The Next Big Thing in "Save the Dates"

So I wanted something Original for our Save the Dates.  We have an inside joke about what the tabloids would say about our body language and such while we're out and about.  So, this idea came to me and I absolutely love it!!

Marco Molina Photography took the photos and designed it exactly like I wanted it!

DIY Wedding Dress & Tuxedo Hangers

These are really simple to make and can add a really sweet detail to your wedding photos.

Supplies you'll need:

* Wooden Hangers (Try Ross)

* Small wooden letters

* Your choice of craft spray paint

* Hot glue gun & glue sticks

First spray paint your letters...(Make sure that you get the sides of them as well). Let them dry all the way.

Next, hot glue onto the hanger and it's that easy!

DIY "For Your Tears of Joy"

I love this idea, because there are some major cryers in my family, plus I just know that his mom is going to ball like a baby!
Supplies you'll need:
* 8.5 x 11 in. cardstock
* Spools of Tulle
* Hot glue gun & glue sticks
* Travel size tissues
First you're going to fold the cardstock into little pouches. I found this original idea on Martha Stewart, and decided to add my own flair to it. Instead of printing onto each pouch "For Your Tears of Joy"...I'm putting little tulle bows on them. They're going to be in a birdcage on the guest book table, with a whimsical sign coming out of the top that says, "For Your Tears of Joy" instead of it being on each individual pouch.
We marked them at the points where the paper needs to be folded, with a pencil...just to use as a guideline.
"To make a pouch, crease an 8 1/2-by-11-inch piece of sturdy yet pliable paper widthwise three times: 2 inches from the top, 5 inches from the top, and 1 inch from the bottom. Fold the first flap back, the second up, and the third down to make a cuff. Center a tissue on the sheet; fold back the sides where the tissue ends; weave the flaps into one another to secure. Turn over the pouch, and insert tissues."

Once you've finished this part, you're going to have to make the bows. The spools of tulle are the easiest to use. You're going to fold the tulle 4 times at a width of about 4 in. Cut the tulle. Then cut that piece of tulle in half and bunch it up in the center (while it's still folded), to create a little bow. Next you'll need to cut a small sliver of tulle to tie in the center of the bow.
Now just hot glue the little bows onto the cardstock pouches...and Presto! Really cute tissue pouches for your guests!

The Guys

So we picked out the suits for the guys and I absolutely love them!!! We're getting them from Tuxedo Junction. Trey is going to be wearing all ivory under his suit and the groomsmen will be wearing Fern. Then the ushers will be wearing all brown, aside from their ivory shirt, of course.

DIY Ribbon Pomanders

So, I was originally going to do silk flower pomanders, which I still may do a couple of, but I decided since part of our theme is putting our two personalities into our wedding as much as possible (and I have lots of ribbon everywhere) I decided to use ribbon!!! Yay!!! The flowers are from our engagement party, so we just decided to reuse them. P.S. I think that they look much better in person than they do in photos.

What you'll need: 5 in. styrofoam ball, 3 silk flowers of your choice, about 15 yards of assorted ribbon, about 4 ft. of a thicker ribbon (for the hanger), dress maker's pins, wire cutters, chopstick or thin wooden dowel rod
Directions: Cut each piece of ribbon to about 4 1/2 in. strips, use wire cutters to cut your flowers to where the stem is about 2 in. long; I used the chopstick to stab straight through the ball for the spot where the hanging ribbon goes. Fold your large piece of ribbon in half, wrap the looped end around the end of the chopstick and push straight through the hole. Leave the looped end longer on the opposite side (you know...to hang it). Tie the two ends together to make a knot on the bottom side and loop and pin the ends to the ball. Tie the top into a knot on the ball to also keep it secure. Now start covering it by looping the ribbons and pinning them, randomly all over it. Make sure that you leave room for your flowers at the top around the hanger. Gently push your flowers into the ball and "Voila!" You have a beautiful ribbon pomander!!!

How to dye your petticoat!

So once I saw this I had to have it done! I think it's a great way for adding flair to your wedding day apparel!!! I had originally wanted to dye my crinoline green but since the shade that I want would have been too difficult I decided to go with brown. Brown is the color of the flowers and the sash that will be on my dress so I thought that it would go best. Besides, I have my FABULOUS green shoes and I want them to stick out as much as possible!

