Been a few years since I've even thought about this blog. But now that we have a grand new life event to share, it's being revived! We bought our first house back in August with my mother-in-law. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend will be living with us for a while, too. Unfortunately, I was not around for the first two months of home-ownership - I've been a state away, working on my Master's research. I'll start by giving a photo tour when I return in a week. We'll see how it goes from there!
Friday, September 19, 2014
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Our Inspiration!
Well, it's more like a collage than inspiration board, but here's something for you to look at. I'll list the links for most of them (in no particular order) down below the picture with a bit about them.
The dress is a photo of my Jim Hjelm inspired lace wedding dress. There will be an orange sash instead of the champagne color there.
I think that all the plants and things speak for themselves. They are decorations, inspiration for the color palette, and just fun things. We like the idea of using wheat, gourds, cattails, pine cones, and leaves throughout the place rather than having matchy-matchy things purchased from a florist.
The boutonniere is by the French Mouse on Etsy, and we loooove it.
That room with the Christmas tree lights in the rafters and the white round lanterns is actually the Lodge where we are having our reception at Camp Kiwanee. We will be married on the deck overlooking the lake, and then move inside for the food and dancing.
These rings are made out of recycled gold, by a company called GreenKarat. Extra bonus, Shaun's mother is donating some of her gold jewelery to use as store credit.
The plates are a particular type of disposable dinnerware by VerTerra that's made of just fallen leaves and water. So they're non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable. Plus, they just plain old look awesome :3
Let's see, what else is in there that needs explaining... I think the last thing is the invitation you can see on the bottom. These invitations by the InviteSite are also biodegradable, and embedded with Cosmo seeds. Shaun's head over heals for plant-able wedding invitations. Personally, I would like to design our own invitations (it would be less expensive AND guaranteed to suite us perfectly), but that would probably nix out the whole invitations -> flowers and/or herbs (planting the seeds of love!).
Lastly, the bouquet (Martha Stewart) is made mostly of herbs, and a lot of these things I can get right in my own yard. The Lambsear is a favorite plant of my mother; the rosemary, sage, and thyme are lovely kitchen spices that I already have (I'd also like to have a sprig or two of bay, if I can keep a tree alive. I heard those things are tough!); there are tons of little flowers like grape hyacinths and violets that sprout up in our back yard if I felt inclined, though I'm more likely to hit up the local farmers market for more yellow-orange-red hues than purple. I have to say I was already thinking of having an herbal bouquet, or probably just a poesy, but this is a nice picture that helps to illustrate how lush and fertile they are.
The dress is a photo of my Jim Hjelm inspired lace wedding dress. There will be an orange sash instead of the champagne color there.
I think that all the plants and things speak for themselves. They are decorations, inspiration for the color palette, and just fun things. We like the idea of using wheat, gourds, cattails, pine cones, and leaves throughout the place rather than having matchy-matchy things purchased from a florist.
The boutonniere is by the French Mouse on Etsy, and we loooove it.
That room with the Christmas tree lights in the rafters and the white round lanterns is actually the Lodge where we are having our reception at Camp Kiwanee. We will be married on the deck overlooking the lake, and then move inside for the food and dancing.
These rings are made out of recycled gold, by a company called GreenKarat. Extra bonus, Shaun's mother is donating some of her gold jewelery to use as store credit.
The plates are a particular type of disposable dinnerware by VerTerra that's made of just fallen leaves and water. So they're non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable. Plus, they just plain old look awesome :3
Let's see, what else is in there that needs explaining... I think the last thing is the invitation you can see on the bottom. These invitations by the InviteSite are also biodegradable, and embedded with Cosmo seeds. Shaun's head over heals for plant-able wedding invitations. Personally, I would like to design our own invitations (it would be less expensive AND guaranteed to suite us perfectly), but that would probably nix out the whole invitations -> flowers and/or herbs (planting the seeds of love!).
