The Out-of-Town Bag

With well over half of our guests traveling to our wedding (from out of state AND out of country), it's important that our guests receive a sincere welcome and know how much we appreciate them for making the trip to Arizona as soon as they reach their hotel.  While it's impossible to personally greet each guest as he/she arrives, the Welcome Bag, aka the Out-of-Town or OOT Bag is the next best thing.  I have an idea of what we'll put in the bags but just recently started imagining what I'd like the actual bags to look like.  I really like all of the examples below but they are just not in our budget.  We'll probably go with some cute paper bags instead but I will still lust after these for a while longer.

clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4

To spruce up the bags, I really like the idea of creating welcome tags to either tie on to the handles or possibly convert in to a sticker to stick on the the front of the bag. I think both of these are sweet.

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To add another personal touch for those staying at a hotel, I absolutely love these door hangers.

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A welcome booklet or itinerary is a must and I'll be using the below examples as inspiration. We have a super detailed website but I think it will be nice for guests to have hard copies of important info too.

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via

The actual assembly of our bags wont happen until late next month but I'll be sure to share the process and finished products with you when they're done :)

PS: I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this...I hope none of our guests are feeling this way!

Apple Orchard Inspiration

The best part of my day is getting the chance to chat it up with brides who are full of inspiration and excitement over their big day. After a fabulous chat with a bride, Ashlynn, she sent over her Pinterest board of inspiration and boy did it inspire me! Her inspiration is an apple orcahard-esque theme filled with fab DIYing and a bit of homemade glory. I thought this would be a fabulous opportunity to inspire those of you who are planning a late-summer wedding filled with homemade love.

I love these dish towel save the dates! In fact, I want to get a few for myself to remember our wedding day. :) Apple butter on vintage pieces are so awesome. Similar to jam, these are great favors that guests will love and will love to eat.

Source: Apple butter, dish towels, barn

Don't you just wish there were more red barns around? I sure do. I don't think I have found one in all of my searches, so if you are in a place that has one, I highly envy you! And, yarn letters are definitely becoming a favorite of mine at the moment.

Source: Table Number, Centerpiece, Invite

Source: Love, Lemonade, Cans, Orchard, Cake, Flatware

Source: Flowers, Tablescape, Ceremony

Wedding Bands..

I wasn't quite sure what type of wedding band I'd like best with my brilliant cut solitaire ring - but I know I love a vintage or antique looking ring.  It's really hard to find that style of ring in chain jewelry stores though, and  I'm worried about buying a ring online.  What if they don't fit together quite right in person?  Have any of you purchased wedding bands online, without trying them on first?  I'd really have to check their return policy before taking the plunge.

I also really like an enhancer, or ring guard style - they are really unique, and I liked how a few looked paired with my ring when we checked out a few stores this past weekend.  Here are a few styles I've considered.  Which is your favorite?  Any good stores or sites you would recommend?

Or I could always choose a plain dainty band, and just add stones later if I wanted to.  These rings by Blanca Monrós Gomez are so pretty.

Or maybe something totally different like these fingerprint wedding bands from this cute etsy shop?

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How did you pick your wedding band?  Did it match your engagement setting?   I know whatever I pick will be great, and we could always upgrade for an anniversary, so I'm not stressing too much about it.  But I need to make a decision pretty soon!  What's your wedding band look like?

Incorporating Culture: Austrian Style

You probably know by now that my fiancé is Austrian but I bet you didn't know that I am actually half Austrian! Because of this, it's very important to me to make references to our heritage and incorporate a bit of the culture in to our wedding...without conjuring up too many images of this infamous movie:

(credit)

In one of my early discussions with our wedding coordinator, she excitedly suggested that our favors could be displayed on a table with a sign saying "These are a few of our favorite things" and that the packaging could be brown paper and strings. Get it? Well, I as the American did but the Austrian did not. In fact, he has never seen The Sound of Music and neither have any of his family or friends. We clearly had to scratch that idea but this is what I imagine our packaging could have looked like:

(credit: 1, 2, 3)

With that idea shelved, I thought about using Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts) as escort cards.  They're usually displayed in the below fashion and if we personalized them with guests' names and their assigned table numbers for a seating chart, it could create some very interesting visual impact.

