Playing with Envelope Liner Patterns

So I just played around with a tile pattern frequently found in southern Spain...changed the colors around a bit to match a little more what we'd like. What do you think? Could it work as an envelope liner? Big question is, would it look weird with the vintage stamps I have so far?

Jumping on the Vintage Stamp Bandwagon

I loves me some vintage stamps. Tell me that by next summer they won't be overdone?



{ image via Wiley Valentine }



{ image via Wiley Valentine }





{ images via Jenna Hein }



{ Elizabeth's vow renewal stamps, image via Kids and Cocktails }



{ image via Nothing But Bonfires }

So I started collecting my own for our wedding invitations:



{ photo by me }

The individual ones are all 3 cent stamps. The sheet is the "Legendary Baseball Players" set of stamps. Mr. and I are huge baseball fans and so he was thrilled to learn that I was thinking of using them.

Again though, I have a feeling it might be tricky to put the right ones together and not make it look like color vomit on the envelopes. Anyone have any hints of grouping them? Or know of any other stamps that might look good with these? Do you think they're going to be too colorful and I should just start over?

Invitation Inspiration

So here's a picture of what my morning is looking like so far:



{ photo by me }

Along with finishing off the puppy collars that I knitted for FMIL's dogs (you can kinda see the buttons I'm painting in the photo) and several other chores around the house, I'm also going through a bunch of cardstock color swatches for our invitations.

Going with of our lack-of-"wedding colors" idea, I had this idea of a multi-colored invite but now that I see all of the colors together I definitely feel like it's going to be too much. So, now I'm trying to figure out how to use more than 2 colors without making it seem like an invitation to a circus!

Some things I KNOW I want to include with our invites:

• vintage stamps
• a cool font
• some nod to something Spanish - either a Spanish tile pattern as an envelope liner, iron scroll work as detail on the invite, or the orange tree my mom drew for our save the dates.
• natural-colored envelopes addressed with white calligraphy
• color

I like the trifold pocket enclosure invite idea, so the invitation would be matted in the center with a pocket on the right side that has the different cards (directions, reception, rsvp, etc). Originally I had thought it'd be fun to have each one of the cards a different color but as I said, now that I see all of them together it'll be WAY too much.

Here's some inspiration and ideas that I like so far:

I like the simplicity of just the tree at the top on these.



{ image via Style Me Pretty }

Sigh, to have letterpressed invites. Perhaps we can use the tree from our save the dates? I think this idea might be a little TOO simple though.

Love the watercolors at the bottom here.



{ image via Wedding Paper Divas }

It uses a lot of color, but it's not too rainbowy I think?

How cool is this font!



{ image via Rifle }

I like how these feature that iron scroll-type work. Reminds me of all the wrought iron gates with bougainvillea growing up them in Spain.



{ image via Wiley Valentine }

Love love LOVE these invites. Everything about them. The vintage stamps (I'm totally jumping on that bandwagon, think they're so cool!), the font, the colors of the suite, the vintage maps, the dark envelopes and white ink.



{ image via Nothing But Bonfires }

Ok so in that last one, they stuck with two colors, but the envelope liners, stickers, and matting of the invite gave it a bit more color. Maybe that's the best thing to do? Out of all of these ideas, which do you think would work the best with our Rustic Mediterranean feel? Would it be too much to use all of them?

Things I Like: Colored Baker's Twine

I don't know of many bakeries who actually still wrap their goodies in that red and white twine anymore, but wouldn't it be just wonderful if more of them did? I mean, it's just so lovely.



{ image via Classic Bride }

But hey, why do bakers get all the fun? How about some wedding uses too!



{ image via Style Me Pretty }



{ image via 100 Layer Cake }



{ image via Oh So Beautiful Paper }



{ image via Oh So Beautiful Paper }

And then there's colored baker's twine...LOVE it!!



{ image via Orange Blossom Ink }

Cyd's beautiful wedding programs! Cyd, I love this and hope you don't mind if I borrow the idea :)



{ image via Oh So Beautiful Paper }

Ok, and I know it's just plain ol' twine, but I love the mix of the twine and wax seals.



{ image via frolic! }



{ image via Flush Designs }

Surprised face that (knower-of-all-things-beautiful) Kathryn at Snippet & Ink has already thought of this idea...



{ image via Snippet & Ink; Top row from left: white flowers, invitation by Mr. Boddington, lemonade from Martha Stewart, J.Crew dress from Brides; Row 2: balloons photo via Brooklyn Bride, bakery box from Bliss Weddings Market; Row 3: tulips from Taste; Row 4: photo by Liz Banfield, photo by M. Polss, photo via Book By Its Cover, tie from Rebecca Thuss }

Unfortunately, I'm totally not very creative and can't think of as many fun wedding uses for baker's twine as it deserves. Anyone have any other fun ideas?

Rethinking the Garter Idea

No, I'm still not even *considering* having a moment like this at our reception:



{ image via praxxis }

But I'm having a hard time saying no to this one from Bleu:



{ image via Bleu Garters }

Totally not what I think of when I hear the word garter. Love it.

Alison Conklin at Riverview

Alison Conklin (a fav photographer of mine) shot a wedding at Riverview recently. While not too many of her photos really showed the venue, this one does a pretty good job of showing the ceiling and the brick fireplace that's in the center of the room as well.

Holiday Party!

Thanks to our busy marching band schedules, Mr. and I have not seen a lot of our friends in a LONG time. There are also some friends who have not yet been to our new house, so we decided that we should have a holiday party. While I realize this will probably cause me great stress a month from now, I'm looking forward to entertaining for our friends and hosting the first party in our own house (our 4th of July party doesn't count...I'll DEFINITELY have to share that story later)!

We're calling it "No Room at the Inn" because we live in Nazareth (get it? that whole Mary and Joseph thing on Christmas Eve? yeah, we thought it was clever) and I even made up little invites to email out last night:



{ inspiration for my invite from Cheree Berry Paper }

(The little star at the bottom says "Get it? Because we live in Nazareth...and it's a holiday party...")

I've been scouring Martha's files and the blogs for decor ideas and I can't wait! It's like I get to incorporate all my favorite ideas from those beautiful winter weddings since we're getting married in the summer. Again, I say this now and I have all these grand ideas for decor, but I'm sure I'll be stressing a few days leading up to the party.

We've been thinking of a bunch of fun holiday recipes, unfortunately 99% of them all come in a glass. Actually, I think they might all be drink recipes. Hah, so does anyone have any fun (and easy) holiday snack/food ideas we can make as well?

THIS is our photographer

It is taking all my energy right now to not run around school and just giggle and dance (I'm currently subbing for high school in-school suspension...don't really think that'd be appropriate?) Tell me that these photos do not make you want to do the same!!!





{ photos by Punam Bean }

You MUST click on these photos to enlarge them. As long as you have a drool cloth ready, that is.

After we chose our venue and date, hiring our photographer was the first thing we did. I'm so glad to have gotten that out of the way, and I'm SO excited that Punam will be a part of our day!!

If only we had somewhere exotic like the secret gardens of a french chateau to celebrate our wedding... Anyone have one of those that we can borrow? :)

Our First Wedding

Mr. and I went to our first wedding together last weekend and we had a wonderful time! Not to mention, we learned a TON. He was the best man in the wedding so between the two of us we were able to kinda see both sides of the day.

The part that stuck out as the most memorable of the day had nothing to do with the flowers or invitations or food, or actually anything at the reception at all. I will never forget how my heart was pounding after the moment that the bride and groom saw each other for the first time and she walked down the aisle.

It's easy to put so much focus on the font for the invitations or the flavor of the cake or table decorations and the whole party that comes afterwards that sometimes I feel like we can lose sight of that big thing that happens before we crack open the champagne. I felt so honored to be a witness to the vows they said to each other. No, they didn't write their own, but it felt so special to be able to see them take such a big step together. Special isn't even the word...it was just...just something so sacred and I felt truly honored to be able to witness that moment.

Mr. only looked at me once during the entire ceremony because we knew we would just lose it. I have no idea how I'm not going to be a slobbering mess come the time that we have to say our vows. I mean, why can't the girl say the vows first? I think I'd be less likely to cry then. Anyway...there are some things that we're going to do a little differently.

• PHOTOGRAPHY - Where to begin? First of all, it took them over 2 hours for the bridal party to meet the rest of the guests at the reception after photos. Made it totally blow that I didn't know anyone except my future in-laws and I was seated at a table of 8 other people I didn't know. Seriously now, 2 hours?? Also, Mr. said that the photographer was one of those, "now tilt your head this way...a little bit more to the left...a little less smile" type photographers. Also, he was so busy trying to pose shots, but when the bride was holding her baby nephew and they were gazing at each other both with big smiles, you'd better believe that it was not enough for the photographer. No, he needed them to look at the camera! It's not even like the bride and groom had requested a lot of photos, it's just that it really took him that long to just take a few shots. Sigh. NO thank you. I'll pass on that please.


• Food - Ok, I blame this on the photographer again, but there was like no food while we were waiting for the bridal party to get to the reception. I hope to have plenty of appetizers ready to go as soon as guests get there.


• DJ's Music - For the first 4 hours the DJ played only 1 song from the last 30 years. It was only during the last hour (overtime...the bride's brother paid the DJ to stay a little later after all the old people left, well except for the bride's 92 year grandmother who ROCKED it!) that he finally played some newer music. I get it, you need to have music to fit everyone's tastes, but seriously, I had had enough with the disco and Motown by the third hour. I was ready to get out and shake it to some Michael Jackson! Wasn't even going to hold my breath for some Black-Eyed Peas. Don't think that Michael would have been too much of a compromise.

Overall though, what an amazing day. It certainly changed my view of wedding planning a bit and made me TOTALLY excited to get married :)

and this is why I love Beth Helmstetter*

Exactly how I feel about having "wedding colors"...From her blog:

"So many brides out there spend lots and lots of time hunting for the exact shade of ribbon that matches the envelopes of their invitations which also matches the stitching on the bridesmaid's shoes and so on and so on, but I say, no more. Not only will this make your head spin in circles, but in the end the focus of your design becomes these one or two colors that have now vomited on your event. The colors rule you and your design instead of you ruling the design. All of the sudden you are buying hot pink toe nail polish for the bridesmaids and purchasing items like purple pens for favors just because they are in your color scheme. Instead of having the romantic glamour you were going for, you now have a pink mess that includes pink favor boxes tied with the perfectly matched pink ribbon enclosing the perfectly matched pink macarons which now match the pink napkins at the cocktail hour and the pink ties on the groomsmen. Rather than forcing yourself to choose a strict color palette, plan on choosing a color story along with bringing in elements that you simply just like. You don't have to have pink lemonade just because your wedding colors are pink and yellow. But, if you love a certain palette then plan to feature these colors without overdoing it. For example, if your "colors" are lavendar and green, don't be afraid include a variety of purples in the palette to make things look more natural all the while relying heavily on the lavendar. Add some texture to printed items and even some of the accessories for the wedding party that feature hints of the palette without forcing it down your guests throats. Make your focus more on creating an atmosphere or a feel more so than anything else. Don't worry if the paper on your placecards is not the exact color as the signature cocktail, because no one else will be. In fact, if you do overly match these types of things, guests might start to notice the slight OCD that you have been developing since the planning process has begun and that's not good for anyone :). But seriously, in the end, the event will look more interesting and more sophisticated by not taking the obvious path to an overly matched event."

*Beth Helmstetter is the one who created that fabulous wedding I can't stop talking about below*
{ photos by Steve Steinhardt }

Dresses for the Bridesmaids I Don’t Have Yet

I know, I know...cart, horse, whichever isn't supposed to come first, whatever. I just couldn't help but post about the dresses that I've been looking at so far as contenders. Really, it's more the look of these dresses and the colors that stick out to me.

I like the multi-colored look, but do you think it'll have the same effect with only 3 girls with me? I LOVE the colors of the dresses in the bottom photo, unfortunately they are way out of budget.


{ photos by Olivia Leigh }


{ photo by Lisa Franchot via Style Me Pretty }

Here's what I'm thinking: I choose colors for the bridesmaids and then have them choose a dress that they like in that color. I've also been thinking of going the Etsy route...still having the bridesmaids choose a color and then they can work with the designer to create a dress that will be most flattering to them. Either way, I want the girls to be as comfortable as possible and (don't we all wish this?) that they can wear it again in the future.

Anyone go the Etsy route before for bridesmaids dresses?

Look out Christian...

J Crew, I love you.

Check out their shoes that are very Louboutin without the Louboutin price tag:






















{ image via J Crew }

















{ image via Polyvore }

Giveaway Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered and congrats to those who won!

The winner of the business cards is:
Briana

The winner of the stickers is:
Flip Flop Bride

The winner of the postcards is:
Kathleen

Make sure you contact me with your full name and email so I can confirm with UPrinting about your prize. I'm excited to see how you use them!

Chinese Tree Peonies

You've just GOT to see the color on some of these tree peonies...

{ All photos via Cricket Hill Garden }