This last weekend, I ended up helping out a fellow SoCal bride with her wedding flowers. She didn't have much of a budget for her stuff, so she asked if I could help with the DIY process. Since I didn't have much else going on at the time, I agreed.

Like with most things, there were a bunch of lessons learned on this one. Hopefully some of these lessons will help those of you planning on DIYing your flowers. Or, if you're having a pro do it, it might give a bit more understanding and appreciation of what they do.

Of course, everything is much more entertaining with photos to go along with stories.
( Photos, stories, prices, and extra wedding pr0n. )

( a little background on my venue )

and now for my question:
We are getting married on a Sunday before a holiday. We are not having a evening reception, the meal will be at lunch time. I'm trying to find out how long I should rent the venue for and from what time to what time. I want the meal to start as late as it is possible for a lunch to be. I personally don't have a problem with having lunch at 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, but I'm sure it's not the case for everyone. Would 1:30 be acceptable? Or maybe 1 o'clock? We have to account for set-up time also. Since I don't want people to go there in the morning to set up and then drive 30 minutes to the ceremony and then back there again for the reception, I think it would be best to have the ceremony early and then helpers go there as soon as it ends to set everything up while we take pictures. (Our church is right in front of a botanical garden where we'll take pictures!) The reception won't have dancing, just eating, mingling and some entertainment. So, when should we start? How long should the reception be? When should it end? My idea is that we could get married at 10 o'clock, so we would rent the place from 11 o'clock and the reception would start at 1 o'clock, giving us time to organise the place and then it could end at like 4 o'clock and we would rent it till 5 o'clock so we have time to clean up. Does that sound right and feasible?

Thank you, and sorry for being so long.

FH just came up with a cute idea for DIY Save the Date's last night. We'd already had something else in mind but I don't care -- this new idea totally tops that one! It's too cute and I'm not gonna lie, I'm impressed he came up with something so "cute". HAHHAHA! Ohhh the faith I have in him!

Anywho, I'm not entirely sure how to go about mailing them out. Of course, I have to the most trusted source for advice!!

( Here's our new idea... what do you think? )

Thanks!


PS. 1 year & 4 days out with NOTHING done!!! We have everything pretty much planned but have yet to pay for anything. I hate the current economy and our current situation that prevents us from doing so. Fingers crossed we don't run into issues with our date being booked when we can finally put down a down payment.

You folks seemed to enjoy our mask idea last time I made a progress update, so I thought I'd post a mini update about the masks.

Refresher: We're having a Masquerade ball, and FH and I have purchased paper mache masks and are decorating all 100 of them to give out to guests as favors and keepsakes.

( Read more... )

A small sample out of the 50 we've painted so far. Every one is different! We're also going to make some solid colors, a bit plain, and decorate them with little gems and feathers.

It's been fun doing this together with FH! He is the artsy one, so it's fun to get him involved this way.

I am 12 days out from my wedding....  I have spent the last week in the hospital and had to have emergency surgery to have my gallbladder removed.  I invited 96 guests to my destination wedding a year ago.. and now less then 60 are coming to the reception, I am guessing due to the economy.  I am swollen from surgery and really hope I fit in my dress...  I guess you can tell my nerves are shot...

Any helpful hints to ease my nerves... ?

Me and Jeff are not getting married. I'm upset. But, I would rather this happen now instead of 6 months from now be divorced.
I'll be back some day.

It is time for me to show off our invite!

We are both animators so it only seemed appropriate that one of us draw the invite...and it went to my FH.
We made little cut outs of us and all the things that we like....his cat, a lobster (he is a maritimer), orchids, camping, our scooters, the Tardis, a little monster that I sew, I love my British smarties (and am hoping that my relatives bring them as gifts..hehe) and that wierd potato looking thing? Well that is a potato because we met in PEI!
Instead of a Guest Book, we are going to have just the center drawing at the table where the guests can doodle all over us! Like I said, we come from very creative backgrounds, as do our guests so I am excited to see what we get!

I hope you like it as much as I do!
( Read more )

A word of warning to all the brides out there who have been posting pictures from their professional photographer.