This is right after I took it out of the bag. After this I took it into the bathroom and got it wet. I followed the instructions on the Rit bottle. I set my washing machine to high and the hottest level and poured in three bottles of Rit ( I want it to be really dark brown ). I let the water agitate just enough to mix in the dye and then USING RUBBER GLOVES, I pushed the petticoat down into it until it was completely submerged. I turned the washer setting back three times to let it wash in the dye for as long as I thought that it needed and after the third time I let the washer finish like it normally would. As soon as the washer was finished, I put the gloves back on and grabbed the petticoat out of the washer. I then took it back to the shower to rinse it with cold water until it ran clear. (The problem with this is that you need more than one person. My back was killing me while doing this part! Just when you think that you've gotten all of it, color shows back up.) So after I was finished this is what it looked like:

While I had been rinsing the petticoat, I had ran a HOT rinse through the washing machine. I used detergent and non-chlorine bleach. Once that was finished I filled the washer half way with the coldest setting and poured in 1 cup of white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt and color-safe detergent. Then I allowed the washer to filled all the way up and agitate for a couple of minutes. When it was finished I put the petticoat in the washer and allowed it to run the full time. The vinegar helps to set the color so that it doesn't fade and/or bleed. Once it was finished it took me a while to untangle and untwist it, and then I hung it up in the bathroom. This is what it looks like now. I'm not sure if I'm going to try and make it darker yet. But as soon as I have someone coming over I'm going to have them help me put on my dress so that I can get a picture of what it looks like together.

Story of our Engagement!

Ok, so this is for everyone who hasn't heard the story yet but wants to. Okay, so we got engaged on April 10th ( Good Friday ). The thursday night before I was at work and Trey kept texting me about how he really wanted to go to the zoo the next morning, and I really didn't want to go. We go pretty much every year, and we said last year that we weren't going to go back until the ne aquarium was open and it still wasn't, so I saw no point in going. I kept telling him that it would be boring and to please come up with something new to do. Well, he was pretty determined, but then again, so was I. I didn't get home from work until right around 4:00 a.m. so I left a note on the Magna-Doodle on our door ( yes that's right...magna-doodle...ha ha ) saying that I really didn't want to go to the zoo, it was 4 a.m. and I didn't want to be woken up early! So this fool, wakes me at 10:30 ( for those of you who really know me, I need my sleep more than anything! ) I was so frickin' upset with him about this! He tells me that it feels great and to wear shorts and a t-shirt and shorts...( it was very chilly once we got to the zoo )...so that made me angry. I was being so mean to him, I feel so bad! So anyways, we're walking around the zoo, which is crazy crowded because school is out, and he knows that I don't really like crowds, so he keeps waiting for a less crowded place.

So we're walking up the path behind the elephants and he starts with insulting me. Which, if you know our relationship at all, that's just how we are with eachother. (For those of you who don't know Trey very well, he is the bottomless pit of useless information. I mean, like I've even bought him books on it to be funny.) So, while we're walking he says, "You know, I love coming to the zoo, because everytime I come I learn something new." And I ask, "Really, Trey?! What did you learn today?" "Well, I learned that if a cat has a mate for a long time and they're separated, one can go into a severe depression?.....And I learned that someone can be driven completely insane from another person being late all the time..." And we're holding hands so I just turn and give him a dirty look. "And I never knew that it could take someone for weeks to hang up clean laundry..." Again I give him a dirty look, (and just so you don't think that I'm a crazy dirty person, I'm not...all of our laundry pretty much hangs and doesn't go into the dryer. So in our spare bedroom is where we keep the racks and that's where all of this was...out of sight, out of mind, you know! And I'm a very forgetful person sometimes.) Anyways, I try to pull away from him and he grabs my hand tighter and pulls me closer and says that he's not through..."Ugh!" So we're standing next to the fence and he keeps looking over his shoulder, because at this time, there are a lot of people coming up the ramp. So he was waiting for them to pass us first. Then he starts again, "And I didn't know the first time I saw you in high school that you would wind up being my best friend." So, I look up at him, "What?!" He leans over and kisses my cheek and says, "And if you'll answer this next question for me..." I tell you what...once he got down on one knee...I have no frickin' idea what he was saying! I was stuck in an "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" moment.

This lady walked by with her husband and was like, "Aaawwwweeeee...oh my gosh...." and then she shewed her husband around the corner to give us privacy. When we were finished, she came running back down the ramp saying, "You two need a picture! I swear I'm not crazy, but the two of you need a picture! I'll email it to you and everything!" I love him so much!! So as of now, we've been together for a little over 6 1/2 years...and while we've been through a lot...it's been the best of my life!

Wedding Ideas

Thanks to flickr's Princesslasertron for this photo!

So...it's a while away (a year and a half ) but I need some helpful ideas for my wedding. I want to have Peter Pan incorporated into the theme. Not like having people dress as character or anything. It's just that, my fiance and I are not your average couple and we always like to do things up a little crazy...ha. So here's what I have so far. I want it to be very Bohemian, Peter Pan-ish, and kinda Shabby Chic. I am not big on jewelry, never really have been so I want to wear cute little acorn earings and an acorn necklace ( because Wendy wears an acorn around her neck as Peter's kiss and it saves her life ). I found this lady that make really cool looking bouquets out of buttons and felt, and buttons are one of my favorite things ever!!! I want to have old clocks and watches as part of centerpieces. I want the ringbearer to carry a teddy bear with the rings sewn on instead of a pillow ( teddy bear because it's what Michael carrys around ). And maybe, instead of a basket of petals, the flower girls carry old top hats with petals, because John wears a top hat. I found this awesome pop-up Peter Pan book to put on the Kid's table. So, if there's anything that anyone else can think of...please leave me some comments and let me know! Thanks everyone!