I am going about this wedding business completely out of order. We haven't booked a church or a reception venue yet. Instead I am playing around with DIY projects, discovering new details and seeing if I can reproduce them, and lives up to my taste! It must look creative and handmade, but not like an amateur crafter. Why must I be a perfectionist!?!?
I found an adorable organza flower boutonniere that I included in my inspiration color board in a previous entry.
Not bad for my first attempt. There's an art to melting the edges. You have to get just the right distance from the flame, but not too close. And be sure to close any open windows or doors and turn off ceiling fans and maybe hold your breath too. Any little breeze can move the flame and thrown off the melting!
I am very happy with this little project and plan to make dozens of these over the next few months. I'm not sure how I'll use them, but the possibilities are endless: boutonnieres, bouquets, centerpieces, necklaces, hair pins....
I went dress shopping for the first time last weekend. My mom and one of my bridesmaids, Courtney, came with me. I should have taken a picture of all of us, but my nerves got the best of me. The only pictures that resulted from the trip are of me and the dresses. Despite the nerves, and being half-naked in front of complete strangers, I enjoyed every minute of it. I truly felt like a bride to be for the first time since becoming engaged!
Last week was also my birthday! My family went in on a sewing machine for me. I knew it would come in handy as I get crafty for this wedding. And I've always wanted one! I have only used a sewing machine once, under my grandmother's supervision about 7 years ago. Luckily, YouTube came through with some great teaching tools. Freckled Nest has great teaching videos, including this one that taught me to use my machine:
The video, along with a great pattern from More Misadventures resulted in this lovely makeup bag:
Since we are no longer having a summer wedding, I've changed my colors! I am going with a deep teal/aqua and red! I've received some weird looks over this color combination, but doesn't this inspiration board look great?
Just a few months ago we were set on a September 2011 wedding date. I love late summer weddings and had created quite a vision for my own casual, backyard reception. Sundresses, wildflowers and hand-made everything. I was in love with the idea. Here is the inspiration board I made for a brunch reception - one of the ideas we were considering.
The bright oranges, reds, pinks and greens are the same colors you will find in my house and I had already started collecting the milk glass vases and bowls for the centerpieces. I still plan to use them, but this inspiration board is not quite right for a February wedding. I'll be going in a whole different direction, but I still love my first plan.
My fiance and I are playing around with themes today. Here's our first and some images to go with it. Enjoy!
Vintage Travel Theme:
My fiance and I love traveling through Europe and have tons of pictures from past vacations. We thought they would be great to incorporate into this them. Our ideas so far include:
- Using vintage, European postcards as invitations, RSVP cards or table numbers
- Using vintage framed chalk boards for table assignments, gift table, menu, etc. I think if you find the right frame you could make one of these quite easily with chalk board paint.
I've also thought about paper airplane garlands, giving each table it's own city them (i.e. Paris, with a centerpiece reminiscent of the city) and a photo booth with travel related props. Could be fun!
It's been much too long since I posted - so sorry for the long silence! It's been an eventful and traumatic month. A few weeks ago we received a quote from my DREAM reception location that was actually within our budget! For two weeks I was walking on a cloud. We changed our date, moving it up by 7 months, and our colors to something more winter-y and waited for the event coordinator to put together our final proposal so we could put down our deposit.
The final proposal came back $2,000 higher than we were initially quoted. Ouch!
Since the initial quote was already pushing our budget to the max, I made the very painful call to rule out the venue. My wonderful fiance offered to do everything he could to make my dream reception a reality and I can't tell you how much I love him for that. But we also agreed that if we were to increase our budget, it should be to include more guests, not to splurge on a venue. And so we are back to the drawing board...
We ruled out all three of the previous locations I mentioned. Smith Brothers was just too expensive. North Bank Pavilion is too difficult to rent and would require a tent (expensive!) and Olde Gahanna Sanctuary was just... not ME. Our current options are:
LaScala Italian Bistro in Dublin, Ohio. Don't let the pictures on their website fool you! They've recently renovated and their two event spaces look great! Also, the room is free with minimum food and alcohol purchases. The alcohol is on the pricey side, but the free room balances it out. Also, really good food and full staffing are included in the price. This is a great option for those of us without wedding planners.
The YWCA Ballroom is little advertised and a great find! I stumbled on this venue through a caterer's preferred venues list. It's inexpensive, widely available and you can usually get in the night before to set up! Also, if you're planning a warm weather wedding (which we unfortunately are not), it comes with a balcony patio overlooking downtown Columbus - very nice! The YWCA combined with the crazy cheap and yummy Caterers Three is a great deal. Don't be fooled by their website - they can cook! And their prices are half of anywhere else we've found.
There's our update! We're checking out a wedding set up at LaScala at the end of March. I anticipate they will be the winner and we will be putting our deposit down the first week in April. Now that our date is February 2011, I am getting quite anxious!
