Wedding shower

Sunday was our wedding shower!  It was awesome!  Twenty-six people came, plus six kidlets.  My aunt hosted it, BBQ style as we discussed.  I think the guys were far more comfortable than they expected to be.  Successful co-ed shower!

There were so many cute touches, from my aunt’s towel cake:

(…which contained two wash cloths, 2 hand towels, and 2 bath towels!)

…to the sweet sign (containing a pic we have no recollection of ever being taken, lol):

…to the ADORABLE Beau Coup favors (BBQ sauce and chocolates!):

She really outdid herself.  My bridesmaids led the group in a couple of games: make as many words as you can from Simon’s and my names, and a wedding word scramble, and gave out prizes to the winners.  They also had an egg timer going while we opened presents, and whoever’s present we were opening when it dinged, got a prize!  So cute.

My aunt’s house is right on the water and made for many great photos, like this one:

We also practiced our wedding cake cutting!

We had a blast.  It was such a perfect day.

I just have to share my latest DIY projects, my wedding arch:

…and my old family wedding gowns:

 

 

The wedding arch is something I had been dreading, because I do NOT sew.  I finally buckled down and did it, pricking my finger about a dozen times.  But it’s done!  And I love it!  We will have to disassemble it for transport, but the cloth all stays attached thank goodness.

The wedding gowns idea I got from some bride on Twitter (I forget who, sorry or I’d give you credit!).  I have my mom’s gown from 1975 and my great aunt’s gown from around 1940.  I called Simon’s mom and she says she has her gown (but it can’t be found at the moment, which may be a problem).  Display them on mannequins at the reception, and voila! Instant conversation pieces.  I just recently got the idea to make some “displays” at the reception, as it IS in a museum!  I have old pics of Simon and I and our siblings, and our parents’ wedding pics:

Each will be accompanied by a little display of facts about the picture or gown.  I love how it ties into the venue; it’s the little touch I’ve been searching for to make our wedding unique!  Plus, my ever-present problem of how to entertain people with no dancing.  I’m also displaying the scrapbook I mentioned last week.  I think that’s enough at this point. I’m trying not to add any new projects, since the wedding is just over FIFTY days away! OMG!

Also, happy 3-year anniversary to my sweet, handsome, wonderful fiancé Simon!  I love you baby, this has been the best three years of my life!

What do I have left to do??? I know I'm missing something!

I'm desperately trying to check things off my list at this point. I needed to MAKE a list! My bridesmaid Beth suggested the one on The Knot, but I said it was too confusing because it includes so many things I'm not doing, like a florist, DJ, etc. Then Simon suggested I just check off the things I'm not doing so they go away. Duh. I did that and now have a very nice list. I have a secondary list of things I'm doing that aren't on there, like displays of the mothers' wedding gowns, pictures displayed at the wedding, bathroom baskets, scrapbook (see below). Slowly but surely I'm making the list smaller.

Like buying wedding rings! On Saturday, we rode Simon's motorcycle to the shop to pick mine up, then we both rode to the jewelry store. The one I had liked the last time was sold, but a similar one with 0.10 more carats for only $15 more was available. Twist my arm why dontcha? ;) So we bought it, and it was just big enough to be engraved inside. What we chose, which we've planned on for ages, is “I has you.” Why? Because we're so obsessed with LoLcats that that's how we say “I love you.” No joke. :) Also, my ring size has gone down from a 7 to a 6.5 since losing weight! Going to get my engagement ring re-sized when we pick up my wedding ring.

So of course I had to take care of Simon's, so I ordered his tungsten band online, and of course engraved with “I has you.” His will be here in 2 days. I love fast free shipping!

As you read last week, I bought a whole mess of stuff to go in the bathroom baskets. I also picked up some nylons, batteries, and safety pins. Then I filled and decorated them and I think they came out pretty nice!

Another thing off the list! Then my new veil arrived:

Yes, that's a super geeky shirt. Anywho, I needed a new veil since choosing a diamond white gown instead of pure white. Luckily they were cheap. I love Etsy!

I keep trying to think of new things to display at the wedding to keep people entertained and amused. I was going to make a scrapbook anyways, so I'm doing it before the wedding so people can look at it then. I started with the very first email he sent me in response to my personal ad on Craig's List. Oh the memories! I also have our engagement announcement, invitation, etc. Lots of memorabilia. Pics of our kitties, pics from our anniversaries, our new house, everything. Got a good chunk done on it. Can't wait to see the final product! It's in an adorable fairy tale themed book with “Once Upon a Time” on the front. It's so cute! I hope people enjoy it. :)

Holy moly, my wedding stuff is all here!

I had a very fun day last Thursday.  I received ALL of the flowers and décor for my wedding!  The UPS guy was wondering what the hell warranted a NINE box delivery until I explained what it was for.

I couldn’t wait to tear into them.  I dragged them all upstairs to the craft room and proceeded to make the biggest mess ever.  My first stumbling block was the wedding arch.  It came in 4 pieces, with 7 screws, 7 bolts, an allen wrench, and a regular wrench. Oh, and NO instructions.  After much sweating and swearing, I got it put together:

Then I played with flowers!

