Joy: Our Wedding – The Gown!
Written by Sara on August 30, 2010 – 9:00 am -
After a morning full of hair appointments, picking up our bouquets and applying make-up, it was finally time to put on my wedding gown!
As you all know, I haven’t yet revealed the gown that I chose to wear – so, without further delay, here it is! I chose an ivory Alfred Angelo tiered lace gown with an ivory satin bodice and sash :)
The gown has since been discontinued (actually, this gown was discontinued a mere two weeks after we ordered it!) – I love knowing that I am one of the last women to wear this beautiful, vintage-inspired gown.
My Mom helped me get into my gown…
Then it was time for jewelry…
I wore beautiful pearl earrings that Jordan gave me as a gift; a Norwegian brooch that has been in my family for generations; a Norwegian necklace that my grandmother gave to me when I was young; a fun yellow-gold ring that I purchased from Galla15 on Etsy; and a lovely pearl bracelet that my friend and bridesmaid Serena gave me.
And then, it was time for my veil! I purchased my veil at a local bridal shop; it’s by Signature Bridal.
Next up were my (hand-crafted and homemade!) garters and my shoes, featuring shoe clips from BPoetic on Etsy!
And with a few tears from my bridesmaids and my Mom…
…I put the finishing touches on my bouquet (isn’t it beautiful!!)…
…took a few bridal portraits…
…and headed over to the chapel to meet Jordan for our “First Look!”
Coming up next: my favorite part of our day – our “First Look!”
What do you think of my gown? Was it worth the wait?
[All photos by the outstanding Creative Kindling]
Tags: Alfred Angelo, birdcage veil, BPoetic, bridal portraits, Etsy, First Look, Galla 15, Norwegian jewelry, Signature Bridal, vintage jewelry, vintage wedding dress, vintage-inspired wedding gown
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, DIY, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Joy: Our Wedding – Getting Ready!
Written by Sara on August 24, 2010 – 11:37 am -
After a busy morning of hair appointments and picking up our bouquets, my maid of honor Kristen and I finally arrived at Augustana College to start getting ready! My bridesmaids met us in what we affectionately called our “Getting Ready Room,” which actually was the make-up room that the theatre cast uses before each show. Full of mirrors and lights, the room was perfect for a bunch of girls getting beautiful!
So, as Kristen wrote furiously, finishing her maid of honor speech…
My new sister-in-law Larissa was my make-up artist extraordinaire!
My hair needed a few more bobby pins…
And just like that, my make-up was done! Larissa used mostly Bare Minerals products, as well as some Loreal and Maybelline eyeshadow and mascara to finish off the look. Larissa and I had two make-up trials before the big day to get the look exactly right – I’ve never felt so beautiful!
My Mom arrived at Augustana with my gown, and it was almost time to get dressed!
While we girls were getting beautified, the boys were getting ready across campus!
Stay tuned…the dress reveal is coming up next!
[All photos by the splendid talent behind Creative Kindling]
Tags: Bare Minerals, DIY wedding day make-up, Loreal, make-up, Maybelline, wedding day make-up, Wedding Recap
Posted in Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Photography, Venues, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Joy: Our Wedding – The Flowers
Written by Sara on August 20, 2010 – 9:06 am -After leaving the hair salon, my maid of honor Kristen and I headed to The Flower Shop in Sioux Falls to pick up our bouquets.
Remember those inspiration boards that I created for my bouquet and my girls’ bouquets on Style Me Pretty’s Style Circle? I brought these to Twyla, our florist at The Flower Shop, to use as inspiration for our florals.
Well, I can’t wait to show you how our lovely flowers turned out!
In the top picture, notice the sunflower bouquet on the left; that was my throw-away bouquet! It was wrapped in burlap and was simple but beautiful. The other bouquets in that photo are my girls’ bouquets; they turned out perfectly! Very organic – they look like they were just picked right from a field before the wedding! The bouquet with the succulent is Kristen’s, to make hers a little special, as the maid of honor.
As you can see in the bottom picture, the girls’ bouquets were wrapped in ribbon, and I had Twyla attach a brooch to each of their bouquets (I spent the months before the wedding searching flea markets and antique stores for brooches!)
And now, a peek at my bouquet (more of the full bouquet after I reveal my wedding gown!):
I had Twyla wrap the stem of the bouquet in burlap, to echo the organic, nature-inspired feel of our wedding (as well as the burlap on the reception tables!). I then wrapped a piece of lace around the stem – my great-Grandma Sophie made the lace! As you can see from the bottom picture, I also had Paloma’s Nest on Etsy make me a bouquet charm (my something blue! notice the blue string?). I just LOVED the bouquet charm; it says “i carry your heart with me,” after the e.e. cummings poem we had read during our wedding ceremony. I also attached to the stem of my bouquet a little brooch that Kristen gave me – it was perfect!
In my bouquet, Twyla used sunflowers, succulents, dusty miller, billy balls, lisianthus, spray roses and much, much more. It was literally the bouquet of my dreams – I couldn’t have been more pleased!
A big plus – I had Twyla ensure to utilize as many locally grown blooms for our flowers as possible!
Stay tuned for what’s up next: me and my girls (and Jordan and his guys!) getting ready, plus a full list of make-up products that my sister-in-law used to achieve my bridal look!
[Inspiration boards made by me on Style Me Pretty's Style Circle; all photos by the amazingly talented Creative Kindling]
Tags: bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, e.e. cummings, Etsy, Paloma's Nest, Sioux Falls, Style Circle, Style Me Pretty, succulent bouquets, The Flower Shop, vintage bouquets, wildflower bouquets
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Eco-Chic, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Get Beautified
Written by Sara on August 18, 2010 – 9:26 am -
And let the wedding recaps begin…
Waking up on the morning of our wedding day was extremely surreal. My lovely bestest friend in the whole world, my cousin and maid of honor Kristen, spent the night at my house the night before, and honestly, that was one of the best decisions I made – having her there right away in the morning definitely helped to calm my nerves!
Kristen and I headed to Salon Ne-Zhoni in Sioux Falls, where my bridesmaids and I proceeded to take over the salon for the morning. My sister-in-law Larissa arrived, too, and all 3 of us were whisked off to the beauty chairs for our updos.
As you can recall, I had a hair trial a few weeks prior, so my hairstylist and I were on the same page from the get-go. For my bridesmaids, we decided to have all of the girls wear their hair up and off to the right side…it looked super cute to have their hair all going the same direction!
My hairstylist Lisa began curling my hair…
Kristen took pictures…
I started to feel bride-y…
My hairstylist braided the back of my hair across my head (my favorite part!)…
And inserted my hair fascinator (courtesy of Y&E Bridal on Etsy…one of the first purchases I made, and one of the best)…
And I was done!
Larissa and Kristen were seriously gorgeous…
And then it was time for my other 2 bridesmaids, my friends Jessica and Serena, to have their hair done!
First, Serena got in touch with her inner Curly Sue…
And Jessica tried a new look…
But eventually, they were ready for the day!
You’ll notice the hair pieces in all of the girls’ hair…my Mom and I made those! We purchased very inexpensive fabric flowers from New York & Company, dyed them grey (they were ivory), sewed and pinned on some ivory lace, added a hair comb on the back and a bauble in the middle of the flower, and voila! I was so pleased with how they turned out.
We all grabbed a quick lunch at the salon, thanks to my lovely Aunt Becky…
And while Kristen and I picked up the flowers (which were HEAVENLY – I can’t wait to share them with you!), all of the other girls headed off to the church to get ready!
[All photos by the amazingly talented Creative Kindling]
Tags: bridesmaids hair, hair appointment, low wedding updo, wedding hair, Wedding Recap, wedding updo
Posted in Beauty & Polish, Fashion, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
18 Days Out…
Written by Sara on June 29, 2010 – 3:14 pm -
…and I’m feeling fine!
That’s right, readers – dare I say that my obsessive need to work ahead has paid off…here are the projects we have left:
- Cut squares of fabric for the tables. When we’ll get it done: this weekend.
- Sew a lining into the flower girl dresses. When we’ll get it done: this weekend.
- Gather (and print, if necessary) a few pictures of Jordan and I for a photo feature. When we’ll get it done: by Friday.
- Wrangle and frame few more wedding pictures of our relatives. When we’ll get it done: this weekend, hopefully.
- Practice making our DIY tiered surprise wedding cake. When we’ll get it done: this weekend, hopefully.
- Print and mail gift-opening invites. When we’ll get it done: this needs to happen ASAP!
- Fold napkins. When we’ll get it done: first round tomorrow, second and final round hopefully next week.
- Reception playlist. When we’ll get it done: probably next weekend; it’s about 70% done right now.
- Silhouettes (of Jordan and I) for frames. When we’ll get it done: next weekend; we just need to format and print.
