I always love seeing wedding photos, but when they come from a reader, and when that reader found her venue through Snippet & Ink, that's even more of a treat! Karen and Nick booked the Acqua Hotel for their May wedding after seeing it in this real wedding feature, and planned a beautiful celebration. (Karen also made an inspiration board to help her vendors understand the vision she had for the day!) I also have to point out Aubrey Trinnaman's gorgeous photography - this is a lady whose work I imagine we'll be seeing plenty of in the future...
Before the ceremony, the bridal party took photos in the Marin Headlands. Though the day started out foggy, the fog lifted in time for the ceremony.
Karen and Nick's budget friendly decor included 36" white balloons and bright orange flowers in IKEA vases.
Karen and Nick used miniature clothespins to attach seating cards to the balloon strings.
Buttons were customized with quotes and photos about Nick and Karen, things like "Virginia is for Lovers," "I Heart NY," and "Coke tastes better out of a glass bottle" (Nick loves Coke, and guests enjoyed Coke in glass bottles, as well as Guarana, a drink from Brazil where Karen is from). Karen says, "The buttons were a hit with guests who added flair to their outfits throughout the evening." (You can have custom buttons made at Busy Beaver Buttons.)
Congratulations Karen and Nick - thank you so much for sharing your lovely wedding day with us! And thank you to Aubrey Trinnaman for sharing these incredible photos. I really hope we'll be seeing much more of her work soon!
I'd like to interrupt this incredibly exciting, post-filled day to show you a little something I came across while surfing the net. Yeah, I said it. That way.
You know I love a bargain. Like, I LOVE a bargain. There's nothing that makes me happier than knowing a got an absolutly fantastic deal on things- especially wedding related things. I mean, really. I'm still talking about my wedding dress that I got for three times under my budget.
Another lady that loves a bargain is The Broke-Ass Bride. You might know her from another alias, Mrs. Meatball on Weddingbee. This girl is hilarious! And not only is she funny, but she's smart. Anywho- I could sing her praises all day. While catching up on old posts I came across this fantastic idea for a bargain wedding cake. Yeah, that is a Rice Krispy cake. Awesome!
Would you ever think of doing something like this for your wedding? What's the biggest kick you've gotten out of a wedding bargain? I'd love to hear your stories!
Let me tell you, some of the hardest decisions to make are what should be the easiest.
Sean and I had three options for a Christmas tree:
Use my miniature artificial tree to save money.
Buy a bigger artificial tree, which is bad for the environment, but would be reused for all of the foreseeable future. Also, doesn't need water, doesn't demand vacuuming, etc.
Buy a real tree, which is what both of us grew up doing.
I posed this question to the internets and here are two of the 20 responses I got on Facebook:
"Real trees blow. Go with a large fake one, they aren't expensive, they last for years, and best of all they don't flare up seasonal allergies."
"Real. It's biodegradeable and it'll smell like Christmas. Even the Apple Store has one. Think about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, there's bound to be one plastic tree up in that mess....."
I decided that since it's my first Christmas with my future husband, my first in our new home and my first in Newport News, we should go with real. I'm here to say: So far, so good. Watering isn't too much to ask and Sean quickly vacuumed up the needles.
We went to Dean and Don's Farm Market on Warwick Avenue in Newport News, which was such a great choice. The trees sold there are farmed in Floyd, Va. and each is tagged with a name and a price. We saw "Carly Simon," "Hannah Montana," "Bullwinkle" and some other fun ones, but we brought home a handsome fir named "Thing 1."
We also brought home a Target pre-lit artificial wreath to hang on the porch door.
I wish I could say decorating was easy. Sean has a bit of a reputation in his family as a Grinch and I think I might have been a bit grinchy for both of us. I'm a very particular, very just-so kind of person, which makes me a terror when trying to trim the tree.
We didn't have enough white lights for a big tree (since I only had lights for a mini tree), so Sean graciously went out to Target to get two more strands. Then he brought those home and we found he'd bought white cord lights, to which I said, "WHITE CORDS? WHITE CORDS? WHO ARE YOU?!" So he went back and exchanged them.
And hours later, after two trips to Target, several breaks to watch a very anticlimactic Amazing Race finale and other distractions, we finished. And may I say, I think our tree is gorgeous.
I set up my new glass jars (to be filled with candy) in front of a mirror with a garland I used to drape on my mantel at my much-missed Staunton apartment.