Please please *please* make sure you have written permission from your photographer saying it's ok to use the photos in the way you are using them. As soon as a professional photographer presses the shutter release on their camera, they own the copyright on the image created. More than likely, this copyright information is stated in your contract with the photographer. By using the images without permission, you may be breaking your contract. By breaking your contract, you leave the photographer open to keeping your deposit and not delivering any product included or not covering your event. Worse yet, you could be charged for your use of the images which can can run in the hundreds of dollars per image.

There are two major ways I've seen this happen in the community:

- Downloading and re-posting images to weddingplans or a personal journal
- Editing photos and using them for icons, banners, etc.

Please be careful about doing this, especially with engagement photos. I saw one bride re-post photos on here that she had not been able to download, so she made screen captures and cropped the screen capture. Not be be the bearer of bad news, but if the photographer doesn't make it easy for you, you can pretty much count on it not being ok. This also includes editing out a watermark or frame with the photographer's name on it.

If you do have permission, make sure that you post the images with the photographer's watermark or frame. This not only creates some advertising buzz for the photographer, it gives them a way to prove that the image is theirs if someone takes it and reuses it inappropriately.

The pictures are great, girls! Keep finding those good photographers out there.

ETA: Some of you are stating that you have purchased "rights" from your photographer. Please check the written release to make sure it says it is a "full-rights" release. If it does not, you may or may not have permission to do what you're doing. Many photographers only release images for printing, in which case distribution is still illegal.

Just wanted to share the ribbon roses that we (my mom, FMIL, twin sister/MOH, 1 of my bridesmaids, and FH) made. It was so much fun and it is kind of hard to believe this is after a solid 4 or so hours of work (well, my bridesmaid didn't arrive at the beginning so she was only there for about an hour, but still). There's still a lot to be done :)

We're probably going to buy some silk greenery or something to fill them out a bit at the bottom so we don't need so many. We do have a bunch of roses not displayed here... I made a ton of ivory ones for the groomsmen, and we didn't mix them into any bouquets other than "mine".

Bouquets are going to be remade so we can fully rearrange them so they look a bit nicer but this isn't bad at all. My mom did great. I am really happy with how they are turning out!!


Teaser pic

( Pics! )

this is frustrating. is there anyone else on earth who has short hair and is actually NOT growing it out for their wedding? and by short, i dont mean "just below the shoulders" - i mean short.

show me your short wedding day 'dos? please?

and if its important, im not planning on wearing a veil, just some kind of adornment, most likely flower(s), in my hair.

thank you! :)

Hi everyone!

My next objective is to look into options for getting a microphone and speakers for the ceremony. It's going to be an outside ceremony with about 250 guests, and it's important to us that everyone hears the ceremony and our vows, because I just HATE going to a wedding and having no clue what's going on.

Anyway, do you know what I should be looking for or where to look for some sort of rental? And do these things come battery operated since it's going to be outside? I'm thinking that a wireless setup would be a dream, too..but that depends on how expensive these things can get.

Thanks in advance!

Wedding is THIS WEEK. 5 days.

HOLY CRAP.

Almost nothing left to do for it, but still, HOLY CRAP.

2 days of work left. Off Wednesday, Thursday Friday.

Having a bunch of people (best man and his wife, my sister and brother-in-law, and the neighbors) over for dinner Wednesday. Going to fire up the smoker and make some ribs. Thursday, may make a run to do some hunting with the brother-in-law. Friday is open until the rehearsal and dinner. Saturday's open until I get to the country club around 3 or so (ceremony's at 4:30).

Sunday is a day of going through presents and cards. Monday we have to hit the town hall/county clerk to get our official marriage license stuff, then hitting the bank, and finishing up packing.

Holy crap not enough hours in the day.

Random question: For those of you with a long train, is there crinoline under it?

I'm finished the first two layers of my gown, and am starting in on the train...

I was going to do this on the three-month mark a few days ago, but work got in the way, so the 90-day mark works, too!

Warning: crazy amounts of photos below!

Refresher: October 3rd garden wedding in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Somehow we've managed to accomplish more since we've moved out of Michigan than we accomplished in the year we were engaged and living in the city.

