Small and Chic in Cville

A Fabric Corsage for our Flower Girl

2012-02-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the boutonnieres I made for our ring bearers, which I shared a few weeks ago? I stacked rosettes made out of ribbon and added a little puppy figurine to make them a little less stuffy than the traditional boutonnieres that the groomsmen will be wearing. My golden retriever is our constant companion (so constant that people seem surprised if they see us downtown without him!) and I thought it'd be fun to have a few references to him at our wedding.

In addition to our four ring bearers, Marc's niece (I'll call her Little M) is going to serve as our flower girl. I have a feeling Little M is going to love her role. I wanted to give her something along the lines of the boutonnieres that would fit in with her position. I decided to make her a fabric flower corsage.

I used almost the same method on this project that I used to make floral shoe clips for my bridesmaids. I wanted more floppy petals on Little M's corsage, so I downloaded a large template from the Martha Stewart Weddings website and used it as a guide to cut out some satin flowers in our primary wedding color, a deep blue-green. This fabric matches the ribbon I used on the ring bearer boutonnieres almost perfectly and it's a very close match to the dresses our bridesmaids are wearing.

The blue flowers was going to be my base. I layered at least 20 flowers cut from the same pink chiffon I had used on the floral shoe clips. Folded the stack in half, then in half again, and used some thread to pinch the bottom of the stack. From afar, it looks pretty cute, doesn't it?

I used some hot glue to attach the flower to a length if ribbon and tied it around my wrist to testing the corsage. It was definitely light enough not to bother Little M. However, I wasn't as thrilled with the results up close. I thought the flower looked pretty, but the chiffon was fraying pretty quickly. I couldn't see a little girl wearing it all day without picking it apart. From certain angles, the entire thing looked like a messy stack of floppy chiffon.

I went back to the drawing board. I used a heat gun to warm the hot glue back up and pulled the chiffon flower off the ribbon. Then I pulled a fabric flower that I bought at Michael's off its stem to see if it would be light enough for Little M. The fabric flower was actually lighter than the chiffon, which was a relief.

I glued the flower to the ribbon, but thought it was looking a bit too generic. So, I pulled the plastic pistil/stamen thing out of the flower and hid the same puppy figurine that that the boys had inside the flower.

When the flower is fluffed up, you can tell that something is in the middle, but you can't see exactly what it is. I think Little M will like her secret puppy.

If Little M finds the flower too big or too heavy, we can simply tie it to her flower basket.

Channeling the God of Cake

2012-02-02T07:34:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Hyperbole and a Half? It's a hilarious blog that covers a range of topics from the simpleton dog to the childhood exploits of the author and illustrator. A little over a year ago, she wrote about being a sugar addict as a child and ruthlessly pursuing a cake made for a grandparent once she snagged a bite of it.

I had no idea that once I scheduled cake tastings that I'd morph into a bit of a cake monster myself. All I could think about was cake. Cake. Cake. Cake.

God of Cake is one of the funniest blog posts I've ever read / From Hyperbole and a Half

I manged to hold myself together on our way over to Charlottesville baker Anita Gupta's house one Sunday morning for a tasting. Anita is the wonderful woman behind Maliha Creations and half of the team behind EyeCandy, a company that creates beautiful dessert tables. I met Anita a year ago while attending an event for a charity I was working with as a volunteer (I have met the most interesting people while volunteering...more to come on that front) and was really looking forward to finally try some of her beautiful cake.

I was so excited to try our samples that I forgot to take a picture before we got started. We each had a plate of cakes and a platter of fillings and buttercreams to share. We tried almond, vanilla, lemon, chocolate pound, chocolate and red velvet cakes. For fillings, we tried lemon curd, raspberry, chocolate ganache, and dulce de leche. Our buttercreams were vanilla, raspberry, and coffee. Anita makes plenty more fillings and buttercreams, including ones flavored with liqueur.

Photo by Miss Mink

We were in heaven. I was so caught up that I wasn't taking any notes as we tried different combinations. Only after we kept going back to the same cake and fillings did Mr. Mink suggest we write some comments down. I was really enjoying the bright, clean flavors of the lemon and raspberry fillings with the lemon and almond cakes, but was a little nervous that Mr. Mink would want chocolate and dulce de leche. He was hitting the dulce de leche pretty hard.

Mr. Mink attacks the dulce de leche filling / Photo by Miss Mink

I was so happy that there was plenty of common ground once we rattled off our favorite combinations. It turns out that Mr. Mink was loving the lemon curd as much as I was!

Pardon my scribble...I was writing while eating! / Photo by Miss Mink

At this point, Anita came back to guide us a little bit and explain other options that we had. Her cakes have four layers of cake, which would allow for different fillings to be used within the same tier. She suggested that we use the fruit fillings that we liked and add in some fresh fruit and buttercream as well. Our tiers will ultimate look like this:

nom nom nom / Photo by Miss Mink

As for the drawing, I have fallen in love with buttercream cakes that have a little texture and one, large flower on them. I've been seeing more and more buttercream cakes on the wedding blogs recently and I'm so happy. They seem more organic and whimsical, which fits with our overall style.

From Sweet and Saucy Shop's blog / Photo by Wildflowers Photography

I still think fondant is very pretty and can be a great platform for intricate or creative designs. However, I love the soft look of buttercream. I think it will also compliment my wedding gown, which designer Jorge Manual suggested when we chatted during my trip to Charleston to pick up the dress.

From Sweet and Saucy Shop's blog / Photo by Frenzel Photographers

I actually found a picture of a cake Anita made a few months ago that would be perfect...if the fondant was traded out for butter cream. It just so happens to have been photographed by my photographer, Elisa Bricker, during a styled shoot she put together at my venue. Isn't that a nice coincidence?

Cake by Maliha Creations / Photo by Elisa B Photography

Another check off the list of to-dos! We are SO excited about our cake. Oh, and one of the best parts about getting a Maliha Creations cake is that Anita bakes a fresh tier for her couples on their first anniversary. I think that is one of the most wonderful services. We can eat the entire cake at the reception and no one has to worry about wrapping it up to go into the freezer.

Needless to say, Mr. Mink had to scrape me off the ceiling after I had cake and coffee for breakfast. I truly channeled the God of Cake that day.

An Unexpected Surprise

2012-01-31T08:35:00.002-05:00

When I originally told her that I was totally against bringing lighting into our venue, a friend asked me what I had against lighting. Thinking about it, I felt a little silly. After all, we follow a band whose lighting guy is deemed the fifth member of the band. People actually shoot video of him working at shows. Having stood under his lights quite a few times in my life, unable to blink for fear of missing a second of the show, I think it's safe to say that I'm a fan of lights.

Unfortunately, when I think of lights at weddings, my Jersey roots come out and I picture ballrooms with bold hues reaching every single corner. The rooms are literally washed in purple or pink or blue. The feel is almost theatrical.

From DJ Zone Magazine

That's fine for a hotel or banquet hall, but it seems totally out of step with a vineyard wedding. In my mind, the vineyard wedding should play up the environment. I don't think of strong, harsh lighting when I envision our wedding. Somehow, vineyards don't feel like venues that call for structured beams of light racing from the floor to the top of the wall.

Photo by The Wedding Central

I would probably coo over the lighting schemes above if I saw them at a concert, but I can't fathom them at our wedding. I'd like to embrace our space and its surroundings, not throw up sheets of lights to cover what is there.

This reminded me of concerts we love where people throw glowsticks into the air during instrumental parts of songs /

From Off the Chart Entertainment & Event Production

A good friend who worked for a local event company for years convinced me that lighting could be done tastefully. He said he could create a lighting design that would compliment the room instead of take it over. Though he moved away a few years ago to work in a larger market, he's coming back to Charlottesville to light our wedding.

I never even put lighting on our "to do" list because I was convinced we wouldn't have it. This is a total surprise!

Did you have anyone surprise you with a service when you were wedding planning?

Elle & Anne Handbags GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

A wonderful friend of mine is hosting a giveaway and I thought I'd share it with you all! The giveaway is for a gray, leather hobo bag by Elle & Anne Handbags. She's only giving sneak peeks at it right now, but the strap alone has me pretty excited. The full bag will be revealed on the Elle & Anne blog this Monday.

This bag is new to Elle & Anne's line and the design will be named after the winner!

To enter:
1. "Like" the Elle & Anne Handbags page on Facebook.
2. Post a comment about how much you like E&A's bags (you can browse the collection on their website)
3. Recruit friends to "like" your comment on E&A's Facebook page.

The person with the most "likes" on their comment wins the bag!

The Four Shoe Bride

2012-01-27T09:58:00.000-05:00

I think I have a problem, Hive. I've been keeping something from you. My first and second wedding shoe purchases aren't a secret. The $8 pair of peep toe Mary Janes from the J. Crew Wedding Sale were bought before I even had a dress. I told you about tweaking them a little bit just a few days ago. The second shoe purchase was a pair of Butter d'orsay heels that I found online. They were too big and I knew I couldn't wear them. Now, I didn't tell you about my third and fourth shoe purchases and now it's time to come clean.

Photo by Miss Mink

My third shoe purchase was at a charity bridal shop that is sent samples and overstocks from some very well know wedding salons. I thought they'd be a good back up option in case my $8 pair didn't work out. The Lauren Jones pumps were a great deal and I didn't feel too indulgent when I bought them.

I considered my wedding shoe buying over and went on to other things. I should have remember that while browsing the BHLDN website a couple months ago, but I couldn't resist clicking on the shoe link. The blue, sparkly t-strap heels on the right in that photo jumped off the page. About a second after I saw them, I literally closed my browser. I felt like I was looking at forbidden fruit.

For three days, I would go back to take a peek at those shoes. I finally decided to get them. I figured that I would wear the J. Crew shoes for the ceremony and the BHLDN t-straps for our reception. I would sell the Butter d'orsays and the Lauren Jones pumps. When the blue shoes arrived, I loved them.

Photo by Miss Mink

Ultimately, I spent less on my four pairs of shoes than some do on one pair. Still, I feel a bit guilty about all these purchases. I'm not one to splurge all that often.

A New Look by Katelyn Brooke Designs

2012-01-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I started reading a new blog by a woman in nearby Lexington, Virginia called Stripes and Polka Dots. I loved the look of the blog and soon found out that the blogger was also a designer!

If you're reading through a reader, you better click through and see what Katelyn Brooke Designs did to my blog over the weekend. I'm in love! I think her profile boxes are the coolest I've seen and I love how she has adapted to incorporate Pinterest buttons into her designs to stand alongside Facebook and Twitter links. If you check out her website, I think you'll be stunned by how reasonable her fees are.

Want to know more?

S&C: What's your background? How did you get into web design?
KB: I graduated from college with a degree in architecture, but after four years of studying it I felt kind of burnt out. I always loved the graphics element of my schoolwork. I loved design and I loved blogging, so last fall I took a blog design course. I was hooked!

S&C: How would you describe your design aesthetic? Do you have any design roll models whose work you admire?

KB: I would describe my design aesthetic as fresh and feminine. I really appreciate simple designs, and my favorite blog designs are often modern, artistic, or preppy. I definitely follow the work of other designers- I love the work of Redbud Designs, Viva la Violette, and Lulapalooza, just to name a few. One of the features I'm working on running more regularly on the KBD blog is about design inspiration!

S&C: You have more blogs that most. Talk about why you keep them separate and how you manage them.

KB: It just kind of happened that way. If I could do it over again I would try to consolidate them, but I'm not really sure how because they are all about pretty different things. Stripes and Polka Dots is where I blog about my life and whatever random stuff I feel like posting about. It was blog I started in August 2009 when I first started blogging. Sketch and Wash is focused on art and photography, and was in the works when I moved to Lexington in August and found myself needing a creative outlet. It just launched in November, but eventually I would love it to be more professional and more about a community of art bloggers. Katelyn Brooke Designs came when I decided that I wanted to start a blog design business, but posting on the blog is still kind of sporadic. One of my goals for 2012 is to get a few regular features going on Katelyn Brooke Designs and Sketch and Wash so that posting will be more regular.

S&C: You planned your wedding during your 4th year at UVa. Talk about that experience. I have to imagine that few friends were in the same place at that time.

KB: I guess it was a very different experience than most! I only knew one other girl at UVA who was planning her wedding at the time, although I know of others. On one hand it was kind of fun to be the the first and only one of my friends to be planning a wedding; everyone was excited and really eager to help. On the other hand, sometimes there were times that I got stressed about what I had to accomplish and felt like I was too busy with school things. It was convenient though because the wedding was in Charlottesville, and my family lives in Northern Virginia, so I was able to meet with wedding vendors during the week if I needed to when I didn't have class. Mostly though I don't remember planning my wedding that much while I was at college. The bulk of it was done over breaks, and all of the crafts and DIY stuff was done at home.

