Wedding Day News Paper

In reading hundreds of wedding blog posts a week, even 2+ years after our wedding, there are ideas that I have seen that I wish were around/blogged about before we got married.
One such idea would be to snag a copy of the city newspaper on the day of your wedding. Sure, you'll shove it in a box of some sort along with left over wedding programs and monogrammed cocktail napkins, but one day it might be neat to show it to your kids. Just another memento from {one of} the best day of your life.

photo via bippityboppityboo

Love Always Guestbook

Back in the day {September 2010}, Sarah over at truly smitten posted about a guestbook idea she had seen in the fall 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings. In case you hadn't seen it yet, I thought I would pass along this guest book idea {you can still download the pdf to diy!}.

Below is an image of the template which allows for personalization of your names and wedding date. Then, simply print and display at your wedding for guests to sign!

After your wedding, frame the signed "love always" poster and display it for years and years to come as a little memento from your special day.

What are you having your guests sign on your wedding day?!

Photos via Martha Stewart Weddings via truly smitten.

Plaid and Peacock

Weddings featuring even a hint of plaid are few and far between. This wedding has sprinkles of plaid {and peacock} throughout. Imagine my delight! Shall we start with the fabulous bow tie worn by the groom?!
Wait, it gets better. The groomsmen wore plaid ties, complementing the groom's bow tie. I love. The suspenders are icing on the cake.
Naturally, the bride was not to be outdone. Leaving the plaid to the men, she accented with peacock feathers in her hair & in the bouquet! Never mind the stunning neckline of her dress!

Likewise, not to be outdone by the groomsmen, the bridesmaids wore the sweetest dresses I've seen in quite a while. Each bridesmaid carried those cute little clutch purses instead of flowers and I don't mind that one bit!

See more of the details from this wedding by Jagger Photography right here.
Looking for more goodness from Jagger Photography? Here's another one of my favorites!

Escort Card Coasters

I share a lot of my favorite paper goods over at my other blog, Penned & Pretty, but I just had to stop by and share this one with you.
maemae paperie has some of the most awe inspiring invitations that I have ever seen. So it was no shocker that I loved these coasters that she had a hand in making.

For all of the details, check out this post. For now, here's a quick run-down. These coasters were used for the escort cards at Jan + Ben's wedding. Betsy {love, love, love}did the calligraphy, The coasters were hole-punched and tied with either a peacock feather, a bleached peacock feather, or a jewel {each indicated the meal choice of the guest}.

If I were a guest at this wedding, these coasters would immediately have gone into my purse in order to fully enjoy them for days/months to come in my home! Congrats on a beautiful product maemae & Betsy!

A Bird With a French Fry

Have you seen this post on 100 layer cake? To be honest, every single detail is phenomenal. But I would like to highlight just two of them in this post.

There was this adorable little framed print that caught my eye. "Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry." How fitting is that sentiment on your wedding day!?! I am in love with this print and cannot even begin to fathom all of the places that it could pop up at one's wedding reception.
The flowers. Oh my goodness the flowers at this wedding were unreal. Every single flower was vibrant and perfectly arranged to be breathtaking. At the reception, some floral arrangements were placed under these little glass terrariums which just about took my breath away. The "french fry" print can be purchased here at the etsy shop of dazeychic. Hop on over to this post on 100 layer cake to see all of the pictures from this gorgeous wedding.

Vendors: Venue: Park Tavern Garden Tent Photography: W. Scott Chester Flowers & Decor: Amy Osaba Hair & Makeup: Raney O’keefe DJ: Beats and Bells Photo Booth: Majestic Photobooths Cupcakes: Cami Cakes Doughnuts: Sublime Doughnuts Bride’s Dress: Casablanca Bridesmaids Dresses: Arden B Officiant: Tyler Thigpen Maid of Honor Dress: sohomode Cupcake Toppers: Goose Grease Hair Piece: Which Goose Ties: Tux & Tulle Poms: Pom Love

My Favorite Inspiration Board

If I had to pick a favorite inspiration board that the lovely Kathryn at snippet and ink has whipped up, it would have to be this one "Bottle Glass & Black."

