Wedding Planner Confession

I adore the look of DIY. Especially when I see gorgeous details on blogs like Ruffled.
I confess that I HATE the actual do it yourself part (i.e. glue guns, scissors and fancy paper cut in thirds, less one inch).
That's why I love that I have a team (Melissa & Courtney) that loves to do the crafty stuff:

(L to R) Kelly, Melissa, Courtney photo by impressions

and I order from Etsy religiously.
Do you have anything to confess?

Unique Invitation idea for the "other parties"

One of my favorite things about getting married is that there are usually several parties leading up to the big day.  I love the styling and planning behind all of them.  I was away from the studio the last couple weeks freshening up and taking a short break and of course I've come back with a million ideas.

This 1st one came to me in the check out line at Ikea.  I know, kind of odd (normal for me).  But you never know where you'll find inspiration.  So I found this set of wooden serving utensils at the "gotcha" bin; you know that bin that's impossible to pass up.  How cute is this set I turned into an invitation to a seaside potluck picnic lunch? Perfect for a casual affair, perhaps a picnic or brunch.  Or even a dinner party.  All you need to do to make it a bit more formal is replace the packing tape with a beautiful silk ribbon and mail the set in a pretty box.

Super Simple DIY:

1. Buy the utensil set
2. Use some ultra fine point sharpies to decorate and write on all the info
3. tape together with cute packing tape from Michaels
4. Bring to post office to have weighed and pick up the stamps
5. Mail just as is, no envelope or box required
6. Get ecstatic phone calls when the invitees receive their ridiculously cute invitations

Need a venue for your "other" parties? Check out this article I contributed to for Brides Florida magazine

Thinking outside the Card Box

For years I have seen the same old same old for the "envelopes" at weddings.  Pretty much always a bird cage or a mailbox.  The past year or so we've tried really hard tro come up with some boxes for Newlywed cards and well wish notes that fit into the design of the wedding.  Sometimes just a trip to homegoods is all I need.  This of course, is pure luck.  I got lucky today when I found this for Photographer Brides wedding.

Welcome Table

 For her welcome table we'll be placing well wish cards next to the card box as well, so that guests can leave sweet notes for them.

Well Wish Card Stack

Leave your well wishes and sweet notes for the Newlyweds

Be certain to have a sign explaining what the box and notes are for!

Well wishes and cards

Now, if you want to get crafty, here is a super easy way to add another touch of your design to your welcome table.  This Paper Mache Card box took about 30 minutes to assemble and 30-45 minutes to dry in the sunlight.  Instructions below!

Paper Mache Well Wish or Card Box

You'll need:

A bottle of water

2 bottles of elmers glue

Sponge Brush

Scissors

Decorative Paper

Mixing Bowl

Paper Mache Box

Drop cloth (or old pillowcase)

1. Cut the paper into assorted sizes (not smaller than 3 inch squares)
2. Mix 2 parts glue to 1 part water, mix until smooth and creamy
3. Highlight small areas at a time with glue solution
4. Place assorted paper pieces on box and apply a second layer of glue on top
5. Place outside to let dry

A Christmas Wedding of Red & Green Vol 2.

I promised more photos from this darling Christmas wedding, and so here they are.  One of the things I most loved about this international destination wedding weekend was that we did not fight the Christmas season, rather we embellished it!  All the places we had events were already decorated for the holidays, so we just added what we needed to make certain that it still felt like a wedding celebration.

The Rehearsal dinner at Kings Crown Dining Room (South Seas Island Resort)

The Wedding Reception at The Sanctuary Golf Club

A wedding embellishment to the bride & grooms chairs

Simple stunning tables with gold chivari chairs. Centerpieces of red roses, Christmas Greens and berries. Place settings were completed with the glass gold beaded chargers and champagne menu cards.

Cocktail hour on the greens behind the club

With such lush landscaping, a large centerpiece isn't necessary

The Sanctuary Clubhouse

Pretty little cocktail centerpiece. A Rose bloom, Christmas greens, and Hypericum berries

Vintage car for the bride & groom. Could you just die over the classicism of this?

I just love this photo of their wedding day car. classical antiquity (I looked that up on google.  Sounded pretty fancy)

The brides White bouquet.  Quite delicate, as the bride requested!

CD favors of all the bride & grooms favorite songs that were played at the wedding.

The menu cards really were beautiful with their champagne paper and charcoal ink.

Thanks again to the awesome talents of Impressions Photography and Floral Artistry!

A Christmas Wedding of Red & Green

It's so hot right now that as I went through all the photos I had a difficult time believing that it was in fact cold during this destination wedding!  This classic and very traditional wedding was traditional only by the fact that there was a ceremony and a reception. What?  Yes, I know, quite confusing.  The bride was from Switzerland, the groom from Ohio and their guests...name the country, we had someone from there.  So the traditions and etiquette we followed while planning were "tradition" as it was known in no less than 5 countries.  We dealt with hats, and high tea and imported cheeses I still can't pronounce, no borders on stationery, when to capitalize a "D" and when not to (depending on your royalty)...I never learned so much in all my years as I did with this one wedding!

Red Rose Rehearsal Dinner Centerpiece with Christmas greens, Hydrangea and  Hypericum berries

Bridesmaids bouquets of White Roses, Christmas Greens and Eucalyptus

Classic Ceremony Programs tied with champagne ribbon

The bride & Groom at Saint Isabels altar

Each lady of the bridal party chose her own dress, to match her hat.  The hats were the most important part of the attire as I now know.

I adore this image of Swiss bride & groom taking a moment to themselves between the ceremony & dinner reception. Sanibel is so incredibly beautiful.

All these photos were taken by Impressions Photography.  Krista and her team worked tirelessly for 4 days straight, and was wonderful enough to share these images with us. Flowers by the always exquisite Floral Artistry (go to their shop if you can- it is stunning!).  More images in tomorrows post!