few weeks before the trip we found out RF was playing on the Good Morning America Concert Series during the time we would be in NYC. We instantly applied, and received, VIP tickets. I would say, for me, it was the highlight of our NYC trip.

(Chris and I after the RF concert in NYC. Please excuse the tired-ness....we had to get up at 4am to get in line.)

Since meeting at the summer 2005 concert, we have gone to the 2006 and 2007 RF summer concerts in Cincinnati...a guaranteed good time.

(l to r: groomsman, bridesmaid, bride, and groom. Also l to r: groom, bride, bridesmaid, and groomsman)

So when I heard that RF is coming to my hometown over Valentine's Day weekend...I knew I had the perfect present for Chris. Perfect because we are not only going to the concert, but we have VIP seats! I am more than ecstatic. To add to my ecstatic-ness, we applied for Meet & Greet passes. Imagine my delight when I got approved to meet the band before the show! But the pass is only good for ONE person, and Chris didn't get approved =(. I really wanted to take a picture with the band that brought us together. Anyone know someone who knows someone who can score us one backstage pass!? I would owe you one. Big time.

Something Old

I came across the Knottie bio of jflournoy00 and LOVE what she did for her "something old"

She pinned a piece of her grandmothers wedding dress inside her own....

Stealing that idea. For sure.

Chanel, Kate Spade, or Hermes?

I was checking out In Style Weddings and I caught myself laughing out loud when I saw In Style's recommendations for stylish BM gift ideas. Let's see what In Style came up with, shall we?

• Chanel Sunglasses $375: Nope. That's more than my rent payment.
• Perfume Flask $96: I can think of better uses for a flask.
• Hermes Cashmere Blanket $970: Do pass Go, do not collect $200, go directly to jail if you own a Hermes Cashmere Blanket. Although I wouldn't mind if one of my BM's got this for me.....
• Laminated Fabric Tray $70: Not unless I want my BMs to stare at me in horror.
• Leather Folder $490: For a folder? That's just funny.
• Orange Resin Pendant $49: Who thought that was a good idea?
• Damask-print Mela-mine Plates $40: Pretty sure all of my friends already have plates.
• Kate Spade Card Case $155: Ridiculous.



• Daisy Gold-plated Bracelet $78: Last time I wore/wanted to wear anything with a daisy on it was when I was 9.

Oh and these were just a few of their suggestions, others included: a compact with Swarovski crystals on black glass$95, Teapot $95, Ceramic Vases $44.

Sorry to my lovely BM's....you won't be getting any of the above gifts. Hope you understand.

Karma, Pearls, or a Horseshoe?

The search begins for gifts for my BM's. I would like to give them each a piece of jewelry to wear on the big day as well as something personal for each of them.
One of my daily reads (i have subscribed to waaay too many blogs in my Google reader) pointed me towards Dogeared. Check. it. out.

(the karma necklace, in hopes of surrounding us with good karma on our big day!)

And possibly my fave, just because of the wording on the card:
"pearls represent the best within us. let your necklace be a daily reminder of the beauty and simplicity of our friendship! enjoy and believe!"

(Pearls of Friendship)

Others I liked were the sister heart for my sorority sisters and the lucky horseshoe...because everyone can use a little luck on their big day! The simplicity of the design is what I loved the most. My BMs will not be decked out in chunky/prom-y jewelry while standing next to me!

Plum & Apple Green

Our friends Paul & Shawna are getting married this summer and we couldn't be happier for them! Shawna has decided to go with, what I call, a "plum and apple green" color scheme and I thought it would be fun to put together an inspiration board for her!

1: (The Knot, Mrs Robs Button Bio, The Knot) 2: (Stoneblossom, Style Me Pretty, Snippet & Ink )
3: (Style Me Pretty, Stoneblossom , Style Me Pretty ) 4: ( The Knot, Stoneblossom, Stoneblossom )

The BM's will be wearing a deep purple and bouquets of calla lilies would bring in the green from the scheme. The flower girls will be wearing apple green dresses to finish out tying in the color scheme. Shawna wants Paul to stand out on their big day as much as she will, so he will be wearing a black suit and the GM will be sporting gray suits...how classic! The apple green in her color scheme is SO versatile and can be brought into the day via boutonnieres, ribbon, etc. As I mentioned before, Shawna is a photographer in Cincinnati and it makes complete sense that they are going to have a photo booth at their reception!! The photo booth will print out one strip of 4 picts for the guests to keep and another copy of the strip for them to affix to the guest book. I always have and always will love that idea!

Shawna, I hope you like this board! I know your wedding will be beautiful!

Poll: Save the Date Selection

On a recent poll I asked for help in deciding which save the date format to use. I couldn't believe how close the voting results were! One more person voted for us to show our pretty little faces on our save the dates vs. having a simple design without our picture. In considering the different options for a save the date, I think that we are going to go with a magnet from Magnet Street. Our photographer, Nicole Green, has so graciously agreed to shoot a couple picts of Chris and I (next weekend!) to choose from for our save the date picture.

So the poll this week asks which one is your fave!?

Note: All colors will be changed to match our black, white, plum, and raspberry scheme

Option 1 (Pretty Pretty):

Option 2 (Photo Strip-ish):

Option 3 (Soft Lines):

Have a favorite?! Vote now!! (Reminder, all colors will be changed to reflect our color scheme!) Thanks for your help!

PS: A big shout out to Shawna of the Red Studio On Broadway, in Cincinnati, for offering to shoot some picts of Chris and I! I won't be back in Cinci until mid-March (which is when our save the dates are supposed to be mailed!!), or else I would take you up on the offer! (Sidenote: Shawna is engaged to one of our groomsmen and is planning a wedding with a plum, apple green, and gray color scheme....look for an upcoming post on a possible inspiration board!!)

{Results: 16 votes, option 1: 5, option 2: 4, option 3: 7}

{Update: we ex-nayed the magnets}

Reception Timeline & Tips

The reception timeline is a big detail, among other big details, that I keep putting off. I guess it's about time to begin to nail it down.
So, I turned to Martha and her "50 Tips for the Perfect Reception." Here's how Martha says the night should go down (assuming the cocktail hour starts at 5pm):

5:00 Cocktail hour starts.
6:00 The bride and groom enter the reception, are formally announced, and usually have their first dance.
6:30 If the reception is a sit-down meal, the first course is served. The host's welcome and best man's toast kick things off.
7:30 The main course is served.
8:00 The bride and groom dance with their parents, and guests join in.
8:50 The cake is cut.
9:00 Cake and dessert are served.
9:45 The bouquet is tossed.
10:00 The bride and groom depart.
Tip #49 from Martha: Leave in Style

( photo via bobbi + mike)

Other tips from Martha that lead to a great reception:

#27. Put Big Smiles on Little Faces:Young guests will enjoy goody bags that are all theirs. Fill a toteable container like ours with treats that aren't messy, such as age-appropriate toys, or animal crackers and Smarties. Add paper and washable crayons, and kids might even create one-of-a-kind cards for the bride and groom.

#28. Eschew the Receiving Line: If you will be hosting more than 50 people, the traditional meet-and-greet can take an hour or more. For groups of this size, it's more gracious of the newlyweds to thank guests by visiting every table.

#29. Tame the Toasts: An unplanned ramble can interrupt the flow of a party and make everyone uncomfortable. Encourage spur-of-the-moment speeches at the rehearsal dinner so the reception includes only words from the host, the newlyweds, and the best man and maid of honor. If you're concerned that your speakers may overindulge, schedule toasts to take place early in the festivities.

Not too shabby Martha.
What are some reception tips that should have made the list? How are you structuring your reception timeline?