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]

I officially made hair appointments for my bridesmaids and I this week, so I’ve started to think about my hairstyle a little more. I know that I want something low and off to the side, yet the top two photos leave me feeling weak in the knees…what a perfectly beautiful vintage style!

How are YOU wearing your hair on your wedding day?

Aren’t these flowers beautiful?! But with no flower market in sight here in Sioux Falls (apart from the farmer’s market, where we might try to get flowers for my bridesmaids), I think it might be best if I bring this inspiration board to a local florist to explain what I’m looking for in my bouquet. Maybe it will be possible for us to pick up loose flowers a day or so before our wedding, and for me and my mother to try to arrange them ourselves?

I am looking forward to starting this process!

[Inspiration board made via Style Me Pretty's Style Circle]

Today’s post is all about flowers!

I already plan to incorporate green(er) floral choices in terms of our reception decorations – my Mom and I have discussed planting wildflowers in her backyard garden and utilizing these in mason jars adorned with lace and twine for our reception tables. I’ve also thought about frequenting the local farmer’s market the week of the wedding and picking up a few collections of flowers to utilize on our wedding day.

As you recall, I’ve expressed my disdain for shelling out hundreds of buckaroos for real wedding flowers that will merely die in a week, so I’m making friends with the idea of carrying silk or synthetic flowers. However, the more I think about it, I would love to carry real flowers myself on my wedding day. (As I say that now, I’m wondering if that’s fair to ask my girls to carry synthetic florals and to carry real ones myself?!)

Remember this inspiration board I made a few months ago on the Style Circle?

While I know that my girls will be carrying sunshine-colored flowers, I still haven’t concepted a clear-cut idea of what flowers I want to carry on our wedding day.

My Mom has always loved yellow roses and daisies, and I think they would make a beautiful combination for my wedding bouquet. I also LOVE these little button mums (that’s probably not at all what they are, but I love them), so I’d be delighted to have those in my bouquet as well. I also am a HUGE fan of sunflowers.

Yet, I once saw a bride’s bouquet that was completely beautiful – and white! She carried only one bloom, but it was beautiful – she carried only lily of the valley, tied with a ribbon. Here’s a lily of the valley bouquet found via the Boards on Wedding Bee:

How sweet, simple and lovely!

What are your thoughts, readers?

Real or synthetic flowers for me? For my girls?

What blooms should I carry?

What is your favorite yellow flower?

I’m having lunch today with our photographer Kara of Creative Kindling, and I’m so excited to chat about what we’re looking for from both our engagement session and our wedding photography! I made this inspiration board on the Style Circle so I’ll have something to show Kara at lunch today:

Credits: Ruffled Blog, Wedding Chicks (3), Studio Foto, Snippet & Ink (5)

Isn’t it wonderful! I am just oozing with excitement to take these photos – then we can FINALLY finish our save-the-dates (plus, these will make WONDERFUL holiday gifts for our families!).

Happy almost Friday, everyone!

Credits: Karen Wise, Zoom Photography (4), Jose Villa, Olivia Leigh, Dollface Studio, Suthi Picotte

Many, MANY changes a-brewing in regards to our wedding…take a look at this inspiration board that I made via the wonderful Style Circle; this board marks a significant (and exciting!) shift in my overall conception of our vintage theme. I promise, I’ll share more details/ideas/explanations soon!

Credits: Docuvitae, Mark Brooke (2), Corbin Gurkin, Karen Wise, A Bryan Photography

Big news:  I think J and I have FINALLY settled on our color palette for our July wedding! We’re still in love with the combo of slate/silver grey and yellow, but we’re muting down the yellow a little (think maize) and also adding a muted grey-blue! J and I talked it through tonight, and we’re SO excited about our casual, elegant, rustic backyard vintage aviary wedding! (How’s that for description!)

Here’s a board I conjured up on Style Circle tonight; I just love the idea of creating continuity by keeping all of our floral decor in the yellow family. Plus, since I am most definitely DIY-ing our flowers (it can’t be that hard, right?!), I would love to know what you all think about yellow blossoms that are easy to work with and full of vitality and lasting life! I’m also going to try to use only seasonal flowers, to cut costs. I’m thinking of ordering the flowers wholesale from Sam’s Club here in town…thoughts, everyone?

I just had to run over here and write up a quick post:  the inspiration board I made earlier today has been featured on Style Me Pretty, the parent blog for the Style Circle!!

I am SO beyond honored to be showcased by this blog full of lovely, elegant wedding inspiration; many thanks to Abby and the SMP staff for featuring my board, and for all they do!

Here’s an inspiration board I created via Style Circle for you all; this one is directed mostly at J and his Dad, Steve, who will be collaborating to create our wedding invitation suite. Some invitation inspiration for you all today!

As you can see, I’m having a bit of split-personality disorder. While six of the invitations pictured above are very vintage (silhoutes, aviary motif), the “Jill & Matt met at work” invitation is still adorable. I already showcased this invitation in an earlier post, but it’s so innovative and cute!

If I had to describe the motifs that will (hopefully) be present in our wedding celebration next July, I would offer up aviary (a beautiful birdcage will hold our cards, and my mother’s birdhouse collection will be hung from the trees around our venue with ivory ribbon; I also love the idea of a birdie bride & groom adorning the top of our wedding cake!), silhouettes (I hope to incorporate our silhouettes into our thank-you notes, at the very least), rustic touches (think moss, pictures hanging from twine and clothespins around a tree, a wooden “Wedding” sign with an arrow pointing to our venue) and all-around casual elegance (wicker furniture placed in the courtyard of our venue, soy candles flickering in the sunlight, mini-golf and old movies). The best part about these motifs is that many of them are sustainable; by borrowing my mother’s birdhouse collection and her wicker furniture, we’re saving ourselves money and preventing excess waste! Furthermore, my former academic adviser (and all-around wonderful mentor) has an extensive film collection that I’m sure he’d let us dip into to provide a lovely round of movie-watching for our guests!

Maybe J and I can try to combine touches of all of these invites into one masterpiece; while I love the vintage embellishments and typeset, I also adore the modern twists of “Jill & Matt met at work.” I’m sure that’s how the theme of our wedding initally arose: “Something Old meets Something New.” With a mixture of tradition and indie/modern touches, I feel that our wedding will possess a casual elegance that I can’t wait to share with our guests.