Wedding Post: Sweet Stationary Success

Nothing sets the tone of a fabulous fête quite like a beautiful invitation suite. And yet, quality invitations and its family of stationary can cost a pretty penny. Pennies that I just was not willing to spend on what is, at the end of the day, still just paper.

The key for me was to stay on budget, but still make an impact by finding continuity and expressing some personality. I struck gold when I found these Save-the-Date postcards from Alexander & Co. on Pinterest.

 These babies knocked me head over heels with their retro vibe. So much so that they inspired the overall retro, New Years theme for the rest of the wedding. Alexander & Co. was amazing at customizing the artwork to create an Art Deco, concert playbill. It matched both the venue and our personalities and they even changed the dancing couples' hair color to match our own (if only they could make hubs not so white..)! And to make things even sweeter, because they were postcards, the postage was cheaper!

I loved the end product so much that we even printed it as a 8x11 and hung it in our bedroom :-)

Then, on to the actual invitations. We wanted something that would coordinate well with the Save-the-Dates and kept us under budget. So we came up with this...

...which we bought from.....wait for it.....COSTCO! Yup, the same place where you can also buy 2 years worth of toilet paper also makes adorable stationary at that same lovable Costco price. It's technically a partnership with Wedding Paper Divas, but you get to shop as a Costco member.

We also chose to have friends and family RSVP either online or on the phone. Much more cost effective and even the old folks in the fam were able to figure it out. In the end the key is to scrimp, but not sacrifice!

Goin' to the chapel.

Wedding posts to come soon!

P.S. Aren't my friends beyond adorable?

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Just purchased a sweet new vase from TJ Maxx (also known as the place where my paycheck goes to die) made of white shells!

Ever since we got rid of the Christmas tree, the hubs and I have felt that this corner of the living room felt a little lacking. So voila! Enter said vase and fill it with gold branches left over from the wedding.

Just doing my humble part to save Mother Earth.

It's about time.

Just purchased new ikat and burlap pillows from Cost Plus World Market this weekend!

They have found a cozy abode in our home office, which after 6 months of living here I have finally stopped ignoring. No longer shall it be the unspoken room of the house where wedding decorations go to die.

Better late than never, right?

I think this deserves a just reward.

'Tis the end of the season.

If you know me at all, you are well aware of my love affair with those dates that fall between September 1st and December 31st. It really is in my most humble opinion the most wonderful time of the year.

You have back-to-school shopping, colors changing, and the glorious, glorious start to college football.

Beautiful, right?!

You also can start wearing all those thick sweaters, boots, pea coats, and scarves that oh so conveniently hide those extra pounds that you put on by consuming all those delicious apple pies, pumpkin breads, spiced ciders, and caramel corn.

Who needs a Yankee candle when you have fall baked goods?

And of course that means the celebration of the ever under-appreciated holiday of Halloween by visiting the corn maze, watching Hocus Pocus, and making the house look festive. 

I was particularly fond of the mini pumpkins on the candle sticks idea that I stole from Pottery Barn (at the Michael's and Trader Joe's price). Also notice the top left photo was taken prior to Hubs' band mates cleaning us out of candy.

After eating our way through November, the house quickly transitions into the winter season. Hubs has a theory that I decorated the house in dark neutrals, blues, golds, and burgundies so that it would always look like Christmas, but I just think it was a lucky chance ;-) 

Being surrounded by all of this beauty and love couldn't have come at a more necessary junction in our lives. The season, and all that it brought, provided so much comfort and solace during the emotional upheavals of this past month.

And so...

...it might be the end of a season, but hopefully a needed inspiration for a fresh January beginning.

Brunch with the bride.

This past November, bestie blessed me with a bridal shower! The theme was "Brunch with the Bride" and was put together in a palate of ivory, metallics, and blush to complement the fall season. It was a perfect excuse to eat all the carbs!

First of all, aren't the invitations precious! Once again, bestie and I tweaked wedding invitations into shower invites. Much classier and they come with an online template. Plus they were crazy on sale at Michael's! 

We used tons of my mom's old silver to serve on, plus some gems that she found at the Dollar Tree (to which she always reminds me that, "It's only a DOLLAR!". Silly Mom.) Not to mention there were all the donuts and bagels a girl could hope for. Have I mentioned that I haven't met a carbohydrate that I didn't like?

Look at the delicate antique lace and the sparkly potpourri that bestie also gave out as favors! I am also being won over by the beauty and effectiveness of bud vases over full arrangements. More bang for your buck!

 Look at that concentration! Unlike so many horrors of cheesy bridal showers past, bestie planned cute games that totally took advantage of my addiction to celebrity gossip websites.

  
In the end, brunch makes for a happy bride and bridesmaids...not to mention a happy kitty who gets to reap the rewards of leftover gift bags ;-)

Strike a pose.

This past spring, hubs-to-be and I had engagement photos taken by the wonderfully talented and extraordinarily sweet Kaela Lee at Kaela.Mey Photography. I cannot tell you enough about how professional this lady is and how tickled we were with the end product.

Neither hubs-to-be or I adore having our picture taken (I prefer to remain on the taking side), nor can anyone really argue that being photogenic is one of our strong suits. Therefore, having engagement photos taken was not high on the proverbial wedding priority list.

Looking back now, I am so happy we decided to have them done and so grateful that Kaela was able to make us feel totally at ease in the moment. Not only was it a great way for us to become acquainted with the photographer who would be working our wedding, but it also gave us great practice posing and being comfortable in front of the camera. I cannot be a bigger advocate now of having engagement photos done with your photographer before the wedding.

The end product were pictures that perfectly captured who we are and I am so excited for Kaela to be there on our wedding day. (I even used her to help capture bestie's bridal shower!)

And without further ado...