Green Post: Reusable Decor
Written by Sara on December 7, 2009 – 10:05 am -
Good morning, all! I hope you’re coming back from a relaxing, wintery weekend – we had SO MUCH FUN at our engagement shoot yesterday; thank you to all of you who left suggestions for me on how to “winterize” my dress! I can’t wait to see (and then show you all!) our pictures.
Today’s post is a hybrid of sorts, combining the usual “Green Post” theme with an “Our Wedding” feature.
My mother collects birdhouses of all shapes and sizes. In the home that I grew up in, my mother showcases her collection of these birdhouses atop various overhangs in our formal living room and kitchen. I’ve always loved how completely diverse her birdhouses are, and would often admire them as a young girl. I love how a weathered birdcage would sit next to a mossy birdhouse on one side and a refined church birdhouse on the other.
Before Jordan and I were even engaged, we knew that our wedding would not be the typical affair, partly because we’re not mainstream people (both of us are fascinated by imaginary worlds of television and fiction), but mostly because of money. We (smartly) did not want to dive head first into the big ‘D’ (debt) to afford letterpress invitations or chocolate fountains.
So, after Jordan and I were engaged, I began diving into wedding blog after wedding blog, trying to find a theme or motif that inspired me. I came across Olive You Deerly relatively early in my search, and I fell in love with the floral/birds’ nest fascinator that she wore in her hair. I love the imagery of lovebirds, and after a little more brainstorming, I thought back to my mother’s birdhouse collection. Why couldn’t we utilize her wonderful collection for our reception centerpieces? From there, I began Google searching everything “rustic” and “bird-themed,” and after a few months, I now have a honed vision on the main theme of our wedding: lovebirds with a touch of rustic elements, heavy on the vintage.
The point of my story is this: instead of purchasing (or renting!) tall clear vases, mirror squares, candleholders, etc. for our centerpieces, we’re utilizing reusable decor and found items. By showcasing my mother’s birdhouse collection, we’re being budget-friendly AND eco-friendly (no waste!). I feel like learning this lesson early in my wedding planning has not only helped me to accomplish a honed vision, but has also contributed significantly to our desire not to go into debt or contribute to mass waste. As an added bonus, I feel very satisfied that we’re honoring my mother by including her collection of birdhouses. Utilizing her collection also gives our wedding personality – how many weddings have you attended where birdhouses sit center stage?
Do any of your family members have collections
that you could utilize in your own wedding?
Photo: www.bymyhands.com
Tags: birdcage, birdhouses, Google, lovebirds, Olive You Deerly, reusable wedding decor
Posted in Budget Weddings, Decor, Eco-Chic, Our Wedding | 3 Comments »
Green Post: Win Your Dream Green Wedding!
Written by Sara on December 4, 2009 – 7:48 am -Happy Friday morning, readers!
We have an all-day strategic planning meeting today at the office, so instead of a lengthy blog post, I’d encourage you all to check out the Dream Green Wedding giveaway on Dream Green Weddings! Working to make your wedding green is a WONDERFUL way to showcase your green lifestyle on the most important day of your life!
Click here to learn more about the giveaway; entries are due by January 2, 2010.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Tags: Dream Green Wedding Giveaway, Dream Green Weddings
Posted in Eco-Chic, Weddings | Comments Off
Our Wedding: Engagement Shoot!
Written by Sara on December 3, 2009 – 9:18 am -
Happy Thursday, everyone! One more day until the weekend - I hope that you’ve all had a relatively easy week; it’s so much harder to work after a long holiday weekend! Snow arrived in Sioux Falls last night…BRR!
Speaking of cold, that’s what J and I will be this Sunday – we’re taking our engagement photos! J and I plan to meet up with our photographers from Creative Kindling here in Sioux Falls at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Remember the inspiration board I made for our engagement shoot? Well, to accomplish the vintage-inspired feel of these photos, we’ll be taking photos on some railroad tracks, (hopefully) in an old-fashioned diner, and all around downtown Sioux Falls. I’m also looking forward to the chance to lay down on the road – I really loved those pictures in my inspiration board!
We’re also planning to bring along some props. As you recall from an earlier post, my future sister-in-law Larissa and I went to Hobby Lobby here in town, where I purchased red foam and black foam. Last week I went to Michaels and purchased long, flat wooden sticks. After finding a suitable heart shape online, I cut out 2 hearts from the red foam and used tape to attach the hearts to the sticks. We’ll be bringing these hearts on sticks with us to our engagement shoot, as well as mustaches on sticks (I plan to make those tonight!). We’re also bringing a chalkboard and chalk with us – sounds fun, doesn’t it!?