S&C: What do you miss most about UVa? About Charlottesville?

KB: Other than my college friends, who are no longer in Charlottesville for the most part, the thing I miss most about UVA is Grounds, the Corner, and the FOOD. Charlottesville has the best food.

S&C: What do you like best about living in Lexington? Where should Cville people go if they come down for a visit?

KB: Lexington is the most self-contained town I've ever lived in. The town itself is really quaint and historic, and the campus of Washington and Lee is beautiful (although not as much as UVA in my opinion- my husband and I like to debate about it!) Although I don't see us living here long term, I'm really glad to have had the opportunity to live in a small town like this. The scenery is really beautiful and I highly recommend a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

So...what do you all think of Small & Chic's new look?

Everything's Coming Up...Peonies!

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a little while since I talked about flowers. Last I mentioned them, I was just gathering information and taking note of all the fantastic florists in the Charlottesville area.

This is when I actually started to collaborate with another bride who was also getting married at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards. She found me through blogging and we chatted now and then by email about the planning process. We even met up at the vineyard for lunch one afternoon. Does that make us venue twins?

We're both busy with time intensive jobs and were able to "divide and conquer" a little bit when it come to vendor research. For example, she had already spoken to one florist on my list and knew that she only took jobs where the flower budget was over a certain amount. That amount was a little over my budget, so I crossed her off my list. There were a few cases where we had both met with the same vendor (floral and otherwise) and it was helpful to compare notes after those meetings.

From Pat's Floral Designs' Facebook page / Flowers by Pat's Floral Designs / Photo by Jen Fariello Photography

One afternoon, I visited a florist that my venue twin had planned on speaking with by phone a short time later. I pulled up to the shop and was immediately happy with what I saw. There were all sorts of rustic urns and flower pots. I passed some vintage looking pieces of furniture in the entrance and settled into a cute reception area that was full of accessories and photo albums.

I was a little early, so I flipped through albums as I waited. I knew her work from the wedding blogs, but it was fun to see images that hadn't been blogged. A little orange cat joined me and wound up sitting on my lap as I turned the pages. I was already loving the appointment.

From Elizabeth Anne Designs / Flowers by Pat's Floral Designs / Photo by Simply Bloom Photography

Then I met Pat Roberts. Pat and her daughter, Sherry Spencer, run Pat's Floral Designs. I assumed working with them would blow our budget and I was happily surprised when Pat told me some ideas for getting the most out of wedding flowers. She suggested moving flowers that would be on the ends of the aisles during the ceremony into our reception space during the cocktail hour. Bouquets could be worked into the decor on the table where we'll sit with our bridal party. Pat was also enthusiastic about alternating the look of the flowers from table to table. Some tables could have one, large arrangement and some could have three, smaller arrangements in a cluster.

One of the best things I heard was that our wedding was during the perfect time to get peonies from the area growers. I've got a thing for peonies.

From Martha Stewart Weddings / Flowers by Pat's Floral Designs / Photo by Jen Fariello Photography

We went off on a few tangents. Since we both love fabric and trim, she let me see her ribbon library. She has hundreds of spools of ribbon arranged in racks on a wall. Her prize ribbon was bought from France and matched the embellishment on a Carolina Herrera gown that a past client wore.

Pat also showed me the shelves and shelves of vases she has collected and I got to meet her golden retriever. At this point, I was thinking Pat was pretty much perfect.

From Jodi Miller Photography's blog / Flowers by Pat's Floral Designs

When we went back upstairs, Sherry was coming home from a delivery and remarked that we had to work together because of my car. We all drive the same, unusual car. I bought my Honda Element for hauling dogs and they bought their two for hauling flowers.

When I left them that afternoon (after a hug from Pat), I remember hoping that the flower proposal would be within our budget. I didn't just like Pat and Sherry's flowers, I liked them. I was excited by the idea of having them involved in our wedding.

From Southern Living / Flowers by Pat's Floral Design / Photo by Katie Stoops Photography

Well, you know I wouldn't have written about this if things didn't work out. The proposal came in, we moved a few things around, and wound up signing a contract.

Oh, and my venue twin? She talked to Pat over the phone and then went to meet her shortly after I emailed her about my visit. Our wedding styles are completely different (she's talking about trees inside the venue...so cool!), but she wound up signing with Pat and Sherry as well!

Did you have any pleasant surprises when you met with a vendor?

An unexpected shoe edit

2012-01-18T07:22:00.001-05:00

I previously shared that I was never really shoe obsessed before getting engaged. The lust for designer heels that Carrie Brawshaw seemed to usher into the mainstream never really hit me. I like shoes and I have plenty of them, but only after getting engaged did I really start poring over foot ware options.

My suspicion is that during the early days of our planning, our "to-do" list seemed long and I was intimidated. Shoes were something I could handle. Shoes didn't require signing contracts or vendor meetings. So I went shopping.

Remember the $8 pair of shoes I found at the J. Crew Warehouse Sale in Richmond? I was pretty proud of my deal, but the more I looked at the shoes, the more I wished the flower embellishments at the toe weren't so worn and rumpled from being thrown in a big box with dozens of other pairs of shoes at the sale.

Photo by Miss Mink

One Saturday morning, I decided to poke around and see if I could fix the flowers. Peeling the flowers up, I realized that they were sewn together and glued to the shoes. Maybe I could pull them off, iron them, and reattached them to the shoes!

Photo by Miss Mink

I couldn't believe how quickly I reached the point of no return. I peeled a little more and the flowers just kind of fell apart. Oddly, I felt really badly about ruining my $8 shoes. As I looked at the fabric petals on the table, I was thinking "I want my little flower back!"

Photo by Miss Mink

Here's when my practical side took over. Thank goodness this happened over the weekend and not last spring, when shoes seemed like a big deal. At this point, some of the little details just don't feel as critical as they did early on. They're shoes. They'll be under the dress and won't be inspected too, too closely.

I decided to get a pair of shoe clips to take the place of the flowers. I considered making my own, but found a fairly simply pair by Absolutely Audrey and snapped them up. After they arrived, I wound up finding these shoes clips all over the bee!

Photo by Miss Mink

I'm not head over heels (ha!) for the entire look, but I'm happy that they look more polished and less ragged than before.

I could have draw this out and searched every vintage shop in town for a pair of shoe clips. I could have spent hours scouring ebay and Etsy for clips, too. In the end, I'm happy that I fixed my little mistake quickly.

Did you simplify any wedding related projects or decisions that could have been drawn out?

An Escort Card Display for the Fabric Addict

2012-01-16T08:54:00.001-05:00

When I find a great fabric, I want to use it everywhere! I know I have good company in light of how Chiang Mai Dragon by Schumacher took the design blogging world by storm last year. People were finding ways to incorporate the design into everything. Someone even painted an entire wall to mimic the design.

I'm as crazy for the Robert Allen fabric called Vintage Plumes I'm using for wedding projects. Since I don't think the kind folks at Pippin Hill Farm would be down with painting their space just for me, I'm looking for different ways to bring the pattern and its colors into our wedding. I already created table number frames using the fabric and I decided that our escort card board could showcase a big piece of it. I was inspired by a board I came across while trying to find a template for another project on the Martha Stewart website.

From Martha Stewart Weddings

Without a die cutting machine (I really want a Silhouette!), I went online to find paper I could run through my printer that had perforated tags on it. I found one website that had what I wanted after much searching and placed an order. About a month later, Avery came out with the same product and it's probably at every office supply store in the country. Oh well. Next, I had to create the board.

Making the fabric escort card board was super easy. All I needed was a 24" by 36" bulletin board, enough fabric to cover it, a staple gun, glue gun, and something to use as trim. I added a layer of white felt on top of the cork because my fabric's weave wasn't super tight. The look of the fabric was brightened with the white base under it.

It wasn't totally necessary, but I used a little seam sealer to step the edges from fraying. I love this fabric so much that I was bummed about losing even a few strands when I cut the length needed for the project.

I wrapped the board and used my staple gun to secure the fabric in place. So easy!

To finish the edges off, I debated using grosgrain ribbon or nailhead trim. The nailhead would be a nod to my interest in interior design, but I planned on using upholstery tacks to secure the escort cards in place and worried that there would be too much metal on the board. I also thought that nailhead on the sides might make the board less stable if we set it up on an easel.

I think the entire board would look better with the grosgrain ribbon a little more visible. I might add a second layer of grosgrain so it shows on the front of the board, but I have to measure out how much space the cards will take up before I do that.

I have to decide how we'll prop this up at the wedding. Originally, I thought about buying a used, professional wood easel from an artist on Craigslist and refinishing it (then selling it after the wedding). I also thought that a table top easel would work well. I might have to revisit Pippin Hill to look at the space where the board will go before I make a final decision.

I think I'm on a DIY roll! Looking at my list, I still have quite a few projects left, but I think I'm in a good place with five months to go before our wedding.

Have you really enjoyed your DIY projects? What has been your easiest project? What has been your favorite?

Gathering Escort Card Inspiration

2012-01-13T13:07:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one who gets fired up for a DIY project? I love my wedding projects, even the ones that are a little painful to complete. The next project on the horizon is figuring out how to get our guests to their seats. I almost put an exclamation point there. Wow.

I knew right away that I wanted to use escort cards instead of a seating chart. I'm sure you've seen these charts, which seem to have been everywhere for the past few years:

Photo & window by Etsy seller Beyond White

The window pane seating plan is very cute, but if we were going in that direction, I think I'd be more tempted to try to this more polished adaption, using a large, leaning mirror:

Photo by Elizabeth Messina

I think an escort card display will be a fun way to use that deep, blue-green color that I love so much. I also like that there's always a little conversation among guests as they pick up their cards and many use some sort of embellishment on their cards to give servers a heads up about meal selections or allergies.

We have many vineyard weddings in my area and the "go to" escort card display would be the one that uses wine corks. I struck that from the options because it's kind of expected. I wanted to do something a little more creative.

There are some beautiful escort card displays using frames and ribbon that appeal to me a lot. Spreading the cards across a few frames would also allow multiple people to pick up their cards at once.

From Style Me Pretty / Photo by Desi Baytan Photography

I stumbled upon some escort cards using spools, which reminded me of the spools I sent to my bridesmaids to ask them to be part of the bridal party. Of course, no one else really knows about those spools, but I'd hope they'd think this was a cute idea.

Photo by Sara & Rocky Photography

If you've been keeping an eye on floral trends, you might have seen carnations come back in a big way a couple years ago. People are using them in pomanders and garlands and the effect is pretty striking. I found a Martha Stewart project that used pink carnations put a new spin on the grass card displays that have been around for a few years. I love the effect!

From Martha Stewart Weddings

Honestly, I love ALL of these ideas and many more that I didn't share for fear of making this post way too long! I know most people would set escort cards out on a table and move on, but I pretty excited to figure out a way to incorporate my color and perhaps the fabric that I've used in other projects in yet another way at our wedding.

Do you prefer escort cards or a seating chart? Have you seen one work better than the other at a wedding?

I guess I'm crafty after all (painted and monogramed corn hole boards!)

2012-01-06T21:55:00.003-05:00

For years, I was convinced that I wasn't crafty despite the fact that I love painting. Liking something and thinking you do it well are two different things! So, while I enjoyed DIY projects around the house, I didn't think I was doing anything all that great.

Until wedding planning started. I realized that I love wedding projects and I'm pretty happy with how they turn out. Hooray!

Of course, up until now, my projects were fairly small...some moss letters, boutonnieres for my ring bearers, table numbers, and some partially DIYed hangers. There was one big project in the back of my mind and I decided to tackle it over the holidays. Corn hole boards.

Image from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Shyla Photography

I first saw corn hole boards when visiting friends in Ohio back in 2004. They were wild about the lawn game. They even traveled with their boards, taking them to Cincinnati Bengals games so they could play in the parking lot while tailgating. Their pictures from football games showed that scores of people did the same. I had never seen corn hole in Boston, but when I moved to Virginia, I saw it a few more times.

Image from United with Love / Photo by Documentary Associates

I decided that I was going to DIY a set of boards about a month into our engagement. There are lots of people selling unfinished boards online, but most seemed a bit flaky. After a few failed attempts at making plans with Craigslist sellers, I found a local guy with a website called Corn Chucker selling well made corn hole boards. I emailed him and I had my boards a few hours later.

Sidenote: Just a couple days later, his wife was behind me in line at that J. Crew sale where I bought my bridesmaids dresses for $30. Small world!!!

I put the boards away for a while and decided that I would start working on them when I had a few days off over the holidays. After priming the boards and painting a base coat of light blue paint, I cobbled together a design by using parts of a free download I found on the Wedding Chicks website and adding a few flowers that I liked from another wedding related item we have (the source is a secret for now). Then I used a borrowed LCD projector to help me get the design onto the boards. I projected the images and then traced them with pencil.

