My Sister's Vineyard Wedding- the cereemony

Sorry I've been MIA lately, my little sister, Olivia, tied the knot last weekend, so I've been in recovery mode since we got back!  I thought I'd do small recaps, so I could point out the details.  We'll start with the ceremony!

Olivia and Jamie were married at Grassy Creek Vineyard and Winery in State Road, NC. One of the great things about the property is that when you rent it, you get it for the whole weekend.  We were able to have the rehearsal dinner on site and have lodging for the wedding party.

Shepard's hooks with white ribbons led the path from the parking to the ceremony site.  Then smaller Shepard's hooks with mason jars hanging down lined the path the wedding party walked into the ceremony.  The ceremony site was beautiful, on a grassy spot overlooking the lake. 

My sister and dad on their walk to the aisle- beautiful, right?

 The bridesmaids wore a beautiful royal blue and carried yellow garden roses and blue hydrangeas.  The same flowers covered the white metal arch at the alter.

 The groom is in the military, as are many of the groomsmen, so those men wore their dress uniforms, while the others, including my husband, had black tuxes and blue vests/ties. 

 The ceremony was pretty traditional, but there were a few things that made it extra special!  One was that the groom's aunt, an ordained minister, presided over the ceremony.  I think having a special, personal relationship with your minister makes the ceremony so much more meaningful.  Another special part was the song "I will be Here" (Steven Curtis Chapman) sung by a family friend.  It was beautiful and really touched everyone there.  The ceremony was truly beautiful and conveyed the love these two shared.  I'm just so happy and blessed I was able to stand up and be a part of it.  More tomorrow...

-Jordan-

MIA

Hey guys,

Sorry I've been so MIA... apparently this whole "throwing a wedding thing" is a little more exhausting than I thought.. go figure.  Add in traveling, time zone change, and staying up before to get ready to leave, and you're left with two very tired people! I'm on the mend, though, and I'm hoping to have a post up tonight to recap some of the wedding stuff.. have a feeling there may be more than 1 wedding post to come...

Hope you're all doing well!  Be back soon!

Top 2- Royal Wedding

Since this IS a wedding blog, it would be awful of me to neglect the Royal Wedding of Price William to Kate Middleton... that said, last week when it actually happened, I was swamped with work, and I now think it's really been done.  Therefore, I'll just leave you with my Top 2 pieces of the wedding shindig:

#1- The STUNNING Bride.  While some were a little disappointed (and I, myself, was surprised) that Kate's dress was not more trendy/modern, but I love a classic, timeless look.  I think she nailed it, head to toe!  (For the record, Pippa looked amazing, as well, in my opinion)

#2 For me was the love you could just feel between the two of them.  The stolen glances during the wedding really showed how strong their feelings were for one another.  Neither of them looked remotely nervous about marrying the other.  It's nice to sense the love, even when all you're doing is watching their wedding on TV a million miles away!

Best wishes to William and Kate! 

A Few Foodie Favorites

There are lots of great new food trends for weddings (and the surrounding events), and a few I don't so much care for.. but here are a few of my favorites...

Tapas- these tasty bite size appetizers encourage your guests to get up and mingle (to keep cohesion, try keeping it all in one theme)

Shot glass/ Martini glass Treats- use these many glasses to make treats perfect for an individual serving (and of course, up the cute factor!)

Individual Wedding cakes- this trend could get pretty pricey, but instead of one big wedding cake, have a small cake at each table at the reception, each with a different flavor!  I love these.. the white really ties them all together!

Nitrogen Bars- Okay, this one's a little out of the box, but so cool!  You can use liquid nitrogen to serve up ice cream to your guests!  Talk about presentation, huh?  (And who doesn't love a good ice cream, especially during prime wedding season- summer!)

Savory Cupcakes- To branch off of the cupcake trend, the new idea is to serve appetizer and entree items in cupcake form!  What a genius way to make an easy individual serving?!

(photos and trends courtesy of The Knot)

What's your favorite food trend (either from here or otherwise)?

-Jordan-

Dress of the Future

I often think back  to my beloved wedding dress and wonder what I would choose if I were to get married again now, 3 years later.  

 (it's a little hard to see, but basically my dress was fitted through the waist and then a full box-pleated skirt with some beading at the waist and the same along the bottom)

While I loved my dress, and wouldn't have changed it, the styles are different now, so it's fun to imagine what my dress of the future (aka now) would be... take a look at  a few I loved (a few of many).

 Maggie Sottero

Vineyard Collection

 Priscilla of Boston

 Lazaro

Impression Bridal

Ella Bridals

(all images were found at theknot.com)

Just for the sake of imagination, I didn't think about price range or availability... we're just dreaming here!

-Jordan-

Love and Marriage

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Once in awhile,
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.

 ~ Anonymous ~

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I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.
~Author Unknown

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There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.  ~Martin Luther

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A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.  ~Mignon McLaughlin

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Love and Marriage

-Jordan-

Cocktail Hour

Cocktail hours, that infamous period of time between the wedding and reception when the wedding party is off taking pictures.   This time can be so important because it's where guests first get a hint of what the reception will be like, but it's also a time when good weddings can go bad if not done right.  Typically, Cocktail Hours include light food/ appetizers and some kind of drink.  From there, it varies from just mingling to photo booths, to outdoor games.  

