Ode to Champagne Cocktails

In honor of Mr. & me closing on our first house together, what better topic than champagne...since in my opinion, nothing says celebration more than some bubbly!

After I graduated last month, Mr. and I went out to celebrate at the same place where we had our first date. Since we had not been able to go back there on our anniversary this year (ya know, it's ok because we were in Spain and he proposed the next day), I surprised him and took him there for a drink. On that first date, I had had a champagne cocktail (I've loved them since my friend Kate got me hooked on Prosecco in Italy) and boy, do they have some great champagne cocktails at this place! Their full drink menu is on their website, but this is the drink I had when we were there last.


blu sparkles
hpnotiq
champagne
fresh pineapple



{ image from google not actually of this drink, but looks similar }

It was such a pretty blue, and (I'm feeling totally reminiscent of Lisa Turtle in the Saved By The Bell 'Mystery Weekend' episode when I say this...kiwi twist, anyone?) I loved that it matched the color of my ring.

What a fun way to incorporate wedding colors! I remember seeing something like this in Martha's Wedding book (can't find the photo but this is similar) where she had all champagne cocktails in big jars like these:













{ image from amorology via snippet & ink }

Perhaps we'll do something like the jars above for our rehearsal party since we'll be having sangria as our signature drink at the reception.

I think champagne cocktails are such a fun way to celebrate, whether they're the basic mimosa, or something a little more festive like the blu sparkle, and there are a TON of recipes out there!

Anyone else have a favorite champagne cocktail?

Flowerwild

Wow. Kate Holt of Flowerwild has provided me a ton of inspiration in her beautiful arrangements which are filled with my favorites: dahlias and peonies, and even a couple that use succulents! I'm only partly sad that she is in LA and I'm not because I'd be even more sad if she actually could do the flowers for our wedding but that we couldn't afford it.

Does anyone know what the white with yellow flower is in this top one? Is it just a really open peony?
















































































































































{ all images via Flowerwild }

Ribbons, Lanterns, AND Poms?

I have liked the idea of hanging something from the ceiling of the venue for a while, but after finding out how much draping fabric costs (and realizing the amount of work that it would take to put it up) I kept my eyes open for other ideas. So far I've come across paper lanterns (is it bad that seeing them everywhere turns me off to them though?), I definitely like poms (as we know from my previous posts), and then there's my love of ribbons. Twinkle lights would be lovely, only it just wouldn't have the same effect in the daytime.

Then one day I saw this tucked within photos of one my most favorite events ever featured on Style Me Pretty:





































{ images from Style Me Pretty }

And then yesterday I discovered amorology weddings and saw that they featured the ribboned lanterns as well:



































{ images via amorology }

LOVE! Although I don't think I want to use paper lanterns, I thought it might be nice to mix poms with ribbons hanging from the bottom instead.

So, I'm all ready to hop into photoshop and get to work or even head down to Michael's to try it out, and then what do I see again in photos of my newest favorite event on Style Me Pretty?










































{ images via Style Me Pretty }

These beautiful multi-flower poms are so great! Swoon. I love the different colors, and since I don't think we are going to stick with one or two "wedding colors" I like this option. They certainly seem like more work though.

Has anyone seen tutorials for poms like these?

Also, can you believe that both of these events were rehearsal dinners?? Goodness.

Things I Like: Wax Seals

When I was in high school (or maybe even middle school?), I had a wax seal with the letter J on it (mom, any idea where that might be?). I loved how it made me feel like royalty and how it made everything I sealed with it much more important. The seal was only to be broken by the person to whom the note was addressed, and if it was broken in advance they'd know the secret enclosed in the note would be out! I mean really, as if the world didn't know that Frank had a crush on Erin, c'mon...but any notes sealed with it were TOP SECRET.

Now that I'm seeing all these pictures of invitations or favors that use wax seals, I am convinced that I once again need one.
































































{ images and designs by Flush Designs }

The white one on the bottom reminded me of marshmallows! We had been thinking of having s'mores kits as favors, and how cool would it be to seal it with brown and white wax seals? Yum.