It took forever and I had to paint over mistakes a few times, but I eventually had my design sketched out on the boards.

Then came the back breaking job of painting the flowers. I used teeny, tiny paint brushes and acrylic paints from the craft store for this. I probably spent about $10 on supplies. It took about five days of painting before I was reasonably satisfied with the flowers. I alternated between sitting on the floor with the boards upright and leaning over them while they were laying on the dining table with blankets under them.

Moving on to the banner and lettering, I realized that there was far less wiggle room on the design. If you happen to make a flower petal a bit longer than expected, that's no big deal. If you make the third letter in a word longer than expected, that looks a bit odd. At this point, I started working in small bursts.

I was constantly asking Marc if things looked okay. We've all had the experience of being "too close" to a project and not seeing a mistake until a fresh set of eyes pointed it out. He took a few pictures so I could see things from a different perspective.

With going back to work a day or two away, I make a final push to get the boards done. I also knew that I wanted to put a coat of polyurethane on the boards and the freakishly warm weather we were having would make that possible. If the temperature dropped, I probably couldn't put the poly coat on.

So here's the almost finished project. Marc pitched the idea of a bridesmaids vs. groomsmen match and I think our wedding party is up for it.

It's kind of neat to see my color scheme on tangible items now instead of just seeing them as swatches. I might add a little yellow to the boards before I coat them so they tie in a little better with the fabric I'm using for other projects, like our table numbers.

You might have seen a hint at my next project in one of the earlier pictures...I'm hoping to make signs for our chairs that go along with the rest of the decor.

I know some people might think this was a crazy amount of work to do for a corn hole set, but I'm pretty proud of myself for this one! I also imagine us having these boards for years to come, pulling them out at barbecues and parties after we're married.

Did anyone else buy or make something for an event with the thought that they'd use it long after the big day is over?

Wedding Blog Land Makes Me Feel Old

2012-01-06T14:12:00.000-05:00

I know my blog has veered into wedding blog land in recent months. I hope you all understand that most of my home projects have gone on hold while I juggle work and wedding planning. I did replace the handle on the toilet a few nights ago, but while I would have blogged about that a year ago, it doesn't seem all that interesting right now. Am I right?

Anyway, in Design Blog Land, I always felt really normal. I think most design bloggers are professional women who happen to love design. Some wind up working in design, but most of the time, that seems like a career change. I don't know of many design bloggers who are just starting out.

In Wedding Blog Land, I'm old. Like over the hill. A lot of people assume that if you're in your mid-30s, you're an encore bride (on a second marriage). For the first time in my life, I feel old!

Age was never really something I thought about all that much. Perhaps it's because my mother wore her age fairly proudly and never seemed obsessed with looking younger. People always seemed shocked to know her age. Her hair stylist seems convinced that she has a colorist because she's still a redhead in her late 60s.

Working in academia has probably kept me young at heart. I'm surrounded by the energy and enthusiasm of students in the college bubble. Though I finished graduate school just over a decade ago, people still ask me what year I am as if I'm a student. I haven't yet considered that a compliment, but I know there's a time when I will.

Getting engaged at 33 felt just right. I considered myself a city girl before coming to Virginia and city dwellers (especially those in the northern cities) tend to marry a little later than others. I didn't realize that in the world of wedding blogs and message boards, I'm old.

Image 1 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Agnes Lopez Photography

Image 2 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Mademoiselle Fiona

Image 3 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Olive Juice Studios

Early on in my planning, I felt just fine about my age. Everyone reading and commenting on wedding sites was in same process and I thought that would bind us together. Over time, however, I started to notice the pictures. I saw one stunning bride after another and as I looked at their amazing gowns and jewelry and hair, I also noticed their completely smooth complexions.

Now, I have a great skin, but at 34, I'm not without a line here and there. I started to think that there was no way I would look as beautiful in my wedding pictures. I'll have the amazing dress and the pretty details, but I fear that I won't have that youthful beauty that I see when I seek out wedding inspiration.

Image 1 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Mirelle Carmichael Photography

Image 2 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Brooke Courtney Photography

Image 3 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Laurie Bailey Photography

So what's a girl to do? You buy wrinkle cream. I did a bit of research online and decided to start using the Olay Pro-X line and consider seeing a dermatologist to bump up to something stronger about three months before the wedding.

I started drinking more water, assuming that would help, but found articles from NPR and Real Simple that debunk that a bit. I'll still drink water, but I'm not expecting it to be a fountain of youth.

Lastly, I decided to look through the portfolios of the makeup artists I've been considering to see if I can spot some brides who might be around my age. I've been looking at blog posts and inspiration shoots, but most of those feature women in their early 20s. I should probably be digging a little deeper. There are plenty of 30-something brides, but we don't seem as prominent on the wedding blogs.

Image 1 from the Full Bouquet / Photo by Genevieve Leiper

Image 2 from Style Me Pretty / Photo by Jana Marie Photography

Image 3 from Green Wedding Shoes / Photo by Kate Headley

Marc thinks I'm being totally silly. He says I don't need any of this stuff. My reasonable side knows that this is a short lived feeling. That little voice of self-doubt remains.

Has anyone else felt more aware of their age while wedding planning? How have you dealt with it?

It's J. Crew Clearance time!

2012-01-04T14:47:00.003-05:00

Buckle up and get ready to dig through some boxes! The J. Crew folks down in Lynchburg are taking their clearance sale on the road!

The spelling mistake is theirs, not mine. :)

If you don't know how these clearance sales work, check out some past posts I've written about them:

Weddingbee post with pictures of the last Richmond sale (12.9.2011)

Weddingbee post with pictures from the last Charlottesville sale (12/9/11)

Report from the J. Crew Sample Sale (10.4.2011)

Charlottesville Warehouse Sale report (8.19.2011)

J. Crew Liquidation is back (8.17.2011) - includes a little strategy

Revisiting music for our wedding

2012-01-03T16:47:00.001-05:00

When people think of the music at wedding ceremonies, there's a certain sound that comes to mind. There are lovely groups of musicians who specializing in playing harps, violins, flutes, and cellos at wedding ceremonies. While those groups always sound very nice when I'm a wedding guest, I wasn't all that excited about having that sound at our wedding ceremony.

From the King Family Vineyards website

As I explained in the past, we are hugely into music. Marc hosts a radio show and we are loyal fans of improvisation. At first, Marc thought I would want ultra-traditional music. I did a little homework and looked at area musicians who play wedding ceremonies. They all looked wonderfully talented, but none made me excited. I told Marc that I couldn't imagine any of the people I found at our wedding. I wanted upbeat music that would make me smile, nothing that sounded solemn or sacred. I wanted "our" music and I wanted guitars.

That's when Marc contacted this guy:

I'll address the guy on the right at the end of this post / Image from The Hook / Photo by Tom Daly

William Walter is the front man of William Walter & Co. They're a Charlottesville based band that tours regionally and plays the festival circuit each summer. While Marc knows William pretty well, I was convinced that playing a wedding was way beneath this guy in light of the crowds he usually plays in front of during the summer. Remember, I think about opportunity cost a lot and I imagined a Friday night in June being a pretty big night for gigs.

Photo from Last.fm

I shouldn't have worried! William was more than happy to play for us! He (and that mega watt smile) are going to play our ceremony and cocktail hour. When Marc shared the news, I had one of my "eek!" moments. I'm SO excited about this! Our out-of-town guests probably won't know who is playing at our ceremony, but I imagine our local friends will pretty excited to see William at our wedding.

Image from Jambase.com / Photo by Stratton Lawrence

Oh, and the goofy guy to William's left in the band shot at the top of this post? That's Tucker Rogers. He's also in the other two pictures, but with short hair. William said he's going to bring Tucker along so we have a duo. Double eek! We'll have William Walter and Tucker Rogers playing for us!

Here's one problem: I'm totally blank when it comes to specific songs we should ask William and Tucker to play. I've never been to a wedding that didn't use very traditional music like Pachelbel's Canon and Ave Maria. Where does the non-traditionalist look for music inspiration?

How we found our wedding photographer in a pizza shop

2011-12-29T22:18:00.000-05:00

I never attempted to write about our photographer before. I think I digest thousands of photos each evening, as I flip through the posts from my favorite blogs. With my feet in two blogging worlds, wedding and design, I'm keeping track of hundreds of feeds with my blog reader. I love photography. Photography is so important to me that I felt like a post about it deserved a lot of my time. Having taken a few days off around the holidays, I now feel as though I can write about this aspect of our wedding.

From Elisa B Photography's Facebook page / Photo by Elisa Bricker of Elisa B Photography

You'd think that someone who loves photography would have launched an exhaustive search of portfolios, interviewed a dozen photographers, and created an elaborate assessment tool before picking a vendor. I like to say that I made up my mind in a pizza parlor...but it's not entirely true.

In the winter of 2010, some people Marc knows opened a pizza shop in Charlottesville. When we visited for the first time, I was struck by their choice to make the interior very modern since most pizza places attempt an old world look. The shop had a wall covered in steel panels that immediately occurred to me as something cool to photograph or to use as a backdrop for a photo shoot. The next time we visited, a photographer showed up with a couple and started doing a maternity shoot against that wall. I remember thinking that if that photographer also saw something appealing in that steel wall, I had to see more of her work.

Maternity session at Rise Pizza / Photo by Elisa Bricker of Elisa B Photography

Did an image from a maternity session sell me on a photographer? Not really. However, it led me to start watching her blog and the blogs of other local photographers to get a sense of the different styles out there. I quickly realized that Charlottesville has an amazing community of photographers. Marc knew a few personally and we would later get to know a few more through friends. The options were fantastic, but that's not always a good thing if you appreciate different styles. I started to fear that it could take us months to find a photographer for our wedding.

I found myself going back to the blog of the photographer I saw at the pizza shop again and again. Her name is Elisa Bricker. Elisa and her husband, Edward, run Elisa B Photography.

Recognize the location of this video? / Video by Josh Gooden of Josh Gooden Cinematography

Elisa and I met at a coffee shop during the busy season in my industry, which means I was probably a bit chatty after working in solitude for too many days in a row. We had a fun conversation about blogs and shoes and flowers and other things that I don't remember right now. I remember thinking that I wouldn't mind having Elisa by my side on the most important day of my life. I liked that she worked with her husband, so a second shooter wouldn't by a mystery. I also liked that she was tech savvy and involved in social media.

From Elisa B Photography's Facebook page / Photo by Elisa Bricker of Elisa B Photography

About a week after our coffee shop meeting, we signed a contact and gave Elisa a deposit. We could have drawn the process out for weeks or months, but I decided to trust my instinct and resist the urge to mount an elaborate search. I'm so happy with our decision.

Did anyone else simply trust their instinct when it came to one of their wedding vendors in lieu of doing a thorough search of all the options?

Today and everyday...

2011-12-25T17:39:00.001-05:00

More fun with fabric (my framed table numbers)

2011-12-21T00:17:00.000-05:00

Before we started wedding planning, I had two speeds when it came to DIY projects: full speed or full stop. I almost never chipped away at a project slowly. I did it all or I didn't do it. When it came to making our table numbers, I went full speed and got them done...three different times.

I mentioned my first project when I talked about my table number inspiration pictures. I made clay plaques to use as numbers and I didn't like them. The second round was with Ikea Tolsby frames, which seem to have become a staple of wedding DIYers. I liked the frames, but they didn't really go with our wedding's style. Finally, I decided to use this Style Me Pretty picture as inspiration for my third and final attempt at table numbers:

From Style Me Pretty / Photo by Shannon Lee Images

I love fabric. I knew I could find a fabric that worked with our colors if I searched long enough. I looked locally, I looked while I was on a business trip, and I looked online. I found plenty of possibilities, but one fabric stood out among the thousands of swatches I saw. It was a Robert Allen for Dwell Studio fabric that I saw at Calico Corners. While the colors weren't right, the feel of the fabric was.

Vintage Plumes by Robert Allen in the Birch colorwa

After looking around, I realized that it came in a blue colorway, but Calico Corners didn't have that in stock. I took the sample home with me and decided that it would be perfect for a few wedding projects. The $70 per yard price, on the other hand, was not perfect.

A quick check online showed that most online fabric stores were selling the fabric for around $56 per yard. While this is an okay price for upholstery fabric, it's not great for something that's going to be used in crafts. I debated for a few days while I looked for other options. Nothing compared. I ordered two precious yards. When it arrived, I unrolled the fabric and couldn't help starting at it for a while. Isn't it pretty?

Vintage Plumes by Robert Allen in the Jade colorwa

My next task was to find some nice, but relatively inexpensive frames. I imagined wood frames with a weathered, silver finish looking great with my fabric. Stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls had plenty of frames, but couldn't find too many multiples of the ones I liked. Michael's and Hobby Lobby had a few possibilities, but nothing jumped off the shelf at me.

On a whim, I went into a craft store called Ben Franklin while in Richmond one evening a couple weeks ago. I remember there being a Ben Franklin in a neighboring town when I was growing up, but the store had closed long ago. A staff member told me that they originated in Richmond, VA and only operate seven stores now, all of which are in Virginia. As luck would have it, they had the perfect frames. The price on them was so low that I had to ask if it was correct.

I had thought I'd spend about $10 per frame originally and I wound up spending just over $12 for all ten frames!

Next I had to pick a paint color for the wooden numbers that would be mounted on my Robert Allen fabric and framed in my $1.20 frames. Marc was a champ as I debated colors in the paint aisle at the craft store. He didn't see a difference between the two colors I decided to test. I thought there was a clear winner. I painted each number, then sprayed them all with a matte, acrylic top coat.

The paint on the right won

Assembling all the pieces was my favorite part. The weave of my fabric wasn't tight, so I flipped the frame liner and glued it to the back of the frame so black wouldn't show through in the end. I cut ten, 4x6 rectangles of my precious fabric and used a Mod Podge to mount them on the back of each picture frame. Mod Podge has a formula specifically for fabrics, but I used a jar of the basic kind that I had on hand and that worked just fine.

I let the glue and Mod Podge dry for a while, put the frames together, and then glued the painted numbers to the fabric with light, even strokes of hot glue. Start to finish, the assembly part of this project took about an hour and a half, not counting drying time.

I have to admit that I was almost giddy over how well this project turned out! This might be my favorite DIY so far!

What have been your favorite DIY projects?

Creative table numbers

2011-12-20T09:46:00.000-05:00

I've been going to weddings for ten years and I have never seen table numbers handled in a creative way. This might be why I love seeing pictures of interesting ways to present the numbers on wedding blogs. I knew that I'd be making our table numbers pretty soon into our planning. I just had to find a favorite idea among all the inspirations pictures on my Pinterest boards.

From Elizabeth Anne Designs / Photo by Punam Bean

Marc, who seems to notice more details than the average groom-to-be, couldn't fathom what I meant when I talked about our table numbers. I think he was also used to just seeing a simple number on a metal stick. As with all of my DIY projects, he was encouraging and was on board once he saw some pictures.

From The Bride's Cafe / Photo by Simply Bloom Photography

One idea we nixed was using places, songs, or some other words instead of numbers. We had been watching an episode of Four Weddings during which the guest brides couldn't find their seats in a large reception room because the tables had names instead of numbers. Perhaps the words being used were in alphabetical order, but the poor guests seemed lost.

From Style Me Pretty / Photo by Cordele Photography

We briefly considered a combination of numbers and pictures. We thought about staging a photo shoot with Baxter in which he'd have the different numbers on or around him, but we decided that from afar, the numbers probably wouldn't stand out. We visualized our guests being just like those on the Four Weddings episode. They'd be wandering around the room, peering at the tables in attempts to figure out which one was theirs.

Photo by The Sweetest Occasion

I made the clay plaques above by following the tutorial on The Sweetest Occasion's blog, but they wound up being the size of a playing card. That seemed a bit small. I used white clay, but there wasn't any contrast in color and I again worried about people being able to see the number from afar.

From Charlottesville Weddings / Photo by Meg Runion

Using chalkboards was a cute idea, but they felt a tad too rustic for the overall feel we were going for with our wedding. I can be a perfectionist when it comes to projects and I knew I'd want my chalk numbers to be the prettiest ones ever made, which would probably mean freaking out with chalk all over me on the morning of the big day.

From Merrily Wed / Photo by Courtney Aaron

When I found pictures of moss numbers, I was pretty excited. I already made moss covered letters to use outside, so the little letters could continue the theme. They were so cute!

From Style Me Pretty / Photo by Shannon Lee Images

When I came across pictures that used patterns, either with fabric or paper, the thoughts of the moss covered letters disappeared. These were definitely the projects that made me most excited. I just had to decide which I liked best and how I could mount the numbers in a way that would be clearly visible to guests entering our reception.

From Ruffled Blog

Have you seen table numbers displayed in a creative way? Did you DIY table numbers or are you planning to? What are you going to do?

I'm back...sort of

2011-12-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

Since I became a Weddingbee blogger about a month ago, almost every free moment I've had has been dedicated to getting my Miss Mink persona up and running on the site. Well, at this point, I think I'm in a comfortable rhythm and can get back to updating you all on what's happening at Maison Small & Chic.

During the start-up phase at the Bee, I was a two-posts-per-day blogger, which took quite a bit of time...time I don't necessarily have during my busy season at work. I'm not longer a newbee and my pace is my own now. I have a self-imposed pace that mimics the one I had here for the last few years.

If you want to follow me in both places, hit the Weddingbee image above and you'll be taken to my line of posts on the site. Go to the main Weddingbee site to see the posts from all of the bloggers.

If you are getting married or think that is on the horizon, consider starting a blog and applying to be a Bee when you are 7 months away from your wedding. I had no idea that becoming a Bee is akin to joining a sorority. The Bee bloggers are a sorority where creativity and writing skills are the common bond. I feel so lucky to be part of this amazing group of women. After just a few weeks, I feel overwhelmed by the support I feel as part of the group.

Registry Regret

2011-12-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

In October, I spent a few hours at Macy's to create our registry. I was pretty happy with how it went and felt like Macy's registry page was easy to navigate and simple to use.

Last week, when Rue La La had some items from my china pattern for sale, I wondered if the pattern was being discontinued. I quick went to Macy's and saw a bunch of notes that looked like this:

While that screen shot is of a note on my flatware, it was also under every single item on my china list. I called Waterford right away. They told me that they didn't discontinue my pattern and that demand actually exceeded the supply. They couldn't keep it in stock because it's pretty popular.

Macy's decided on it's own to stop carrying the pattern, which is kind of funny in light of how popular it is. In about 10 minutes time, I moved my entire registry over to Bed, Bath & Beyond. See ya later, Macy's!

My mother went in to BB&B to buy something off the registry and told me that she found the people in the little wedding office to be very helpful. She thought the process of buying off the BB&B registry was quick and easy.

Anyone have any great experiences with registries? How about not-so-great experiences? I'm curious if Macy's routinely discontinues items despite them being popular.

Photos from the moving sale at Quince

2011-11-26T09:05:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd share some pictures from my favorite home store in Charlottesville, Quince. The store is getting ready to move and owner Sharon Manering has put everything on sale.

