That's So....Vintage

Black and white pictures are my favorite. Always have been and always will be. But there is something to be said about wedding pictures with a "vintage" feel to them.


My favorite. Of all time. I can't really tell you why, but do I need to. It speaks for itself.

(eclipse photography)

A different take on vintage...sort of a soft-beachy-vintage.

(Jessica Claire)

Who doesn't love everything about the "Vintage Glam" wedding below?! Every picture screams vintage.

(Vintage Glam Married Bio)

Always a fan of evoke photography. Love everything about this shot: the scenery, the dress, and the colors, and the texture of the photo.

(evoke photography)

What's your photography style!? Explosions of color, the always stunning black and white, or classic vintage? Do share.

RSVP

Here it is friends, the first draft of our RSVP card and a sneak peak as to what our invitation set will look like. You likey?!

Knowing me, one draft is never enough and there is one change that I am debating: the wording of the "response."

There are many different options for the "response," and I would like to know what you think that ours should say! Do you prefer:

1. the wording on the card above: would be delighted/regret to decline

2. graciously accepts/regretfully declines

3. will attend/ will not attend

4. accept with pleasure/ decline with regret

Please leave a comment below or cast your vote on the right hand side of the screen.

Your help is much appreciated!

{Update: 41 total votes. #1: 6, #2: 10, #3: 5, #4: 20}

Barnyard

When I came across this picture, I was smitten.

(Elizabeth Anne Designs )

It almost made me want to scrap our ballroom reception plans and head to the fields....and then I realized there aren't too many wheat fields in the middle of Indianapolis. My want of a rustic wedding complete with a reception in a cozy barn were scrapped before I had time to get too attached to them. It's probably better that way.

Please comment below if you are having a barn/rustic wedding. I shall live vicariously through you. Feel free to invite Chris and I to your wedding. We will be THE perfect guests, I promise.

(photo 2 & 3: the knot)

"Rustic" blog posts that I love:
Style Me Pretty
Snippet & Ink: Summer Rustic
Bobbi + Mike
Evoke Photography
In This Instance
With This Ring
Snippet & Ink: Autumn Air

What I Didn't Know Our Wedding Needed...

What I didn't know our wedding needed....until the knot told me so.

Occasionally I peruse the knot for wedding images and ideas. "Knot Picks" are the knot 's idea of the creme de la creme of wedding ideas... the must-have special details to make your wedding stand out from the rest. Now lets be honest. Some of the "Knot Picks" are breathtaking, creative, and do-able ideas. And then there are some that go a little bit off the deep end.

1. A must-have for the kids, clown ice cream cones. Juuuust in case they don't like the cake.... What kid doesn't like cake!?!?! Eat it and like it. No clown cone necessary.

2. Leucadendron boutonnieres. What in the world is leucadendron? Pretty sure it isn't the first thing that comes to mind for Chris' boutonniere.

3. Personalized coasters. Necessary!? Not so much. I can't remember a wedding reception I was at where I wished for a coaster before I set my drink down.

4. Hand stitched programs. HAND STITCHED. Who in their right mind decides, "I think I'm going to hand stitch over 100 programs for all my guests..."?!? If you are the culprit of the picture/craft featured above, you have too much time on your hands.

Please, convince me that I am not the only one that thinks the above "Knot Picks" are quite unnecessary. What wedding creations have you seen/experienced that made you shake your head and think, "Who does that?!"

Theme or Lyric?

This is post 200 for my little precious blog. That calls for quite an important post....filled with pretty images, of course! So here it goes.

My dear friends, we are in need of a theme. Ok, not really, but I want one. Be it not for wedding blogs, I wouldn’t have become almost obsessed with the idea of a themed wedding. These are the main culprits:
Breakfast at Tiffany's: (Martha Stewart)

School Days: (Snippet & Ink)

Others:Behind the Library Stacks, Ridin' Together , Watchin' Airplanes, and because you all know I love fall and halloween and pumpkins there is this gem from Snippet & Ink:

Here's my problem. I would like the theme to relate to us as a couple. I don't own a piece of jewelry from Tiffany's (it's a crime, I know) and we didn't meet at school. So those 2 from above are out. And none of the above go with our color palette. We would need one to call our own.

