Cordless Mic and Cake Toppers

I created a must-have file for our wedding...

I look at so much wonderful inspirtation and read about a lot of ideas, and needed a way to sort through the stuff we like and we stuff we absolutely must have. I'm proud to say the must-have file is fairly small, as I feel it should be. We can't have everything and we really can't bother ourselves with a long, long list of important details - that would drive us mad.

One of the things in my file, although it may sound silly, is a cordless microphone.

As many of you know, we're having a garden ceremony outside and I can't stand the thought of a microphone cord obstructing the view of us and our backdrop. I hate to use pictures of a real wedding to show something I don't like, but in this case I felt it was fine since I truly love this wedding (especially the couple's cake), and since they will probably never read this blog.

Check out the officiant in the third picture down.

While I can totally appreciate her excitement, that cord has got to go!! Maybe the couple was able to photoshop her (or the mic) out of these pictures. That is what I would have wanted to do!! Am I being crazy guyz? I don't want to be a snobby bride! Maybe I'm being a little picky here.

Did you request a cordless mic?

So onto what I love about this wedding.

The couple's cake toppers.

I adore the simple elegance of these love birds. Gor.ge.ous! I haven't even begun to think about what we want for our cake toppers, but this is going into the inspirtation file nevertheless. I hope we can find something as timeless and unique. Something like this would really compliment our garden theme too. I wonder if anyone has ever had butterfly toppers!  More on this later...

What's in your must-have file?

Have you thought about cake toppers yet?

A Different Kind of Bubbly

When I fell in love with our venue, I didn't know that sparklers were prohibited from the property. Boo! I've always wanted sparklers. From the beginning, as we sometimes say. I knew from the beginning. 

Needless to say, I was really disappointed when I found out we weren't going to be able to have them. I sulked for a long time about it, but eventually, I realized the pros of our venue far out way the cons, and I just have to get over having sparklers.

My backup? Bubbles. Yes, bubbles. I'm one of thhoosseee brides. Haha. I wasn't sold on the bubbles at first, but thrift store hopping (my favorite pasttime), I found a bunch of packs of wedding bubbles for about 25 cents each (score!). It seemed like a sign! Hey! They're usually $1! What a steal, right?! I thought so.

I also got excited about decorating the bottles. That's going to be such a fun and easy DIY project. Right now they look pretty plain and boring, but of course, we plan on adding some color! Some pink and green. Woot Woot! I also was thinking of making labels or a sign that says "Love is in the Air," or something sweet like that! Ideas?

The morale of the story? Not all dashed wedding dreams have a sad ending. In this case, it turns out my sparkler dilemma has turned into a really exciting project and (as you can see from the pictures below) some really cool photos hopefully. Not to mention loads of fun for our guests (especially the younger crowd)!

{Super Weddings}

{Sakura Photography}

{Wizards4Weddings}

Will you have bubbles or sparklers?

Did you have to revise some of your wedding plans when you found your venue?

Must Haves: Bright Colors and Pom Poms!

Yay for three day weekends!

Aaron and I are headed to his hometown of Williamsburg, VA, for some fun in the sun at Busch Gardens and Water Country! I'm super excited to spend some quality time with my babe! We've both been busy at work and at home, and haven't had much to hang out! We'll probably spend about 4 hours in traffic tonight (boo), but I think we'll get a chance to talk about a lot of these, including our wedding plans! I'm going to propose a few new ideas, one being our color scheme!

I found this picture about a week ago while I was surfing the web for images of living rooms -- daydreaming about our place -- and I absolutely love it! Of course, the various shades of green caught  my eye and I love the bright pink rug! I'm not sure how Aaron will feel about it since we had discussed a darker color scheme (see here and here), but since our wedding is right at the start of spring and no long in the fall, he might go for it! My fingers are crossed.

Isn't this room great?

I've been really drawn to yellow lately. I'm not sure why, but it's definitely a spring color and would be perfect for my week-after-easter wedding. I thought I wanted my girls to wear green (olive) because it's my favorite color, but I think yellow will stand out more and it will look beautiful on them (anything would really)! I especially like the yellow with grey, which is my men's suit color of choice.

What do you think?

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The other idea I want to share with Aaron is to use Martha Stewart Pom Poms to decorate various areas at our wedding! There are a few super bare trees at Oxon Hill in early spring (you can see some photos of this here and below) and I needed a way to liven them up!

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I also wanted something fun to decorate and set our dance floor (see my post about this here), as well as a funky twist to the traditional fauxphotobooth. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what I have in mind:

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What are your plans for the long weekend?

