Venue Dilemma

I've realized that as much as I would love to get married at my parent's place, it might be exactly the opposite of what we want. We want a completely casual wedding with more of an emphasis on us starting a life together than the usual stuffy pomp and circumstance of most weddings. It needs to be a celebration of us, not a huge show that we put on for the 897345 guests that show up for free food.

If we continue with the wedding in Lonedell we'll run into these problems: an inevitably inflated guest list, a wedding at the whim of Mother Nature, an inability to set up the location the night before, having to clean up after my own wedding, hidden costs like renting bathrooms, a hefty tent rental, renting everything from plates to chairs to tables to... well... literally everything.

That doesn't sound particularly enjoyable.

So the only other option we can think of would be to have the wedding here, in Columbia.

Surely we could have the wedding in between Lonedell and St. Charles, but honestly: Who wants to deal with planning a wedding around two hours away from where you live? (I mean an un-destination wedding, I guess. Mid-West MO isn't quite as exotic)

Now, this seems like the perfect choice. We met in Columbia. We go to school here, we've made a life here. Together. And while getting married at my parent's house would mean a lot to me, getting married in our town would mean a lot to us. I'm now trying to see if it would be at all possible to actually get married on campus. It seems like a long shot but who the hell wouldn't want to get married here?

I Need to Leave 2000dollarwedding Alone!

Again, wandering through 2000dollarwedding and I find this little gem. This last line is so perfect for us and the journey we are about to take. Now I just need to find out a way to use it!

{kiss the paper via 2000dollarwedding}

Snerk

I've been painfully combing through Google in search of a fun, creative way to word the invitations. You know, in lieu of the traditional "Mr and Mr blah blah present Ms. blah blah blah blah..." In any case, this search has not exactly been fruitful, but I have stumbled upon this idea for the Response Card:

__ Gladly attend
__ Regretfully decline
__ Regretfully attend
__ Enthusiastically decline
__ Will decline to respond but ultimately attend
__ Think you are just trying to wrest a gift out of me
__ Other__________________________

{2000dollarwedding}

Martha Stewart Style!

A quick jet around the web yielded a nice result. If I have the time, I should just make the poms myself. Here are the directions as dictated by Martha Stewart Weddings:

What You'll Need:
You'll need tissue paper and 24-gauge white cloth-covered floral wire.

What to Do:
1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.

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

4. Tie a length of monofilament to floral wire for hanging.

Heat Wave

In wake of the current sweltering going on, we might want to look into some of these:

Uhm, Rings!?

Etsy has clearly became my favorite website of all:



Dude, this set is $ 90. Holy crap. It's the Simple Sterling Band with a Soft Satin Matte from Lunasa Designs Jewelry.

The Dress!

I don't have a problem showing this off, because I'm going to do a few other things to it. Sooo, here's the dress:



I plan on adding a yellow sash around the waist. Still, how wonderfully perfect! This picture is from Charmbrides, but I can get it cheaper at Light In The Box.

Something A Little Interesting

So here's an idea: To go with the casual motif, how about forgoing the suit jacket (that costs a small fortune and will probably spend most of its time adorning the back of chair) for this look.

This, of course, may or may not be flattering on Derek. Only time can tell! Either way, its wonderfully mod.

{cameron ingalls via 100 layer cake}

Party Poms

If we're having a tent, we're gonna have to dress it up some how. And why not with these!?

{party poms via etsy}

Ceremony Decor

I've been struggling for an idea that I really like for the ceremony. This flower/sash dealio could work with our flowers:

{heather kincaid via brenda's wedding blog}

Lemonade Stand

Running with the "Summer Theme" idea, as well as the welcome bag idea, we could pass them out at a lemonade stand!

{jk photography via brenda's wedding blog}

Containers should be more like this, visual-wise:

How's About Some Food?: Barbeque and Soda Bar

We've come to a decision with the food: Barbeque! Considering that our theme is basically summer, barbeque is the perfect choice. Not to mention that I'm sure we could work something out with family members who rock at barbequing. We'll have to figure out a nice way to put together the buffet table, but other than that I'm pretty much in love with the idea.

So on to the drinks: We have decided to have a dry wedding. I know, I know. We're terrible. But we have decided we want to have a nifty little old fashioned soda bar.


I mean, how cool!? Jones Sodas are customizable and come in a variety of flavors, but if that proves to be too expensive this Old 52 place seems rather cheap. Perhaps instead of just setting the sodas out on a table we could see about getting some big old woven baskets. Line the the inside with a trash bag (double line, probably), fill with ice and presto! Instant cooler! One per flavor, perhaps?

{soda bar idea via project wedding}

I lied:

This is definitely the kind of Alt-Calligraphy I want to accomplish.

{niethersnow via 100 layer cake}

Mmm, Handiness...

It's not exactly what I want, but this here is a handy dandy little tutorial on how to throw together a boutonniere. Ours will probably be variations of the yellow Calla Lillies, the Tiger Lillies and the Jasmine.

{the inspired bride}

Another Reception Possibility

I completely forgot about the Meramac Lakes Golf Course. I don't know if they do events at all but it doesn't hurt to look into it!

EDIT :: Nix that, they do not actually do events. But a new idea courtesy of Mom, find a venue half way between Lonedell and St. Charles. The Ramada Inn in Eureka is right next to Six Flags...

Centerpieces!

So, how neat it is this? And I think it's perfectly doable with yellow Calla Lilies. Simple and clean. But all of this will depend on if we end up with round or long tables...

{modern girl's wedding via project wedding}

Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture!

Remember those clunky old Polaroid cameras? Well, here's a guest book idea: Instead of boring old signatures, we'll have a Polaroid camera next to a big photo album. Guests can take pictures of themselves and put them in the album. Now if we can find a working Polaroid... and film...

And here's another tip that I found: Instead of spending money on a calligrapher or risking an unsteady hand, print the addresses and such with a handwriting-style font on the invitations with a light colored ink. Then go over the print with the opaque ink. It's concise but it still has that handwritten feel.

{calligraphy idea via project wedding}

Slight Descion on the Favors

Okay, so as adorable as the Cupcake Jars are, I think this is more suited for our wedding (and the fact that Derek's slightly obsessed with them). So we'll have a candy bar, heavy on the Jelly Bellies (citrus flavors and coconut). Also, we can make some personalized bags for people to make their own concoctions. I just knocked out the hor d'oeuvres and the favors in one fell swoop... BAM!

I guess I'll just have to use the Cupcake Jars some other time...

{jelly belly}

A Sweet Favor Idea

Okay, how freakin' cute is this!? I think this would be a pretty good favor idea, but I don't think that cupcakes are categorically summer. Are they?

{cakies via elizabeth anne designs}

THE TIE HAS BEEN FOUND!

WOOOHOOOOO!


Now I just have to find some coral ones...

{the tie bar}

A Centerpiece Idea?

This is interesting, I think. Since technically we're going for lemon yellow and coral, it's a little citrus-y. So, what if instead of leaves we use Tiger Lilies and lemons? Food for thought.

{project wedding}

For Future Reference...

Just stumbled upon a master list of low priced goods. Not sure how it can used but it will be nice to have it here instead of my over-stuffed bookmark tab.

{the inspired bride}