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Drama on a Dime

I don't know about you but our reception site is literally a blank canvas looking for a lot of love.  I like to think if it as park pavilion meets garage.  So I'm not exactly in love with it, but in this case it will have to do as our original reception site was maimed by the renovation powers that be.  (story for another time)

That being said I have a lot of work cut out for me.  The biggest challenge is the ceiling.  It is gigantic (50 x 80) feet and rafters really leave you wanting something more.  Because the ceiling space is so large anything you hang has to make a statement otherwise it will look incredibly underwelming. 

(see giant spacial black hole-like abyss) {source}

Now the logical step would be to simply drape the ceiling so it looks something like this:

{Source} Anna Rose Photography

But this is not the most cost effective way as it can average somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand to pull that off.  And I don't know about you but I'm sort of done dropping stacks.  I'm at the point where I'm looking to save money anywhere I can.  So my first idea was to use crepe paper like this:

{via Merriment}

What I like about it is it brings the ceiling down a bit and adds some dimension.  That and they used crepe paper which is by far the most cost efficent means to get that done.  The problem is when I mentioned it to April, she said it would take a gazillion hours to try and do that because our ceiling is so big.  She was also worried about the crepe paper tearing and becoming one big mess.  So on to plan b.

Here is what I'm thinking and tell me what you think.  Even though I want my decorations to make a statement, I also don't want them to take forever to put up.  So my plan is to do something like this:

{via Style Me Pretty}

Instead of assembling them at the site, I would pre-assemble pieces to hang from the ceiling.  I broke the ceiling down into 20 x 5 foot sections.  Using a combination of string and crepe paper, I want to create a grid with the string and pre-hang the crepe paper.  That way when it comes time to hang it, all we'll have to do is carefully unfold it from the boxes I stored them in and hang them.  I think that should work pretty well.  If anything we've cut down on the amount of time it would take to hang them because the crepe comes ready to hang. 

But am I missing anything?  What do you think?  Should I shelve this idea and rethink it or should I keep it because it's pure genius? Do you have any ideas?  I'm all ears...

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Crepetastic!

One of these days I'm going to get around to giving you all the low down on how our reception site turned out.  Seriously, I'm making a note right now.  Because my new latest obsession is directly related to changes I had to make to our reception design plan. 

I think crepe paper hasn't been given the love it deserves.  It's true, in the wrong hands, crepe paper can look craptastic (that's what you call a play on a play on a word), but there are so many wonderful things you can do with crepe paper.  Take a look:

{{via Oh Happy Day} You can fringe it...

{via How Does She} ruffle it....

{via Emmeline Bride} Or just let that ish hang....

I'm not even touching all the things you can make with crepe paper but it is now definately my hanging decoration of choice.  Not only does it look fantastic, it's also, for lack of a better description, cheap as hell.  Love it.

My idea is to do my crepeing (like how I just made that word up) fringe and ruffle style.  Its going to be fly.  I may even venture out and use it in place of ribbon for the chargers.  We shall see.

Are you planning on using the crepe for decorating purposes?  Care to share your vision?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Planaholic

{Source}

I have to admit, that even though I get frustrated sometimes, I really do love planning this wedding.  There is something about allowing my imagination to reign free, coming up with out of the box ideas, and the endless cycle of creating pretty things.  I never get tired of it.  But I think Mr. L is...

The other day I asked him a bunch of questions about some recent design plans, picking his attire, and figuring out the rehearsal dinner.  I think it was a bit much for him because he pretty much said, "I can't wait till this wedding is over.  All you do is talk about the wedding."

Whoa, really?  I seriously had to pause for a second, because I thought he might be right.  I do sort of plan this wedding non stop.  Outside of work, planning this wedding is pretty much all I do.  I think all Mr. L wants to do when he gets home is relax.  And its hard for him to do that when I'm going non stop.  So for about two minutes, I felt bad for him.

Then reality stepped in.  Granted, I know it's not all about the wedding.  I love Mr. L with all my heart and I really cannot wait to start a family with him.  But I'm planning a party.  And P.S., just in case you didn't know, I sort of love to plan them.  So while Mr. L may take issue with my frequent check ins, I really don't feel that bad because I am also the only person planning the wedding.  Mr. L does very little.  Not trying to be mean, just stating a fact. What to see his to do list?