They could also be used as place settings and/or double as favors for the guests to take home:

(credits)

The problem with the hearts is that they are usually rock hard and don't taste that great so they could really only be used for the looks. Christian isn't a huge fan of the idea of using them because he said it reminds him too much of the countryside (he's from the city), so I've also put this idea aside.

Another idea we tossed around was asking all of our Austrian guests to wear their Dirndl and Lederhosen to the wedding. Don't know what drindl or lederhosen are? Check out this picture of Christian's family and me from a summer party last year. Cute, right?  The hills are alive....

(personal photo)

However, we once again decided not to execute this idea because a) we don't want the Austrian guests to feel like we're asking them to wear the clothes just to amuse the other guests (this was Christian's main concern as they would normally never wear dirndl and lederhosen to a wedding in Vienna) and b) dirndl and lederhosen can be very heavy and I didn't want to "force" anyone in to packing them with the risk of having to leave other things behind (or not be able to shop as much).

You might be asking yourself what we actually have decided on doing.  I will leave those details as a surprise but I can assure you that we have some very fun things planned.  I can't wait to share them with you in less than 3 months! :)  Are there any multi-culti brides out there?  How did you incorporate different cultures in to your celebration? 

Pulling It All Together...Wedding Decor.

I find that one of the hardest parts of wedding planning for me has been making sure that all these items we've chosen fit together in a cohesive way.  I've been collecting vintage items for the wedding from antique stores and flea markets.  I've also found tons of cute things on etsy, and I've been doing a little DIY here and there.  So, now I'm just trying to piece everything together and make sure they 'fit' in with our overall theme.  For our gift table,  we have vintage suitcases to hold the cards and milk glass bud vases to decorate the table.  My plan is to buy a burlap or fabric bunting that spells out 'cards' for that.

We also have a teal vintage typewriter that I snagged at a thrift shop for $25!  Although the exclamation point doesn't work so well, I think it'll look great on our guest table.

 We got these great (and funny) mad libs quizzes from etsy for our guests, as an alternative to a regular guestbook.  I'm really excited to read their replies.

And my maid of honor and I DIYed a pegboard with washi tape covered clothespins (DIY project from Handmade Weddings!) - that I'm pretty excited to display.  I've seen it in a few other gorgeous weddings, and I hope ours photographs just as well as this one below!

We also have two soda crates, they look vintage, but they're from Pottery Barn :)   I'd like to fill them with succulents and a few old soda bottles I have thrifted.  I think they'll look great stacked together on either the guest book table or gift table.  Our florist also has huge collection of rental items, so I'm excited to see what we can incorporate from her as well.

I plan of having a bunch of cute signs at the ceremony & reception - I love a good sign, both cute and informative!  Our day-of coordinator designed our invitations, and will be doing the programs and signs for our wedding as well.  I love the invitations so much that I can't wait to see what she'll come up with.  I love all things kraft paper, so that will be a strong presence at the wedding, as well as fun and quirky wording.

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Is anyone else worried their vision might be a little too eclectic?   I know our day-of coordinator and florist are both really talented - so I'm not worried about them executing my plans, just worried that my plans will be a bit disjointed.  Has anyone else worried about this?  Am I just being silly?  I mean this is the biggest party I've ever planned, so I expect to be a little nervous.  But I just hope it doesn't look like I have a bunch of random stuff sitting around.  Do anyone  have any tips for putting things together?

Sparkles + Stripes

I'm loving this little group of photos. A little sparkle, a little stripes and a few lovely polka dots. Tying bright colors and some bold stripes together can never go bad, and this is the perfect example. And who doesn't love a sparkle clutch? I know I do!

Signature Drinks!

Next up on our to-do list is to pick, and name, our signature drink.  I love signature drinks at weddings, whether they have adorable names that tie in the wedding theme, simply just pull the wedding colors into a colorful cocktail, or are just downright delicious.  I think they definitely add a personal touch to the cocktail hour and reception.  There a few important factors that I think we'll consider when picking a drink. Color.  My fiance suggested we pick Arnold Palmer's as our signature drink, and while I love lemonade + ice tea -  I don't love the idea of a brown cocktail as our signature drink (sorry babe!)  Our wedding colors are grey, lemon, sage green, ivory and pale pink (more of a theme than a set color scheme)  so we have a lot of choices.  A pale yellow or pink drink with berries would be just the right touch of color.