This theme that we are searching for also needs to coordinate with our monogram, since the monogram will be on anything and everything surrounding our wedding: I have been racking my brain for the perfect theme and so far have nothing to show for it. Perhaps an alternative:

As you know, Chris and I met at a Rascal Flatts concert back in 2005. I have thought about using a lyric from a Rascal Flatts song throughout our wedding as some form of a "theme." The line from the song could go on the ceremony programs, be used in the wedding ceremony, appear on other printed materials, and the song could be our first dance! Here are some of my favorite Rascal Flatts lyrics:

1. "This much I know is true\That God blessed the broken road\That led me straight to you"
2. "In your eyes I see forever\Makes me wish that my life never knew\The day before you"
3. "A love I never thought I'd get to get to"

But does a country music lyric mesh well with our pretty little monogram from e lucky designs?

So I ask you: Does our little monogram conjure up a theme that you think we can use? What do you think of us using a lyric from a special RF song throughout our big day? If so, which lyric is your favorite?!? Share. Discuss. Help.

Fears

Each bride has different fears on her wedding day. Some fear the dress won't fit or that none of the guests will show up. Others fear the flowers will wilt, the cake will be dry, or they will forget the steps to their choreographed first dance. Those fears haven't even crossed my mind yet. Which ones have??
Fear #1: The excruciatingly long church aisle

(photo via elizabeth messina via zenadia design)

Cross my heart, I swear that our church aisle is longer than this one. You can see from the second picture in this post that where the groomsmen are standing is actually in the middle of the church (the main aisle is intersected by another aisle in the middle of the church)...the middle!!! Do you see how far away the front of the church is?!?! It will be the longest walk of my life. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize as Mommy would say.

Fear #2: Stairs.

(bobbi + mike)

Thank the Lord Almighty that our venue doesn't come equipped with these stairs. Can you imagine being introduced into your reception and take a tumble down these stairs?! Please do avoid at all costs. The only steps I will be facing on our wedding day are the ones outside the church. And let me tell you, I will be taking them one by one.

What are your wedding day fears?!

Poll: Cards or Chart

There comes a time in every brides planning (I assume) where she realizes she's being a LITTLE overly obsessive. I have reached that point. The realization came when I spent more than five minutes debating whether to have escort cards or a seating chart inform our guests of where they will be seated at the reception.

Originally I was set on escort cards, like the ones above. But then I got to thinking about the time it would take for me to design the cards, put the correct information on each individual card, and print the escort cards and I almost had a minor anxiety attack.

So in exploring other, perhaps less time consuming, escort card ideas I have grown attached to the thought of having a display like the one above.

My vision: During the cocktail hour, guests can make their way over to a seating chart display board. A white card (with our monogram acting as a basis for the design) for each of our 15-ish tables will be displayed, with a raspberry cardstock backing, on a board covered in plum fabric. The card would inform our guests which table we are requesting them to be seated at.

My only qualm with the board is something that my Mommy brought up. Would all of the guests actually see the board during the cocktail hour? Should we place the board near the gift table? The cocktail hour will be occurring in an area outside of the ballroom so perhaps the board should be placed near the entrance to the ballroom. Do we have 2 boards? We were only going to have assigned tables (not assigned seats) so should we place the names of the guests seated at each table on the actual table number sign?

Overly obsessive when it comes to the details of the wedding? Yes, that would be me.

What are your thoughts? Escort cards or the seating board? Discuss. And vote on the poll at the right of the blog. Thank you for your thoughts on this important decision.

{Update: 39 total votes. Escort cards: 16, Seating chart or board: 19, another more inventive idea: 4}

Bloggity Chit Chat

Dear My Little Bloggity Blog,
We need to have a little chit-chat. Over the past months I have filled you with little thoughts and images of what I want our big day to look like and feel like. The images have come from afar, mostly swiped from other glorious blogs. And I cannot help but fill you up with said images, like these little gems:

(image via Jose Villa)

(image via Jose Villa)

But here’s the problem. I’ve got too many pretty little images floating around in my head and on my computer and in the obnoxious amount of bridal magazines I own. I don’t even know how I sleep at night because the images and ideas are constantly swirling around in my head, begging me to incorporate them in my wedding, or at least feature them on my blog.

