Happy Halloween!

TR and I carved our first pumpkins as husband and wife last night (I know, gag me!) and they turned out so great! I took ideas from Martha Stewart and Southern Living and below you can see side-by-side inspiration vs. actual creation to see how well I did...

#1: Our Monogram (this is my favorite pumpkin!)

Inspiration: Martha Stewart's "Translucent Pumpkins"

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Actual Creation:

(It's hard to take pictures of lit-up pumpkins!!!)

#2: Fall Leaves

Inspiration: Southern Living

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Actual Creation:

If You're Going to DIY...

... you must purchase these things!

The wonderful Mrs. Penguin over on Weddingbee (I am slowly overcoming my addiction to their blog posts, but will probably never unsubscribe on my GoogleReader) just posted her Top 5 DIY Essentials, and I think you should read it! As a recap, here are the things a DIY bride shouldn't do without:

1. Paper cutter (for invitations, programs, anything paper)
2. Xyron machine (turns any paper item into a sticker)
3. Gocco (for the very crafty brides; like a silk-screen machine for paper and fabric... currently, this machine is super-hard to get a hold of and I just heard that the bulb manufacturers were stopping the production of Gocco bulbs... a death sentence for the proliferation of the Gocco... Read more about Gocco on Weddingbee's wiki)
4. Round corner punch (this is the only item on this list that I actually own... and I own the kind Mrs. Penguin refers to with "evil dagger eyes"... guess I should go out and buy the more ergonomic version!)
5. Envelope template kit (I've wanted one of these for the longest time!)

My husband and I DIY-ed our programs, placecards, placecard holder (ribbon board) and table numbers and the number one thing I still cannot live without is...

THE ADHESIVE ROLLER!

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This little device has a spool of sticky adhesive that easily rolls onto and adheres to wherever you glide the tip of the roller. There are many brands of roll-on adhesive ~ I've tried a few different kinds and to me, they all work just the same ~ and the one pictured above is $2.96 on Amazon. FYI... refills available for purchase, so you don't have to keep buying the roller itself.

TR and I used these rollers to assemble our invitations (we bought 2 adhesive rollers + LOTS of refills so we could both work at the same time) and our placecards... and I don't think I could ever go back to wrapping presents without a tape roller ever again!

I'm So Trashy!

I am so excited right now!! Jessica from Lemongrass Photography just posted our Trash the Dress pictures!! The full blog post is here, but I wanted to post some pics and commentary on my site, too! :)

Here we are poking fun at the "domestic life"... what's funny is that this is pretty accurate! I've started cooking and baking more, and even bought some cute aprons to wear around the house.

Here we are on the railroad tracks with our balloons... this is one of my favorite pics out of the entire bunch.

We're behind some buildings at Fort Ben for the next two pictures... I love how these turned out!

[Note: I suck at keeping a straight face. Either I'm halfway smirking or I look like I'm dead inside... but the one below on the left is decent!]

Because TR likes war things...

And then we found this Winebago that may/may not have been someone's residence...

I LOVE FALL!

I love pictures like the one below on the right... sigh.

I think this brushy area (below) looks so whimsical! You could never tell that there's a fairly busy road less than 10 feet away!

And last but not least, the BESTEST pictures ever! TR makes a good "guido" face, but unfortunately, I just look silly. :)

Glass Bottle Floral Arrangements

I was just admiring a "Real Wedding" posted over on Lyndsey Hamilton's blog and thought I'd share a centerpiece idea:

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I love the idea of using multiple vases in various heighths and widths as the centerpiece for each table. Mason jars have to be one of my most favorite things in the world and they come in so many shapes and sizes!!

Oh the Places You'll Go...

[EDIT: Many people confuse place cards and escort cards, and even the most experienced wedding professional on TV/in a bridal magazine will mix them up (I've seen it happen many times). And unfortunately, I have done the same exact thing! ESCORT cards are pictured below. They tell the guest what table they are seated at. PLACE cards are set at each place setting and tell the guest exactly what seat to sit in. Please excuse my mistake! I have corrected the following blog post accordingly.]

