Poll: The Half Shot

You may have noticed, in perusing the archives of this little bloggity blog, that I am a lover of {what I call} "the half shot." Example:

image by joey seawell via style me pretty

Also, see example 2, example 3, example 4 for previous half shots posted on this blog that I very much adore. Even though there are no faces to be seen a half shot, i still think that a lovely message/feeling is conveyed.

What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of the half shots?! Would you like to see a couple half shots in your wedding photos? Loves it or leave it? Comment or vote in the poll on the right hand side of this blog.

For one last pretty picture for this post, here is a half shot from our wedding day that I haven't shared with you yet.

This picture was taken by Nicole as the toasts were being given at our wedding reception{note the pink champagne}. Chris couldn't have peeled me away from his side if he would have wanted to. I don't think that I could have gotten closer or had a tighter grip on that hand of his. Loves it.

Poll Winner: The Dip

The winner of this fun little poll was "the dip" picture with 43 of the 123 votes! "Down the Stairs" came in a close second and will absolutely have a special spot in our home as well. Thank you so much for your votes and I promise to post a picture of it above our mantle once we {finally} move into our new house!
I enhanced the winning picture {above} by using picnik. I converted the b&w picture to sepia and then added dramatic touch with a vignette around the edges. The picture will be framed in a brown frame and will compliment our chocolate brown furniture just perfectly.
original photo by: nicole green

Poll: Get the Word Out

As most of you know, I started up my own little business Penned & Pretty not too long ago. The response, for lack of better words, has been overwhelming and humbling. It's safe to say that March and April will be quite the busy time for our little shop!

But, I need your help. The months of October - February will be slower months for us {and the wedding industry as a whole} and we are toying with the idea advertising. Now we know that every bride is different and therefore every bride takes a different path while finding vendors for her wedding. Question is, how do you/did you find your vendors {your responses will help us determine where to advertise!}?

1. the knot, wedding wire, elizabeth anne designs library
2. vendors recommended by other bloggers
3. word of mouth from friends/family/other vendors
4. bridal shows/expos
5. good ole Google search
6. other

Please vote {poll located at the top right of the blog} and/or leave a comment with your thoughts, we appreciate it!

Oh, and if you didn't know, Penned & Pretty has it's own little blog that is updated daily with darling little invitations, announcements, and all things paper from some of our favorite little shops. Add Penned & Pretty to your reader and follow along as we bring you only the prettiest little paper goods we can find!

And now for a pretty picture for this pretty little post. I never thought I could love a picture in which neither the bride nor the groom is looking at the camera or at the other person...until I saw this picture.
p.s. a wall of ivy is my new favorite background.

photo by the ever wonderful jose villa

Poll: The Colored Bridal Shoe

So unless you live under a rock, I feel as though you should have seen the "trend" of the colored wedding shoes. If you haven't, just read my post here. Let's just have a little chat about this "trend," shall we? I am personally a fan, as evidenced in the photo below.

I love my plum shoes more than any other bridal white shoes I found during the process of planning our wedding. They added a splash of color and an adorable detail, in my opinion. But there is a little piece of me that is secretly hoping that I don't look back on the picture above in 40 years and think to myself, "why in the world did I wear colored shoes on my wedding day!?". And then there is the dreaded point in time that I might have to tell my daughter "oh, but that was the trend/style back when we got married. everyone was wearing colored shoes!" after she flips through our wedding photos giggling about what in the world I did/wore on our wedding day.

And so, to go along with yesterdays wonderful post, let's partake in a little poll {located at the top right of the blog}. Have you/did you wear a colored shoe on your wedding day?

1. Love{d} the colored shoes. It's all about the details, baby.
2. Went with white.

3. Colored shoes weren't a trend when I tied the knot

If you would like, leave a little comment about your thoughts on this trend. Do you think it will stick around? Do you think it's overdone? Do people give you odd looks when you tell them that your wedding shoes were not/will not be white {i got those looks all the time}?!

A pretty picture {that you should save in your inspiration folder} by jonathan canalas to end this post.

Poll: Addressing the Envelopes

One of my favorite bloggers, Sarah from classic bride, has launched her own calligraphy shop! Head on over to SD Calligraphy to check out samples of her gorgeous work!

Speaking of calligraphy, I have to admit that I have toyed with opening up shop as well. I have always loved picking up a fresh pen and watching the ink flow onto the paper. Addressing the envelopes for our save the dates, invitations and thank you cards was something that I looked forward to and loved doing. I attempted to learn true calligraphy {as featured by SD Calligraphy and Laura Hooper}, but I just couldn't do it. It didn't look right and it just wasn't "me." Instead, I addressed our envelopes with my own {pretty} handwriting. And the envelope recipients loved the results.

