Joy: Our Wedding – Reception Table Centerpieces!
Written by Sara on December 8, 2010 – 10:46 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 and The Getaway Car}
Here’s a look at the centerpieces that we utilized at our wedding! We used the following items for each table, as well as the cost per item:
- 1-2 birdhouses (depending on size) from my mother’s collection. We did purchase a few birdcages (my Mom mostly has birdhouses, and I love cages!), so I would say that we spent $50 max on 2-3 birdcages.
- A picture of our relatives on their wedding day. While we borrowed many, many picture frames from family members, we needed to purchase a few frames; I would estimate that we spent no more than $25 total.
- Mason jar, tied with ribbon, with a candle inside. We brought these from the ceremony site to the reception site (yay for reuse!), but we needed to purchase one set of jars (my mother had the others!), candles and the ribbon. I would estimate about $25 for this project; we purchased a ton of candles from IKEA for super cheap!
- Letter ‘G’ to represent our last name, Gillis. I purchased these at Hobby Lobby, painted them ivory and distressed them with sandpaper. Total cost for this project: about $15.
- Square of burlap, which acted as an anchor of sorts for the centerpiece. I know that we purchased a large bolt of burlap from Joann’s Fabric for 50% off one day…I’m sure it didn’t cost more than $20.
Here are a few more pictures, including our cootie catcher favors, a note for our wedding guests, our DIY fabric napkins, and our DIY photobooth tickets!
Up next: More reception decor – the wishing tree and our photo displays!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our lovely photographers]
Tags: birdcages, birdhouses, burlap, candles, cootie catcher favors, Creative Kindling, DIY fabric napkins, DIY photobooth tickets, mason jars, reception centerpieces, Wedding Recap
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – More Photos
Written by Sara on September 23, 2010 – 9:00 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look and Girls & Guys Attire}
A few more photos for you all! Check out some of our fun posed shots:
Then, we moved downtown for some (super-fast!) outdoor shots – it sure was warm outside!
Check out our guys’ cool socks – a gift from us! :)
Then we returned to the chapel for some family shots!
Up next: pre-ceremony activities…and my nervous energy!
[All photos by the amazingly talented Creative Kindling]
Tags: argyle socks, posed photos, wedding party photos, wedding party posed photos, Wedding Recap, yellow & grey
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, DIY, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 6 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Girl & Guy Attire!
Written by Sara on September 15, 2010 – 12:09 pm -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps: Hair appointments, Picking up flowers, Getting ready, The Gown, and Our First Look}
While Jordan and I were having our “First Look” moment and snapping a few pictures, our bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers and flower girls were getting dressed!
If you can recall, I had one heck of a time selecting a dress for my gal pals to wear on our wedding day. But, looking back, I couldn’t be more pleased with our final dress selection (dresses by Dessy)!
Here’s a picture or two of my beautiful bridesmaids; don’t they look gorgeous!? {NOTE: Preview pictures from the ceremony!!}
The guys (both groomsmen and ushers) looked equally fabulous in tuxes that we rented from Evelyn’s Floral and Formalware in Sioux Falls; I believe that the tuxes were Calvin Klein:
And, who could forget my darling little flower girls! Dresses were made by BoutiqueSophia on Etsy:
And now, the cutest baby picture ever: our niece and flower-girl-in-training, little Miss Harper:
Love that baby!
Up next: a few posed shots of my hubby and I, our wedding party, and our families! Stay tuned…
[All photos by the amazing Creative Kindling]
Tags: BoutiqueSophia, bridesmaid dress, Calvin Klein tuxes, charcoal grey bridesmaid dresses, Dessy, Etsy, Evelyn's Floral and Formalware, First Look, flower girl dresses, flower girl in-training, grey and yellow tuxes, Sioux Falls, tutu flower girl dresses, Wedding Recap
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Fashion, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Our First Look!
Written by Sara on September 10, 2010 – 11:09 am -I know, I know…it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a wedding recap, but here I am! Catch up on recaps here: hair appointments, picking up flowers, applying make-up and putting on my gown!
Jordan and I chose to do a “First Look” before the ceremony because we wanted to take all of our formal/posed pictures before the wedding. So, after I put on my wedding gown, shoes and jewelry, my maid of honor Kristen, our photographer Kara and I headed over to meet Jordan and Aaron, our other photographer who had been with the guys snapping photos!
I think I’ll just let the pictures do the talking here…but know this: Our “First Look” ended up being my absolute favorite part of the entire day.
Isn’t that so much fun?! How handsome is my hubby! I was floored, just so ecstatic to finally see him, to finally show Jordan my dress…it was such a perfect moment.
Up next: Bridesmaids & Groomsmen – a look at their attire!
Are you doing a “First Look” at your wedding?
[All photos by the outstanding Creative Kindling]
Tags: First Look, pictures before the wedding, Wedding Recap
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, DIY, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 6 Comments »
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 | 4 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 | 20 Comments »
Big.
Written by Sara on July 29, 2010 – 10:56 am -
Dear readers, I’ve been struggling to find the words to blog ever since our wedding day, simply because it was such an overwhelmingly wonderful day and I just can’t seem to find the words.
But – I’m going to try.
Our wedding day was full of tears (mostly my Mom’s), happy claps (mostly my maid of honor Kristen’s), sweating (everyone; it was nearly 100 degrees outside) and happy-nervous energy (mostly mine).
I promise to bring you full-on recaps as soon as A) I feel up to it – I’m still rather exhausted and overwhelmed by the hugeness of it all, and B) we get our professional pictures back from our lovely photographers.
Be back soon, I promise. Just know this: it wasn’t perfect, it didn’t go all as planned, but the utter fact that it WAS is just big. It’s BIG.
[Photo by my dearest friend and maid of honor, Kristen]
Tags: Wedding Recap
Posted in Our Wedding, Personal, Wedding Recap | 1 Comment »