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@xoexpatbride-blog
Remember how I said cheesecake wasn't wedding-y? Well, maybe I change my mind. Wanda's is apparently out of business (wah!), so am looking for substitutes! Still heavily considering Italian cream cake, but this is pretty convincing.
(via Snippet & Ink :: Daily Wedding Inspirations)
Perfect solution for my strangely shaped chairs!
DIY Embossing Insight
At first I was totally excited about doing everything DIY. But my life created other priorities (moving to South Africa, getting life together rather than fretting about handmade everything for the wedding). But, I had already bought all the materials for my invites, and I thought they would set the tone for our non-traditional, informal wedding in December.
I love the look of embossing and embossed two separate parts of the invite: the vellum overlay that had all the pertinent info was embossed with a pearly silver metallic, and the petal-fold cardstock was embossed with our initials and a heart-symbol thing I designed.
1. Clear stamps are really the coolest thing ever. You may be tempted to save money and scrap the clear mounting block, but it's worth it. If you get the one with the grid, then you could even use it for other types of projects as well.
2. Don't stress about the exact placement of each stamp. You'll drive yourself crazy. I only had fifty invites to do, but by the end I swapped anal for anything goes. I was like, yeah, that works! no matter how the stamps turned out.
3. Allow yourself plenty of time. Since I only had fifty invites, I really wanted to crank 'em out all at the same time, and it worked better for me since the set-up/break-down would have been a pain to do more than once. If you have more than that, however, you might want to consider doing it in batches.
4. Consider your ink/powder color combos. The first time I tried embossing, I used clear ink and silver powder. When you use colored powder, you have to be really sure that you get all the stray particles off, otherwise you'll leave specks that can't be removed once you've heated it up. I've heard there are some products that help with that (using cornstarch, I think). If this is a serious problem for you, I recommend using colored ink with clear powder. What I ended up doing was silver ink with silver powder for a stronger effect.
5. Beware of sparkles! For the monogram/heart thingy, I used really cool sparkly embossing powder. The sparkles go everywhere. Seriously, I went through two rounds of heating that section of the invite because I though they weren't done thoroughly when I discovered that the glitter sheds. Alas, I put in all that extra work for nothing. True, the sparkles look cool, but as soon as you touch it, your finger is bedazzled. My friend back home says glitter is like the herpes of the craft world (gross, I know, but in this case a tad appropriate).
What advice do you have for fellow embossers?
(via Sweetheart Silk Dress - Forever New)
Love this silk georgette dress. I tried it on in a store today--they only had one, and it was a size too small. Also, they don't ship internationally, so looks like I can't get my hands on it, but this is definitely along the lines of what I'm looking for.
This bouquet combines my two favorite flowers, roses and calla lilies, in a beautiful blush and cream palette. Divine! I thought I might get a plain bouquet from fiftyflowers.com (their Wedding Flowers in a box is a simple solution), but after seeing this I may have to splurge on my bouquet. What do you think?
I Love Cake
"I love...cake..." --Eric Foreman, That 70's Show
Ah, wedding cake. The edible symbol of your relationship in fondant-covered form. SO many questions for an unfussy bride--chocolate or vanilla, buttercream or whipped, to top or not to top--it all seems too much for me to handle. And, let me get this out of the way: while I can respect certain celebrity pastry chefs as business owners and professional visionaries, most of the cakes I see are just not for me.
(Source: NY Daily News, Credit: Swanson/News)
And I have something to confess: I abhor fondant. It's true, and I won't sacrifice delicious-ness for a pristinely smooth cake, or even one with bobbles galore. Plus, the way they drape it over the cake like a skin? It's creepy! But, that's just me.
Although one of my top five favorite foods is a good cheesecake, it just doesn't seem too wedding-y to me. (I have a friend who went to a wedding where the cake was literally cheese--wheels of it!)
(Source: Event Bliss)
So I have decided on an Italian Cream Cake by a local baker named Wanda. I remember my sister requesting this as her birthday cake one year, but she recently informed me that the cake actually made its debut at a cousin's wedding and I just didn't remember it. Either way, the cake is seriously yummy, but nothing fancy to look at.
