Joy: Our Wedding – DIY Projects: Final List
Written by Sara on July 7, 2011 – 9:00 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays, Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!, Analysis of our iPod Wedding, Our Honeymoon, List of Wedding Vendors and List of Etsy Sellers}
Hi everyone! I can’t believe that I’m finally to the end of my list of wedding recap posts – it was certainly an adventure to plan our wedding, but it was even more of an adventure to try to recap it in a meaningful way for all of you who care to stop by my little section of the Internet. Lots of thanks and love to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout the planning, execution and recap process!
Here’s a final list of the DIY projects that we took on and completed for the wedding, along with links and/or pictures:
- Flower Hairpieces – Bridesmaids
- Garter & Throw-Away Garter
- Bunting: Cake Table – Reception
- Burlap Table Runner/Table Squares – Reception
- Placecards – Head Table at Reception
- Rehearsal Dinner Invitations
- Napkins – Wedding Reception
- Rice Krispie Wedding Cake
- Photobooth Wall
Tags: DIY projects, wedding DIY projects
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Joy: Our Wedding – List of Etsy Vendors
Written by Sara on July 6, 2011 – 11:00 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays, Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!, Analysis of our iPod Wedding, Our Honeymoon and List of Wedding Vendors}
Hello all! I’m back with a list of the Etsy sellers that we used. I highly recommend all of them, but the sellers that created custom items for us (especially Lovliday, The Lucky Button and Boutique Sophia) were a dream to work with.
Lovliday: Guestbook Tree
Paloma’s Nest: Bouquet Charm, Jewelry Bowls (for Bridesmaids and Moms) – “You Are” version
Oatmeal Lace Design: Bridal Clutch
LeahLeah: Burlap Pew Bows
The Lucky Button: Boutonnieres
Y&E Bridal: Hair fascinator (flower)
BPoetic: Shoe Clips
Nomsa: Earrings (for Bridesmaids)
Whisker Graphics: Yellow and White Baker’s Twine
Whisker Works: Mustache Props – Photobooth
Love to Create Stamps: Return Address Stamp
Galla 15: Yellow Fashion Ring (Bride)
Allegro Art: Silver Swirl Card Holders – for Reception
Vintage Time Machine: Ladies Vintage Hat – Photobooth
Queen London’s Carriage: Men’s Vintage Hat – Photobooth
Maxim Creative Invites: Monogrammed Stickers – for wedding invitations
Earmark: “Just Married” banner for getaway car
A Remark You Made: Eco-friendly wooden placecard holders
QA Create: Baseball cufflinks (Groom)
Boutique Sophia: Custom flower girl dresses (tutu dresses)
South House Boutique: Burlap wine holder bags – for wedding helper gifts
Satin and Birch: Little soaps – shower hostess gifts
Oh Louise Designs: Personalized Stationery – shower hostess gifts
[Photo by Creative Kindling]
Tags: Etsy
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Decor, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Stationery, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | Comments Off
Joy: Our Wedding – List of Vendors
Written by Sara on May 18, 2011 – 2:31 pm -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays, Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!, Analysis of our iPod Wedding and Our Honeymoon}
I’m finally nearing the end of my wedding recaps, which is fitting, since Jordan and I have been married almost one year already! I can hardly believe that ten months have already passed by; what a blessing it is to have someone by my side each and every day. While our first year of marriage hasn’t been a walk in the park, this year (so far) has been full of blessings.
I wanted to share with you today a list of the vendors that we used throughout planning our wedding, so that any of you local SD brides will have all of these resources in one place! Also, stay tuned for a full list of Etsy vendors that we used – that’s the next post that I’ll write! Also coming up is a final list of the DIY projects that we completed for the wedding, so if you don’t see something listed below (i.e. the boutonnieres or my garters), don’t fret, because it was either purchased from Etsy or DIY!
