Handcrafted: The Cure For The Common Wedding

Happy Halloween!

Well, It's October 31st, Halloween. I'm not usually a big Halloween person. I don't like scary movies and I HATE walking through the store seeing all those overly creepy masks. However, I am a fan of candy and I love that they are all wrapped in pretty fall colors. I have also become fond of pumpkin carving. Tonight we will have about 125 trick or treaters come to our door for candy. After tonight it will officially not be weird to start Christmas shopping, which is much more fun, as far as I'm concerned. 

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Since tonight falls on a Friday there is probably a good number of costume weddings taking place, but I expect next year to be even bigger, since it will fall on a Saturday. If you are looking for something to wear to one of these, look no further than Etsy. They are having a costume contest which is sure to bring out the best ideas and designs.

I love the hats in the Creepsuela shop. You could get away with pairing one of these with a simple black dress and calling it a day.  They are smaller than actually hats and very dramatic. She can make them in just about any color and has a few patterned pieces as well.

Skip to my Lulu

I was in the mood for a little eye candy, and Lulu Paper was more than happy to supply it.

I just love the muted colors here. They are so feminine and elegant.

As you can tell from the image above, this shop covers every area. Not only are there invitations, but also menus, place cards, favor tags, and thank you cards all made to coordinate without being too matchy matchy.

Bright Light

Is it really Thursday already? I have had my parents visiting and it has all flown by too quickly. Well, maybe not the part where my father decided to watch a documentary on how paint brushes are made, but then Myth Busters came on and everyone was happy again. I am now predicting that at some point in the future my mother will read this, call me, and ask why I would choose to share this moment. I'll chalk it up to a weird mood and a late night.

On to the actual post :) These candle wraps from the etsy Damask Diva, are cute and affordable. It's a great way to add a little color and pattern to a simple candle. These would work well with some of the glass holders they have for bulk purchase through Dollar Tree. They are 2"x7" so make sure you measure before you buy.  I get teased, but I carry a tiny tape measure in my purse for just such a thing.

Punkin'

If you are from the south then you are probably fimilar with the gord known as the punkin. If you live anywhere else then you probably know it as a pumkin. I love pumpkins. It may be the bright orange color. I've always loved orange. I was never much os a pink girl. The greatest thing about pumpkins is that they are affordable. Downright cheap even. If I were planning a fall wedding, I'd have pumpkins everwhere.

If you don't mind last minute projects, you could carve pretty numbers into them to use as centerpieces and table numbers. Or something more themed. Try this site for free patterns. If orange isn't your thing, for a little more money you can go for the white ones. I found this idea on Home Decor Village.

Last year, with all of the carving kits, I found a cute star cutter. It looked like a cookie cutter except it was deeper and made just for pumpkins. I couldn't help myslef. I had to try it. It quickly turned a normal pumpkin into a pretty luminary with lots of stars.

Slide Next to Me

I was in the studio of the photographer I work for, and they had something new to show me. They are great about showing me great wedding photographer (as long as they aren't competition :). Ridout Photography has taken the idea of a proof slidshow and added another level to it.

This is a YouTube posting that gives a sample of his work. It was posted by the company that makes the editing software. The full shows on his site are much better, but I couldn't post those. To get to them go to Ridout Photography, enter the site, click on weddings and then slideshows. I think, the higher the number, the more recent the wedding.

These take a lot of work and time to make, and a very good production staff. These would be great for brides skipping the vidoegrapher. Actually, in many ways these are better because they can start with your engagment session and cover things that a videograpgher wouldn't. I'm excited to give this a try. I'll have to use my television production training, what I know about photography production, and draw on my wedding knowledge all at the same time. It's my new challenge. Now I just need the time.

Bad Blogger

You may have noticed that since my birthday last week my posting has been a bit lax. I'm sorry. I got a book for my birthday and I just couldn't put it down. I picked it up thinking I'd read a chapter or two and then write my posts, but it sucked me in. I am now emerging from my book coma to find my house messy, my email unchecked, and my family feeling a bit neglected. Hopefully, now that I am done with twilight I will be a better blogger. That is until I break down and get new moon.

Update: I read New Moon and what there is of Midnight Sun.  I am officially hooked.

Just finished Eclipse - SO good. I may have to pick up Breaking Dawn. Nov. 21st can not come soon enough :)

More Taste, Less Pretty

A friend of mine was married a couple of weeks ago (congratulations Amanda and Brian!). I really wish I could have made it back home for it, but my mother has been nice enough to give me a full account of what I missed.  One thing that stood out to me as something I should share was the cake, or more accurately the cakes. Instead of the traditional tiered, fondant/butter cream tower they opted for more of a cake buffet. Amanda had Dumplin's ( a local shop) bake a red velvet, a strawberry, and carrot cake. It was a huge hit. My mom and grandmother are still talking about how good the cake was.

This is a great idea for second time brides, or less formal weddings. Also, if you are having more of a shabby/chic reception, this might fit in better than one large cake.

Yesterday I decided to try out a fairly new bakery in the town I live in, The Laughing Elephant. It was amazing. Good old fashion southern cakes and pies, but they don't do fancy. To quote their menu, "If you are just in it for the looks and not for the relationship" they are not the place for you. However, if you are looking for more of a cake buffet spread, this would be the perfect place. You could even get one of the mini cakes to place your topper on and freeze for your first anniversary. The other benefit is flavors you wouldn't get in a traditional wedding cake. Sure you might someone to make carrot cake for you, but what about Elvis cake? A wedding cake baker might kick you out of the shop just for asking.   

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tomorrow is my birthday and today is Columbus Day, so I am taking advantage and slacking off.

Before I slack off I have an idea for you. I've seen it repeatedly this weekend in various places (the idea is practically stalking me) Salt and pepper shakers as cake toppers. I can't find any cute ones that fit into the whole handcrafted theme. There are, however, a lot of odd ones out there. I think my favorite so far has been the elephants, but they didn't really say "wedding"

One of the places I saw this idea was in a movie. The Mr. and I saw Fireproof this weekend. It was great, especially considering there was only 1 professional actor in the whole thing (Kirk Cameron).  If you go take a tissue for yourself and an extra for your man. I saw my husband's "allergies" acting up a couple of times during this one.

Reserved for Greatness

When I post an Indie Star I like to go with whatever caught my eye first. The only problem is that the thing that caught my eye this time is already reserved. I decided to go ahead and run with it because I am assuming that since they made one, another similar item can be made in the future.  Besides, this silk velvet bolero was too fabulous not to have a picture of. The shop is Bonzie and it has several bridal jacket/ bolero/ wrap type things. These are great for brides wanting a little extra cover and a lot of extra style.

Drop This

I love drop earrings. I spent a good bit of my youth avoiding earrings that dangled, but now that I have grown into my long neck, I am making up for lost time starting with May Yeung.

These are great for brides looking for a dramatic drop. There is also a much shorter version that would work great for bridesmaids. In fact there is a complete set of complimenting pieces in every pearl color.

 

The bridal collection is no doubt fabulous, but I am really loving the Liz and Joanne collections for brides as well. The Joanne is chunkier - that is if you can ever call an elegant pearl necklace chunky, but you'll see what I mean. The Liz has coin shaped pearls which adds some great shape.