(Source: JenX Cakes)
Pretty plain looking, right? We'll only be feeding about 60 people, so I think something along these lines will work, and it is just so delish with the creamiest cream cheese frosting, not too sweet, and the cake so dense and moist you could eat it like home-baked bread. So I think I can handle plain, and I'll just dress it up a little. I know Wanda can do chocolate covered strawberries, so that's a consideration, and I love the look of fresh flowers on a cake:
(Source: The Knot)
(Source: Brides.com)
At one time, I even thought about making a personalized wedding topper out of clay to show FH, myself, and our dog Chiwi.
My first (and only) attempt lasted hours as I tried to mold myself out of Sculpey clay, rolling out little white snakes to use as the lace for my sleeves. (Afterwards, I decided to remove the sleeves from my actual dress and had to remove the lacy arms from my clay body. I have since decided to leave the sleeves alone when we moved the wedding back to December, and have all but given up on the clay figures). There were too many problems for me to handle by my inexperienced self. I couldn't keep the white clay from looking dirty, I couldn't attach the head to the neck at the right place or make a foil form to shape the skirt that wasn't too bumpy. So that plan is pretty much gone, although there are several etsy artists that could help out if I decide to try again.
How did you decide to decorate your cake? Is your cake a priority for you? Which is more important, function or form?
This post has cute ideas for incorporating booklets into a wedding. My thoughts: What about flip books?!? Before I moved overseas I got obsessed with the idea of making some flipbooks and came up with several designs, including one MC Escher inspired calla lily-into-dove pattern. My car got broken into, though, and all my stuff got stolen including my art projects! Haven't had the heart to start them again.
favorcraver:
A guest post from the fabulous Stephanie of Ready, Set, Party!
I have been slightly obsessed with incorporating books into weddings recently. So when Marie asked me to whip up a favor tutorial, I did a little sketching and designed these super cute mini-notebooks embellished with old...
Love the simple pops of hot pink here and there. Pink definitely has a presence without being overpowering, just what I like.
favorcraver:
A festive explosion of hot pink favor inspiration at a Zacatecas destination wedding.
Paper and Understated Whimsy
When I first got engaged, we though we would get married in the summertime. Perfect for my favorite palette, yellows and creams and blush. Logistics interfered and this went by the wayside, however I thought I'd share what I envisioned for the theme: paper. I didn't have a venue, but I knew how I wanted to decorate. I have always loved the look of paper lanterns, and being affordable, thought they would be a great way to decorate, using playful groupings and also maybe incorporating swags of fabric from the ceiling:
(Source: Asianideas.com, Credit: M. Klopfer)
(Source: Asianideas.com)
Also, I was inspired by a Cinco de Mayo party at my dance studio (I know it's incredibly cheesy, but hey). The crepe paper flowers that we arranged in glass vases were old and had softened in color. There was a peachy color, soft white, and pink. I loved the texture and from far off they looked kind of poetic. So paper flowers, in bright colors from Amol's in San Antonio:
(Source: Amols.com)
(Unfortunately, Amol's only sells these flowers in assorted colors, and you can't choose the colors you want, so if you have a strict color scheme, it would be risky. If you google "handmade mexican paper flowers" or put it into ebay, you get some other options where you can choose your own colors.)
I also somehow wanted to incorporate calla lilies. Growing up around Mexican artwork and Diego Rivera's paintings of women with the flowers, I'd thought of them as classic and elegant and enchanting.
(Source: Flower Shop Network)
After doing some research, we found out that they are originally from South Africa! So that was even more perfect. I found a tutorial about how to make them from paper, but first, had to find out what the heck "grunge paper" is. (It is a thicker but pliable paper with a sueded texture). It had been a while since I had been involved in any arts and crafts kinds of things, and apparently things have evolved quite a bit.
