A Cheery Break

When I first started my wedding obsession by reading blog post upon post, I kept reading things about planning being overwhelming, stressful and all-consuming. My first thought was "great" I LOVE weddings, so I'll love mine even more. My second was "these people must not be planners." Let me tell you, I'm a planner/organizer with a strong sense of what I like and this wedding planning is OVERWHELMING! So, for a break from the wedding madness, my roommate and I threw a holiday shindig of our own. Now, I love throwing parties; I love rearranging the furniture in to the most mingle-able setting, I love browsing through appetizer recipes, mixing drinks, choosing serving platters and making the house look so elegantly "lived in." However, because we're both only 21, our collection of serving dishes, holiday decor and generally money is pretty limited, so here is our holiday soiree *on a budget* in three easy steps.

Is anyone throwing a holiday themed, wedding-y party? Wine and crafts? Holiday engagement? Winter bridal shower? Tell me...I LOVE to hear!

1. Candles! Votives are CHEAP, check out these at Dollar Tree (4 for $1) and glass jars are cheaper (do you buy pasta sauce, salsa, jam). We've been collecting glass jars to use at my wedding and figured, why not use them twice?! With all the DIYs out there, it so easy to find something festive...these are my faves. Psst, the first link has TONS of ideas. one, two

2. Easy appetizers. What's easier (cuter, tastier...) than tiny potatoes wrapped in bacon? Add in a dipping dish of Dijon and you're ready to go. Also, brie was one of our splurgerier treats...but the stuff on top is just sugar and water!! P.S. Of our limited serving dishes, we do have a wood cutting board...perfect for cheese and crackers! one, two

3. Simple, festive drinks (that you can make in BIG batches). We decided to offer two drinks, cider and nog (both of which were a HIT). The best part about these is that they are easy as heck, but still way classier than the usual 21-year-old party drink.

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What do you do to break from the all-consuming wedding planning?

Don't worry, I'll be done with this hiatus next week, because this weekend I have my first WEDDING DRESS FITTING with my mom and all of my bridesmaids! I can't wait! Does anyone have any fitting tips?

P.S. I wish I could have a snowy, winter wedding...there'd be muffs and cider for all!

Lights and Love: Nighttime Inspiration

Before I get in to all the details that everyone always asks about like the venue, the dress, colors…and my obnoxiously overzealous list of potential DIY projects, I want you to get a feel for the atmosphere I’m aiming for (I’ve been told I’m a big picture person…so here goes all of my big picture thoughts).

For me, flowers aren't incredibly important (especially because my wedding will be at night...who can see flowers at night anyways?). So my focus for the wedding is on creating a dreamy atmosphere with candles...lots and LOTS of candles.

P.S. My ultimate wedding dream would be to release TONS of floating candle lanterns...thanks Texas for your constant state of extreme drought. I guess I'll have to settle for floating candles in the pool.

Do you have and neat nighttime inspiration? 

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

P.S. The floating luminaries above (number eight), I bought a few of them and somewhere near 100 paper lanterns...these are the best deal, a TON of votives and instead of pillar candles (which are CRAZY expensive), I bought these.

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Its All in the Small Details

Little decor ideas are what makes your even special and personal. These are some of my favorites that I really plan to incorporate!

Keys: love the key idea but they are awfully hard to find. The ones I have found are expensive too. The look of the keys and the bronze definitely go with the theme I have, and those as accents would be perfect!

Lantern Lights: holy moly those are so inexpensive and they just seem to transform any room! Look on lunarbizarre.com for some very cheap ones! They also have every color under the sun, so no matter what color palette you are trying to work with, you can always get ball lantern lights!

Tags: paper products, and especially tags, are my favorite thing ever. I absolutely love them as they give anything you put them on a really nice touch an for a small price!

Candle Lighting: Mason Jar candle holders?! Amazing. Those are so cute as they match the clear mason jars I will have, yet they hold my favorite kind of lighting :)

What unique details do you have going on for your wedding???

Lighting

Gorgeous setting that is both completely romantic and comfortable.

Candles and fireplaces make for a pretty setting while still adding in the romantic atmosphere.

No matter how you do it, lighting will set the mood and create a romantic ambiance for you and your guests. I love everything from candles and little white lights, to lanterns and fire pits. All of these add to the setting and make the space feel warm. So so Pretty!