Materials for Invitations:
Cards & Pockets (ordered online)
Sioux Falls Rubber Stamp, Sioux Falls, SD
Map of Sioux Falls – Wedding Invitations:
Designed by a friend of the bride
Printing:
Brown & Saenger, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Rings:
Sara’s Engagement Ring and Wedding Band: Riddle’s Jewelry, Sioux Falls, SD
Jordan’s Wedding Band: Helzberg Diamonds, Sioux Falls, SD
Photographers:
Creative Kindling, Brandon, SD
Florist:
The Flower Shop, Sioux Falls, SD
Sheet Cakes (Remember, we DIYed the Rice Krispie Cake):
HyVee on Sycamore Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD
Manzanita Branches – Wishing Tree:
Save-on-crafts.com (ordered online)
White Shutters – Photo Display:
Purchased from a seller at Benson’s Flea Market (Sioux Falls, SD)
Fabric – Wedding Napkins:
Hancock Fabrics, Sioux Falls, SD
Classic Car:
Borrowed for the day from a friend of the family
Hair and Nails on the Wedding Day:
Hair: Salon Ne-Zhoni, Sioux Falls, SD
Sara’s Manicure: VIP Nails, Sioux Falls, SD
Sara’s Pedicure: Radiance Day Spa, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Gown:
Purchased from Happily Ever After, Sioux City, IA (gown was by Alfred Angelo, and has since been discontinued)
Veil:
Purchased from French Door Bridal in Sioux Falls, SD (veil was by Signature Bridal)
Tuxedos:
Rented from Evelyn’s Floral and Formalware in Sioux Falls, SD, a business which has since closed its doors (the tuxedo was by Calvin Klein)
Groomsmen/Ushers Gifts:
Flasks – Brown & Saenger, Sioux Falls, SD
Socks – Express (ordered online)
Ceremony Helpers Gifts:
Wine purchased from HyVee Wine & Spirits, Louise Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD
Bridesmaids Dresses:
The Dessy Group, ordered online from www.bridesmaids.com
Ceremony Site:
Augustana College Chapel of Reconciliation, Sioux Falls, SD
Organist:
Kyle Quanbeck, Sioux Falls, SD
Vocalist:
Sister of the Groom
Catering, Reception Site:
Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Weekend Accommodations (Guests):
Holiday Inn City Centre (Downtown), Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Night Accommodations (Jordan and Sara):
ClubHouse Hotel & Suites, Sioux Falls, SD
I also wanted to make sure that I made a list of places that I shopped for a variety of materials for all kinds of projects:
Hobby Lobby, Sioux Falls, SD
Michaels, Sioux Falls, SD
IKEA, Minneapolis, MN (votive candles)
I think that’s it! In terms of whether or not I would use these same vendors again if I were to do it all over again, the answer is a resounding yes. I was so pleased with all of our vendors, despite some last-minute stress from HyVee regarding our cakes. But, everything couldn’t have been more perfect, and we think back fondly on our wedding day and all of the vendors that made it happen for us. Cards & Pockets is a fabulous online resource for those of you who plan to DIY invitations in the future, and I couldn’t recommend the ladies at Happily Ever After in Sioux City, IA, any higher. The Flower Shop did an extraordinary job realizing my vision for the flowers, and the staff at the Augie Chapel and the Washington Pavilion couldn’t have been more helpful. Brown & Saenger also played a huge role in pulling off our wedding in terms of satisfying all of our printing needs, and our day wouldn’t have been chronicled in such a meaningful way without Creative Kindling. We couldn’t have been more blessed!
If you have any questions, please let me know!
[Photo by Creative Kindling]
Tags: Alfred Angelo, Augustana College, Benson's Flea Market, Brown & Saenger, Cards & Pockets, Chapel of Reconciliation, ClubHouse Hotel & Suites, Creative Kindling, Evelyn's Floral and Formalware, Express, French Door Bridal, Hancock Fabrics, Happily Ever After, Helzberg Diamonds, Hobby Lobby, Holiday Inn City Centre, HyVee, IA, IKEA, Michaels, Radiance Day Spa, Riddle's Jewelry, Salon Ne-Zhoni, Save-on-crafts.com, SD, Signature Bridal, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls Rubber Stamp, The Dessy Group, The Flower Shop, VIP Nails, Washington Pavilion
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Honeymoon, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap | 1 Comment »
Joy: Our Wedding – Honeymoon Review (With Pictures!)
Written by Sara on May 5, 2011 – 12:24 pm -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays, Photos From Our DIY Photobooth! and Analysis of our iPod Wedding}
Jordan and I spent six days in Jamaica for our honeymoon. In terms of deciding where we wanted to jet away to for our honeymoon, we both wanted to go somewhere warm with a beach and an ocean, and we felt excited (and anxious) about going abroad. It was the first time being outside of America for the both of us, which truly was an experience in itself. We’ve never before been herded like cattle through customs (which, apparently, is an all-too-common experience in other countries), and that was a bit of a disarming experience.
In terms of actually booking our vacation, we utilized the expertise of a family friend who has been in the travel agency for quite some time. We booked our six-day stay at Breezes Rio Bueno in Rio Bueno, Jamaica. While we had a good time overall and made the best of our vacation stay there, it wasn’t the ideal honeymoon locale for either of us, for the following reasons below:
1. Our first time overseas was completely overwhelming; looking back, for our honeymoon, we would have rather stayed stateside.
After finally arriving at our resort after a full day of flights and sitting around in airports, we were exhausted, and I (Sara) was completely overwhelmed by the airport experience of going through customs in Jamaica, and also by the car ride from the airport to the resort. (Note: I (Sara) felt like the car was going to run off of the road countless times; plus, we were offered illegal drugs not only in the airport, but also when we were driving – passengers in another car shouted to us and (I’m not kidding) dangled a little baggie of “goodies” outside the window.)
2. Our room was underwhelming, to say the least (despite the fact that Jordan looks super comfy above!).
We stayed in a total of two different rooms during our stay at Breezes; our first room was, to put it lightly, not comfortable. We found ants in our room crawling on the floor, and our bedsheets were stained. There was barely any furniture in the room, and we were quite unsatisfied. So, we asked to move to a different room, which the resort staff granted us on the second day of our stay. While this room had more furniture, no bugs and clean bedsheets, it still was not what we were expecting. We were hoping for a cushy bed with many, many pillows and soft linens, but the bed linens made us feel more like we were staying at a motel than a resort that we shelled out many pennies for. Also – no bathtub. Boo.
3. We couldn’t get room service.
If we had known this prior to booking, we probably wouldn’t have booked at all. Who wants to go somewhere where you can’t order food to your room on your honeymoon?!
4. The atmosphere of the resort was geared more toward families and young single people than to couples on their honeymoon.
From the games and activities (think: wet t-shirt contests, dance contests, and the like, along with your regular water volleyball games, which Jordan enjoyed) to the other people staying at our resort, we came to realize that the beach getaway we had wanted originally was what we received (and, to the credit of Breezes, the beach and the ocean were fantastic), but wasn’t what we wanted. Now we know that if we ever embark on a trip overseas to an all-inclusive resort again, we want a couples-only resort with cushy linens, room service and a bunch of yummy food.
5. Jamaica is, well, a third-world country, which made it scary (for us) to leave the resort.
Despite the fact that Jordan and I were well aware of this before leaving, the disparate divide between poverty and wealth is so obvious when you’re driving beside shanties, and just down the road, you see a mansion. It was certainly eye-opening. But, in light of the fact that our surroundings were so unfamiliar (and, to us, rather scary), we never left the resort, which probably was a detriment to the fun we had on our trip. But, we just didn’t feel comfortable leaving the resort.
What We Liked
What we will say, however, is that we really appreciated the staff of this resort. They were always kind and accommodating. We also liked the food, too! We ate at a French restaurant one evening, and at a Japanese hibachi restaurant another evening, both of which were quite delicious! The other restaurants, however, left quite a bit to be desired, although Jordan sure enjoyed his omelette every morning, and we both still crave the fresh orange juice! Lastly, the beach was seriously insanely beautiful. The weather was a bit rainy when we were there, but the sun always came out eventually, and it was wonderful to lay by the beach and read, drink in hand. We also took a glass-bottom boat tour (the bottom of the boat was glass, which allowed us to see the sea life swimming around below us) that was fun, too.
So, here’s a recap of what we learned:
- We aren’t really all-inclusive resort people. We love nothing more than to make our own experience together by choosing to go to this shop or that restaurant to eat, and we found the all-inclusive environment rather limiting.
- We like a comfy room, complete with cushy soft linens and room service. And a bathtub instead of a shower!
- If we ever do an all-inclusive resort vacation again, we’ll stay at a couples-only resort. And, we would probably be open to going to an all-inclusive resort with friends (though, not Breezes) – that actually might be a good time!
- If we do go to a third-world country again, we will know what to expect in terms of the poverty level, among other things.
*Interesting fact: when I went to the Breezes Rio Bueno home page today to link to their site, I found the following disclosure:
“Please note: Breezes Resort & Spa – Rio Bueno will be closed as of April 30, 2011 indefinitely. For reservations after April 30, please see our other Breezes Resorts & Spas in Jamaica and in other destinations.”
Quite interesting, since we certainly felt that the resort was lacking the comforts that we wished for and expected.