One of the cutest aspects of reception decor (in my opinion) where you can really let your creativity shine through are (edited) escort cards. Escort cards are those little cards that tell your guests what table they are seated at and they are pretty much necessary unless your guests will be sitting wherever they please. The cards are normally placed in a common area at your reception facility (i.e. on the table alongside your guest book and/or gift card basket).

I was looking at Southern Weddings' blog (found via Oh So Beautiful Paper's blog) and saw the best array of escort card options. Here are three of my faves:

1) Escort card tiles. I love this idea! The color and design of the tile's face is so bright and festive, while the terra cotta back is perfect for writing your guests' names and table numbers. The picture below is from Laura Hooper's Calligraphy website and shows calligraphied names. You could recreate this look by handwriting guest names yourself, or having a friend with neat handwriting help you out.



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2) Escort cards hung on a horizontal string. I don't know what it is about clothespins, but I love 'em! For an outdoor wedding, this would look so cool! String a line of "whatever" (ribbon, rope, sturdy thread) between trees, posts, etc, and pin the escort cards to the line. Easy peasy! [This idea comes from InStyle Weddings.]



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3) Escort cards hung on a vertical string. I think this idea works better than #2 for indoor spaces (but, of course, there are ways to make horizontal work if you really love that look). Hanging strands of clear crystals or beads in your wedding colors would look so amazing when attached to the ceiling of your reception's foyer... just attach placecards and you're set! You could also add flowers (or something else... you could include some pictures of the bride & groom & guests between the escort cards) like the picture below from Brides.com.



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Recycled Gift Tag Letters

I know it's only the end of October... OMG it's the end of OCTOBER!!! That means Christmas is less than 2 months away!!!

I love Christmas so much because I love the act of giving gifts. Maybe my motives are a little selfish, but nothing feels better than giving someone you love something they would never have bought for themselves or something that is so amazingly cool that they think you are the most thoughtful/awesome/wonderful person ever. :)

If you love giving gifts as much as I do, there's a good chance you also love presenting your gifts in a creative way. I present (purposeful pun!) to you: recycled gift monograms!!!

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These letters are cut out of old Christmas cards ~ genius! Another great idea by Martha Stewart and her staff.

I feel awful throwing away Christmas cards. Someone put all of that effort into picking a card that reflected their personality and message they wanted to send, writing a message in said card, addressing the envelope, paying for postage and sending the card on its way to my mailbox. I am guilty of hoarding old Christmas cards and now I've found an excellent way to reuse them! I can't wait to wrap some gifts!

[I also have every single wedding card anyone ever gave TR & me for our showers & wedding... I shall reuse these, too!]

Pumpkin Carving

TR and I have decided to do some pumpkin carving this week and I found some adorable designs over on Southern Living's website:

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I really like the bottom pumpkin with the floral design and also the fall leaves pumpkin. TR is probably going for a really scary design, so I'll have to put my sweet pumpkins on the other side of the porch. :)

I also really love the look of painted pumpkins for centerpieces or Thanksgiving decor (picture below). Although I think we can all slap some paint on a pumpkin without detailed instructions, Martha Stewart offers video directions for making these gorgeous glitter gourds:

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I might just have to make both kinds of pumpkin decorations!

Weekend Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've been quite busy with two things:

1) My dog, Linc (yes, the same one I've had since the 3rd grade; he's 21 years old & lives with my parents), was ran over by a car on Saturday and somehow survived. The vet said she didn't feel any broken bones, but he does have a lot of bruising and a laceration on his leg. Right now, our biggest concern is that he's immobile and won't get up to go to the bathroom. Even when we pick him up and place him outside, he still won't go. I know this is all horribly depressing for a wedding planning blog, but writing about it helps me cope with the fact that we might have to put him down in a few days if he doesn't improve. *tear

2) The other thing keeping me busy was preparing for my Trash the Dress photoshoot with Jessica from Lemongrass Photography. I wanted to get some shots of TR and me at home, so I cleaned and organized my house pretty much every evening last week. Yesterday (Sunday) was the shoot and I had a great time. It was so nice to have something take my mind of Linc. Here are some of the locations we took pictures:

• Our front yard ~ in the grass and in our Adirondack chairs
• Inside our house ~ poking fun at the "domestic" life... me with mixing bowls and a wooden spoon, pretending to bake cookies and pour TR coffee... TR with a Budweiser on the couch and him poking his head in the fridge... I can't wait to see how those turn out!
• Railroad tracks ~ TR found this H.U.G.E. pile of railroad ties (the long wooden planks) off the side of Pendleton Pike and we climbed on them... we also took pics on the railroad tracks themselves... I was so nervous about shooting here because these tracks are fairly active train tracks!
• Fort Benjamin Harrison ~ in the back of some abandoned buildings; dumpsters really give a visual depictment of "trashing" the dress
• Veterans of Foreign War post ~ by an old war tank & an old Winebago (not sure why the Winebago was there, but it was green and I was wearing a red scarf for those pictures, so it might make for a good Christmas picture!)
• Fall Creek Loop trail/park ~ in the middle of some rustic, tall, scratchy weeds/grass/trees

Jessica said she'd have a link up in a few days and I'll post pictures as soon as I can!!

Traditional Division of Wedding Costs

Today, there are so many couples who fund their weddings without their parents' help. I respect these couples immensely because a wedding is no cheap affair. The average wedding cost is creeping toward $30,000, and could be more in some urban areas. I certainly don't have that kind of money, and when my husband and I were married, we definitely had help from our parents. We had a pretty typical traditional wedding (with our personalities written all over it, of course!) where my parents paid for everything except the honeymoon & rehearsal dinner (my husband's parents paid for those).

Here is the typical breakdown of costs between the bride's & groom's families:

Bride's Side
Bridal consultant
Invitations
Photography
Music
Flowers
Videography
Transportation
Reception
Groom's wedding ring
Accommodations for bridesmaids

Groom's Side
Bride's engagement & wedding rings
Officiant's fee/donation
Marriage license
Honeymoon
Rehearsal dinner

[Doesn't the separation of costs seem a TAD unbalanced?!]

My parents also paid for half of the bridesmaid dresses (because I chose $250 dresses instead of $100 dresses) and paid for a lot of my bachelorette party expenses.

Here are some extra things I paid for as the bride:
Hair & makeup for my mom, bridesmaids, flower girls and me on the big day
Bridesmaid, flower girl, ring bearer, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law gifts (given at rehearsal dinner)
All of my bridal jewelry & accessories

Bustle Interview: Ashley

If you've been reading along on my blog, you've seen a few posts about Ashley & Chris' wedding. Ashley is a dear friend of mine ~ we went to high school together and then reconnected when we realized we were having our wedding receptions at the same location! We had regular "bride dinners" without our fiances where we vented about issues we were having and also to share our successes. It was SO NICE to have someone to talk to who was in the same situation as me!

Ashley was too kind to kick off the new Bustle Interview segment by being my first interviewee! Thanks, Ash!

Bustle Interview: Ashley

{Picture Source: openField Photography}

When were you married?
October 11, 2008

How far before the wedding did you start planning?
My husband & I got engaged on October 25th of last year and I started planning shortly after then. I wanted to get a head start on everything since I knew there would be big projects! I would suggest hiring a photographer right away since they are such a big part of the day. We hired Open Field Photography and we could not be happier with their work! Lauren & Robbie are also amazing to work with and they make you feel completely at ease! Check them out at http://www.openfieldphotography.com/.

Did you hire a wedding planner? If so, how much was he/she involved?
No, I didn’t. I think a planner is great to bounce ideas off of, though! Lindsey Scrivner was my wedding day-of coordinator and she did an AMAZING job! She made sure everything ran smoothly and I trusted everything would look perfect at the reception with her in charge…..she is so professional, sweet, and creative!! Love her!

What percentage of wedding planning was done by you and what percentage was done by your spouse?
Ha! This is a good question! My husband really helped with everything once we were putting it all together. But all of the ideas were my own. I always asked his input, though. I picked out the paper for the invitations and programs, etc., and I came up with all of the concepts. He really did a great job of helping me execute the ideas, though!

