Weddingbee Blog

Confession time: detail posts are always my all-time favorite part of recaps. I know that’s a little messed up, since there’s no display of emotion, no heartfelt glances or sweet embraces captured in detail shots. But as someone who spent 10 months pinning away and absorbing photo after photo posted on wedding blogs, I did care about the details.

Feast your eyes, detail lovers.

The Invitation Suite

I had a huuuuuge crush on all of Rifle Paper Co.’s designs. (Still do…I have a Rifle Paper calendar hanging above my desk at work.) I love the nostalgic hand-painted illustrations and lettering—Anna Bond is a genius. However, I couldn’t afford the $1,000+ price tag for 100 save-the-dates, invitations, and RSVP cards. Our whole stationery budget was $150.

So, I wiped the cobwebs off my old painting supplies (I took some painting classes in high school…oh, you know, 10 years ago) and set to work painting my own designs inspired by Rifle Paper. I scanned the canvases at Kinko’s, had all of the paper products printed onto recycled cardstock by Catprint.com, and I wrapped up the save-the-dates and invites in pink baker’s twine. In lieu of inserts with guest information, we included mini Moo cards with both the save-the-dates and invitations, pointing guests to our website for more info.

Our rehearsal dinner invitations were from a sweet free template.

We mailed each piece of correspondence—save-the-date, invitation, rehearsal dinner invitation—in recycled kraft paper envelopes from Paper Source. I didn’t even attempt to do calligraphy, and instead printed out all of the addresses directly onto the envelopes using our trusty old laser printer. I did spice up the envelopes with old stamps, though, and I loved the final look. Here’s a couple little peaks at the envelopes:

Personal photo

And our programs were a labor of love the week of the wedding, much thanks to my dad. I whipped up a quick design in Pixelmator using the same fonts as our invitation suite (Carolyna Pro Black and Copse), I typed up the ceremony information—including an explanation of the sofreh and the honey dipping ritual—to fill up several pages, and my dad assembled each and every program. They’re tied together with pink baker’s twine that I purchased from the Etsy seller Bella Creationz.

Accessories

I ordered my garter from the Etsy shop Garter Me Good. For a hot second I considered making my garter myself, but I realized it wouldn’t save that much money. Plus, aren’t the floral applique and the light blue lace lovely? They were very thin, too, and didn’t show through my fitted dress. (I worried anything bulkier would leave a line on my leg through my dress…like an embarrassing wedding pantyline.)

My shoes gave me an extra little pop in my step. Since they were pre-owned, they were already somewhat broken in and I found them surprisingly comfortable. (From what I’ve read, a lot of other brides found Badgley Mischkas unbearably painful…am I alone here?)

My perfume and art deco-inspired earrings:

Oh, and then there was my dress. I loved that pretty lacy thing. Our photographers took some artsy shots of it hanging in the front hallway of Oak Tree Manor.

Chalkboard Signs

Months before the wedding, I bought all of the supplies to make a bunch of chalkboard signs. I started the project—I spray painted the frames, painted the backings with chalkboard paint, reassembled the signs…But I didn’t hand write the text until a couple weeks before the wedding. It worked out in the end, but I cut it pretty close.

In addition to the DIY chalkboard signs, we also displayed a canvas with an engagement photo (also displayed at the rehearsal dinner, and now hanging up in our hallway…gotta get your money’s worth, people! ) on a little table in front of the ceremony space.

Guestbook

Way back in November, I blogged about our postcard guestbook. I passed on the traditional guestbook and instead hoarded collected vintage postcards from all over the world. I also scored a really cool old box from a thrift store to display the blank postcards. Well bees, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I only ended up with one photo of our “guestbook” from the wedding. Photographic proof that we did, indeed, have a postcard guestbook:

When my family was helping clean up after the wedding, my mom stowed away the postcards in a small box, and Mr. W and I read them when we returned from our honeymoon. A lot of the messages brought tears to my eyes—major waterworks here. I’m really glad that we didn’t skip the guestbook. Those messages mean a lot to me.

Rings

There are not one, but two blingy diamond rings in these photos. No, I didn’t talk Mr. W into buying me a second diamond. Actually, the morning of the wedding, my parents gave me my late great-grandmother’s wedding set as a special family heirloom. I knew nothing of these rings’ existence, and it was a really sweet surprise. My great-grandparents got married in 1925, and the wedding band has their wedding date engraved inside—9/18/1925. The art deco engagement ring is stunning, too—I love the design just as much as the meaning behind it. When Mr. W and I get dressed up, I wear these rings on my right hand.

Flowers

The bridesmaids’ bouquets were made up of several types of roses roses, seeded eucalyptus, craspedia pods, and dahlias.

My bouquet was slightly larger and also included some purple hanging amaranthus. I love how the pop of purple added a little drama.

The guys wore boutonnieres made of seeded eucalyptus, a small spray rose, and dusty miller from our florist’s garden. I don’t have any close-ups of the bouts, but I zoomed in a photo of Mr. W so you can get the idea (ignore the cordless mic):

Photo by Mustard Seed Photography, bang-up editing job by yours truly

Mr. W’s rose was ivory, and the groomsmen sported bouts with blush pink spray roses. Here’s a close-up of a groomsman’s bout:

Photo by Mustard Seed Photography, zoomed in by me

Next up: reception details, part deux.

*All photos by the inimitable Mustard Seed Photography, except where noted.

Miss a recap? Previously:

• We got our pro pics in the mail, and I freaked out just a little.
• Orlando and his crew at A Sweet Film whipped up a sweet little teaser from the wedding.
• We p-a-r-t-ied with close friends and fam, Persian style. (We’re taking “Gangnam Style” to the next level.)
• We girls got our nails did, while the guys carted all of the wedding stuff off to the venue. Poor boys.
• We survived a hectic rehearsal in the dark.
• The wedding party and our out-of-town guests joined us for a juicy steak rehearsal dinner.
• I wrote my vows, and we battled Houston traffic to get to Oak Tree Manor.
• Following some game-time decisions, we girls sat in the stylist’s chair for hair and makeup.
• Mr. W sent up a sentimental note and a sweet little gift, and I got all dressed up.
• Mustard Seed snapped some more photos of us during our couple’s portraits and family portraits.
• I shared our ceremony deets, our guests arrived, and my dad and I got a little emotional.
• We walked/sauntered/pranced/cried down the aisle and we were married. Then we made a grand exit. But we soon returned to the ceremony tree to take wedding party photos.