1.  Pick out suit/tux

2. Call Dad and remind to send family addresses

3.  Talk to parents about paying for rehearsal dinner

Are you looking for the rest of the list?  Don't worry, that was it.  The majority of the work is done by me, so while I understand his dismay with hearing me talk all the time about planning (side note: I think this is a bit of a hyperbole), this is pretty much a one woman show so I think I'm allowed a little room to plan more than normal.  Because if I don't do it, no one will.

What do you think?  Am I over doing it?  Are you getting push back from your significant other?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Dissing Paper Programs

I hinted at this in a previous post, but I've chucked the idea of having paper programs.  There are  a number of reasons, but the most poignant one is that I really couldn't get my head around why we needed them at all in the first place. I'm sure they would come in handy if we wanted to share the words to a hymn that would be sung or a prayer recited but we aren't and all I could see was energy spent on something that could be created much more simply. (side not, I know this is a run on sentence, but I sort of don't care - is that a bad thing?)  Anyway...where was I?  Oh yes...

Enter the "people-use-frames-and-chalk-for-every-other-wedding-item-under-the sun-so-why-not-use-it-for-programs-too?" idea.  I think this could totes work, see:

{via Oh So Beautiful Paper} photo by Scott Clark

{via Wedding Chicks} photo by Studio Castillero

{via Green Wedding Shoes} photo by Sarah Yates Photography

So cute right?  Now I don't have the patience to draw out with chalk or paint the entire design needed.  So I think the next best bet would be to design a print and blow it up at the printers.  I already have the perfect flea market frame for it as well.  It'll look great.  Now to work on a design....

Are you bucking tradition and ditching traditional programs as well?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

I'm Not an Artist, But I Play One on TV

There is no shortage of ideas, that I wouldn't classify as slightly overly ambitious.  But I have this problem y'all.  Once I get it in my head that I'm going to do something, there's not much that can stop me from trying to make it happen.  Enter crazy overly ambitious idea number...seriously who's keeping count?

I ran across this beauty the other day:

{via Rock & Roll Bride} photo by Anushe

What's so crazy about that?  Give me a second.  Let me finish.  For a while now I've been going back and forth over whether I wanted to do programs or not and I've finally decided against them.  Instead, we'll be doing one central program to be displayed when guests walk into the ceremony site.  More on that later.  But my original idea was to do program fans.   Now that programs are out, I still want fans.  Virginia can get hot y'all.  But the fans need another purpose if they're not programs.  So when I saw that picture, I got an idea.  These won't be any old fans.  No sir, these suckers will welcome you on one side and serve as a guide on the other.  They shall be the perfect meld of form and function.  Here's what I'm thinking...I've been slightly obsessed with maps lately.

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{via 100 Layer Cake} photo by W. Scott Chester Photography

Can you blame me?  See aren't they cute?  What's great about our venue is that it has so many nooks and crannies to explore.  And I fully intend to use each and every one of them.  But I also want our guests to really experience all that Ashlawn has to offer.  Enter my plan to draw a map of our venue and all the cool things each guest can do and find.  It'll sort of be like the maps you get at amusement parks except slightly more tasteful for a wedding.

(Hold on...do you hear that?  That's the sound of me slapping myself because this idea is just that good.)

"What's that you say?  Can I draw?"  -Ummm...what does that matter?  "Oh it'll look like crap if I can't."  -Oh, yeah, that could present a problem.

But here's the deal.  I don't care.  Do I normally draw?  No. But could I if forced?  You're damn skippy I can.  So yes.  I'm taking this one on.  Feel free to verbally berate me below for my senseless ambition but the only way I'm giving up on this idea is if I try and fail miserably.  But I honestly think I can pull it off.  So do me a fav, and cross your fingers.  I really want this to turn out well.

This is the part where I look to you to reaffirm my ambitions and make me feel like I'm not completely crazy.  Are you taking on anything that might be considered a tad bit too ambitious?  How did it turn out?  Or not?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Rolling out the Welcome Bag for Our Guests

{via Snippet and Ink} photo by Elizabeth Messina

I love our guests.  I seriously cannot wait to welcome them to Virginia.  They are such wonderful friends and family.  So I am always trying to think of ways to thank them and let them know just how much Mr. L and really do appreciate and love them.

Many of our guest are going to be paying to fly down (or up in some cases) to Charlottesville, so we want to give them a small token of appreciation.   But what should it be?  I mean, welcome bags can include so many different things.  How do you choose?  We can include the ubiquitous water bottle:

{Source}

Like you didn't see that one coming.  I know it's the safe route, but if you haven't noticed, yet nothing about me is safe.  No it's important that the items we gift be are both useful and representative of Mr. L and I.  Now we've come up with a preliminary list that I want to share with you.  I have to say after coming up with what we'd include, I super excited to put these lovelies together.  Wanna see what we came up with so far?