I love that bottle glass color. It would be the perfect accent color to a traditional black and white wedding color scheme. It may be hard to find bridesmaids dresses, ribbon, linens, etc in the exact bottle glass color, but I assume it would be worth the work needed to bring everything together under this fabulous color combo.

You can see the board and Kathryn's words about it right here.

Something Blue Bridal Shower Cupcake Flags

Oh hi, friends! It's been a while and I'm so sorry about that. Recently I've been recovering from seeing my alma mater play in the Final Four and for the National Championship, attending a concert of one of my favorite country music artists & meeting her backstage{!!!}, working overtime at my day job, cranking out calligraphy order after order after order and trying to complete my duties as maid of honor for my best friend and her upcoming wedding. To say that those are only the highlights of the last month would be an understatement.
Today, I'd like to share with you the darling cupcake flags that I made for my friend's shower mentioned above. Debbie is having a Florida destination wedding sprinkled with blue, white and khaki accents. Thus, I wasted no time in throwing myself fully behind the idea of throwing her a "Something Blue" shower. As you know, friends, it's all about the details...and there just had to be cupcake flags present!

A while ago, I bought a jewel colored cardstock pack at Walmart for various craft projects. I used 1 piece of white cardstock and 4 different colored blue cardstock pieces to create 20 cupcake flags. Using a font that matched the shower invitations, I created the flag template on Word and printed it, in blue ink, onto each of the five cardstock pieces. {p.s do a couple of test runs first to get the correct printer settings and spacing before using all of your good cardstock!} Using a ruler and a pencil, I drew in a cutting guide for each flag.

After the long flag strips were cut, I folded each of them in half around a toothpick and affixed each one with craft glue. Cutting an inverse triangle into each flag provided just the effect that I was going for. The flags were ready to see some action.
Bridesmaid Laura Ann baked and iced the most delicious cupcakes! We added blue sugar sprinkles and gingerly added the flags as a finishing touch.
The cupcake flags were easy make and added a personal touch/detail at the shower that many guests commented about. It's also a great way to incorporate the theme/colors of the shower or wedding into the details of the shower. The bride loved them and, in the end, isn't that all that matters!?

If you would like for me to send you the template that I used, please send me an email to pennedandpretty{at}gmail{dot}com and I will send out a mass e-mail in the next week with the Word & pdf template! Just put "cupcake flag template" in the subject line!

p.s. stay tuned...later in the week I'll be sharing my something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue shower favors!

p.p.s. head on over to Penned & Pretty to see the something blue shower invitations. To say that I'm quite proud of them would be an understatement!

Style Me Pretty Calligraphy Feature

There have been some pretty exciting things happening over at my little calligraphy shop, Penned & Pretty in the last few months! One of which I already blogged about over at Penned & Pretty, but just had to share with you here as well.

Back in December 2009, Molly of Paisley Quill gave me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of an inspiration to reality photo shoot for Style Me Pretty alongside some of the most wedding industry's finest vendors. I literally jumped at the chance.Molly sent me some of the most intricate and beautiful escorts I had ever seen. I put my "pretty adorable" calligraphy on about 20 of them and sent them back to her in time for the shoot. I couldn't wait to see how they would be used and I sure couldn't wait to see the pictures and feature!

Blacks, golds, baby blues and a little navy were the colors that shined throughout this stunning shoot. If you're thinking about having a winter wedding, I'm pretty sure that there is no way that you can see the pictures from this event and not be inspired. It's all about the details, as they say, and having the escort cards displayed on bare branches made for quite the eye-catcher. The stark branches gave way for the escort cards to shine. The outcome of the shoot was stunning, to say the least. If you haven't seen it already take a little look at the Style Me Pretty from inspiration to reality shoot part one part two part three part four {the video!} and part five!Here is a close-up of one of the escort cards. In case you didn't know, this is the "Pretty Adorable" style which is by far the most requested script from my little calligraphy shop! Here is a of the wonderful vendors that made this shoot happen! Flowers , Table Design and Dessert Buffet: Aisha Holly Dooby Design Group / Stationery: Molly Myers • Paisley Quill / Photography: Aruna Mall • Aruna B. Photography / Videography: Ryan Koral • Epic Motion / Venue: The Royal Park Hotel • Kristen Hickey / Hair & Make-up: Angela Valentine & Jennifer Jaroma • Salon U2 / Cake: Papa Joe’s Market/La Sala Banquet • Sue Helzer / Dress: Amsale • Donated by V2V / Model: Andrea Walker.