In looking back on our honeymoon, we feel grateful for this experience, because it taught us what we want (and what we don’t) in a vacation. In fact, this summer, Jordan and I are embarking on a bit of a honeymoon-redo to…SEATTLE! That’s the best part about a honeymoon; you learn what you really want to do together on vacation! We’re so excited to experience a part of the United States that we’ve never been before, and we’re especially excited to enjoy all that Seattle has to offer.
Where are you headed on your honeymoon? Are you staying stateside or going abroad? What’s on your must-have list for your honeymoon destination?
[All photos by Jordan and I]
Posted in Budget Weddings, Honeymoon, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Venues, Wedding Recap, Weddings | Comments Off
WE’RE FEATURED: A Practical Wedding!
Written by Sara on April 14, 2011 – 7:13 am -
Hello readers! Just a little note from me to tell y’all that we’ve been FEATURED on A Practical Wedding today! Jordan and I are so excited to share our wedding with Meg’s wonderfully smart and sassy readers – it’s a great community over there! Feel free to head on over and check it out.
Lots of love (and promises of more wedding recaps soon), Sara
[Photo by Creative Kindling]
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Honeymoon, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Weddings | 2 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Analysis of Our iPod Wedding
Written by Sara on February 18, 2011 – 9:00 am -
When we were first making lists of priorities for our wedding, we knew that we weren’t psyched about the idea of spending money on a DJ to make our wedding dance memorable. While I would have loved to have a live band entertain us for the evening, that just wasn’t in the budget, so we decided to run the music ourselves, thanks to our handy dandy iPod.
For me, as a type-A personality and a control freak, having absolute control over the music played at our wedding was a MUST, and for the cost of renting speakers, we had an instant DJ set-up that was A) be cost-effective for our budget; and B) reflected who we are as a couple, as all of the songs were selected by us (and by our friends and family members).
One of the most helpful things that we chose to do was to utilize Google Docs to manage the multitude of song lists and playlists that we made before actually creating the iPod playlists. Jordan and I both are Gmail fans, so Google Docs proved extremely useful to us throughout our wedding planning. Side note: We actually utilized Google Docs for A TON of wedding-related documents, including day-of agendas, our guest list, ceremony script, reminders of phone numbers and things to bring with me to the ceremony site, and our wedding budget spreadsheet.
Below is the process we went through to compile our wedding dance playlist; NOTE: We only used the iPod at our reception; we had live music (piano and organ) before, during and after our ceremony:
The Process
1. Combined our music libraries together by transferring our songs over to Jordan’s computer, using a combination of an external hard drive and a few jump drives.
2. We listened to nearly every song in our newly combined library, making lists of songs that, to us, sounded like “good wedding dinner/dance material.”
3. We divided our lists of “good wedding dinner/dance material” into two separate lists, one devoted to “Dinner & Mingling Music” and one dedicated to “Dance Party Music.”
4. We mailed out our wedding invitations, including a Song Request card. As these began to arrive in the mail, we kept a running list of the songs that were requested. While we didn’t have enough time in our wedding dance to include absolutely every song, we used trusty Google Docs to manage this list.
5. While we were wrangling Song Request cards and simultaneously putting together these two separate playlists for dinner and for dancing, we also made sure to keep an ongoing list of songs that we wanted to download. Again, thanks to Google Docs, this was easy for both of us to update a centralized list.
6. Now it came time to actually download the songs and put together the playlists! Creating the playlists was Jordan’s pet project, which he approached in the following way: he listened to each song that made the cut as either “good wedding dinner/dance material”and/or was a song requested by one of our guests. Then, he basically used his own discretion in placing the songs together in a playlist, paying attention to the ratio of fast songs to slow songs and the way that the overall wedding dance flowed and built from one song to another. He made the playlists span approximately three to four hours each, just to be safe. We didn’t need that much music, especially for dinner…I would estimate 2 hours at most for dinner, but the dance playlist felt right, although we never reached the end of the playlist before taking off at the end of the evening.
For the “Dinner and Mingling Music” playlist, we simply created a playlist based on how the music felt to us. If it felt like dinner music, it went into the playlist. Some examples of songs that we used: Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash’s “Jackson,” Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine,” and selections by Elvis, Dean Martin, Ingrid Michaelson, Howie Day, The White Stripes, James Taylor and Hootie & The Blowfish.
