Are you ready for this?  This has to be my all time ultimate DIY project that I’ve done.

This past weekend, I worked on reupholstering this large makeup/suitcase I got from the flea market.  Since inside was pretty yucky, I knew I had to do something with it if I wanted to use it for the cards for my wedding.  The vinyl and cloth was coming apart, but the exterior and its functions was still in good shape.  Overall, it wasn’t too hard of a task, just a little time consuming.  It took me about 4 hours from start to finish.

Fabric Sticking to the Poster Board on Bottom

I’m super excited to show all of you how these turned out. You might remember me talking about making flowers out of fabric and trims for the wedding party…well they are finally done – and rather impressive if I do say so myself! Let’s start with the smaller projects – the groomsmen’s boutonnieres. I think these will really pop on their khaki suits!

groomsmen bouts

close up

The bridesmaids bouquets took a little more time because, well there are a lot more flowers in each one – nine to be exact! I tucked the tulle in between the flowers for texture. I think the blue tulle adds dimension. These too will pop as the girls are wearing navy taffeta dresses.

bridesmaid bouquet

front view

We can’t forget about the flower girl – after all “flower” is part of her title. She opted to carry a bouquet as well, so we will just sprinkle some petals when we decorate the church. I really had fun with this one using different techniques and fabrics to resemble different flowers. This was sort of a practice run of my own bouquet, only on a smaller scale.

flower girl bouquet

close up

Now all that’s left is my own bouquet and one to toss! and about 35 bouts for family and friends with other various jobs!

….and the conservative wedding guests.

Lilac Dude and I both come from very conservative (socially conservative for the purpose of this post) and we are being married in a very socially conservative town. We opted to invite all close friends and family members without regard to whether our wedding guests would offend each other.

We will have in attendance a gay couple as well as two or three cohabiting couples and some other non-traditional guests, a fact that does not bother the two of us one bit. But I can think of a few other wedding guests that may not be so accepting and this concerns me probably more than it should. With as many people as will be there, I highly doubt that the highly socially conservative guests and non-traditional guests will have much interaction with each other. I sincerely hope that I am just over-worrying.

Can anyone with a similar mixture of wedding guests share some insight?

Note: This post is not intended to offend anyone, it is an concern that some engaged couples face and I simply wish to bring light to it.

The other day while I was getting more supplies for my wedding invitations, I came across these really cute red hearts.  I thought, why not just play around with them and make something fun!  So I went back home, thought of an idea…and walaa…I made hearts on stick that can be used for engagement shoots, DIY photo booth, or you can even make a whole bunch for your guests as fun favors!

They’re super easy to make, not time consuming, and most of all…budget friendly:

Optional #4: Put more glue on other side of Large Popsicle Stick

Optional #5: Stick other heart on back.

Fini!

Other options: You can write something on it, leave it blank, or do whatever you want!

Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first.  ~Ernestine Ulmer

It’s no secret with my friends and family that I am a fan of dessert! After my dress this was the next item on my list…my initial thoughts were to do many different varieties of sweet treats – a dessert bar.

www.sweetandsaucyshop.com

www.sweetandsaucyshop.com

Beautiful, no? I just wanted a smaller cake that Mr. Poppy and would cut for tradition’s sake. Surrounding the cake would be colorful, delicious desserts on a variety of beautiful dishes. After all, we eat with our eyes…that’s half the fun right? I was really excited about my dessert display. It would be something different that totally fit with out country “home-made” vibe for the reception.

To make a long story short – Mr. Poppy was NOT impressed. He explained to me that his favorite part of any wedding was the cake. If our guests were deprived that, there would be an angry mob – and our cake eaten, the rest of the dessert thrown in rage. Now I’m exaggerating a little, but he was upset.

After many discussions about what this would entail, Mr. Poppy indulged me and let my go ahead with the idea…it’s almost as if he knew what was in store!

We went in to a local vendor for a taste test. Everything was wonderful! Variety, something that everyone would like – I was so excited to see my vision slowly become a reality and for other people to jump on board.

Unfortunately, that was put to a quick halt when we got a quote. I had a great idea, but it came at a great cost. Something which was NOT in our tight budget!

Our solution was to combine cake and a great display.

