A Simple Ceremony::Outdoor Decor

Sorry I've been gone for a few weeks, it turns out that planning a wedding and having a full-time job (like almost all of us do) sometimes can be a little overwhelming. But now I'm back and less than three months from my big day! Holy cow! I like saying less than three instead of a little over two (whenever I hear two, it makes me anxious). So, besides having an overwhelming amount of this to do (even though up until now, I've felt as if my planning was flawless), I am still constantly gathering new inspiration, which is absolutely KILLER if you are actually trying to make decisions. From all of the gobs of beautiful things I've seen, here's my plan for the ceremony. My ceremony will be outside my parents home under a lovely tree. I'll enter through our front door to rows of natural wood chairs and make a winding path around to the end of the aisle and all the way up to meet JB. I've always been in to a clean, somewhat industrial, earthy aesthetic (that makes sense, right), which I plan to carry through the ceremony. We won't have an altar, or really anything other than the tree up by where we'll stand, however, to make things festive, there are a few things that I've decided to add to the decor (only a few), so here's my guide for festive-ing up your ceremony.

1. Find something unique but simple that you can use again. My mom has always taught me two things about shopping: 1. buy for the long-haul 2. don't buy small stuff (she's not in to chotchkies).  So heeding her advice (I've been making staple housewares purchases for years) and with her help, we found 5 beautiful round metal candle pieces that will hang in the tree behind us. One more piece of mom advice for making things look perfectly undone and chic, choose odd numbers, specifically 3 or 5.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three

2. Add something living. For me that's easy, the tree. However, at the end of the aisle I will also have a few (probably 3) pots or holders of some sort with living plants and I'll have a eucalyptus garland around the front door.

one, two, three 

3. Keep it simple and stay true to yourself. This is what I've been struggling with! There are so many ideas that are beautifully executed to choose from that it is absolutely overwhelming, however, what I've been trying to remember to help decide what I do and don't want is: would I pick this any day, or just today? Think about you and your lovey's true style, what do you two like and go from there. For me and JB, it's simple, we don't like clutter or anything too girly. However I've been on the edge of buying and cutting pink ribbons for a ribbon curtain on multiple occasions. Here are a few more things that have almost made me drop all plans and start fresh.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four I wanted to change our names after I saw this:

Can you imagine a root beer themed wedding?! The BEST!

Are y'all having trouble making decisions? How are you decorating your ceremony?

Cake-O-Rama

This weekend JB and I finally had a real cake tasting! We'd been to a different bakery a few weeks ago, but we didn't get to try any of the fun flavors (which is what we're interested in), so this week, we ordered samples from a well-loved local bakery and tasted away! We made notes and each made a secret ordered list of our favorite flavors before comparing. You'll have to wait and see which flavors we picked, but look at these tiny adorable tasting cakes!

After tasting all of the cakes, we decided that one flavor just isn't enough. Instead of having one huge cake, we're going to have three cakes. Our main cake will be two-tiered and then we'll have two single-tiered smaller cakes to make an adorable little trio. This weekend I found some really neat antique stands for the cakes (that you'll have to see later), but I'll let you know that they are vey unique! I've always like very simple cake decorations and toppers, nothing too fancy or over the top. Here are a few of my favorites:

What are you doing? One cake? Multiples? No cake at all?

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

Flowers, flowers, flowers

I've written multiple times about how my flowers will be very limited...night wedding=candles. However, there are still a few floral things that I want. Side note: if flowers weren't so dang expensive, I'd cover everything in GIGANTIC bright blooms. I'm definitely not the girl who says "I don't care about flowers, they just die," (check my Pinterest for proof) I do in fact love flowers, plants, herbs and most things that grow (I'm including animals in most things that grow, but that's a whole other story...we're getting a puppy soon, right JB?). Here's my checklist of the things I need in terms of flowers and my inspiration for each of them. 1. My bouquet: I have fallen hard for big open king proteas and I want at least one honker in my bouquet! Here's my mini rant about bouquets...I hate it when bouquets are round, hemisphere-shaped (as JB says). I just don't think I can take another round-ish perfectly situated bundle of pink roses.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four, five, six

2. My bridesmaids' bouquets: I want something simple and clean, but still whimsical and fun. Too many adjectives? Maybe.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three

3. Garland: I am going to enter the ceremony from my front door, so I would love something to frame the door and make it look a bit more festive. However, I absolutely love our door and I would never want to cover it up with a wreath, so a garland seems perfect (plus my favorite decoration that my mom puts up is the garland around our door at Christmas, it is just so welcoming).