Have you come up with any new wedding day details? Share!

Oxon Hill in the Spring

I told you Mama Brooch and Mr. B visited our venue not long after we picked it, but I couldn't bethere because I had to work. Well, I finally had my chane to check it out and ironically, it was exactly one year and one day before our wedding! It was my first time being there since we had found it, more than 6 months prior and can I say it was sooooo much better than I imagined it? Yay!

It's really hard to describe the feeling I had pulling up. I was really, really anxious all morning to get there and when we finally did, I just felt overwhelmingly proud and like I wanted to show off all the little details of it all! My two best friends (the FSIL and MOH) went with me. They were so sweet to take off work and show such enthusaism about seeing it! We went out the night prior (it was a girl's night out and one of my other bridesmaids was there), they slept over, and the next morning we headed to over into Oxon Hill. Just like me, they were pretty impressed pulling up. I'll never forget my FSIL saying, "oh wow!" I can hear her saying it now!

I had this whole debate about whether we'd walk in the front door or walk around the house to the garden (which is how our guests will do it the day of our wedding). They said they wanted to do it the they everyone would and so we decided to walk through the garden. I'm so glad that we did! I was speechless when we turned the corner! I was beside myself looking at all the flowers, lush green trees, and potomac river in the distance! And of course, the look on their faces was priceless. That's when my MOH said, "oh wow!" 

I made a total fool of myself too, because I yelled out, "Look at all the eff-ing [yes, I cursed] flowers!!" Just when I did, an older lady walked around from behind the house! I smacked my mouth with my hands and gasped! I was so embaressed, but hey, I was excited! See there were no flowers in November when we found this place. Everything had literally come to life and it was beautiful!

The visit far exceeded my expectations. It was really, really cool to be at the venue exactly one year and one day before my actual wedding too, and the place looked better than ever! I'm sorry to gush with even more pictures of our venue. I know you'll get tired of them soon, but hopefully there is an Oxon Hill bride loving me for it!

*Photos by me*

Did you find out things about your wedding venue that you loved after you picked it?

Aisle Decorations

While a lot of big decision are still pending, we're making a lot of headway on the small stuff. Things like whether to have a DJ or band, buffet or seated dinner, and how we want our ceremony site to look. We stumbled across a video of a wedding at our venue (Oxon Hill Manor) and we weren't impressed at all with the way the ceremony looked. I can't share the video, because that would be way too rude, but just to give you an idea...

They had a aisle runner and it was plain white. Everyone from the flower girl to bride (its seemed) triped walking down it. Not only that, there were no rose petals, no extra flowers, candles, pedestals or anything to make the space shine! Granted, the gardens at Oxon Hill Manor are gorgeous all on their own, but a little something can go a long way. Also, the aisle was hardly centered. The runner kept moving each time someone walked down it. Ahhh!!

Watching this video brought up a lot of good points for my man and I to discuss. Do we want a aisle runner? Definitely not! What we do want is loads and loads of rose petals. We want ... well, it's easier to show you than tell you. I found this picture on the internet during our conversation and we agreed, it's perfect!

We love the mass of rose petals and the stakes in the ground that clearly define the aisle. However, you will not see an archway at my wedding!! No offense to brides who will be having one, I just have a serious aversions to both runners and archways! I don't know what it is, because everyone (from my best friend to mom) seem to think they are just perfect for weddings, but I'm not going for it! Sorry guys!

I want a gigantic cross at the end of the aisle. Yes, a cross! I know it's not easy to envision (and it's sure as heck not easy to find a picture of one online), but I want us to stand in front of a cross to represent our faith in Christianity. Ever seen the movie Fireproof? There's a big cross in the wedding in that movie..

I swear...

See...

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Apparently, they had an arch too, but check out the cross in the back, which is where they stand when they say they're vows. Just like what I want! Sweet, huh? There's another picture of this type of thing here in one of my previous posts.

Anyway, besides the whole aisle thing, I should mention that Fireproof is a really good movie. Any engaged couples out there taking the Love Dare? More on that later...

Brides, do you love or hate arches? Are there other popular wedding pieces you despise?

My Inspiration Boards

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words:

Style Me Pretty (SMP) has a pretty awesome feature that allows members to create inspiration boards, using the images of real weddings posted on SMP -- prrreeeetttty cool, right? Check out a few of the inspiration boards I've created on SMP, with the hope to translate my wedding fantasy into reality!

It took me almost a year to realize I could create an account on SMP, so this inspiration board business is a little new to me. I was content just checking out the real weddings on SMP everyday and it never occurred to me the website had this interactive feature! Needless to say, I'm thrilled and I've become a little inspiration-board obsessed lately! It's like every time I get a new idea, such as incorporating butterflies into our theme, I run off to make an inspiration board! Here's the board I made when I decided to add the color burgundy to our color palette:

Please note that it's really cool that SMP onlookers and lovers, like myself, have access to the images of SMP real weddings!! As if I'm not inspired enough by the weddings I seen on SMP, it goes a step further when I'm able to use pictures of those weddings to express my vision! Have you seen the real weddings featured on SMP? They are the coolest! The hottest! The most stylish!! They are the most sophisticated and unique... and I'm absolutely giddy flipping through the images of them all.

Not only do you have access to images of hundreds of stunning weddings, you also can upload your own favorite images and add them to the board. It's just a great way to pull together your thoughts into a collage. I definitely plan on using one (or more) of my inspiration boards when I go to meet with our wedding coordinator. Here's my latest board, which reflects this weeks obsession with the color champagne and big wedding gowns -- watch out for a new wed obsession next week!!

And although there's not much to it (yet), here is the link to my SMP blog: http://circle.stylemepretty.com/olive/ where you'll find a few other inspiration boards. Stop by and check them out, but please excuse the lack of text to the blog, the pictures alone wear me out!

Do these boards give you an idea of the wedding I have in mind?

Rain = Plan B

If It Rains, We're Going In...

Since our ceremony is supposed to be outdoors, we have to consider the chance that Mother Nature might rain on our parade. I'll be honest at first I was really frightened that the rain would ruin our ceremony and I didn't want to put my all into a gorgeous outdoor setting, and have to makeshift a ceremony indoors.

Slowly, but surely, I'm beginning to get used to the fact that it might rain and that things may not go as perfectly as I planned. I've come to terms with decision to have an outdoor ceremony and I'm going to make our Plan B, just as awesome and beautiful as our Plan A. 

When we started thinking about our wedding ceremony, I could picture us in one of three different places, a church, outdoors with an amazing view, or by candlelight. So if there's a chance of rain (I have just realized that) I'll have a ceremony by candlelight, another setting for my wedding ceremony that would be the perfect suffice.

Here's a bit of Plan B inspiration...

{Photo credit: Jessica Claire}

{Photo Credit: The Everyday Bride}

{Photo credit: Kate Headley}

{Photo credit: MSP Magazine Blog}

A Fall Wedding Outdoors

 

 

   

 

{Photo credit: Mathieu Photography Blog}

Searching the blogs last week, I stumbled upon this amazing real wedding. Obviously, an outdoor wedding in the fall excites me! Ever since we decided to have an outdoor ceremony, I've had quite a time overcoming my fear of a wet and cold day pushing our outdoor wedding plans indoors! That's why I love to see successful fall weddings outside!

Another reason this real wedding inspires me is because of the colors and the ceremony decor! I love the simple flowers on the white chairs, minimal flower petals (or leaves, I can't tell which) down the aisle, and the awesome arch! I know a lot of people probably don't think a wooden archway is as nice as say, a white archway, but I love this look. I love it because it's earthy and fitting for the fall.

Even though this bride and groom appear a little goth, for lack of a better word, I love their style. It's dark, but their flowers and the autumn leaves brighten everything up. I love their flowers! I'm not a big fan of the longer, bigger bridal bouquets, but there is something about this brides bouquet that I just love! I think it's the wildness of it! That and the colors!

I also like this brides hair! Of course, it may be because I want my hair as long as hers or it could be the fall leave pin. I love that! How unique and creative! I love the burgundy on the groom as well. Overall, I'm attracted to the simplicity of this wedding! It's simple, but elegant, which is what we've said we wanted since day one!

What are your thoughts?

Color Palette Revised

What do you think of burgundy?

... with olive green, of course!!

What about burgundy, olive green, and may be off white (champagne or even pink)?

{Photo credit: Etsy seller Mollusa Wedding Art}

{Photo credit: Andrew Adams Photography via. Cynthia Martyn Events Style Blog}

{Photo credit: Dreamhouse [fffound] via Pretty Chicky}

{Photo credit: Esty seller ILuvUTutuMuch}

{Photo credit: Ebay seller Yess-I-do via Bridal Bouquet}

{Photo credit: Etsy seller John Met Betty}

{Photo credit: Inspirational Bridal Boards via Afloral Blog}

{Max Wagner}

Comments Please!!