So here is where you come in. I need you to be more than a blog. I need you to take all of these pretty little images and turn them into reality for my wedding. For example, I have been looking for raspberry or plum striped or argyle socks for the Groom since the day I saw the pictures below. Please have them magically appear in my mailbox or at a store near me.

(images via The Brides Cafe and Jose Villa)

Further, if you could make my venue look like this, I would appreciate it.

(Michelle Walker Photography)

Oh, and if you could find/build some sort of rooftop lounge in downtown Indianapolis so we can get some shots like this, I would be in debt to you eternally.

(image via Jasmine Star )

I know it’s a big task for a little blog, but I have faith. Get to work.

On the Yacht

Immediately after Nicole told me she was up for an engagement photo shoot at the lake, I began searching for inspiration. Jose Villa never disappoints.


I'm sure our pictures will look JUST like these.... right Nicole?!?! My parents just need to upgrade their boat by about $200,000....

(all pictures via Jose Villa)

The E Shoot Location

I have a new best friend. Her name is Nicole, and she is our photographer. And she is game for taking our engagement photos at the lake I have spent every summer at since I can remember. Can you imagine all of the potential photo ops…on piers, sailboats, in fields, on bridges, in the water, in front of a rustic lake house….the options are endless my friends.

(watching the sunset. best viewed with a margarita or glass of wine in hand)

Tag! You're It! Again

I have been tagged by Elizabeth at EAD and Tara of wtrito . I feel so loved.
RULES:
1) you link back to the person who tagged you.
2) post these rules on your blog.
3) share six unimportant things about yourself.
4) tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5) let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

Here's what I've got:
1. I am 23 and still, to this day, call my parents Mommy and Daddy. Always will.
2. Molly will probably disown me from her Google Reader upon knowledge of the following fact: Besides flip flops in various colors, I only have black, white, and brown shoes. Same with purses except for one pink wristlet. I know, I have issues.
3. I still haven’t completely determined the color scheme for our wedding. Should we throw some gold into the plum and raspberry color scheme, or no? Specifically for the second ink color on the invitations and other miscellaneous accent colors....

4. I still wear my college sorority sweatshirts and t-shirts.
5. I love uncapping a sharpie marker and crossing something off a to-do list. Too bad I haven’t been able to do that lately…
6. I love Victoria's Secret....sweatpants. Everything else in that store scares me. Especially the mannequins.

I tag:
MasterPiece Weddings
Ms Bliss
She Walks in Beauty
Blu Sky Designs
Engagemental
Chere Amie

In the City

Last week I posted that this was my favorite engagement photo shoot ever. Well it still is my favorite, but now there is a tie. I have long been a fan of evoke photography and everything they do. But this shoot tops them all. Here are some of my favorites:

how can you not love new york city?

central park. i could spend DAYS there.

texture. love. frame it.

my favorite due to my love of halloween and pumpkins.

Do yourself a favor and check out this shoot. on the beach and adorable.

(all pictures via evoke photography )

Where are you doing your engagement photo shoot? in the city? on a beach? in a field? in a warehouse or an alley? Do share.

Nice Jeans!

Our engagement shoot with Nicole is happening sometime this summer and whenever I have a moment I peruse/stalk photography blogs for engagement photo shoots.
(My all-time favorite is this one by Jasmine Star. Stunning.)
I was browsing the portfolio of Jessica Strickland and found a fun shot that kept reoccurring in the various engagement photos in her portfolio:

I feel as though a good pair of jeans are a staple in a woman's wardrobe and, along with a cute pair of pumps or flats, often make an appearance in engagement photos. Will you/did you wear jeans in your engagement session? Or perhaps you opted for your favorite dress. Maybe both. Please, do tell.

Headless

I can't remember where exactly I first saw a picture of the bridal party from the neck down. All I know is that I am a fan of such a picture. And I want one. See below.

(image via: bobbi + mike ) love. it.

Below is possibly one of my favorite photos. It's clearly not posed, but you can see the vibrant bouquets, the attention towards the bride, and the cute BM shoes!

