bachelorette party gift buckets

So I survived my bachelorette party in Vegas last weekend & one of the "projects" I decided to take on was to make gift buckets (instead of baskets?) for the rooms. I figured this would be a nice treat for the girls who so graciously joined me on this trip to help me celebrate! :) Here's some pics of the buckets I made...

I found the pink buckets at Target in the dollar bin (score!). I was originally going to fill the chinese take-out boxes with goodies for each girl, but this was so much more economical.

I filled the bottom of the buckets with kraft paper crinkle filler (?) that I found at Michael's on sale. Next, we (and by we I mean my mom and I) tied the pink, silver & black beads together with pink ribbon. I wrote each girl a little note thanking them for joining me and how much they meant to me - that's what the scrolls are with the names on them. I filled them up with advil, lots of snacks I bought at Trader Joe's, Bachelorette Party napkins & plates that I bought at Party City, pins with funny sayings and mini cans of Champagne with the paper pink straws. I found the straws on ebay for a great deal (25 for $4).

I wanted all the girls to have the champagne together on our second night out so I attached little notes that said "Please save me for Saturday night!". I knew some of them would see the goodies and dive right in :)

Here's some more pictures of the trip!

hmm....

I'm feeling inspired by this picture I just saw on SMP...

Isn't this a beautiful alternative to a normal corsage? I bet this would not be too hard to make either, if the right bracelet was found....

awesome tool

On twitter today I saw a link to this very helpful tool from Real Simple. Awesome!


Wedding Wine & Liquor Calculator

Based on this tool, here's what Real Simple suggests we need for our 100 person wedding.

100 Guests
Red Wine: 12 bottles
White Wine: 12 bottles
Champagne: 20 bottles
Beer: 120 bottles
Vodka: 4 bottles
Gin: 2 bottles
Rum: 2 bottles
Bourbon: 2 bottles
Scotch (blended): 1 bottle

...Lord knows we're going to have PLENTY of liquor. We're doing a keg for the beer, which is the equivalent of 160 bottles. Perfect. My plan is to hit up the 5 cent wine sale today at Bev Mo to look for some Wine & Champagne options. Cheers! :)

to do...

As I near the "100 more days" mark I'm starting to realize I still have a hefty list of things to do....

* Finish assembly of invitations & start addressing labels -- DONE
* Figure out postage of invitations & purchase stamps -- DONE
* Shop for & purchase wedding bands -- DONE
* Finish details of wish tree (my demise and ultimate source of panic and hatred at the moment)
* Purchase under garments for wedding day -- DONE
* Find pictures of hair style for day of wedding & run-through with stylist. Confirm make up artist -- DONE
* Find & purchase bridesmaid gifts -- DONE
* Find & purchase groomsmen gifts -- DONE
* Schedule final dress fitting -- DONE
* Figure out amount of wine, beer, & champagne needed for wedding -- DONE (see above)
* Re-inventory liquor and determine amount needed for day of
* Figure out amount of mixers for wedding bar -- DONE (3 mixers per bottle of booze)
* Print/Make ceremony programs -- DONE (just need to finish)
* Finalize ceremony & email officiant -- DONE
* Find & send out rehearsal lunch invitations -- DONE
* Figure out music for wedding ceremony & "do not play" list for reception -- DONE
* Meet with DJ three weeks before wedding -- DONE (appointment made)
* Figure out escort cards (limit the hundreds of ideas running through my head) -- DONE!!!
* Finalize schedule
* Seating
* Send invitations -- DONE!


.....yikes.

go buy one of these...now

Everyone needs a Bone Folder. Well...maybe not everyone, but if you're putting together anything for your wedding, a shower, party, any kind of paper good or craft...then yah, you need one of these.

One might think, hmm...how would I use a bone folder?

I'm currenty using mine for the daunting task of assembling our wedding invitations - and I've used it for every step of the process. I also used it for putting together our Save the Dates (the evelope lining), assembling the photo books for my bridesmaids, and other crafty projects I've done around the house...since you know I'm so crafty.

It's great for scoring paper before you fold it, making good creases (a good crease is definitely under-rated), and pressing paper after you glue it.

