Anthropologie Does Weddings?? YES.

This month Anthropologie [known for it's eclectic, expensive-but-less-than-couture artistry] launched a bridal line, and the wedding world waited in awe. I'll admit that there are some absolutely stunning pieces in it, and the idea alone of an Anthro gown sets me into a tizzy. Sadly, I'm slightly "whelmed." Maybe because it's their first line they didn't want to give it all away at once, but even with my seeming allegiance to the name, I wasn't as blown away as I planned to be. And by "planned to be" I mean that I might as well have marked their opening night on my calendar as dedicated to ohhing and ahhhing for hours, then figuring out a way to touch the things. I even had a dream one night that I found the warehouse for the dresses before their debut, and I actually went swimming in them -- not like I wore one to swim, yet rather swam through them, as if the fabric was water. Dreams....

However, you MUST check our their photography, styling and modeling. The site is gorgeous. Someone is awesome, whoever was in charge there, I mean. Also, there are some spectacular pieces. REALLY. Such as these:

Bridal:

Bridesmaids:

Hair Adornments:

SHEWZ:

And even the most precious cover-ups you'll ever find:

I'd like to remake these styles for my brides. That's more like it.

Deluxe OK Indie Craft Bazaar

My first art show and sale is coming up! Woot! You can find out more about the this lovely shindig on their website. I'm hoping to meet about a million brides and homeowners, as well as good ole friends with whom I share interests. It's no secret that my move from Nashville to Oklahoma City was filled with much uncertainty about meeting people that revere color the way I do.

(Admit it. When you think of Oklahoma, you think red-earthed-desert, right?)

So what's in store? The debut of my wedding visions portfolio, an actual wedding dress, a million and two handmade crafts for homes-fashion-nuptials, and the like. The list is rather extensive. For example...

More birdseed pouches, several sets with different fabrics:

A buncha types of modern floral arrangements, several with moss and milk glass and some faux flower couture bouquets ...

Handmade wreaths, some from recycled paper, some from woodland creature "action figures"...

Paper-and-fabric corsages and bouts...

Hairpieces (mine is pictured)...

Bracelets from antique buttons...

And LOTS of embroidery.... ; )

All photos by April Sirit of Evoke Photography

Wedding Photos: The Day's Beginning

It is time: The wedding recap is here!! I'll begin with pictures then supply a thorough cost breakdown. Yes, our Nashville wedding for 150 guests was completed for right at $3K.


My wedding dress. Found with bustles (think Beauty and the Beast). Originally $3000 itself, but I was in the right place at the right time: $100. That's not a typo. One hundred dollars. Bustles gone to make it long enough. Already a crinkled dupioni silk with sweetheart neckline.

I added a polka-dotted organza overlay and sash to raise the waistline, and to add an eclectic, etheral touch. See this post for more details about my alterations.

The bird embroidery my mom and I did.

Amy Lynn at work. She was so so so incredible to work with. And by that I mean that she was working, and I was being worked on. I did no makeup work. You know. ; )



This photo makes it incredibly obvious that I am a towering 6-feet-tall. Sorry for being so friggin' intimidating to you, Amy Lynn!

The bouquets were projects I assembled when Michael's was having a half-price sale on all of their silk flowers. There are reasons behind each flower, but I'll explain those when I get to the flower post. I made my hairpiece to incorporate my aqua shoes, the aqua-green-and-orange in my bouquet, and the birds on my sash.


All photography by April Sirit of Evoke Photography. She is better than I could have ever imagined.

Hello, beautiful!

I got word this past week that Brandon's super-chic cousin in PA, Emily, has found the inspiration for the ring bearer "pillow" that she's making for us. Woot! To see other lovelies that she is responsible for, visit her Shop!

This particular option is courtesy of YandeBridal on Etsy. Click photo to be led to her shop.


I'm tickled. Yes, as mentioned before, I do get easily excited.

Speaking of awesomeness: Brandon gets into town tonight! Hallelujah!

Embellishing without Beads and Roses

Although I haven't actually disclosed pictures of my dress here, try to work with me. Or, if curious, you could check out photographer & friend Christina Lafferty's photo blog. She took some bridal portraits in November for me... and nailed it, if I may say. Brandon Whiteside, do not follow that link. Please?

This is a polka-dotted-organza dress. (Technically, the fabric is probably Dotted Swiss, but you get the point.)


Whimsical and ethereal. I love it. But this is not my dress. And how I have longed for polka-dot inclusion. Dang Ali Blair Dawson for her cool, handmade take on this.

What to do, what to do?! Well, the week Mom was here, she brought her creative seamstress talents to the table, and was able to tweak my dress. The end result is beautiful. Oh. My. Goodness. Let's just say we added some Dotted Swiss to the skirt, changed the waistline to make it more flattering, embroidered the olive green sash with a robin's egg blue little bird-on-a-branch, and attached some trim to the neckline. Wow. It sounds complicated, but it really wasn't.

We googled bird images to find a shape to embroider on the sash. I then did a freehand sketch of the outline and Mom did a simple stitch of it. Like I said, outline only.


