on the wedding front
I realized after reading some survey results that I haven’t talked in detail about my wedding plans in a while. To be honest, time has really slipped away from me. It seems like yesterday that we were at the six month mark! It’s also become a bit stressful, because there are so many little things that I thought I would have planned out.
But now that we are down to the last couple months before our wedding, it is crunch time. I have folders and folders of inspiration I’ve gathered from wedding blogs, and I’ve crossed a million too expensive/too time consuming ideas off the list. So. Time to make some decisions! Now!
One of the bigger things we recently crossed off the list is decorations for our reception site. Since our flowers will be in mason jars, I thought about hanging mason jars and wire lanterns from the beams with tea lights in them. But when we did a test run of that idea, it was a major failure. The space is simply too big for small hanging things like mason jars and candle lanterns.
So, I’m back to the idea of paper lanterns. They’re cheap, pretty, and with battery operated lights you don’t have to worry about outlets or extension cords. Add some luminaries in there, and we’re almost finished!
We’ve also found a place to rent hanging baskets of ferns on the cheap, and you can get good sized palms at Lowes for about $22. Fortunately, our reception site is beautiful by itself and needs very little in the way of decoration!
The invitations still need a little bit more design work, even though we hope to gocco and mail them in less than 4 weeks. Designing for yourself when you’re a designer is apparently the hardest thing in the world! Brendan says (with a smile still on his face) that I’m the most difficult client he’s ever had. But in the end, our invitations will be a complete collaboration and I am sure they will be wonderful… right?
Last weekend I took my dress to get fitted, and I still love it as much as the day I picked it out. Which is a relief. It makes me feel good, and pretty, if I do say so myself.
Oh and check out our “getaway” car – it belongs to my neighbors and I’m pretty excited about it. That’s my crazy neighbor there in the photo. (Crazy in a good, kind and generous way, obviously).
Photo credits: top four reception photos by me, bouquet photo by union photography, paper lanterns by darwin bell, fern by amanda bel, invitation by simple song, car photo by the holsts
Responses to “on the wedding front”
amy j.
February 20, 2009 at 11:24 ami still have 52 white paper lanterns if white is what you’re going for! and some battery lights.
ali
February 20, 2009 at 11:46 amoh my gosh…i know we keep talking about it but it still seems to slip my mind that I actually get to be there with you guys! i am becoming excited. :)
Christi
February 20, 2009 at 8:13 pmVery sweet. Your getaway car is very much like Luigi from Disney Cars – my very favorite! Congrats!
Anna
February 21, 2009 at 7:05 amHi Ellie, I’m “Sharing the Love” and have tagged you in my latest post. You may have already been “loved” but if not, check out my post to see what’s involved. Anna.
Heather from the bar
February 21, 2009 at 10:52 pmDesigning our invitation suite took for.ev.er. Designing other ladies invites comes so easily, but with ours I just couldn’t pick one design. And then even when I did I critiqued it like no other. I am happy with what we came up with and can’t wait to finally get them printed and sent out!
Lyndsay
February 22, 2009 at 8:03 amDesigning our invites was THE HARDEST part of our wedding, only because I couldn’t settle on a design. I was definitely our worst client too! But how often do you get to design your own wedding invitations!? It was a nice, pre-marital bonding experience, staying up late for about two weeks assembling them all too!
I made some easy/cheap luminaries out of white candy bags (the kind that have square bases, in Australia we call them lolly-bags) and silver paper doilies – just trimmed the doilies to size and stuck them to the outside of the bag. When you put a votive candle in them and dim the lights, they looked really really lovely, and they take no time to make. Scattered around here and there in groups, did the trick!
Your ferns look amazing. Looking forward to lots more details from the wedding planning process – enjoy this time, it goes so quickly!
David Santos
February 22, 2009 at 3:08 pmFantastic posting! Brilliant inspiration!!!
Congrats!!!!!
Kaylen
February 22, 2009 at 4:40 pmi canNOT wait!
Mary S.
February 23, 2009 at 8:32 amThanks for the detailed wedding post! I am getting married in November and could use all the inspiration I can get!!
lovelymorning
February 24, 2009 at 7:09 pmdesigning our invites was terrible but also super fun and satisfying. especially the stamps. but i of course waited until the last minute, sat down one saturday and just made them. and by the time they were back from the printer, i only kind of liked them. sigh. i am never satisfied with my own work for more the 24 hours. at least you guys are going through the whole process! i can’t wait to see them.
joanna goddard
February 24, 2009 at 11:39 pmyour neighbor looks awesome!!!!! he looks like a french film star from the 70s.
Lindsay
February 27, 2009 at 12:25 pmI hear you on designing your own invites as a designer – it is so hard! But I’m sure they’ll turn out beautifully.
Bridget
February 27, 2009 at 10:08 pmOh goodness…wedding planning seems like so much fun! I would love to hear more about it :)
perfect bound
March 18, 2009 at 9:41 amJust beautiful. It makes such a difference when the planning process is sweet and slow and enjoyable. I’m so jealous! I wish I could do it all again. One wedding in every season. Enjoy!