What wedding planning tasks did you delegate, and to whom?
Allison was my Super Bridesmaid and she really helped me through the whole process of assembling invitations, programs, and menu cards. She did a great job and it was so nice to have someone help with putting everything together. She was there for me to talk to, which really kept my sanity! That is the hard part! Since my husband is more technical, he put the slideshow together completely by himself and did a fabulous job! I just helped pick the pictures and the songs. I would definitely suggest having a slideshow, but start putting it together at least a couple of weeks before the wedding. We waited until the last minute, which was a bad idea. It can be really fun going through old pictures! Leave yourself enough time, and it will be! :)

What were the three items/services you did NOT want to skimp on in terms of budget (i.e. photography, food, location)?
First and foremost, do not skimp on photography. You will have little flickers of memories of your day and seeing your pictures brings back all of those memories and emotions. Find a photographer you are comfortable with and whose artistic style matches yours. Secondly, I would say the location of the ceremony and reception. It is important to pick a place to have your wedding that really speaks to you. You want to choose a place that you can throw a really great party! Lastly, I would say your dress. I think it is totally possible to find a dress you can fall in love with that sells for a reasonable price. I did! Find a dress that embodies who you want to be on your wedding day…..mostly you with a hint of fairytale. Your wedding day will be an out of body experience the whole day and it is important that you feel your most gorgeous on your day!

If you had $1,000 more dollars available in your budget, what would you have spent it on?
Oh wow! I don’t know….I would say I would have made the flowers a little most elaborate. I worked with Kathy’s Kloset and they did a FANTASTIC job! Kathy really made my vision come to life and is so knowledgeable with floral arrangements! I would really suggest having at least half you your tables at the reception have tall centerpieces. If you have only half, it cuts down on the cost and makes the room look so much bigger! Check out Kathy at http://www.kathysklosetofflowers.com/.

What part of planning your wedding did you enjoy the most?
I really enjoyed going to look at venue sights with my husband. We went on a beautiful Fall day and I will never forget picturing having my wedding at the Church. I started to tear up when I walked in and that was when it all started to feel real!

I also liked choosing the candy for our Candy Bar! I kept our green, pink, and silver theme throughout and I really think the guests enjoyed their favors!

What part of planning your wedding did you enjoy the least?
Putting together the invitations! We decided that putting together the invitations from scratch would save us money and it did not! It would have been cheaper just to buy them and taking the time to assemble them took days! I would suggest to get invitations that stay within the theme of the wedding and that really represent the two of you as a couple. You can get great ideas at http://www.mygatsby.com/. I loved our finished result, but it was a lot of not needed stress!

On your wedding day, besides saying your vows, what was the most memorable moment?
I would say the two best moments of the day were taking pictures of just my husband and I after the ceremony and dancing with our friends at the reception. I loved taking the pictures because the emotions of the day really got conveyed on camera and it was a magical experience. I will never forget the dancing either because everyone was so happy. It was so great to bring smiles to the faces of the people that matter most to us. We had a blast!

What would you have done differently if you had to do it all over again (given that hindsight is 20/20)?
I would have bought my invitations instead of making them most of all. I really don’t regret anything from the whole wedding process. I enjoyed coming up with the ideas and then walking into the reception and seeing my ideas come into fruition. That was wonderful! I would also have probably hired a videographer. I had my cousin tape the ceremony and he did a great job, but I really would have liked to have captured some action shots of the dancing at the reception.

What advice would you give to brides currently planning their weddings?
Just enjoy it! Yes, it’s stressful and you want everything to be perfect, but this will only happen once in your life. It will really be over before you know it and all of your hard work will be so worth it! Just take a deep breath and think about what and why you are doing what you are doing. You are marrying the love of you life and that in and of itself is truly incredible. If you give yourself enough time to do the projects, it will be fun instead of stressful! Good luck with everything!!

Bustle Interview ~ New Segment!

I'm starting a new segment here on Bustle Event Design: Bustle Interviews with real brides & grooms (as opposed to the fake kind). I'm so excited to learn about other brides' & grooms' wedding planning experiences! For this new segment, I will ask each interviewee the same set of questions and post their answers on my blog so you, the reader, can read about their trials and tribulations as they plan their weddings.

Disclaimer: In no way do I tell the brides/grooms what to say, which vendors to mention, who to compliment, etc. I do not expect to be mentioned in the interviews, but if I am, I am completely and utterly humbled, appreciative and elated! These interviews are unedited (unless I "bleep" out a curse word or correct a spelling mistake) and completely authentic.

I can't wait for you to read about my first bride: Ashley. Stay tuned!

Also! If you would like my interviewees to answer a particular question, please e-mail me at BustleEventDesign@gmail.com and I will consider adding it to my list of questions!

Real Wedding: Ashley & Chris

As promised, here are some professional pics from Ashley & Chris' October 11th wedding... openField Photography took some amazing photos and were nice enough to create this handy collage! :) Thanks so much! To view all of the Ashley & Chris' wedding pics, here's a link to openField's blog post.

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Again, I should put a disclaimer here: I didn't come up with these wedding designs. These were all Ashley & Chris' creations - I just made sure everything was set up appropriately, kinda like a day-of wedding coordinator would do. It was so much fun to be a guest at their wedding!


Another disclaimer: I still need to post pics of their candy bar ~ it was so perfect! In fact, Ashley's candy bar was so cool, I told her she would have to be my "candy bar consultant" if my brides choose to have one! :)

Some of my Favorite LOCAL Etsy things...

I thought it would be nice to show some love to the super-talented Indy artists who sell their goods on Etsy! We have some incredibly talented artists nearby ~ and I love supporting local artists!! I made this nice collage to showcase their work:



{Clockwise from top-left: "see beth blush" felt brooch (can also use as a hair clip) from Accessoire; "Heather Bailey Mums" fabric covered magnet board from SteelDreamingDesigns; "Story Book" gift tags (set of 6) from Viva Variety; "Lots O Dots" round handmade stickers and seals from Keepsake Couture; Monogrammed note cards from Fresh Coffee; "you and i" cards from City Bird Designs}

I would totally be caught wearing the sweet pink felt hair flower (possibly even as a brooch, but we'll see...) ~ wedding day or any other day! Check out Accessoire's shop for more colors & designs.

I love the magnet board ~ you could give this as a gift, OR buy a few and hang them at your reception or ceremony. You could use them as "Reserved" seating signs or to post pictures of you and your fiance (or loved ones who couldn't be at the wedding). SteelDreamingDesigns' shop has other fabrics to choose from to coordinate with your wedding colors.

The storybook gift tags are so cute! Obviously, these would dress up your bridesmaid/mother/father/groom gifts, AND ensure the gifts get to the right person. :) Viva Variety's shop also has other paper goods and trinkets for sale, so be sure to stop by!

I can think of a bajillion ways to use the collection of round stickers: seals for thank-you-card envelopes... fancy-ing up clear candle holders or vases... labeling favors... I could go on, but I won't! Keepsake Couture sells a variety of chic notebooks & paper goods; perfect for a paper-lover like me!

The monogrammed note cards by Fresh Coffee are so adorable ~ I would love to have a stash of these on hand to send out little notes to my friends & family. I love snail mail! Fresh Coffee also has a bunch of lovely paper goods for sale, including wedding invitations!

Finally, (my favorite!) I must congratulate CityBird Designs on their fantastic "you and i" cards. Fill-in-the-blank/check-box cards are so fun! I can think of so many friends who I haven't seen in a while ~ I would love to send each of them one of these cards to invite them to coffee or a girl's night. I'm going to have to check in with this shop more often because everything is just so cute!

Happy Shopping!

Favor or Gift: Cupcake Jars!

I was perusing Manolo for the Brides blog today and saw this post about cupcake favors/gifts. I scrolled further down in the post and saw this picture of the cutest little jars filled with cupcake goodness:



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The above cupcake jars are made by Fat Daddy's Bake Shop, but it appears they are no longer selling these in their Etsy shop anymore.

HOWEVER.

There's nothing stopping you from making them yourself!

