Something old to something new.

Brilliant idea- a DIY chalkboard windowpane by Alyssa, via Ruffled. Instructions here. This looks like a job for my Dad, although, it's easy enough for me. 

On the water

My cousin is getting married at a local yacht club and they're looking forward to some great photos like the above photo. They're also planning to make their exit via boat. How cute is that?

Photo by Bart Young via The Knot

Flower power.

Fabric flower necklace via Twigs and Honey. 

DIY wedding photos.

Photoshop is the newest development in my life. I've downloaded a free trial version of the most basic package (for sale at $69) to see if I like it and with the plan to touch-up my own wedding photos. And...I've become a little obsessed. You can add people to photos, give people a tan, cover blemishes, do just about anything with color and you can even make the subjects up to 4% thinner! Will they be as good as a professional photographer's? Probably not, but they will be good.

If you haven't looked into photographers yet, prepare yourself. It's expensive. They start at $1800 and the most popular photographer in my area charges $8600. They're brilliant photographers so they're probably worth that much but sadly, only the wealthy can have their brilliant photos. If you're paying $8600 for photography, how much is the rest of your wedding budget?!

I think I'm going to have a talented friend shoot our day. She's never done a wedding but she has a creative eye, a good camera, and a lot of great photos in her portfolio. I'm confident that she'd do a great job. I'm also going to ask a few other family and friends to take photos for us at the reception. I'd love to capture the fun on film. Then I would photoshop the best ones myself. I'm taking the month to play with photoshop and think this over before committing but this seems like the best option for us.

A splash of color

Photo by Susan Jackson Photography via The Knot.com

How cute are these? The bride found wrapping paper that matched her wedding colors and pasted them onto the ceremony programs. This is a really inexpensive way to add color to the programs. If you can't spend money on decorations for the wedding ceremony (like me) then this is the perfect way to add something festive without breaking the bank.

Simply pretty wedding was featured!

Photo by Maggie. Jam by Maggie. 

I'm excited because my friend, Margaret, featured simply pretty wedding on her blog, Ten Thousand Places. I read her blog regularly because, well, she inspires me and I'm so honored that she featured simply pretty wedding during her week of weddings. You can read the feature here. Her best posts cover art, music, fashion, food, religion, design, literature, pretty things, and a host of other great topics. I particularly love this post, dedicated to her parents on their thirtieth wedding anniversary. 


Also, she's a great maker of jams. 

For a special occasion

Photo via Sunday Suppers, Croquembouche by Ali Kantor at Papery and Cakery 

A nice addition to a dessert table or perhaps instead of cake. It's a complicated recipie but you can do it! You can't however, do it for your wedding (to my great disappointment) because it should be served 2 hours after assembly. You'd want to ask a good friend or family member to make it or purchase from a bakery. 

You can make it for any other celebration. It's a delicious dessert that's not commonly served. I'm going with Martha's recipe. 

A little glamour.

Photo from Martha Stewart weddings

I've always loved the idea of long banquet tables. Round tables are more typical and frankly, easier to come by for a wedding. They're popular with good reason. But I still prefer long tables linked together. It's so glamorous and romantic. 

Photo by Justin Martinez via StyleMePretty

And when they're linked together in a "U" shape it seems like all your guests are seated together as one family. I'm not sure if I can scrounge up enough long tables but I'm going to give it my best. 

Sweetly whimsical.

These save the dates are the inspiration for my wedding invitations.

All can be found on Minted.com.

Signature drink

The signature drink bar. To keep the alcohol costs low we're going to pass on a full bar and offer beer, wine and two signature drinks instead. This is a huge cost saver because you're cutting the variety of alcohol you need to buy and you can get a better bulk rate (because you're buying more) of the alcohol you do need to buy. In addition, a simpler bar means you need few bartenders. 


We're going to make a little sign to display the drink options: "The groom is drinking bourbon and coke", "The bride is drinking sangria". Maybe this blackberry peach sangria. Yum.

Fab.

a la Vivienne Westwood.

Personalized gift wrap

Via Martha Stewart Weddings

A pretty way to personalize and wrap your bridal party gifts. More on this here.

Bridesmaid dresses

Photo by Martha Stewart Weddings

Bridesmaid dresses don't have to be the same! The girls look great matched but if you're best buds have good taste then they can probably dress themselves in something fabulous. Obviously, you want the dresses to go together so give them some guidelines on length, fabric, color and pattern options.

Photo via Classic Bride

Different dresses can add color to the wedding party. 

Photo by Erin Hearts Court

Bonus- the girls have the option of picking out something they can afford and that they really will wear again (unless your guidelines are very precise). Also, it ensures that the girls can wear a dress that they feel comfortable wearing. An uncomfortable bridesmaid (I've been one before) isn't looking or feeling her best. 

Photo by Jose Villa

Finally, I love the idea of letting the girls choose their own dress because each girl can express her own taste and personality. Sex and the City 2 gave me the idea with these fantastic dresses that had some similar characteristics but were very different.

Also, patterns in the right palette look great too!

Photo by Martha Stewart Weddings

Bookish?

Photo from Country Living via Fireflies and Cotton

If you gravitate to bookshelves when you're invited into someone's house then this post is for you. Why not use books as a centerpiece? A book collection tells a lot about the owner so using them as centerpieces is a great way to personalize your reception. Decorate with old books, prettily bound books, your favorite books or books on a particular topic like love, peace, your faith, etc. or choose a theme like favorite authors, classic literature, or books with happy endings. I've seen this done many times and it always looks great!


Then consider naming tables after a brief quote from the book, the authors, the topic, famous couples in love, etc. 


You could even place your guests at a table by a topic they might enjoy and have in common. Perhaps they all enjoy cooking, fashion, wine, David Sedaris, a particular polticial view? 

You can add a lot of color and texture to your decor for free, if you already own a lot of books or at least within your budget, if you're using it as an excuse to grow your collection! And books look great with ribbons, flowers, candles and just about any decoration.

Photo from Offbeat Bride

Finally, give out personalized bookmarks or a favorite book or book plate as a favor.

A quiet moment

A quiet moment before the excitement begins. And a lovely photo op.

Silver

Photo via OnceWed

If only I could have 300 of these. 

A cheerful surprise

New envelope liners from papersource. Forget wedding invitations these make me want to line every envelope I send! It's such a cheerful surprise. 


Here are my favorites:

Gold Mums.

Cherry Blossom.

Lux stripe envelope.

Cartes Postales

Photo via Style Unveiled.com, by Soul Mates Photo

Opting for a non-traditional guest book. A guest book isn't an expensive detail but it's one thing I can cut by using post cards that I already own instead. I've collected nearly 300 postcards over the last 8 years. Over 100 are from my domestic and international travels and some are just photo postcards that I found appealing. Like these: 

Original photo by William Eggleston

I've also collected post card versions of many of my favorite paintings. For example:

Chop Suey by Edward Hopper

By Johannes Vermeer

Girl with umbrella by Claude Monet

Guests will get to choose a card from a wide selection of antique, modern, kitschy, pretty, etc. cards. Then they'll be invited to write a note to the happy couple. After the wedding we'll stick them all in plastic sleeves so we can read the notes for years to come and have a nice display of postcards. It'll double as a coffee table book down the road. Perhaps we'll display them in a book like this:

Post Card book from Chronicle Books

If you're a collector of postcards and don't mind a fun and more informal guest book table then this might be preferable to the white satin guestbook. 

Photo from the Knot.com

A chic country wedding

These projects from Country Living magazine could be useful in a variety of wedding themes but I think they're perfect for a simple country wedding. 

What a great use for old sewing patterns! I'm no seamstress so I'd have to hunt for old patterns at garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets and my grandmothers attic but these big paper blooms are worth it.

Display a pressed flower in an antique frame instead of a large floral centerpiece. It's lovely and oh. so. inexpensive.

Attach an old doily to a simply glass vase to jazz it up a little. 

How about this pretty handkerchief table runner? I collect beautiful handkerchiefs. I'm not sure I could bring myself to sew them together as a table runner (even if I did know how) but they would make a lovely display. 


For more ideas visit the Country Living website here. 

Let them eat cake.

I'm determined to have a pretty and more importantly, a tasty cake, but cakes can be very expensive. This was a little surprising because, as George Banks put it in Father of the Bride, "a cake is made of flour and water". The cake estimate is based per slice, that is, the number of guests who will partake. After some research, I've found that the key to a good and reasonably priced cake is simplicity. I'll opt for several simple tiered buttercream cakes, in different flavors. Something like this: 

Cakes are often overdone anyway. Why stick flowers, ribbon, and gaudy decoration all over a prettily iced cake anyway? But some bakers do get the details right. For example, if money were no option I would have one of these...

Photo by Debra McClinton, featured in Real Simple

All buttercream frosting:

Photo from Martha Stewart weddings

Colorful details:

Cake detail and photo from UK baker, Fancy Nancy

Here are some non-traditional cake ideas that I liked:

Photo by Martha Stewart weddings

Monogrammed chocolate torte's for the chocolate lover (perfect winter wedding cake via Snippet & Ink).

Photo by Aaron Landry

These strawberry macaroon cupcakes look delicious! Bonus points for serving something so unusual.

Photo by Martha Stewart weddings

The hearts are appropriate for a wedding theme and I certainly wouldn't mind the extra chocolate cake!

I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake.  ~Mitch Hedberg