Big Wedding ~ Small Wallet

i love a good flower...

2010-07-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

I love the softness of this bouquet. It's romantic, and soft, and a little whimsical too. I think it's a nice alternative from the "compact" bunches that are so popular. Orchids have always been one of my favorite flowers, and I love how they are paired with the white roses.

Photo found at Style Me Pretty, photography by Jennifer Johnston.

smart savings from a smart pig...

2010-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

OK, first of all, I am not responsible for the strange frame around this link. Much as I've tried to fix it on my own, it's just NOT working. So I will save it for another day.

If you haven't yet heard of SmartyPig.com, you should hop over and check it out. It's a great way to save, but it's also an online savings account that your friends and family can contribute to (if you choose to invite them to!) and that is currently paying 2.15%. The interest rate alone should be reason enough to start savings. Pick your goal, set your $$ goal, and start saving! I am excited to watch my savings grow!

beautiful, beautiful cake...

2010-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lovely. Beautiful. Fun. Unique.

I love the ribbon-like layers in the frosting. Although these would not be my choice of flowers, this is the start of the cake plans. I am pretty sure I have a cake baker chosen, so I just have to see how close she can come to getting this look.

I am not sure if I want real flowers on the cake, or some other decoration. I have always envisioned a pure white cake, so maybe I need to find another way to enhance the ribbon look. Any ideas?

green invitations...the ultimate in classic simplicity

2010-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Lots has changed around our household, including the budget and the wedding plans. So I am doing a little re-organization, a little updating, and a little more dreaming! First I am considering a blog name change. Not that this would have a huge impact on the world, but you know what? It's time!

I also came across this wonderful site called Glo-bride, that is basically e-vites for brides! How wonderful to have this fun and fabulous option! I am going to check it out a bit more and I will let you know what I find!

beautiful words...

2009-11-06T02:15:00.000-08:00

You've probably seen the Scriptina font, it's been quite popular of late. It's the script I've used for the "Big Wedding" part of my current logo. Here is a free download of it! If you need help downloading and then making sure you can use it, about.com has a good tutorial.

halloween wedding fun...

2009-11-04T02:15:00.000-08:00

We went to a wedding this past weekend. The bride was my cousins cousin, and the wedding was held at Willamette Valley Vineyards. The setting was perfect, the rain stopped for the day, and sun was shining, and the bride and groom were beautiful. It was probably one of the best, most heartfelt and personal weddings I have ever been to. Everyone had a great time, and the hit of the evening was the photo booth. I will have more pictures but I thought I would start here, with the photo booth fun! If you can fit this in your wedding budget I think it's worth it, everyone enjoyed it, and what a great memento to have!

help in holding back the tears...

2009-10-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

A helpful tip...an easy way to help hold back the tears, from Women's Health!

If you're tearing up at an inappropriate moment, just clear your throat. "It interrupts the mechanism in the nasal passage and larynx that controls crying," says Rebecca Nagy, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based meditation expert. Plus, after you clear your throat, you tend to swallow. This lifts your tongue to the roof of your mouth, which blocks the soft palate, making you unable to cry. "I've suggested this technique many times to brides and grooms who had trouble getting through their vows," Nagy says.

a roundabout way of finding a dress...

2009-09-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

The beauty of time (or rather, not having a wedding date set yet) is that there is no rush, and since my menopausal mind is no longer a steel trap it sometimes takes it a while to have AHA moments! One such moment came when we were watching Dancing with the Stars last night. The ladies were dancing and there was fringe flying! Which reminded me of my prom dress (that's it on the left with my fabulous 80's flip, back in the day when strong undergarments were not necessarily easy to hide!)

Honestly I love that dress. And yes, it is gently wrapped somewhere in my house. And secretly I have always wanted to wear it again. Not to say it will be my wedding dress, but inspiration is there.

So the thoughts are to alter the dress (economical but not my first choice), or build one with similar qualities. I think that a few things need to happen first. And those are: find the dress and identify its condition, assess the size (then and now are not quite compatible) , and decide how to proceed.

I did a google search for fringe and flapper dresses and after a lot (and I mean a LOT!) of not-quite-attractive dresses I did find a few that caught my eye. One is below, from the blog My 1920's Wedding, sent to her by Celeste, the bride in question on this particular picture. If I could have this dress but longer with fringe as the skirt I would be the happiest bride on earth! Maybe. I would have to see it first just to be sure. But this is the idea I am going for.

This may sound crazy, but I am relieved and thrilled, and so so excited! And last night we talked about wedding dates, so we are, in fact, one step closer to having a date. We have it narrowed down to two. Time will tell!

pretty pearls...

2009-09-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ann at Beadiful Things has some very cool bridal jewelry, and I have an inside tip that she is working on more, particularly hair adornments. I thought these simple but elegant earrings would be perfect, so they are definitely in the running! She does beautiful work, all hand made, so check her out!

personal favors...my AHA moment!

2009-09-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing.... I think one can get wrapped up in all the hype and details. It is SO easy to do. But when it comes right down to it I want every aspect to have true meaning, personal meaning for us, individually and/or together. I am not striving to be the most fantastic or most expensive or lavish, I am striving to make it the most meaningful.

Having said that, favors have always been a sticking point with me. I have been to a zillion weddings, and as cute as some of the favors are I have NEVER said "I need this for my wedding" until now. I went to my friends wedding (yes, it was 7-11!) and they had these cookies. We've all seen them but these were the first I had actually received at a wedding. I thought it was a cute idea, had a personal touch, but I also knew how expensive this option could be. I jokingly told K that I would be making these myself for our wedding favors.

Three days after the wedding I remembered we had these so we ate them for our late night movie snack. They were probably some of the most moist delicious cookies we have eaten! Absolutely DELICIOUS! Now to find a way to fit it into the budget. I have seen them priced at $2.50 on up, and with a $100 limit for our favors (preferably less!) and over 100 guest count, there had to be some fancy new math done to make this happen. Or I had to make them myself.

The reality is that if I did try to make these myself I would be up until all hours for days before the wedding decorating 100+ cookies, and cursing the stars and whoever thought this was a great idea (ME!) and wondering why I do this to myself. Ultimately I would have to sacrifice the favors or something else. And that would defeat the whole purpose. There has to be a better way.

And then came my AHA moment. In talking over some of the plans with my cousin and aunt we were talking about different personal touches, things that had meaning, things that would honor the people we love who are no longer with us (my grandparents, his mom). And it hit me: cookies! We have a Christmas cookie recipe that we make EVERY Christmas. It is a unique Scandinavian cookie that slightly resembles gingerbread, but is really nowhere near a gingerbread cookie. What makes this so unique is that we (my entire huge family) have never met anyone who has tried these before us, we have never found them or the recipe anywhere, even after extensive searching. This is something that is truly ours. And the dough can be made WAY ahead, and I have so many people who can help bake them. Since they don't need any decoration it would take a day, tops, to pull it all together. And a small cello bag with 5 cookies and a ribbon is all it would take. Easily under our $100 budget for favors, a truly unique and personal touch, and I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't love these cookies. Plus they are one of my truly favorite things in life. Bingo! Problem solved.

The Budget update:

100 fancy cello bags $12.95 ~ need 2: $25.90
Or plain 100 for $3.00 ~ need 2: $6.00 (purchased locally)
Another option would be printable paper bags: $15.38 for 200 white bags. Instead of printing tags (another small expense) we could print right on the bag and then add the rafia or other ribbon.
Rafia ribbon~ $2.51 or
Paw Print ribbon ~ $3.78 or $9.62 (a good way to incorporate the dog)
Cookie ingredients, I will price out.

making an entrance...

2009-07-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

dresses

2009-07-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

As someone who likes to change her mind, you can imagine my problem choosing a dress. I know a few styles that I like, so one option I am considering is doing a rough sketch and having a dress made.

I have found a few dresses that have a feature or two that I like.

This dress is the closest I have found to saying yes to a dress! (pictured above)

http://www.thebridalworld.com/1702.html ~ I like the draping across the front (not the skirt of the dress)

http://www.thebridalworld.com/1500.html ~ I like the mid section

http://www.thebridalworld.com/sincerityplus/4480.html ~ not crazy about the sleeves, but I do like how the skirt drapes

the color of flowers...

2009-07-06T17:10:00.001-07:00

The more I ponder the more I love this subtle color combination. When we met I loved white and he loved black. So that seems to be a great combination, one that works well for us in so many ways. And I love the versatility of being able to add or change pops of color.

In addition to that, I love the clean crispness of black and white. So right now my thoughts are black and white with touches of lime green, and the occasional pop of raspberry. Sounds divine!

beach wedding possibilities...

2009-05-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

Bellisima Bridal Shoes has these too-cute flip flops! I love flip flops as much as I love high heels. I think my biggest question right now is am I wearing one, the other, or both. And these would be perfect for a summer beach wedding!

Free Personalized and Interactive Wedding Maps, Local Wedding Planning Tools - Wedding Mapper

2009-05-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

Wedding Mapper has a wonderful set of "tools" to create map directions for your guests. Their interactive site is fun to roam around too! In addition to free wedding tools and maps, they have a great section of local resources. The best part? It's built on experience and feedback from real brides in your local area. What could be better than that?

beautiful candlelight...

2009-04-01T18:37:00.001-07:00

More beautiful candlelight...found at Little Black Book Blog.

i like simple and silver...

2009-03-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

Blue Tux Sarah Bridal Shoes

beautiful table...

2009-03-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Absolutely beautiful!

diy heaven...

2009-03-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Style Me Pretty and I love the DIY projects. Some of my favorites are tea tins and dipping oil. The goodie bags makes me happy, and garden seed envelopes are another great green-ish option. There are just so many goodies to peruse.

What I love about this site is that it offers some wonderful options, but it also gets my mind thinking of things that would work well for me. Great inspiration!

beautiful favors...

2009-03-25T02:05:00.000-07:00

Once Wed is featuring a beautiful DIY seed packet and pin frog favor! With full instructions you may just want to try this fun little favor!

relax & pose...

2009-03-23T13:27:00.001-07:00

by Todd Nichols Photography

A fun photo opportunity !

beautiful flowers...

2009-03-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

These beautiful flowers are courtesy of Once Wed. A perfect table setting for an outdoor wedding. Lovely.

a wedding cake twist...

2009-03-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

I love baseball and for the longest time wanted to spend my honeymoon at a weeks worth of baseball games in San Francisco. While that may not be where we end up, and while I want an elegant but fun cake, this is kind of cute. Just not for the actual wedding. You can check out Dinda Sheeva Great Wedding Cakes Designs to see more.

make your own wedding cake...

2009-03-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

blog love abounds...

2009-03-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

All Things For All Parties: Here's to You...(Toast Etiquette) has a great little article about toast etiquette. It answers some of those questions we may forget to ask!
Wedded Bliss from the BlissfullyDomestic team [no relation here], a reference site/blog full of tips, ideas, and fun stuff.
Get your daily wedding inspiration from snippet & ink. Beautiful colors abound here!
For the DIY bride, freebies, tutorials, and templates.
Another beautiful bride.
FREE download of some great favor labels. Neat idea!

Enjoy!