So, dear readers. I created a little poll, just to get a feel for your opinions. How will you address your envelopes? Will you spend a little money and adorn your envelopes with the pretty calligraphy of SD Calligraphy and Laura Hooper? Would you turn your envelopes over to someone like me to address them, for a low price, with simply pretty handwriting? Or are you sending them through the printer/addressing them yourself? Please vote on the poll to the left or simply leave a comment!

p.s. for those interested, please contact me for addresssing services. i'm thinking $20 to address your envelopes + shipping + cost of envelopes {or you may purchase the envelopes yourself and send them to me}. my e-mail/contact info is on the right side of this blog!

Poll Update

I thought it would be fun to take a minute and recap the various polls that I have ran on my blog and let you know how your results compared to actual results!

• Blog Header Poll: 57 of you said that you loved the header with the shoe shot in the middle! So, take a peak! The new header is simply adorable and I hope that you love it too!
• Pick & Choose Our Invitations: The second invitation design had the most votes, but when it came down to it, I didn't have enough time or patience to totally re-do the invitations. So I went with #1, the original, with some minor changes. For the most part, I am at peace with how they turned out.
• Perfect Plum Peeps: The majority of readers, told me to go with the plum peep toe shoes on our wedding day over the traditional bridal white shoes or both white and plum shoes. And that's exactly what I did! And I think that we all love the results!
• Ribbon Wavers: Most of you wanted to see the ribbon wavers be a part of our exit strategy, with 17 of you vouching for bubbles. When I priced it out, the ribbon wavers would have cost me $75 + countless hours of labor to make. And I just didn't have the time, nor the desire to spend money on dowel rods. So we went with the bubbles. For $14. And I couldn't have been happier.
• Veil: High or Low. I wore the veil low, as the majority of you voted for. It worked with my hairstyle and it worked for all of the hour that I actually wore the veil.
• Anticipated Moments. Most of you were looking forward to the first look, and I assure you that it was everything that you will ever imagine it to be. But the other options (getting ready, walking down the aisle, the pronouncement, and the first dance) were just as wonderful.
• The Registry. We took your advice and registered at BB&B and Macy's. But we skipped Crate & Barrel, since there wasn't a store in Cincinnati (where half of our guests resided). I would like to say that our Target registry worked out just fine, after all the horror stories we heard (about difficulty of returns). FYI: If the Target item was purchased off your registry and you want to return it, go to the bridal registry kiosk at the store, print off your purchase log/completion list and present it to the service list. You'll get a merchandise credit. No problem.
• RSVP We went with the standard RSVP reply that you suggested, "accepts with pleasure or declines with regret." The RSVP's turned out perfect, so thanks for helping with this little dilemma!
• Cards or Chart I made a seating chart, seen here. Most of you voted for the seating chart over an escort card and I have to admit that it was perfect. We put it on an easel in the hall outside of the cocktail hour. As the guests entered they were able to find their respective tables and sign our blurb guest book. We saved paper and a lot of hassle (cutting, set-up, and clutter of escort cards). More details on the seating chart to come in a future post!
• Balls or No Balls We went with no poof balls (inspired by this bride). Even though most of you loved them, we didn't want to distract from the beauty of the church and I didn't want to force my MOH to fold pieces of tissue paper for months in order to make the balls. In fact, we had no church pew decorations at all, and I don't think that anyone noticed/cared.
• Rehearsal Dinner Invites Chris' Mom was kind enough to send out rehearsal dinner invitations. She picked them out herself , and they were adorable. The majority of you said that they aren't necessarily necessary and the need for a formal invitation of the rehearsal dinner just depends on the situation and the guests that you are having. I agree completely.
• Reception Seating The majority of you voted for a sweetheart table, but we were lucky enough to be to make up our own seating arrangement. A post on this aspect of our wedding day is soon to follow!
• Save the Date Pictures As seen here, we went with the B&W picture on the circle for our save the date cards. They were a hit.
• How Do We Get There. Although you voted for a classy car for the bride and groom, we actually went with none of the options listed in this poll. More to come on this topic!

I leave you with a beautiful picture from Ben Chrisman I don't think that we need to take a poll to agree that the love and the emotions in this picture convey l-o-v-e.

Poll: Necessity of a Potential Photographer's Blog

Recently I was talking with a friend from the lake who happens to be a photographer. She is attempting to break into the wedding photography business and was asking me all sorts of questions relating to weddings, the wedding industry, and what I looked for in a wedding photographer.