Our Wedding Cake Inspiration {www.sugarrush.com.au}

The tiered wedding cake will be surrounded by a variety of 8″ round cakes. This way Mr. Poppy can have his cake…and the guests can eat it too. I get a fun display that showcases some family dishes.

display inspiration {www.countryliving.com}

Everybody’s happy – not to mention to variety of flavors! We chose a white wedding cake for the tiered cake and and a few of the rounds. The round cakes will also be carrot cake, strawberry, lemon, & marble. The groom’s cake will be German chocolate.

It was odd to stress ABOUT desserts normally this quote totally describes me -

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  ~Author Unknown

What’s for dessert at your wedding? Any great display ideas?

We’ve gotten down the point in our planning where we need to solidify certain choices, like where we’re going to register and how/what is going on the invitation/announcements.

One of our big “discussions” involved trying to figure out where and what to register for (which we haven’t yet done). I guess one of my questions would be should we A) figure out where to register and then add stuff, or B) figure out what we want, in general, then figure out where to register?

Right now, all I know that we’ve really got our eyes on is: Towels, NICE towels; the “chaise” to go with our sofa-from Ikea, Nice knifes, and new Scuba Suits… maybe we need another set of sheets.

#1: We’re pretty well stocked on your average “household” goods, superficially in the kitchen.  So much so that we sent my brother off to college with a few extra things between the two of us.

#2: the stuff we do need is random, all from different places, and a bit unconventional: LIKE, new Scuba Suits.

#3: We’d like cash, but aren’t a big fan of any of the “cash deposit websites”. Mr Daisy is scheptical of most of the websites and I think that just using PayPal looks tack, and is vauge…

• One thing I’ve learned from fund raising a few big things the past few years is that people are more willing to donate/give if they know EXACTLY what and why they’re giving, and what the goal is… so for fund raising, if you announce we’re raising 10,000 dollars for, whatever, rather than just saying “we’ve got a long way to go” people are willing to give you more money;  100 bucks, rather than 20 or 50. So, for a wedding, if you can specifically say we need 200 to go to a Scuba suit, rather than just saying we want money, inevitably, you’ll probably end up with more in the end (Rather greedy, I know).
• Mr. Daisy also thinks that people like to hand you something, I don’t disagree… maybe we shouldn’t register for these OR promote PayPal… but just put down our “honeymoon dreams” on our own website.

#4: We’re really not sure how tech savy everyone on our list is. I have to imagine that if they aren’t tech savy, like my grandma, then they also aren’t going to be driving themselves to the store anyway, like my grandma.  And probably have someone that would help them look on the internet or take them to the store, like my aunt or mom.

#5: We want big ticket items, It’s not that we’re greedy, but if we need a new spatula, we’ll go buy it-now. I want new knives, they’re not that high on the expenses list for personal purchases.

~ SO ~

Our current plan is to register at:

• Macy’s? (for a few things, towels, china–mainly because my grandma MUST buy us this, I’m not sure how I feel about having only 2 or 3 place settings bought for us, seems silly…
• Amazon.com or Some other Universal type list, we started with one called MyRegistry.com but honestly, It seems to be a pain, so I’m investigating Amazon’s new Wedding Registry.
• A cash website like depositagift.com, because come January next year, we’re hoping to take a trip to somewhere WARM and SUNNY for SCUBA and to get away from the Utah Winter, Mr. Daisy loves snow, I could See it one day a year and be happy, I only want it for Christmas… NOT my birthday (It’s still snowing here, in April, and it’s a week till my birthday. lame) (or like i mentioned, not doing this at all, and possibly just describing our dreams, so that they get the hint.)

Rather than listing all these places on our invites/announcements, we’re directing them to our “wedding” website which will eventually become our “US” website/blog. [Which is run through wordpress, where you can make more than one user, so two or more people can blog on the same site (the buds know this, but maybe others don't) It's an awesome way for two people to blog together to share their side of the wedding planning experience with the family and friends or who ever has found you on the tubes.]

We registered for a domain that is Daisyandmr.daisy.US instead of .COM (no it’s not actually daisy… our real names). I’ve always felt weird about including a registry in our invites to begin with (I’m not one to advertise things like “if you love me you’ll bring me cookies for my birthday all over facebook), but this points them to our website where they’ll eventually be able to see additional pictures of us, read our story, find directions to the wedding, maps and accommodation information.

Where are you registered? Any recommendations/reviews on the universal registries or cash deposit type websites?

A while back ago when I felt like I could do 100 DIY projects, I made these.  At first, I was thinking I could do 350 of these for favors.  But, after about doing 10 of them…that didn’t fall through.  Each one took a while to do, but they turned out really cute!  I made these felt magnet corgi’s in memory of my dog that passed away about a year and a half ago.  They’re now posted on our magnet board.

Bride and Groom Corgi Dogs

The Original Corgi

If I get enough requests, I can do a tutorial on how to make these or just any other kind of felt designs.  Just leave a comment!

If you have another design in mind, let me know and I can try to make one.  Got lots of felt leftovers!

After almost 7 months of being engaged, I still had not asked my maid of honor to be the special gal to put up with all my Bridezilla moments and to fulfill my ridiculous requests.

I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask her to be my maid of honor.  Although the special person was chosen as soon as I said “Yes!” and had the ring on my finger, finding the perfect way to ask that was more than a verbal ”will you be my maid of honor?” was very important to me. I was looking for a way that would make her feel special, make her feel honored, make her really appreciate my asking!  I finally asked her over a lunch date and she said “Yes!”  My maid of honor is none other than my best friend, my confidant, and my other half.  She is my twin sister!

The perfect gift?  A note with a stitched handkerchief for her tears of joy!

Sidetracked.

I have dreamed since a little girls of being a veterinarian. My first job was at a veterinary clinic, and everything I’ve done in school and work has been in pursuit of that goal. With that said, veterinary school is not easy to get in to, and I have spent my first 4 years post-baccalaureate working in a closely related field that I plan on making my career. I hadn’t applied to veterinary school until this past fall, for school starting this coming fall. I got several rejection letters, and more or less had decided that this path was not the right one for me. A few weeks ago, on a Friday evening, I got a call from one of my potential schools asking for me to be in California (I live in Texas) the following Tuesday morning for an interview. I had a huge day at work that day and how on earth could I get to California by Tuesday?! I immediately denied the interview offer. After pacing for about 5 minutes, I called back and scheduled the interview. I had no idea how I would do it, but figured worst case scenario I don’t show up and don’t get accepted anyways.

A talk with Freesia Dude and a look at flight prices evolved into talk of an impromptu road trip to California. An email to each of our more than gracious bosses, a call to the cat-sitter, and the decision was made. We left for California early Sunday morning.

We aren’t strangers to road trips. We have driven to Florida a few times, the Keys right after the proposal, to California once, and various other less daunting distanced destinations. We fell in love with California the first time we went, so the prospect of going again was enticing. We decided to visit San Diego after my interview to make the 48 hours of total driving worth it. We almost forgot about wedding stuff the whole week.

Our 1st trip to the West Coast

Key West, Florida

Aside from being my incomprehensibly supportive best friend, Freesia Dude was also my driver and my second opinion. We pulled up to a very attractive looking school the morning of my interview. While I spent the afternoon meeting professors and students, he drove around the town, checked out the YMCA and got a feel for the rest of the place. We both enjoyed what we saw, and knew it would be a nice fit for me. The interview was hard, leaving me with uncertain feelings. Mid-March would bring the news…

The interview was for my dream occupation. The not so dreamy part is participating in an intense curriculum for the next 4 years, the first 4 years of my marriage, potentially apart from my new husband. He and I have both put a LOT of thought and consideration into it and know that if I get in, I will go, and he may not. He will try, but leaving a great job that could lessen the potential burden of time and cost of my school may not be the best decision.

March 9th, watching television, surfing the internet, Freesia Dude is in class. I get an email casually informing me of my acceptance to veterinary school!!!!!!!!!! I should have stood on my head for the next hour because that’s how I felt. I laughed, then cried, then my sister-in-law called. I played cool…until she asked if I’d heard back from the school. Of course she had to ask right then! I told her the news and swore her to secrecy until I told Dude and my parents.

My mom and sister cried. My dad gave me a huge hug, so proud. My stepdad was giddy. It took a while for it to sink in, for me and for Freesia Dude. While we both knew I would go, it took a while for us to admit it to one another. I will be moving to California less than 4 weeks after our wedding day. I’m excited, nervous, scared, and thrilled….and planning a wedding. Oh my. Apparently the world didn’t stop when I started planning for our wedding. Talk about sidetracked.

Poinsettia Dude & I have lived together for almost 3 years, which means that we are not in need of the typical registry items such as towels, sheets, pillows, silverware, dinnerware, etc.  Because we don’t really ‘need’ anything, it makes it difficult to set up a registry!  What do you give a couple who has everything?  Money! But of course, it is tacky and rude to ask for money…everyone knows that!  So we registered for the next best thing!  Our Honeymoon!

We found a honeymoon registry called HoneyFund!  I set up an account and designated gift contributions so guest can easily see what their cash contributions will go towards.  Instead of handing over $50 in a card, they would choose to pay for a portion of our flights or an excursion or anything else they wanted to help with.

Here is a sample of the “registry”:

(Source: honeyfund.com)

We have friends who used Honeyfund last summer and the contributions almost paid for their entire 10 day Costa Rican vacation! I secretly hope that our honeymoon registry will also be a success!

Don’t you just love it when you get one of those AHA moments and all the details begins to come together?  A light bulb went off in my head when I was thinking of what to do for my garden ceremony.  Since I’m using a lot of vintage frames and old family pictures; I thought why not have a theme revolving around “making timeless memories?”  It fits perfectly with everything!  Also, the decorations can mean so much more then just to make the environment look pretty.

The more I think about the look of the theme is going to be Romantic Homespun Vintage.

Here’s what I had in my head…sorry for the sloppy sketch…  Literally drawing it out helps me to see the whole picture in person .

Behind the white gazebo, it’s all green shrubbery.  Oh yea, it’s a garden ceremony by the way.

Left Side: Has a vintage table with lamp, flowers/small vase, and a picture of my parents wedding picture

Right Side: Vintage Table, flowers/small vase, and a picture of my fiances wedding pictures.

Hanging from Gazebo: The large hanging lamp I got at the flea market!

This is the “upclose” drawing of the vintage tables on the side.

Meaning: Basically I want these to show that the joining of two people isn’t just about them…but it’s about joining of two families.

Oh yes…I found this recently too.  This is very similar to the idea of what I was getting at.

Source: Green Wedding Shoes

Any other ideas or suggestions???

Bouquets!  Bouquets are one of the “wedding” details I want to be perfect.   The problem? I want  flower-less bouquets!

After meeting with the florist several times, I decided that I am going to forgo her beautifully designed bouquets and do what I have always wanted to do…have paper flower bouquets!

While reading through Tweets on my phone, I saw a tutorial from Project Wedding on how to make Paper Flowers out of coffee filters. I could not believe my eyes at how life-like they were!   The step by step directions seemed easy enough and there were limited materials so I decided to try and I am so glad I did!  You can find the tutorial by clicking here!

After a lazy Saturday afternoon, this is what I came up with-

I do not have a crafty bone in my body so I know if I can do this, you can too!  I wanted an all white bouquet so the original white coffee filters worked out perfectly!

After making a handful of flowers, I made the decision to make the bouquets for my bridesmaids with these paper flowers and ostrich feathers (ordered from Ebay) but I wanted something funky, unique, and different for myself!  I wanted my bridal bouquet to be the talk of the town! Not to mention, something I can keep forever!

In desperate need of the “perfect” bouquet, I headed over to Etsy and found this beauty from a seller called Croska!  I immediately snatched it up and will have it in my little hands by the end of April!

What do you think about non-floral bouquets?  Have you considered going flower-less?

In lieu of a dessert party or a wedding cake, what about ice cream??  There are actually a few ice cream shops that own trucks or carts that can cater for your wedding or any private party.  Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summers day?  Now I’m craving ice cream….sweet creamy goodness…mmmm.   If my friends brought this to their wedding or party…I would definitely be the first one in line! =)

Here are two ice cream companies that are local to me…

Carmela Ice Cream ( Los Angeles, CA)

Sweet Lucie’s (Los Angeles, CA)

With all the craze of food trucks going on in LA, why not ice cream?  This ingenious mother decided to start her own ice cream food truck company.  You should read how she started the company…super cute.  In terms of presentation and design, this one was my favorite.  It has this cute little retro 50s truck that goes to your event.  Also, they’re coming up with a 50s style ice cream cart in the future!

The truck…

The cart…

For more ice cream catering companies in your area…check out yelp!

After we tie the knot, Apple Sauce and I will make our exit out of the ceremony space and … into the next room. Our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception are all in the same venue. While this is super convenient for our guests — no one has to worry about driving to and finding parking at a second location — it makes it hard for us to get that classic wedding photo op. You know the one: where the bride and groom emerge from the church under a shower of confetti and make their way to the getaway car.

Credit: sparklersonline.com

My week, so far, has been all about finding unique ways to dress up our indoor mini recessional. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

At first, I was all set on using big felt Valentine’s hearts. Yes, the ones I snuck into last week’s Valentines inspiration board. I’d planned to have them tucked into cones of sheet music that were lined in rustic boxes for guests to take as they walk into the ceremony space. I couldn’t wait to be married and then showered with these gorgeous graphic hearts!

But alas, after re-reading my venue’s contract, it turns out that confetti of any kind is strictly prohibited, or suffer the consequence of a $300 cleanup fee. So, someone PLEASE steal this idea and then post the pictures! Onto the next idea…

Sparklers are out, of course, because we’ll be indoors and um, FIRE!

Bubbles are cute, but I think they’re a little too precious for our “Old Brooklyn boardwalk” style of wedding. I mean, were bubbles even invented in the 1920s? (Yeah, they probably were.)

And then it hit me: pinwheels. They perfectly evoke the fun, colorful vibe we’re going for, they don’t require any cleanup, and there are a million places to find them on etsy! Guests can hold them up, wave them, spin them and bring them home for a fun carnival-like souvenir. I found these adorable handmade pinwheels below by etsy shop owner petitsmetier.

What do you think?

It’s probably like the new fad for weddings…but I’m in LOVE with these whimsical flag banners.  It just adds so much character, fun, and cute to the wedding.  I collected an array of different types of banner flags to use for decorations.  If I do use it, most likely it’ll be for the ceremony area.  Looks like an easy DIY project too!

Picture via Bridal Cookie

Here are a couple of ones I found through etsy.com

Burlap Banner by iwishedforyou

Wedding Banners by BlueMoonStudios

Customized Wood Wedding Bunting Flags

Other Flag Pictures:

Photo via Bridal Cookie

Having a Mexican themed wedding?  These tissue banners are super festive and fun.

Photo via Prepare to Wed

Anyone have any ideas on how to make some?

For one reason or another, I have always just assumed that I would personally know the pastor that would stand before God and pronounce me married to the man of my dreams. However, when Freesia Dude proposed we had only recently found what I would call our “church home”. I felt immediately at home there but had not gotten to know many of the members yet and had not met the pastor. So after our engagement we decided that we would ask the Elders of our church if any of them might be able to marry us. The day we decided to do this, we met Paul, one of the pastor’s at our church. We learned that he often does weddings and is usually the go-to guy for pre-marital counseling. It turned out he was our guy and we set a date to meet with him for lunch to discuss more.

To back up a bit, Freesia Dude and I had been dating for about 4 years when we got engaged. About 3 years into it, we moved in together. I had resisted this decision earlier on, as I had grown up knowing I would not move in until married. When we made the decision to move in together, we did not take it lightly, especially since I knew my parents would not be fond of the idea. We lived together for almost exactly a year when we got engaged, and met Paul soon thereafter. During our first lunch with Paul he learned that we were currently living together, and God decided to rock our world a little bit.

As I mentioned, I had grown up believing that living together before marriage was a bad idea, though I realized that I was not very certain of the reasons why. This may sound a bit silly, but I had not spent much time contemplating why this was a bad decision past that it was simply “wrong”! It was against what I believed in and thus I would not do it. This held up great until I hit the real world of paying rent and being in a committed relationship. In the case that anyone else might have been, or be, in a similar situation, Paul reminded Freesia Dud and I of the reasons why a couple should not live together until married (firmly, but completely without judging us, this was truly God’s doing…not to discredit Paul’s skills!) and requested that, if possible, we move apart until we get married.

Paul reminded us that the way we were living put us in this ill-defined gray zone of relationship status. Our lives were combined but our hearts were not united. We were living as a married couple, but we had a safe out. No matter how much we said we were in it for good, we still had an out. This living with an “out” mindset would be difficult to change since there was no concrete difference in our getting married. We were living with this “out” option without being married, how would we be sure that we could get rid of that “out” when we become truly committed for life? In addition, the beginning of marriage is a time for new life together, not the continuation of the same old thing.

We began to think about how our lives are so meshed together and how we have both thought of that “out”. Paul was exactly right. Laundry, groceries, cleaning, schedules, finances, all meshed in one. Sure, there is a difference in actually being married, but we had a decision to make that difference more visible to each other or less. We chose more.

I found a great apartment between Freesia Dude’s place and my work. I settled in and felt right at home. I explained the situation to my landlord and she was so helpful working out a lease with me to fit our timing. She even mentioned she knew a couple that did the same thing, but the bride had to move back with her parents, overseas! Immediately, I realized this would be an opportunity to find things that we had been taking for granted from each other. We began working on addressing those things, which not only helped those things but helped our communication.

Though it is not an inexpensive experience, it has been worth every penny to do everything we can to make sure that our marriage starts out the best it can. We both have lots of things to work on, but we are so pleased with the strength God gave us to make this decision and pull through with it. Every situation is unique, and definitely for some couples our decision would not have worked, but we found the way to make our situation work. We are so excited to move in together again in a few months. I hope that I will be able to share this experience with someone that will be inspired to make a similar decision. Make this a new chapter of your lives, not just a run-on of the last. Best wishes to you all!

For those soon to move in, or recently moved in, or just for some good living together tips:

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-how-to-survive-moving-in-together

Before I dive into what I am going to wear on one of the most important days of my life, I have inched into dress options by looking at bridesmaid dresses first. From what I’ve seen, it has become increasingly popular to pick a color/fabric, and then have your bridesmaids pick the cut for which they feel is most flattering on their body.

I’m a little bit torn on this. I’m having 6 bridesmaids, all of which have pretty different body types. I want them all to feel comfortable in their dress, but am not sure I like the varying necklines/straps/etc should they all choose different dresses.

The only time I’ve ever been in a wedding I was young enough to be a flower girl and didn’t have to dread wearing an “ugly” bridesmaid dress. While I don’t think I would ever put my girls in something they hated, I could see (for example) a girl with a larger chest being uncomfortable with a sweetheart strapless dress (which is the style I am leaning towards). My original thought was to bring two of my bridesmaids who have different bodies – I figured if they both liked the same dress it would look good on anyone.

So – thoughts? Does it have to be the same dress? Or are some of you guys more lax on this and don’t really care?

Early in my planning process, I decided that we weren’t going to have favors. As much as I love how personalized favors can be, I wanted ours to be “more” than just little gifts for our guests to bring home. I wanted it to mean something.

My Nonna has advanced Alzheimer’s disease. It’s in its final stages: she now doesn’t recognize anyone, isn’t able to follow or contribute to a conversation, needs help to bathe, go to the washroom, and eat. She needs round the clock care, and has been placed in a nursing home for the past three years because of this. It breaks my heart, but we can’t have my Nonna attend the wedding. She is afraid to leave the nursing home, and this wedding – all the people, the different place, the duration of it – would be too much for her.

My Nonna and I, Dec 08

This decision brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. My Nonna and I used to dream of my wedding since I was a little girl. She couldn’t wait to see me get married. And as I plan my big day, I can’t help but think about how much my Nonna would have loved my dress – the princess dress. About how much she would have adored our reception venue for exactly the reasons I love it – its so Victorian and elegant. I can’t help but think about how unfair it is that when I talk to her, she doesn’t see me, doesn’t recognize me, her first grandchild. I can’t help but think about how much she would have loved this wedding, how much she would have immersed herself in helping me plan it, and how much she would have enjoyed it. I feel as though she was robbed of that — she’s here, physically here… but mentally, she’s not.

In lieu of favors, we are donating to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, for research for a cure for this terrible disease.

http://www.alzheimer.ca/

Have you considered favors for a cause?

On at least five separate occasions, I’ve been asked, “What are your wedding colors?” And the truth is, we don’t have any. Which is not to say that our wedding will be void of color — in fact, quite the opposite is true — but at no point did we sit down and pick a two- or three-color scheme for our wedding.

Is that so shocking?

Yes, apparently it is.

Instead, the guiding aesthetic principle for our wedding is: jewel tones. We’re getting married in a stately private club that is already outfitted with rich wood accents, gilded chandeliers and magnificent stained glass windows. It has so much personality going for it already, we thought committing to an arbitrary three-color scheme would just look and feel forced.

So, jewel tones…what does that mean? Think  an organic mix of ultra saturated reds, blues, violets, fuschias and emeralds, accented with touches of gold and silver. In fact, the only white thing at my wedding will be me.

Does that sound like a rainbow train wreck waiting to happen?

Having your parents pay for your wedding obviously has its advantages.

But it has its disadvantages, too – namely, if you disagree on something. Luckily, so far my parents have been very flexible and have let me have pretty much anything I want, which is more than generous.

One of the things we disagree on, unfortunately, is having a sweethearts table:

{I have no idea where this picture is from! I saved it to my computer awhile ago!}

We’re not having a bridal party – except for our two attendants/witnesses, so I figured the sweethearts table wouldn’t be a problem. I love the concept of the sweethearts table. I love that Mr. Magnolia and I would be able to be just the two of us (at least while we’re sitting and eating) at some point during the wedding. So many couples say that they don’t get any time together, and I was hoping this will steal some time for us, even if we’re surrounded by our loved ones. My reception hall also wasn’t too pleased with the idea of the sweethearts table, calling it “sad/lonely” for the bride and groom. Ummm… no.

Personally, I love how cute sweetheart tables look!

{Source}

Except, we’d sit side by side and our backs will be to the wall so everyone can see us.

*Le Sigh* But, this is something I’ve had to compromise on.
Would you ever consider a sweethearts table?

If you haven’t guessed by now, I love cake in all its delicious and tempting forms. While my highest love and devotion for cupcakes cannot be overshadowed, I did come across a new and pretty sweet treat (pun intended): The Cake Lollipop. I first learned of these little yummies when a client of mine dropped them off as a gift to me after my company printed her cookbook. After a little research – I learned these babies are not only easy to make, but they’re making quite an impact on current wedding trends.

How GOOD does that look? (photo courtesy of Project Wedding)

Basically, you pick any cake flavor you want (even cheesecake!), and any icing flavor you want (or just straight up chocolate!), and voila! Awesome, one-bite, cake pops that are delicious and beautiful. What a way to incorporate multiple flavors of cake for your guests, while still adhering to your color scheme!

Photo courtesy of {dala} creative

I found a DIY-recipe here, courtesy of Little Miss Momma.

What do you guys think of Cake Pops?

To add to the list of rebel bride things I am not having, please add “The Bouquet Toss”.

And it’s really not because I have anything against them. I participated in bouquet tosses and I haven’t felt ridiculous or anything like that. I don’t think it’s degrading, or desperate. I think it’s just a reception tradition, and it’s fun when there’s a large group of women.

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The reason I’m nixing it is because of our guest list size, only close friends were invited to the wedding. And I don’t have that many close friends and cousins of bouquet-catching age, and I think having, you know, a small group of women waiting to catch a bouquet is awkward. So, we’re not doing it.

What I am considering, however, is having the Anniversary Dance – a song is put on and all married couples are invited to the dance floor. The song is stopped at intervals, in which the DJ says “Those who have been married 5 years or less please step off the dance floor” and so on and so forth, until the last couple on the dance floor with the us is the couple who has been married the longest. And I would hand my bouquet to that woman. I think that is a sweet ode to marriage.

What do you think?

Given the tenor of my past two posts, I’m quickly carving out a niche as the super complain-y Bridal Bud. Overcrowded wedding expos and dress-shopping anxiety attacks? Like, way to be a Sour Apple, self!

And not the delicious kind of sour apple like these.

So no more of that! (Well, maybe sometimes.) This post is all about the life-affirming and and awesome power of love.

I’m referring, of course, to Chris Medina’s tearjerker of an American Idol audition, which aired Wednesday night during the Milwaukee try-outs. For those of you who didn’t tune in, or happened to miss the internet’s collective next-day “awww,” the facts are these:

Chris and his fiancée, Julianna, were engaged for two years. Two months before they were set to say their “I do’s,” she sustained a traumatic brain injury that today keeps her wheelchair-bound. Chris remains her caretaker, and the couple are still engaged.

“I was about to make vows just two months from the accident,” he says.  “Through thick and thin, till death to us part, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. What kind of guy would I be if I walked out when she needed me most?”

At this point in the show, my fingers were crossed, hoping so badly that this boy had the voice to match his beautiful heart. And when he busted out “Break Even” by The Script, it was enough to make this emotional bride-to-be bawl.

I’ve included the full clip below. Watch for Steven Tyler’s super sweet words to Julianna, which will no doubt keep the tears a-tumblin’.

Chris Medina’s American Idol Audition on YouTube

I’m not an ice cream person, I never have been. I don’t even really crave chocolate, my candy of choice has always been of the gummy variety. But, as far back as I can remember, I have LOVED cupcakes. Doesn’t matter the flavor, or the icing-to-cake ratio (although I prefer more cake than most) – I just love them.

Photos by: Dolce Baking Company, Simply Perfect Weddings, A Cake Life, B.R. Cohn Winery, Kupcakespot, Kristen Steele Photography

Olive Dude knew before he proposed that at our wedding their would be no traditional cake. Instead of giving me flowers throughout our dating for special circumstances or bad days, I’d come home to a little Georgetown Cupcake (which is who I’d LOVE to cater for my wedding-they live up to the hype) with my name on it. Bless his heart.

The one thing I am unsure of – how to still have the cake-cutting tradition. Olive Dude said we could just get a GIANT cupcake to cut into, but that to me might cross over into cheesy territory – and I’m pretty sure he was kidding anyway. My one thought is my friend Ava LOVES to bake (and is quite good at it). I am thinking she could bake us a little traditional cake that we can cut into for ceremony purposes, and freeze for our one year anniversary.

What are your thoughts on cupcakes instead of a cake? Also – when it comes to flavors – should you try and match your cupcakes to your wedding colors?

Some brief notes, so you can have an idea of what I’m— errr, we are planning:

• Colors: No thank you.  As of now, the plan is to put the BMs in neutral dresses (probably black or grey) and get the flowers at the last minute (day before), and put them together ourselves the day of the wedding.  I can tell you that I love orange (how appropriate).  Orange will be somewhere in there.
• Food: BBQ/Southern comfort food.  Ideally, I’d love to have someone come with a smoker… I can already taste the turkey legs, ribs, grilled corn, pulled pork, cole slaw, hush puppies… nom!
• Drinks: Beer & Wine.  We’re going to have a couple of different kegs of our favorite beers; and wine.   Haven’t thought out the logistics of that yet.
• Location: As of now, we’re considering a couple of historic sites… but more to come on that in another post.
• Date: All we’ve talked about so far is Fall.  Mr. Man seems to think he’ll be able to talk me into a Spring wedding, but let the record show: IT AIN’T HAPPENING.  Why does he want this?  Football.  Surprise, Surprise.  I’m pushing to consider getting hitched on a Friday (cheaper), that way we can make a weekend out of it – be lazy on Saturday, watch the Skins wherever we honeymoon on Sunday.  I’m thinkin’ Sept/October. I’ll keep you lovelies updated, don’t you fret.
• Dress: I’m a plain jane.  My only requirement is that it not be frilly and that it absolutely, positively must have pockets.  I will not budge on this.
• Veil: I don’t do veils.  I think they’re annoying.  I plan on having a cute-as-a-button birdcage with a to-die-for fascinator.
• The Boys: Mr. Man wants to wear black suits, but I’m trying my bestest to convince him to wear grey or khaki; again, I’ll keep you updated.
• The Ceremony: Quick and dirty.  Nothing religious.  Maybe have a friend get ordained.  I dig.