(image via: jessica strickland)

I love the character of each of the guys that you can see thru this photo:

(image via: bobbi + mike)

And one of just the bride to show off her dress, bouquet, and veil:

(image via: nicole green)

Are you a fan of the headless photos? I hope to see a few in the pictures Nicole shoots of us on our big day...other than that I'm pretty sure our smiling faces will be grabbing the attention of the camera!

Negative on the Cake Balls

So some of you might remember this post where I swore up and down that I had found the favors our guests would be chomping on.

Mouthwatering, aren't they? I attempted to actually make them this weekend. I enlisted the help of 3 of my friends for at least 3 hours. It was quite the ordeal. They came out far from perfect, but cute nonetheless. Not so much mouthwatering.Regardless, it would be near impossible (and quite stressful) for me to make them the night before the wedding.

Back to square one.

I am still loving the candy buffet idea. Aren't we all?

And then today enjoy: {the blog} featured Karen Smallbone these adorable candy tubes! I wouldn't even have to bother with the candy buffet as these favors could be left on/at the place setting of each guest!

So who knows where I can get these for all of about $.10 a piece v. the $1.00+ Karen Smallbone wants to charge?

Are you using creative containers for your favors?

The Bridesmaid Dresses

Subtract the chocolate brown and substitute the ever classy black and I am pretty sure this is what my girls will be wearing on the big day:

(Mori Lee Affairs BM dress 735 in Chiffon)

You likey!? We likey.

Blend or Pop? Part II

Throughout the planning process, I always envisioned walking down the aisle to Chris on the big day on the arm of my Father while carrying a bridal bouquet like this:

I always have been and always will be in love with the large rounded white bouquet. It's so classic and timeless, no one can argue with that. However, back in January, I wrote this post when my thoughts began to stray from the white bouquet. April at blu sky designs pointed out that the white bouquet might blend into my white dress in the photographs. Thus, the idea to carry a bouquet that "pops" was put into my head.
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head because I had yet to find a bouquet with a "pop" that matched our color scheme.....until today.
My fabulous co-worker Steph (wedding planner extraordinaire) placed the spring/summer 2008 the knot magazine. On page 23 I saw this:

(magenta dahlias)

Double the size and subtract the bulky plum ribbon bow-tie and send this picture to our florist, please. And THEN my eyes drifted further up the page to an EVEN MORE to-die-for bouquet. A little lighter and softer, this bouquet is made up of pink, lavender, and deep purple dahlias along with lavender and pink parrot roses. Annnd of course there is no on-line picture of it! Until I find one, the question remains:

To blend? Or pop? I know that there are a lot of new readers out there (since I posted about this original topic in January) and I would love to know if you're going with the classic white bouquet or letting your colors pop. Share.

Poll: Poof Balls....or No?

Friends,

By now you all should have seen the planning bio and the married bio of VintageGlam99 on the knot. And you should have visited her bios more than once, drooled over them, and wondered how her wedding could have possibly cost less than $15,000. Because I did.

So I come to you today requesting your help. VintageGlam99 decorated the chairs of her ceremony site with these adorable tissue paper pom poms :

How charming! I love love love them. I haven't blogged about it yet, but I was thinking about letting our ceremony site go bare as far as pew decorations are concerned. The church itself is so radiant and breathtaking that I'm not so sure if it needs any decorations drummed up by yours truly. Here's a picture of our church:

(photo via bobbi + mike)

I would do white pom poms with plum ribbons maybe on every other pew. And here are the pros and cons of the pom pom poof balls, as I see it:

Pros: affordable. super cute. a fun project shared with BMs and a couple bottles of wine on a Thursday night. necessary...i feel like everyone EXPECTS there to be pew decorations.

Cons: one more DIY project. tissue paper decorations that could be considered cheap/tacky. the pom poms might distract from the simple beauty from the church. the pom poms would be in EVERY single picture taken of the church/aisle.

Thoughts? What would you do? Discuss. Vote.

{Voting Update. 41 total votes: love them: 26, not feeling them: 12, undecided: 3}

What I Wish I Knew Then....

Anne over at Elizabeth Anne Designs had a great post the other day for all of the newly engaged brides-to-be or brides-to-be that are still early in the planning process. She had 2 tips that I really love.

EAD tip #1: "Find a way to stay organized, with both paper and digital resources." Amen. Might I add, I was SO excited to purchase one of those BIG wedding organizer books...you know Martha Stewart or "Simply Stunning Weddings" books?! I never did buy one and I am SO glad that I saved my money. To be honest, I would have never had the time to write in the book/organizer (especially with this blog!) and the "organizer" doesn't hold enough. I agree with Anne on this one: "Get an accordion file with tabs for easy labeling". It has been a lifesaver. All of my resources are electronic and I file all of my paperwork from vendors in my accordion file. Do the same.

EAD tip #4: "Give yourself a month or two to start feeling your way around without making any decisions." Oh how I wish EAD would have posted this about 6 months ago. I felt SO rushed to book every single vendor within a month or two, max, of getting engaged...even though our engagement period was going to be 11 months long. If I would have forced myself to sit down and wait before signing on the dotted line, I probably would have only gone with about 60% of the vendors that I currently have lined up for our big day.

(a vendor i would not change, our photographer nicole. love the most recent engagement photo shoot she just did!)

And now, for my words of wisdom:
JL tip #1: Read blogs. Lots of them. {If you have a friend that is newly engaged, send her a list of your favorite blogs, she will love you forever!} Brides-to-be, former brides, photographers, wedding planners, & others in the wedding industry have SO many good ideas to share on their blogs! I am embarking on projects and incorporating fantastic details into my wedding that I would have NEVER thought of if it weren't for the 81 blogs that I subscribe to thru Google Reader.

(Style Me Pretty and Snippet & Ink are always great daily reads! )

JL tip #2: Know that not everyone reads wedding blogs, thinks about weddings 24/7, or even pays attention to detail at the weddings they attend. I know, shocking. Most likely, your guests do not subscribe to blogs like The Brides Cafe, Brooklyn Bride, What Junebug Loves!, the Ritzy Bee, etc thru Google Reader. Out of the 150 people coming to our wedding, I doubt more than 2-5 of them know that having a candy buffet is the "in" thing to do these days. So you cannot stress out about how to make your wedding stand apart from (read: be better than) all the blogging brides-to-be out there or your friends getting married this summer. If you can, limit yourself to only 10 DIY projects. You will be much happier. So will your fiance. And at the end of the big day, this will be you:

(from the bio of Mrs. Veroni)

Light Pink & Green for Candice

One of my best friends, Candice, is getting married next summer and she thinks she has found her inspiration on the cover of a Vanity Fair magazine:

(Vanity Fair Hollywood Cover shoot)

(l to right: baby's breath bouquet chic wedding ideas, tall centerpieces bv weddings)

One of my favorite boards that I think captures Candice's desire of an outdoor flowy pink and green wedding from the little white book:

And, check out the following:

elizabeth anne designs - rustic olive inspiration board

jennifer bowen - Charlie & Kent's pretty light pink & green wedding
planning bio and married bio of Laurdes & Craig. a breathtaking pink & green wedding via blue sky designs

Snippet & Ink board #174: What more could you ask for!?

Are any of you thinking about doing a blush pink and garden green wedding!?

{Update: I met with Candice tonight, after I made this post for her, and she has still not decided on her color scheme...which is completely acceptable since her wedding isn't til next June. Regardless, Candice, your wedding will be beautiful. 12 bridesmaids, 22 bridesmaids, 4 colors in your wedding scheme or only 2...it's going to be beautiful. itb, JFro}

Become a Pink Bride Blogger!

I am SO thrilled to announce that next week I will begin to blog on The Pink Book Blog as an Indianapolis Pink Bride!
The Pink Book Blog is a GREAT resource for brides and if you haven’t checked it out yet then you must do so immediately!
The Pink Book Blog is beginning to branch out to cities all over the country and I have been chosen to blog for Indianapolis! I am in need of 4 more fellow bloggers so if you live in the Indianapolis area and want to blog along side of me, just check out the cute icon below and send in your information!

Don’t worry about the future of Tying the Knot. I see these two blogs as completely separate. Tying the Knot will continue as my own personal blog containing all of my wedding planning and wedding related thoughts....the same blog you have come to know and love. My blog on the Pink Book will be geared specifically towards Indianapolis brides and full of everything one must know about getting married in Indianapolis.