Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday (Sunday) Bouquet
Sunday seems to have slipped away from me as we were hosting our wedding party for a BBQ here at our home - thank goodness the weather cooperated and we had a perfect day. So here is my bouquet find of the week...on Monday instead of Sunday.
And it's not even flowers! I just adore this DIY vintage doorknob bouquet over at 100 layer cake what a fun way to add a vintage look to your bridal look.
A Dream
...come true! I can't believe it! How exciting that our Save the Date's are on Style Me Pretty?!
All thanks to you Lucinda!!!!
(and I totally meant to post this on Friday and just found it in my drafts now...rats!)
All thanks to you Lucinda!!!!
(and I totally meant to post this on Friday and just found it in my drafts now...rats!)
Friday, May 28, 2010
One of those days...
It's one of those days.... I take a mental break from work (some people take coffee breaks, I take wedding blog breaks) and fall in love with a SMP feature and just have to post a picture from it immediately if not sooner. LOVE those days!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Yay!
Oh how I wish this was 2 months ago...
I know I have not posted on the bridesmaids dresses yet but I will let this secret out of the bag - they are from J.Crew! (more information coming soon - stay tuned!)
I know I have not posted on the bridesmaids dresses yet but I will let this secret out of the bag - they are from J.Crew! (more information coming soon - stay tuned!)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Our Wedding Save the Dates
I barely even know where to begin with this post. I am so head over heels in love with our save the dates that it puts all of this extra pressure on me to get the post juuuust right. It has taken me forever to come up with the words to explain the process that was the inspiration, realization of vision, and actual creation of our save the dates (and I still don't think I'm going to do it justice!) but here it goes...
Let's set the stage and go waaay back to the beginning, in one of my first meetings with Sarah...
At the onset of our planning she highly recommended that I "just talk" to her design partner (the "Wesson" of the fabulous True&Wesson blog - a daily must-read!) Lucinda Wesson of Chocolate Creative Designs regarding "paper" ideas for our wedding. To be fully honest, at that time I was not quite sure what "paper" meant and was not really sure how important "paper" was to our wedding design. I had known that we would have to eventually choose invitations, save the dates, escort cards, but had not given much thought into how it would correspond with our overall wedding design.
After 2 rescheduled attempts at meetings (what a snowy winter we had in CT!) we opted to try an introductory phone call meeting instead. I know it's an over-used saying but quite literally this was a "you had me at hello" scenario. Lucinda's passion for design and her ever-flowing creativity poured through the phone. In less than 5 minutes of speaking with her any uncertainty I had regarding "paper" had melted away. When we hung up she left me with some homework to do. First, I had to tell her things about Dan & I (separately and as a couple) likes, dislikes, loves, hates, anything about us that gave her a peak into our personalities and life together. Second, I had to scour the internet for paper inspiration - even just the curve of 1 letter - if I saw something I liked she wanted me to send it to her. (I have no clue how she managed to survive and organize my endless tidal wave of emails)
After a few weeks of this we reconvened, between my haphazard emails and this blog Lucinda had a proposal for me. Not only could she see my vision for the wedding, she saw a way to send it out to our guests ahead of time; to give them a glimpse of what awaited them on our big day. "It sets the stage" she said... when she first mentioned the little burlap pouch idea I think I shrieked with glee (those of you who know me well enough can certainly imagine that) and my mind immediately started racing, filled with inspiration. Our next meeting was finally in person, at her gorgeous antique home (I have aspirations that ours will be even 10% as nice as hers someday) and ever since then it has been a match made in design heaven!
The Inspiration
Inspired by vintage french seed bags, Lucinda crafted a custom design for us - using french inspired elements (a mixture of block and curled fonts, the epic fleur de lis) and played off the setting of our reception site, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, to create what I would imagine to be a seed bag SWF would have used some years ago.
A custom stamp for Dan & I (perhaps my favorite part) adorns the bottom corner and is used again on the mailing label.