DIYBride's blog (she's so crafty!) posts a "tute" for how to make these little cuties:

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I looked around online and found these 1/2 pint wide-mouth canning jars (similar to those used in the tutorial) for $4.49 (for 4 jars) on Goodman's website.

These little dessert jars would be great to give as gifts for moms, bridesmaids, out-of-towners, etc. Wrap ribbon in your wedding colors around the lid, print a circular label for the top, and there you go!

Real Wedding: Laura & Dusty

10/18/2008

Although I was not in attendance at this wedding, I just had to share some pictures of a do-it-yourself fall wedding. My friend/bridesmaid Elizabeth's sister was married last weekend and from what Elizabeth tells me, the entire day was a labor of love for Laura. How sweet! Thanks to Elizabeth & Laura for letting me post their pictures!

For Laura's centerpieces, they used two variations on the pumpkin theme:

A hollowed-out pumpkin with gorgeous floral arrangement inside...



And a hollowed-out pumpkin with a hurricane & pillar candle inside (the cornucopias hanging from the front of the table were for the bridesmaids' bouquets!)...



How creative and season-appropriate! Congrats to Laura & Dusty on their marriage!

Nordstrom: BCBG & ABS

A recent new love of mine is BCBG dresses. I've admired them for a while now, but I don't actually own a BCBG dress. Everytime I see their line of dresses, I want to snatch up almost the entire line! It's as if someone made an entire dress line with my body type in mind. BCBG dresses are so flattering! BCBG also makes short white dresses that would be excellent options for a bride wishing to change into a second dress for her reception...

I went to Nordstrom's Dress Shop online (Indy has a new Nordstrom on the north side @ Keystone at the Crossing) and saw some excellent white dresses, one of which is a non-BCBG gown (it's ABS by Allen Schwartz). Enjoy...

This dress has been ALL OVER the internet because it is just that adorable. I covet this BCBG dress: The Strapless Applique Dress.

This is another possible reception dress option from BCBG: The Floral Burnout Dress. I just love the back!



And next we have a short white dress from ABS by Allen Schwartz: The Chiffon Babydoll Dress. This dress has a retro 60's feel to it, which I find extremely charming!



I'll leave you with this last final BCBG dress that I believe would make a wonderful wedding gown: The Strapless Crinkle Satin Gown.

New Website Design!

I am so happy to report that I finally have a functional webpage!


http://www.bustleeventdesign.com/


TR designed it and I think it looks amazing. It is actually just a preliminary website ~ TR plans on adding much more to it in the near future. But since I've started passing out business cards, he wanted to put something up on the website for my future clients.

Mint & Chocolate? Canary and Robin's Egg Blue?

What are your colors?

You'll get this question many times as a bride, and if you're like me, you'll respond: "Just a sec, I have the swatches right here in my purse!" :)

Or if you are like normal people, you'll respond: "Our colors are [color #1] and [color #2]... " Then you might look around at your immediate surroundings, hoping to find an object colored similarly to your particular shades so you can more specifically describe the exact hues.

Nevertheless, people are truly interested in a couple's wedding colors. Your colors set the tone for your wedding and can be a reflection of your personality. Like I said before, my colors were bright pink (Lynn Lugo's "Watermelon" silk shantung fabric swatch to be exact) and chocolate brown. I'd like to think our color choices conveyed a bit of whimsy, playfulness, friendliness and a tad of unconventionality (we felt that brown tuxes were our way of deviating from the norm... we live on the edge, I know...) to our wedding.

Sooo... What are your colors?

If you're still in the color-deciding phase, try this tool: Brides.com's ColorStudio.


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Halloween Candy Topiary

Oh how I love Martha Stewart... How does she (i.e. her team of idea people) think of such interesting & fun ideas?!

Martha just posted a craft tutorial for how to make Halloween Candy Topiaries and I am totally inspired. I really want to make one or two for my door step so as to make my neighbors jealous of my creativity. ;)

{Picture Source + tutorial!}

I decided to search Martha's website for more topiary ideas and found this:

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Peppermint candy topiaries! Not to be limited to peppermint candies, I think ANY candy topiary in your wedding colors would make an excellent addition to a candy bar (a la Ashley & Chris), or as a super-sweet centerpiece.