A very special thanks to Molly of Paisley Quill for the opportunity to be involved in this shoot and to Abby at Style Me Pretty for the feature!
All pictures by Aruna Mall of Aruna B. Photography and used with expressed permission.

Eat, Drink & Be Married Poster

In this post, I featured the lovely poster mat from Heather's {we met in a bar} wedding. If you're looking for adorable posters for your guests to sign at your rehearsal dinner or wedding reception, check out the lovely etsy shop of orange beautiful and rest your eyes on this charming 8x10 poster!
Purchase it here and then find a snazzy frame for it to go in!

Poster Mat

Chris has constantly been telling me that we have too many pictures of him and I around our house. I justify it by saying that we have beautiful wedding and engagement pictures along with 4 years of documented memories that i just need to display. Besides, it's not like we have a child {or dog, for that matter} to take pictures of and display around the house!
Recently I saw this post at we met in a bar featuring the lovely poster mat from their wedding:

In my personal opinion, this has to be the next big trend {RIP picture mat}. Purchase a {wedding/love} print that you both love and want to hang in your home. Have your guests sign it and it's guaranteed to have a special place in your home and hold a special meaning for you both.

Naturally, Heather from we met in a bar, had a gorgeous instructional sign accompanying the marker jar to let her guests know they were welcome to sign the mat.

We had our wedding party and close family sign a picture mat at our rehearsal dinner {we had our guests sign a blurb guest book at our reception}. The signature mat is still sitting on the floor of our home office. I know, sad but true. One day it will find a home. I can't help but think that Chris would gladly let me hang a print, like the one above, before he lets me hang another picture of ourselves {picture mat included}. Le Sigh.
That being said, all you brides-to-be out there, jump on the poster mat bandwagon! I would love to see what poster you find for your guests to sign!
Images by Studio 7 Photography

Your Mom's Dress

A couple years ago, I made my Mom pull her wedding dress out of the closet and show it to me. It was actually her mother's wedding dress that she also was able to wear. Talk about a beautiful heirloom worn by two women I love!
I, however, was not too keen on wearing it on my wedding day. And I didn't want to selfishly chop it up with scissors to make a garter or add part of it to my dress/veil/bouquet wrap. So, back in the closet it went.
This is what I should have done:
Pretty Bride displayed both her mother's and her mother-in-law's bridal gowns at her reception. What a lovely way to recognize both women! I am sure that the each mother, and the guests, loved the added detail.

You can find the rest of Pretty Bride's reception recap here.

Face Time

Along with holding hands with your husband on your wedding day, make sure you get some face time in too.

Scheduling some extra, "fluff," time into your schedule will give you a little cushion to fall back on in case your hair stylist is taking too long or the groomsmen are late for their picture session. If your wedding day runs smoothly that extra time in your schedule will allow you some extra face time with your husband. Take advantage in the form of taking more pictures together or stealing a quiet moment away from all of the joyful commotion in a secluded place {your hotel suite, a private room in your venue or taking a walk nearby}. You'll be glad you did. photo by rebekah westover.

Bridal Party Signage

Just a cute little piece of signage that, although not important or necessary, would make a lovely addition to the brides door while she is getting ready throughout the day.
Perhaps a crafty bridesmaid could make this for her friend since not too many brides will have time for DIY projects like this!

as seen on: the brides cafe photo by: sweet monday photo

In the Details

You know, when it comes down to it, most weddings look the same. What makes your wedding stand out in the minds of your guests {from the other 6 weddings they have already been to this summer} are all the little details.
I just had to share this little picture with all of you to demonstrate my point. Now, who in the world would think of putting flowers in a sink basin at their outdoor venue!? The bride who wants no detail to be overlooked, that's who. Granted, no guest will walk away saying, "Remember those flowers the bride had in the sink basin outside?! Oh, those were just lovely." But, once they see those flowers in the sink basin, their eyes will be drawn to all the other little details that you have incorporated into your special day. As they take it all in, they will form a beautiful memory of your lovely ceremony and reception that they will not soon forget.
photo by: one love photo via: the artsy bride

Ruff

I saw this darling little image over on The Little Black Book of Style Me Pretty the other day and couldn't resist sharing.
I've seen dogs with cute little leashes, bow ties, collar necklaces, etc...but never one with a precious little tie. I was and am in love with this look from the second I saw it. Who could possibly resist this guy? He might even be cuter than the groom.
photo via: gia canali

Candy?

I am thisclose to placing an order from bulk foods to stock our candy bar at the reception with the following:

• -Hershey's Kiss (5 pounds)
• 72 White Swizzle Sticks (Rock Candy on a stick)
• White Jordan Almonds (5 pounds)
• White Nonpareli Chocolate Drops (5 pounds)

Here's the thing. With only 11 days to go before the wedding, I am still unsure of the whole candy bar idea. Let's pro/con it...

Con:

• Those 4 candies would cost me $88.77. Even then I would want to go to another website and order the white gummy bears which would cost me another $30.00. Plus little bags for people to scoop the candy into. All of this=expensivo.
• We could be putting that $100 we would spend in candy towards something for us.
• If we didn't do the candy bar then we wouldn't really have a "favor" to give our guests. But then again, do you really consider giving someone a little candy a worthy "favor" for them?

Pro:

• BM K To already has 5 vases/jars with scoops that I can use.
• The candy can be here within 2-3 days
• 75% of guests will be staying in the hotel adjacent to the reception hall. Because of this I think that will stay a little later to celebrate and therefore might want a little somethin' to snack on.
• The candy bar is a great addition to a wedding reception for the following: Most of your {older} guests will not have heard of the concept of a candy bar so to them its a fresh little detail. The kids will love it. The 20-30 somethings will devour it.

That's the short and sweet of it. What are your thoughts? Is it worth the money for a cute detail? Or should we forgo the sweets?
picture via: joyful weddings and events

Napkin Update

About a week ago I ordered 150 cocktail napkins with our monogram from etsy seller Designs By Tine. They came in the mail today and they are MORE than picture perfect. I highly recommend the seller.

So we have 150 white cocktail napkins with our plum monogram on them, 150 plum napkins, and 150 raspberry-ish napkins (plum and raspberry napkins purchased from local party store). I'll let my MOH have the task of collating them so that they alternate. She'll love me for that.

I figure that 450 napkins will just about carry us to dinner. Once we run out we'll just use the venue's standard napkins.

Check off another task, thank you very much.

A pretty picture for this post:

photo via jasmine star

Yes or No

Yes or No? If we don't do this then we will not have our guests "do" anything when we exit the church.

This is for real now. I'll be ordering the ribbon tonight if we're going to go ahead with it.

What do you think? Me likey, but I don't want it to be too cheesy. That's why I need your input.
See previous post here for why these ribbon wavers are our only option.

Photos via: east hill photo and amy squires

Napkin Help

Friends,

I need your help.

A couple of nights ago, on the whim, I ordered 150 white napkins from this etsy seller. The white napkins will display our monogram in plum ink:

Here's where you come in. 150 napkins won't even get us through more than 10 minutes of the cocktail hour. Thus, I am now in need of both plum and raspberry cocktail napkins. At least 150 of each (with no monogram/no printing) to intermix with the white napkins. Do any of you know of any websites I can visit to obtain said napkins!?

Much thanks for your help. Our beverages thank you.

Do You Gocco?

In need of 200+ cocktail napkins with our monogram on them.
Tina just posted about hers and it kicked my search into high gear.
If you have a Gocco and are wanting to take on a little DIY project for me, drop a comment!

Picture from the elizabeth anne deisgns post on Gocco napkins.