Childhood Candies

{Source}

P.S. Swedish fish are seriously the ish.  Just putting that out there.

{Source}

Okay Mr. L's childhood candy is kinda lame.  But it's better than his original idea of doing the tried and true kid version of crack powder aka ghetto pixie sticks:  koolaid sugar.  Puzzled look?  Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.  If you didn't take packets of Kool-aid and mix it with sugar as a child you seriously missed out on a time honored tradition. Some of my fondest memories are of mixing new flavors and sharing it with my friends at school the next day.  But as tasty as it is, I'm not sure we could actually include it.  Hince the substitution of Werther's.

We're also including favorite homemade snacks.

{Source}

{Source}

Don't get me started on the pure unadulterated tastiness of cornbread and Mr. L loves his mom's rice bread.  I'm not sure if its a Liberian dish or West African, but it represents a special part of Mr. L's childhood.

There's no shortage of snacks in this bag.  We're also including our favorite hometown snacks.

Hometown Snacks

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If you haven't had Red Hot Riplets, then you have no idea what you are missing.  And who doesn't love Krispy Kreme donuts?  We'll pick them up hot the day of.  Start Homer Simpson drool sequence.....hmmmm......oh, sorry. (Side note: If I had my choice I'd bring Ted Drews but frozen custard is a little hard to transport halfway across the country. Damn the limitations of travel.)

Thirsty anyone?  We'll also include two of our favorite drinks with each bag.

Favorite Drinks

{Source}

{Source}

I really wanted to include one of the European versions of Fanta, but the Fanta gods made that virtually impossible.  (insert angry fist) So San Pellegrino is a perfect substitute and favorite of mine as well.  That leaves Mr. L's favorite soda, Cheerwine. I happen to be a fan of it as well.

There's a practical part to this bag as well. I swear.  We'll  include some much needed last minute supplies that often come in handy when you travel:

Bubble guts are not fun...

{Source - for all pictures}

Seriously, how many times have you forgotten toothpaste?  There will also be map of the area and an expert guide on things to do and places to eat, but what do you think?  Have we covered all the bases?  Are you doing welcome bags too?  What are you including in your bags that make them unique to you?  P.S. If you include water bottles I promise not to judge. ;)

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Something Precious Your Way Comes...

There is only one reason I'd come by this place to stand in a line that's way too long.  I'm all about that automated machine now:

That's right, the save the dates are finally off!  It's official y'all!  There's no going back.  I've asked people to adjust their schedules and pencil our wedding into their calendars.  Travel arrangements will be made, dresses bought, and  parties planned.  The cat's out of the bag y'all, and I couldn't be happier. Unlike some folks who have separation anxiety from their wedding stationary, I couldn't wait to get rid of mine.  Five days straight nothing but save the date assembly is bound to drive even the sanest person crazy.  So today I bid them adieu.

Don't they look cozy in their own personal USPS container? The lady gave me two cause I was shipping off so many.  You can only see half of them in the pic.

What's that you say?  You wanna see what those beauties look like?  No can do.  Since I dropped them off today, I can't share till next week.  They  still need to reach their final destinations.  But you can take a sneak peek at what's in store:

Oh My Gee...so excited!  Who wouldn't want one of these brown beauties in the mail?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Will You Marry Me?

Can I tell you something....come a little closer.  I don't want this to get out but....we don't have anyone to marry us yet. (Look of extreme disbelief crosses your face)

I know right!  I've managed to handle just about every detail (major and minor) you can think of but the most important detail (you know not including that all important marriage certificate).  We literally cannot get married without someone to marry us.  Its the thing that is absolutely necessary if we are going to get married at all.  But I swear, it isn't for want of finding someone.

Here's the deal, Virginia is fairly strict with their marriage rules, and they require that any religious figure that marries you also have an active ministry. That presents a bit of a problem because Mr. L and I don't have a church home right now, aka, no priest.  Originally, (before I saw that rule) I figured we'd just ask a friend or family member marry us?  Sounds like a good idea right.  I mean, its sort of creepy to have some total stranger marrying you anyway.  How odd will it be that we'll know each and every person at our wedding but the officiant?  It just seems odd asking a stranger.  I mean if I wanted a stranger, then we'd just as soon go to the local courthouse and make do.

