I’ve seen some cute cookie favors at weddings and showers….. but these precisely perfect cookies from New York-based company meli and angi really take the cake…. er, cookie.
I cannot get over the amazingly precise lettering and dainty piping on these cookies. I don’t know how they do it! I can’t even write that nicely on paper. They’re almost too nice to eat. Almost. I’m sure I’d get over that real quick if given the opportunity to scarf one down.
Will your wedding favors be edible, or something that is more of a keepsake?
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I have heard lots of brides say that they barely even use or notice their purse on the day of their wedding, so with this in mind, I decided to stick with a tight budget when it came to a bridal clutch. Sometimes I was tempted, though, by stunners like these:
Martine Satin Party Clutch from J.Crew - $98
Franchi Clarice Evening Clutch from Endless.com - $102
La Regale Antique Frame Full Bead from Endless.com - $98
Franchi Handbags Azure Tafetta Clutch from Zappos - $149
I also found this cute one for $39, and although it’s much less expensive than the others, I still don’t feel like spending $40 on something that no one will even see.
La Regale Satin Clutch from Endless.com - $39
While in New York last weekend my SIL took me to some jewelry stores that had walls completely lined with costume jewelry at very good prices. Although this is not where I found my earrings, I did find a great little simple clutch that not only perfectly matched the swatch of my dress fabric, but it was only $15.
It’s hard to tell in the photos, but I swear it’s champagne!
It is more structured than the other drool-worthy clutches that I can’t afford, but simple doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I can easily dress it up to be a little more fab:
With a rhinestone brooch that I wore on a sash in my brother’s wedding
Or with the Piper Ewan flower I bought off of Etsy
(originally for my hair, but I decided it’s a bit too bold!)
In what creative ways have you spruced up bargain purchases for your wedding?
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Shoes, glorious shoes….. how I love you so!A few months ago I posted about finding the perfect wedding day shoe. I finally decided to take the plunge a few weeks ago and I ordered three pairs from Zappos:
Liz Rene by Touch Ups - Melissa
Touch Ups - Abby
Touch Ups - Nona
After receiving all three ridiculously fast (I think about 36 hours after I ordered them), I immediately tried all of them on, and the hands down winner was the lovely Melissa. While the Abby and Nona looked cute in pictures and they met my not-too-high-heel requirements, they just looked goofy on my feet. That’s not to say they won’t look adorable on someone else…. but they were not right for me. I also found that they were a bit stiff and not very comfortable.The Melissa shoe was much more comfortable and much more flattering on me, and I was thrilled because all along it was the shoe that I wanted to work out. I love the bling and I love the overall look. The Melissa shoe was slightly more expensive than the other two at $89 (compared to $64 for Abby and Nona), but still not a bad price, and apparently the additional $25 means more comfort.
Here they are on my tootsies….
They are dyeable silk, so I am going to have they dyed a slight ivory so they are not too stark white next to my champagne dress. I have plenty of time to break these babies in, so I’ll be strutting around the house in them for the next 4+ months! 
How is your shoe search going? Are you finding it difficult to find comfortable shoes that won’t break the bank?
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Last weekend when Mr. Cupcake and I were visiting Bro & SIL Cupcake, we found ties for the guys and earrings for me at the mother of all Macy’s. The day after we returned from our New York visit, I had an appointment to try on my recently-arrived veil with my dress at The Wedding Touch, so it was the perfect opportunity to try the earrings on with the whole ensemble. I apologize that I don’t have any photos of me with the earrings on, but needless to say, they just didn’t do it for me. I’m trying to go for more of a relaxed look and the earrings just looked too…. structured, or something.
As always, my style-hero SIL Cupcake came to the rescue. Once she sent me the link to Lunessa.com, I fell in love with these stunning earrings:
These Freshwater Pearl cluster earrings are so so so so pretty; I like that they have pearls but still have a little bling with the Swarovski crystal accents and CZ teardrops. You can choose between sterling silver (shown) or 14 Karat gold, as well as this beautiful version with peachy pink pearls and gold:
Unfortunately, the $118 price tag (or $125 for the gold/peach versions) is a little bit more than I was hoping to spend on earrings. I decided to keep looking and simply use these images as inspiration. *Sigh….*
Then, though, I was pleasantly surprised when I showed the photo of these earrings to my dad and stepmom, and they offered to buy these for me as a birthday present (in August) to wear on the wedding day. I was very excited and touched! It will be nice to wear something that is a gift from my dad and stepmom, and it will make the earrings more of a keepsake for me.
I’m still hesitant to make such a purchase without seeing the earrings in person, but luckily I’ll be back in NYC next week for work and I can stop by Lunessa in SOHO to see them up close and personal. Right now I am thinking that the peach pearls will look so pretty and vintagey with my gown.
Has anyone else purchased their wedding jewelry from Lunessa?
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Last weekend Mr. Cupcake and I went to visit Brother and Sister-in-Law Cupcake in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful spring day, so the four of us ventured into Manhattan to try to find some wedding accessories — particularly ties for the guys, and jewelry for me.
My brother is a successful menswear designer, so Mr. Cupcake and I trust and value his opinion. With a swatch of the bridesmaids dresses in-hand, we journeyed to Macy’s to find some ties. Sure, we could have gone to any Macy’s to find ties (there’s probably 4 or 5 within a 30 minute drive from where we live), but why not go to the Macy’s of all Macy’s? After all, it is…..
Photo found here
I was originally picturing the groomsmen wearing something with stripes, but I was really liking the subtle paisley design that the guys found for the groomsmen, and the tonal stripe for Mr. Cupcake. Brother Cupcake felt that bold stripes would be too much for the groomsmen, so I put my trust in him and we bought ’em all.
It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the paisley ties have a light teal accent, and I think they’ll be the perfect complement to the bold-colored bridesmaid’s dresses.
The ties were nicely priced at $39.50 for the paisleys and $45.00 for the striped, plus 20% off for the sale that was going on AND an additional 15% off because Mr. Cupcake opened a Macy’s charge account…. so our grand total for 6 ties came to $135.95. We saved $106.55! I love a deal. Now all we have left to find are ties for the dads…. oh, and tuxes
SIL Cupcake and I then headed over to the jewelry department at Macy’s. I mentioned in a previous post that I am accessorizingly challenged (yes, I made that word up). SIL Cupcake has a great sense of style and always has great jewelry, so I recruited her to help me find some fab earrings. I found one pair that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I liked them, and I decided to give them a shot.
Sorry for the blurry photo!
Since Mr. Cupcake had opened a Macy’s charge, I was able to make use of his discount and the current sale, so I got these $50 earrings for about $37. More to come throughout the week on the hunt for the perfect (and affordable) accessories! In the meantime, what great bargains have you found on accessories for your wedding day?
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Well hello, hive! I apologize for my absence over this past week. Truth be told, I’ve been knee-deep in trying to design our invitations, and it has not been without stress. After obsessing over our save the dates for months before finally getting them out the door in March, I’m feeling a little burnt out over trying to come up with something spectacular for our invitations. And, since I plan to model the rest of our stationery and decorative touches after our invitations, I’ve got a large list of design projects looming over my head and I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.
It has forced me to think about these great expectations that we brides set for ourselves. I am completely guilty of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to seeking out the “perfect” ideas that will knock our guest’s socks off. I pore over wedding blogs every day, trying to grab bits of inspiration that will make our wedding a conglomeration of magnificent ideas and personal touches. Some days, I am excited and thrilled with all of the possibilities and awesome ideas I have piling up. And other days, I just feel exhausted from it all. I see photo after photo after photo of all of these gorgeous weddings in exotic locations with charming little everything and I feel like I’m a failure of a bride.