$4.99 at Michael's in the Martha Stewart Craft section. Or buy it here.

Go. Now. Buy. Fold. Enjoy :)

You're Welcome....

Save the Dates

I'm so happy to say our Save the Dates have been created, mailed, and are securely now hanging on everyone's fridges I'm sure :) But really, Travis & I are so lucky and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to share our special day with so many of our friends and family.

Here it is...

...it's a little hard to see the colors because this is a scan of one of the cards. I had the cards printed on a linen cardstock, which I really love.

I've received MANY compliments on our Save the Date cards, so I figured I'd go through a step-by-step of how I created them (or, had them created I should say...) Here was one inspiration I had from Martha:


My initial goal was to make them myself. That idea lasted about ten minutes once I realized how much work that would involve. What I liked about the above picture was the finger STD with the knot. This incorporates nicely with our Invitations. I also liked that it looked vintage-y (is that a word?) with the image, but more modern/contemporary with the type/fonts.

Since I wasn't about to try and tackle designing these myself, I started looking on etsy. I knew I wanted to incorporate a picture from our engagements, and I knew I wanted our cards to coordinate with our invites, so the search began. I stumbled upon Announcing You, and loved Amber's work. The card I saw which grabbed my attention was this Movie Poster Save the Date.

(Side note: this girl must be really confident in her feet/pedicure to have the focus right there) Okay moving on...

I emailed Amber, told her I loved the design, loved the price even more, and had her design me a proof. It was perfect. Travis chose the picture for us to use from our e-shoot, and I really like the way the black and white turned out. Here's the picture he chose for us...

Amber incorporated our colors, the fonts from our invitations, and had them printed and mailed before I knew it. Amber was so great to work with that my mom and I used her services again for a retirement party invitation. She's amazing!

All in all, I payed a total of $85 for our Save the Date cards - I think I ordered 70 of them! This included the design fee, printing, envelopes, and quick shipping! HELLO! No brainier!

After receiving all the STDs in the mail, I got to work on lining the envelopes. THIS was quite a task - but I think well worth it. I took the pattern we're using to line the envelopes for our invitations, and it color copied at Staples. They were also amazing to work with - and put up with my many changes..."Can you make it darker?" ... "Oh, too dark, a little lighter?" ... until it was perfect. Thanks for your patience Staples copier lady!

Here's an example of some other beautifully lined envelopes...you see these all over the blogs. A little detail, which is very time consuming, but SUPER easy and looks great.

I posted a video that I found to teach you how to line an envelope. All you need - a good glue stick (I bought a super strength glue stick at Michael's), a bone folder (Martha! a must!), good scissors, and some patience.

To address the envelopes, I used my printer from home. I incorporated the same fonts which we used on the actual Save the Date, and the invitations.

Overall, I was VERY happy with how they turned out! Like I said, I was so happy to hear all the compliments from our friends and family!

Thanks again to Amber from Announcing You on Etsy and of course, He & She Photography! Check out their amazing new blogsite!

lining an envelope

Just received our Save the Date cards in the mail...now to prep them and get them sent! I'm going to line the envelopes myself, so I found this demo video to help. Wish me luck!!

http://www.monkeysee.com/play/7030-how-to-line-a-wedding-invitation-envelope

master timeline

I found this fantastic article on DIY Bride on creating a master timeline to streamline your day and plan so everything goes perfectly...

A timeline will be the single most important document you will create for your wedding. Without a realistic timeline, your wedding may have unforeseen challenges and actually create more work for you (or your family) on your big day.

As a wedding planner we create one master itinerary for our couples. The only time they will see this master plan is before the wedding. This document will include both wedding party information and vendor information (which we like to call a production schedule). We personally like to color code because at the wedding any member of our team can easily glance at the itinerary and know immediately which tasks apply to vendors vs. wedding party. This may be an option you would like to consider, because it is important to understand both vendor needs and personal needs when planning your wedding day.

Before we begin there are key vendors that you need to contact to know their schedule needs.

1. Your Photographer – knowing when he/she wants to begin your pictures is very important (taking into consideration if you are getting all your photos done before the wedding or some before/after your wedding). You’ll also want to check the length of time you contracted them for to be at your wedding so you won’t schedule events after they are suppose to leave.