Aside from having great furniture, Quince always has tons of fun gifts that are perfect for hostess gifts. This is where I sometimes shop for those people who seem to have everything. There are lots of great, small items.

I don't usually get too excited about candles and reed diffusers, but the line that Quince carries is really wonderful.

Sharon is also offering 20% off new Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams orders, so you can have some fun with the yummy fabrics on the rack below.

I hope that if you're shopping in Downtown Charlottesville for Small Business Saturday, that you'll stop into Quince!

Quince

126 Garrett Street

Charlottesville, VA 22903

(434) 296-0062

The thrill of "oops paint"

2011-11-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

Do you know about opps paint? I think oops paint has a magnetic property because I can't keep away from it.

Oops paint is paint that has been rejected or not picked up by a customer at the hardware store. Some hardware stores, like the Home Depot in which I took the picture above, have their opps paint in a pretty prominent location. Others, like the Lowes in my town, have it tucked away so you have to do some searching for it. If you have small projects on your to-do list, you owe it to yourself to find this section. It's a treasure trove of cheap paint.

Lowes generally charges $1 to $1.50 for a sample jar of oops paint (generally called mistint paint there) and about $2.50 to $5 for larger cans. Home Depot generally charges 50 cents for sample jars and $1 to $2.50 for the small cans. Over the last few months, I've built up a little stock pile for my wedding projects.

These are just the cans I still have. Plenty have been mixed with other colors and used up completely.

Do you buy oops paint?

For what projects have you used it?

I am Miss Mink

2011-11-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

Last night, I got some amazing news. Probably the biggest news I've gotten as a blogger in recent years...and you all know this year has been pretty eventful. I was told that I am joining The Wedding Bee.

If you haven't been planning a wedding, you might not know about "The Bee." Wedding Bee is a group blog that updates constantly throughout the day with posts from about 20 women who are at different stages in their wedding planning process. The site also has a wildly popular message board, classifieds area, and galleries. On average, The Bee gets about 14 million page views per month. Last June, they had 1.4 absolute unique visitors.

When I got the word that I was joining the blogging ranks at The Bee, I was stunned. I assumed I was a bit too old to be interesting to the average bride and that having Bees in Maryland and Richmond would prompt the editors to want someone who would bring more geographic diversity. I was wrong.

So, I'm a Bee! All of the Bees blog under special names and avatars that change by "generation." This generation is "Woodland Creatures" and I was given a few choices from which to pick my identity. After being momentarily attracted to the opossum (because there is a Phish song called Possom and we love Phish), I decided that the mink was more my style.

I don't know who to credit...avatar from Wedding Bee

So, my wedding planning is about to get a much wider audience. I'll continue here, as usual, but there will be some other people chiming in over on my posts over on The Bee.

Small action, big step

2011-11-17T23:22:00.000-05:00

Edited so you stalkers don't track down my friends and family ;)

Tonight, I mailed our Save the Date envelopes to the woman who is going to address them. Though we are by no means early in our wedding planning, this very simple action felt like a very big step. We are actually at a point where we aren't just talking about something that's going to happen in the far off future. We're actually about to give our guests a somewhat-formal notice that they're invited. We're *that* close to our wedding.

I found the person who is doing the addressing via Wedding Bee, a message board that's been my very good companion for the last year. I'm not calling her a calligrapher because I don't want a super old-fashioned font on our Save the Dates. Suffice it to say, her work has a nice flair and she lives about 25 minutes from my hometown. It's amazing how often you can find a Jersey connection, even living in Central Virginia.

I have to admit that there's a little voice in the back of my head that wonders if anyone will get our Save the Date notice and wonder why they're invited. Our guest list is smaller than the average wedding, so that's probably just some insecurity on my part. I've actually seen other brides-to-be make similar comments on the message boards. Did anyone else go through this?

The story of the Save the Date photo

2011-11-16T06:27:00.005-05:00

These days, sending a "Save the Date" announcement before a wedding is standard practice. It's obviously a nice way to give out of town guests some time to make travel plans, but it's always a way to give a hint about the style of wedding you're planning.

We wound up ordering our Save the Dates much earlier than most. There was a good reason for it...

As I mentioned yesterday, I started reading wedding blogs pretty regularly a little over a year ago. Just as the design blogs have giveaways, the wedding blogs have giveaways. Just as I enter design blog giveaways now and then, I started entering the wedding blog giveaways. I wound up winning quite a few things. So many that the women at work started joking that there was a book in my wedding planning experience (not so sure about that).

One of the first giveaways I won was for set of custom Save the Date announcements from The Happy Envelope, a fantastic stationary company in Knoxville, TN. The only problem: we were so early in our wedding planning that we didn't have a picture or wedding website to put on the Save the Dates. We had a date. We had a location. That was it.

We wanted the Save the Date had to be a little quirky and it had to include Baxter. I started poring through photos to find something that would work. At some point in looking through photos, a different "take" on American Gothic came to mind. If you don't remember, this is American Gothic:

That's not exactly the kind of imagine you'd expect to see on a Save the Date, is it?

I tried to explain what I was thinking to some friends, but they weren't quite feeling it. Everyone seemed to want the very traditional picture of us embracing or canoodling in a popular location. It didn't feel like us. So, one afternoon after work, we went to an area of our neighborhood that has a brick sidewalk and a brick wall. I swept as many cherry blossom petals out of the way as I could and set my camera up on a stool, prepared to use the timer button as many times as needed to get the shot that was in my head.

After the first terrible shot, a graduate student came walking by and offered to snap a few pictures for us. Luckily, he also had a Nikon and he understood what I was going for when I explained what we were trying to do. Within a minute, we had the image.

I was giddy. I uploaded the photo to show some people on a fairly traditional wedding message board and the first response was "your heads are cut off." I decided to try a different message board that felt a little more creative to me. Maybe a more diverse group of brides understand what I was doing? The comments rolled in and they were positive. I wasn't crazy! One person even said it reminded her of American Gothic. Another said "I will be mad if you don't use this."

We changed the color to sepia for the Save the Dates and I hastily put together a bare bones wedding website so we'd have an address for the cards (more on the website on another day). The Happy Envelope had a proof back in a couple days, then sent our finished Save the Dates soon after. They've been sitting on a shelf for months. I finally took them down last night so I could send the envelopes out to be addressed.

Even though I've had them for months, the idea of actually sending these out is making the wedding feel closer.

If you're married, did you send Save the Dates?

Do you like receiving them?

Do you expect them to have a picture of the couple on them?