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four

4. Other randos: I have to have a kissing ball at my wedding AND look at this swag of herbs...oh lord, I gotta have it. My third and final random floral need are those GORGEOUS garlands to hang on the backs of our newlywed dinner chairs. P.S. Both the kissing balls and the herb swag are for sale for $39 each at Pottery Barn and William Sonoma respectively (who knew!).

Kissing balls, herbs, chair garland

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The Cake {table}

There are a few wedding traditions that I've never cared much for, the garter toss, receiving line and...the cake. I know that might infuriate some people, seeing as that most people would give their left arm for cake, but I've just never really liked cake. Unfortunately (for me...not for my guests) JB LOVES cake, so although I've tried many times to talk JB in to having a stacked cake made from cheese wheels and an array of mixed berries (cheese and berries are my favorite indulgence), it looks like we'll be having a cake. Although I don't really like eating cake, I do love the way some cakes look which is why I am most excited about working with whoever makes my cake to design their look and feel (I want to do a few small cakes rather than a large stacked one). I am ESPECIALLY excited about the cake table. Being only 21 means that my furniture collection is rather limited, so I would love to buy a piece for the cakes that i could have in my house after. Some of these are WAY out of my price range (see the west elm dining table), but a girl can dream.

Here's what I want my cake table to be like...except with cakes, of course:

Pottery Barn clockwise from top left: one, two, three

World Market clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four

west elm clockwise from top left: one, two, three

What are you doing for your cake table? I need some affordable ideas!

Bridal Beauty {the 4 month regimen}

Here I am, 4 months out and I've begun my final beauty regimen. After reading health and wellness articles, taking advice from my friends and just generally making a few decisions on my own, here are the things that I will be doing for the next 4 months to make my face look its best. 1. Oil Cleansing Method To make sure that my skin is radiant on June 16, a few months ago, I began a face washing routine called the oil cleansing method and let me tell you, it is absolutely amazing. I mix 3 parts castor oil, with 1 part olive oil and a few drops of tea tree oil, rub it on my face at night, wash it off with a warm washcloth and that's it! No face washing in the morning, no expensive products, nothing else! It might seem strange to wash your face with oil, but it feels SO good and so not greasy. Read up on it in this little article and you'll understand better why it works. From my perspective, this is the best way to wash your face out there (my face is less greasy, generally zit-free and just healthier).

2. Facials I read that it's not enough to simply have a facial before a big event, but that you always want to have a few (at least 3). So this weekend I had my first facial and I plan to have one a month from now until the wedding. Because I personally don't have the money to spend on facials at the top boutique spa in the area, I get my facials at my local beauty school for $21. They do a great job, charge a ton less and I like knowing that I helped someone practice their skills!

3. Makeup I'm not a big makeup buyer, but over the next few months, I'll be trying out a few products to find somethings I really love. Below are the few makeup standards that I am currently in love with. I'm on the look out for a new mascara, so if you have something you can't get enough of, let me know.

Powder, blush, concealer, mattifier, lipstick

What's your beauty regimen for your big day? Am I missing something?

Rehearsing::The big dinner

Since JB and I became engaged, we've been planning, re-planning and constantly discussing the rehearsal dinner. We quickly found out that most of the places we'd love to have our dinner either 1. Don't make reservations for parties on Friday nights during dinner time, 2. Are ridiculously far above our price range, or 3. Don't have a space large enough for our group. We aren't having a HUGE dinner...just near 50 people, but turns out many restaurants accommodate around 35-40 in their private rooms. After searching and searching for the perfect place that's meaningful to us, but also has the unique food we love, I think *fingers crossed* we've finally settled on a new restaurant near our houses, Next Wood Fired Bistro & Vino Bar. With the location decided, now it's time for us to start brainstorming the fun stuff! Here are a few of the things I'd love to do at the dinner and my style inspiration for our wedding-eve.

1.Postcards: I want postcards sitting at the tables for people to leave us notes, advice, drawings, etc. At the end of the night, JB's mom will collect them and then mail them to us, one each week until we have them all! I'd love to get one of these Pantone postcards each week. Wouldn't they make the CUTEST little album!

2. Music: It's always important to JB and I to have the music we love playing at our events, so the rehearsal dinner is no exception. At our venue, they normally have a guitarist, but we're in a separate room and may not be able to hear his music. If not, here are a few songs we have to play. P.S. The linked playlist is on Spotify, which I LOVE. If you don't have it yet, you should, you can share songs with friends, listen to basically any music you could ever imagine...it's just great.

3. My style: I bought my rehearsal dinner outfit at the end of last summer (when all the whites were on sale), but here is my inspiration for my outfit. I'm even thinking that I might wear an antique hat or headpiece, because why-the-heck not. What are you wearing for your rehearsal, are you going formal? Casual? I'm wearing a skirt and top (all in white, of course), so I guess I'm right in the middle.

one, two, three, four, five

 4. The After Party: What do you think about an after rehearsal dinner party? Have you had one, been to one? I'd love an opportunity to see a few people who weren't at the dinner before the craziness of our big day. Let me know about these later-night, after-dinner get togethers! 

The Ring::Modern, Classic, Nontraditional...

Of all the decisions I've made for the wedding, by far the most difficult and the one that I am ALL OVER the board on is the ring. Everyday I show JB ring upon ring from wide to thin, diamond-filled to etched, I simply don't have the power to make up my mind on this one. I want to be able to wear my band by itself, or with my engagement ring and at the moment (this literal moment, as I'm writing this) I'm leaning toward minimal or no diamonds (who needs 'em...have you seen my engagement ring?! JB rocked it).

My main problem is that the rings I want aren't sold in store (etsy-love), or they're not sold near me (NYC has the main stock of rings I want), so I can't try them on with my engagement ring. That's why I need your help, what do you think?

Here are some of my options in all their glory...I've tried to narrow it down to my faves, but honestly there are probably more that I may like better, or at least like better for a few minutes (my indecisiveness is RAMPANT). Because there is such a long list of possibilities coming your way, I've broken them down in to groups so that you can easily source each image. Plus, ALL of these can be ordered online and they're all well under $1,000.

P.S. Which ever ring I decide on, I will order in white gold (so no worries on the yellow v. white gold issue).

I was going to try to list my favorites from each group...but I can't even decide on that.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four, five

These next ones match my engagement ring, they're made by Eidel Precious and would clearly fit well with my current ring, but I think they're just a little too classic for me. However they are SO gorgeous and sparkly!

The next set I absolutely adore. I love that number 3 is vintage, but I think it might be a bit too wide. I really love the placement of the stones on numbers two and four. I just generally like number one.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four

Number three of the next four is from BHLDN and I LOVE it, but I don't know if I love it as a wedding ring or just as a ring.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four

This final grouping is maybe my favorite...maybe.

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three

What do you think? Which is your favorite? Which would look best with my ring?