Often, what you do or don't do during your Cocktail Hour depends on the vibe of your wedding and your group of guests.  If everyone is a tight knit group, they may just enjoy mingling, however, if you'd like everyone to get to know each other, an activity like a yard game or photobooth might help break the ice.  Food is usually kept light, just enough to keep everyone happy until the main attraction, while a signature drink is a great, fun way to "say" a little something about the happy couple and keep to  it simple!

What was your cocktail hour like?  Or, what was the best cocktail hour you've attended?

-Jordan-

Sex in the City Bachelorette

This weekend, I helped throw a Sex in the City themed Bachelorette party for a friend of mine.  The party took place in the "Little Apple", Manhattan, KS, where I went to college.  In the spirit of our love of Sex in the City, we decided to take that on as our theme.  The party took place in a hotel, which we decorated with a skyline mural, a Sex in the City canvas painting, and lots of pink!

Our Bar and the Character Drink Menu (Marcella being the Bachelorette)

The Snack Table (with only a few slightly inappropriate items.. it was a bachelorette party after all)

 The pink carnations and post it note were taken from an episode of the show (if you're a fan, it's the one where Burger breaks up on a post it).

The NYC skyline was made by one of the bridesmaids.  She did a great job and put pictures of her friends and fiance in the windows of the buildings.  The red balloons are also from the show.

Bachelorette get-up complete with a light-up sash, light up shot ring, badge, and tiara.

Some lingere gifts for the honeymoon

Dinner out at one of our favorite spots

A few funny games

Including Suck for a Buck... The Bride to be was given a lolly-pop bouquet and had guys pay $1 for one.. which they had to remove from the bouquet with their teeth.   :)

And then we danced the night away!

Wedding Wednesday- Planner/Coordinator or Not?

One of the reasons for starting this blog was because I coordinate weddings every now and then on the side.  I love it- it's what I wish I did all the time!  Thus far, I've just randomly picked up a wedding here and there.  I've done a few DIY projects for one bride and did set up and the day of coordination for the reception.  This summer, I'll be doing another wedding (both ceremony and reception).  Because of all this, I wanted to stay in the loop on what's popular, and up and coming in the wedding/party planning world. 

My question for you all is did/would you have a Wedding Planner?  Maybe just a Coordinator?  Or did you do it all yourself?

For me, I loved doing our planning ourselves, but I felt like I definitely needed a Coordinator to "run the show" and let me enjoy my wedding.  I know others enjoy putting the whole wedding in someone else's hands.

If you choose to have a planner or coordinator, what did/do you look for in your planner? 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and helping this kind of/want to be planner!

My Life Monday- Budget Centerpieces

This past weekend, I've been helping my mom come up with some great centerpieces for my sister's outdoor vineyard wedding.  We had a few specific details we wanted to include and a few things to keep in mind.

1.  We needed to be budget conscious and use as much of what we had as possible.

2.  We wanted to be in keeping with my sister's style and ideas for the weddings (although she's a pretty hands off bride) and make it "her own".

3.  We needed to stick with the color scheme already established (blue/yellow/accents of gray).

4.  They needed to keep proportions with the tables already picked out.

These are the items we had to work with (previously used at my wedding):

(sorry, couldn't find a picture of ours on the computer, but you get the picture)

We started out by trying to use both of these vases, alternating per table, but it was tough to do so and make it unique for Liv (my sister).  It was also getting pretty expensive to try to fill the vases (long story, but I originally bought them to use as more of a hurricane vase instead of to actually fill with flowers at our wedding).  Anyway, after lots of thinking and scouring my brain of all the ideas I've seen done by all the clever bloggers out there, I pitched the faux milk glass idea to my mom.

Basically, we're going to thrift for vases about the same size but clear and hopefully with some "texture" and spray paint them white to look like antique milk glass. 

I think this will perfectly compliment their garden/vineyard wedding.  To go inside, we've decided to order bulk garden roses (more than likely) in yellow and blue hydrangea.  Originally, we were trying to avoid hydrangea since I had them and we were using the same vases, but now, they're back in play (for a beautiful and bulky flower).  I think it will be beautiful.  We're still going to use the tall vases (planning to try spray painting them too.  In them will be curly willow branches and a few of the same flowers at the opening.

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We're going to plan to use the larger vases used at my wedding elsewhere.

So, what do you think?  Can you picture the centerpieces?  Hopefully all comes together according to our plans.  Did you do any great, budget-friendly centerpieces?  Or did you/ will you go all out?

Trendy Tuesday- Wedding Cakes- 2011

For Trendy Tuesday, today, I'm going to showcase just a few of my favorite wedding cake trends for 2011!

First up, chocolate lovers rejoice! Chocolate wedding cakes are big this year! Yum (and still so pretty)!

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Next, if chocolate isn't your thing, consider adding a pop of color to the reception with a brightly colored cake!

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As a Southern girl at heart, I've always been a sucker for a classic monogram, but instead of on top, this year's trend is to include it into the cake design.

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Finally, while they're not the new kid on the block, cupcakes are still big in 2011, adding [what cake be] a lower cost option that also encouraging socialization among your guests.  Who said cupcakes are just for kids anyway?

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What's your favorite cake trend past or present?

-Jordan-

Something Blue

As I was working on my sister's wedding, I noticed that royal/navy blue are big colors in weddings right now. I was amazed at how many great bridesmaid dresses and special touches came in the blue color scheme.  Here are a few images of beautiful blues...

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I hear this trend could be inspired by the upcoming Royal Wedding.. What do you think? Do you love to bold blue?