For the wedding dance playlist, I had read somewhere (I forget where!) that for every slow song that is played, seven fast songs should be played, so he kept that ratio in mind as he compiled the lists. NOTE: We frontloaded the wedding dance playlist with all of our special music, including our first dance, the father-daughter dance, the mother-son dance, and the parents’ dance (we honored our parents with a special dance just for them).
In terms of the songs that we chose for our wedding dance, we chose to kick off the dance party with Goldfinger’s “99 Red Balloons.” This was a fun, high-energy song that really set the tone for the rest of the dance. In terms of the rest of the dance, we threw in a bunch of our favorite songs (like Backstreet Boys classics, Blink-182 hits, and classic Sinatra) with song requests (which varied from Serbian music to the Black Eyed Peas to the Spice Girls!).
7. After all of the songs were downloaded (we probably spent $30 at most on downloads, a bargain compared to the average cost of a DJ or live band) and the draft playlists were created using iTunes, Jordan loaded the playlists onto my iPod so that I could listen and make edits. I was largely impressed with the playlists that he created, especially since neither of us had ever had experience in creating a playlist that, to us, would be responsible for setting the tone of our wedding dance.
8. After all of the playlists were finalized, we burned the playlists to an iPod, making sure to CHARGE the iPod before the dance! It was as simple as that. We also burned the playlists on another iPod to use as a back-up, just in case the first iPod faltered…we never ran into this problem, though (luckily)!
9. The day of the wedding, we had one of our groomsmen meet up with our MC for the night, a coworker and friend of mine, to set-up and discuss the operation of the iPod during the wedding reception. We instructed our friend (and my Dad, too, as a back-up) to start the “Dinner & Mingling Music” playlist on the iPod as soon as they arrived at the reception.
Issues That Occurred
- Our playlists were somehow formatted to “shuffle” at the beginning of the wedding reception, so when we arrived at the reception, we sent one of our groomsmen up to fix that issue. Luckily, most of our guests had yet to arrive, so it wasn’t a big deal!
- The volume of each song was a bit inconsistent, which was frustrating at times. I’m sure that a more experienced techie would have a recommendation to remedy this, but for us newbies, we were proud of our playlist, despite this issue.
- The most significant issue we had was related to the dollar dance. The dollar dance is big in our neck of the woods, and happens at nearly every wedding reception, so we thought we’d join in the fun. But, if we could do it over again, we would have switched to the “Dinner & Mingling Music” playlist for the duration of the dollar dance, instead of attempting to guess how many songs we would need for the dollar dance. At a few different points during the dollar dance, I had to interrupt my dance with a guest to move our playlist backward to keep the slow, dollar-dance-appropriate songs playing. This problem could also have been alleviated by creating a dollar dance playlist to switch to during this part of the wedding dance.
Lessons Learned
- Get in touch with your techie side. Tweak settings for volume control. Learn what crossfade means.
- Think about possibly bringing your computer and playing the playlist directly from iTunes. It’s more user-friendly than an iPod, and you can make playlist edits and/or additions on-site with an Internet connection.
- However, know when to trust your gut. Technology can only tell you or do so much – think of your own musical tastes, and the musical tastes of your guests. Working hard to create playlists that you love will help to get others out on the dance floor – you set the example!
- Know when to use multiple playlists. Like I said above, creating a “Dollar Dance” playlist would have alleviated a headache during the middle of the wedding dance. Maybe a “Cake Cutting” playlist or a “Speeches” playlist makes sense to you; go with it!
- Ask someone familiar with technology (and, maybe, someone who isn’t a close friend or someone you want to enjoy the wedding festivities along with you) to act as “DJ/MC” for the night, and consider paying them. You’re saving money already by not hiring a DJ or a live band – why not throw a few bones to a coworker, acquaintance, friend of a friend, etc. for their services?
Other Resources
Check out these posts on A Practical Wedding and $2000 Wedding about DJing your own wedding via iPod. Good luck! Any questions – feel free to leave them in the comments!
[Photo by Creative Kindling]
Tags: ipod wedding
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Wedding Recap | 3 Comments »
Featured on GLAMOUR MAGAZINE’S website!
Written by Sara on January 21, 2011 – 10:46 am -
AAH! I’m like, totally dying. My lovely wedding hairstyle was featured on Glamour Magazine‘s website!
Click here for the goods. I’m still pinching myself, y’all.
Until later…
[Photo by Creative Kindling, of course!]
Tags: Creative Kindling, Glamour Magazine
Posted in Beauty & Polish, Fashion, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Weddings | 4 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Food & The Cakes!
Written by Sara on January 16, 2011 – 2:09 pm -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays and Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!}
The food at our reception was super yummy! The Washington Pavilion has an adorable little cafe inside of it called Leonardo’s, and they catered our reception for us. We requested a taco bar with beef and chicken, and all the taco fixin’s we could ever want – and they delivered! We couldn’t have been more pleased with the delicious spread.
While the taco bar was outstanding, one of my favorite parts of our wedding reception were our wedding cakes! After seeing inspiration for an awesome rice-krispie tiered cake online, my parents and I agreed to try and tackle making our own! My parents took the brunt of the work on themselves in the few days before the wedding, and I couldn’t have been happier with the finished product!
We also ordered three half sheet cakes from HyVee, a local bakery inside a grocery store. We ordered red velvet (my favorite), vanilla, and strawberry (Jordan’s favorite). I’m sad to say that I didn’t even get a chance to have a piece that evening, but I heard wonderful things about how it tasted! Many thanks to my aunts for cutting the cake for us.
And now, for the pictures!
We also had a bunch of fun cutting the cake together, using a cake knife from my great-grandmother Sophie!
Up next: A look at our iPod wedding dance!
[All photos by Creative Kindling]
Tags: Catering, DIY Wedding Cake, HyVee, Leonardo's Cafe, Rice-Krispie Wedding Cake, Taco Bar, Washington Pavilion, Wedding Reception Food
Posted in Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Joy: Our Wedding – Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!
Written by Sara on January 7, 2011 – 9:40 am -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces and Wishing Tree & Photo Displays}
I was totally bitten by the photobooth bug early on in my efforts to make our wedding enjoyable and fun for us and for our larger community that supports us day in and day out. My father-in-law helped me to build our photobooth from plywood, wallpaper, crown molding and a picture frame; I love the way it turned out!
Here’s how it worked: we set up the photobooth after the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, at the same time that we were decorating the reception space. My father-in-law made the photobooth collapsable by sawing the plywood in half hot-dog style and attaching hinges, so that the photobooth was easy to transport. We set up a digital camera on a tripod in front of the photobooth, so when our wedding guests utilized the photobooth, they also brought up another friend to take the photos for them. We also provided props for our guests:
Here are a few shots from our photobooth from our photographers, Creative Kindling:
Up next: Our reception food + our wedding cakes!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our talented photographers]
Tags: Creative Kindling, DIY Photobooth
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | Comments Off
Joy: Our Wedding – Wishing Tree & Photo Displays
Written by Sara on December 30, 2010 – 8:11 pm -
Hello readers! After taking a break for the holidays, I’m back with more recap posts! Click here to get caught up on our wedding recaps:
{Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car and Reception Table Centerpieces}
Today I’d love to showcase two personalized touches that made our wedding reception feel more “us” – our Wishing Tree display and our photo features!
Wishing Trees are certainly making their way around the blogosphere, but I knew that the majority of our guests had probably never encountered one before at a wedding reception. It’s really, really important to remember when planning your own wedding that the majority of your guests don’t spend time stalking the most popular wedding blogs, so it’s perfectly fine to utilize the trends that resonate with you, regardless of how popular or played out the trend seems!
While in retrospect, I wish I would have had my Dad or our friend Chuck (who both took turns at acting as MC for the evening) announce that the Wishing Tree was available and where it was located (on the way into the reception space), we did have quite a few wedding guests make their wishes for us.
Here’s a look at our adorable Wishing Tree, which my bridesmaids and I put together utilizing manzanita branches from here, a flower pot purchased locally and some moss. We also utilized a wooden crate box purchased locally to hold our slips of paper tied with twine for the guests to hang their wishes:
We also included a variety of photo displays of both our engagement pictures (flanking the bar) and some pictures of us as children and us while dating. These photo displays were a lot of fun (and super easy!) to put together, especially since we already gave our parents framed engagement pictures for Christmas the previous year!
I found these two adorable white shutters at our local flea market in Sioux Falls; I just love them, and I want to try and find a way to incorporate them into our decor in our home!
Here’s a few pictures:
Up next: shots from our homemade photobooth!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our awesome photographers]
Tags: Creative Kindling, Creative Photo Displays for Weddings, DIY wishing tree, Wedding Photo Displays
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 4 Comments »