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I’ve gotten lots of feedback about our invites (which means most all of our guests have received theirs), so I’m finally ready to reveal them to the Hive!
These really were a labor of love. They were time consuming and tedious, but I don’t regret it in the least. I think they turned out better than I had hoped for, and I think they are the perfect introduction to our wedding celebration!
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| The whole suite! / Personal Photo |
We recently turned my mother’s guest room into an invitation factory. The process was long, but so worth it!
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| We started with a textured, sparkly paper that I got from Michaels on sale. / personal photo |
Obviously when people think of “wedding” and “dress” they think of the elegant white dress the bride wears when she walks down the aisle. What you don’t always think of are all the “other” dresses the bride wears to the various events that generally accompany a wedding.
Besides the dress I bought for engagement photos, I’ve purchased two “wedding related” dresses. At the start of the planning process I promised myself that I was NOT going to spend tons of money on items like these, and I think I did a pretty good job. I did spend a little more money than I usually might, but I didn’t go completely crazy. I think I a reasonable amount of money for some events that will only happen once (in honor of Mr.O and me anyway).
I bought this dress on sale at an awesome little boutique in town called Cole Couture. At the time my mom and I were toying with the idea of a getaway dress, and this one caught my eye. As soon as I got it on I knew it’d be the perfect bridal shower dress. On sale it was around $45.
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| Please excuse my no makeup face andcrazy hair! / Personal Photo |
This topic can sometimes be misconstrued so let me begin with a few statements about my situation…
At the beginning of last year I set off on a four month European adventure. I was lucky enough to get to live in Italy with 19 other students and two professors from the architecture program at UF. It was kind of like a grand finale right before graduation… we had all been in school together for four years, so four months of living together in Italy was the cherry on top.
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| Part of the crew on an ATV ride in Santorini, Greece.
Personal Photo |
Having a “home base” in Italy meant that I really got to explore. I didn’t feel rushed while visiting local cities and I was able to sit back and enjoy the architecture, art, and culture. Life in Italy was so relaxed… between siesta and appertivo (appetizers and drinks before dinner almost every night) I was living the good life.
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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We’re having a small/medium sized wedding according to modern standards. I estimate that we’ll have about 110 people RSVP. Combine that with our tiny little wedding party, and you get a tiny little rehearsal dinner. The benefits of this are less planning and less money for my future in-laws to spend on dinner. If there is anything I’ve learned while wedding planning is that events get pricey fast.
However, despite my lack of wedding party and our lack of budget I still want to have the opportunity to hang out with our out-of-town guests as much as possible. I just have this feeling that the wedding day is going to be such a whirlwind that I won’t really be able to enjoy all the people I love, despite the small-ish size of the affair.
After talking about it with Mr. O, I’ve decided to throw a “welcome party” at one of our favorite bar/restaurants after our tiny rehearsal dinner. We are getting married on a Friday, and it just so happens that our favorite little place has live music every Thursday. They are known for bringing in lots of eclectic bands and I have yet to be disappointed by the music selection. On top of this, they serve incredible desserts until about 1AM (even after the restaurant portion of the business closes). Mr. O and I love to go there for drinks, dessert, good music, and a relaxing time. I think it’s going to be the perfect opportunity to get everyone together to socialize. I know I won’t regret spending some extra quality time with our family and friends before the wedding. Plus, it’s free.
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| The inside of our favorite place… ignore the weird girl in the front?
via Google User |
And it’s not because we’re photogenic people. It’s because Seed and Sparrow is awesome. Period.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
All of the vines we collected to make the wreaths got my wheels turning about another project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now…long before we started planning this wedding. Every Christmas a local nursery hangs these awesome twinkle-light balls from the giant oaks in the entrance to the nursery. They’ve added to the collection over the years, and every time I see them I have one of those DIY, “I could make that” moments.
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| Personal Photo |
I am totally the type of person to see something in a store that a little out of my price range and think to myself, “I could make that.” I like to think that I’m a naturally creative person. Pair that with my design background and I have tons of potential to “do it myself.”
However, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a DIY bride. When I think “DIY Wedding” I always imagine a completely handmade party… from the food to the decor. These types of events are usually turn out gorgeous, but I know they aren’t for the faint of heart. You have to have the courage to take on all the responsibility that comes with DIY projects, which sometimes includes giving up your time and sanity. Being creative is hard work, especially when you’re working full time, going to school, or just living a normal, busy life.
I am certainly not DIYing everything. Not even close. If there is anything my design background has taught me it’s that I should trust trained designers with a creative vision. For example, I gave the photographer an idea about the feeling I wanted our engagement photos to have, and then let her direct me in location, lighting, and poses. I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out! Had I tried to direct every aspect of the shoot it wouldn’t have been as successful.
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Hive, I need help! I can’t decide what we should do for our “getaway!”
I think that bubbles are adorable, but I hate the little plastic containers they come in…don’t ask, just one of those bizarre things that bother me.
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| Via Luster Studios Blog / Photo by Luster Studios |
I’ve talked before about being somewhat nontraditional in our wedding decisions, but I haven’t talked in depth about our most nontraditional decision.
We decided early on to not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. The decision was made after discussing a variety of issues that really made it difficult to have a wedding party. Instead we each picked a maid of honor and a best man, respectively, and left it at that.
Image via Teaser Trailer / Hilarious movie. Seriously. Even Mr. O was doubled over.
