Homegrown Wedding

Gifts for your Ladies

 
My sister's wedding has come & gone.  Phew!  I have not danced that much since my cousin's wedding in Chicago two years ago!  My sister did an amazing job with all of the little details, especially the bridesmaid's gifts.  Jess had clutches custom made for each bridesmaid to match the colors of her wedding - blak, white, & pink.  The clutches were perfect & just the right size.  I was able to fit my cell phone, lip gloss, gum {which she inclueed in each one}, & my ever-important Maid of Honor speech.  Jess also gave each of us a necklace to wear on the big day.  We all wore black dresses so these necklaces add a nice bit of sparkle.  As the Maid of Honor, Jess also gave me the prettest flower to wear in my hair...which she made!  I love those guinea feathers.  More photos of her wedding to come! 

An Invitation from the Past

 
My first memory of a wedding invitation is one my parents received.  I remember the large, creamy envelope,  elegantly hand-addressed.  The envelope opened to reveal another envelope with just my parents' names.  I still remember my confusion, yet utter delight in this concept - like opening a small gift.  I removed the whisp of tissue paper & ran my fingers over the letters, delicately raised from the paper.  As I later learned in life, the invitation's text was a result of engraving - the oldest, most traditional printing option for wedding invitations. 

As an invitation designer & paper lover, it is so fun to take a look back at wedding invitations of yesterday.  My parents' invitation above was a perfect mix of traditional & modern.  The 1970's brought with it many breaks in the traditional wedding.  Bride's had a desire for diversity & uniqueness.  Many brides rejected the cookie-cutter standards of the 1950's wedding & began to opt for more unique ceremonies, wedding attire, flowers, invitations, & more color.  Color was huge!  My parents' invitation for their 1978 wedding was a folded card.  On the front was a photo of a sunrise through the trees with foil-stamped text - modern & trend-setting for the day.  On the inside the text was set in a script font & engraved - the essence of traditional wedding invitations. 

How are you mixing the traditional with the modern for your wedding?  In your invitations, perhaps?

Leave us a Note Pretty Please!

{Images via Brides - top photots & bottom right & MSWeddings} 

It has become abundantly clear there is no chronological order to this blog.  I just post when a thought or inspiration strikes.  I go from annoucing our date & location to...guest books.  It is just how my brain works.  I have been thinking about mini envelopes & how much I love them, especially glassine envelopes.  I hide little things in them all the time - stamps, business cards, gift tags, & so on.  I love the pop of color these envelopes bring, but I like the idea of guests being able to read notes left by other guests, hence the glassine.  I can bring color in through the design on the little cards & on the pages of the guest book like the top two photos.  I also like the idea of incorporating photos of Rich & I into the book so I am thinking photo on the left side & envelopes on the right...or vice versa.  We shall see. 

Pineland Farms it is!

{Images via Pineland Farms}

It only took 10 months, but the contract has been signed, the deposit had been paid, & the date is reserved.  It is official!  We are getting married at Pineland Farms on Saturday, September 18, 2010.   

2010?  What?  I thought you were getting married this fall?  Nope.  You see, my sister {my one & only sister} is getting married in 10 days!  We decided planning two weddings in one year is just crazy talk.  Let us spread the love and celebration for another year!  

We have our first meeting with Pineland Farms on Monday & I am ready to hit the ground running.  I am breaking out all the tools - let the DIY goodness begin!

paperfinger

{Images by paperfinger via Oh So Beautiful Paper} 

I really, really like paperfinger.  Bryn's calligraphy is modern, fun, & non-traditional, which is fantastic.  I want to do everything for our wedding, however handwriting all of our invitation envelopes may be one thing I delegate to someone else.  You need a few splurges, right?  This would be mine.  paperfinger has a bunch of different styles, but the above three are my favorites.  I seriously love the swashes & ink spots on the envelopes.   

paperfinger also supports green weddings & environmentally responsible projects, including the use of organic pigmented, naturally derived & non-toxic inks, the use of tree-free papers or non-paper materials, like seashells & leaves.  I have no doubt she would write on wood-veneer as well!

Table Top Thoughts

{Images via Oh Happy Day, The Bride's Cafe, & MS Weddings}

In addition to collecting dinner plates & milk glass vases {which I have been quietly doing behind the scenes, eventually I will take more photos}, I have been thinking of other eco-friendly touches for the tables at the reception. 

Striped straws are making a comeback {seen here, here, & here} & why not!?  They are completely charming adding just a bit of nostalgia.  Better yet, they are biodegradable!  You may purchase them here & here {& eventually here}.  At $3 for 50 straws, it is budget-friendly too.     

Instead of renting silverware, Rich & I thought about buying it {inspired by A Backyard Wedding}.  Then I came across Ecoware. They are made of birch wood, compostable, & biodegradable as well.  One of the latest MS Weddings {which, by the way, is an absolutely stunning wedding!} features Ecoware utensils & plates.  It natural, casual, & it feels like you are on a picinic, but inside.  Fun! 

This also leads me to thoughts on composting.  Rich & I compost so I am hoping that either our {yet to be determined} venue composts or  a wedding guest who lives nearby will compost for us.  Something to keep in the back of our minds...

Time to get Fancy

 {Images via J. Crew}

I saw the Marbella dress today on Green Wedding Shoes & loooved it.  The colors are quite close to my color palette idea.  I am not quite sure if I am on board for bridesmaids wearing different colored dresses.  I do like dresses in the same shades/color families.  I certainly like the idea of the Maid of Honor wearing a different dress.  What do you think, Jess {don't look at the price tag...}?  Everytime I venture off into the world of bridesmaid dresses I always seem to find my way back to the Sophia dress.  The silhouette is classic & flattering & the price is not too outrageous {hey, if you wear it two other times after the wedding it was only $55...right?  heh.}.  They even have shoes to match the Marbella, which would be extremely cute for the bridesmaids, but cha-ching!!! I would not expect them to buy those.           

Another dress that caught my eye {hello orange!} is the Printed Erica dress with an every-so-lovely Liberty of London print.  The Juliet dress is also pretty & I love the sweet cantaloupe color.  As a side note, I do not think I actually own anything from J. Crew.  Seriously.  I get the catalog & pour through it, but never buy anything.  Perhaps that will change with the wedding because they make it so easy!  If my sister likes one of these patterned dresses enough, I will buy it.  If she does not, then I will keep looking. 

I {Almost} see the Light

{Images via One Love Photo}

Simply gorgeous.  Barns such as this do not seem to exist in the area{s} where we want to be married, however any setting could be transformed with these lights.  They are magical!  And they might save me. 

I am having troubles.  Troubles with the idea of having our reception...inside.  I know.  Silly.  I really want to have our reception outside.  I really do not want to rent a tent that can fit 200 people.  Reception en plein air, anyone?  It is a bit of a risky venture with the late summer/early fall weather in New England.  However, one of the reception sites we are looking at has indoor options in case of inclement weather.  The idea of hanging these lights overhead makes the thought of an indoor reception a bit more bearable to me.  And, as Rich likes to remind me {over & over} that no one is going to care as long as there is a dance floor...& drinks.  Word.

My Sister's Bridal Shower

{Images by me & my father}

While this blog is primarily about my own wedding, I thought it would be nice to share a few bits here & there about my sister's upcoming July wedding for some added inspiration.  My mother & I, along with the bridesmaids, planned a surprise bridal shower brunch for my sister, Jessica.  You may check out the letterpress invitations I recently designed & printed.   As I mentioned, Jess has various elements involved in her wedding.  My mom & I focused on hydrangeas & lighthouses for her shower using pinks & greens.  We incorporated her other colors of black & white through the table linens & napkins. 

My mom found the white lighthouse tealight holders & placed them on a bright pink place mat, surrounded by smaller tealights.  Each table also had a baby photo of my sister for the guest's entertainment.  My mom spent many nights making chocolate lighthouses which she packaged in small cellophane bags & tied with  pink ribbon for favors.  I letterpress printed small folded cards with a pink rose & tied those with pink ribbon for guests to also take home as favors.  Each table had a small plate of shell-shaped chocolates for guests to nibble on during the shower.

For the headtable {where my sister & all the bridesmaids sat} my mom had my sister's florist create a gorgeous centerpiece which included peonies, gerber daisies, orchids, bells of ireland, hydrangeas, & roses.  This was just a little sneak peek of what her wedding flowers will look like.  I made the paper rosettes decorations & hung them in front of the headtable as well as on the wall behind the mountain of gifts. 

Of course, one of our favorite parts {& the one that took the longest to make} were the tissue paper pom-poms.  I hung them along the wall of windows & above the headtable.  I hung them fairly close to the ceiling so as not to block the magnificent view of Portland Headlight.  We wondered what we were going to do with them after the shower & I decided to give them away to any of the guests, many of whom were little cousins, to do what they pleased.  Jess took home a few & the rest will go in my studio!