But the question is...what initials do we get? Our first names? His first, my first, and his last? Just the last? I had found a monogram of our initials in a book of monograms from the 1800's, and after quite some time with it in photoshop, I'm leaning towards it:












Will I lose a lot of the detail though if it's in a stamp?

So, I've seen wax seals on invitation suites, programs, and I'm thinking of using them to seal bags for favors. Has anyone seen or used seals in these ways or other ways? Is it a DIY nightmare?

More Swiss Inspiration

How cute! From Zurich Daily Photo

"The bread in the foreground is a special edition of a buttery zopf (normally it's shaped like a braid; today the top is shaped like a Swiss cross), which is traditionally eaten on Sundays. The red pastry is a mandel tortli (almond tart), and in the back we have some cookies with jam."

I would love to incorporate elements from our heritages, but am still trying to figure out ways to do that and exactly when to do so. Rehearsal party? Reception?

Is anyone doing that? Any suggestions or ideas?

My First Attempt at Photoshop

Tonight I discovered Pioneer Woman's blog and now have spent the last few hours actually learning how to use photoshop. Wow. This program can do a LOT!!! Anyway, don't ask me what I did to get to this point... but here are my before and after shots of Mr. & me on Easter after we announced our engagement to his family.

Before:










After some blurring, burning, layer masks, sharpening, rendering...










{ Photo by Mr.'s brother }

Might be a little too much...I'm all about subtlety, and these blurs and edges are a little too bold for me. My goal is to make it look like I wasn't trying that hard to make it look special, but not too bad for my first time I think!!

Does anyone know how to soften that sun that is on the side of our faces? It just looks really bright.

If you haven't played around with photoshop, I HIGHLY recommend that you head over to PW's blog and check out some of her basics. Or, if you use photoshop, what's your favorite tool/trick for your photos?

succulent overkill?

Ok, so I know my succulent obsession isn't new news...but I think this might be succulent overload. Am I crazy? Here me out...

Take the idea of the moss covered monograms from Briana at Elizabeth Anne Designs:













{ photo from Briana at EAD }

...and go to Simply Succulents and do the monogram with succulents instead a la this wreath?




















{ photo from Simply Succulents }


What do you think, too much? :) Maybe I'll just stick with the moss monograms, but I thought it might be a neat idea.

Things I Like: Ribbons

Ribbon is pretty. Since lots of ribbon is even prettier, I think weddings that use long, colorful, flowy ribbons hanging from trees, chairs, lights, and so on, are just fabulous. I am really liking how they are used in the photos below and love how I can almost feel the breeze just by the way the ribbons look like they're playing.

Ribbons on chairs:





































{ image via Style Me Pretty }












{ photo by Timothy Teague image via a small town bride }













{ chair decorations by Ariella Chezar image via Snippet & Ink }

{ photo by Jose Villa image via Design Sponge }










{ image via Green Wedding Shoes }

Ribbons in trees:































{ images via Snippet & Ink }





















{ image from Southern Weddings }

Ribbons, ribbons, everywhere!














































{ photo by Meg Smith image via Wedding Cabaret }

Or, ribbons AND flowers (Bougainvillea anyone?):













{ photo by her awesomeness, Punam Bean }














{ photo by Elizabeth Messina }

What do you think, do they remind you of...Medieval Times? Rhythmic Gymnastics? Or do you like them?

Making an Inspiration Board

I'm still on the hunt for inspiration for our wedding and I came across these questions from Snippet & Ink that I thought were great to help narrow down what you want the day to look like:

1. What season is it?
2. What is the mood of the event? Is it formal, casual, or something in between? Is it grand or intimate? Sophisticated? Playful?
3. What is the location? Inside or out-of-doors? How can I play up regional/local elements? Does the architecture/scenery inspire me?
4. What single element can tie everything together? Is it a theme? A certain flower or fruit?
5. How can I stretch this idea? What is unexpected but fits perfectly with all the other aspects?

What are your answers? If you're still planning, do these help you at all?