See that dude?  Tell me he doesn't look extra random.  (source)

As of right now, we've got no one.  So we're at square one, and we've got to find someone.  I wish we knew a legal resident of VA, then we could get a temporary one day license.  (Side note: if you're in my predicament, you can do this.  I hear Fairfax is the most lenient).  If we were in any other state, I'd just as soon have someone get ordained online and have them perform the ceremony.

So where do we go from here?  Honestly, I don't know.  I think I'm going to have to swallow a big piece of "get over it" pie, suck it up, and look in the officiant yellow pages for someone.  Real personal right?  Sometimes I think some states' need to control the personal lives of people can mess up the whole point of having ceremonies in the first place.  What are you doing? Do you think I'm over thinking this?  Am I making too much a  minor detail?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Designing a Reception Table

It feels so good to be back, y'all.  You just don't know.  I've missed you all so much.  Suffice it to say, I'm back and ready to fill you in on all things wedding related.  Now I can't promise I'll be posting in the mornings because that will be sort of hard, but I'll get it out in time for you to procrastinate during the afternoon slump.  Today, my thoughts are all about tables.  Reception tables to be exact.

Designing a reception table isn't as easy as it seems.  There are a number of considerations that need to be, well, considered.  And in my case, then reconsidered.  I've had the basic design for our table figured out for some time now.  But lately I feel like I've been banging my head against a wall trying to figure out the finer details.  Let me explain.  The basic details of a well planned reception table are best summed up by this picture:

{via 100 Layer Cake}

See the layout?  They have one large floral arrangement flocked by two smaller on the outskirts, and in between they have candle sticks.  So far, fairly straight forward.  Now, the plates they use are pretty straight forward.  Simple design and to the point.  No charger but I'm sure they used a napkin.  Perhaps they wrapped the menu with it.  Then they have a lovely chandelier hanging overhead.  Okay, so this is my starting point.  I want to do something similar, just using my design ideas.

Here's what I've go so far:

We will have a moss table runner.  For flowers I've been collecting silver teapots.  But I've run into a bit of a pickle.  You see, I'm not sure I'll be able to find 36 of those suckers.  So far I've got 14 and I'm starting to get a little scared that I may not find 22 more, so enter plan B.

I need something to hold these flowers that works with the look as well...and that's where I am stuck.  Right now I'm thinking of using an idea I saw on Martha Stewart Wedding.  It involves the use of mason jars and wooden boxes, but I'm afraid that the look may be a bit too rustic. See look:

{via Martha Stewart Weddings}

Am I wrong?  But what about using tea canisters?  I ran across this picture in my random internet perusing.

  {via The Wander List}

Now granted, as an herb canister its hard to get the wow factor, but it would look pretty nice as holder of flowers, no? You know what this means right?  It means I'm going on another search.  But I think I can find 22 of these suckers.  Don't you?  Cross your fingers.

Alright aside from the flowers, I've also got to fill in with some lighting on the table.  My favorite are tapered candles.   I like the look of tapered candle sticks.  I think I'll craft some holders out of wooden spindles and tea cups.  Oh the possibilities! - Don't see it?  Oh you will....

That leaves the actual place setting.  This one is really tough.  I need to figure out the color scheme and whether or not I want to have a charger.  I've been going back and forth with myself on this and I still haven't reached a conclusion.  Right now we are working with ivory plates and a potentially creme table cloth.  (Why creme? Well, in the grand scheme of things it seemed like creme would work best with moss - but I digress.)  I really don't know what to do about the place setting.  Right now the menu, napkin color, and possible charger are still up in the air.  I don't know what to do.  I could do a moss charger, but would that be too much moss?  April had the idea of using book pages, but that blends too much with the creme.

But what about ribbons?  I saw a pic on Ruffled today that got me thinking.  Why not do something similar under the plate.  It would create dimension and separation for the place setting and allow me to bring in the colors....hmmm....

Here's the picture:

{via Ruffled}

Do you think its doable?  Or am I just tilting at windmills?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Stacks, on Stacks, on Stacks

{source} Is anyone else amazed at the fact that the only words you can understand in this song are the first 7 words of the refrain?  I'm county, I'll admit it,  and I know what country sounds like, but he takes it to a whole nother level.  I'm just saying.

It's crunch time y'all.  We are 354 days until the big day.  For normal people this is plenty of time.  For me, not so much.  Approximately 120 of those days will be devoted solely to the legislative session.  So that leaves me 234 days to get my house in order.  I've had to get sort of creative to ensure I can do everything I want.

