...ceremony details: the flowers...

I have been hesitating to write about this for the last few days because I need to tread lightly as I tell this story.  As with every wedding, ours was not without its snafus.  The situation surrounding our floral needs definitely became one of them.  This is kind of what happened in a nutshell…

DG’s sister got married a little less than a year before we did.  Her wedding was gorgeous, to say the least.  Largely due to the efforts of a distant cousin who does event design and floral for a living (and beautifully, I might add).  He was willing to basically donate his time and my SIL covered his costs and purchased the flowers at wholesale.  This equation worked really well for her, so it made perfect sense for us to do the same. 

Well, somewhere between a naïvely planned floral budget, a couple of assumptions, and some severe miscommunication…that arrangement completely fell apart, and we learned that said cousin would not be coming….PRECISELY TWO WEEKS BEFORE OUR WEDDING.  I don’t want to speak badly about him because he is family and because if I had been much smarter….I could have prevented every ounce of heartache and panic we suffered when DG and I looked at each other like WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?  In the end, everything worked out for the better.  We were able to spend less money and I could not have been happier about the way our flowers looked.

So the absolute hero in this story???  Our dear friend Troy.  Troy just so happened to arrange all the flowers for my MOH’s wedding back in October, and they were perfect.  He has a 9-5 just like everyone else, but he’ll do weddings here and there simply because he’s talented and he can.  So Troy had ZERO notice, but we called him up one night and said, “We need a florist.  We have $1,000.”  He was more than happy to jump in and take over.  I was blown away by how he pulled it all together.  I won’t spoil all the surprise of our details for the reception, but here’s what he did for our ceremony.

This display, welcoming our guests in the entryway, was a bit of a sneak peak of our reception decor.

Altar arrangements.

And a close up.

My bouquet.

He did a lovely job incorporating the picture of my grandma who passed away last Thanksgiving.

DG's boutonniere, #1.  Troy is so smart.  He always makes two boutonnieres for the groom, knowing that inevitably the first one will be crushed at some point by an unstoppable hugger.  DG's didn't even make it to the ceremony if I remember correctly.

More pretty bouquets for all my girls.

And here's a close up of the cute little carnation pomander Troy made for our flower girl.

Now, what have we learned?  If you are in the thick of planning and need a little guidance, learn from our mistakes and follow this advice…

1.       The first thing out of your mouth after, “Hello, my name is bride-to-be,” should be “We’re working with a budget of $X.XX, and this is what we need from that money.”  Whether you’ve gathered a group of friends to accomplish a certain task or a family member is handling a project or you’re working with a bonafide professional vendor.  DO. NOT. SKIP. THIS. STEP.  Maybe you’ll learn that you haven’t yet found the right person for the job, or maybe you’ll give that person an opportunity to find creative ways to cut extra cost.  Either way, you’ll be grateful you talked about it up front.  Like I said before, I could have prevented a lot of crying…

2.       Work with talented, creative people and set them free to create.  I know very little about flowers.  I just know what I think is pretty.  When it came to the actual design for our flowers, I gave Troy an idea of the overall aesthetic theme we were shooting for and a color palette and left the rest to him.  I understand that, to some brides, flowers are the one thing that has to be just so.  They weren’t a huge priority for me.  I didn’t have to have any one certain bloom.  I just wanted them to look nice and fit in with the other décor.  So when Troy came to me with suggestions, I said yes to every one and just let him do what he does.  That’s why we called him in the first place.  The result was SO MUCH BETTER than anything I could have dictated to him!

Finally, if you’re a bride looking for an affordable florist who is talented, oh-so-easy to work with, and is willing to work within ANY budget…please consider Troy.  He and his wife are great people and so much fun, and I promise, he’s fantastic.  In our case, he came in under our budget, even after he’d added fees for himself, but we decided to give him the full $1,000 anyway because we were so grateful and so impressed.  Troy isn’t exactly running a floral business, but he has given me permission to give out his email address to anyone who may be interested, so shoot me an email at enoughforeverafter(at)gmail.com if you want his contact info! 

As always, thanks to Will at Will Knowles Weddings for all these pretty pictures.

...DIY aisle runner...

DG and I have pretty much been managing our wedding like a corporation.  Everything is a branding opportunity, and we are a-ok with that.  To that end, we thought it'd be nice to incorporate our monogram into the ceremony.  The aisle runner seemed like a really appropriate place to do that, so we looked into having a custom runner made.  Sounded like a great idea until I realized that we'd spend anywhere from $100-$300 to do it.  No. Thank you. 

