How I Tied the Knot: Bouquets and Boutonnieres

Previously in the post, tying the knot: bouquets and boutonnieres, I shared some of my favorite pictures of our flowers from our big day. Now, it's time to let you all in on how I developed my vision for the flowers, dealt with the florist, and the lessons that I learned from that aspect of our wedding day. And, of course, some pretty pictures to display along the way!

This was my inspiration behind my bridesmaids bouquets. I told my florist to take out the peach and marigold (leaving just the plum and raspberry) but that I wanted the same flowers with the same fullness. I went in to see a trial version of the bridesmaids bouquets. And I cried. In front of the florist. Perhaps only one or two tears rolled down my cheek, but I cried all the same. It was horrid. The peach/marigold was quite present and apparently my raspberry translated into her hot pink. Thus,

Lesson learned #1. No matter how much it costs, ask to see a mock-up of your/your bridesmaids bouquets. I would have been sobbing the majority of the morning of our wedding day had I not seen that sample and had the time to sit with the florist and get it straight. I gave her a ribbon of what "raspberry" meant to me, so that she could order the dahlias in the correct color. So if you are picky, like me, about what colors you want your flowers to be, give your florist a sample of ribbon or cloth to work with.

At the end of the day, the bridesmaids bouquets turned out lovely.

After seeing the disastrous first mock-up of my bridesmaids bouquet, I was scared to think what my bouquet was going to end up looking like. So I scrapped any notion of a bouquet that would pop with color. I went with an all white fluffy bouquet. And the result (of spider mums, button mums, and asters) was beautiful. But what made my bouquet perfect was the finishing touches that I put on it. I attached my sorority pin and a locket. The locket was a gift to me, from my bridesmaids. They gave it to me on the day of my Daddy's memorial service. The silver locket held a picture of my Daddy and I and had engraved "Always with you, Daddy". It was just what my bouquet needed.

Here's the kicker, friends. Total price for the 8 bouquets (bride & 7 BM's) and 10 boutonnieres (groom, 7 GM's, my uncle and Chris' Dad) was $500. Thus,

Lesson learned #2: You do not have to use the florist that every other bride in town uses. If I would have gone with the first florist that I talked to (the most popular one in town), the cost of our flowers would have been tripled. Look and ask around, get quotes, and check for florists with smaller shops or that operate out of their home. You can save yourself a couple hundred dollars, get more personalized service, and your flowers will still be just as beautiful.

previously in the series, "how i tied the knot": getting ready, our first look
all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Give Thanks and Share Your Link

This year, more than ever, I am thankful for my family, husband and friends and friendships. I’m attempting to be thankful for the 24 years I had to spend with my Daddy since some people don’t even get that long with their Dad’s. But I can’t help to think that I should have been blessed with about 24 more years with him.

On a lighter note, I am also thankful for my blackberry (Chris isn’t), gas being cheaper, diet mountain dew, target, wool socks & fake ugg boots, rice krispie treats, hooded sweatshirts, this blog, and the blogs Google reader delivers to be everyday.

I’ll be taking time out this weekend to spend with family, to do a little black Friday shopping, and (of course) to catch up on my favorite blogs. Speaking of blogs, I need some new material to read! So, while you’re home over Thanksgiving eating leftover turkey and getting an early start on Christmas shopping and decorating, drop me a comment with the link to your blog! I would love to stop by!

I think that it’s appropriate to end my last post before thanksgiving with a picture of a pretty table, just waiting for guests to arrive.

Thanks, Laura Ann for sending this picture from Jennifer Skog. I’m sure your tables at your reception will be just as beautiful as this one!

How I Tied the Knot: Our First Look

Previously in the post, tying the knot: our first look, I shared some of my favorite pictures of the first look we had of each other on our wedding day. I'd just like to chat with you all a little bit about our first look and first looks in general.

The decision to see each other before the doors opened at the church was made early in the planning process. I knew I would be a bundle of nerves on our wedding day if I didn't see Chris before my walk down the aisle. Seeing him before hand just made sense, after all, we wanted to spend as much time together on our wedding day as possible! And I was able to smile all the way down the aisle! Not to mention that it allowed us to get pictures (together and with the bridal party) before the ceremony at a relaxed pace. It was perfect.

That being said, the decision to see each other before the ceremony should be yours and yours alone. Not your photographers or your event managers. Not your wedding coordinators or your Mom's. If it's important to you to have that moment when you are walking down the aisle to be your first look, then let that moment be your first glimpse of each other. You won't regret it. But, I have to say, when the doors opened at the church, the moment was just as special as the moment that I saw him earlier in the day. Whatever decision you make, you'll be happy.

And now, for the pretty picture. I already shared all the pictures from our first look, so here's a picture from after our ceremony that you haven't seen yet.

previously in the series, "how i tied the knot": getting ready. next in the series, "how i tied the knot": the bouquets and boutonnieres.