The clues inside all correspond with our design and vision for the wedding; the cork is actually from a bottle SWF vineyard wine, the lavender and hay are a peak into elements which make up our rustic/Provencal/chic design, and the paper airplane (on a vintage french book page) is in homage to the fact that Saltwater Farm Vineyard was originally a WW2 aircraft hangar.
The hand cut, tea-stained paper tags were another vintage-y detail and a fun way to relay the actual save the date message in a way that did not interfere with the pouch design (we wanted the pouches to be a reusable keepsake for our guests) and actually accented it quite nicely!
Lucinda I cannot even begin to thank you enough... your enthusiasm, creativity, passion, and love for inspiration & design has influenced our wedding (and my design philosophy ) in more ways than I could ever begin to express. You have taught me how to step back and observe while at the same time hone in on specific details. Your method is so personal and I truly appreciate the meaning behind every idea and detail you create. In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined a more perfect save the date for our wedding!
p.s. can't wait to do the invitations!
After 2 rescheduled attempts at meetings (what a snowy winter we had in CT!) we opted to try an introductory phone call meeting instead. I know it's an over-used saying but quite literally this was a "you had me at hello" scenario. Lucinda's passion for design and her ever-flowing creativity poured through the phone. In less than 5 minutes of speaking with her any uncertainty I had regarding "paper" had melted away. When we hung up she left me with some homework to do. First, I had to tell her things about Dan & I (separately and as a couple) likes, dislikes, loves, hates, anything about us that gave her a peak into our personalities and life together. Second, I had to scour the internet for paper inspiration - even just the curve of 1 letter - if I saw something I liked she wanted me to send it to her. (I have no clue how she managed to survive and organize my endless tidal wave of emails)
After a few weeks of this we reconvened, between my haphazard emails and this blog Lucinda had a proposal for me. Not only could she see my vision for the wedding, she saw a way to send it out to our guests ahead of time; to give them a glimpse of what awaited them on our big day. "It sets the stage" she said... when she first mentioned the little burlap pouch idea I think I shrieked with glee (those of you who know me well enough can certainly imagine that) and my mind immediately started racing, filled with inspiration. Our next meeting was finally in person, at her gorgeous antique home (I have aspirations that ours will be even 10% as nice as hers someday) and ever since then it has been a match made in design heaven!
The Inspiration
Inspired by vintage french seed bags, Lucinda crafted a custom design for us - using french inspired elements (a mixture of block and curled fonts, the epic fleur de lis) and played off the setting of our reception site, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, to create what I would imagine to be a seed bag SWF would have used some years ago.
A custom stamp for Dan & I (perhaps my favorite part) adorns the bottom corner and is used again on the mailing label.
The clues inside all correspond with our design and vision for the wedding; the cork is actually from a bottle SWF vineyard wine, the lavender and hay are a peak into elements which make up our rustic/Provencal/chic design, and the paper airplane (on a vintage french book page) is in homage to the fact that Saltwater Farm Vineyard was originally a WW2 aircraft hangar.
p.s. can't wait to do the invitations!
All of these pretty photos by Anna Sawin Photography
AHdorable Wedding
I cannot get over how sweet this entire wedding is; so many wonderful details!
First the setting... looks casual, slightly rustic, and very fun (in my opinion anything with a tent is going to be fun!)
Then the centerpieces - totally DIY and so rustic pretty!
a close up of some ball jar lighting (LOVE that)
followed by some string lighting (also LOVE that!)
and just look at the little bird cake topper
and the adorable happy couple
First the setting... looks casual, slightly rustic, and very fun (in my opinion anything with a tent is going to be fun!)
Then the centerpieces - totally DIY and so rustic pretty!
a close up of some ball jar lighting (LOVE that)
followed by some string lighting (also LOVE that!)
and just look at the little bird cake topper
and the adorable happy couple
A must-read post on love&lavender
Monday, May 24, 2010
Our Ceremony
I realize that much of this blog has been dedicated to our reception design/inspiration, which is a huge part of our day, however the MOST important part of our wedding day will take place prior to that, at the ceremony when we will officially be married. Coming to a decision on what kind of ceremony was not an easy task (well, Dan may say that it was easy because he always knew it would be a church, but it was a source of conflict for me). Dan and I are both baptized catholic, but while I have never been a "practicing" catholic, Dan grew up in catholic schools, so there was always a strong but subtle religious undertone in his life. When we became engaged the issue of religion came to a head. Not the practicing/non-practicing issue; we have always been very respectful of each other regarding of the importance/meaning of religion, what became a focus was the influence of religion on our marriage ceremony. I had never planned on getting married in a church... ever... and Dan could not imagine it any other way.
This created a bit of a dilemma for us, one which took a few months to resolve. While we were working through this a friend gave me some excellent advice.
First he asked me why I did not want to get married in a church. I responded that I did not think that the church/god needed to bless our marriage in order for it to be official, I truly thought (and do think) that the marriage is about the two of us and that our vows, our commitment to each other, are just that - between the two of us alone. My friend thought about that and then made a suggestion that has resounded in my head nearly every day since then, he said (and I paraphrase) "Well, it seems that you don't actually have an aversion to getting married in the church, it is just not meaningful to you. Since it IS meaningful to Dan, why don't you have your ceremony in the church and incorporate readings or additional elements which are meaningful to YOU, and thus it will be meaningful to both of you." Further, he continued, "Also, this way, should your faith grow at any time in the future, you will never regret that you were not married in the church".
At first I was hesitant, my stubborn resolve was holding strong that I would not be married in a church. But after further contemplation, and with my friend's words tumbling around and around in my head, it just sunk in and made sense. After all, marriage is about compromise, it is a 50/50 partnership*, and I know it truly means so much to Dan, so we are getting married in a church. It does help that we have a wonderful priest, a family friend on Dan's side, who also married his older brother (who is the best man in the wedding party, and his amazing wife Lauren is one of my bridesmaids). This adds a very nice personal touch, which to be honest, was unexpected by me and really does help with the process.
So now, as we are working on our pre-marital counseling, and choosing our psalms and blessings, I am also keeping my eye out for those special touches, the elements that will make the ceremony about "just the two of us" for me. Will keep you posted on how this goes...
*I have to take this opportunity to share one of my father's favorite sayings... or at least it has been a favorite saying to me as of late... "marriage is a 50/50 partnership; but that does not mean it is 50/50 distribution or work/responsibilities all of the time. At some points it may be 80/20... other times it will be 60/40... but the partnership is always 50/50."
Oh, and you didn't think I could go an entire post without some pretty pictures did you? From the same wedding above, just look at all of this beautiful babies breath! LOVE it!
This created a bit of a dilemma for us, one which took a few months to resolve. While we were working through this a friend gave me some excellent advice.
First he asked me why I did not want to get married in a church. I responded that I did not think that the church/god needed to bless our marriage in order for it to be official, I truly thought (and do think) that the marriage is about the two of us and that our vows, our commitment to each other, are just that - between the two of us alone. My friend thought about that and then made a suggestion that has resounded in my head nearly every day since then, he said (and I paraphrase) "Well, it seems that you don't actually have an aversion to getting married in the church, it is just not meaningful to you. Since it IS meaningful to Dan, why don't you have your ceremony in the church and incorporate readings or additional elements which are meaningful to YOU, and thus it will be meaningful to both of you." Further, he continued, "Also, this way, should your faith grow at any time in the future, you will never regret that you were not married in the church".
At first I was hesitant, my stubborn resolve was holding strong that I would not be married in a church. But after further contemplation, and with my friend's words tumbling around and around in my head, it just sunk in and made sense. After all, marriage is about compromise, it is a 50/50 partnership*, and I know it truly means so much to Dan, so we are getting married in a church. It does help that we have a wonderful priest, a family friend on Dan's side, who also married his older brother (who is the best man in the wedding party, and his amazing wife Lauren is one of my bridesmaids). This adds a very nice personal touch, which to be honest, was unexpected by me and really does help with the process.
So now, as we are working on our pre-marital counseling, and choosing our psalms and blessings, I am also keeping my eye out for those special touches, the elements that will make the ceremony about "just the two of us" for me. Will keep you posted on how this goes...
*I have to take this opportunity to share one of my father's favorite sayings... or at least it has been a favorite saying to me as of late... "marriage is a 50/50 partnership; but that does not mean it is 50/50 distribution or work/responsibilities all of the time. At some points it may be 80/20... other times it will be 60/40... but the partnership is always 50/50."
Oh, and you didn't think I could go an entire post without some pretty pictures did you? From the same wedding above, just look at all of this beautiful babies breath! LOVE it!
Lace - Martha Style
On a recent meander over to the MS weddings website I happened upon Martha's take on how to add a little lace embellishment to your wedding. Naturally the accents are all beautifully chic, yet unpretentious and, of course, D-I-Y (at least for some crafty people)!
an adorable wrist corsage
gorg napkin rings
bridesmaid clutches
a pretty photobooth backdrop
escort cards and display
and some pretty favors
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
SMP Inspiration Boards II: A Vintage Ride
Happy Friday Morning!
Wouldn't it be phenomenal to be chauffeured around in a vintage car like one of these on your wedding day?
Wouldn't it be phenomenal to be chauffeured around in a vintage car like one of these on your wedding day?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Little White Dress
A summer staple. Not really wedding related I simply love these cute Lily Pulitzer dresses for the summertime... and with plenty of bridal showers and picnics to attend this summer I think I may have to order one... or two.. or maybe three...
Although I probably should not wear white (except for at my own) so maybe a pattern or two would be fun!
Although I probably should not wear white (except for at my own) so maybe a pattern or two would be fun!
all can be found at lilypulitzer.com - now go! order one!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Princess Bride Wedding
Well, at lease that's what I'm calling it. Saw a few pictures from this gorgeous photoshoot on Ruffled today and had to dig a bit deeper to the oh-so-talented photographer Jessica Zais's blog to see the rest of it. Naturally I loved the rustic setting and they struck me as reminiscent of the movie The Princess Bride... which of course made me fall in love with them a bit more..
Well, except here in the movie the truck would be replaced with a horse, but you get the general idea.
Just look at all of that moss and hay and lace - loooove it!
link
Well, except here in the movie the truck would be replaced with a horse, but you get the general idea.
link
The Most Amazing Bar
This was handmade by the bride's father for a gorgeous stylemepretty featured wedding in South Dakota... I wonder if they would ship it to CT for us to use as an outdoor bar...
and take a look at their outdoor ceremony seating area...
and take a look at their outdoor ceremony seating area...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Simple Stunning Bride
Sure to be another fabulous evening put on by the ladies of Wedding Row... if you are in the area it is a MUST attend event!!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Loire Valley & Lavender
Really, does it get any better than this?! This heavenly looking wedding took place in the Loire Valley... which means castles, lavender, wine, cheese... the epitome of rustic chicness!
Natural Light
This chandelier is SO amazingly fabulous I have no words...
well, except maybe "where can I get one?!"
oh, and I think I should mention how much I adore these table linens also...
well, except maybe "where can I get one?!"
oh, and I think I should mention how much I adore these table linens also...
via Style Me Pretty
Vineyard Inspired
How about a few pretty vineyard wedding inspiration photos to start off this monday morning...
...and this is why I feel in love with the idea of a vineyard reception for our wedding!
::sigh::
all these beautiful vineyard wedding shots found at inspiredbythis.com - check out this blog it is AHmazing!
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