Vintage-y Vases

So, if you recall, I somewhat recently decided to make a switcheroo in regards to my reception flowers. Bye bye hydrangeas, hello baby’s breath!

Next up on the to-do list was to figure out what to display the beautiful poufs of baby’s breath in!

Mommy Buttons and I began by scouring JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels, and the like. We saw a lot of the same thing; clear glass vases in different shapes/heights. It could work, but I wasn’t in love.

Then, we decided to try our luck elsewhere by visiting our all-time favorite stores; TJ Maxx and Marshalls. My mom mentioned that she had seen some pretty vintage-looking vases there previously. We walked down the aisles in anticipation…

And…boy was I glad we went there! There were shelves filled with vases in various shapes, sizes, and patterns galore! And they were a very reasonable price, ranging from $3.99 for the smaller pieces to $7.99 for the larger ones! We quickly gathered every single vase we could see into the shopping cart…and then proceeded to visit every TJ Maxx and Marshalls in the Tampa/Clearwater area to clean them out!

Here is our stash…I am just loving them!

I plan to combine at least one taller vase with a shorter one, and add some “extra” items on the table (such as bird figurines, vintage books, tea cups, etc)…I’ll show you some of my first trials shortly! And my favorite aspect of these vases is that we will DEFINITELY re-use them after the wedding! My mom is fond of them, and they match the décor in the house…and I know that I will want to keep a handful for Mr. Buttons and I to decorate our new home! Sure, there will most likely be some leftovers, but I am loving the fact that I don’t have to rent them for $15 a vase (since that is what we were previously quoted by a florist for similar containers…yikes!)!

Are you planning on DIY’ing your centerpieces? What did you do/are you planning to do with the containers after the day is done?

Revisiting the venue

During my trip home for Thanksgiving, there was a wedding at our venue. I was so excited that we were lucky enough to be home during a week with a wedding occurring! The manager told us that we could swing by during the early afternoon, before the guests started to arrive. I couldn’t wait to get there!

When we originally visited the venue, it was set up for normal day-to-day club activity. This time, it was in “wedding” mode. I was so glad to see the differences! Now, I’ll share some before-and-after pictures!

Remember the front entryway?

BEFORE:

Last time, it was filled with couches and a coffee table. For a wedding, they remove these and place a skirted table in the center of the room under the light fixture.

AFTER:

…and that…my friends…is where the wish tree guestbook is going to be placed!

source

Can’t you just imagine it? The tree will be the first thing that our guests will see as they walk through the venue’s door…

Also, behind and to the side are the skirted tables for the gifts, etc. I found some great items to decorate that space with…but I’m going to keep you in suspense until later…

There is a NEW addition to our venue since we last visited! Apparently, there was a wedding at Carlouel in October that used grapevines wrapped with white lights and votive lamps. The manager liked it so much, that he bought it from the florist, and it has remained up ever since! Unless a bride requests it to be taken down between now and the end of May, we are going to keep it in place. And, the manager was nice enough to tell us that they would put it back up for us if we wanted it and it had been taken down! Yay for free décor items!!! And, ooooh I’m drooling at the thought of how it will be lit up during the reception…so romantic!

Just to give you an idea of how it looks lit up (although our reception is at night)!!! So...romantic...

Last time we were at Carlouel, the “birdcage” area was set up for regular lunch-time pool activity.

BEFORE:

This time, we got to view the bar/cocktail hour setup! They set up a really nice large bar out by the pool, remove the tables and place them outside the covered area (and cover the tables with linens), and add a few tall pub tables. I’m digging the setup for our cocktail hour (now if only the weather would be perfect….)!

AFTER:

So, I am SO BEYOND excited about our venue after out visit! It really solidified how incredibly awesome of a choice we made. Sigh of relief, anyone???

With subsequent trips, did you just continue to fall more and more in love with your venue???

Dressing the dudes part 1: Shopping around

One thing I’ve been continually putting off is the issue of dressing up the guys. You’d think this would be a rather simple decision…and I suppose it could be. Just throw them in some tuxedos, right?

Mmmm not so much! I think a tuxedo is very nice, but it really doesn’t go with the overall look for the wedding. We want everything to be semi-formal. So…it looks like we’re going to have to opt for some suiting!

I think that having the groomsmen purchase a suit has many advantages! If we time their purchase correctly and get a good sale, it could cost approximately the same price as a tuxedo rental (yeah, those babies are not cheap!!!). Although, unlike the tuxedo, the guys will get to keep them, and potentially wear them again. Both of Mr. Buttons' brothers wear suits (or at least nice trousers, shirt, and tie) for work, so we are confident that at least two of them will put a suit to good use after the wedding is said and done.

So, we hit the ‘net (and the street) and started to search high and low for some reasonably priced options!

One thing we knew for sure from the start: Mr. Buttons needs a tailored/slimmer fit suit. He has broad shoulders and a small waist, so sometimes regular suit coats can look boxy on him.

Jos. A. Banks

Thankfully, Jos. A. Banks just came out with a new suit style: the Traveler Tailored Fit suit. We like that it is wrinkle resistant, stain resistant, and it is wool (nice quality!). It comes in a plethora of colors/textures as well. The consultants at the store informed us that Jos. A. Banks typically holds “buy 1 suit, get 2 free” sales pretty often. Amazing! Although it would take some coordination between the guys, if we purchased the suits together, we could score them at around $233 a piece!

Ah...but it can't be THAT easy, can it? One of the Button groomsmen was a little concerned with price...so Mr. Buttons and I decided that we would keep searching a bit.

First stop: Express. Mr. Buttons already owns one of their tailored fit suits, and I think he looks pretty darn nice in it! So, he tried it on again...this time in charcoal grey:

Ahhh gotta love the 5 oclock shadow...

Sadly, we were thwarted from this particular suit because although it fits Mr. Buttons really well, his twin is in-between sizes. Moving on....

I wanted to give a rental suit a fair chance...so we headed in to try one of those out. They were nice enough to order in what they called a "fitted" suit for Mr. Buttons to try on in his size. It was black (not my beloved charcoal gray)...but I wanted to give it a shot:

It looks...ok from the front...but then he turned around...

Ahhhh! That does NOT look fitted...Mr. Buttons looks like a hunchback with a saggy butt! P.S. he is going to murder me if he sees these pictures posted...

So...after a few days of shopping around, we were still at a loss! Who would have thought that finding a suit would be so difficult? This was proving to be harder than finding my wedding dress!!!!

Do you prefer a suit or a tuxedo for a wedding? What did/what are your guys wearing? Did you have a difficult time locating something perfect?

A Breath of Fresh Air...

Have you ever had a point in your wedding planning when you suddenly changed direction? I totally had that moment…let me explain…

To be fair, in regards to the florals involved in the wedding, I never really had the “perfect” idea. I see flowers…I think they are pretty…but nothing has essentially jumped out at me as being the flowers I MUST see on our tables or in bouquets.

Here was the original plan:

Hydrangeas, hydrangeas, hydrangeas.

I was drawn by the “poofy-ness” of them, if you will. Oh no, wait…the florist suggested these…I more or less agreed. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are beautiful…but…

I'd been thinking a lot about my DIY’ing…my mother and I have decided that we are going to tackle the centerpieces ourselves. And I am a nit-pick. Hydrangeas are known to be delicate, and die quickly. I started to worry about a wedding day hydrangea catastrophe. I can’t have partially brown flowers on our tables. I’d die.

Then comes the issue of price. Thankfully, with a DIY option, we can purchase flowers in bulk and save money by arranging them ourselves. However, flowers are still expensive…

***Screams angrily in frustration***

But then…I stumbled upon some amazing inspiration, and I’m hooked. And it is by the most unexpected flower imaginable.

Baby’s breath.

Oh my gosh…that’s right. I said it! For years I have despised baby’s breath…the extra little filler that they shove in bouquets…who needs it?!?!

