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Entries from December 1, 2007 - January 1, 2008

Tuesday
Jan012008

Hello 2008, Year of Organization!

Happy New Year! I love new years. Not necessarily the party-filled new years eve aspect, but the part where you can sit back and think 'wow, what a year 2007 was' and then begin to think forward to all the incredible things that are in store with the upcoming year.

This year will be a big one for us. As I started to think of all that is coming up, professionally and personally, I started to freak out a little bit. So instead of doing my usual organization/cleaning during the first day of the year, I spent hours looking at reception tablescapes on the internet. Ah... avoidance is one of my not so prized skills. Then I thought to double check my wedding planning to do lists and realized that I have many more important things to be worrying about than what vases I might want for our centerpieces. {Note to self: call caterer about sending the contract}

Yes, for me the biggest goal for 2008 is to remain organized. If I am going to graduate from my masters program, get married, and kick off a new committee for a non-profit while working full time then I am going to have keep myself organized, maybe even carry some of those project management skills over to my personal life. {of course it goes without saying that losing those 8 pounds gained last year is also a goal}


{Image from Potterybarn.com}

Thursday
Dec272007

After Christmas Sales = Inexpensive Bridesmaid Dresses

What better way to be a thoughtful bride than to save your bridesmaids by selecting dresses that are not only dresses they really will wear again but that are on sale! There are wonderful markdowns at JCrew right now with an extra 20% off the final sale...

Simple and beautiful in silk chiffon... the Emily dress is going for $55.99 with the extra 20% through the weekend! {hint: there are more sizes in the espresso}

Or maybe the lovely Ella for $79.99 with the extra 20% through the weekend... {again more sizes in espresso}

Maybe Strapless Organza in navy {or chocolate} for $87.90 at Nordstrom...

Or maybe Nicole Miller is more your style for $118 at Nordstorm...

There are lots of cute dresses on sale... many are pretty, inexpensive options for bridesmaids.

Thursday
Dec272007

After Christmas Sales = Wedding Decor Finds

The after Christmas sales have begun! I always love a good sale and the ones that happen each year after the holidays are some of the best. Usually I would be hunting for a few new sweaters or interesting accessories for our home. This year I find myself searching the sale for vases or candleholders that could be used for our wedding. I would love to find items that we can use for the wedding and then incorporate into our home so that there is a little less waste.

Pottery Barn has these chalkboard cachepots marked down to $3 for 1 or $14.50 for 6 that would be really cute for table numbers (I am sure these could be DIY with clay pots and chalkboard paint)...

And I love these mercury glass jars for $10-$13 at Pottery Barn (too bad the pedestal bowls are sold out)...

Spell it out with 4" letters in silver, silver-sage, or red for $1.99 from Restoration Hardware...

The dynasty vases from West Elm would make interesting vessels...

Ikea, the meca of inexpensive decor finds, is also having their winter sale... too bad their online store is a little harder to search the sale... if only I wasn't sitting in the office today...

Wednesday
Dec262007

Pretty and Earthly

While catching up on blog reading, I saw that Jennifer from Earth Friendly Weddings has unveiled her invitation shop, Earthly Affair. Her invitation lines are beautiful, stylish, earth friendly, and just wonderful. There are numerous font and color options to personalize your selected invitations and enclosures. I love the easy to use website; I imagine that ordering from Earthly Affairs would be a pleasant experience. If you are looking for invitations for your wedding or a shower you really should check out Earthly Affair's collections.

I love the pretty Daffodil and Meadow designs from Earthly Affairs invitation collections...

Friday
Dec212007

Happy Holidays!

Tomorrow morning our marathon of family events and traveling begins so my posting will be intermittent at best. Have a wonderful holiday!


The pups were so excited about their new antlers from Dog-A-Holics that they couldn't wait to try them on(yes, I am 'that kind' of dog owner)...

Friday
Dec212007

A Bittersweet Relationship

The design for our invitations has been a challenge to say the least. I have spent countless hours searching the internet for a motif 'clip art' that doesn't scream 1984. Then I finally stumbled on iStockPhoto...

I love iStockPhoto. There are tons of wonderful designs on there. The best part is that you can download the royalty-free image and then tweak the design to really make it yours. All for a very nominal amount. I am sure that quite a few of you have been well aware of iStockPhoto for a while. But for those you planning to design your stationery and are now struggling with the "So what do I put on there" you must check out iStockPhoto.

But as the title of this post says it is a 'bittersweet' relationship that I have with iStock. The bitter part comes in due the number of hours I have now spent browsing through their images. It has become very obessive. Now I fear that the perfect image is just another click away...

At any rate, iStockPhoto is a wonderful resource for DIYers. I just might never buy a holiday card again!

View My Portfolio

Thursday
Dec202007

A Byron Colby Barn Wedding

If I were planning my summer wedding at the Byron Colby Barn this might be my inspiration board. Fresh summer green, natural browns, creamy white, with touches of cool aqua and maybe a hint of pink as an accent. A casual, effortlessly beautiful summer wedding...


{Top: Christina Marie Photography, Martha Stewart Weddings;
Middle: The Knot, Vanille Patisserie, Byron Colby Barn, Mint's Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings;
Bottom: Martha Stewart Weddings, Olivia Luca, House Martin}

Wednesday
Dec192007

Distinctively Rustic with Midwest Charm

How incredibly charming would it be to have your wedding in century old barn. That's right, folks- a barn. For those who crave something different from the hotel/country club wedding, the Bryon Colby Barn will fit the bill. I can imagine a beautiful rustic meets sophisticated garden wedding here.



If the charm of the barn isn't enough; the Prairie Crossing community was founded with guiding principles such as "A Sense of Place." How ideal to begin your lives together within a community that prides itself on having a sense of place.

And if you need another reason to consider this charming place, the Prairie Crossing landscape is contributing to the restoration of the native ecology of the region and the back drop for your wedding would include more than 165 acres of restored prairies, 20 acres of restored wetlands, and 16 acres of historic hedgerows. Simply charming.

Tuesday
Dec182007

Uniquity Where Have You Been?

I came across Uniquity Invitations today on the blog Peoples Paper. Uniquity designs invitation templates that you can purchase and then as a DIY project personalize and print. It is exactly that type of service that I have been looking for. While I am committed to DIY for our invitations, I am not completely confident in my design skills. So the stylish templates at Uniquity fill that void in the marketplace for design support. It is also completely budget friendly with a complete collection of templates (invitation, rsvp card, program, table numbers, menu cards, place cards, and even favor tags) all for the low price of $79! It is a wonderful option for those DIY brides that don't have a design background or the time to learn photoshop.

Here are a few of their templates that I loved...

Tuesday
Dec182007

Details to Enjoy

I love love love this detail from Enjoy Celebrations and Occasions for Erin Cole's wedding. I also love that they use different languages for love, joy, and welcome. I just keep going back to look at this image...


I would love to borrow this idea for my wedding in some way. We would use German as one language as we both have German heritage and Dutch as the other for my family's heritage. And of course English as the third. Now, how and where will I incorporate those 3 languages...