Picture c/o Anna at And Then We Saved
Hey folks! I did a little guest post over at And Then We Saved on unconventional ways to save money on your wedding. Check it out here!
love,
melanie
Tag Archives: wedding
Never Before Seen Wedding Photos!
As you guys know, my wedding was featured on Junebug Weddings. While I was totally honored to be on the blog, they didn’t pick my favorite photos. Wedding blogs, in general, are really interested in the details of it all. But I really didn’t care too much about the little things. Yes, I made my bouquet, but I didn’t carry it. It felt unnatural. I carried a purse instead.
So I decided to share some of my personal favorite photos today!
Weddings aren’t perfect. Life isn’t perfect. But it sure is amazing.
love,
melanie
Our Wedding is on Photobug today!
Photo by Richard Israel
Our wedding is over on Junebug Wedding’s photoblog, Photobug today. Check it out!
love,
melanie
Easy Glitter Feathers
One of the few DIY projects I did for our wedding was the table decorations. I didn’t want to pay very much for flowers and I have a black thumb. So, we decorated the tables with dried baby’s breath and feathers. To give the feathers a little pizazz, I painted the ends with silver acrylic paint and dusted them with glitter. (I got the idea here.) I also tied the feathers on twine to create garlands.
I am really happy with the way they turned out. Feathers never droop or die, so I’ll be able to have these in my house for years as a reminder of our wedding.
love,
melanie
Easy Wedding Favors: Printed Brown Bags
During the wedding planning process, DIY projects were not high on my list. I did manage to carve out some time to do a few easy and inexpensive crafts though. And I plan on sharing a few of them with you! I was super pleased with the way my wedding favors turned out. So, I’m sharing the how-to on those first!
For this project all you need is a little photoshop know-how, paper bags and a printer. (I would recommend a top-loading printer. Although it is possible to do with a bottom-loading printer. I have just found the top loading printers work better with the bags.)
First, we designed our logo in Photoshop. We used the image of George and myself on our wedding invites too. Your design doesn’t have to be anything as elaborate as ours, a monogram would look nice too. If you don’t have Photoshop skills, you could even create your design in Word and then change your printer settings to the size of the bag.
Next, we changed the dimensions of the image in Photoshop to the dimensions of the paper bag and did a couple of test prints. After printing each bag, we added a can of RC Cola and a Moon Pie. In the South, an RC Cola and a Moon Pie is known as a working man’s lunch and both George and I have fond memories of eating Moon Pies and drinking RC Colas as kids.
Finally, we punched two holes in the top of the bag, looped a ribbon through and tied a bow. Quick, easy and cheap! Done!
**A helpful hint is to buy more bags than you need and be patient! If the bag has any kind of small tear or inconsistency, the printer may eat it. Just keep calm and carry on!**
Questions? Leave ’em in the comments!
love,
melanie
Engagement Photos… One of the best wedding purchases we made
Taking engagement pictures was one of the best decisions we made when planning our wedding. At first I thought the idea of engagement pictures was totally frivolous, unnecessary and maybe a little narcissistic. But after I got thinking about it, I realized that I wanted a few professional pictures of George and I in our everyday clothes. We don’t wear wedding attire everyday, ya know?
So we called up our photographer and told him that we regretted not adding engagement photos to our wedding package. He then told us to meet him the upcoming weekend to take a few pictures! Engagement pictures was one of the best wedding purchases we made. I think I might even blow a few of the shots up and (finally) decorate our walls.
All photos credit of Richard Israel Photography. He’s a great guy. I highly recommend him.
Did you decide to get engagement pictures taken? Let me know in the comments.
love,
melanie
Love Quotes: The Mariner’s Bride
We are going through a huge weeding process at work. Weeding is just a fancy librarian term for taking books out of the library. We weed to get some of the outdated titles off the shelf to make room for updated titles. Anyway, last week when I was weeding I came across a very old book (1880-I think) of Pheobe Cary’s Poems. The first page that I happened to open had the loveliest poem inscribed. The poem was entitled The Mariner’s Bride and told the tale of a sailor’s love for his bride. The line written in the picture above really resonated with me. I don’t think it is for me, but this poem would make lovely wedding vows for a sea-faring couple. The poem and book in it’s entirety can be found here.
Did you incorporate literature in your wedding vows? Let me know how in the comments.
love,
melanie
Things No One Told Me About Planning a Wedding
Who has a Victrola at their wedding?
Well, folks, I know I’m trying to make this more of a library and book themed blog, but all of my free time lately has been consumed by wedding planning. George and I will be getting married in 3 months and I am feeling the crunch– literally– I’ve been working out like it is going out of style.
I’ve been failing miserably to make planning stress-free and I feel it is partly because I’ve been totally misinformed about the whole planning process. Everyone told me wedding planning would be fun and a great chance for you to spend time with your family and your “hubby-to-be.” (That phrase is gag-worthy, by the way.) Well, everyone was, for the most part, wrong. It’s been stressful, and hard, and I’ve seen even less of my family and fiancee.