2. Caterer – have a detailed conversation with your caterer to understand their needs for setup (for instance; if you are providing rented linens they may want those a day before your wedding so they can set your tables). You will also need to know how long it will take to serve your wedding guests so you can appropriately gauge the timeline at the reception.

3. Florist/Decorator – they will need to know all the setup times that they can get into the reception venue and church as well as break out times. Remember if the reception venue says that you need to be out of their facility by midnight, you can’t end your wedding at 12:00am. You’ll have to end earlier so all decorations, personal items and your entertainment has time to breakdown and remove their items.

4. Hairdresser/Makeup Artist- this person is important because you’ll get information as to when to start your wedding day and know how long it will take to be ready to get to the church to start pictures. More often, the entire wedding party is joining you, so we see entire wedding parties starting their hair/makeup at the salon at 8am in the morning so they can all be done to make to the church for photos.

Creating the Timeline

So let’s begin. Always start at the start time of your wedding and work backwards to figure out the timeline at the beginning of your day. Let’s say your wedding ceremony starts at 1:30pm (that is what is printed on the invitation). That would mean that you need to have everything done (photos, décor, etc) by half an hour before hand. So 1:00pm because the “starting time” for your wedding for all the vendors and wedding party.

Now you will work your way backwards from that point, beginning with start time and finish time for your photography and then to your hair/makeup. You’ll want to be sure to schedule setup times for your cake, caterer, entertainment, reception decorating, bartenders, and caterer.

We like to create timelines that are in 15 minute increments. Understanding that may not always be possible or realistic, but it is always a good idea to “pad” your timeline with extra minutes. For example, if it takes 20 minutes to get from your hair salon to the church, then simply allow 30 minutes in the timeline.

It will read:

10am Girls conclude hair appointments and leave for the church

10:30am Girls arrive at church to dress

11am Photos begin for bride (insert your name), bridesmaids and bride’s family

11:30pm Groom (insert real name), groomsmen and ushers arrive at church, dressed

It is our experience that weddings take a life of their own and sometimes you are ahead of schedule and then behind schedule, and then suddenly on time! It’s no big deal…it all works out in the end, but you can’t foresee one of your bride maids taking longer on their hair or a flat tire. The one constant will be the time you actually walk down the aisle, especially if you are having a church wedding. Priests and Pastors like to start ON TIME, because there may be more activities going on in the church after your wedding (confessions, mass, etc).

After the wedding you’ll want to estimate how much time it will take to complete the ceremonial activities. For instance, 300 guests and you want to do a receiving line? Let’s calculate, if it took only 30 seconds to greet every guest it would take 45 minutes! You may have backed yourself into a corner for post wedding photo opportunities.

In the timeline, you’ll want to include every single vendor you have contracted. You will want to have an arrival time and a departure time. This allows you to look at your wedding on paper and you can literally walk yourself through the day.

Finally when you have completed this master itinerary document (don’t be surprised if it is 5-6 pages long), you’ll want to remove most of the vendor information and downsize it for the wedding party to distribute at rehearsal. Your bridesmaids don’t need to know when your cake is going to be delivered at the reception venue.

You will want to include these important times for everyone:
start time Hair/Makeup
start time Arrival at Church
start time Starting time for photos: (break it out for wedding party/parents, grandparents, children, extra family members. Usually it is not necessary for grandparents to show up 2 hours before the wedding for photos).
est times General flow of the day for special events; toasts, dances, cake cutting, etc.

Finally when you have completed this beautiful master plan of your entire day, give it to someone else. NO BRIDE should be ever be holding her wedding day itinerary. If you are not hiring a wedding planner or coordinator for your wedding day, then ask a family member or friend to implement your plans. But it should NOT be a person in your wedding party. That’s right! Your MOH should be with YOU, helping YOU…not running around contacting vendors or answering the hundreds of questions that happen during a wedding.
Plan on!

This article was submitted by the uber-fabulous Saundra Hadley.
Saundra is owner and event engineer with planning…forever events

michigan wedding video

This has got to be one of the cutest weddings I've seen in a while, and this video is adorable. Featured on Style Me Pretty, it's one of the best I've seen!

Sarah & Rupert Wedding 16mm Film from sarahandrupert on Vimeo.

ideas, ideas, ideas!

So, true story...I'm browsing Once Wed and see this beautiful bouquet, and wedding, that I love. *Yes, I'm blogging at work again. Don't tell...* The wedding was at the Smog Shoppe in Culver City, which I've been seeing a lot of lately. Looks like SUCH a cool venue, especially for those into throwing a green wedding. Anywho, I click to look at the photographer's blog to see more pictures and what do I see?! A little something we're going to have for our wedding, which I will not reveal. Duh, some things need to stay secret! Browse away though, because the images, this bride, everything is gorgeous.

I LOVE the succulents used as escort cards/probably favors. Everything just looks so beautiful. I still cannot get enough of that bouquet. The table decorations...her shoes...the boloro...perfect. Whoever this girl is, needs a pat on the back!

wedding website!

I'm so excited to say that our wedding website is up, running, and for the most part finished! We've been working on this for a while, and we'll of course still be adding things as we see fit. Check it out! We love all the messages we're receiving in our guestbook!

http://www.heatherandtravis.wedsite.com/

more ideas from martha...

I was trying to think of a fun idea for guests to "send us off" from our ceremony instead of bubbles, bells, petals or rice...I saw this DIY flags that I thought were really fun. How hard can this be? I love the sheer fabrics....
I found this on Martha too, cute idea for escort cards. Fabric inside frames with the numbers pinned inside. Love it!

inspired by martha

So you may or may not know this, but I have a major girl crush on Martha Stewart (I know, pathetic). She is just so classy (minus the whole prison thing) with the perfect mix of crafty-do it yourself-ness. Does that make sense? Haha.

I saw these today while browsing Martha Stewart Weddings (no need to buy the glossy magazine, browse for FREE). Such great ideas to add to the list...yikes, do I like too much??

I am loving the top right STD (woah, weird) with the finger and string. It'll fit perfect with our invite look, maybe with a picture on the back? Hmm...ideas are flowing.


I'm also loving this guest book featured from a wedding on Martha Stewart. Their whole them was elementary school because the bride & groom met when they were kids. Looks so cute. See, you can do anything and class it up. I already purchased my polaroid online, just waiting for it to come in. I found a "like new" pre-used camera on amazon for around $17. I just need to find the film, and I love this idea of placing the photo corners in the book for guests to place their pictures in. I was wondering how I would go about having everyone stick their picture into the book...problem solved!

more stuff i like...

wish tree

Okay, I may just like way too much stuff that I see. Love this idea of a wish tree. Photo booth (which I'm in the works of planning) and a wish tree? Too much? What do you think?

Here's a link to Here Comes the Guide - a tutorial of how to make your own! Lovely!

cute wedding from smp

I saw this wedding on SMP that had such amazing diy ideas. Almost all her vendors were ones from etsy. Some ideas I loved:

wedding budget tips

I found these budget tips on Style Me Pretty...how to bring your dream wedding to life, while planning on a budget. Why spend a fortune? Let's see how I'm (we're) doing...

Without further ado, here are Angela of Lulu Events cost cutting tips…

1. Personalize, Personalize, Personalize – by creating a theme or sticking to a cohesive look you can make a wedding or event look very sophisticated with just a few ideas that guests will always remember. Prioritize what is important and spend the money there.

We're going to have a "vintage" inspired cohesive look for our wedding. I love this idea, as I see many a vintage wedding online, and because our venue is a vintage, 1920s estate in San Clemente. Check!

2. Identify your color palette and stick to it. Remember you always need an accent color. One main color and 2 accent colors are ideal.

Hmm...my color palette is going to be greens, chocolate browns, and "pops" of purple. Do I need another accent color? Check!

3. Party Rentals – by selecting a colored or textured linen you get more bang for your buck than spending money on lots of colorful flowers on a white table cloth. The linen color will transform the space immediately and set the tone for your wedding reception.

