Invitations and a Color Palette

Pinterest is a blessing when it comes to planning a wedding.  But it can also be overwhelming.  I was pinning away right up until about November, and then I put the brakes on.  Because I realized that the pictures I was pinning weren't my ideas.  They were beautiful and great ideas, but they were creating a brain overload and I starting venturing away from what makes a wedding special.

I wanted this wedding to be ours.  Not what's in style and what's being pinned on a daily basis.  I wanted every invitation and decoration to look like us.  As far back as I can remember, I've never been one to wish for a traditional wedding celebration.  I've always known that I wanted to get married in a natural setting with a small group of my closest family and friends. 



In 2007 I visited the Reeves-Reed Arboretum near Newark, NJ while training for my first job (crazy how the arboretum had Justin's middle name in it... I call that fate).  All I could think of was how perfect the arboretum would be for a wedding. I kept the brochure and tucked it safely in a bookcase for my reference down the road, y'know...since I wasn't even dating anyone (or dating anyone I actually liked).  We aren't getting married in New Jersey, but we are keeping the same idea.



When it came time to deciding on a wedding color palette all I heard was crickets.  Have you seen my house? I love neutral pallets... and I've never been to a wedding where color didn't exist.

Most decisions with the wedding have come fairly easy.  Picking a human being to spend my life with (I just had to find him...once I finally found him, the choice to marry him was easy), choosing a dress, bridesmaid dresses, venue, flowers, menu, etc.  All of that was cake.  The invitations... now that was a different story.



The invitation sets the tone for what your guests expect.

Oh how hard it was to find an invitation that is casually elegant (not rustic, or glamorous, modern or shiny, or trendy and sparkly). 

In fact, I never found one perfect for us.

My sister-in-law works at a Paperie in Nashville, and she's the lucky lady who had to put up with my pain-in-the-butt-ness (ya know, having an image in my head that only I can see, but I can't find it anywhere and I can't explain it well enough for her to create it).  We went back and forth with emails and ideas for weeks.



Until I created a mock-up in Photoshop and sent it over.  She made my creation come to life more beautifully than I could have imagined.

A custom invitation designed by myself and my sister-in-law (who I admire so much).  It wasn't easy.  But it turned out perfect.

I found a wreath I loved, and the quality wasn't printable.  So my sister-in-law traced the image by hand and made it work.  I love that personal touch.  I love that she created this for us.



I never chose a color scheme.  These invitations chose the palette for me.

The envelope liners are from Paper Source in Birmingham.  I browsed until I found sheets of paper that felt like I could frame and hang on my walls.

I want to frame these.

I cut and glued those liners in place.  Usually during the very late hours of the night.

Then I bundled each invitation set with a single piece of twine.  The twine had to be pulled apart from each other because the normal bundle was too thick to send through the mail.  Pulling apart the twine gave it a crimped look - which gave a little texture to the invitation.



Each envelope was hand addressed by me.  Again, during really late hours of the night.

And the stamps were deliberate.  I just couldn't allow hearts and wedding cakes.



I love how they came together and formed our invitation.  Our inspiration for every part of our wedding.

6 months into planning our wedding, and a palette had finally been decided upon.

What inspired your color palette?

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A Vintage Styled Wedding

Have you ever dreamed of a vintage wedding? Nothing is quite as lovely as inspiration from the past. Last month I was asked to participate in a vintage styled wedding shoot. And now I'm so excited to share this beautiful day with you!

There is something so special about the past and bringing into your own wedding day.  Vintage style has such an elegant simplicity to it that makes a beautiful backdrop for nuptials.  The soft scent of garden roses, pink antique vases, historic ballrooms, heirloom lace, and vintage rings - all of these details come together beautifully in this styled shoot.

I had the opportunity to meet these amazing vendors and I will let their work speak for themselves.  The shoot was styled by Crystal from Floral Sense, and the day was captured beautifully by TLT Photography.