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

How I Tied the Knot: Getting Ready

Previously in the post, tying the knot: getting ready, I shared some of my favorite pictures of when I was getting ready for our big day. Now, it's time to let you all in on how I did it and the lessons that I learned from that aspect of our wedding day. And, of course, some pretty pictures to display along the way!

Lessons learned #1. The hotel gave us the VP Suite for free for our wedding night. We booked it for the night before as well so that we would have it at 7am for the BM's and I to get ready in. Since we had 30 rooms booked at the hotel for the night of our wedding, we had the hotel bump us up to the Presidential Suite (with a living room, dining room, master suite, and full kitchen) for both nights, for free. It rocked.

Lessons learned #2. Do not, in the midst of all of the craziness of your wedding planning, forget to figure out what you are going to wear on the morning of your wedding! The night before the wedding I mentioned to my MOH that I had nothing "cute" that I could wear while I was getting my hair and make-up done. She rushed out to VS and bought me this cute little Sexy Little Bride tank top that went perfectly with my favorite pink sweatpants.

Lessons learned #3. Our schedule that morning didn't really allow for all the guys to get ready together. Chris actually ended up getting ready pretty much by himself and then going to hang out with some of his groomsmen. I regret not sending Nicole's assistant, Dan, over to snap a couple keepsake photos of Chris "getting ready" and putting on his cuff links or tying his tie. Don't forget to have your photographer grab some photos of your husband-to-be while he is getting ready.

Lessons learned #4. Your BM's are perfectly capable of doing their own hair. Don't force them all to pay $$$$ to get their hair done if there is no need for it. Candice and AJ (pictured below) along with Jenn and Kristen all did their own hair....and the results were gorgeous.I paid a little extra to have my hair stylist come to my bridal suite to do my hair (and my Mom's and 2 of the BM's), so all of my bridesmaids were able to get ready with me in the suite. I had the hair and make-up ladies come at 7:45. I was done with both by 10, got into my dress, and saw Chris at 10:45, right on schedule.

Lessons learned #5. Know where the top loop (that the clasp goes into) on your dress is. Not kidding. My alterations lady never mentioned to us that the top loop was made of STRING. We spent 5 minutes attempting to find the loop and ended up using a safety pin to hold it in place until after the first look when Candice came in and saved the day by finding the loop of string.

Lessons learned #6. Mimosa's are god's gift to brides. Indulge.

Lessons learned #7. My trial run and up-do on the day of cost me a total of $100. Make-up was something like $40. Don't let make-up and hair vendors charge you an arm and a leg just because you are "the bride". When it comes down to it, an up-do is an up-do. Search around town a little bit and you'll find vendors at a reasonable price that will make you as happy with your hair and make-up on your wedding day as I was:

Next in this series, "How I Tied the Knot: Our First Look"

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

New Blog Header and Link Love

I wanted to post my series "tying the knot" without disruption, so that the pretty pictures would have time to shine. So, before my next series begins, there are a couple of things that I wanted to share with all of you.

Take a moment to sneak a peek at my new blog header. It was time for a change, friends. Here's the kicker. Once you start, you just can't stop. I have 3 options to choose from! Check them out below and either leave a comment or vote (on the right) for your favorite. I really appreciate it!

Option 1: new current header...

Option 2: add in the shoes...
option 3: tying the knot monogram...

Note: Chris (the Husband) helped out with #2 and #3, don't let him sway your vote.

A couple other changes that I made to the blog were updating the list of my favorite blogs. I updated the list of "blogs i love" and added new list of "planners i love".

Need a new blog to peruse?! My friend Laura is getting married in August and recently started her own little bloggity blog to detail the process of planning her wedding. She's off to a great start planning her wedding, and I hope that you'll all pop over to tell her hello! You must check out the adorable way she asked her friends (me included!) to be bridesmaids here.

Above: Nicole captured a great shot of Laura on our wedding day that I don't even think Laura has seen yet! Love ya Lo!

Just a little link love: Elizabeth Anne Designs launched a new addition to their little blog, Elizabeth Anne Designs Living. "...dedicated to making our everyday lives as beautiful and creative as the day we begin our marriage.Living will be filled with crafts, recipes, book reviews, and everything else we love about the home arts. We hope you will enjoy reading and contributing as much as we have writing it." Along with Elizabeth Anne Designs and The EAD Library there is a little something for everyone! And a little link love to SWS Mag on the redesign of the Southern Weddings blog...it looks great!

Coming later today, a follow-up to my "tying the knot" series, "how I tied the knot".