First I've had to let another thing go.  Flowers.  I know, I was so gun hoe on doing those myself.  Ummm...so that's not happening.  I spoke with April, and we both agree that the basic convenience of having someone do those for us outweighs any savings.  Especially since we'll be out of town with limited access to refrigeration.  So lets check that off the list.

That leaves my ridiculously saturated list of projects.  I realized from the get go that if I tried to take on each task one at a time, I'd never get them done.  For one, I absolutely hate working on one thing for a long time.  I need a little variety in my life, so if I switch it up I'm much more likely to hit my deadlines.  It also allows me to maximize my output in a shorter period of time as long as I remain efficient.  The plan in one word is: Stacking.

I'm going to take on three projects at a time and break up each project into bite size segments.  Hows it work?  Take a look:

Right now I am working on BM invitations, "send off" poms, and save the date envelope addressing.

Stacking LG Style

Send off Poms:  I have 700 poms to make total. So, I've given myself 35 days to get this project by doing 20 poms a day.  Right now, I'm  8 days in and I've done 160 of these suckers.  So that's 8 days down and 27 to go.

Bridesmaid Invitations: There's only 6 to make, but man am I meticulous.  I literally examine each and every detail to make sure I get it right, so banging them out in a day or two while possible just isn't happening.  I'm bound to rethink my approach if I don't like the outcome.  (Yes, I'm speaking from experience.  I recently found out that using letter stamps just wasn't what I was hoping it would be.)  Anyway,  I've got about 7 tasks left.  All the cards have been sent to the printers, I've got all the materials, 1/3 of the envelopes have been made, and 1/3 of the finer details are done.   In the meantime, I've divided the remaining tasks into one task per day.  That leaves me as of today, 7 tasks left, so 7 days to complete.

Finally, I've got to address all the save the dates.  Dear God this is going to drain me.  I've recently switched up my calligraphy style to be a little more playful and I'm using cursive instead because I like the look better.  Oddly enough, I'm much better at writing cursive with a calligraphy pen than I am with a ball point pen.  But that is neither here nor there.   There are 72 of these to make, (well right now there are  72, if Mr. L's parent's don't get on the ball and send us his family members' addresses, some people aren't going to be getting a save the date - you should see my face right now, cause I'm not playing).  I've limited myself to doing 6 envelopes a day.  That leaves me 12 days to get these done.  If I do more than 6, I'm liable to loose my mind or mess up because my hand will get incredibly tired after writing those leading to ugly hand writing and a very unhappy Ms. L.  You see where I'm going with this.

Anyway, that's the plan.  As I finish one task, I'll add another and so on and so forth.  I've essentially entered wedding beast mode because I have to remain super organized and dedicated to staying on task.  I'm ready though.  Let's do this. (That's my way of pumping myself up.)

How about you. Did the ticking wedding clock put everything in perspective for you?  What's your plan for getting everything done?  Any tips?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Respect My Prioritahs

{Source}

I've had to make some tough choices these past few weeks. And there have been some drastic changes in my life forcing me to rethink how I prioritize weeding planning in relation to all my other responsibilities.  One thing is for sure, I'm going to keep you all up to date on the wedding planning.  I may have to look for some help to keep up with the crafts though.

Last year I had nothing but time.  I was a third year law student, taking the least stressful classes imaginable and spending most of my free time designing our wedding.  That plan was working so well until about three weeks ago when I started my new job.  I won't go into particulars, I'll just say that politics is 24/7.  So suffice to say when I found out I'd been hired, I had a sneaking suspicion that things were not going to be the same anymore.

Flash forward to today and now I spend the majority of my time checking my iPhone, in front of my computer, or at community meetings.  I'm working 60 - 70 hour work weeks and it's non stop.  Now don't get me wrong.  I absolutely love my job.  No question about it, this is hands down one of the best positions I could have asked for.  But after my first week reality set in, and I started to realized that I didn't have time anymore to create designs or search for things online.  I only had time to make things.  That's it.  Materials in hand, sit down in front of the couch before I go to bed, and start cutting things time.

That also means, that my time is limited.  And our budget is going to be affected as a result.  I've had to restrict my DIY list, I know, sacrosanct right?  But it's been restricted, and I've decided to instead enlist the help of Ms. April Foster, who will take on the final design plans for the photo booth, tea and biscuit table, the ceremony, and quite a few other things.  I'm okay though, I really trust April to do a good job and help bring my ideas to life.  She knows what I'm looking for, so I'm confident that she'll do a fantastic job.

But while I'm happy I found a way to adjust, this also means our budget has to be adjusted to account for what I can't do anymore.  Things like flowers will likely have to be outsourced, that's an additional expense - and a pricey one from what I'm told.  More on that later.  And April's contract will be adjusted to include some more work on her part, that's also an increase.

I think last year this would have really bothered me, but as I've been doing this whole keeping cost things down act, I've come to realize that sometimes, things just cost what they cost, so its more important to know your limits and work with the reality that is there.  I set a lot of budget goals, and some of them I met others not so much.  In the end, I'm not worried though.  Mainly because I know that even though we've had to increase here and there to account for market rates and life changes, we aren't making decisions that would put us in debt.  And I've managed to do all this without compromising my expectations.    The good thing is we kept our original budget projections so low that all our first decisions were directly influenced by them thereby helping us stay as close to budget as possible, and giving us a nice cushion if things changed or didn't work out as we planned.

All in all, we're doing okay and chuggin along.  Things aren't going perfectly, but I've still met my priorities, and that ladies (and gents) that is what matters.  Did you have any major life changes that directly affected how you approached planning your wedding?  How did you adjust?  Did you just say forget it or did you find another way?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Keeping it (Real)istic

Things are starting to pick up here in our house.  And oh, am I worried.  Remember when I came up with that overly optimistic enthusiastic and extensive DIY list way back when?  Well, I've had to rethink some of those decisions.  I always envisioned that I would have endless amounts of free time when I made that list, thinking I would be clerking after graduation.  Yeah, not happening anymore.  As of last week Friday, I turned in my last law school assignment, felt freedom for three days, and I started my new job yesterday.  Not much of a turnaround huh?  Not to mention that my new position requires me to be "on" seven days a week.

Suffice it to say, I don't have as much time as I thought I would.  So I'm rethinking my priorities and realistically thinking about what tasks I really want to take on or at least learn.   As much as I am dedicated to making creating things for the wedding, I'd like to make it to the finish line without burning out completely.

{Source}

So a week or so ago I thought seriously about what I wanted to make and what I wanted to find someone else to make. Cause I'm not going crazy to get these tasks done.

The Groom's Cake

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I want to surprise Mr. L with a Groom's cake.  Originally I planned on making the cake myself, but I'm giving this one away.  I'm not sure if it's such a smart idea for me to make it anymore.  The cake is created using fondant, and I have absolutely no experience with fondant.  I'm sure the cake would taste good, but I'm pretty certain the stress of trying to make the perfect cake would seriously send me over the edge, especially the week of the wedding when I could be spending my time working on other things.  Plus there's a high probability that it will come out looking a hot mess. There is only one baker in the area that I know of who works with fondant and whose cake is also tasty, so my choices are a little limited, but I'll find someone.

Map

{Source}

I had dreams of designing that sucker myself.  Yeah, after some thought and consideration, I have no idea when I would have the time to sit down, design, and draw a map that is also cute.  I'm trying to keep my stress down and given my propensity for perfection, I'm just asking for trouble if I take this one on.  So I've outsourced this one to April.

 Flowers

{via Style Me Pretty}

I'm getting help from April with these.  Even though I've made the centerpieces and ceremony pieces as simple as possible, the fact that they have to be arranged and prepped the week of the wedding means more time than I can afford to spend.  Especially since I"m in charge of making the  desserts for our dessert bar.  I'm also looking into having a florist make my bouquet.

It may not seem like a lot, but oh how it frees up some of my time.  Now I don't have to do test runs for the flowers, or practice making the groom's cake.  I also can spend time focusing the larger tasks that take days to complete (how long does it take to make 700 yarn pom poms - yeah I'll talk about that another time) and on the final stationary designs I need to make.  P.S. I'm almost done.  I just need to get some signs done.  Did something happen to you that forced you to rethink your DIY plans?  Where you disappointed or take it as a relief?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

What Does Your Wedding Say About You?

I was thinking the other day..."Is this wedding really a reflection of us or am I simply planning what's trendy?"  I never really thought about it.  But I think it's easy to get caught up in the designs other people use or caught up in trends seen on wedding blogs.  Typewriter anyone?  Well, this was really starting to worry me the other day.

