She likes it! Yay!

How exciting... through Vintage Glam, we were featured on another wedding blog. This gal, I have to say, is quite extraordinary. Great taste. So much so that I'm now following her. That says a lot.

Much thanks to ShesNotTheMarryingKind for your mention of my hairpiece, pictured below. If you're wondering, this was actually a fabric-flower purchased at Macy's, then I hot-glued the birds-in-nest (purchased from Michaels for 2 bucks). Total cost: less than $10.


Photo by April Sirit of Evoke Photography. Hair and Makeup by Amy Lynn Larwig.

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.

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.

[Some of] You are Invited!

And Here they are!!!

A crooked close-up of an invitation with one of my favorite papers:


A hodge-podge, if you will. This gives you an idea of what they look like completed:


Examples of the 2-sided Amy Butler papers used:


Another example. Pictured on left is the print on back:


Same story:


What each guest will receive in the mail:


I handwrote these, and should have taken a photo of a better envelope to show, because they actually turned out pretty neat:


The back of the green paper is this dark floral, and Cheryl used the stamp kit I purchased for CD cases in this post to stamp the Reply envelopes:


The whole shebang:


Ok, the important part: How much did I invest for the sake of these papers that will be quickly trashed? Well, I MUST give serious credit to our university's Print Shop. They sold me most of the materials, and did the printing and cutting work!

• 2 packs of Amy Butler double-sided, recycled papers on sale at Michaels for $7 each.
• 100 invitations (includes cost of fine cardstock, cutting, printing) for 7 cents each.
• 100 rsvp cards (includes cost of fine cardstock, cutting, printing) for 3 cents each.
• 250 invitation envelopes (had to buy whole box since custom size, but can return what i don't use!) for $14 total.
• 250 rsvp card envelopes (again with the whole box thing) for $7 total.
• Print Shop's charge to cut all printed papers (and give me scraps) was a whopping $2.
  
• 2 glue sticks for 40 cents each.
• Stamps of bird and "reply" previously purchased.

That's a grand total of $47.80, which boils down to 48 cents A SET. This does not include the solitary postage stamp that is required. Really?! The Target set we planned on was $35 for 50 unprinted boring ones, seen here.

Granted, I really, really, really had a strong desire to do a straight-stitch across the top and bottom in ivory, but decided that the fuss wasn't worth it. (By "decided" I mean that Brandon and Mom were awfully convincing that it was going to be a serious hassle. Ha.)

Have a favorite paper?

A serious life-saver

This picture has no relevance to anything in this post, but I love it anyway. Why the heck not?! More details viewable at Ink Finger.

I just found this website's helpful little suggestion list. It's an incredible resource. Of course, now that it's been stumbled upon, we've spent the majority of our budget....and ironically enough, followed almost every one of these pieces of advice for financial savvy-ness regarding wedding purchases.

If you're looking for some budget relief, I highly encourage you to view these 75 tips.

That said, I'd consider saving-saving-saving even if you have a generous sum to work with. I promise to save you the tirade, but you might at least consider it. However, if you'd like a few reasons to be cost-efficient, visit the ever-wise Sara. She's the most polite soap-boxer I've ever seen, especially about a topic some find fragile. Ok. Done. : )

Out with the old....

Ok, this was the original plan for invites. I liked them fine. They were super cheap, fit the nature-loving side of things, and that green is pretty prominent in, oh, my life, my ring, the wedding, etc. Eventually, when I looked at them next to the other parts of the wedding, they fit less and less: they're boring! It's funny, I've put so much creative effort into other aspects of this wedding because I just love to. However, these silly little letters had never been the focus of any of my attentions. Or maybe I just assumed that to do something more fun would be unbelievably expensive.

False!! Ingenuity beats spending big bucks any day.

So, I blame Jessica. She made up her invites last weekend, and it lit a fire under me. Of course, she is a graphic designer with a great eye, so it's to be expected, right? ; ) Jessica's handmade masterpieces:


Our plan ended up being SO easy, and even cheaper than my Target invitations that got the boot. I'll leave you with this picture until I'm finished; Amy Butler is the mack daddy. Her papers are the new foundation for our invites, which are already printed off but still have to be put together.

You AREN'T going to believe this price breakdown. Seriously. Details to come.

I'll be in Oklahoma City to be with my boy this week for Spring Break, and I'll be working like crazy addressing and assembling (which is heaven, so please don't mistake that for complaining)... Cara and Cheryl, get ready.

Lemme take ya Picksha

Lena Corwin is a god. Period. Short explanation: Comforter sized tapestries that were on sale at Urban Outfitters for $20 each. Will hang from clothesline on the lawn of the church. Guests will stroll by and have their pictures snapped in front of the fabric pattern they prefer on their way to the reception while we're inside having our formals taken.

Double the fun: We bought five super cheap plastic cameras, the Holga and Lomo variety (research them at Lomography.com but look around Fred Flare and Amazon to find ones that use 35mm and not medium-format film), because they’re famous for their weird light leaks and unpredictable effects. Think 70’s and 80’s photography meets lens flares. This would be the reason we’re having five more photographers. Friends of mine who dabble with funky photos have volunteered to help us with this effort.

I’m posting photos of my inspiration, then of the actual patterns on the tapestries I purchased, and, finally, some sample shots from these psychedelic cameras. When it’s over, we’ll have these developed in film and on CD. We’ll have pictures of all our guests that will cooperate in a really interesting setting. I am confident that these photos will be something I absolutely cherish.

Lena's wedding, found on Martha Stewart, shown in next 2 photos:




4 Tapestries, purchased from Urban Outfitters, on sale for $20 each. We're using them in the house, too.





Example of a photo taken with a Fisheye camera ($40 on Amazon):

Example of a photo taken with a Holga Camera ($30 on Amazon):

Example of a photo taken with Lomo Super Sampler ($35 on Amazon):

Today's Project: Re-Vamping Boring CD Sleeves

I'm sure you've seen this done before, but I'll give you the run-down, and our take on it.

• Vinyl-Looking CD's from Verbatim, via Best Buy. 60 on sale for $20.
• 100 Paper CD Sleeves with Window from Meritline. 100 for $3.89. Free Shipping.
• Stamps from Martha's stamp line at Wal-Mart. Complete Starter kit for $17.87. (We're using these same stamps on our beverage napkins, programs, plates and more, so we'll get our money's worth.)
• Neat when it all comes together: 2 of our themes, if you'll remember, are Nature and Music, so it's a nice combo. Also, our programs are going to look like CD lyric booklets. Next to these, it promises to be a nice pair. Modern & Simple. I'm ok with that.
  

Our CD's actually have muted earth tones instead of the ivory pictured:


What the CD sleeves looked like when shipped:



Stamped! That's a friend's CD on display, as Brandon has our CD's with him out in Oklahoma. If you're curious though, google Eric Vinson. I bet he'd pee himself if he knew he got a plug just now.



And for those of you wondering what's made the cut for this little disc...
The incomplete list, in no particular order (YET):

1. Glosoli - Sigur Ros (Processional)
2. All I Want Is You - Barry Louis Polisar (Recessional)
3. Seven Keys - Aqualung
4. 'Til Kingdom Come - Coldplay
5. Magic - Andy Davis
6. Your Love Is Strong - Jon Foreman
7. Slaveship - Josh Rouse

There's more. I can't remember right now! Headed to bed early tonight. Leave any suggestions you have!

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: