Northern Girl, Southern Wedding

Amanda & Tom's Couples Shower

Last weekend we celebrated my sister and her fiance's couples shower in our hometown of Erie, PA. Because we all live in different parts of the country, we have to make the most of long holiday weekends for events like these!

Lots of DIY fun in this one. Handmade pom-pom napkin rings, hand-drawn wine labels, handmade flower pot nametag/picture holders, homemade cookies and cupcakes, the list goes on! For a door prize we had everyone submit their birth month and day (not year) when they first arrived and later in the event we gave a gift to the person with the birthday closest to their wedding day. And what a wonderful, colorful locale. The service was amazing and the food was delicious. 

 

Here are the details:

Location & Catering: La Bella Restaurant in Erie, PA

Music: Ipod mix of the standards 

Games: Wedding Shower Mad Lib & the "Shoe Game"

Cupcakes: Liz Freeman of Cakes & Bakes by Liz in Erie, PA

Assorted cookies: Ye Ole Sweet Shop and The Magic Cookie Company

Design Planning & Coordination: me & our mom, Maria

 

DIY Pom-Pom Napkin Rings

I am gearing up for my sister's wedding shower this weekend back home and have been having fun planning various activities and decor elements with my mom. I got the idea to do napkin rings for some kind of occasion after seeing the how-to across various blogs. So easy and cute!

I tried them with both soft, light-colored tissue paper as well as heavier metallic tissue paper. The results are both amazing but strikingly different. The lighter colors appear weightless and pretty; the metallics have a structural element to them that is really cool. Given this is a couples shower for both Amanda and Tom, maybe we'll use a little of both! Can't wait to post how it all turns out.

Instructions (from Martha Stewart):

Napkin Rings

1. Stack four sheets of tissue. Cut a 10-by-5-inch rectangle, going through all layers. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

4. Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.

 Note, for the above I adapted her directions a little bit, making them 6 x 6 squares, not 10 x 5.

 

Gifts for the Girls

A pretty scarf? A new set of colorfully designed pens? iomoi has a variety of fun finds for gifting to your best women including totebags, golf balls, pencil packs, stationery... the list goes on. I could peruse for hours!

 

 

Bespoke Letterpress Wedding Set by ColorQuarry

We wanted to make sure the details of the event conveyed the kind of day we hoped to share with everyone -- light and fun, no pressure or pomp -- a classy, carefree evening at an old beach hotel.

Through one of the groomsmen we found Amanda from ColorQuarry. She helped bring our feelings and ideas to life through these beautiful, beach-themed designs. We loved every detail! 

Amanda is based in Providence and designs all kinds of pretty papers; from birth announcements to full invitations suites. See more examples of her design style here. Shop this look and others at etsy here.

Paper Magnolia Centerpieces

Looove this Southern-style decor idea from Martha. A crafty yet stunning way to perk up your tablescape. (Not just for wedding receptions, either!)

Celebratory Drink Stirrers

What better way to spend the Sunday of a long weekend than having friends over for brunch, a little Daytona 500 and then some personal arts and crafts time?

I have seen this idea all over the wedding blogs and wanted to try my hand at them, too. I ordered the hot pink swizzle sticks from eBay (I admit, I'm a little embarrassed that they shipped all the way from England....no one in the U.S. sells them?!) and found fun origami papers at my local art shop. Just add one glue stick and a pair of scissors and a couple few hours later you are....not quite finished!

These puppies still have some trimming and stamping left to go but they sure are cute.

Posters As Wedding Invitation Inspiration

It's apparently been awhile since I've posted! Sorry about that. We haven't been up to too much over the last couple of months when it comes to wedding planning. Next up is working through invitation design. I'm not sharing the goods here (we are trying to keep things a surprise now more than ever -- it's getting close!) but we did have fun looking at all the different types of inspiration to draw from. Here are a few samples from Oh So Beautiful's blog about illustrator Grady McFerrin. 

In other news, my dress arrives in just a few weeks! Joy.

The Save the Dates Have Been Sent

Designed for us by Erin at Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence in Mississippi.

Down to the Littlest Detail

I know what you are thinking: "who has time to worry about stamps?" when there are so many other things to enjoy worrying about when planning the big day. True. But if you have time to think about stamps, why not? I was playing around on zazzle.com the other evening ordering stamps for our save the dates. Then I made the mistake of looking up "magnolia postage" in their search field. Did you know they have over 600 versions of stamps with magnolia flowers on them? Amazing. Like I said, if you have the time...

 

A Few Days at the Beach

My mom and have been down here since Saturday taking a much needed few days off and spending some time together, but also taking a few appointments: florist, cakes, chair rentals, and even squeezed in a hair trial. She even found her MOB dress! So exciting. 

I've also been working with my friend on getting things in order for our invitations. A friend from a past work life, she happens to have a knack for designing pretty things! I am sending her a bunch of inspiration including this picture of one of the magnolias in the large room where the reception will be. Can't wait to see what she comes up with.

It is really starting to come together and definitely starting to feel more real. It is going to be such a fun celebration.

Pretty Paper Possibilities

I stumbled upon this set of pretty wedding stationery on minted.com. While originally designed for a winter wedding...with "icy blues" -- the name of the set is even called "Winter Flourish"! -- it actually quite fits with the blues and beachy feel of The Cavalier and I think could work quite well for us. It seems whimsical and soft like the ocean breeze to me, rather than snowy and cool. What do you think?

Ribbon Chandeliers

A twist on the paper sphere decoration...loving these ribbon-based chandeliers from Martha. I especially love how they seem to float in the air, suspended in space and time.

Not sure if I can hang things from the ceiling in the space I'm using, but we'll see!

More Fun With Paper

While Jedd was playing around with cocktail hour music this morning (classic tunes to fit the setting) I decided to work through a few of the email inspiration updates from Martha Stewart. The latest one was all about the art of the invitation suite -- of which I think I like the styles above the best.

I keep telling myself that we'll keep it simple with the invites. But I can't lie. Part of me wants to have them custom created. Maybe there is a way to do both.

***

In other news, I've come off the ledge and have regained my perspective on my dress. THE DRESS is still the dress. A close friend who knows me and my style really well said of the new contender: "you'll regret that hemline in 20 years" -- and you know what? She is totally right. While I want the dress to be fun I also want it to stand the test of time in pictures.

Traditional Mexican Paper Cutting

Loving special paper decor...especially since it's Mexican!

From Ay Mujer! on etsy.

Hand-Drawn Wedding Invitations

I spied this in a mood board on snippet & ink. Lovely hand-drawn invitations by an artist that I just might get in touch with.