I thought about it for about 30 seconds before I decided I was fully capable of doing it myself!  It took a little time, but I think the money we saved was well worth it!  I purchased the runner itself online for about $20 and bought our four shades of acrylic paint from Michael's for $0.69 a piece.  I like $25 a lot better than $300...and I'm sure you do too.  So I thought I'd share.  Here's what we did...

Step 1:
I utilized DG's mad skills to project the image onto the runner, which we'd taped to the wall. We had access to a video projector, so that's how we chose to do it, but you could go old-school and do it with an overhead projector. You could also achieve the same result if you printed the image onto multiple sheets like a poster (I think you can do this in MS Publisher, maybe even in Word.) which you could trace. Most runners are pretty sheer, so as long as you fix your poster to whatever surface you're working on so it doesn't wiggle, you should be good to go.

Step 2:

I had a fine point Sharpie and traced away, hoping I was at least getting close.

Step 3:

We took a second to admire our handiwork.  I wasn't too concerned about the imperfections because I knew I could smooth it all out when I started painting.  Plus, it's on the floor at a distance.  It's not like our guests are going to be analyzing it in detail.

Step 4:

I spent somewhere between three and four hours watching TV and painting over the weekend (in my PJ's...what's weird?).  I was surprised that it went pretty much according to plan.

Step 5:
I laid it out and let it dry for the rest of the day before I rolled it back up to store until the wedding.

When it was all said and done, I was pretty pleased.  In case any of you are considering taking on this project, here are a couple of lessons learned:

• I suspected that acrylic paint would work well, and it did, but you really do have to lay it on thick, and in some cases, two coats would probably be best.  If I'd had the energy, I'd probably have done two coats on the entire thing, but I just don't care that much.
• The paint will definitely bleed through the fabric, so make sure you're working on a drop cloth or something.  I sort of anticipated that it would bleed, so I was prepared....but let me also add, if you do not move the runner while your paint is still wet, it will dry and adhere to whatever surface is underneath.  I did a major portion of the painting Friday night and was disappointed the next morning to discover that I had to peel the runner off of the sheet I'd been working on.  It's thin, so it tore in a couple of places, but I was able to patch it up with some packing tape from behind and an extra layer of paint on top.  It just would have worked out better if I'd have moved the runner to another position to let it dry completely.  Don't make the same mistake.
• Finally, you'll see in the corner there where I dropped my paintbrush.  Do not drop your paintbrush.  I got lucky in that I dropped it close to the edge, where we'd already planned to crop the runner because the end was torn in shipping.  The moral of the story is, this is sort of a one chance kind of thing.  If I had really screwed it up, we would have had to chop it off and start again from step one, so be careful!

…let’s skip to the honeymoon…

But seriously. Planning weddings is overrated. Does anyone else agree???

My ever-growing to-do list has become ever more overwhelming. On the one hand, I'm getting really excited because we are now two months from this crazy event and it's shaping up to be exactly what I'd hoped for. On the other hand, I'm tired, and I'd like to take a nap on the beach. Is that so much to ask?

With less than 60 days to go, it's a mad dash to the finish, as DG and I are tackling tasks every day. I'm calling and emailing and ordering and writing and designing like crazy. We're running a wedding factory around here. But I don't want to talk about any of that right now. Let's talk about something fun…
Like how hot my mom and dad are going to be come Wedding Day. Check 'em out!

My MOH and I basically forced my mother to buy this dress way back in July because it looked so good on her and was oh-so-fun! (I think I've blogged about this dress before.)

She later started to feel that it would be more appropriate/would make her more comfortable if she had a little jacket or something to cover her arms. I supported this decision. Rather than exhaust ourselves looking for a matching jacket that did not exist, we went straight to the fabric store and found a pattern and some fabric from which to have it made. I am so excited about this hip little number! So perfect!  (Her's is pattern C.)  She's pretty much going to be the hottest mom of all time.

Skip to my dad. My mother, of course, is dressing him…and she is under the impression that weddings are like prom, meaning that if Dad is her date, he obviously has to match. So she bought him this.

They're going to be so snazzy that they just might out-do me and DG. I'm ok with it.

…reception-part three: the tables…

I keep thinking I'm going to be a good little blogger and blog some more….but I find myself spending my free time doing the most random of things. Scouring the internet for printing labels. Researching cardstock. Buying paint. You know…important things. I've been meaning to write more about our reception for quite some time, but I've been stalling because there are a handful of things I really need to take/find pictures of. However, in an effort to get at least one post in this week, we'll throw a little something together for now.
On to our reception… (If you'd like to catch up, parts one and two are here and here, respectively.)
So obviously, the tablescapes will make up much of the décor at our reception. We're starting with big long linear tables. (Lines make my heart so happy. J) You get the idea here in DG's rendering of the space. (Don't you love him?)