"Request a smaller display cake to get the design you want and stay within your budget.  You can order a kitchen cake in the same flavor and nobody will be the wiser once the cake is cut and served." - Charity, Bella Birches

"Start preparing your wedding day beauty routine several weeks before the big day.  Drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.  Not only will the water help hydrate your skin, it will brighten skin tone and keep it clear.  If you suffer from puffy eyes, place two teaspoons in the freezer overnight and place under each eye for 15 seconds.  Repeat right before makeup is applied.  And make sure you're using an eyelash primer to help lengthen those lashes!" - Hailey R., Savaden Makeup Artistry (Best Makeup Artist 2013, by The Knot and Wedding Channel)

"When adding details to your own wedding use pieces that you already have.  This will give your wedding a personal touch so it's truly your own style." - Crystal, Floral Sense

"Remind your family and friends that while you appreciate their excitement, you've hired a professional photographer to capture the day so that they can enjoy it!  Ask guests to hold off on snapping pictures until later in the night, this will speed up the process and get the guests back to the party quicker.  It's hard to get the quality shots that you're paying for when there are multiple flashes going off." - Teri Lynne Truett, TLT Photography

Florist and Event Designer: Floral Sense

Photographer: TLT Photography

Makeup: Savaden Makeup Artistry

Hair Stylist: Jaime MacNeill
Bridal Rings: Titanium Buzz

Linens and Chair Covers: Special Occasions
Backdrop: Cherished Celebrations

Cake: Bella Birches
Venues: Captains Club at Woodfield, The Durant 

Dress and Other Attire: Davison Bridal
Stationary and Seating Chart: Unforgettable Announcements
Bride and Groom: Amber Berry & CJ Weber

How To Stay Organized While Planning A Wedding

Life is pretty busy for us these days.  We recently bought a house, are in the process of renovating it (ourselves), while we work full-time and plan a wedding.  Planning a wedding is a lot of work.  And since I don't have a wedding planner, or a lot of time, I need to stay organized.

This is my first wedding, so I really have no idea what I'm doing.  I know I need to buy a dress, choose a menu, add some flowers and taste some cake, but other than that, I'm lost.  I didn't realize how little I knew of planning a wedding until my friend (and bridesmaid) asked me what my wedding colors are.  Uhh..white??  The thought hadn't even crossed my mind!

Being a general control freak and organized person in every other aspect of my life, I needed something to keep me on task.  I was pretty darn excited when I discovered that popular wedding websites (like TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com) both have really helpful checklists for planning a wedding.  A dummy proof guide to keeping the busy bride on task.  It sounded perfect for me.

The checklists (and other organizational tools) on The Knot and Wedding Wire are very similar.  Either will work great!

I have been using the checklist through www.theknot.com.  Which is convenient, since I use The Knot for a few other tools as well.  I will definitely take advantage of an app to help me multi-task.  This checklist has been my guide, my bible, my main resource for all things wedding.  It keeps me from feeling overwhelmed, and most importantly, it keeps me on task.  Which will, hopefully, making the weeks before the wedding less stressful.  

The list is broken down by time increments (from theknot.com).  Our wedding date is in August, so it breaks the due dates down accordingly:

This is very helpful system because it reminds the planner/bride what needs to be done 12+ months out, between 9-12 months, 6-9 months, etc, from the date of the wedding.  

Here's one example of the checklist from the internet website (www.theknot.com):

Each task can be customized (the details, due date and reminder time).  Tasks can even be added (which is necessary to customize it to fit each individual bride).  

Since we are getting married in Traverse City (a 4 hour drive from our home), we've had to adjust a few things.  For example, I've had my salon appointment booked since November.  That's 9 months from the wedding date!  Traverse City is a hot spot in Michigan (especially in the summers), and so I didn't want to take a chance and miss out on the salon I wanted.  In fact, there was already a wedding party booked for later in the day.  So, had I waited until January or February to make a decision on hair and makeup, they probably would have been booked up already.  