Videography::Dreamy and Whimsical

Videography is something that I've always wanted incredibly bad for our wedding, but nothing (until now) ever quite seemed to work out. Have you seen some of the incredible wedding videos out there?! They are AMAZING, dreamy, whimsical....more than simply a tape-recording of the day, that's for sure! Here are two videos that I keep going back to because I simply can't get enough. Stick with me because *gasp* the second video isn't a wedding video, but it is BEAUTIFUL and the aesthetic that I want for my wedding (also, I'm absolutely in love with food, so this video [for me] is quite fitting).This first one gets me EVERYTIME. The pink church, the gifts and Wonderwall...just watch, you'll see. http://vimeo.com/26502282

Now, this is the wedding-less video, but I'm pretty sure that you're about to fall in LOVE with Tiger in a Jar just like I have. The dreamy lighting, documentary style and just wait for the ombre pine nuts!

http://vimeo.com/25385248

Now that you've seen those two BEAUTIES! Look at Jonathon Link Studios, the amazing videographers that I am going to have the privilege to work with for my wedding. They are an adorable husband-wife duo and JB and I are thrilled to have them on our team. Here is one of my favorite videos they've done, but really I love them all!

http://vimeo.com/19527209

Two of my favorite things about Jonathon and Kristin Link are: 1. They are attending our rehearsal to get a better feel for how the day is going to go down. 2. They are shooting our wedding with 3 cameras (!!!). We met with them this past weekend to talk about details and were just so impressed with everything they had to say, I can't wait to watch our video for years to come!

I love the gift exchange from the first video and I always love when videos include pre-wedding preparations, but what are some other things that I have to make sure to leave time for my videographers to capture (other than the obvious ceremony and reception traditions)?

P.S. I'm less than 5-months out! Also, I found this the other day in a book at Pottery Barn and had to share...

Save the Date! {Paper Inspiration}

This weekend my goal was to send out our save the dates. With my job, I design invitations to all kinds of events all the time, however it was very fun to finally get to design something that was entirely for me and JB. This has probably been the most daunting job for me simply because of the inspiration overload that I keep talking about. From letterpress, to printed balloons and magnets to film strips, here are some of my very favorites.

one, two, three, four, five, six

JB and I have been together for almost six years (2.5 of which were in high school), because of this we have done a TON of monumental things together from attending senior prom to venturing abroad to moving in to college dorms. I wanted a way to remind people of all the things we've done together in a simple, concise and adorable way...enter, the punch card.

We are punch card fanatics, if your restaurant has a punch card, you better bet that we'll fill that card for the free froyo, sandwich...So we decided to combine our love of punch cards with a list of the things we've done together and there you have it, a *hand-punched* punch card ending with an un-punched "Vow I do."

Kraft envelopes are my favorite and with my mom's swirly handwriting they are the perfect amount of whimsy and handmade. The one thing I wish I could have done was to use antique stamps on the envelopes (like number six above), but when I really looked at my budget, it just wasn't something I chose to do. I ordered the rubber stamps with our return address and the heart with "JB and Taylor" from  RubberStamps.net and even though it said 7-10 days, they had it to me in 5. Plus on this site, you can easily upload any .jpg image, see a preview and order a stamp (aka you can use your own handwriting for a stamp to make everything look perfectly handmade).

Next, on to the invitations! I want something more elegant for the invites, but still modern and fun. My mom is an incredible artist, so I would love to use her work. What do you think, hand painting, watercolor, more with the modern typography like the save the dates, what's your pick?

Earring Inspiration {something other than rhinestones}

My main wedding jewelry (other than my completely gorgeous engagement and wedding rings), will be worn on my ears. I'm not wearing a necklace, but I really want to play up my some ear jewels (JB likes my ears, so it works out nicely). I've never been super in to sparkly, rhinestone like things (unless it's a full sequin/glitter/rhinestone dress...then I'm in), but I've ALWAYS loved rocks...I even had a rock collection when I was little. Because of this, I absolutely adore the geode jewelry that I keep seeing. Specifically the gold dipped geodes, ugh, I could own a new pair for everyday of the year. However, I just can't decide if for my wedding earrings I should wear something white/ivory/neutral or if I should add a little color. What do you think? Here are a few of my favorites...

Clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

Do you have a favorite? Have you seen good geodes anywhere else?

P.S. I know the third pair are pearls, not geodes, but I love them, so I couldn't leave them out.