I trimmed the garland with my IKEA diamond-shaped lights. LOVE them, but I don't love that LED color.
Most of my ornaments are ones I've had since childhood. I dug and dug through the box to find my favorite -- a glass ballerina. So gorgeous.
And we bought Sean an ornament of his very own, one of two on the whole tree. We need to buy this boy some ornaments, stat!
I'll be away from blogging for this week, since we don't have internet in our house. But don't worry- when I do come back I'll be armed with lots of pictures from the new place!
To be completely honest with you, this is probably the post I was most looking forward to sharing! I understand not everybody enjoys a do-it-yourself wedding, but I come from the kind of family where my mother/father/grandmothers would look at something and say, "I can make that."
I wanted the family to feel like an antique garden party. I told my mother I wanted it to give the impression we just gathered some stuff out of grandma's attic and planned a last-minute party. I could not have executed this vision without plenty of time to plan, and I had a leisurely year-and-a-half to pull it together.
The weekend before the wedding, I made three wooden signs out of posts and pre-cut arrows I purchased from Michaels and secured with wood glue. Directional signs were crucial because there were three weddings in the same complex that night!
Sara and I spent two days in April punching hearts out of the "Twilight" books to make these garlands. We used twine from the $1 bin at Target, and bought the heart hole punches at Michael's. I chose to use the "Twilight" books because they were the only literature I could imagine destroying; I figured fans of the books would think it was romantic and people who hated the books would think it was funny.
My friend Bret told me it was hilarious to see people reading the hearts and saying, "Oh, this is when Jacob is teaching Bella how to ride a motorcycle..."
Sara, my stepsister Crysta and I all worked to make the glitter stars. We purchased cardboard 3d stars from Michaels, and used Martha Stewart glitter in gold, silver and bronze. They were gorgeous! We hung them from the trees with ribbon, also purchased from Michael's, and I plan to use them as Christmas decor for the rest of my life.
I picked up this sweet vintage cake topper from the 1940s at my favorite antiques store in Staunton, Va. It's called 17 East Beverley (which is also its address), and has to be one of my favorite places to while away the hours. The sweet lady at the checkout counter said it was from her collection, and told me she used her entire collection as centerpieces at her son's wedding. Isn't that a sweet idea?
I didn't want to spend a lot of money on favors and I've always liked edible favors, so I decided to do a candy bar and give people muslin bags that they could fill with candy. For our candy bar, I collected apothecary jars and vases from Target, TJ Maxx and various other places.
Our candy bar included Twizzlers, Sixlets, M&M's, Swedish Fish, cotton candy-flavored rock candy swizzle sticks and Charleston Chews (an old favorite of my mom's). I ordered the swizzle sticks and chews from Candy Crate, the only place I could find the right flavor of rock candy!
Ashleigh kindly hand-stamped each of these muslin bags, which are just so excellent for all kinds of gift bags. I always receive Anthropologie jewelry in them, but they are great for sachets, office products, candy, etc.
I ordered 100 of the bags for $25 from Celestial Gifts. The stamps were office-themed, because Sean and I met at our college newspaper office. They are made by Cavallini.
The vintage Coca-Cola crate, by the way, is from a great antique store in Newport News called Plantiques. It's located in Hilton Village, right on Warwick Avenue.
We agonized over what to do for a guest book. My original dream was to use a typewriter, like all the cool couples in blogland and Martha Stewart Weddings. But despite months of searching, we couldn't find an affordable, usable typewriter and I was becoming desperate.
When my friend Miranda was married, her guest book had cute little cards with writing prompts in a blank scrapbook. The prompts asked guests to predict how many children the couple would have, and where they would live; others had Mad Libs-style paragraphs to fill in. I liked that idea, but I wasn't having much luck finding a completely blank scrapbook. Stymied again!
THEN, a week before the wedding, I spotted John Derian's hollow storage books at Target and I knew I had found the perfect guest book for us. Using a card catalog we keep in the office as storage, I printed four newspaper-themed prompts on the back of index cards: Archive, Headline, Horoscope and Advice Column.
People filled them out, stuck them in the box and the box will go on our bookshelf. It was great fun to read people's advice and predictions for our future, and the headlines were really fun.
I was equally stuck on what to do for programs, but I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money because experience has shown that no one other than parents keeps them.