One of the major reasons that we went this route is because of another wedding. Mr. O’s oldest brother is getting married a month after us, and all of the brothers will be standing up with him. We thought that it might be too much to ask of the guys to do that twice in one month. When we broke the news to them, we got relieved responses. Less to buy, less to think about, and less to stress about for four guys who really don’t like the spotlight to begin with. One of Jon’s brothers said that he was excited that he would get to sit back and just enjoy the party. At the end of the day, that is what Mr. O and I really want for our guests…a chance to spend time with us and celebrate our marriage!
I’ve mentioned before that Mr. O only has very strong opinions about a few parts of the wedding. One of the strongest opinions he has is on the issue of the “first look.”
He isn’t a fan. He says that it is definitely NOT for us. For him, the moment that is the most important is when he sees his future wife walking down the aisle toward him. I understand where he is coming from…
But even some of the most traditional couples make the decision to do a first look. It enables the couple to enjoy their cocktail hour and helps to calm the nerves before the ceremony. So many smart bees have chosen to do it (Mrs. Brooch, Mrs. Knitting, Mrs. High Wire, Mrs. Eggs Benedict…I seriously could probably fill the rest of the post with bees who have done this, but you get the idea).
The reason I want to do a first look is a pretty silly one. You see, I’m a crier. Mr. O and I have turned it into a running joke between us, but really it is just a sad truth. I cry during commercials and sad songs, and when I see homeless people. Weird, I know. I’m going to cry now just thinking about it…just kidding.
I can’t help it, though. When commercials like this come on I instantly turn on the waterworks. Full on, ugly-cry style. I do it EVERY time (and I’ve probably seen this commercial about 8,763,123 times). Eventually I got smart and started changing the channel so I wouldn’t be a smeared-mascara mess every time I turned on the TV.
Video via YouTube
And I’m gonna put a ring on it because we finally decided on Mr. O’s wedding band!
Mr. O is not a jewelry guy… he’s not even a watch guy. I can honestly say that in all of our seven years together the most jewelry I’ve ever seen him wear are cuff links with his prom tuxedo. And I’m not even sure that that counts as jewelry.
We started looking at rings for Mr. O by going to a local jewelry store and checking out a huge selection of styles and metals. He really liked the look of Tungsten rings, but the fear that the ring couldn’t be cut off in the event his finger started to swell was enough to force us to go in another direction. With Mr. O working as an EMT/Firefighter in the future, as well as his constant involvement in sports like rugby, the possible risk just wasn’t worth it to us.
We did find one that he really liked that was white gold. It was a really interesting style, brushed with three ridges in it, almost making it appear as though it was several smaller, stacked rings.
It was very similar to these, minus the diamonds. I still haven’t seen anything that looked exactly like it though.
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| Via Appealing Wedding Bands |
Growing up, my grandpa had this awesome Polaroid camera that he would use to take photos with whenever he though something was photo-worthy. He was an artist and a designer and always was always finding new ways to express himself. I guess something about the instant satisfaction of a Polaroid camera got to him because I remember getting notes from him in the mail filled with photos. He would always write a description of the photo and the year in that little space white space below the film. He always dated his photos.
Well, one day I was wasting time on Pinterest (as I so often do) when this image caught my eye.
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| Image via PetaPixel / Photo by LoveIsABigDeal |
Or not to be traditional?
So many of the wedding “traditions” that have made their way into the American definition of a wedding are really more modern developments in wedding customs. As we’ve moved forward in this wedding planning process we’re finding ourselves having to make decisions about what traditions we want to include… and which ones we want to forgo.
Now, Mr. O and I don’t really see ourselves as the “traditional couple,” but at the end of the day it really just depends on which tradition we’re talking about and whether or not that tradition fits our personalities.
One tradition we will most definitely not be partaking in is the garter toss. Something about having Mr.O reach up my skirt while an entire crowd watches just doesn’t seem… kosher? I’ve seen this done tastefully at plenty of other weddings, but I guess it’s just not for us. We’re not by any means an anti-PDA (public display of affection) kind of couple, but I feel like I have to draw the line somewhere.
Whatever “floats your boat” I guess…we’ll save it for the honeymoon.
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| Via Nubia Photography / Photo by Nubia |
Another tradition Mr. O wants to skip that I kind of want to keep is the cake cutting.
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Wednesday was a big planning day for me….I crossed some big planning items off of our list!
Mr. O had been up in D.C. for the holidays, hanging out and drinking beer with two of his three older brothers. I planned out engagement photo shoot for the day after he returned because our photographer was already going to be in town for the holidays (and I saw no point in having her make two trips).
I also planned a meeting with my friend that is doing my makeup for the wedding. I scheduled my first trial before the pictures. I know what you’re thinking… if I hated it then I would hate my engagement pictures, right? Well, yeah, normally that would be a concern for me, too, except that she does an awesome job and if I hated it I would have no problem telling her and having her fix it. Plus…I didn’t hate it!
I loved it. She did such a great job (especially for someone that doesn’t wear tons of makeup all that often) that I’ve scheduled a second trial to try some more daring looks, just because I am curious to see what it would look like. She totally boosted my ego, too. She told me I had great skin (this is news to me, hello!!) and barely used any foundation.
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| Personal Photo- Please excuse my poorly lit phone photo! |
Basically I felt pretty darn fantastic going into our engagement shoot (and having confidence is half the battle, right?).
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