3.03.2009

I have ideas out the Wazoo!

So now that we've nailed down some pretty big stuff, I'm onto the details that I'm hoping will make my wedding memorable.

It's hard because I've seen so many great ideas on all the different blogs I frequent, but not all the ideas align with the theme I'm trying to convey in my wedding.

For those of you unaware, I've been pulling together a lot of vintage, antique, and heirloom influences. So today, I'm going to provide a quick rundown of some favorite ideas. I'm not sure which ones will make the cut yet, but we'll just have to wait and see!

For My OOTers:
We already know that with the wedding being in Charlotte, we'll have plenty of out of town guests. Because of that, we're having our reception at the hotel we hope everyone will stay at. So I've been brainstorming for non-traditional OOT bags. I came across these lovelies from Blissweddingsmarket.com




Wouldn't it be awesome to present some Charlotte-specific totes for all my guests making a small vacation out of our wedding?! I just have to find someone who does "Charlotte" specifically now!


"Calligraphy"
I got my birthday card in the mail today from my Grandma. She's 90 years old and doesn't write much anymore, but she handwrote my address on the envelope. I am so flattered and grateful for that!
The more I got to looking at it, she has the PERFECT handwriting for an heirloom wedding. Through i-diy, I found a great fontmaker and I'm hoping she'll agree to make my Grandmother's handwriting into a font. It's something I'll be able to have long AFTER the wedding, but I'd love to address all the invitations with it and use it throughout the wedding!


Lace
I have absolutely fallen in love with all things lace, including doilies! And what better place to find lacey-ideas than Country Living?
They have two articles on ideas for decorating with doilies. Even if I don't use all the ideas for my wedding, I may use them at home!
My mom has vowed to collect some for me, and I can't wait for fleamarket weather!



Do me a favor....
This might actually be the most difficult to nail down. I've always been a firm believer that wedding favors should be eatable. Why give somebody junk that they won't have a purpose for the day after your wedding? So I've been brainstorming on favors and came up with this beauty:
Gormet Marshmallows via Plush Puffs! They have a bunch of different flavors to choose from and the price is reasonable! How cute would these be wrapped in little cellophane bags with a gift tag on them?

On the other hand, I also like nontraditional favors like these:

I know it's not something anyone would really use after the wedding, but isn't it just a cute touch to the reception? I'd love to provide something like this just for fun, but not in place of a favor. I don't know if it's in the budget though. And unfortunately the company that gave me this idea doesn't offer the cork coasters anymore, and I think they're just the coolest looking ones.

They have the other ones here for anyone who's interested.




Decor Encore
I've found a few things I'd like to include in my decor, but once again, it's narrowing down to a cohesive idea. Our colors are Chocolate Brown and Pear Green. We're playing on the idea of "The Perfect Pair" by using pears. I'm custom designing centerpieces. I also want to keep including that "heirloom" or "vintage" feel. For example, I absolutely ADORE these from Decorative Country Living:

I tried handmaking a couple and found it was a pretty easy diy. I got all the white buttons I could find off my grandmother and will continue to collect them. I don't like how they've used all the same button here, so I fully intend to mix and match!
Where will I hang these? Glad you asked:


Per my request, David's mom and my mom have been looking thru pictures of us, respectively, from when we were younger. We're going to hang them similar to this with some of my button hearts breaking up the clusters of pictures. I'm hoping we can hang them in the cocktail/cookie table area for people to oogle while waiting for the reception to start! I've seen some of the pictures my mom has picked out already. It's going to be quite the show ;)



We're also doing the giant matted picture for a guestbook thing. I know this isn't novel, but I don't think I'd ever get a guestbook back out, and this is something that will become an heirloom for my family as the years go on. I really like the thought of being able to see those signatures and well wishes for years to come.





Stuff still in the works:
Figuring out how to decorate the ceremony site has been interesting. Purchasing yards of lace is not cheap and I HATE taffeta. We want to keep that area simple since we're already outside and it'll be beautiful as it is.

Centerpieces have also been tricky. We've been planning to do them mainly in whites and greens using pears and china and very little floral additions. I'm thinking of doing Chocolate table linens, and I think the white and green would pop.

As for me, jewelry, shoes, my attendants dresses and jewelry are all still up in the air, but I hope to get those nailed down soon.

And as for papercraft, I just got the finished results from Jessica of Jessica's Design Shop on the monograms and such I will be using. She did a great job and I highly recommend her for anyone looking for some personalized work! I'll be posting sneak peaks of that stuff soon enough.


Last but not least, I've updated our wedding website! The Knot released some new user-friendly designs and I took advantage hardcore! I'm so proud of it so if you haven't visited it already, please do and leave us some love! I also may have leaked one of Jessica's designs somewhere on the page too!

Enjoy!

3.02.2009

Awful First Dances

So this post is going to come across as a little hypocritical.
David and I have briefly talked about what song we want to do our first dance to. We don't really have any songs that are particularly meaningful, so we're going with one we just really like.

But in searching for songs and inspiration, I've found myself glued to the awfulness of Youtube.

As a former ballroom dance instructor, I never realized what people looked like once they left my studio. Youtube has provided me that horror.

I've taught my share of "First Wedding Dance couples." I've turned out a few dances that I felt proud of. Some people wanted to simply dance on beat and feel comfortable busting out a couple moves instead of doing the "prom sway." Other couples (mainly the brides to be) wanted elaborate dances choreographed for them. Typically, these were always the people who would felt they had to impress a bunch of people, but refused to devote the time or money to accomplishing this task. Talk about frustrating to teach.

Knowing that I love to dance, David had inquired as to what I wanted to do for our dance. After watching many Youtube videos of people who look hopelessly uncomfortable, entirely too involved in thought, and terribly scared, I easily decided I didn't want to choreograph anything.
I honestly would be happy with swaying as long as I was actually enjoying our first dance. Doing a couple of turns would be fine by me too. But seeing people struggle to get their dance "right" and try to be something they're not makes me sad. Well, sometimes it makes me laugh.

The only great choreographed dances I've seen have been the "bust it out side by side" dances which are fun to watch. Unfortunately they're waaaaay overdone now.

Not to mention the fact that most of these brides choose these hideous ball gowns and/or strapless gowns which make it 10 times more difficult to dance in. For brides that don't realize it, those huge gowns also ensure the people don't see most of what you're doing because they hide your legs and body so much that all people have to focus on is your bad posture and awkward armstyling. Oh, and people will be looking at the way you glare at your new husband for not getting the steps right.

And my other pet peeve? When the couples don't even have their hands correct. Men, you lead, and you offer your new wife your left hand. Otherwise, it just looks like she's gonna be wearing the pants in the family!

But for now, I'll leave you to wonder what song we've chosen for OUR first dance.
And I'll leave you to wonder what THESE people were thinking!










Seriously, what is this? A party or a performance?