Tying the Knot: What Happens Next

It's been almost two months since our wedding, and it's still hard to believe it's all over. It has been an off feeling to come home and not have to worry about putting programs together, confirming details with vendors, or agonizing over different shades of plum/purple/eggplant. But I must say that it is a great feeling coming home to a husband who can cook a mean chicken marsala. Marriage has it's perks and that is just one of them.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have shared some of the pretty pictures from our wedding. I hope that you love them as much as I do. Here's what's next for Tying the Knot, for the next week or so, I'm going to take you back through each of the areas that I've posted about in this "Tying the Knot" series. I'll share with you the lessons I learned throughout the wedding planning process, how I completed most of the DIY projects, and the few regrets I have about our big day. I think I'll be calling this new series, "How I Tied the Knot". It will be a place where all of the nitty gritty details can be spelled out (how much our florist charged, how Kinkos charged me an outrageous $10 to hole punch our 100 programs and how we made the mistake of not taking the traditional photo in front of the church altar) without getting in the way of the pretty pictures.

So, readers, what do you want to know?! How did I tie the ribbon around the centerpiece vases? How did we feel about not renting a limo/bus/vehicle to transport the bridal party? How my beautiful cake was less than $400? Let me know! Comment below, on this post, if you have any special requests!
And now, for one last pretty picture. Remember when I said this to/about my Daddy, "When I feel that gust of wind blow my dress and my veil around on my wedding day, I'll know that you are there." It happened. This picture was taken right before we took our family pictures outside of the church. We were basking in our newlywed bliss and my Daddy wanted to take a minute to tell me that he was there.
To me, this photo is priceless.

Have a great weekend!
previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away, rawry, toasts and dancing, the cake, reception details

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: Reception Details

I had 10 months to plan our wedding. 10 months were spent buying ribbon in juuuust the perfect hue of raspberry, agonizing on the dilemma of escort cards v. a seating chart display, and how to bypass the white card box with the tacky tassels that every venue provides. Before I knew it, ten months was gone and there we were standing in our reception hall on our wedding day. It was at that moment that I saw all of my hard work presented before me...and I loved what I saw.

We had two variations of centerpieces. One was reminiscent of the bridesmaids bouquets and featured a small gathered arrangement of plum dahlias and raspberry asters. The taller centerpieces were vases from Ikea filled with four floating candles. The candlelight reflected the light coming from the two beautiful chandeliers in our ballroom, it was perfect. I hand-tied each of the vases with raspberry ribbon and was ecstatic about the results. Plum table runners graced each table and brought our colors into the room.

(for some reason, blogger has distorted the true colors of these pictures. our colors were a rich plum and a bold raspberry.)

I loved our engagement pictures so much that I incorporated them into our table numbers. An engagement picture was mounted to one side of a plum cardstock. The table number, along with a variation of our monogram, was displayed on a piece of white cardstock which was mounted to the other side of the plum cardstock. The guests loved seeing our engagement pictures and wandered around to other tables to see some of our other pictures!

This, was my pride and joy....our Blurb guestbook. Every "left" page had one of (or four of) our engagement pictures. The right side of the book was blank, for guests to sign. The guests loved the concept and we now have a book to put on our coffee table!

I threw out the idea of the traditional card box early in the process. I was going to attempt to make something, but then I saw this beautiful vase at Ikea and I knew it would be a gorgeous holder for our cards. Our bar was adorned with 150 white cocktail napkins, with our monogram in plum, from etsy seller Designs By Tine. It was just another personal touch that brought in our monogram. I loved them. The seating chart was displayed in the hallway leading to the ballroom (right before the guest book). The concept of our monogram flowed through to the designs of the cards. Each card displayed a table number and listed all those seated at each table number. It couldnt have turned out more beautiful. Stay tuned for my posts on lessons learned where I'll share things like...diy tips, where I bought my shoes, lessons I learned and things I wish I knew while planning my wedding! previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away, rawry, toasts and dancing, the cake all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: The Cake

To be honest, the cake wasn't too high on my priority list. I found a baker early in the planning process and just kind of let things be. Before I knew it there were 10 days to go until the wedding and i had no idea what I wanted our cake to look like . And then, my readers came to the rescue. With their input, the vision just came to me. Simple and white, forgoing the ribbon, with sparkly dots of sugary goodness sprinkled atop.

The cake was everything I could have ever wanted and more. It was perfect in every way.

All good things must come to an end...it was time to cut into our picture perfect cake.

My friends, Chris and I had an agreement. We had an agreement to maybe get a dollop of cake on each others chins or noses. We had an agreement to play nice. He "forgot".

From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to incorporate pictures of our parents on their wedding day. I found pictures of our parents with their parents on their wedding day(s) and put them in matching frames. The pictures were set up next to the cake...and everyone loved the little detail.

And then there was the cake cutter. Originally I had planned to use the cake cutter and knife that my parents had used 25 years ago, but when we couldn't find it...I had to turn to the next best thing. Kate Spade. When I received this set at one of my showers, I was ecstatic. Our "Mr." and "Mrs." cake and knife set:

previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away, rawry, toasts and dancing

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: Toasts and Dancing

We tied the knot three years and eighteen days after meeting at a Rascal Flatts concert. It only made sense that our first dance was to a Rascal Flatts song. As the music to "The Day Before You" began to play and we started to dance, it all finally sank in.