( Now for what you're really here for... )

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but this is quite enough for now, I think...lol

FH and I are on a very limited budget, but have a lot of people, as some of you may remember. My family is highly disfunctional, and I don't necessarily care if they are there to ruin my day. FH however, is very close to his family, and has SO MANY FAMILY MEMBERS! All said, we are looking at a guest list of about 200, on a small budget.
I am very disturbed by the cost of food. In my area, the average is about $25/person. I would NEVER assume that someone would pay for my dinner if it cost that much, so why is it that people expect it at weddings? I can't afford to feed 200 people at that price. Maybe at half that, but it would still be close.
That being said, I am looking into alternatives. We thought about serving hors'dourves, but we are finding that this can cost almost as much. A friend of mine suggested doing a dessert assortment, to which I would perhaps add various coffees. 
Has anyone else done this? Did you do it yourself or hire a caterer?
A family friend will be making our cake, and has offered to do food for us as well, though she is just one woman doing this on the side. 
Do you have any suggestions?

so we're about 400 days out, our wedding is Friday August 13th, 2010.
( plans so far )
now the thing i would really need you lovely brides and grooms to help me with is about our venue. like i said, it holds 500, which is amazing. i was already starting to feel guilty about cutting down my 400 person guest list. both of our parents have HUGE families and both gave me lists of 150 each. anyway, this place is huge, has plenty of parking, is 20 minutes from our ceremony site, and has a hotel less than a block away. we can bring in our own caterer, and do any decorating we want. the absolute best part is its FREE. FH's godfather is a good friend to the owner and apparently has done the owner a lot of favors, so he's giving it to us the thursday before, friday of, and sat after, for FREE!
-now the downside. it is not very fancy. i never expected anything super fancy, and originally wanted a nice barn for our reception, but this is less barn, and more bar. definitely more bar. also, there is a mechanical bull, and motorized, spinning barbers chair... :-/...?? all in all its not exactly FH's and i's style, but really we can't complain, and i know that the reception is going to end up being a crazy party. which is perfect, but i really want to make this place look like its a wedding, and not a bar. which is why i need your help! i want our wedding to be "shabby-chic" but this place is a little too country for our style.
( pics of the venue )

I would like to play songs before the ceremony, during the reception, and have some songs for everyone to dance to.
The problem is that we don't want sappy love songs. We want fun love songs that put a smile on your face and make you want to dance. The "theme" of our wedding is Vintage Indie, and we're doing lots of fun things like silly love songs, button bouquets, and games.

Soo... what fun and silly love songs can you think of? They can be of any artist and any genre, as long as the songs don't have "mean" lyrics that would make people feel uncomfortable.

Thanks in advance!

Our wedding was on June 20th; my recent progress post is here. You may recall, I made my centerpieces, "guest book table numbers", the ladies' jewelry, invitations, and the ceremony programs among other miscellaneous things. Everything turned out exactly as I could have wished! I had no real complaints about anything!

( Photos by Dale Kincaid, (c) Somewhere in Time Photograpy )

That's it everyone! Thank you for all your support and advice!!

Inspired by some comments in a thread discussing what classic/traditional/typical wedding fare means to you, I thought it would be interesting if everyone posted about the standard wedding fare where you come from, and what other kinds of foods you've had served to you at a wedding, plus what you are planning or have served!  If you are non-traditional, please still let us know what is tradition in your area, because I'm honestly curious!
 
It coud help a bride or groom looking for food inspiration!

So is it chicken?  Prime rib?  Seafood?  Vegetarian?  And where are you from?

Does anyone know the font that is used in this invitation?

http://www.invitationsbydawn.com/RequestCloseUp_Popup.cfm?sItemCode=WedEns4477&path=pics/EasiestWeddingPics

I love it but can't find a similar font!! Please help!

So. Um. ( I'm a bit late in announcing stuff. )

*sigh* What would you awesome ladies and gentlemen do? TIA!

Thanks guys for all your help with my veil post the other day. After going to the Alfred A's and trying on my dress (sample one there) and a few veils and I think I found "the" veil.

( pictures under here )

So as of today we are less than 80 days out, and we mostly just need to plan the food and a few other small things. However, I have some questions that I'm hoping you all can give me input on...