I made a centerpiece:

Then I made a ceremony vase (there will be one on either side of the arch on small stools):

At that point I was pretty exhausted and called it a day.

There’s been a lot of “holy crap” surrounding my DIY adventure!  A couple days later, I tackled boutonnières.  No instructions, I just winged it.  I think they came out pretty well!

I started by cutting the stem of the silk flower down to a couple of inches, and detaching one sprig of leaves.  I attached the leaves to the flower using floral tape, then wrapped them both in brown satin ribbon, securing it with hot glue.  I finished by attaching a bar pin first with clear fishing line, then hot glue.  It’s a little top heavy and I may need a second pin, so Simon is going to try it on a suit jacket soon so we can see.

So that’s everything so far!  I still need to finish boutonnières, and do all the bouquets and corsages.  And fill vases.  And hang fabric from the wedding arch.  Oh boy…

P.S. – Happy 28^th birthday to my bridesmaid Beth!!!

Stressing about decor

I have it all worked out. I know exactly how I want to decorate my wedding reception.

Right?

Or do I? Will all my homemade centerpieces look, well...homemade? Will it all fall flat once put in the actual room? Will it look cheesey or tacky or just plain ugly?

Breathe. This is why I blog...I love getting other people's opinions. So here we go, my reception décor plan. Please let me know what you think! The room is very very plain, but has two walls of windows overlooking Boston.

Each table will be a 60” round covered with a Bengaline linen tablecloth in Maple Sugar:

In the center of each table will be a 9” mirror:

In the center of each mirror will be a 7.5” tall bud vase:

The vase will be filled with red, orange, and yellow glass pebbles:

Each vase will also contain a single red or yellow silk poppy:

Surrounding the base of the vase, on the mirror, will be four votive holders; 2 red and 2 yellow:

I will use LED tealights in the votive holders:

Scattered on the table will be personalized Hershey kisses and silk fall leaves:

Around the room will be small stools covered in sheer brown fabric:

On top of each stool will be either a pre-filled basket:

Or a basket I will fill with Spanish moss, leaves, Chinese lantern fruits, cinnamon, and lights:

I also will be hiring someone to make brown, red, orange, and yellow balloon arrangements that will be weighted and sitting on the floor. We're looking into hiring someone to do some decorative uplights on the walls and columns.

So...what do you think? For more details on these items, you can visit my Amazon wishlist.

Any changes, suggestions, comments? The wedding is in 13 months!

DIY bride

I’m a DIY bride. I’m making all of my decorations, bouquets, favors, centerpieces…EVERYTHING. I have a good-sized budget, but I just can’t justify dropping five grand on flowers. They will die and be gone and I just can’t do it. Now, a photographer is worth that. I’m spending the money where it counts, to me at least.

My co-worker (who is getting married this Friday, congrats Beth!!!) told me about Save-On-Crafts.com. I started looking through the site and I was absolutely delighted. I’ve put everything I want on my Amazon Universal Wishlist so I can easily save the links. My wedding is 14 months away so it’s a bit early to buy it all, but I can’t wait to get started!

My wedding arch is brown metal with a floral design, from which I’ll hang sheer, iridescent red, yellow, and orange fabric. On each side will be a small table draped with sheer brown fabric, topped with a tall, narrow vase of red and yellow silk poppies and red, orange, and yellow glass pebbles.



Centerpieces will be a round mirror under a bud vase surrounded by red and yellow votive holders. The vase will hold a single red or yellow silk poppy and red, orange, and yellow glass pebbles. The votive holders will contain small LED candles (safer and they don’t blow out or melt down!). I will also scatter fake fall leaves on the tables.

Around the reception area will be small tables/stools draped with the same sheer brown fabric from the ceremony, topped with baskets of silk fall leaves, flower petals, cinnamon sticks, and lantern fruit. I’m also going to order some balloon floor arrangements from a friend’s mother’s business, as I can’t attach anything to the walls and the room is very plain (one of the few things I’m not doing myself).

I’m also getting my aisle runner, chair sashes, easels for photos, vase for wedding wishes (on small cards, instead of a guest book), corsages, and boutonnieres from them. I’m making all the bouquets with silk flowers (red and yellow poppies and roses, and off-white roses and stephanotis). I’m ordering brown satin ribbon for tying flowers, and all my craft supplies like glue guns, floral tape, and pins.

Other than that website, I’m getting personalized Hershey Kisses and disposable cameras from TheKnot.com, blank programs and personalized favor ribbon from AnnsBridalBargains.com, and ALL of my wedding stationery from VistaPrint.com (with the sole exception of my Wilton print-your-own invitations). Wedding favors will be donations to the American Cancer Society in memory of my mother and Simon’s grandmother (they send you pre-printed favors for any donation amount, here. I’ll be tying those into scrolls with the personalized ribbon.


I do everything online obviously! But I’m saving a ton of money doing it all myself, and with over a year to do it, I won’t need to get stressed. I’m so excited to start putting this all together, but I’m sure Simon might get slightly annoyed if this stuff is all over our house for a year. Guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer! I’m proud to say, I am a DIY bride.