But seeing these photos changed my mind…

Style Me Pretty

This wedding in Aspen featured puffs of baby’s breath hanging from the ceiling! Gorgeous!

Style Me Pretty

Even bouquets look gorgeous, and simple! Poofy and full and beautiful!

Following images from: Sedona Bride

This wedding was literally styled from top to bottom in baby’s breath! I’m in love…

I ADORE her bouquet...so romantic!

Following images from Mrs. Lemonade's wedding:

The little "bombs" are adorable!

So…what do I love about baby’s breath? It is cost-friendly (and I like to get a lot of bang for a buck), and I’m pretty sure that it will match my décor/theme well (birds, trees, whimsical, lighthearted…). Plus, I am hoping that it will be relatively easy and quick to set up as a centerpiece; score!

What do you think about using “filler flowers” as a part of your main décor?

Meeting MY Dress

In November, I received a card in the mail from CC’s (where I bought my dress) letting me know that my gown had arrived in the shop! I was floored; when I purchased it back in June they informed me that it could take up to early 2010 for the gown to come in. I guess not!!! As you can imagine, the anticipation for my Florida trip for Thanksgiving was incredible. I wanted to meet my gown in person!

So, on the rainy Tuesday before Thanksgiving, mom and I made the drive out to St. Petersburg. If you remember, when I shopped for my dress originally, I didn’t get those mushy-gushy “OH MY GOSH THIS IS MY DRESS” feelings. I was secretly hoping that they would appear that day. I should have known better than to have that expectation, because alas, once again it didn’t happen. Sadly, it kind of threw me into a bit of a bad mood during our visit, which I shouldn’t have let happen. But hey, I’m not perfect.

However, I WAS excited about the fact that MY dress was in a much smaller size than the sample I tried on was in! When I was fitted for my gown, we found out that the smallest size James Clifford makes is a 2, so we had to go ahead and order it, despite the fact that the measurements were still going to be off. Darn you, awkward wedding dress sizing! From what I have heard around the wedding blog land, typically you wear a size or two up from your street clothes size. Hm. Apparently James Clifford runs more true to size than I would have thought! As it stands, they don’t make less than a size 2, so I was out of luck; we are going to have to alter it!

Ok, ok…I know what you really want is to see pictures of me in the dress. Your wish is my command. Mr. Buttons, if you are reading this, STOP! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Walk away from your computer, do not scroll down! Please? Ok thank you…

Don't judge me on the poor lighting...oh so very unflattering!

Super attractive face, no?

If you can’t tell, the bust is huge, but probably because I have so little to work with to start! That is definitely going to be taken in, and some “support” is going to be sewn in.

The waist and hips are also too large, and will have to be taken in a few inches. Check out the handful of fabric the seamstress has in her hands! Also note the uncomfortable look on my face...because her hand was going somewhere unexpected....

Thankfully, they informed me that all of the alterations were rather simple in nature to complete, so I could hold off on being measured and pinned until a return visit at a later date. Whew! 6 months of not being able to fluctuate my dress size would have been absolute torture! Can you imagine?

I had a bit of a subdued temper tantrum (in my head mostly) when I first saw the train. It looked completely different to me than the original sample…the lace was bunching around the train and it looked sloppy to me. Thankfully, the seamstress brought me out the sample so I could compare them, and we realized that the lace on the train was connected to the lining on the dress, and that in the sample it had been detached. Easy fix! The seamstress went ahead and cut the strings connecting the two pieces, and I was instantly relieved. See the difference?

Sample dress (with major clippage going on in front to make it appear like it fits!):

Before the fix:

After the fix:

Ok, enough about all the dress details…I’ll leave you with a few more pictures…

No, I wasn't posing this way...I was checking out my butt. Yeah...I said it...

Thin lipped smile? You betcha...

Drat! Caught in the act of checking out my butt, yet again!

Oh...hey...you come here often???

Don't be alarmed...I have freaky freaky shoulder blades. I feel like I'm about to sprout wings...

How long did it take for your dress to come in? Were you pumped to meet it in person?