{Source}

When it comes to planning, I am definitely planner-in-chief between Mr. L and I.  He's more of a approver of all ideas-in-chief.  So I get worried that what he cares about might get lost in my gluttonous, and yes I said gluttonous, attempt to squeeze every last bit of detailed awesomeness into this wedding.  So then I thought about it.  Seriously sat down and asked myself to list some words that would describe Mr. L and I.  I mean, because the last thing I want to do is force some theme or concept down our throats that says nothing about either of us.  This is what I came up with:

Elegance and Sophistication

We never shy away from aiming for the best.  (Or at lease what we think is the best)  Quality and style are incredibly important to both of us, though we don't admit it that often.  (I try to avoid accusations of being bougie) But what better way to show that off than by incorporating and using lush fabrics like velvet, linen and silk?  And what is more elegant than old world charm?  (pre 1900s please)  We both appreciate how things were made and designed before the industrial revolution.  So you'll find various antique pieces incorporated throughout the day.

Clean and Simple

I really don't think we are very complicated.  We really like to keep things simple.  So you won't find  over complicated food at the reception or cocktail hour.  And the design of the invitations and flowers will be the same, a simple uniform design.  P.S. I finished designing the invitations and they look awesome! (but another day another post)

Playful

Sometimes I think we play too much, but in honor of the fun we like to have we'll be having lawn games and the like on the day of wedding.  Not to mention plenty of references to chess.

Silly

Mr. L and I are ridiculously stupid behind closed doors.  I know, who would know?  So we're inviting everyone to share in that part of us by incorporating a very silly theme: Alice in Wonderland.  Though you would have to admit, Alice in Wonderland if very high brow silly.  See how I tied in sophistication.

Refined

Even though we have a silly theme and playful elements, they won't come off as tacky or overdone.  Because if there is one thing about Mr. L and I, we always carry ourselves with distinction and pride.  (Do I sound full of myself?)  This is after all a wedding, not a child's birthday party.

(In all Honesty I Couldn't Think of a Name for This Category)

Finally we'll share all of this through one of my favorite mediums: A Book.  Because like any other couple, we all have our stories to tell, and this, well, this wedding is our chance to share ours.

The funny thing is I really didn't have anything to worry about at all.  Oddly enough, every choice I made with Mr. L's stamp of approval fits us perfectly.  I have a feeling this wedding will come out looking just like us.  How do the choices you made reflect you and your to-be?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Not Gone Forever

I know I've been gone for a while now. I've been buried in papers and graduation requirements. So bare with me. In a few days I'll finally be free of all things law school. Looking forward to coming back soon.

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

Flower Frugalista: Ceremony Flowers

Almost a year of planning and I've never mentioned flowers.  You must think I don't like them.  Not the case.  I love the look of fresh flowers, but not enough to spend upwards of $1200 plus to get them. We made the decision early on to find ways to save money on flowers without completely compromising the look. That is easier said than done though, because our plan is to order wholesale flowers and tackle the arrangements ourselves, thereby cutting out the middle man and hopefully cutting the cost traditional flowers by 30 to 60%.

Since I'm no florist, it's imperative that the arrangements we take on are novice friendly.  Here's what I'm thinking. There is always a possibility it will change a bit as we get closer to the wedding but I think that it should work well.

Ceremony Flowers The Entrance I really love this look, but ummmm yea...I'm thinking I'd fudge the bucket if I tried that arrangement {Source}

This is my Get Over it and Doable Option:

*{Source}

What's nice about this option is use of one flower, roses.  I'm also sure that floral foam was used to create this look, I'll do some more research, but I'm hoping that the degree of difficulty should be significantly decreased.

Aisle Flowers:

*{Source}

I've been dreaming about the idea of lining the aisle with wooden boxes brimming with flowers.  But to save money I'm seriously considering using bunches of baby's breath.  What's been seen as a cheap filler for so long looks lovely in large bunches.  I want to accomplish something like this:

{Source}

Flower Alternatives:

I'm also thinking that bouquets aren't absolutely necessary.  Especially for my bridesmaids.  Why not consider holding a single flower.  Giant paper flower anyone?

{Source} via Ali Degraff Photography

Or perhaps a parasol:

{Source} Shawna Noel Photography

Balloons anyone?

{Source} Amanda Wilcher Photography

I actually think this look is really cute.

My Bouquet:

Here's where I'm struggling.  If there was one thing I'd like to try, it would be to try and assemble my own bouquet.  But the more complicated the look, the more likely I am to be disappointed in my own creation.  Right now I'm thinking about a combination of dalihlas, garden roses, scabiosa pods, and lamb's ear:

{Source}

I'm thinking I'll tie it with creme linen or muslin and velvet ribbon.  The only option is to practice.  So in the coming months I'll have to look into wholesale flower shops in Maryland or Virginia and pick up some flowers to give it a try.

Have you looked into assembling your flowers yourself?  Is there anything I'm not considering?

*If you happen to know the source for these please let me know, I'd like to give the proper credit.  I added them to my inspiration file so long ago that I can't remember where I found them.

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

A Lesson in Long Engagements

The other day I was doing my procrastination perusal of wedding blogs and came across Mrs. Lioness's post on Weddingbee.  She's Married!  Congrats Mrs. Lioness!  But even in my excitement for her, I felt a slight twinge of sadness.  I don't know if you've ever paid attention to my bio but if you look you might notice that Mr. L and got engaged May 10th last year.  Which means that in 5 weeks, Mr. L and I will have been engaged for a full year.  That's a long time.  And as much as I love planning, I've gotten to the point where I just want to be married.

Don't get me wrong, planning is great, but it's a means to an ends.  The main goal has always been to start a family with Mr. L.  Planning a great party is just icing on the cake.   That doesn't mean I don't care about planning anymore.  Far from it.   I care about how the wedding looks and turns out.  I may be anxious to get married, but I'll be darned if our wedding looks a hot mess.   And anyone who knows me, knows I don't do hot mess.  But my life of endless blog surfing has come to a close.

[A moment of silence please.  It's okay it bound to end sometime.]

I've had my fill of blogs.  Well, okay, I'll still surf them when I'm looking to procrastinate, one of my favorite activities, but at this point I have a pretty clear picture in my head about how our wedding will look start to finish. There is only so much research you can do before it starts to become repetitive.  I've pretty much seen it all.  Every once in a while I see something new, but in general, I'm so excited about what I have planned, looking for new ideas isn't all the relative for me anymore.  Granted, there a few things I still need to hammer out, like the look of ceremony arch or the exact layout of the desert bar but their really ain't much more to figure out.  I'm officially entering the year of  projects.

I say all this to say I don't regret our decision to wait two years.  It was the best decision for us.  First, last year Mr. L and I just were not in the position financially to plan a wedding in a year - Well the wedding we wanted.  But this is also the year of transitions for us.  Mr. L started his surgical residency, his busiest year as an intern, this past July and I'm on the brink of graduation and taking the bar.  This just wasn't the best year to start our family.    So I'll remain patient.  Sure, pictures of Mrs. Lioness make me long for our big day and transition, but realistically, I know it's just not our time just yet.  And that's okay.  Anyways, if history is indicator of what's to come, I'm sure this coming year will go by faster than I think.  It always does doesn't it?

Are you planning a long engagement?  How's it working out for you?

[handmadeknottie-blog-blog]

A Labor of Love

Meet Jill and Sara:

{via Aisle Style} photo by David Colwell (Sara - left and Jill - right) Sorry for the picture.  I completely forgot to bring my camera on my last visit so I had to rely on Google.  I've really got to work on that.

They are the owners of Jill Andrews Gowns and these lovely ladies are the genius behind my dress.  That's right, I'm headed into a 13 month dress making process and I am SO looking forward to it.   After trying on well over 40+ dresses and still left wanting I turned to these lovely ladies.  Jill and Sara are super talented and not only that, they're willing to put up with my crazy shenanigans.

At our first meeting I met them at their completely awesome studio that's housed a historical house in Baltimore that is absolutely gorgeous.  My words can't do it justice so  ya'll will have to wait for me to share pics next time I go.  I gave them my dress inspiration and they immediately saw my vision and jumped on board.  They both have such an eye for fabulousness  (yes that's a word) and I am so excited that I get to work with them.

Want to see what I gave them to work with?  I know  you do...

This was the inspiration pic I sent them.

{via Martha Stewart}

Hot, ain't it?  I know.  This dress honestly had  me swooning at hello.  At no time prior in the dress search had any dress made me stop and say, "this is it, this is what I want in a dress." Every other dress always left me wanting.  To ensure it's the perfect dress for me we're making changes specific to my tastes and Jill and Sara are adding their creative touch.  I wouldn't have it any other way and I have a feeling that epic-ness just may ensue.

I know getting a dress custom made isn't for everyone.  Not everyone should get a custom made dress.  But this decision was right for me.   I asked Jill and Sara to help because I wanted a dress that 1) looks the way I want; 2) is the color that works well with my complexion; 3) fits my silhouette perfectly and 4) is one of kind.  What can I say, I never go for the typical or popular choice.  I want a dress that is completely and utterly me.

I'm looking forward to sharing the process with ya'll as we move ahead.  This June I'm heading back to get my first pattern fitting.  Has anyone else decided to have their dress made from scratch too?  I'd love to meet other members of the "Just for Me" dress club.