The French Wedding Cake

The Croquembouche

Literal French translation: a crunch in the mouth... how delectable!

I just adore these cakes! Already in individual servings, this type of cake is functional AND beautiful. Here is some cake indulgence for you...



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A little Martha creation (below)... I love the spun sugar covering the puffy pyramid of Parisian goodness! Click the picture source link for the recipe!



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One more Martha cake for good measure... This one is from her Gateaux de Mariage wedding cake segment. This looks almost too good to eat!



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Anthropologie Cocktail Dresses

Every now and then I pop on over to Anthropologie's website to view their selection of dresses. I love that I can count on Anthropologie to carry dresses that aren't normally available in department stores ~ I feel like I'm wearing a one-of-a-kind dress! Obviously, that's not the case, but I don't have the fear that I'll show up at a party and see another woman wearing my dress. Anthropologie is like a hidden gem!

It's true, Anthropologie dresses are a little pricey (if you are someone with my budget). However. These dresses might be worth it if you are purchasing them for a specific special occasion... like your wedding! Either as bridesmaid frocks or the "second dress" you wear at your reception, Anthropologie dresses are show-stoppingly (not sure if that's a word) gorgeous!

I created this collection over on Polyvore...


{Picture source: Anthropologie Cocktail Dresses}

Real Wedding: Ashley & Chris

As promised, here are some detail pictures of Ashley & Chris' reception decor... You'll have to forgive me because I only took pictures of the seating card display and the results of the candy bar buffet (not the candy bar itself), and my camera takes pretty awful pictures with the flash on (I think someone should buy me a new camera for Christmas!). But I think you'll get the idea and see how great everything looked!

Here is the seating card display:

There were 3 glass vases filled with clear glass stones at the bottom. Branches were arranged in each vase, and the seating cards were hung from the branches (in alphabetical order, as best as I could!).

Since each vase arrangement held a certain group of placecards according to the guest's last name, Ashley created signs to tell guests where to look for their placecard.

Ashley & Chris' guestbook was a custom-made album with their engagement pictures inside. This was such a great idea and the guests loved seeing their professional pics!

Here is a picture of my husband holding our candy bar favor... Pink and green were the couple's wedding colors, and the candy bar was filled with around 10 different pink & green candies! [Doesn't TR's tie match their candy perfectly?!]

And here's a picture of the newlyweds!!

Gift: Bath Teas!

How great is this? Bath teas! Boh Bon Soap Company has created three types of bath teas: In Bloom (botanical), Pep Up (mint; shown below) & With a Twist (citrus). I think these would make excellent additions to an Out of Town bag or as part of your gift to your bridesmaids. There are 4 tea bags per take-out box (cute & handy packaging!), and the cost for each take-out box is only $4! What a steal!



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Real Wedding: Ashley & Chris

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending Ashley & Chris Aiello's wedding, and every detail was perfect! Although I didn't plan this wedding, Ashley asked me to ensure her plans were executed at the reception site. I was honored to help her out! I'll post more pics of the details later... stay tuned!

Letterpress Save the Dates

I just saw the most simple/chic/clever Save the Dates (STDs ~ I know, horrible acronym, but you'll get used to it) over on Invited Ink's Etsy shop.





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Not only are they antique handmade letterpress - so posh! - but they are so clever! Invited Ink will personalize the name and location information on the STD card, but YOU punch out the Month, Date & Year of your wedding using a standard hole punch (or whatever punch you desire).

The best part: Even if you didn't have your wedding date settled on, you could still order these ahead of time! And believe me, you want to get done as much as you can ahead of time.

Cute as a Button

I just stumbled upon KreatedbyKelly's Etsy shop and I am coveting button bouquets and wrist cuffs!





{Picture Source: Cream bouquet, Cappaccino bouquet, Ivory wrist/neck cuff}

These button bouquets could also be used for centerpieces or guest book arrangements... and then be taken home to use as decoration in your house! I love the romantic look of the wrist cuff (which can also be worn around the neck)... it makes me think of a bride wearing this to her wedding in the woods or park.