Lastly, the bouquet (Martha Stewart) is made mostly of herbs, and a lot of these things I can get right in my own yard. The Lambsear is a favorite plant of my mother; the rosemary, sage, and thyme are lovely kitchen spices that I already have (I'd also like to have a sprig or two of bay, if I can keep a tree alive. I heard those things are tough!); there are tons of little flowers like grape hyacinths and violets that sprout up in our back yard if I felt inclined, though I'm more likely to hit up the local farmers market for more yellow-orange-red hues than purple. I have to say I was already thinking of having an herbal bouquet, or probably just a poesy, but this is a nice picture that helps to illustrate how lush and fertile they are.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Food for thought
With the change in our venue, there was an instantaneous and very important change to the bulk of our wedding plans - namely that we would have a catered meal for the larger number of guests rather than a small potluck/picnic. I have to say, the ride was really a roller coaster in the hunt for a caterer. First off, I couldn't find very many nearby that had even a hint of green anywhere in their character - or if they did, it seemed to be some gimmick that they charged an arm and a leg for. Costs were also quite prohibitive, and quickly narrowed our selection down to about three or so.
From there, it was really, really simple. The first one never responded to our inquiry. The second was haughty, distant, and extremely rude. The third felt like kindred spirit. I am very happy to say that Smoke & Pickles will be bringing you the lunch on our wedding day! (Edit: I didn't realize this until later, but these guys are so good they've been featured in at least half a dozen publications. Including Martha Stewart, the Boston Globe, and Design Sponge). I had an amazing morning meeting with Dan - just talking about good food and homegrown meals, DIY projects, and generally relaxing with a gorgeous view of the Westport River with scattered storms. He took me to a lovely little diner for a delicious lunch (can't say I've ever had Kale and Barley soup before, but it made quite an impression!). We already have the menu down, and the best part is that at least half the dishes are from my own recipes. You can't get more of a cozy family dinner feel than you can with the same food you'd mow down in your own kitchen!
Next, included in the phenomenal price that he's offered us, I get to chat with an event planner that's included in the contract. Sadly, we will probably be doing this long-distance with my move to TX in just three weeks, but I certainly hope she can connect us with some good farms to find fruit, veggies, and flowers for the decorations I have in mind. I'm doodling out a bit of an 'inspiration board' that I've seen all around the Broke-Ass Bride blog, expect to see that in a mini post later on.
This will possibly be my only post before the big move, since my sister's wedding is in less than two weeks. Any exception will just be the pictures I've already mentioned. So excited, this whole shindig is finally becoming real, rather than just a wonderful daydream!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sharpen your blades, it's time to trim the guest list
((Before I begin, what do you think of the new background for the blog? Is it a keeper, or back to the original colors?))
The guest list was by far the most stressful aspect of wedding planning for me. I am in -love- with the charm of a small, intimate wedding with just family and a few close friends. However, both Shaun and I come from ginormous families, so that's really not possible. And with the cap of 100 people that Borderlands has, we really had to be ruthless (like, limiting-guests-to-only-a-particular-generation ruthless). But it's a gorgeous park, and with that huge ivy-covered mansion, we were in love! Even more so after Shaun finally made it up to Mass to see the place up-close (even if it was drizzling that day). The best method we've found is to try to tackle it in three sittings: the first, our absolutely must-haves; the second, our would-be-nice with a dash of obligatory I-invited-one-so-I-should-invite-them-all; and third, the people we thought it would be nice to have around, but not absolutely necessary.
However - we've had an epiphany. All that rustic, natural charm of a state park? Yes, we want it. No, we don't want to sacrifice having the folks that are dear to us. While wandering through the Park, we came up with the idea of having our reception at a campgrounds, since it would be so hard to have it there as we originally planned (no electricity, no real flat ground, and no place to go in case of rain). So, a brief internet search showed few options. I magically recalled a particular cabin-filled campsite that I visited often with Girl Scouts when I was young (yes, I know I'm dating myself here), and asked my mother about it. Oh Magical Google showed me Camp Kiwanee of Hanson, only 15 minutes from my house (rather than the 40 of Borderlands). They have a gorgeous Lodge that can accommodate 150-200 people - far more than we'll ever have on the list. You can also rent entire sets of their Cabins for a reduced rate. Weekend-long camping extravaganza, anyone? I'm thinking Oh Yes. And still far more eco-forward than your tradition church-then-rental-hall.