I decided to keep our color scheme and print two pages on the cheap pastel paper you can buy at Office Max, then secure them with fabric tape from Michael's. The first page featured our bridal party and the ceremony info, while the second page had our thank you's and shout outs to all the people who helped make our wedding happen.
I bought the Canada Dry crate at the Williamsburg Antique Mall. I decided to use crates at the wedding because they can easily be used and reused for storage for the rest of our lives. That was very important to me...I wanted to see reminders of my wedding in my home.
I love this shot Ryan got of the Bentleys looking into the venue; the Bentleys were my second family growing up!
Our caterer was Sweet Madeleine's, based in Gloucester. They were amazingly flexible, and brought out all sorts of little touches I wouldn't have even known to request. We told them we wanted food that was unpretentious, delicious and easy to eat. I wanted people to mix and mingle, and make a meal out of whatever they liked.
Our menu included: cinnamon bourbon brie tarts (above), sesame chicken skewers, caprese skewers, shrimp cocktail, Virginia ham biscuits, assorted fruit and cheese and the piece de resistance -- mini burgers with a display of toppings.
Sean doesn't much care for cake, so we had a groomsman run out and buy an apple pie to surprise him. He ended up not having a bite!
I bought the napkins on close-out sale from For Your Party!
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TitleWedding Decor Ideas : How to Make a Centerpiece for a Wedding Reception
When making a centerpiece for a wedding reception, it is important to make it unique because it will be the center of attention at the table. Learn to make a beautiful centerpiece for your wedding with the guidance of an award-winning wedding planner in this free video on wedding decorations.
Expert: Phyllis Cambria Contact: www.WeddingPlansPlus.com Bio: Phyllis Cambria is a nationally-recognized, award-winning party planning expert, event marketing expert, wedding planner, wedding coach, author and sought-after speaker. Filmmaker: Paul Muller
Title:Show Me How to create own Wedding Decorations
How-To DVD Books order at showmehow.im
Show Me How - Wedding Decorations is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to give a wedding reception an individual style by creating their own table settings. To give a personal touch to the arrangements, each one includes a range of lovely handcrafted decorations to make.
Each table is styled by experts, who demonstrate how to make all the projects and also explain the basic skills and materials needed. There are lots of professional hints and tips, money-saving ideas and advice on personalizing the arrangements.
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Title:Wedding Reception Decor Ideas
Following wedding decorating with Sherisse Bhimani from The Wedding Decorators Inc. Wedding receptions, ceremonies & other events like birthdays, proms, engagements, coming out parties, communions, corporate events & more. Please visit our website for more details www.theweddingdecorators.ca serving Toronto Canada & surrounding area.....
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Title:Wedding Decor Ideas
http://www.bestforbride.com/
Wedding decoration ideas for banquet halls, synagogue, churches and more including wedding cake decor, head table decor, boutonnieres, bridal bouquet, centerpieces, wedding backdrops and more.
I think J.Crew's wedding gowns just get better and better. They're designing chicer, lovelier gowns than half of the wedding designers out there. All my engaged friends, I beg of you to drop $2,400 on the Starburst gown up top.
How dreamy is that tulle overlay? This is lovely Lorna, and she costs $3,000.
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Title:Urban Cowboy Wedding Trailer
by http://www.VanessaMcKellar.com
What a blast this wedding was! The events took place in Fort Worth, with the reception downtown on the rooftop of the Reata. I loved the theme of the wedding, sort of cowboy meets preppy. The adorable dresses were from J Crew, and they had pockets in them, even the bride's. Brooke looked totally classic and timeless. Her dress and accessories and hairdo were clean and simple, and it all made a great backdrop for her striking beauty. For the reception, everyone changed into cowboy boots and the girls donned these super cute chunky necklaces.
I enjoyed filming this wedding partly because Brooke is one of those brides that just "gets" video. She was so excited to have me there documenting everything, and that only made me more excited. And Matt, he's such a softie. It seemed like every time I looked at him he had tears in his eyes. What a sweetie!
Another thing I liked about this wedding was the band. They didn't have just any wedding band, they had a personal concert by cult favorite Max Stalling, a great musician who also happens to be their family friend. Max has great charisma and sweetness, and no cheese whatsoever. People were singing along to his songs all night and having a grand old time, despite the rain that tried to put a damper on things.
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Actors//
Erika Madrid - Bride
Alem Regala - Priest
Alemar Regala - Gay person (LOL)
Gino Yso - Groom
Directed By - Angel Advincula & Julie Ilagan
Produced By - Rivka Cabalquinto & Julie Ilagan
Edited By - Julie Ilagan
Don't Hate! Just Enjoi!