Inspiration for the lace-trim idea. Our chosen trim is white, and the neckline is sweetheart, like pictured on this dress (found on Urban)...



Difficult to picture? I'm sorry... but I will be waiting to post pictures of the finished dress until after the wedding (which is only 45 days away, mind you)...

After all, it is a surprise. Although, I don't think he cares what the dress looks like for a second. I don't blame him. Ha.

While You're Waiting....

I know, I know. You're practically panicking about seeing our invites, right? Right?

Here's something to keep you drooling until then, courtesy of an Etsy seller who's all-the-rage: Sarah Seven. Please give me 3 reasons why I shouldn't make myself a dress like this.



Yeah, I couldn't think of any either. We have a banquet at the end of April that I'm thinking this may need to make an appearance at.

Cheryl, my soon-to-be neighbor (as in, she lives across the street from BW) came over to the house today and seriously helped assemble invitations. All I lack is some stitching, then we're ready to go. Oh, and addressing. No big.

The Scoop on the Corsages

I’m obviously a fan of doing things myself. Randomly enough, I’ve taken 2 classes on floral design, so I figured I’d make the corsages and boutonnieres for my Mom and his Mom, and my sister-in-law who is Day-Of-Directing. Our plan regarding flowers of any kind is to NOT use a florist, but actually head to the ever-reliable Farmer’s Market the day before the wedding. However, this puts a major time crunch and unnecessary stress on me! Dad, who is a Horticulturist and Floral Designer, has offered to put together all of the bouquets, and my aunt, an interior designer, will be assembling the floral arrangements for the reception. As these are their only “responsibilities” there won’t be stress on them despite the closeness to the festivities.
Enter the timely and free alternative: All corsages and bout’s to be pinned will be made of fabric that I own, and well ahead of time. I’ve almost completed the corsages, and actually made more than I expected! We’re having 6 total photographers (I’ll explain in a future post why we’re actually having more help than EVOKE can offer). Next on my list are the corsages for guestbook attendants, cake table attendants, and so on, then the bout’s for the groomsmen and ushers (which I’m showing the inspiration for in the last photo).

I used a tutorial found on Maize in Montana via 2000 Dollar Wedding.

The real photographer's Pin:


The Photo Booth Photographer Pins:


Mother-of-the-Bride*, Mother-of-the-Groom*, Day-of-Director*,
Pastor of Church (that isn't officiating)


*I apologize for the excessive hyphen usage.


The Boutonniere Plan, from Martha Stewart:

The Getaway Decision: Birdseed Pouches

Well, lo and behold, when I give up on a project for the sake of expense, it keeps managing to work itself out. Exhibit A: I don’t feel super strongly about having anything thrown at us, bubbles blown at us, or fire engulfing us when sparklers go awry. Rice seems simple enough, but apparently when consumed by a hungry bird, well, think fireworks. Oops. Releasing butterflies would be beautiful, almost poetic and elegant, and tied very closely to our nature-inspired event. However, this meddles with migratory patterns, and most butterflies that endure this never get back on track. Oh, geez.

Enter birdseed, the obvious option that I never even considered because it is so obvious, and traditional, and, well, since when do I do that?! I began looking up some ready-made bundles to purchase. Average price for a generic “Belongs-at-every-traditional-wedding-in-the-last-50-years” was $1 per pouch, already filled and tied. Simple enough, cheap I guess. But since I didn’t really care about this custom in the first place, what was the point?!

Solution? Oh, I am so satisfied with this solution. Inspired by fabric favor bags at a friend's recent shower, I found fabric scraps around my apartment that had been leftover from projects, or had purchased and never used, etc. I coordinated fabrics so that the front and back worked together, but were not painfully matchy-matchy. Without measuring or hemming (to foster the look of simplicity and character), I stitched inward-facing sides together, locked the stitches, and then turned right-side-out. After filling with a teeny scoop of birdseed (the environmentally friendly option), I tied twine around the bags. A further step I opted out of because my desire to simplify: use the tie to loop on a tag with a quote, monogram, etc. Done.

Total project cost for 100 pouches was the $6 for the birdseed. Note: If you aren’t a total dweeb that has fabric on hand at all times, ten bucks says you know someone that will! The point for me in this project was to reduce my ecological impact by avoiding shipping a product, and to recycle/reuse supplies already in my possession. The 3 R’s, ladies. Gotta love ‘em. Further, what’s not to love about a touch of life and personality in a wedding when so much of them becomes industrialized?!

It’s funny, I was awfully surprised at myself for using these fabrics despite how they stray from any hint of a theme, or even the colors of the wedding. However, when the final pouch was completed, I couldn’t help but smile. It was refreshing to see a spontaneous and eclectic surprise! The frayed top edge, the unlikely combinations of fabric--I guess that’s just more my style anyway. ;

So here we have the vintage, eco-friendly side of the wedding, not the nature-themed. ; ) Also, I must confess, my digital camera has been hidden from me, by me, so these are taken in photobooth, so you'll have to excuse the poor quality and awkward angles! Ha.

Love,

Ashley Sue

Front and Back of Each Combo is shown: