happy halloween!

happy halloween! I carved a couple pumpkins to celebrate! Which one do you like better?

white porcelain

Another great find at etsy.com! These white porcelain vessels are designed by wapa studio and are made with Limoges porcelain. The holes are carved by hand... so beautiful!

body scrub

Here is an easy recipe by martha to make a salt or sugar body scrub for your bridesmaids. Their skin will be smooth and silky for your big day! Don't forget the labels at the bottom!

kevin york + phillies

In honor of the first game of the World Series, I'm posting a few awesome photos taken by Kevin York. He mainly focuses on weddings, but his whole portfolio of work is incredible.

photos courtesy of kevin york photography

go phillies!

lovely item of the week

Danielle filled me in on this adorable decal from Urban for the lovely item of the week. It comes with 15 bird decals, 3 branch decals, and all the tools to apply it to any smooth surface. To go along with the bird theme, here is a "bird on a branch" hook that is pretty cute too!

pretty, pretty paper

love this font, designed by sugar paper in la

simplicity at its finest designed by bluepoolroad

diy paper pinwheels by the girls at posh paperie found at style me pretty

vintage buttons and yarn by bird and banner

very cute invites for a 50th birthday party from martha

check out more from this fun wedding suite here by erin jang, another one of her incredibly illustrated wedding invites here

letterpress wedding invite created by elum

crab inspired wedding

One of my best friends, Kadie, just got married and I thought I'd share a few of her wonderful ideas from her Maryland crab inspired wedding. She had these awesome wooden crab mallets for everyone as a favor that said the couples name and their wedding date.

Her placecards were small glass shakers filled with Old Bay seasoning. The shakers were painted with "Old Bay" on one side and a crab on the other. She attached the placecards to the Old Bay shakers with a thin wire.

Their cake was two crabs: bride and groom! The tables were lined with newspaper in true crab eating fashion.

Congratulations Kadie and Adam! You have truly "weathered" the storm together. Here are wishes for many wonderful years ahead of you!


The fire alarm and rain were just an added bonus. Remember: a wet knot is harder to untie!

mittens

I'm not ready for winter! These cute cashmere mittens from Etsy might help. They are hand-crocheted with a scalloped edge around the fingers. Three vintage buttons are on the sleeve. The adorable ruffle adds a little flare. Hopefully they are warm!

wedding day tips!

I gathered a few tips from my wedding day and tricks that were passed on to me to share with you. Hope you find them useful as you near the big day!

1. Ask one of your bridesmaids or someone close to you to hold a few
small items in her purse in case disaster strikes: a Tide pen, a piece
of white chalk, a few safety pins, a handful of bobby pins, and a
couple pieces of gum.

2. Ask someone (a friend, an uncle, a co-worker) to take pictures
during the special moments of the big day for you to look at right
after or on your honeymoon. It may take awhile to get the professional images back from the photgrapher and you're going to wonder what your hair looked like during the ceremony or what Aunt Susie was wearing.

3. When you are shopping for photographers, make sure they have all
the qualities you are looking for. One thing that was important to my
husband and I was to get a master cd of all the images. We have really
enjoyed being able to print any of the ones we like.

4. In the blur of the ceremony and reception, try to take a moment to
say thank you to the people you love for everything they did to make
your wedding day happen.

5. Don't forget to eat. It would be really embarrassing to pass out on
the altar!

6. Wear your engagement ring on your right hand during the ceremony.
When you exchange rings, your husband(!) will put your wedding band on
your ring finger, then you can move the engagement ring back onto your
left hand and they will be in the correct order on your finger.

7. Request waterproof mascara and eyeliner from your makeup artist
just in case they forget and you shed a few happy tears.

8. If you are doing french tip on your nails, get white tips. They
won't scratch off and will last much longer.

9. Send an alphabetized list of your guests and their table numbers to
the caterer, hotel event manager, or your wedding planner. A guest
might forget their table number and you will be thankful you don't have to memorize where everyone is sitting.

10. Break in your shoes before the big day.

11. It is always good to have oil blotting pads on hand, especially if you are taking pictures outside in the sun.

12. Have fun!

herbal boutonnieres

It’s getting colder outside and I’m not a fan of the cold. But I am a fan of fall weddings. For all the "do it yourself" fall brides out there, here is a great "how to" on making herbal boutonnieres for the boys in your wedding. The project was done by Chelsea Fuss of {frolic!}. I love that she uses blueberries!

honeymoon pics!

Here are a few pictures from our honeymoon in Cabo, Mexico. A week of rest, relaxation, and great company made for a perfect honeymoon. Sleeping in a cabana next to the pool and taking long strolls on the beach were two of my favorite things. Check out one of my guilty pleasures from our honeymoon here. Ah, I want to go back!

palm trees at sunset

southern most tip of the baja peninsula

pelicans in flight

clouds & mountains

too much fun

hand-picked!

One of my favorite blogs, 100 Layer Cake, was one of the hand-picked winners for best wedding blogs in Your Wedding Day Magazine! Congrats!

one month anniversary!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our wedding day!

a tissue for your tears of joy... | wedding day

More wedding details...

The programs were an important part of the planning for me. I included a few quotes, family prayers, and a special thank you. On the inside cover, I attached a folded tissue for guests "tears of joy" during the ceremony. I put the programs together with the same string as the favor boxes and strung punched flower confetti along the spine. I made sure to include directions to the reception place in the program.

centerpieces | fall fruit

Just made some centerpieces for a Provence client! I love using fruit. They bring so much color and variety to the table. Pairing fruit with fall flowers is a great way to spruce up an arrangement.

ring the bell! | wedding day

More wedding details! We decided to use bells to celebrate as we walked out of the church after the ceremony on September 5.


The little poem on the bell tag read "leaving the church, ring your bell in celebration! at the reception, make them kiss in jubilation!"


Everyone rang when we walked down the steps as Mr. and Mrs!


And continued to ring until we kissed!

menu, wire, wishes... | wedding day

My girls and I spent a few hours folding napkins, stuffing the menu cards, and tying ribbons into a knot to get ready for the big day.


To go along with the wire birdcage I made to hold cards, I sculpted wire lotus flowers and spray-painted them white, yellow, and green. We put them in the smallest glass vases we had and placed them around the reception area.

I placed this basket full of notecards near the placecards in case anyone wanted to write "wedding wishes" to the bride and groom to read on their honeymoon. Thank you for all your lovely notes! I am planning on making a book out of them : )