1. I'm trying to decide if I want to have the posed pictures (groom and bride, couple with wedding party, couple with parents, etc) before the ceremony, or in between the ceremony and the reception. We are having our ceremony and reception at the same place. We plan on having the ceremony at 3:30 and the reception at 5 - we figured we would drive around until 5:30 or so to make our grand entrance. I'm not sure that I want to squeeze in picture-taking before the driving around - plus my FH wants our guests to throw birdseed at us before we leave. If we did pictures before we left, then everyone would have to wait and throw the birdseed after pictures, and that could be awkward. Any ideas?

2. What is the normal order for the processional? Should the maid of honor and the best man go first, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, then our junior bridesmaid and junior groomsmen? Or vice versa?

3. I really, really want to walk down the aisle to Shania Twain's "From This Moment On" - and I want to use the regular song, not an instrumental. I know that normally the bridal party walks down the aisle to one piece of music and the bride walks down to a separate piece of music. Would it be too weird for me to have the bridal party come out to the beginning of my song? Or should I find some kind of short song for them to walk out to first?

4. I printed off fun forms for guests to fill out for our guestbook - I showed them in my previous progress post. However, I'm unsure of how to distribute them at the reception. We have a two-story hall for our ceremony and reception. The ceremony will be upstairs, the food portion of the reception will be downstairs, and dancing will be upstairs. Should I just put the pile of forms at the guestbook table with a note asking people to fill them out and return them to the table? Or should I put a form at each seat downstairs and hope everyone fills them out?

Thanks for all your help!

I have my cake baker picked out, but I'm still working on cake style. I know that it will be 3 tiers, and have a C-scroll or some type of scroll, with flowers on it to match the bouquets. What I don't know is if I want the 3 tiers stacked on each other with the flowers kind of bunched in different corners of the cake or if I want the 3 tiers with the columns and flowers in between.

Ii like the look of stacked cakes with flowers in different corners better, BUT I'm worried that a)a lot of the frosting will come off with stacked (buttercream) and b) that there won't be enough cake (the baker said we get more pieces with the columns cause less support is built in and numbers wise we have just enough cake). My question is anyone that has had stacked cakes have you had these problems? And people with columns in between...were there any cons/problems that you had?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

you all helped out so much when I was trying to figure out the designer and model name of the dress I wanted and now I have to ask for more of the same.

Friends of ours are getting married and the bride has found a dress she really likes. The store only had a model number for it and it was probably their internal ID. So can anyone identify this dress?

( The pictures are kind of blurry - taken by a cell camera but here's hoping: )

Thanks in advance!

It's 3 AM and I'm racking my brain trying to think of the 'term' used for when a board is used to direct guests to their table, as in they do not physically pick up a piece of paper that tells them where to sit...

Is it an escort board - I'm just wanting to google it so I can see a few pictures to get a clearer picture and make a decision in the next few hours!

THANKS WP!

Is there a tag for this item?  If so, direct me there and I'll be happy to peruse!

Again, thank you thank you thank you!

DATE: July 4th, 2010 7:00pm
civil twilight will start at 7:01pm so it should be nicely dusky for the ceremony, and have started cooling off some.
(may have to bump to July 3rd to accommodate available honeymoon schedule/his leave dates)

    If the 4th all important stuff must be finished by 9pm, before the city starts shooting off Independence Day fireworks. :D We should be close enough that if people want to wander outside to watch them in the distance they can, but far enough the noise shouldn't be disruptive inside (esp if we have a DJ going).

VENUE: Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham

Ceremony outdoors in the prayer garden, reception inside immediately after
(This way I don't have people out in the heat too long.)

COLORS: Dark red, white, cream and formal black for accents.


( So nothing's set in stone yet but... )
( DIY and green ideas )
( Food thoughts and TO DO lists )
( warcraft dorks )

Yay, so today we found suits for our wedding! Thank you, Men's Wearhouse buy one, get one free sale! So my partner thomwatson and I knew that we wanted linen suits (to go with our beachy, tropical, tiki vibe), but the first time we went to our local MW store a few weeks ago, they didn't have our corresponding sizes in both the jackets and slacks, and for some reason they weren't exactly very forthcoming about helping us find them. (Also, we were still a little non-committal about what we were looking for.)

( Fast forward to today... )