Signs For The Backs Of Our Chairs

Screw Etsy (I know that's not my typical attitude but in this case I mean it)! $60 for "Mrs." & "Mr." signs. $30 for a wooden ampersand? Pass. I decided once the sign was painted and dolled up no one could tell the difference between wood and cardboard anyway. Plus, it wouldn't be worth the investment since I have no idea what I'd do with them after the wedding anyway.

Materials

• Cardboard (recycled Amazon box)
• Paint & Brush
• Card Stock/Construction Paper
• Silhouette (or exact-o knife)
• Glue stick
• Decoupage
• Crop-a-dile
• Copper Colored Grommets
• Ribbon

That's right mine says "Something Clever" and his says "Yet to be Determined". We think it's funny on a few levels. First, I picked out a small card board box. I cut the top and lid off so I'd have two pieces roughly the same size. I painted them dark green with acryllic paint and a foam brush. I'm sure any dark colored paint works for cardboard though. I let them dry overnight (or for over a week while I considered my next step).

Next I used my Silhouette cutter and a free font I downloaded called ales and wenches to write out the words we agreed on. I used plain old brown construction paper. I glued them down with a glue stick (to allow for scooting). Then when they were dry I painted a layer of decoupage over top.

I used my crop-a-dile to punch two holes in the top of each and put in copper colored grommets. Then I carefully touched up the green paint around the edges. Once they were dry I fed some sheer green ribbon through the holes.

We Meet Agian, Florist

Mike had three centerpieces to show the florist. Obviously, only the painted one is finished and the other two are still works in progress.

The unfinished two will/do have glowing mushrooms inside them as well as lit ones on them. Mike discovered glow-in-the dark hot glue on our last craft store trip. Am I the only one who wonders what besides this project people would use that for? The mushrooms inside the log are hot glue, tissue paper and high lighter. He painted the inside of the log black and added a tiny led black light. Neat, huh? I think the third kind he made is my favorite though. All gnarly and old looking. He'll put glow mushrooms underneath that one.

My best (but not very good) shot of the glow mushrooms. So fun!

We discussed filling the centerpieces with dried willow and vine clippings. Putting down a piece of fabric under each centerpiece with moss on it. Maybe burlap with a mixture of green and gray sheet moss and deer moss glued around the edge to make a border. We talked about our plans for disguising the pillar, Mike of course has taken that to the next level. As well as the potential room decor.

It's been determined that we need one more trip to the venue soon. This way we can solidify room decor and lay eyes on the ceremony site. We haven't looked at the ceremony site for years. Plus I want to discuss table set-up with their event person.

Here are the burlap sacks we got for our favors. We'll have oak and purple orchid seedlings for each household to choose from and take home. My original plan for leaving the favors around the centerpieces is not going to work. They are too amazing to be cluttered up with stuff. So, we talked favor presentation a bit too.

Thinking it over.

With the vine. So pretty!

Another shot of all three

Other Weddings at Our Venue

Swept Away Studios This my favorite picture at Sunken Gardens hands down!

It's that gorgeous? This photographer has some beautiful stuff. This is my favorite of this wedding, but I also really like the one looking up from the hearts on the sidewalk. I've never noticed any hearts so I'm wondering if those are sidewalk chalk? Cool idea. She also got lots of beautiful pictures of the couples through the trees. They had their whole wedding at SG just like we will. Also, how did they get permission for sparklers? Unless the rule changed after their wedding... They didn't cover the frames or decorate the pillar. Which was the case with most of the weddings I found.

My second overall favorite group of wedding photos from our venue was from Loving Legacy Photography Here's my favorite shot:

This is the stage with the cool old tree growing out of it that I LOVE. This bride did all her group shots there, great minds. Mike informed me that the took the tree out, bummer! Beautiful first look shots too! Unfortunately this couple partied post nuptials at a hotel so I didn't get any reception decor inspiration from them.

This one is from P.L. Carrillo Photography

While I found most of these wedding pictures to be a little boring, I really like this shot. Adding cave picture to my must take photo list for sure. So, pretty! There are so many great spots for pictures I'm getting so excited. This couple dressed up their Garden Room Reception with rented lights. They chose not to cover the frames either. Although they turned the sconces off.

This one is by Maria Angela Photography Must find cool old gate!