Long story short, this is what I told her: I wouldn't dream of hiring a wedding photographer that didn't have a blog. In fact, I barely looked twice at most photographers websites when I was searching for one...I headed right for the blog. The simple reason behind my logic is that a blog allows a photographer to share his or her most recent work. A website (usually) contains older images and isn't updated as frequently. A blog allows a person to express feelings and his or her personality while a website merely displays contact information.

So what do you think? Would you/did you hire a photographer that didn't have a blog? How beneficial do you think a photographer's blog can be? Discuss. And vote

A pretty picture, found on the pretty blog of bobbi + mike
{Update: 50 total votes. Yes: 33. Not necessarily: 14. Unsure: 3}

Poll: Pick and Choose...Our Invitations

Dear bloggity friends,
The road to our invitations has been a long one. Long story short, I need your help. Our invitations are in your hands....
Pick your favorite:
#1: the original
#2: watermark. reservation: the watermark appears lavender and i wanted to stay away from that...

#3: monogram at top #4: monogram with bars
#5: monogram on both sides
#6: large monogram on one side

#7: monogram on top and bottom
Plllllease vote on the right hand side of my blog or leave a comment. We need to pick one of these pretty little things in the next 3 days!!
Excuse the blurring of information for privacy purposes as well as the random gray lines at the top of some of the designs.

{Update: 41 votes. #1: 5 votes, #2: 24 votes, #3: 3 votes, #4: 0 votes, #5: 4 votes, #6: 4 votes, #7: 1 vote.}

Poll: Perfect Plum Peeps

Today I had 30 minutes in between work/training and our happy hour. Naturally I went to the mall. I'm not sure what I was looking for at Bakers, but I had a Sarah Jessica Parker/Carrie Bradshaw moment. Hello lover:

Excuse the fuzziness of the image.

These precious peep toes were right below a fabulous Jessica Simpson purse and I almost passed them by. But don't you worry, I snatched them up and I am still clutching them in my grubby little paws as I type this.

In case you are wondering, my inspiration behind colored shoes for the big day comes from lots of amazing pictures...one being:

(photos of karrie and brian via amy squires)

Our colors are plum and raspberry. The Groom and groomsmen will (hopefully) be wearing plum and black argyle socks and some sort of plum tie. I think that the plum shoes would be an extra special (unexpected) detail that would pop out in some of our photos.

My ONLY hesitation is that in 30 years I'll look back and see my plum heels peeping out of my dress and ask myself, "What was I thinking!?! " The white bridal shoes are a safe bet. Perhaps I reserve the plum shoes for just a couple of photos and wear white ones for the rest of the day?

Regardless the plum peep toes were only $40. I couldn't resist.

Thoughts? Vote. Love the plum? Stick with white? Switch it up: plum for a couple of shots and white for the rest of the day.

{Update: 46 votes. Prefer plum: 23 votes, Would rather white: 4 votes, Buy both: 19 votes}

Up, Up, and Away

Remember this post and poll?!

I am still struggling with what we should do for our exit from the church. I love the idea of ribbon wavers, and your votes in the poll are indicating you feel the same. I had narrowed down our options to the ribbon wavers, bubbles, bells, or nothing at all. But then I found this picture...

(The Wiebners)

I still love the idea of a balloon release. However, besides being environmentally unfriendly, it would be a logistical nightmare. Since we are not having a wedding planner, who would bring the balloons to the church? Where would we store all 150 of them during the ceremony?

It was a cute idea and an even cuter photo, but I don't think the balloon release is up our alley.

You still have one day to vote on our exit strategy at the top right of my blog!

Ribbon Wavers

Relating to, but different from, this entry & poll that I posted "back in the day" in December.
What do we think about this idea for when we exit the church (picture via amy squires):

We shall call them "ribbon wavers." Our ribbon would be plum, raspberry, and perhaps gold. The doll rods would be semi-cheap and the ribbon could be ordered in bulk from on-line stores.

Not thrilled by the option? Well then we're pretty much only left with bubbles, bells or no real "exit" at all.

Note: Rose petals, rice and confetti are out of the question seeing as how our guests would have to pick everything up from off the ground after throwing it on us. A balloon release would be pretty, but environmentally unfriendly.

So, comment or vote: ribbon wavers, bubbles, bells, or no exit necessary.

Heads up, I've been posting twice a day recently and I'll be posting a lot more often in the coming months...mark your calendars!

{Update: 67 total votes. wave: 29, bubbles: 17, bells: 6, nothing at all: 15}

High or Low?

Two brides. Perfect hair. Beautiful dresses. Gorgeous bouquets. Different "veil styles." What's your veil style?

(picture from bobbi + mike)

Left: Low Veil. Worn at the base of an updo or towards the middle/lower part of the head
Right: High Veil. Worn at the top of the updo or near the crown of the head

Vote on the right or leave a comment with your thoughts.
I think I'll keep mine on the low down.

{Update: 54 total votes. high: 18 votes, low: 31 votes, love either one: 5 votes}

Poll: Aniticipated Moments

There are a lot of things that I am looking forward to on our big day.

• Getting ready with my Mommy and the girls...putting on THE dress and the veil

(bobbi + mike)




• Walking down the aisle with my Daddy

(bobbi + mike)

• Seeing Chris for the first time that day

(jasmine star)

• Being pronounced husband and wife

(bobbi + mike)

• The first dance

(evoke photography)

And of course....celebrating at the reception with our family and friends...that's a given.

Which one are you looking forward to? If you are already married, which one was your favorite moment? Comment below or vote on the poll at the right.

{Update: 38 total votes. Getting ready: 1, Walking down the aisle: 9, first look: 19, pronounced husband and wife: 7, first dance: 2}

Poll: The Registry

This past weekend the fiancé and I registered for anything and everything that we could possibly desire…from the cutest chip & dip tray to a classy pillow sham and decorative pillow. We/I couldn’t be more excited. It is only a matter of time before I begin to obsessively check the registry on-line to see what has been purchased and what is still available.
As excited as I am about what we registered for, I am nervous about the actual registry. I have heard stories about stores not allowing returns, registries not updating daily/nightly thus resulting in receiving duplicate gifts, etc.
The poll today is asking for registry feedback. Our of the 4 stores listed below, which ones have you registered at? (Multiple selections are allowed and the poll is located at the top right of the blog.)

• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Target
• Crate & Barrel
• Macy's

If you have registered at one of the above stores, please leave a comment with your thoughts on the store’s bridal registry and your experience with the registry/registries. We/I greatly appreciate it!
And because I'm all about pretty and colorful pictures this week:

(bobbi + mike)

{Update: Total votes: 33. BB&B: 13, Target: 8, Crate & Barrel: 20, Macys: 16}

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}

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}

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}

Poll: Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Although she doesn't know it, Molly from these little moments is the inspiration behind today's post and poll! (If you haven't checked out her blog, you NEED to. It is a must read!)

Molly's post today contained a snippet about rehearsal dinner invitations that got me thinking about whether or not rehearsal dinner invitations are really necessary.

My thoughts: Necessary:

1. If you're having a wedding where guests are going to come into town the night before, it is customary to invite them to the rehearsal dinner, along with your bridal party and parents. Those out-of-town guests will need to know the info below in #2.

2. The dinner location is quite a hike from the rehearsal venue. If your bridal party is not familiar with the area, sending an invitation ahead of time with necessary directions (to hotel, rehearsal site, dinner location, etc) would be helpful and appreciated.

3. Traditionally the Groom's parents host the rehearsal dinner. If mom-to-be wants to spring for the invitations then it's your lucky day! Send them out, because who can resist a charming piece of mail, like the one above from bird and banner?!

My thoughts: Unnecessary:

1. When you have amazing communication skills and full intend on making everyone aware of the plans for the rehearsal and dinner well in advance through other means (e-mail, newsletter, evite, etc).

2. When the thought of licking another envelope, attempting to find a stamp to correlate with your invitation design, etc. is enough to make you go crazy....then a rehearsal dinner invitation is not necessary.

What do you think? Are you going to send our rehearsal dinner invitations?! Vote now!

{Total votes: 42. yes 11, sometimes/it depends 24, not necessary 7.}

Poll: The Head/ Sweetheart Table

The size of our bridal party, 16 including Chris and I, has caused us some logistics problems. Getting to and from the hotel, church, and reception has provided to be a reoccurring nightmare consuming my thoughts at least twice a day. Not to mention that our church has an extra-long aisle and it will take the 7 BM's at least 5 minutes to walk from the back of the church to the front. By the time they make it to the front, the guests will be ready to go home. However, the larger logistical problem at hand is dealing with the seating for ourselves and our large bridal party at the reception.
Here are our options:
1. A Sweetheart table for the two of us. Allow our bridal party to sit with their dates at two tables. (photo below via Jessica Claire)
2. Lining up the bridal party 7 on each side in a row almost the length of a football field. It's traditional and it works. (photo via Knottie Mrs. Pootiekins)

3. Split up the bridal party between two (oval) tables of 8 that are placed side by side next to eachother at the front of the room. This is our venue's preference. But how do we decide which members of the party sit with us and which are exiled to the other table!?

Thoughts!? How are you handling your head table?
{Results: 39 votes!! sweetheart: 22, one long table: 12, two tables: 5}

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}