Its all over!

and it went beautifully...

Sight Visit

We went and met with the venue today, for a finalization of a lot of the details. I got the lay out of the room, finalized the menu, finalized the rehearsal dinner, picked out the linens, checked on the tent, we did everything!

The only thing that took me by surprise was the linens. I thought we would get chocolate brown but they didn't have it as an option anymore! So we ordered Rust, which is quickly becoming our third color. The guys ties are rust, rust is the accent color in the bouquets, so it makes sense to add rust in the napkins! Here is a sneak preview:

Rehearsal Dinner

Turns into second reception (technically first reception)! We decided to have a BBQ as our rehearsal dinner on Friday evening. I really wanted to use the tent and have it be casual and at the resort. But our caterer pointed out that many of our guests might be around and having a BBQ in front of them without inviting them would be weird and kind of rude. So we decided to extend the invite to all of the guests coming in Friday night (thinking that it wouldn't be more than half!) well it turns out almost ALL of our guests will be there Friday night and they are all coming! This is amazing but also crazy. I'm excited because secretly (ok not so secretly) all I really wanted was a BBQ wedding reception outside under a tent to begin with! So now its on, we get to have two receptions, one practice and one real. One for me and one for him. It will be super.

A little inspiration from Wedding by Color

Guestbook

Thank you!

We have amazing friends. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G friends. They hosted a surprise Jack and Jill shower this weekend for us at our local watering whole, a German Biergarten. It was the most awesome shower EVER, and it came with the best slogan of all time.
Thank you guys so much, you truly are the best.

Cake Toppers Arrived

They are super cute! I love them. They are the perfect size too.

Almost there...

So I think the centerpiece is officially almost complete, haha. Here is the latest final version, I think there may be a few more tweaks in the works, and excuse the wrinkled pillow sheets.

The table "numbers" are going to be the different islands around the lake.

DIY Menu Board

Here is my attempt at this

1 salvaged window

+

=

What do you think?

Inspiration

I just found this wedding, coordinated by Proud to Plan out of Pennsylvania.

I LOVE the look of this wedding and it reminded me that I wanted to do apple cider and donuts at some point in the wedding. Seems this couple had them out during the ceremony. Hmmm...

Favors

This weekend I am going to attempt to make these



for possible favors, we shall see how it works!

Cake Topper

Just ordered two of these



So we can accomplish something like this:

Bird Seed

Tackled some DIY projects this weekend. First the wedding invites and then this project.

Hopefully we will look really cute when people throw bird seed at us and it won't end up like this

Cake

A friend of ours has graciously agreed to make our cake for us for the wedding. But that is old news. The new news is that she is opening up her own shop, Too Sweet! We are super excited for her, so if you happen to be in the Albany area be sure to check her out.

Favors

I saw these on another blog and think they are super cute! Plus it would cut our carbon footprint :) I bring you Trees in a Box...

Oh I NEED this

From Etsy design Florrie Mitton

Forks

Do we need these? I think we might.

Wedding Rings

FI still needs a ring. I am loving the rings from wood-rings.com, they are amazing and when you buy a Wood-Rings.Com ring, through their partnership with American Forests, a tree is planted in America with every ring purchase! How cool is that? Here is a video (I know right a ring video?) of my favorite one so far :)

Lights!

So I keep thinking about this tent! One of my main concerns is lighting. I know that the venue has a few spot lights but soft lighting is an issue. That is I was concerned until I stumbled upon these

Apple basket lights!



Sounds like a project for FI! These baskets coupled with string lights might just be perfect...maybe too perfect.

Boating

If you remember FI's dad bought an amazing boat last year that we are hoping to fix up and take pictures in. Its prefect for a couple and super cute it just needs some work to get her running.

But the more I thought about it the more I wanted the bridal party to "escape" with us and go take pictures out on the lake! Ideally the whole bridal party will be out there with us celebrating and taking pics.

So I have started looking into renting a party boat for the get away, so we all can go out. Maybe we can even do a mini cocktail hour thingy on the boat like this:

So about this Tent...