- Finalize pew decor. When we’ll get it done: tonight.
- Purchase gifts for our parents and our ceremony helpers. When we’ll get it done: next Friday (payday!).
- Tie baker’s twine on the programs. When we’ll get it done: Probably the week of the wedding…eek.
- Take photos of decor, pack up decor items in boxes according to tables. When we’ll get it done: next weekend. BIG project, but I hope to have lots of help.
- Get our marriage license. When we’ll get this done: the Wednesday of the wedding week.
I have my hair trial and my final make-up trial on Thursday and my final gown fitting on Saturday. We also are having our premarital counseling session with my uncle, our officiant, on Saturday. We also turn in our guaranteed guest count to the Pavilion on Saturday. My wedding week beauty treatments are all scheduled, with the exception of a manicure appointment…truthfully, I may just paint my own nails!
Things are coming together really nicely – I hope that I’m not forgetting anything!?
[Photo: www.free-flow-coaching.com]
Tags: DIY wedding, Wedding zen
Posted in Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, DIY, Decor, Fashion, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Stationery, Weddings | 2 Comments »
Featured on the Gotham Bride Guide!
Written by Sara on June 23, 2010 – 9:00 am -
Big news, readers: our DIY wedding invitations were featured on the lovely Gotham Bride Guide!
Click here to read the full post; a big thank you to the folks over at Gotham Bride Guide for featuring us!
[Photo: Gotham Bride Guide]
Tags: DIY, DIY wedding invitations, Feature, Gotham Bride Guide
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Our Wedding, Stationery, Weddings | No Comments »
What We’ve Been Up To…
Written by Sara on June 16, 2010 – 2:52 pm -Hello readers! Again, I apologize for not posting much these past few weeks; it’s been a whirlwind to say the least. With only one month to go until the wedding (!!), Jordan and I have been hard at work finishing up last-minute details with our families and friends.
Here’s what we’ve been doing:
- Last week, I spent the evening building our photo booth with the great help of my future father-in-law. The photo booth turned out wonderfully; I can’t wait to see how it looks in our wedding photos! I hope to provide a full tutorial for you all at some point, so stay tuned…
- Made a list of must-have photos for our photographers, and met with our lovely photogs to discuss our wedding day. I’m SO excited that we’ve chosen such wonderful and supportive photographers; they will be so great to have with us on our wedding day, and I know that Kara will help to keep me relaxed.
- Started tanning! While I’m definitely not a fan of how bad tanning beds are for my skin, I do need to build up a base tan of sorts before heading off to Jamaica. So, I’ve stared tanning a few times per week!
- Started the napkins process! With the great help of my bridesmaid Serena and her mother, we’re making headway with the DIY napkins project! We’re about halfway through the project, and I plan to bring the last batch of fabric over to Serena’s home this week for cutting.
- Mailed our rehearsal dinner invitations. They turned out wonderfully, and we’re so excited for our Italian-themed rehearsal dinner!
- Ordered 3 one-half sheet cakes for our wedding reception. We ordered 1/2 sheet of red velvet (my favorite!), one half sheet of strawberry (Jordan’s favorite) and one half sheet of vanilla cake from a local bakery. I’m glad to have that completed!
- Set up a final meeting with our on-site reception coordinator and our florist to cover last-minute details. Both of these appointments are next week, and I’m excited to finalize all of the details!
- Set up a meeting to visit the chapel where our ceremony will take place. I’m visiting my alma mater, Augustana College, this week to set up decorations around the chapel to see what they look like. I’m excited to see how/if the pew bows will attach to the pews…frankly, that’s all I’m concerned about. I know that everything else will look great!
- Finalized gifts for the groomsmen and ushers; everything should be done next week, so I can wrap the gifts!
- Secured a classic car to transport Jordan and I from the ceremony to the reception!
- Got the guys measured for tuxes! Only a few of our guys have yet to do this, and they’re under strict instructions to do so ASAP.
- Finalized our wedding ceremony script. Yes!
- Trying to wrangle wedding pictures of our relatives; I only need a few more pictures, and we’ll be set!
I think that’s it!
Here’s what we have left:
- Our reception playlist. We’ve started working on it, but Jordan’s school quarter ends this Friday, so Jordan will have a lot more time to devote to finalizing our playlist starting next week. This is his pet project, and I’m excited to help with this process as much as I can.