These are the days I have to remind myself to step back, prioritize, and not obsess over
every. single. detail. These are the days that I escape from it all by going to Iron Hill with Mr. Cupcake to people-watch, have a drink, and laugh with each other…. and that’s when I’m reminded that
that’s what it’s all about. Not the perfect invitations or the perfect signature cocktail or the perfect jewelry or the perfect perfect perfect…. it’s about the perfect guy for me and how perfectly happy he makes me, and how perfect our wedding will be to us — not because of all the details, but because it’s
ours.
That’s not to say that I don’t love me some gorgeous bouquets, or adorable favors, or fantastic shoes, or drool-worthy stationery. And while there’s nothing wrong with trying to add lots of personal touches to our wedding and making sure it’s a day our guests will enjoy, I do have to learn to focus on our big picture instead of everyone else’s big picture that I want for myself.
How have you dealt with setting expectations for yourself with wedding planning? What do you do to remind yourself that it doesn’t all have to be perfect all the time?
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Budgets are always part of the wedding-planning equation. The budget is a necessary evil and, without a doubt, the major determining factor in the majority of wedding-related decisions. But along with the logistics of how much lighter your pockets will be after paying for all the wedding expenses, I have also found that others don’t hesitate to let you know what they think about your wedding dollars and cents (or, rather, sense).
We are having a wedding with close to 200 guests and I realize how lucky we are to have the financial support of our parents to make the wedding and all of the events surrounding it happen. But at the same time, we are, by no means, having an extravagant, lavish, six-figure kind of wedding. Our parents have been really great throughout the process and have not made things at all painful when it comes to money discussions. They have been generous and reasonable about everything.
What it really boils down to for me is that how much money we (meaning Mr. Cupcake and me, and our parents) are spending is ultimately our choice, and no one else’s business.
But on more than one occasion, people have made it clear to Mr. Cupcake and I that they think large weddings are a waste of money — one person told us that the money spent on a very nice wedding that we attended “could have fed a lot of hungry people.” Ouch. (We never even specifically mentioned that it was an expensive wedding — we just said it was a beautiful wedding, which I guess translates to “dripping in money.”) I have also picked up on a few eye-rolls and sarcastic comments about wedding costs from people who may or may not know us well — their comments are not necessarily directed at us or our wedding in particular, but of course it’s hard to not take it a little personally. Judgments like this upset/annoy me because:
a.) how much we choose to spend on our wedding (and how we spend our money in general, for that matter) is our own business
b.) some of the judgmental comments have come from guests who will be attending our wedding and I feel like they’ll be judging/disapproving the entire time
and
c.) they’re assuming that people who spend money on things like large weddings aren’t also capable of giving to those in need. Why can’t someone spend money on material things and also give to others?
While I understand that the money spent on a wedding does seem to disappear quickly and it could certainly be spent other ways, I also think it’s okay to splurge on the most important day of our lives. And let’s not forget that we’re supporting some talented vendors (and the struggling economy) in the process. Is that so bad?
Some of us truly just want to celebrate our wedding day with the people we love the most in the world and treat them to a really great, memorable party.
Have you had to deal with questions regarding your wedding budget? How do you deal with it?
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This cake is not what I, personally, am looking for in a wedding cake….. but I had to share it with the hive because it’s just so stinkin’ adorable!
Photo found here; cake by Gateaux, Inc.
I see a lot of the same cake designs over and over again from our favorite magazines and blogs (I’m guilty of stealing
my own cake design from a photo that
Miss Milkshake first posted), and this one is just completely different from anything else I’ve seen. I love all the little details. How adorable are the little shrubs and trees sitting on the tiers? How cute is the bridal shoppe on the bottom tier, and the bakery on the middle tier? It’s like a little mini bridal village dollhouse-turned-cake!
Where are some other hidden gem cake designs that you have come across online?
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I have a new vendor crush.
Myra of Twigs & Honey at Etsy creates the most beautiful hair adornments I have stumbled upon during wedding planning. Her creations are whimsical but not too out there, quirky when they need to be, and classically charming when the occasion calls for it. Just look at some of the pieces she has created (many customized):
She makes boutonieres, too!
To top it all off, Myra is terribly, terribly sweet and genuinely excited about every order and every bride that she meets. I contacted her last week and she is going to create something fabulous for me to wear in my hair at our reception, when I’ll no longer be wearing my veil. Her prices are unbelievably reasonable, and she is incredibly detailed in her emails. I gave her a list of 4 or 5 pieces that she has sold that appeal to me and what I like about the different ones (size, color, beading, shape of petals, etc.), and she doesn’t think I’m nuts (at least, she hasn’t let on that she thinks I’m nuts 
). She asked important questions and will let me request changes once she lists the reserved item in her Etsy shop for me. I am going to send her a few swatches this week so she can match the colors I’d like to include in my hair adornment.
I have seen Myra mentioned on tons of blogs in the last few weeks (and her fantastic wedding was also recently included on Style Me Pretty, as part of the Unique Weddings Week(s)) and the attention is certainly well-deserved. Her current timeline for custom orders is up to 8 weeks, because all of the positive attention has brought in tons more work and she creates each piece herself, by hand. Definitely contact her early if you’d like a custom piece!
I am so excited to see what Myra has in store for me. I will be sure to keep the hive posted…. in the meantime, be sure to check out Myra’s Etsy shop and the Twigs & Honey blog!
ed. note: please see our editorial policy.
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One thing that most brides hope for on their wedding day is good weather. I am no exception — I want a beautiful, sunny, lightly breezy day that will allow us to take pictures outside and allow our guests to not get soaked as they journey from our ceremony to our reception.
Of course, I can’t predict what the weather will be like on our wedding day, especially 5 months in advance, so I’m preparing myself for rain in the event that our day isn’t dry after all. I guess I can handle a rainy wedding day, as long as it means some cute photo ops:
Photos found here
Photos found here
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Photo found here
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Photo found here
As much as I don’t want rain on our wedding day, I do love the moodiness of rainy wedding day photos. (Rain gods, this is still not a request for a damp wedding day, okay?) I want to prepare myself with a cute umbrella in the event that some precipitation does dampen our day, but not our spirits.There’s always good old white:
62″ Giant White (that’s actually what it’s called)
Or classic black:
Stanley Blacker Regal
Or…. Elvis??
Elvis in Concert Tupelo
(No thanks, I’ve always been more of a Beatles fan myself)
Then there is this cute little number, if you want to spend over $200 Canadian (yikes!):
Chantal Thomass Tulle Fronce Umbrella
Or looky at this fun polka dot number for only $35 Canadian (and it comes in teal!)
Christian Aujard Polka Dot Umbrella
And the more frilly version of polka dots (I’d steer clear of the pink and go for the classic ivory with black)
Frilly Polka Dot Umbrella
I looooooooooooooooooooooove this one for $65:
Sonnet Black
And this stripey little number with a black edge:
Mani Green (also comes in pink)
Are you preparing for possible rain on your wedding day with a cute umbrella?
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Miss Cupcake, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 27, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Construction Project Manager
Engagement Date: February 10, 2007
Wedding Date: September, 2008
Blogging Since: December 7, 2007
Venue: The Desmond Hotel in Malvern, PA
About Me: Mr. Cupcake and I hit it off at a Halloween party and immediately began a long-distance relationship. After two years, he moved to my neck of the woods, and a year and a half after that, he proposed at the “place we fell in love.” I am a true perfectionist who enjoys designing and creating more work for myself, so wedding planning is my perfect outlet. Mr. Cupcake and I are both old souls, and we hope to weave that aspect of our personalities into our wedding day.
Liz Rene by Touch Ups - Melissa
Photo found here
Photo found here; cake by Gateaux, Inc.