Also, Justin and I will not be flying to a far off land after our wedding.  Because of our work and vacation schedules, we chose to take a break between the wedding and honeymoon (more on this later). Thus, it was necessary for us to push our honeymoon reminders out a few months.

The Knot also has a super convenient app for access on the go.  The app allows you to access all of your wedding info in one, very easy to use, app.  I actually use the app more than I use the website.  

You can drill down to the task and add customization on the app as well (just like you can on the website):

Not only does the app give you full access to your checklist, there is full access to the planning dashboard.  The dashboard isn't limited like in some other app versions of web pages.  You can update RSVPs, addresses and guests using the Guest List link.  And it's very easy to update the budget through the dashboard (although it seems to crash every time I attempt to update our accommodations budget).  I found one limitation to the app (versus the full website) - there's no updating the wedding webpage (if you have a customized web page for guest information).  Which isn't a big deal, but would be convenient if it was offered.

I've found The Knot to be a great organizational resource in planning a wedding.  I just wish I could use TK to organize my vendors.  They offer a vendor list where you can search for a listed vendor.  However, it only includes their approved vendors.  Not one of my vendors is on their approved list (which doesn't mean my vendors are any less qualified).  So I have to maintain a vendor list in an excel file.  It would just be nice to all wedding stuff in one place.

I use TK as my main reference for the checklist, budget, and guest list (RSVPs, addresses, invitation tracking, etc).  I also keep a binder organized with copies of the info I have in TK as well as invoices, contracts, swatches, and everything else related to the wedding.

There are tabs for everything (vendor list, budget, bridal gown, bridesmaids, venue, alcohol, transportation (shuttle, golf cart rental), music, photography, flora, menu, guest info, seating chart, salon, accommodations, guest welcome guide, stationary, registry, shower, welcome party, and DIY projects)...

I use this binder to keep a copy of everything that has been discussed with vendors... Emails, invoices, schedules, pictures, swatches, contact info, etc for every vendor.

There are so many ways to stay organized.  As far as I'm concerned, you can never be too prepared.

I won't always be available (especially on the day of the wedding).  I'm hoping my planning ahead and organization will help my friends and family find the answers they need if I'm unavailable and a guest or vendor has a question or concern.

As any bride knows, there is a lot of planning during the initial stages (hint: overwhelmed) and all the planning comes to a halt for a few months.  Then bam... it's 6 weeks before the wedding and you're running around like a crazy insane bridezilla.  I am in the quiet stage right now.  And frankly, it's frightening.  I feel like I'm missing something.  In fact, I've started to have these crazy wedding dreams.  Like, for example, the other night I dreamt that I had gone to a salon for a hair trial weeks before the big day and the stylist chops off all my hair.  In another dream, it was the day of the wedding and no guests had arrived.  I'm sure the dreams aren't going to stop.

How do you keep organized? What advice would you give to a bride when planning a wedding? What crazy wedding day dreams are you having??

xoxo

Mary 

Psst - I was invited to share a vintage styled wedding shoot last month and I finally get to spill the beans! Check back for some amazing pictures soon :)

The Bridesmaids

When it came to choosing bridesmaids, it was an easy choice on who would stand by my side.  I've read that friends come and go through out the year of planning, and thankfully, that's not something I worry about.

I don't have sisters or female cousins - but I have an amazing array of friends that have been in my life for a long time.  Which made choosing my 6 bridesmaids very easy!

I wanted to ask the girls in a special way.  Using something I made myself (they would expect that from me...), and something unique and sentimental.

I presented them each with a box tied with twine.  

Half of my bridal party lives out of town so I had to find the perfect moment to ask each of them:

• Amy and Anna came with me to my first dress fitting appointment.  When I came out in my first dress I handed them each a box. 
• Lindsay was at my second bridal appointment (the one where I found my dress).  This is when I handed her the box. 
• Krissy (my sister-in-law) was visiting from Nashville for Thanksgiving.  We only had enough time to meet with Krissy and Sean (my brother) for breakfast before we headed out to Pennsylvania.  I handed Krissy the box over breakfast...and of course, in true fashion, Justin mocked me by writing "will you be my groomsman? Check yes or no" and handing the napkin to Sean.
• Justin and I spent Thanksgiving in PA with the P family, and when we arrived, I could hardly wait to hand over the twine wrapped boxes to his sister, Courtney, and to our two flowergirls.  
• Just before Christmas my friend, Jenn, made the trip over from Grand Rapids and we met at our favorite lunch spot (Sumo Sushi in Rochester for anyone local).  And between ginger salads and Cloud Nine rolls, I asked her to be my bridesmaid.  

The general reaction from each of them - joy to get a gift and smiles when they opened up the box.  (Seriously, I love that you girls all humor me with your joy when you have no idea what it is...)

In each box was a cork wrapped with a message and tied with lace.  

Once the lace was untied, the paper clip could be held on the bottom and the message is then pulled out in scroll-like fashion to reveal the words: 

I happened upon this idea while I was trying to figure out how to incorporate a cork (since we'll be married at a winery).  And using other items I already had on hand.  I have always thrown wine and champagne corks into a hurricane vase and have accumulated a vase full over the years.  It was just by chance that I happened to have a cork significant for each bridesmaid... 

• Amy and I always drank the two buck chuck when we would hang out together.  And I had plenty of these corks on hand - and so she got, a very fitting, Trader Joe's Charles Shaw cork. 
• Anna had just got married in October and I saved a cork from her wedding.  Which worked out perfectly - I later discovered that she had never kept a cork from her own wedding and she was happy to have one.
• Lindsay attended book club with me.  One night I asked to pour her a glass of wine at book club and she turned it down (odd behavior).  With out thinking, I said "oh my gosh... you're pregnant!"  That was the night Lindsay told me she was pregnant - and she would later find out her and her husband were expecting twins!  
• Jenn's message was wrapped around a Leelanau Cellars cork.  Our families frequently traveled to Traverse City together growing up.  I have many memories of our vacations up north where we would visit wineries with our parents and we got to sip on cups of grape juice.  In fact, it's because of our time spent as kids that I have such fond memories of Traverse City - and a big reason why Justin and I are getting married up north.  
• Krissy received a message wrapped around an Arrington Winery cork.  That's the bottle of wine we drank at the winery when I visited her and my brother in Nashville two months before they married.
• Courtney and Mr. and Mrs. P visited Justin and I in Michigan about 8 months after we had started dating.  We visited Sandhill Crane vineyard together - and although Courtney was pregnant at the time, I will still always remember the first time they traveled to Michigan for us.  I used a Sandhill Crane cork saved from this day to hold the message.

So...here's how I made it.  

Using the smallest drill bit I had, I drilled a hole through the center of each cork. 

I then took a regular (large) paperclip and bent it straight, then fed the wire through the hole in the cork.

I bent the top of the paperclip to hold it in place.

Then on the opposite end of the paperclip, I broke off the excess with neednose pliers (by bending it back and forth) and then curled up the wire to make a handle that could easily be held.

Then I cut a small flag out of dropcloth, stamped it with the name, and glued it over the top "L" piece of the wire.

I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask the flower girls with a cork...so I drilled a hole through a small wooden dowel plug (which was a lot harder to drill straight through).

I then cut strips of drop cloth out and stamped the message on each leaving enough blank space for the cloth to be wrapped around the cork (or dowel).  I wrapped a full circle around the cork and glued the cloth in place.  

Then I rolled up the message and tied each scroll with a piece of lace...

And placed into a hand stamped box wrapped in twine.



I'm happy to report that all the girls said yes and I will be one lucky bride to have these ladies put up with my emotions...all the way up to the wedding :)

xoxo,
Mary