"I had all but given up on finding the one that I could fall into, on the day before you. I was ready to settle for less than love and not much more. There was no such thing as a dream come true. Oh, but that was all the day before you."


"Now you're here and everything's changing, suddenly life means so much. I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and find out this promise is true..I will never have to go back to the day before you."

"Oh, but Heaven knows those years without you were shaping my heart for the that day I found you. If you're the reason for all that I've been through...then I'm thankful for the day before you."After the first dance came dinner and after dinner came the toasts. Mommy made the opening remarks, formally welcomed everyone to the reception and toasted to Chris and I. The Best Man and MOH both gave toasts that made us smile from ear to ear and were filled with just the right amount of inside jokes. We felt so blessed. After the BM and MOH toasted us, the time came for the Father-Daughter and Mother-Son dances. Since my Daddy couldn't be at the reception, I decided that the perfect way to honor him would be to give a toast him. The moment was perfect in every way, even though I was sobbing the whole way through the toast. At the end of the toast I asked those gathered with us to raise their glasses to my Daddy...one of my very best friends. My Daddy's good friends stood to clink their glasses and I knew Daddy was smiling.

Chris' Mom had picked out "The Man You Have Become" for them to dance to, and this is one of my favorite shots of the two of them.

Up next....the cake!

previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away, rawry

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: Rawry

I have to take a moment to introduce you to someone that is very special to Chris and I. His name is Rawry and he's the stuffed animal that Chris bought for me on our one year anniversary. Since then he has become a very special part of our lives. He was even involved in the proposal! We toyed with the idea somehow incorporating him into the wedding day, but we had bigger and more important details to worry about, so Rawry was out of luck.

Rawry did, however, make it into my overnight bag and came down to the hotel for the weekend festivities. I told Nicole that I would love it if she could capture a ring shot with Rawry. The results, in my opinion, are adorable.

When it was time for me to leave the bridal suite to see Chris for the first time, I kissed Rawry goodbye and put him on the bed. After the first look and the pictures, Chris and I had a moment alone in the bridal suite before heading to the church. We went to check on Rawry and he was gone. I panicked for a moment thinking that housekeeping had snatched him up with the bed linens and threw him in the laundry. But then we realized that somehow this little guy was determined to play a special part in our big day, whether we liked it or not.


When I walked down the aisle, not only was Chris beaming, but so was Rawry. He had snagged the best seat in the house, right inbetween us!

Stephanie, our fabulous DOC that I raved about here, and my Mommy gave Rawry a ride to the church so that he could be a part of our special day. It was just one more little detail that made us smile.

previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: The Bubbles and The Get Away

Remember this post about what to have for the guests to "toss" after our exit from the church? And then there was this post when I found the ribbon wavers but I was still on the fence about them so I posted this when I was momentarily considering a balloon release. And then it came down to two weeks before the wedding and there was this discussion about how it was now or never for the ribbon wavers.... We went with the bubbles. And I couldn't have been happier.

Our get away car was my Uncles' convertible. It was perfect in every way.

previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: The Ceremony

Everyone was seated and the bridesmaids were making their way down the aisle. I took a deep breath. The flower girls ventured down the aisle and I could hear the murmurs of adoration coming from our guests. My maid of honor gave me a reassuring smile and began her walk. The doors closed and my uncle and I stepped into place as the music began to change. I could hear our guests stand. My Uncle took my hand, put it on his arm, and the doors opened. It was one of, if not the best moment ever. My eyes fell on Chris, waiting at the end of the aisle. He was beaming. So was I.

The ceremony was perfect in so many ways. But it flew by. Before we knew it, it was time for the first kiss. Which we practiced before hand. And it too was perfect.

And then, we were married!

As we were walking down the aisle after being pronounced, the priest handed Chris our marriage certificate/licence. Like a quarterback handing off a football. Thus, it makes it's appearance in this photo.
previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites
all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Tying the Knot: Favorites

The bridesmaids and groomsmen were on their way to the church and there we were with a couple minutes all to ourselves before our wedding ceremony. I remember the moments that Chris and I were able to share while these pictures were being taken. Knowing that in a short while the church doors would open and I would walk down the aisle, vows would be exchanged and we would be married. I know that I've already mentioned that I have a lot of favorite pictures from our wedding day. But these are my real favorites. Hands down. Maybe it's because they are phenomenal or perhaps its because these pictures capture perfectly the words in "Union" by Robert Fulghum:"You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks – all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will”- those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “you know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, and even teacher. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this is my husband, this is my wife."
previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot
all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.