I'm meeting with our caterer this weekend to taste food (yum!) and I'll have to ask about linens. I'm not planning on spending lots on flowers anyway...but I do love the idea of a colored or textured linen (brown probably).

4. Choose flowers that are in season and go for a monochromatic look, buying flowers in bulk is less expensive than buying many different types of flowers and my favorite trick is to incorporate fruit in to the centerpieces!

We haven't yet decided on flowers either, but I'm thinking I want to try and make the center pieces ourselves. We'll have the bouquets and boutonnieres probably done at a florist, but the rest we'll tackle ourselves. How hard can it be? Fruit in the centerpiece? I don't know if that goes with our "theme"...we'll see...

5. Choose a live musician for the ceremony and cocktail hour but nix the band and stick to a dj for the reception. It will save thousands of dollars. Just make sure to choose a play list that reflects the mood of the event and personality of the couple.

We're going to have a DJ who will be there with music for the ceremony and reception. Check!

6. By booking a wedding venue off season or on Fridays /Sundays – wedding venues and vendors will likely give you discounts so you can save your money for a honeymoon splurge!

Sunday, September 5, 2010! Check!

7. Consider hiring a wedding planner – we really are experts and our tips & ideas can save you time, money and get you discounts with vendors.

I'm not hiring a wedding planner. Although along the way I've been thinking about having one, it seems like just too much money for something I could figure out myself. How much of a discount can they really get you? More than the price for the coordinator - which sometimes starts at $1,000 just to be there the day of the wedding?!

I must say though, if you can afford it, a wedding coordinator must be fabulous. Putting all their creativity & your ideas to life without you having to do all the work- worth it!

8. Select one signature cocktail for the cocktail hour such as a Bellini or Kir Royale that will be passed by the waiters and offer wine and beer only the rest of the evening. You will be amazed at the cost savings!

We're planning a signature cocktail (or a few) for our wedding. I definitely want to have some sort of Mojito, maybe a bellini, and some "old" cocktails - to fit our vintage theme. Check!

9. Minimize the guest list- do you really need to invite that neighbor that you pass thru the hall or your second cousin Vinny that lives across the country?

Our guest list is definitely minimized. Sticking to only 100 is tough, especially when you have fairly large families. We're not doing many "plus ones", and inviting strictly close friends and family, which makes me so very happy! Check!

10. Skip the wedding favors (do we really need to see another Godiva chocolate at the place setting?), instead spend the money on a signature cocktail or a favor the guest will use during the course of the evening like a black and white photo booth!

We are having wedding favors, but they're homemade. And you're gonna love em!

11. Never ever try to skimp on a photographer- a talented photographer will capture memories that will last a lifetime!

We definitely didn't skimp on our photographer. This is the one area where I'm really digging into my savings for. So excited, check em out - He & She Photography. They're amazing! Can't wait! Check!

escort cards...{place cards}

I read recently, probably in my new Mindy Weiss Big Wedding Book, that technically "escort cards" were used so male guests would know who they were escorting to their seats. The cards we put out so guests know where to sit are called "place cards".

I thought these were cute, and totally DIY-able. Maybe I'll have a sign on the table with these luggage tags about "traveling to your seat" or something totally and completely cheesy :) .

Here's another cute vintage luggage tag which I like...love the ribbon and metal...

DIY Bridesmaid Cards

Although I'm very pleased with the bridesmaid's gifts I sent to my girls, I just LOVED this when I saw it. From Once Wed, one of my go-to blogs, this is such a cute and (easy?) way to personalize your invitation to your wedding party. I also love that it lets everyone know who will be in the entire bridal party!Check out all the crafty how-to details here!

Something else this inspires me to do is learn how to calligraphy! And not old-English calligraphy, beautiful, unique, stand-out handwriting like on these envelopes....

table decor

So not only do I enjoy doing this because friends say nice things to me like how much they enjoy reading - which is lovely - I like to use this as a way for me to document things I like during this planning process.

I had a vision in my head from the beginning about table decorations and numbers. While blog browsing today I found these pictures on With This Ring... that fits my vision perfectly. I love the numbers, the framed menus, the simple flowers, antique-looking votive holders...