But my favorite find, which I still plan on using in our December wedding, is this playful yet beautiful take on papel picado, available in several different designs and colors:
(Source: Ay, Mujer Shop on etsy.com)
Also, you can never go wrong with Martha Stewart. Type in "paper flowers" in the search box and you will be treated to an array of flower making goodies. She has instructions on making crepe paper flower swizzle sticks, as well as a tutorial on how to make a beautiful rose out of coffee filters.
(Source: Martha Stewart Weddings)
Last but not least I fell in love with these fluffy tissue paper pomanders from the Ruffled Blog tutorial:
(Source: Ruffled Blog)
At this point, I really had to decide how DIY I was going to get. Keeping in mind that I had to pack everything I owned into a few suitcases in order to move across the world (to South Africa), I had to pick and choose my crafts. (I was going on the assumption that it would be harder to find arts/crafts supplies here, and I was right).
So the supplies that I brought with me are:
Invitations stuff (Check!)
Favors stuff (halfway check...see my panic attack regarding these favors here)
Tissue paper for pomanders
Grunge paper for making calla lilies (but since have scratched the idea because of unsuccessful attempts)
The venue where we will hold the reception is a local restaurant and kind of small, so I'm sticking to a few pomanders and the papel picado for decorating since I don't want to overpower the space, but I still love the look of all these paper decorations. What ideas have you had that you've had to scrap?
A Girl's Best Friend...
Today I was remembering a little episode that took place back in Oklahoma shortly after I had gotten engaged. A couple of friends and I went to Applebee's after work one night, taking our usual table at the bar when the bartender waved at us. Overly friendly, he often liked to tell us embarrasingly blunt and informative stories of his run-ins with the cops, or his drunk friend's hysterical girlfriend and the like. But he also liked to give us free alcohol, so we put up with his stories a couple nights a month.
(Source: Almost A La Mode)
On this particular evening, I was dismayed that nobody had noticed my engagement ring. It was too big when I got it and had to have it sized, and it was excruciating being separated from my ring for the two days it took to size it down. (During which time I called the jeweler to check on it after my dad told me not to let them switch out the stone. I then had nightmares that they had changed the shape and color of my ring completely. Thanks, Dad.)
(Source: Buy Engagement Rings)
So once I got the ring back, I wanted everyone to notice. The conflict lay in that my bosses didn't want me to advertise the fact that I was getting married and subsequently leaving the country and abandoning my students. So, I was wearing my ring but didn't mention it to anyone, and no one noticed, or at least didn't ask about it.
Back to Applebee's: our chummy waiter had come over to gab, and my friend, let's call her L, mentioned something about me getting ready to move. To Africa.
"Why are you doing that?" he asked incredulously, a common response when someone heard about my plans.
"She has a good reason," L said, picking up my left hand and showing him the ring.
(Source: Jewelry Inn)
"I thought you were already married," barman said; "that's one of the first things I look at, is a girl's finger, and I could've sworn you were already wearing a ring."
"That's probably because she always wears rings on her other fingers," said L. She gave me a sidelong glance. She had already tried to tell me that was the reason people didn't notice the engagement ring. Then, she did the darnedest thing.
"But look, I just got married!" She dropped my hand and thrust out her own, waving her fingers and making her engagement ring and wedding band's blue and white diamonds twinkle in the dim light. (I've since decided that the best light to show off your diamond is in a low lit restaurant.)
(Source: Kranichs)
I couldn't believe my best friend rock blocked me! This was unbelievable! I understood that she was still reveling in her four month marriage, but I was dumbfounded that my own engagement was shoved out of the way for her nuptials.
What happens to our brain chemistry when we become brides that makes us so competitive? Has this happened to you? Or worse, have you done this to a friend? What moments have made you particularly competitive with other brides?
On Friday night, we stayed in and watched Marley and Me. I had never seen it all the way through before, although I had seen John Grogan and his wife appear on an episode of the Dog Whisperer.
(Source: WallPaper News)
I knew how it ended without knowing any of the specifics, and the last thirty minutes of the movie I stifled my sobs, at the same time I was ticked off that my emotions were being manipulated through the melodramatic struggle of the elderly lab and his devoted and tearful family.