This was another wedding where it was really hard to pick a favorite! I also LOVE the one of the bride and groom under the vines. So neat. They really wondered around for their photos and made the most of the gardens. I also love their pictures because besides being awesome they were one of the only evening weddings I found. They used the Garden Room, but they only draped fabric from the ceiling. Interesting effect, but I doubt, if we do our job, guests will be looking up.

This one's from Stephanie A. Smith Photography

This is lovely! I hope I can work out the time line so we can hang my dress from the trees. They had a small outdoor reception so no decor inspiration from them. Again they left to guests waving sparklers...hmmm...

Hilary Mercer Photography I don't think this beautiful tree is anywhere near our ceremony site, but what a great picture.

We've definitely picked the right venue. So many must take photo spots! I'm still completely in love with our photographer even after letting myself scroll through photography blogs all day. I also feel that even if we only have our centerpieces on white tables cloths (Mike's vision is much grander) the reception will be beautiful.

Center-piece-de-resistance

Now all we need is more willow branches and some lights on them and it's done! Centerpiece 1 of 10, Yay!! Isn't Mike talented? I couldn't have turned paper machê, hot glue, tiny colored lights and some paint into that! Amazing.

This more than anything else that we've done for the wedding makes me so excited for it to get here!! It's beyond my expectations as always. I can't wait to drop it off with florist she flip. Hurray!!

Now We Get Serious(ly Pretty)!

Time to make final decisions, I followed up with anyone I hadn't spoken to since before my surgery. I finally tracked down an estimate for draping these bad boys with linens:

Frames for light fixtures in a venue where you are forbidden from hanging anything on the walls. We went through the idea of potted plants lining the walls to hide them, suspending willow branches from wires somehow and even pushing something against all the walls (partitions?). I was trying to aviod rentals entirely since the venue gave us all our table and chairs and the caterer could bring table clothes. In the end we got a quote for draping the room from ceiling to floor.

Something like this, maybe a little less dense and without all the fabric on the ceiling. It'll be like being in a big white tent with a window overlooking the gardens. All the pretty centerpiece lights will reflect on it too. It's very exciting. The ethereal vibe enhanced.

Beginning of the Middle

Early on I gave the decor responsibilities to Mike. He drew this years ago.

I have to tell you, when he drew this I had come up with my enchanted forest theme, but the only thing I said about centerpieces was non-floral with lights. He had this vision of scooping up some of the forest floor and putting on the table. Mushrooms and moss surrounding willow branches. The mushrooms would be lit and we'd put lights on the branches.

As soon as the holidays were over (after off and on experimentation with LEDs for months) he started our centerpiece prototype. When he cam up with the concept he had no idea how exactly how it would be realized. He realized a few weeks go he could sculpt mushrooms out of hot glue. It was readily available thanks to his crafty bride, malleable and transparent so light can shine through. Amazing, stuff my green glowing mushrooms.

After the mushrooms were conquered he decided to make a tree stump to hold the willow branches. Nice upgrade, yes? It'll tie into our cake design. He ended up sculpting it out of paper machê. Which is a perfect medium for a beat up old log, bumpy and irregular. Then he made bracket fungus (those step looking ones that grow out of the sides of trees. Krista climbs them up a tree in Fern Gully) lit with amber colored lights. Beautiful.

He's finished everything, but the painting. I'm so excited!

Like I said this is unpainted still and it was taken in a room full of sunlight. Obviously, it will be in much dimmer lighting at the wedding and it will also have lit willow branches in the center.

This one's a little blurry, but you can see the detail and color of the lights much better.

Here's an idea of what the lights look like in the dark.

I'll post pictures when it's finished. We're thinking he'll make about 10 of these, but we'll know for sure once RSVPs start coming in. I'm getting so excited about my beautiful reception.

Decor Sneak Peak

Rather pictures of the half done centerpiece Mike made I thought I'd give you a sneak peak of the look of the wedding. Pretty cool, huh?

This is the original sketch for centerpieces, the design has evolved since then

These are live glowing mushroms. Ours are molded from hot glue and lit with tiny leds.

Willow branches and leds (ours will not be painted gold)

Antiqued lanterns

Old trees

Rustic fairies

Birdsnests and moss

Field Trip!!

So, remember that field trip to the venue I've been mentioning for a few weeks? It finally happened. I've learned that coordinating the schedules of even 3 people can be very complicated. Mike, the kids and I headed down to Sunken Gardens this afternoon to meet Janine, our florist. We were armed with a tape measure, paper, pen and three creative people's imaginations.

How did we entertain the kids? No need. Big empty room equals loads of fun. The camera is not out of focus, that's how fast he was running. They chased each other, crawled through the desert (aka carpet) to the oasis (aka dance floor), danced, hid behind the pillar and made multiple trips to the water fountain. They had a great time.

We measured, by which I mean Mike measured and I scribbled furiously in short hand on a legal pad. We got every dimension we might need for decor/table set-up and then counted and noted outlet placement. It was kind of like being in a bank heist movie.

Janine listened carefully to Mike's suggestions and gave us a few things to think about. For example, far cooler than aqua beads is barked wire! It's perfect for discreetly fastening willow branches to metal beams for example. Mike's wheels are turning about their camouflage abilities in combination with their ability to conduct electricity. My nerdy David Tutera. We refined some of our prior decor ideas and for the first time really talked about table placement. What a headache. Head table? Sweetheart table? Feasting table? Where will the buffet go? How much room between tables? And so on...

Speaking of tables, Janine says the caterer is charging too much to use their plain white linens and I could get cheaper prettier ones, no problem. Exciting, now that I've looked at the black chairs and imagined the stark white table cloth under our beautiful centerpieces. It would be different if they were included, but if you can get something prettier for less, why not? We may also be draping fabric around the room and using lights and flora to decorate them.

I think two things make Janine an amazing florist: 1)She really listens to us. 2)She likes a challenge. She even offered Mike some barked wire to experiment with. She's a real team player, I just love her so much. It was good to all be in the space together. At one point I noticed the light fixtures over the dance floor, which I hadn't remembered being there.
I really like them. Nice of them to have pretty lights over the dance floor. It doesn't make up for the gratuitous wood frames we have to hide without damaging their paint, jerks. I can't imagine what use these would have had, ever.
I'm also, a little unclear on what the heck these are although they are awesome and futuristic looking. Our guess was speakers.
And speaking of the sound system, the music was on when we got up there and it's a good system (or the room has good acoustics or both).

And I will now leave you with my favorite shot of the day. Mike (in tourist attire) using an app on his phone to see if our venue has wifi.

Flower Power Meeting

Sorry for the delay, but last Tuesday I did indeed venture to the florist. I was accompanied by my lovely bridesmaid and often blog photographer, Lara. I am usually very decisive by nature, but there are two outside forces at play here 1)Mike and 2)It's been 2yrs since we made some of these decisions initially.

Mike wanted lizard lapel pins for all the groomsmen and dads. They were silver with green stones. I liked them a lot, but after telling the florist we didn't need any boutonnieres we found the lizards were unavailable. We were pondering what to do instead when I came upon a groom in a magazine with sea holly or blue thistle as his lapel adornment. It seemed so "Mike" and went with our colors. I asked Janine to scare some up.

Apparently it's often used for alien plant life in Sci Fi shows. Too cool, right? It's blue and she was worried we'd have to tint it with a little red, but luckily for us it's a purpley blue so no tint required.

We talked a ton about decor, which is kind of Mike's area. Let me clarify, I am contributing and dealing with vendors, but he is the design team. It was decided we needed a group field trip to count outlets, measure pillars and generally work out some logistics. It all looks so simple on the design shows, doesn't it? The room for the reception is a pretty blank canvas which is great (and slightly overwhelming). It has two quirks: wood frames around light fixtures (?!?) and one oddly shaped pillar. Luckily, Mike and Janine are brilliant and the pillar is a non issue, no spoilers! However, hiding the weird frames without breaking any rules or running several feet of cords along the walls may be a lot harder than we thought.

One of the thing I love about Janine is she always shows me things in real life or draws me pictures. It's so much easier to fill up that blank room in my mind with visual aids. The last item on the agenda for this meeting was favors. I wanted seeding trees placed around our centerpieces (one per household) for people to plant and think of us. I also LOVE Janine's "I can make that happen" attitude. Seedlings? Sure. She pulled some up from her own yard and is experimenting with the best way to care for them and also monitoring their size so we can finalize the container decisions. Janine even came up with cute wording for the tag. I'm not a huge fan of the clay pot because you wouldn't find one in the woods. I think we're gonna do burlap sacks instead. The moss will be different too. I'm getting excited though. I hope these trees take root in friend's yards and someday I'll say "whatcha doin'?" and someone will reply "reading under the wedding tree." Sorry chocoholics, but I wanted something a little more lasting (I hope) for favors.

