#189: destination wedding.

i feel like...
for the type of wedding i want to have...
the only way i could achieve it...
is to have a destination wedding.

i want...
just a few close friends...
and a few close family members...
by my side when i say i do.

but would it be selfish...
to leave out those who'd want to be there...
and defy all that is my mom's wish...
to make sure that i'm completely surrounded.

hm.
perhaps i should wait...
until i'm engaged...
to even start thinking about this.

blah.
who am i kidding...
i will keep thinking about it...
while i eat my chocolate.

#188: the craigslist way.

my size, $50. price negotiable. wow.

#187: thanks j.lo!

from dmitriy pavlov.

(as for the title of the post, you KNOW she had at least a little something to do with the great big gold comeback.)

how's that fantastically carved gold piece for a wedding band? i'm more and more inclined to mr. t it and wear my bling on the left and a separate wedding band on the right. after all, we do have two ring fingers...

#186: so pretty.

found broadway paper on the scoop.

for invites, menus, programs...

#185: carts carts carts.

push cart parties has all of these. the most appealing to me are the hot dog and pretzel (snacks to feed your dancing!) and ice cream carts (to cool you off while you're dancing!...er, see a theme here?). great favor replacement.

Beer Pushcart
Beverage Pushcart
Candy Cart
Chestnut Pushcart
Chicken Pushcart
Chinese Food Pushcart
Coffee & Tea Pushcart
Cold "Specialty" Pushcart
Cotton Candy Pushcart
Hot Dog Pushcart
Hot "Specialty" Pushcart
Ice Cream Pushcart
Italian Ice Pushcart
Mexican Food Pushcart
Nacho Pushcart
NY Egg Cream Pushcart
Peanut Pushcart
Popcorn Pushcart
Pretzel Pushcart
Soda Pop Pushcart
Sno Cone Pushcart
Frozen Drink Machine

#184: brilliant ideas.

from brides.

the ones that tingle my interest:

Honor loved ones by displaying wedding photos of important couples in your life. For an antique feel, place them in vintage-looking frames.

Unusual vessels, such as conch shells, wooden boxes or silver chalices, bring a fresh twist to tables.

Think beyond paper. Consider having your invitations printed on squares of colored glass, ceramic tile or pretty fabric.

In lieu of a traditional guest book, pick out a pretty planner or date book and ask guests to sign on their birthday page. You'll learn who among your friends and family shares a special day—and have a future record too!

Give a casual rehearsal dinner some spunk by renting a pushcart or two to dispense nachos, peanuts, hot dogs, beer, egg rolls...pushcartparties.com. (DUDE! what about for the reception? get ready for post #186!)

Nothing breaks the air of formality (the bad kind) like a butlered tray of mini pigs-in-a-blanket, teeny cheeseburgers or shot glasses filled with mac and cheese.

If you're not a sweets lovers, think about replacing the traditional wedding cake with several wheels of cheese piled atop one another; you can use a cake knife to make the ceremonial first slice.

#183: bridesmaids dresses.

goodness, that 2nd dress in shantung is pretty ravishing with a ruched sweetheart neckline. ranging from $250-$500 at jenny yoo. in ivory or really really really light champagne, tasteful enough for a bride, don't you think?

oh, and mrs. bee also found a fantastic site for bm dresses. but how about for the bride? $290 for floor length. and...with this option, you have a built-in reception dress. check out two birds bridesmaid. your various change options are limitless.

#182: vane.

brooklyn bride

what a freaking great idea for seating cards. sorted by last name. and...i wouldn't dare print on the cards. i'd just write write write. and write.

by the way, the wedding i went to last weekend didn't have place cards. for a sit-down dinner. it's not that the bride and groom didn't have a wedding planner who was supposed to set up the cards before the guests entered the reception after cocktail hour. it's because the groom's uncle thought it'd be too hectic and difficult to arrange the cards in order. so he refused to let the helpless wedding planner do it. and the bride and groom weren't around to protest. yikes. needless to say, it was chaotic. almost as bad as britfed's chaotic. first thing bf whispers to me after we wrestled down a table for our group of friends: "...i don't care how much it costs. i definitely want a wedding planner who will get it done..."

fine by me! heh...

#181: a little bit of sparkly.

from wedding things.

$1.75 for 5 of these. if you KNOW you're going to have responsible guests, how fantastic would these be? i've personally been coveting them ever since seeing them featured on various wedding sites. now i know where i could get 'em...on the cheap!

#180: the first time.

i finally did it. i mean, it's a day we all look forward to. and last night, it was so special.

i busted out my brand spankin' new PG5 and made 'missing you' cards.

plodding through all the instructions step-by-step and figuring out how to work it in the first place was the biggest biotch. but after finally getting to the inking stage and stamping my first test card, i was like, this is so freaking amazing!

unfortunately, i only had 5 blank cards to stamp. but i decided early on that it was worth the sacrifice of 2 bulbs and a print screen to just teach myself. and though my design wasn't schmancy enough to look like anything more than just clean marker drawings, yes, it was still worth it.

but now i have two questions.

1) can you reuse bulbs?
2) i followed all the steps to clean the print screen but there's still alotta ink on it. i thought i was supposed to be able to use those again.

time to order more colored inks and supplies!

p.s. lesson learned: do not stare at the machine like it's going to give you money when you press it to flash. i was blind for a good 3 minutes.

#179: a tight bunch.

light pink candy
for the bride.


dark pink
for the maids.

(thanks chill for sharing the site. i love their prices!)

#178: jugs.

from container & packaging

ok listen. that previous post got me thinking. as well as miss daffodil's take on libations. love that word...libation.

i want my wedding to be, above all, FUN. and to me, fun starts and ends with good food. and with good food, comes good drink. so basically, i want everyone to eat and drink their hearts out.

i've often discussed creating a food centerpiece in lieu of a floral get up. but hot diggity. those jars are $1.68 each. and if i want everyone to be toasty come midnight-ish, filling them with some tantalizing juicy could only help. right?

so what would i put in them? a quick google search brought me to a site offering vodka infused recipes. the names for some of these are pretty tantalizing themselves. like 'santorini collins' and 'cranberry spice'. table names perhaps? hm...

#177: drink up. not all the way up. but a little bit up.

from becks & posh

i think liquid confidence would be nice right before the introduction of the bridal party. notice i didn't say 'drunken retardness'. but how about a homemade pear-infused brandy (pictured above) or a special sangria to give a little boost to the peeps who really helped make your day phenomenal?

#176: fabric ideas.

joann's fabrics

i'm showing you purple (imagine pairing this underlay of sorts with yellow ware like tinted vases with floating candles or a cupcake stand with yellow cakes or wine/vintage bottles with random yellow flowers) but black lace could also create a very mod vibe.

$5.59 sale price. and with a name like 'casa lace', it's all the more lovely. it's 58" wide. using very rough guesstimation, i'd need 36" squares per round table. so i'd purchase 10 yards. the extra fabric? i'd spiff up very simple invites, wrap favors, decorate menus, pretty up homemade BM bouquets.

#175: my faves.

so mrs. bee of weddingbee fame is recruiting fellow bloggers and posting their faves. as you all know, i'm not a wedding world veteran. my #1 priority is to dig up fantasmic DIY's and cheap, i mean economical gizmos. i'm not even close to being in the position to submit a list (videographer? don't know any because i could never hire one...)...but i think it'd be a kick to think about what i'd say if i thought about things this very moment. get it?

favorite sites/blogs for inspiration: all of my 'just can't get enough's.
favorite planning resources (books, magazines, websites): ditto above. haven't ventured to books and magazines yet!
favorite wedding dress designer: if i had the money, i'd get a claire pettibone. freaking a.
favorite bm dress designer: me! no, i don't design, but it'd be cool to make my maids' dresses.
favorite floral designer/floral inspiration: i don't mean to be a debbie downer but i've had to adopt the following. that a bouquet is a bouquet. is a bouquet. because flowers are definitely a wedding's best friend...but not when you're on a budget. i'll have to think outside the box to fulfill this fantasy!
favorite cake designer: i just want a simple white cake with strawberries. design/no design...i don't care. see what i mean about not being able to submit this thing? it's like blasphemy...
favorite photographer/blog: jessica claire...hands down.
favorite videographer: hm. don't know anyone.
favorite place to shop for shoes/shoe designer: for weddings? no idea. but the most fabulous pair of shoes i own are vera wang copper strap heels.
favorite places to buy fun supplies: costco?
favorite place to shop for wedding and/or wedding party gifts: haven't given this much thought yet. but i do love jewelry...and giving it...

yeah. i definitely fall short on knowing vendors and designers. but that's ok. i rely heavily on those who DO know...for inspiration!

#174: easy turbo.

miss anonymous on my previous post, sorry if you misunderstood. i mean, was it not clear that i was showcasing a wedding dress?? if it wasn't, my bad. but i just meant that i came across it and thought i'd share it with ya'll as yet another economical wedding dress option. yikes, i wouldn't wear white...and even less so, a wedding dress to uh, someone else's wedding.

that said, i went shopping today and found this dress. a nanette lepore for under two-hundy. it's the chosen one. *sigh* i love sales.



what do you think?

#173: lucky 100.

i'm going to a wedding next weekend and, likely story, i don't have a dress to wear. so i figured i'd start an online search. i began with the usual suspects...anthro, urban, macys (they're having a huge sale!)...no luck. i just clicked onto nordie's and guess what popped up on my screen.

this monique knockoff. at $100...definitely can't hate it. and for a casual affair, it'd be so very...fetch.




nordstrom's

#172: hypericum.

100 stems for $159 over at costco. your local flower mart would probably have it for even less.

#171: candelabra.

i was inspired by this tablescape...


from social couture

and the more i thought about it, the more appealing was the idea of having a candelabra centerpiece! the centerpiece shouldn't hinder your view of guests around the table...but at a table of 10, would you really be talking to the person directly across from you? just in case you're ok with the idea of not...ikea to the rescue with a budget friendly alternative to the $50 black candelabra above.


ikea 12.99

and if you're set on black, there's always spray paint!

#170: the results!

from the survey:

how would you feel if you attended a wedding and a pie propped on a cakestand was the centerpiece?

where the eff are the flowers? 7.1%
ew, this is germy. 14.3%
can't wait for dessert! 71.4%
they really love food, this makes sense... 7.1%

thanks for the votage! :)

#169: not just for ketchup.

what a bounty of color.

check out faye and greer's post with tomatoes as centerpieces!

they had me at "...$1.29".

#168: sticks and stones.

from perfect bound

#167: waitress.

have you seen that movie with keri russell? it's an indie film that's kind of sort of about pie. and surprisingly, i really enjoyed it. actually, i really like any movie that centers around food. actually, i like anything that involves or revolves around food...

it occured to me that i could make my favorite pie in all the world...marie callender's cream cheese pie...double duty it as a centerpiece and dessert. as described on their site: "If you’re a lover of cheesecake, this pie is for you. A melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese filling in a graham cracker crust, with a pure sour cream topping." all for $10. yummy, right?

so what i'd do is get a bunch of different cakestands and set a pie on each one to place in the center of each round table. ideally, i'd want a glass cover or a cylinder hurricane to keep dust away...but if there's no room in the budget, just a funky cakestand with a pie would suffice.


i mean, if you're going to bite into heaven, would you mind that it's been sitting out of the box for 1 hour?

***exciting! time for my first poll! thanks to reader heather who so endearingly hooked me up!!!***

Click Here to take survey

p.s. how do i get the actual survey onto my post instead of "click here"? i'm using survey monkey. and i'm a computer monkey. i can't help it.

#166: something pretty.

miss caramel's ring.
it's pretty, classical, romantic, mysterious, all at the same time.

but then i saw this today. and it took me THERE. made me want to say 5 curse words in a row...in a good way.

from a history of architecture