Now for the fun part: what we’re wearing!
J will be donning brown shoes, a pair of navy slacks, and a white button-up shirt. For accessories, he’ll have a pair of navy suspenders (FUN!), a grey Kangol golf/Grandpa hat, and a striped pink and navy tie. I can’t wait to see the outfit all put together!
Here’s my dilemna, readers: I have this whimsical and fun dress to wear for our engagement shoot, but it’s geared more toward the summer season. I have this BEAUTIFUL royal blue coat with black buttons that I’ll wear for our outdoor shots to stay warm, but I still need to figure out how to “winterize” this dress!
The dress is from ModCloth, which, if you haven’t heard of them, silly you! When I purchased it, ModCloth called it the Gidget Dress:
Photo Courtesy of ModCloth.com
This dress is SUPER flattering on my figure, and makes me feel pretty and fun. I love the bow, too!
I plan to wear it either with black Mary Jane shoes or these fun black heels with a circular design on the strap that I bought from Shoe Carnival on Black Friday.
The question for you, dear readers, is this: How do I “winterize” this dress so that I stay warm during our photo session? I’m DEFINITELY planning to wear tights, but I need to know what color/texture to purchase.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
How have you “winterized” out-of-season clothing?
What accessories should I wear with this dress?
Tags: Black Friday, Creative Kindling, Hobby Lobby, Kangol, Mary Jane, Michaels, ModCloth, Shoe Carnival, Sioux Falls
Posted in Beauty & Polish, Fashion, Our Wedding, Photography | 5 Comments »
Showcase Wednesday: Frenchie & Flea!
Written by Sara on December 2, 2009 – 2:10 pm -
Photo courtesy of Frenchie & Flea’s shop on Etsy.com
Today I am excited to feature Frenchie & Flea, two AMAZINGLY creative Etsy sellers who are currently running a Handmade Holidays 2009 giveaway extravaganza in the month of December!
Check out their Etsy shop here, and their blog here! Today’s giveaway: a customized rubber stamp (jump on this, brides-to-be!).
Have a great rest of your Wednesday!
Tags: Etsy, Frenchie & Flea, Handmade Holidays 2009
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, DIY, Inspiration & Insight | Comments Off
Our Wedding: Big Purchases!
Written by Sara on December 1, 2009 – 1:03 pm -Good Tuesday afternoon to you all! I apologize for the late posting, but today has been a crazy day at the office.
This past week has been quite significant in terms of our wedding. On Wednesday, my Mom and I drove to Sioux City to the Happily Ever After bridal salon to take advantage of a pre-Thanksgiving special they were running on bridal gowns. As I mentioned to you in a previous post, I had chosen my wedding gown many weeks ago and was simply waiting for the right time to purchase it.
Upon arriving in Sioux City, I decided to walk through the store again and look at the racks of gowns, just to make sure that I indeed wanted the dress I had dreamt about for the past few weeks. I selected four new dresses to try on, in addition to the Alfred Angelo gown I had originally fallen in love with a few weeks prior.
The first few gowns were sample dresses of styles that had been discontinued, and I am confident in telling you that all were hideous! The fourth dress, however, was BEAUTIFUL. It was a slimmer fit taffeta gown, more of a trumpet style, and it had some ribbon detailing around the bust. It was a very pretty dress, and I had a lot of fun trying it on. It looked PERFECT with the birdcage veil, and it made me feel very pretty. I was excited after I tried on this gown, but I still had my “first love” gown to go.
As soon as I zipped up my “first love” Alfred Angelo gown, I didn’t even have to see myself in the mirror – I knew I was wearing MY gown. While the “new” dress was beautiful in a classy, lighthearted, fun way, this gown has a sweetness, a rustic elegance to it that just couldn’t compare. I was BEAMING the second my Mom saw me again in the gown, and she said, “That’s your dress, it’s just so obvious.” We then chatted with the alterations specialist about bustling the gown, sizing, etc.
I am SO excited that we ordered my gown!
Another exciting development – J and I purchased our wedding bands on Black Friday! Mine is more of a channel set to showcase my solitare engagement ring, while J’s is made of cobalt metal (a new style!). We found some wonderfully competitive deals, and feel SO excited to have purchased our rings!
Have a great rest of your day!
Tags: Alfred Angelo, Happily Ever After, Sioux City, Thanksgiving
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Fashion, Our Wedding | 2 Comments »