In general, I feel well taken care of. I have a list of questions for the venue and we'll being popping by soon with pencils and measuring tapes shortly. They'll be a lot of brow furrowing and uh-huh-ing I'm sure. That makes me giggle. Hopefully the prettiness I've agreed to so far will be entirely possible.

The Floral Element

This is the inspiration for my bouquet, it just happens to have been taken by my photographer. Mine will not have lilies. It will have black and white anemones and lavender roses and darker greenery. I want my flowers to pop against the green stuff. The steams will be wrapped in sheer ivory ribbon. It'll have the same loops of lily grass I really love those. I told her I wanted it to be neat and compact, but with a little bit of chaos. I'm really excited.

My bridesmaids will not have bouquets. Instead they'll have a wrist corsage something like this:
They'll each have two anemones and an emerald bow the color of their dresses. They will carry a white distressed wooden lantern with an led candle inside it. The led candles the florist has are wax on the outside and they look really authentic. She's going to attach an anemone and some greenery to each lantern as well. I picture all the flickering lights like fairies in the woods. Also, they'll have their hair up something like this:
with, you guessed it, an anemone in their hair.

I also picked flowers for the moms' corsages. They'll have ivory spray roses and lavender wax flowers. I think they'll be pretty. I kept them pretty neutral with a little pop of color so they'd go with their dresses. I also gave her the picture of the flower girl halo I want and we're going to make it with lavender and heather.
In the picture they used a kind of fern she'd never heard of so we'll be using some plumosa instead and have more green and sparser flowers. Surprisingly the flower girls' halos ended up being one of the more expensive items on the list. Overall though our estimate was on budget (Hurray!). All the stuff I've described so far was what's referred to as "personals." I had my say there with complete confidence, but the other set of items falls under decor which is Mike's territory.

We have a great "blank canvas" in our reception space. Since we're not allowed to put anything on the walls and there are about a dozen wooden frames around scones we have a challenge. We needed some combination of willow branches, fabric and lights to pretty things up. I was afraid of a "prom look" with potted plants and Christmas light, but between Mike and my brilliant florist that would never happen. She also came up with a beautiful solution to the lonely pillar in the center of the room. Now as soon as Mike finishes my beautiful lighted centerpiece prototype we will figure out how many willow branches each needs and be in great shape. I promise to go into decor in another post, but trust me it will be beautiful!

I'm elated that everything is coming together! Last time I met with her (years ago) every flower I wanted was either out of season or wouldn't survive if it was cut for a bouquet (or both). It was deflating, but today was empowering. She's so resourceful and creative I can tell working with her will be a blast.

Ready, Set, Stall...

Today we attempted to get the fabric for a test dress from the flower girl pattern and supplies for our interactive, magnetic save the dates. I had been fretting over the mechanics of the save the date so long I hadn't even considered what they would actually say. It occurred to me last night I didn't need the right words because Shakespeare's would do nicely. Enchanted fairy forest wedding inspired by Midsummer Night's Dream should include a word from The Bard here and there.

While we were prowling the overcrowded aisles of Joann's discussing things like what color brads to use, etc the air conditioner came on. I remember that is was loud and then very dramatically the power went out. They sent us to the front of the store and then encouraged us in no uncertain terms to leave our stuff and get the heck out. Jerks.

I came home empty handed. I decided instead to work on t-shirts for the wedding party. I'll post pictures when they're done. I considered painting champagne flutes for the wedding, but Mike explained how complicated a process it was and I opted to buy some on Etsy. Something like these:

I'm thinking pretty champagne flutes for the maids and beer mugs with initials for the men. Something like this:

I want everyone in the wedding party to have some kind of glass with their name on it to take home. I may do a good old, custom Etsy order.

As for the shirts I can't finish them until we decide our Bests and Of Honors, so I'm just getting a start on them. I'm designing them and having them silk screened. I also want to do some fun kids cups for the kids table. I think we have ten-ish kids on the guest list. If anyone has a suggestion for those, let me know. I'm thinking something with lids and straws since they'll be dressed up.

Also, I've decided not to buy the metal lanterns and distress them, but to press on looking for rustic wooden ones. The metal ones are more budget friendly, but after copious internet research I'm not happy with the unpredictable nature of distressed metal. I'm thinking I'd like two lanterns (four if it's a great deal). I'd love help finding those too (if anyone's still reading).

More crafty stuff, dress updates and vender discussion to come as soon as the date drama is resolved, I promise.