We had to rush the dance scenes because it's our last day of filming! But it turned out awesome! :D
Wedding Dress - Performed by : Tommy C. & J.Reyez (English Version)
My Heart Will Go On - Performed by : Celine Dion
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*We DO NOT ON ANY COPYRIGHTS OF THE SONGS*
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Title:J.Crew Bridal Boutique, Part 2
Part of our tour of the new J.Crew bridal boutique with Tom Mora, Head of Wedding Design for J.Crew.
Okay, I'm snagging this intro right off of Lillian and Leonard's blog (they're the talented photographers here), because it really is the perfect summary of Julia and Ben's elopement:
"Wouldn't it be great if we could just elope to Scotland?" Julia asked Ben in the midst of planning a large and traditional wedding on Australia's Gold Coast.
And so a plan was born. The bride, the groom, fourteen friends and family members and a tiny Scottish chapel in the Highlands. A meal at a renowned hotel, a cottage in a sprawling estate and an evening of drinking and celebrating in the local pubs. All of the ingredients, in other words, for the perfect Scottish elopement.
The rest of the story comes to us from the bride...
A few years back Ben and I went to Scotland to live and work overseas for nine months just after he proposed to me - we had been together two years at that time. We started planning a huge traditional wedding back in Australia 18 months ago, but it felt like everything we were deciding on didn't really represent who we were and were not meaningful to us. One night while sitting on the couch Ben said in passing, "I wish we could turn back time and elope in Scotland." I told him I would do it in a heartbeat, and when we looked through our budget we realised that for the amount we were paying for a large wedding of 80 guests in a popular venue location on the Gold Coast, we could spend traveling through Scotland for a month revisiting memory lane - as well as a wedding! So we started calling our parents and siblings right then and there to see if they would be up for the adventure and we got the all clear. So it was set. We completely changed our style of wedding that night and started the crazy, internet-based planning for a destination wedding - which was the best decision that we've ever made.
Our wedding was very low-key, but we wanted to make it as meaningful as possible, not just for us but for everyone involved. Because we had a small budget (because we were spending money on a three week trip around Scotland as well as a wedding) we aimed to let others create elements of the day for us with love - things being perfect never entered my head. Details we could look back on and say, "They did that for us, how amazing," that's all we wanted. My Friend-Of-Honour always wanted to be a hair-dresser, so she asked to do my hair on the day. My sister loves stationery, so she put up her hand to create the Order of Services and the box for Ben's wedding gift. My mum made my mantilla, which she hand-sewed every sequin, and she loved every moment of creating it (I have no idea how someone could love hours of this kind of thing, but she was just beaming on the day knowing she made it, and that made me beam).
The ceremony took place at the temple on Belladrum Estate, which the couple found through a Google search the same night they decided to elope. The reception took place at Bunchrew House Hotel, just a short walk away.
Every piece of jewelry was borrowed from the family. The necklace was the necklace my granddad had made and given to my grandma on their wedding day, then my mum wore it on her wedding day, and then I was given it by grandma last year before she passed, so it was an extremely important item on the day for me to represent my heritage and was the one item that started the vintage/antique theme. The pearl earrings were Ben's mum's who was given them by his granddad the day Ben was born.
Some wonderful advice from the bride: Go with your heart. In everything. Don't be afraid if you want to change your mind. Don't be put off by others' opinions. Let them know you love them and explain to them what's important to you.
There wasn't much in the wedding that Ben and I actually bought for decorations. We had one suitcase to fill for everything, so we wanted everything in it to be meaningful. Our cake-topper was a Willowtree sculpture we've had a couple of years now that we thought would be less expensive to have than buying something else. And a linen tablecloth - I love linen, and I wanted something to keep that I could say was a part of our special day that we can use all the time.
Julia and Ben hired Alastair Brown to create a video of the day that they could share with friends and family at a larger celebration back home in Australia.
Congratulations Julia and Ben! I love being able to share your story with other Snippet & Ink readers, and hope they'll draw as much inspiration from your wedding as I have. Thank you to Cara and Nye, the husband and wife team behind Lillian and Leonard Photography, for sharing these photos with us - just beautiful! You can see even more from Julia and Ben's sweet Scottish elopement on the Lillian and Leonard blog (like I said, I snagged the intro straight from their post!).
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