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 I wanted to showcase my ideas for what our groomsmen can wear for our wedding day. Keeping in line with the rustic, sweet vintage style, I know that I definitely want the guys to wear bow ties for our big day. Jordan will probably don a traditional tie, but I would love to see the guys in bow ties.

I’m truthfully still undecided in terms of grey suits v. grey tuxes, but I’m definitely leaning more toward the tuxedo side, simply because I have an appreciation for continuity. How great do these gents (and ladies) look (picture via Style Me Pretty by Olivia Leigh Photography)!?

However, I’m still fascinated with the idea of having my guys wear either grey suits of their own or grey pants and a grey vest. A friend of mine from high school, Amber, recently married her sweetie, and this is what her guys wore (photo by Geneoh Photography):

Don’t they all look sharp!

I also found this inspiration board via a Google search:

How much do you love the vest look!

Yet, I am struggling to figure out how we go about styling our groomsmen this way. Readers, our dear groomsmen are all different heights and sizes, and I just wouldn’t even know where to begin with finding a store to outfit all of them! Do you have any suggestions for budget-friendly stores?

I know that this picture isn’t groomsmen-related, but I would just LOVE for Jordan to wear something like this amazing suit on our wedding day (photo via Green Wedding Shoes, by Amanda of In The Now Weddings):

Have a great Tuesday!

Hi everyone,

From reading my blog each week, I assume that you all have noticed the blogroll that appears on the right side of my web page. As you can see, I’m a big fan of wedding blogs, and I feel eternally grateful to bloggers like Abby at Style Me Pretty, Amanda at Vintage Glam Weddings and Emily at Once Wed for the endless creativity they offer.

That being said, it’s a true statement that many of the blogs I frequent tend to feature weddings well above J and my meager budget, and I often find myself longing for professional lighting or the financial ability to supply pashminas for my guests. Surprisingly, I only experienced my first bout of envy at the hands of the blogosphere this week.

While perusing the always-lovely Style Me Pretty earlier this week, I stumbled upon the Idaho wedding of Cortney and Scott, and while I was wowed by the decor (if you want an outdoor wedding, seriously DO THIS SET-UP, and you BETTER invite me!), I was even more wowed by the photography, done by the amazing Stephanie Fay. The problem: Stephanie’s stellar photography is WAY WAY WAY out of our budget.

I felt sad that we couldn’t drop thousands to afford the skills of a wonderfully creative photographer, but then I remembered something: I have friends from high school who are amateur photographers that will certainly be able to pull of amazingly wonderful photographs and will work hard to document our day for a fraction of the cost.

Therefore, despite my sadness at not being able to utilize Stephanie’s amazing eye for detail and impeccable knack for capturing important moments, I know that our wedding photography will be special to us and just as memorable, because it’ll be us in the photos. It’ll be me in the white dress and him in the grey tux, and we’ll be joyous and overwhelmed and in a perpetual state of wonderment that we found each other. Photographs don’t make feelings like that happen – love does.

That being said…Stephanie Fay, if you’re reading this, I absolutely love your work. Any couple should feel lucky to have your eyes behind the camera on their big day.

Also, to Cortney and Scott…you guys rocked it out. Seriously.

[Photo Credit: All photos via Stephanie Fay]

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!

One of SMP’s newest features is Style Circle, a new interactive site that not only allowers registered users to blog about anything wedding-related, but also has an AMAZING inspiration board builder! I tried it out for the first time today, and man, was I wowed. The design process is easy as pie: click and drag photos onto a pre-figured board design, or freestyle with a blank canvas.

Here’s my first attempt at formulating part of the loveliness I hope to incorporate into my wedding: rustic elegance. The best part about the decor I’ve chosen is that many of these objects can be found/borrowed and reused! What’s more eco-chic than that?!

Head over to Style Me Pretty‘s new Style Circle to make your own inspiration boards; feel free to email them to me at sara.eiesland@gmail.com!

I can’t wait to see what you all come up with! You’ll never believe all of the WONDERFUL photos are available to choose from! Best of all, if you fall in love with a SMP featured wedding, the chances are good that you’ll be able to use some of those photos as your own inspiration!