It is good for a number of reasons. As FI pointed out its a good back-up outdoor light rain ceremony location and if the weather is beautiful its a great back-up outdoor reception location. Basically it just gives us a lot more options. While I don't necessarily LOVE its location (it just seems a little out of place to me) I do LOVE its versatility. Now on to figuring out how to decorate the thing!

We could to Chinese Laterns:


Or string lights:


Or Tulle (but this might be super expensive!):


Or we could do what all the hip kids are doing and I could start bunting:

TENT!

We stopped by our Venue this weekend and were excited/overwhelmed to find out that they have installed (semi-permanently) a TENT in the back cabin area. I love it, but I also have mixed feelings about its permanency. It will be great if we use it. If not it kind of detracts from the cabin area. Its just a big white tent hanging out back there.

In any event its an exciting option to have. We went and saw it the "morning after" their first wedding so forgive the chaos.

How insane

would I have to be to MAKE marshmallows for the pre-wedding welcome reception bon fire?

Pretty crazy right? But they look soooo good and I could do different kinds and it would be so cute. But I bet only like 3 people would care or notice and its probably complicated. Maybe I will just make them for a smaller group sized fun time camping trip?



via Barefoot Contessa

Ceremony Send Off

The tradition is to through rice and more recently people have been blowing bubbles. Rice however kills birds (or people?) and bubbles are kind of hard to pull off quickly in mass. However BIRD SEED is not deadly (yet) and can be thrown at a moments notice. I was thinking of doing something like this from etsy seller Happy Hound to hand out with the programs at the ceremony.

Black and Brown

I think the guys might just wear black. Its simple and everyone owns one, or at least they should and I don't feel bad making them get one :) FI was a little concerned it would look weird with the brown, but these pictures prove him wrong.

FLOWERS

So we meet with a florist to discuss bouquets and the ceremony! Drops of Jupiter right here in the Capital Region does an amazing job of mixing ART + NATURE! I am most excited for our potential ceremony arch. Here is just a sample of some of his arches...

babies and weddings oh my!

We were invited to our first "shotgun wedding" today! I am super excited for everything, and it prompted me to remember this wedding. Super cute and adorable. The couple actually announced the baby's sex at the wedding and had the cutest little monogram made. Happiness and joy all around.

cutest

This is the cutest ribbon wrapping paper bridal shower bouquet ever!

Seating

I have been dead set on apple seating arrangements for the last few weeks. I don't know why but I just love them. Not sure which style I want however. Oh and of course I will be using red apples.

TIES!

And then there was the perfect tie...



via Toybreaker

The power of niceness

Today I had my first experience with vendor temper tantrums. Luckily they will not be our vendor. AMS Entertainment located in the Capital District in Albany was my first unprofessional wedding experience.

I called to cancel our upcoming appointment as we have booked another company (more on that later!) and AMS became very rude. I called and said sorry we have to cancel we have booked another company, and of course he wanted to know who we booked. In a tone that definitely indicated he was perturbed, so I then said the vendor came recommended from a family friend, and I guess I giggled when I said that cause he immediately snapped back with "oh you think that's funny", and then proceeded to hang up on me!

In the words of one brilliant actress "HOW RUDE!"

Hats

maybe the guys need hats?



via Adam Lesage Photography

If

I can squeeze out some extra cash for flowers I will bring this picture with me. How gorgeous is this? From InStyle Weddings.

the kid in me

When I was little I wanted to be a paleontologist. My favorite movie was Jurassic Park (although it really scared me until I was like 14). I loved going to the Philadelphia Natural History Museum and looking at the dinosaurs. So when I stumbled upon this invite, well I was overcome with regret in not thinking of it myself!

Groom Style

this groom might have found the look.

Something blue?

Omg Shoes

I have been looking at shoes lately! I want a pair that are comfortable enough to wear all night but they must also be super cute. It wouldn't hurt if I could wear them again as well.

Here are some of my favs so far: