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?

Signature Drinks

It's officially summer and the hot weather has me thinking about what we're going to have to keep our guests cool. Let's try on these aweomse bevies to keep our guests hydrated!

I love these containers. What are they called? Where do we get them?

Source

Regular and Raspberry Mojitos!

Yum!

Source

Root beer floats. One of Aaron's favs!

Source

Ice teas!

Source

What types of drinks are you going to (or did you) have?

I'm Inspired By This

Inspiration Board Inspiration!

This inspiration board is really, really close to the feel I'm looking for at my wedding. Every element you see below is somehow tied into what I invision for our big day.

I want invitations, bridesmaid dresses, and a veil like this!

The Betsy White Stationary is simple, elegant and has a hint of green (my favorite color). I love the use of the monogram. It's a cohesive element that we can use to carry throughout the wedding from invitation to favor.  I love, love, love this bridesmaid dress. It's a really good depiction of the type of dress I would love for my girls to wear. It's a JMendal , it's short, and it's got a bit of ruffle, all things I love.

Even though a part of me really wants to rock one of the hip birdcage veils everyone loves, I'm probably going to end up wearing the more traditional veil, like the one you see by Elizabeth Messina. Mine even has the same lace around the edge!

I heart flowers, hanging lanterns, vintage pieces, and straw hats...

Who can resist the charm of flower balls (photo by Megan Sorel via Style Me Pretty) and hanging lanterns? There's something really whimsical about hanging decorations and these pieces are timeless. I love the vintage tablescape of classic novels and a bouquet of daisies (via 100 layer cake). It's so garden-esqe!  

I love love love these hats...

Another reason I love this board is for the straw hats (photo by Josh Goleman)! How weird is it that Aaron just bought a hat like this last weekend? He's wanted one since last summer and finally got the nerve to wear one this year.

I love, love, love Aaron in this hat. It fits his personality so well, it's laid back, yet sophisticated. We've been talking about getting a hat like this for each of his groomsmen. How cool would those photos be?

I've always had a thing for clothes line escort cards...

I'm a Southern girl and I like all things practical! I still have no idea what we'll do to display our escort cards, but I hope it's as clever and practical, and of course, pretty as these.

So there you have it. All the reasons why I love this particular inspiration board.

Are you starting to see the vision of our day that I see? I hope so.

Go to Flights of Fancy here to see photo credits.

{Various credits available on Flights of Fancy}

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...

{source}

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?

St. Patrick's Day = Green Wedding Inspiration

Happy St. Patty's Day!

This is a great time of year for a girl that loves green. Everyone is wearing it and all of the bloggers are pulling green wedding inspiration! I can't get enough! I wish everyday was filled with such an appreciation for my favorite color. I'm always on the hunt for anything green wedding, and today, there's plenty to go around! So in celebration of that wonderful color, the one color of our wedding palette I've never questioned, and that will never change... some fun green weddings stuff!!

{Martha Stewart via Ritzy Bee Blog}

{Q Weddings Photography via Style Me Pretty}

{Photo credit: Project Wedding}

{Invitations by Capture Moments By Amy}

{Photo credit: Rebekah Westover via Kelly Oshiro Events}

{Photo credit: The Knot}

{Photo credit: Petalena}

{Photo credit: Flickr Member Naoko via The Kitchn}

Are you a fan of the color green?

Was anything green at your wedding?

Invitations Are the Forefront

Pretty Paper...

Pushing our wedding back was really a blessing. Having been engaged for four months, I was way behind the buck. I started off strong making cards for my friends, asking them to be bridesmaids, but then I stopped. I haven't done anything towards our wedding since then, except of course, maintain this blog.

During my recent months of blogging, I've found that while it's great to research wedding web sites and blogs to collect ideas and inspriations, it doesn't bring anything to life in the "real world."

It's fun to throw DIY tutorials and pictures up on the blog, but the "blog world," isn't where my wedding is taking place, and the truth is we need to get started.

Well, we've done our research. That's the easy part. What's harder is making a decision on what we like, what he want, and get it or create it. It's the creative process. Something I know well from my years of writing experience. Problem is, I'm overwhelmed with inspiration. I'm so caught up in what everyone else is doing, I haven't left anytime to figure out what we're going to do. 

I decided to collect a little (just a little) inspiration for my most pressing project--invitations. I like these because they are bold, yet beautiful. I like the design, especially the swirlies along the edge of each piece and the cohesive look. They are a little too dark for our spring wedding though.

{Invitations by Melissa with Fully Designed on Etsy}

 {Photo credit: Katie Shagman via Oh So Beautiful Paper}

One thing I know for sure is that I want our save the dates and invitations (and programs and menus) to match. Call me crazy, but they have to match. The colors don't have to be exactly the same, but something has to be consistent throughout. I really like the set below, because they match, but they aren't too matchy.

{Invitations and Photos by Eskquisite Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper}

I also know that I really want something vintage and imperfect too. I want unique. Our design has to reflect our love for mixing thrifty, traditional, and timeless. We love art and we're easily inspired. We want a design that is going to show off our appreciation for antique, southern, and timeless, as well as contemporary and cool.

{Invitiations by Jessica Claire and Kari Dyas via Green Wedding Shoes}

I could fill this post with great invitations, let's face it. There's so much inspiration out there (one reason I can't get enough of Oh So Beautiful Paper blog), but could it be there's such thing as too much inspiration? In all honesty, I think I'm a bit intimitated. I can't think of my own design, because my mind is crowded with everyone else's great designs.

How did you decide on the design of your invitations?

I've decided I need to brainstorm. I'm making it a homework assignment to figure out our design, or at least give it some serious thought. To help, I thought I'd pull together some inspiration. I know. I know. Enough already with the inspiration, but really, I think this will help.

Remember me mentioning these (invitations below) as a muse for my spring inspriation board? If not, check out my post right here. Well, Aaron wasn't crazy about them. He liked the color and font, but he wasn't sold on the whole "oh happy day." He said we'd have to come up with our own sang. Again, a reminder that we're not going to get our invitations from inspiration.

{Invitations by Linzmarie Designs}

So I know that this entire posting is about how I need to tap into my creative side and stop gathering inspiration, but I just had to share one last set of invitations. I love them. No, really. I love them. In a sick sort of jealous way, I wish they were our invitations. They're perfect, I mean, the spring colors, all that green, and the romantic, DIY, beauty of them.

Why didn't I think of this?

Really, how could you not envy invitations like these? A part of me wishes I never would have crossed paths with them.This is exactly the type of thing I mentioned above. How can I compete?

{Photos and Invitations by Lillyella via iDIY}

Well, wish me luck on my big assigment to create some concrete ideas on what I want our invitations to look like. I'm going to try to come up with our design pretty much alone and without the help of the wonderful and flourishing wedding community online! I hope I have something for you guys to see and for me to begin working on very soon!  

Share your invitations! Whether you created them or bought them, share them here with the link to pictures.

Menswear

Mr. B was a real trooper when we went to New York for the Wedding Library's Wedding Party. When I won the tickets (from DIYBride, thanks again!!), he immediately started planning a romantic weekend getaway in the big apple, and here I thought he wouldn't want to go.

He was probably just as excited as I was when we first arrived at the New York Palace, because we were anxious to see what all the hype was about. After about an hour or two of walking from room to room, meeting various vendors, tasting various desserts, and talking about invitations, my poor guy started to get bored.

It was also getting very crowded with women on a mission, mind you, to hunt out all the potential wedding details there, and enter every contest and giveaway available. Poor Mr. B was a bit overwhelmed and well, ready to leave. Of course, I was no where near ready to go! Like the other brides there, I didn't want to miss a beat. But luckily for me, we ran into this guy (the one in the background of this picture):

 

Man to man, he must have saw the exhaustion and boredom on Mr. B's face and he called him over. The guy suggested he try on some of their suits. This company (I'm so, so sorry I don't remember their name) specializes in fun, hip, and unique suits for weddings. While we had pretty much (or so we thought) decided to have our men in tuxedos, Mr. B was intrigued by this guy's enthusasim. I suppose he was excited to have a bit of attention too, since up until this point it was, "oh bride this and that," and no love for the grooms.

It's a good thing too, because the few minutes Mr. B spent trying on suit jackets bought me about another hour in vendorville! Not just that, but Mr. B really liked their stuff and we quickly decided that tuxedos would be too stiff for our early afternoon wedding.

Did I mention brides were walking by saying, "He's cute," and "That looks good," left and right? I think if it were up to Mr. B, he would have stayed there for the rest of the day modeling!

  

  

What a cutie, right? Looking good, if I don't say so myself!

The reason we liked the tuxedo in the first place is because Mr. B liked the idea of something formal and he's really big on black. I am too, actually. I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash (aka the man in all black), which is what I told Mr. B he looked like the night we took the picture below, New Year's Eve at the Kennedy Center), but again, black might be too dark for our early afternoon wedding in early spring.

I'm a big fan of gray. It's a lot softer than black obviously and I think it's a good color for spring weddings. It's not as informal as a tan suit, but it's not as formal as a tuxedo. I think gray works well with pink and with green too (our colors). Not to mention, Mr. B really likes gray suits. He also wants something he's going to wear again and if he got a tuxedo, the opportunities he'd have to wear it after the wedding aren't many. Here are a few inspiration photos for our menswear file:

 

  

Tan isn't so bad either! I like tan. I think it's fitting for a spring wedding and it goes really well with our colors. It's just informal. I always see tan suits at beach weddings and the guys are wearing flipflops. That's not going to work for us! I still love this look though:

 

What kind of suit is your groom wearing?

Do you think certain colors are more fitting for spring weddings?

Loving Gray and Pink

Some of the Cutest Wedding Details...

Love her shoes. Love the sweetheart neckline. Love his gray suit.

 

Love the cupcakes, especially the sprinkles. Love the stand.

Love the "I love you like a fat kid loves cake" sign.

  

Love the lights. Love the mini cake. Love the vases. Love the single stems.

  

Love the gray and pink. Love the tulip.

 

{Photo credit: Caroline Tran}