Two downsides, but they are quite minor in comparison to all the questions that are answered by this place: 1) it's more expensive than having the ceremony at Borderlands would be, and 2) with inviting all the folks that we would like to, we are obviously going to have to cater (which translates to 'more expensive'). But keeping the meal to brunch/lunch should help tame the budget as well.
Ohhh, Shaun and I are so excited, next post I'll come armed with photographs of the place! Though this does make the naming of this blog a tad odd - there's a gorgeous arbor in the rock garden at Borderlands, and we hoped to get some photos of us underneath it. Betcha didn't know that one, did you?
The guest list was by far the most stressful aspect of wedding planning for me. I am in -love- with the charm of a small, intimate wedding with just family and a few close friends. However, both Shaun and I come from ginormous families, so that's really not possible. And with the cap of 100 people that Borderlands has, we really had to be ruthless (like, limiting-guests-to-only-a-particular-generation ruthless). But it's a gorgeous park, and with that huge ivy-covered mansion, we were in love! Even more so after Shaun finally made it up to Mass to see the place up-close (even if it was drizzling that day). The best method we've found is to try to tackle it in three sittings: the first, our absolutely must-haves; the second, our would-be-nice with a dash of obligatory I-invited-one-so-I-should-invite-them-all; and third, the people we thought it would be nice to have around, but not absolutely necessary.
However - we've had an epiphany. All that rustic, natural charm of a state park? Yes, we want it. No, we don't want to sacrifice having the folks that are dear to us. While wandering through the Park, we came up with the idea of having our reception at a campgrounds, since it would be so hard to have it there as we originally planned (no electricity, no real flat ground, and no place to go in case of rain). So, a brief internet search showed few options. I magically recalled a particular cabin-filled campsite that I visited often with Girl Scouts when I was young (yes, I know I'm dating myself here), and asked my mother about it. Oh Magical Google showed me Camp Kiwanee of Hanson, only 15 minutes from my house (rather than the 40 of Borderlands). They have a gorgeous Lodge that can accommodate 150-200 people - far more than we'll ever have on the list. You can also rent entire sets of their Cabins for a reduced rate. Weekend-long camping extravaganza, anyone? I'm thinking Oh Yes. And still far more eco-forward than your tradition church-then-rental-hall.
Two downsides, but they are quite minor in comparison to all the questions that are answered by this place: 1) it's more expensive than having the ceremony at Borderlands would be, and 2) with inviting all the folks that we would like to, we are obviously going to have to cater (which translates to 'more expensive'). But keeping the meal to brunch/lunch should help tame the budget as well.
Ohhh, Shaun and I are so excited, next post I'll come armed with photographs of the place! Though this does make the naming of this blog a tad odd - there's a gorgeous arbor in the rock garden at Borderlands, and we hoped to get some photos of us underneath it. Betcha didn't know that one, did you?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Summer inspiration
This will be a short and sweet one, I promise, just a lot of pictures. I wanted to share all the fun things that I made for my sister's bridal shower at the end of last month. I made all that you see below myself - the candles, the wreath, I even made about half the food for it (thought I didn't take pictures of that =p ).
First up, the candles. I made 15 of these (those in front with the raffia), and had 15 that my sister's other bridesmaid gave me which were purchased ahead of time. This is what gave me the inspiration for rounding out the other half of the 30 required favors.
Those are real sand dollars that my aunt had already (she very kindly offered for us to have the shower at her house), and the starfish are also real little guys (who sure smelled it when we took them out of the packages!)
So, the containers are votive holders I found at AC Moore for about $0.80 a piece. I affixed the wicks to the bottom with just a dot of Elmer's glue. The sand was from Michael's (they had better colors there), which I just poured in layers (it also helps to keep the wick in place). Then I just placed one small pearl, a minitature starfish (also purchased from AC Moore), and mini sea shells on top of the sand. I forgot to take many WIP shots to share, sorry =( .
There were two special candles as well, one in a small footed glass for my aunt as thanks, and one in a wine glass for the bride. You can see the details much better in this one.
We also decorated all the tables with similar shells and starfish.
And, lastly, my gift to the bride was a hand-made wreath. All the shells were picked by hand: the blue and white large ones by me at Nantasket, and all others by my parents on their adventures through the years. Sorry, another cell phone picture.
And that's that! I won't bore you with step-by step instructions about the wax in the candles, or making the wreath. I just followed the instructions on the wax packaging, and just glued in shells and beads where I thought they looked nice on the wreath.
So, anyone else have any fun ideas about beach-themed extravaganzas?
First up, the candles. I made 15 of these (those in front with the raffia), and had 15 that my sister's other bridesmaid gave me which were purchased ahead of time. This is what gave me the inspiration for rounding out the other half of the 30 required favors.
Those are real sand dollars that my aunt had already (she very kindly offered for us to have the shower at her house), and the starfish are also real little guys (who sure smelled it when we took them out of the packages!)
So, the containers are votive holders I found at AC Moore for about $0.80 a piece. I affixed the wicks to the bottom with just a dot of Elmer's glue. The sand was from Michael's (they had better colors there), which I just poured in layers (it also helps to keep the wick in place). Then I just placed one small pearl, a minitature starfish (also purchased from AC Moore), and mini sea shells on top of the sand. I forgot to take many WIP shots to share, sorry =( .
There were two special candles as well, one in a small footed glass for my aunt as thanks, and one in a wine glass for the bride. You can see the details much better in this one.
We also decorated all the tables with similar shells and starfish.
And, lastly, my gift to the bride was a hand-made wreath. All the shells were picked by hand: the blue and white large ones by me at Nantasket, and all others by my parents on their adventures through the years. Sorry, another cell phone picture.
And that's that! I won't bore you with step-by step instructions about the wax in the candles, or making the wreath. I just followed the instructions on the wax packaging, and just glued in shells and beads where I thought they looked nice on the wreath.
So, anyone else have any fun ideas about beach-themed extravaganzas?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
And back from far, far and away...
So it has been over a month since I last posted, huh? You wouldn't believe how many things I wanted to write about, but never found the time to. Favors doubling as table decorations, size of the guest list, 'best' time of the year for a wedding, friends officiating vs. family pastor, making a website for our wedding - the list just goes on and on. And then there's all the fun little favors and decorations I made for my sister's wedding shower this past weekend that I'm itching to share with you all. I hardly know what to start with first.
I guess I'll just go chronologically. Favors. Or decorations, depending on your interpretation. We've been all over the map on this one. Originally it was making cookie-cutters out of metal craft strips in the shape of a maple leaf, attached to a card with our favorite cookie recipe(s). In fact, the idea was born from these:
.
Next, one of my friends showed me an article on terrarium centerpieces (which did double-duty in both decoration idea AND introducing me to Indie Bliss. A wonderful discovery, that). So that prompted a mad week or two of researching cheap containers and the best methods for making small terrariums. I figured that, working at a pet store that also offers live plants and terrarium products for the scaly kids, I could get all the other supplies I needed there. Somewhere along the way I discovered this PERFECT idea for making the whole thing even more green (as if living terrariums could be more eco-friendly, eh?). Recycled light bulbs. For the containers! Do see the beautiful examples at Re-nest. The first one you see is my favorite.
Perfect, right? Except, where to find about 50-60 burnt-out bulbs... Hm...
I do still love the terrarium idea, but then got to thinking: I wonder how many folks would really like these little guys as much as I do? I'd hate to see them go to waste, just sitting on some dark shelf until they get all moldy and stinky. Plus, that's a lot more work to put into our 'simple' wedding than we had been hoping for. Do love, love, love the idea, and if I had about 3 or 4 more of me I would probably pursue it whole-heartedly, but now I'm back to one of the first ideas I had and forgot about until I saw it in the beginning of my little scrap/note-book. Donations to a charity or non-profit organization. Specifically one like the Nature Conservancy, or the National Wildlife Federation. Simple, less expensive, and more pro-active. I mean, we might still do some little doo-dad if we find something fun and, well, not to sound like a cheapskate, but let's say 'efficiently frugal.' But let us not forget: beside being green about this affair, our goal is to NOT start our married life by digging ourselves into debt for the "biggest day of our lives."
So, can anyone think of any other charity or non-profit that we should consider for our donation?
I guess I'll just go chronologically. Favors. Or decorations, depending on your interpretation. We've been all over the map on this one. Originally it was making cookie-cutters out of metal craft strips in the shape of a maple leaf, attached to a card with our favorite cookie recipe(s). In fact, the idea was born from these:
. Next, one of my friends showed me an article on terrarium centerpieces (which did double-duty in both decoration idea AND introducing me to Indie Bliss. A wonderful discovery, that). So that prompted a mad week or two of researching cheap containers and the best methods for making small terrariums. I figured that, working at a pet store that also offers live plants and terrarium products for the scaly kids, I could get all the other supplies I needed there. Somewhere along the way I discovered this PERFECT idea for making the whole thing even more green (as if living terrariums could be more eco-friendly, eh?). Recycled light bulbs. For the containers! Do see the beautiful examples at Re-nest. The first one you see is my favorite.
Perfect, right? Except, where to find about 50-60 burnt-out bulbs... Hm...
I do still love the terrarium idea, but then got to thinking: I wonder how many folks would really like these little guys as much as I do? I'd hate to see them go to waste, just sitting on some dark shelf until they get all moldy and stinky. Plus, that's a lot more work to put into our 'simple' wedding than we had been hoping for. Do love, love, love the idea, and if I had about 3 or 4 more of me I would probably pursue it whole-heartedly, but now I'm back to one of the first ideas I had and forgot about until I saw it in the beginning of my little scrap/note-book. Donations to a charity or non-profit organization. Specifically one like the Nature Conservancy, or the National Wildlife Federation. Simple, less expensive, and more pro-active. I mean, we might still do some little doo-dad if we find something fun and, well, not to sound like a cheapskate, but let's say 'efficiently frugal.' But let us not forget: beside being green about this affair, our goal is to NOT start our married life by digging ourselves into debt for the "biggest day of our lives."
So, can anyone think of any other charity or non-profit that we should consider for our donation?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Past the days of ye olde letterpress
As promised, today's post is about invitations, and the myriad of choices that there are out there. The theme of our wedding is being green, so these are all more environmentally friendly than the traditional go-to-the-local-printing-business-and-pick-the-one-you-like-best. Anyone with sympathies in the conservationalist agendas needs to decide which they'd like to support with their investments: buying local or organic. In my mind, even though organic might mean paying more, and having a larger carbon-footprint from shipping, I feel as though purchasing from these places who are trying to make a difference voices my opinions a lot better. Shaun and I hope to offset a chunk of our wedding via Carbon Fund for all the shipping we'll probably require.
But I digress, now back to the topic. What I would imagine as being the simplest alternative to traditional invitations would be to chose ones made of recycled paper, or sustainably harvested materials. Just do a quick google search and you'll find oodles of shops catered specifically to these sorts of paper goods, or at least ones with a good selection thereof. Forever Fiances has a nice array of eco-friendly invites. Invite Site does as well, and here you also have the choice of assembling the invitations yourself (for the crafty and DIY-strong couples). Both of these two sites also offer plantable invitations, whereas Botanical Paperworks only has seedling invitations. The author of my favorite green-wedding blog, Jennifer Stambolsky, went and made her own line of invitations that are environmentally friendly and modern at Earthly Affair.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the invitations that are entirely digital. These are, in my opinion, the most environmental option. There are even a few sites that have some nice looking templates like My Invitation Link. Coupled with an online RSVP tool at Wufoo you're on your way to being the greenest bridal couple around. Though I love the thought of these, digital invitations are really informal, and I'd have to worry about offending guests who might think "oh, the couple doesn't care enough about me to send me a real invitation?" Then again, I'd have to wonder if I'd really want someone so uppity at my wedding... Either way, there's no invitation left for the sentimental to hold onto as keepsakes, unless you go and print yourself a static copy.
Then, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, you can design your own and print it off on whatever resources you have available at sites like Download & Print. There are resources for how to properly write out the working, and I find the rules at the Offbeat Bride to be quite fun and accurate! Then you can download your own fonts at places like TypeNow, Font Stock, or DaFont (of which Jellyka, Saint-Andrew's Queen Font and Scriptina were recommended at another blog, I can't recall which one, sorry!)
Lastly, who said invitations had to be paper products? Indie Bliss has a fun list of alternative materials, from wooden veneers to wallpaper. Go crazy nuts, so long as it reflects you and yours!
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