- Getting a few more props for the photo booth, as well as finding/purchasing baskets for the day’s needs, a few picture frames, and a few props for our wedding photos on the wedding day.
- Figuring out what camera to use for the photo booth.
- Print the wedding programs. We’re waiting for the final OK from our officiant, and as soon as we have that, we’re good to go!
- Cutting table squares and a table runner for the reception; we are purchasing the fabric today, so it won’t be too long before this project is off our list.
- Sew a lining into our flower girl dresses. Again, the fabric for this has been purchased, so hopefully we can finalize this project soon.
- Purchase a gift for my personal attendant and our parents, as well as gifts for our hosts & hostesses and our ceremony reader.
- Gift-opening preparation and invitations.
- Bring my engagement ring and wedding band into the jeweler to be soldered and plated.
- Premarital counseling session with my uncle, our officiant, to discuss our personality inventory.
- Discuss our DIY tiered wedding cake with my mother, and maybe practice making a cake.
- Final wedding gown fitting; I’m so excited for this part!
- Final hair and make-up trial, as well as week-of beauty treatments; again, SO excited!
- Wrap gifts and box up ceremony/reception decor.
- Marriage license.
- Meet with our travel agent to finalize details for our honeymoon, and pack for our honeymoon.
- GET MARRIED!
Surprisingly, my stress level is rather low; while I know that there’s still more things to do, I feel remarkably calm heading into the final month before the wedding.
How are you handling wedding stress?
Tags: wedding timeline, wedding to-do list
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, DIY, Decor, Fashion, Flowers, Honeymoon, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Weddings | No Comments »
Our Wedding: Rehearsal Dinner Invitations!
Written by Sara on May 7, 2010 – 9:00 am -Jordan’s parents are busy at work planning our rehearsal dinner. It’s shaping up quite nicely!
Jordan’s mom Nachole and I are calling the rehearsal dinner a “Backyard Italian Bistro” themed meal, from the menu (tortellinis with red and white sauces and tirimisu for dessert!) to the decor (think red-checkered tablecloths!).
So, Jordan and I tried to design our rehearsal dinner invitations to have the same Italian feel.
Check ‘em out!
How are your rehearsal dinner plans shaping up?
Tags: DIY rehearsal dinner invitations, Italian rehearsal dinner
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Another Abandoned Project: DIY Wildflower Garden
Written by Sara on May 6, 2010 – 9:07 am -
After much talk about how wonderful it would be to grow our own flowers for the wedding, my Mom and I decided to forgo this project for a few reasons.
1. The unpredictable South Dakota weather. We had no clue if the flowers would even grow, and since summer weather in our lovely state is about as predictable as where weeds will grow, we didn’t want to make the attempt and have it not pay off in the end.
2. Added stress (and expense!). While growing our own flowers for the wedding sounds like a wonderful idea, the practical application of it all (from growing the flowers to putting them together into mason jars to transporting them to the reception venue) was rather daunting.
What DIY projects are you dropkicking to the curb?
[Image via www.howstuffworks.com]
Tags: DIY wedding flowers, DIY wildflower garden
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Decor, Flowers, Our Wedding, Weddings | 1 Comment »
Showcase Wednesday: Our Quest for Eco-Friendly Paper
Written by Sara on May 5, 2010 – 9:00 am -
Jordan and I have spent one (seemingly endless) weekend designing the programs for our wedding ceremony. We’re really, really happy with where things are at design-wise, and while we have a (growing) list of tweaks to make, it’s time to start looking for paper to print these suckers on.
We originally wanted to go with plantable paper, but when we saw the price tag for what it would take to make 170 program booklets…we about died. SO…we started looking around the internet, and we found Eco-Paper!
We had Eco-Paper send us samples a few weeks ago, and we really liked the Lemon Paper that they had to offer. However, we wanted more of a heavier paper (i.e. cardstock), and, sadly, they happen to be out of Lemon Paper cardstock and (here’s the sucky part) they won’t have it in time for our wedding. SAD!
So, we’ve been looking around for other options. We received samples from Greener Printer awhile back, though if we go with them, we may have more overhead costs, both for the paper itself and for the printing services (we can print our programs for free if we supply the paper).
Do you have an eco-friendly paper vendor that you’ve used?
Tell us about it!
[Photo via www.wrs-uk.co.uk]
Tags: ceremony programs, DIY ceremony programs, Eco-Paper, Greener Printer, recycled paper
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Eco-Chic, Our Wedding, Stationery, Weddings | No Comments »