I miss my dog! Chiwi (named after Cheese Whiz) is a French bulldog that we got in December 2007 when we lived in California. After all the canine bonding in the movie, I ached to cuddle with that stocky dog! I left her in my mom’s care until December for many reasons, one being the time of year (June) was too hot for a flat-faced breed to travel. The plan is to bring her back with us in December. She was the cutest little puppy and now is something of a lovable demon dog.
Besides making me dog-sick, the movie brought up some interesting points. Besides the story of a dog and his family, you see the story of a family beginning and living. It reminded me of the gravity of what a wedding represents, or rather, what a marriage is. For better or for worse, they say. The movie shows some rough times for the married couple as they deal with newborns and the stresses of jobs and real estate. Jennifer Anniston’s character said something about staying home with the baby along the lines of “I’ve given up so much of what makes me who I am.” What a scary thought for any bride or mother to be. It’s hard to imagine the sacrifices we will have to make for our marriage and family—at this point its still all vague and sweet, a nostalgia for what’s to come. Show me pictures of flowers and I’ll tell you about ideas for centerpieces and color schemes, but what about after the wedding?
(Source: My Sweet and Saucy)
I don’t want to forget, amid the panic and chaos we put into the planning of our weddings, what this is supposed to be about—one day to represent a lifetime of sacrifices and knowing your partner is worth it.
Bridal Headcase
So many veils to choose from! I think it must be hard for anyone to narrow the choices down as the selection is quite large, especially when you think how it must complement your dress and hairstyle. Sometimes I wish I could have several different weddings each with its own style and flavor, just to accomodate my eccentric style. I have always loved the soft romanticism of the mantilla, and I think it looks great with a loose, flowing hairstyle:
(Source: Bridalwave.tv)
But the dress I'll be wearing (yes, I'll get to details in another post) has a lacy bodice with long lace sleeves. I'm not sure what the rules are with lace vs. lace, but I know I have other things to do besides track down a matching lace pattern. Plus, it's just a little too traditional and virginal for me.
I also adore the coquettish allure of the birdcage veil. Just type this into etsy and get a billion results of handmade retro looking birdcage veils, blushers, fascinators, bandeau veils, you name it. (At first I didn't know what any of these things were, but you'll figure it out after looking at several different listings).
While this is a clear favorite for funky, vintage weddings, I think this might just be the right style for me. The french or russian netting is not too fussy, but won't compete with the laciness of my dress, and it's just cheeky enough while still being sweet. Perfect!
But even within this realm, there are too many choices. You can go all Black Swan and do the feather thing:
(Source: The Veil Collection)
Or you can try different floral and beaded options. The netting is even available in different colors for more whimsical brides. Some veils are asymmetrical and dip over only one eye:
(Source: TheBlossomShop on etsy)
Some cover the whole face:
(Source: velvetowl on etsy)
And some are shorter and extend anywhere from just below the eyes to just past the tip of the nose:
(Sources: JMGJewelDesign and BrendasBridalVeils, both on etsy)
My concern, and question, for those of you have seen this type of veil in action, is what to do when it's time for the kiss. Does the couple simply ignore the veil and kiss away? Does anyone get tickled by wayward netting?
Also, for those of you interested in other types of veils, I found that VeilUBridal has a good basic rundown on veil vocabulary.
Wedding Bands
So we've gone wedding ring shopping. I love my engagement ring, which was made here in Cape Town, and I love that I'll always have that story for it. Our engagement happened so quickly and somewhat spontaneously that I wasn't sure if I would get a ring, but I did--he picked it out himself and I think he did a nice job. A white gold solitaire, I love the setting it comes in, which is almost snag proof. Snagging was a main concern.
So the question is, what types of bands go with a solitaire ring? When I was younger I always thought wedding bands should match, but I've kind of given up on that. I also wanted a thick band, similar to what my parents wore, but I think a thinner one works better with my hand as well as with my ring.
After going to two different places, my groom is down to two choices: a white gold, 6mm plain, flat ring, or a satin finish with grooves running along the top and bottom, but also flat. I think I like eternity rings in a pave setting:
What other kinds of bands work well with solitaires? What are you looking for in a wedding band?
Sweating the Invitation Suite
My requirements for the invitations were pretty simple: use wedding colors (pink, peach, charcoal), not too plain, not too formal and something personal--I think this style suits us and the occasion well. The pochette folders made up the base, then some textured gray cardstock, then a casual snapshot of us (I played around with it to make the background lighter and blurrier so it wasn't too distracting, but not as harsh as it would be on a plain white background). I played around with embossing on the vellum overlay and liked the look, although my embossing skills stand to be improved.
Now that I had decided on the look of the invitation, I packed all my supplies and brought them with me so that I could assemble the invites from Cape Town.
Vellum paper presents a problem. I had planned on bringing my printer with me on my move, but as it stood we were in dire straights with the excess charges on baggage--I already brought an extra bag and most of them were over the weight allowance. So the printer couldn't come along.
Since I had already printed one invitation in my own printer, I didn't anticipate any problems with taking the paper to a print shop. I was mistaken. I took the paper to two different shops. They both had a problem with the paper being pre-cut (which I had been advised to do). They also believed that their printing devices would melt the vellum paper. In fact, they had done it before, the lady told me, and it cost over a thousand dollars to have it repaired. Interesting.
Finally I found a place that would not melt my pre-cut paper. Score! 24 hours later, I had all my elements ready to be assembled. No outer and inner envelopes for me...just the pochette folder and the pink envelope it fits in, so no worries there. The next...shall we say...challenge...presented itself when I needed the gray cardstock cut. No big deal, the scrapbook size of paper only needed to be cut into quarters. You wouldn't even need to measure it, just slice it down the middle twice. My darling groom, who is meticulously precise in most things, by nature as much as by engineer training, told me they had a paper cutter at the office. He said he would cut the squares. Here they are.
It doesn't look that bad here, but this gray cardstock is the base for the photo, and goes inside the pink petal folder which is a perfect square. So all elements stacked up and you notice the hack job. Sorry, honey.
Sunday was invitation day, and we got them almost finished.
First, I had to provide the muffins, as promised:
In an emergency, I used convenience store margarine--not my best work, admittedly. But they did the job.
Then, I gathered my supplies and made a spot for myself on the living room floor. (we are still furniture hunting, and unfortunately, we have no table in the house. Except for a TV tray).
While the groom was relegating to measuring and re-cutting the cardstock, I glued the photos to the gray squares once he'd cut them. I used glue dots in the corners and the glue stick for the rest.
Thankfully, we were only making 50 invitations. Still, after several hours, delirium sets in:
I love how his pant leg is rolled up to the knee.
After we had the photos glued to the cardstock, we took a break before beginning the embossing. I had two elements I wanted to emboss: the flourishes on the vellum overlay using clear stamps from Inkadinkadoo, and the back of the pink petal folder, using the stamp I had designed.
It took a few times before I got the hang of what kind of pressure to apply both when inking the stamp and the actual stamping. For the record, I used silver ink and glittery embossing powder for the back, and silver ink with a pearly silver powder on the vellum. I worked for hours in the most uncomfortable position, the floor protected by two layers of plastic that I had taped down. Glittery embossing powder was everywhere, and when I closed my eyes, I could still see the sparkles. But they turned out pretty nicely. Now all that's left is to buy some silvery ribbon to tie in a bow at the top, attaching all the pieces together, and to address the envelopes.
Voila! The flourishes here are a bit different than what I had originally planned, mainly because I re-sized the text and it changed the spacing a bit.
I also bought the silver wax and seal...so excited!
Love these peach and cream roses with the soft greens.
thatgirlsthings:
Went into the flower shop yesterday afternoon to work on a wedding. Here’s the Brides bouquet.
I love the honesty of this post. It shows the complex feelings of being a bride--optimism and hope, gratefulness, disappointment and guilt. How can you relate to this bride's feelings?
Lovin' the chic-nes of this soft palette; using it a little bit juiced up for my December wedding with a deeper charcoal gray and shocks of magenta.