Name.  Let's be honest - everybody loves a drink with a cute name.  The Bees Knees, Love is in the Air, Sealed with a Kiss, Blushing Bride, Love Potion, etc.  I want to come up with something creative, but not too over the top cheesy.

Drink Flags or Stirrers.  Who knew there could be so many cute ways to accessorize drinks?  Drink flags, unique stirrers, garnish them with herbs or fruit.  There are a ton of possibilities out there.  I'm partial to a cute drink flag,  I may have to DIY some cute ribbon flags.

Taste.  Aesthetics are important, but  no one will drink a signature drink if it doesn't taste good.  You want something that tastes good, but isn't over powering - sorry no whiskey on the rocks here.  Everything always tastes better with champagne, so maybe the easy way is to pick a champagne drink of some sort.  Or something tasty like this peach collins - yum!

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Anyone have a great drink suggestion?  Do you normally try the signature drink at weddings?  I feel like it's just a little extra detail, but could really add some personality with a quirky name and cute sign.  I'd love to hear what you think!

{Darling Details}: Signs & Banners

Merry Christmas and Happy 6th day of Hanukkah! I hope you are enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. With the end of 2011 in sight, I realize our wedding date is quickly approaching! It is time to start thinking about the little details that I hope will set our wedding apart from others. Two of my favorite little details are hand painted signs and DIY pennant flag banners. These details are common in rustic, outdoor weddings and while our garden wedding will be taking place indoors, {I was worried July would be too humid, even in the evening} I hope to be able to incorporate some of these pretty little touches into our day!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

How cute is that dog? I wish I could incorporate my pup, Cooper into our wedding, but I'm pretty sure our church would not approve! You can actually purchase that sign on etsy, but I hope to be really ambitious and find a DIY version of these ideas! Do you know any great DIY tutorials? Please send them my way! What DIY touches did you incorporate (or do you hope to incorporate) into your wedding? What are your thoughts on pets in a wedding? Have you ever seen it done successfully?

Gifts for the Girls.

Ever since seeing these gorgeous robes from Plum Pretty Sugar featured here I've been obsessing about getting them or something similar for my 'maids and me to get ready in.  Aren't they pretty?!

It has also got me thinking more and more about what other gifts I could give my girls as a "thank you" for playing such an important role not only in my wedding but in my life in general.  I want to get them something they'll love, something unique and something unexpected.  I've only been in one wedding but received some fun gifts (blinged out Havaianas to wear at the reception, a personalized &  hand-painted wine glass, a bracelet to wear for the wedding and a necklace).  However, as cute as the gifts were, I don't want to repeat any since half of my bridesmaids were also in the same wedding ;)

Credits: jewelry rolls, necklaces, day planners

Some of my picks for possible gifts are above.  I am trying to stay away from items that can only be used for the wedding.  Coming up with ideas has been harder than I thought!  So ladies, help me out.  Have you started planning gifts for your girls?  Have you set a budget?  Ever been a bridesmaid and received a gift that you loved? Or maybe one that you didnt love so much (it's okay, we wont tell....).

Rustic Inspiration

When I started looking at wedding blogs (before I was even engaged, oops!), I was totally drawn to barn weddings. You know the kind, barns with high ceilings and chandeliers, with the guests sitting on hay bales and people drinking out of mason jars.

barn

After getting engaged, I remembered that I am marrying a city boy- a city boy who had never seen a cow until he joined the Marines! I grew up in a pretty small town (with a lot of cows), thus I was more drawn to the rustic feel. Dan is more traditional- he is more into churches and clean lines; thus our wedding combination of rustic and modern.

I went back to those barn weddings that I loved, and tried to put my finger on what it was that I loved about them. One common theme was wood. It  is natural and beautiful without being pretentious. My grandfather was an amazing wood worker. My dad is also very talented and I grew up helping him in the workshop, so wood details are a must!

table runner; candle