Next let's talk about linens. Or should I say lack thereof. It seems that renting linen is just one thing you can't easily get around. Because of the cleaning and all that's involved, it's pricey. We'd budgeted something like $400 for this purpose alone. I think that's a terribly large chunk of the $9,000 we're aspiring to overall. Seems foolish to spend almost 5% of the budget on glorified tablecloths. So, true to form, we're rebelling. One evening when we were sitting in the arena, dreaming up all these ideas, we got stumped by linens. Frustrated, DG looked at me and said, "You wanna just cover the tables in paper and pull out the crayons?" "Why, yes. Actually, I do," I said.

SO! Brown kraft paper will cover our tables. And thanks to Crayola, I was able to order a custom box of colors. I have four boxes of crayons at home full of a wide array of greens, purples, browns, and white. My mom tells me we need to learn to write our names upside-down, a la the wait staff at Macaroni Grill so that we can go around to each table and introduce ourselves. "Hi, I'm Racheal. I'll be your bride this evening." In keeping with the theme, our place cards and table numbers will be written/drawn in crayon. Just try not to be jealous.

We'll use a smaller 12" roll of white butcher paper down the center to serve as our runner and add a little contrast. And I'm pretty sure that will bring the grand total for "linen" to like $75. Yes, please. I've looked in a million places to find examples of where someone may have done this before, but to no avail. This was the best I could do, and I can't even remember where it came from. Lovely, no?

Finally, to tie into our lock and key theme, we're doing a sort of "vintage-metal-chic" kind of thing with the rest of the décor. We found these great little metal planters at Old Time Pottery for $3.00 each. We're painting them a dark metallic bronze. These will hold our flowers (which I have no idea about just yet, it's fine) and sit in the center of each table. I think they'll work well considering they're narrow enough to leave plenty of room for the place settings.

On each side of said centerpiece we'll display one of our smaller homemade tin can lanterns. (At some point when I can take some progressive pictures, there's a whole post coming on these.) Ours are way pretty and will be painted in the same bronze, but this at least gives you the idea.

That's all I've got for now. Details to come later. What do you think?

…trend setting…

Ok, maybe this makes me a total snob. I don't know. But I'm frustrated. Here's the thing. I don't really like to be a follower. Granted, I care about things like what's in fashion and keeping up with the times. Whatever. But I generally try to steer away from trends and aim for something more classic. Timeless. Usually with my own spin. I like to be creative. Do something different. Even if it's only subtly different. I don't like status quo or cookie cutter. If nothing else, I think we've made that clear.

So here's my problem. Apparently, in my attempt to be creative, I am really just two steps ahead of the crowd. I'm not trying to brag here. I find this to be terribly annoying.

It started with the lock and key thing. (I wrote all about why this idea inspired me here.) To me, this idea was not just a trend or some pretty motif. We chose it because it carried some symbolism for us. I can't really claim that the idea was completely my own. Vintage keys had already come in fashion thanks to Tiffany and Co...though now all the jewelry stores have manufactured their own version.  But still. Do a Google search for antique keys and weddings, or any incarnation thereof, and you will find a veritable smorgasbord of wedding images using this theme. Do I regret that we've chosen this theme? No. Am I slightly irritated that it has not proven to be as unique as I'd hoped? YES.

Next was our color scheme. I fell in love with this sangria color at David's Bridal back in July when I first spotted my dress. Loved it. Changed our entire approach to color because of it. Not quite purple, not quite pink, not quite red. Rich and bold and not one of your typical wedding colors. The girls would look like perfection dressed in this vibrant shade, and I was sold. Little did I know that every department store God ever made would be carrying umpteen-million dresses in the same color. Ultimately I guess this worked in our favor, as each of our ladies got a fantastic dress in a version of this color for a fantastic price. (An idea I completely and totally stole from the wedding blogosphere. I'll admit it.)

This was the thing to take the cake, though. Of all the things I wanted to be all my own….something no one else would really want to recreate…it was my ring. DG knew I didn't care about a sparkly, too-expensive diamond. They're lovely. They really are. And to all of you ladies who have a giant, glowing diamond on your left hand, congrats! I mean it. I'm really happy for you. I'm sure your ring is exactly what you always dreamed of. You've got the highest symbol of his affections for you sitting right there on your finger. It's great. I just wanted mine to stand out. Not for being the clearest or the biggest or the heaviest….just for being mine. So we looked at stones in my favorite color and DG purchased the most perfect ring I could have hoped for. It is completely and perfectly me. And come May 1^st, it will be accompanied by these two other bands to complete what DG calls "the diamond sandwich." Really, who doesn't love a diamond sandwich?

Be with me here... Imagine my dismay when I opened up the latest Brides magazine (which, by the way, I did not subscribe to on purpose but inadvertently have received every issue since I went to that crazy bridal show…along with a post card from every wedding vendor known to man), to discover this feature…

Seriously, people? I'm just gonna need everyone to get out of my head.

...our monogram...

So one might think that with three consecutive days of being snowed in, I may have written a post or two.  Yeah, not so much...but DG and I did accomplish quite a bit on our wedding to do list.  I have lots more to write about our various weekend projects, but I just thought I'd share our newest achievement.  Utilizing the talent of our dear friend/graphic designer/groomsman, we designed this little guy.  It is exactly what I had in mind...so I am quite pleased. 

Lots more to tell about how we plan to use this monogram, including our invites, which are pretty much done and hopefully going out this week...but that's a story for another time.

...bridesmaids' dresses?...check!...

During Bridesmaid Shopolooza 2010 (or while were out shopping last Saturday), my chief objective was to finish dressing the bridesmaids.  I think we succeeded with flying colors.  I'll let you judge for yourselves.

My lovely matron of honor had already selected and ordered this dress from Nordstrom's.  It's been one of my top picks all along.

The next lovely bridesmaid, a dear friend from college, was in Nashville visiting a few months ago and tried this next dress on.  We loved it on her, but it was a tiny bit roomy.  A few weeks later I found it on clearance at Dillard's (sorry, it's no longer in stock) for something like $24.00!  We decided that at that price, we'd just have it altered!  It's so perfect for her.

DG's sisters were next on the list to purchase their dresses, so with the other two in hand, we hit up David's Bridal over the weekend, where they each tried about a bajilion.  Here's what they settled on, and I think they'll both look stunning! 

(Find this dress here. Only $79.99 on sale!)

(Find this dress here. Click Tissue Taffeta.)

The colors are a little skewed compared to how they look together in person, but I'm really glad we decided to coordinate instead of match.  I think it allowed the girls save money, as well.  The most expensive of all of these was just over $100.  We'll be doing something similar with our guys, and it's all going to come together so well!  Here's to checking things off the list!  More on groomsmen fashions and pretty shoes to come...

…99 days and counting…

We’ve reached the double digits. How in the WORLD is that possible? Oh my word, I’m getting married!

So, this past weekend was about as ultra productive as one could ever hope for. We got SO much done, and I’m feeling much more at ease about the time frame with which we are left to work. I have about a million things to write about and a ton of catching up to do, so I’ll go ahead and apologize now for any of you who do not understand my disorderly rambling. I’m sorry.

We’ll rewind a little bit and try to pick up where I left off before the holidays. There has been quite an evolution of ideas over the past four months. Most of it has been facilitated by necessity, but the picture I have in my mind of what our wedding will be like is becoming more and more real…and more and more us.

This was my original inspiration board. Back when I thought we’d be doing an outdoor reception. (I created this collage in Picasa, Google's free photo editing/organizing software.  I'm a fan, to say the least.)

There’s still a lot of this wedding in ours but much has changed. (I have to appologize for the fact that I don't have source information on these photos, by the way.  I didn't think to keep track while I was collecting.)

I’ll get back to describing our reception next time, so there’s much to come. Talk of the entertainment, the food, the décor. All the little elements that are making me so very happy right now! Something to look forward to.

P.S. This is a week of mile stones, I guess. Passed 100 days in our count down and celebrated our “official” one-year anniversary. I have an extra special surprise date planned for DG and I can’t wait! How is this my life?

…we got the church!!!

As we speak, DG is downtown at Edgefield Baptist paying our deposit and taking more pictures of the beautiful sanctuary for us to share.

I am happy to report that things have been going well on the wedding front lately. So, so much to tell. I'll be working on some more updates over the next few days.

Yesterday was a good day, too. DG met with his caterer friend about our reception. I was so pleased with the deal he worked out for us. The food is going to be fun and fantastic and affordable.
Plus…these babies arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm in love. J

I'd originally seen them at the flea market for $15 when I fell in love with them, but of course, they didn't have my size. I went scouring the internet to find them, and ended up ordering them from Overstock for about $35. Not too bad for the shoes I plan to wear on my wedding day…at least in my opinion.

AND! My MOH found this lovely dress at JCPenney for only $80! (I am so all about this bridesmaids'-dresses-that-aren't-traditional-bridesmaids'-dresses-thing.)

We've got to have a place to start in our shopping for coordinating but non-matching bridesmaid dresses, so why not start with the MOH, right? Yeah, I think so too. So she's going to go ahead and order it.  Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and we return it.  We're hoping for a little something like this…