I know it sounds a little surly, but I wish someone would have told me that WEDDING PLANNING SUCKS. It sucks all the free time out of your life. Hobbies, forget it. Chores, forget those too. This blog, yeah, neglected. Now you have another job. And that job is planning. Those people who told me that “Oh, you’re having a small wedding, it will be nice and stress-free” should eat their words.
Here are some of the things I wish someone had told me about planning even the smallest of wedding gatherings.
6. You may get more self-conscious about your own appearance. (Wedding pictures last forever, right?!)
5. Some people, be them the bestest of friends or the closest of family will probably get mad at you during some point in this process. (If you are having a small wedding with a big family, be prepared for the hell that is the invite list.)
4. People will judge you for doing unconventional things. I heard this one as not doing things “right.” (It’s a very Southern thing to say.)
3. You may start to understand the women who appear on the tv show, Bridezillas. It is a disgusting display of humanity, but I heard the “bridezillas” say a few key phrases that I’ve spit out. (I.E. Well, this is MY wedding, not theirs!)
2. Even small weddings can be ridiculously expensive. (Tack “wedding” onto any phrase and it becomes $1,000 more in price.)
1. Wedding planning is not fun. (You may start to even hate your own wedding at some point and have elaborate elopement fantasies.)
I don’t have much advice on how to avoid the perils of planning and sometimes I wonder if it can be avoided. I simply hope my unpreparedness helps future-brides. And I hope my own planning journey reward is a relatively stress-free wedding.
What do you wish you were told before you began planning for your own wedding?
love,
melanie
Books to Give as Wedding Gifts
- Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.
It is upon us! Wedding season! For many of you wedding season has already begun, but for George and I, the majority of our wedding activities are beginning this weekend. The dresses, and devotions, and drinks will kick off with a trip to a friends’ wedding in West Virginia. Then, we’ve got two more weddings in September and our own wedding in December.
Questions always arise about a gift when one is playing the role of wedding guest. The majority of the weddings we will be attending do not have a registry– which can be a blessing or a curse. The idea of a gifting on such a momentous occasion has inflicted a little bit of worry in my mind, but going registry-less can also be exciting. It gives the chance to show-case talents or give the people what they really want– CASH.
With registry-less weddings, I like to give a thoughtful book with money inside. Picking out books is my talent. And yes, I’m spoiling the surprise. Oops! Here’s some of my tips and favorite books for wedding gift-giving.
1. If the couple is going somewhere exotic on their honeymoon, a phrase or guide book is a helpful and entertaining choice. For our friends who were going to Italy on their honeymoon, we got them a Dirty Italian phrase book stuffed with cash. I hope they stunned the Italians with their knowledge and dirty-word skills.
2. I think marriage help or marriage advice books are way too personal to give at a wedding. Those types of books may even send the wrong message to the happy couple. But a book of other people’s love letters? Well, that just sounds divine.
3. Have the bride and groom expressed interest in learning a new skill or do they have a collective hobby? Now would be a great time to give a book on canning, gardening, or homemaking skills– if your couple is into that sort of thing. I particularly like Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry. It’s filled with hi-res pictures and makes canning look surprisingly hip.
4. Does your couple like fiction? Classic love stories like this illustrated Bronte Sisters collection would be fitting. Personally, I would prefer a few lovely classic novels to start a personal library in our home together. I’ve been swooning over this classic novels box set for over a year and would love to receive it as a wedding gift. Hint, Hint!
Do you have any tips about wedding gift giving? Have you ever given a book as a wedding gift? Let me know in the comments!
love,
melanie
Children’s Books to Read at a Wedding
Wedding vows are pretty important. Vows are intended to be public declarations of love and promise to one person. Vows are meant to be kept FOREVER. Vows are a pretty big deal. And lately I’ve been thinking about how best to do them.
I might be able to say the standard “’til death do us part” vows in front of my immediate family, but I don’t want to say our “real” vows in front of anyone else. It feels too private to me.
George and I are going to say our “real” vows before we do the legal ones. And before I put on makeup because I’m a huge sap and I’ll probably cry my eyeballs out. But that’s ok.
Since I’m a librarian and a great lover of books, I’ve been looking for a passage or a book that best expresses my feelings. This NYPL post from Kristy Raffensberger, a children’s librarian, has some great suggestions.
But in some ways I want to find my own. It’s the thrill of the hunt.
Here’s the few books I’ve found so far…
Debi Gliori
This book was obviously intended for the love between a parent and a child, but I think it describes romantic love, as well.
Small, a little fox, questions Large, a big fox, if he would love her (or if she would love him– it’s quite androgynous) in increasingly silly scenarios.
“If I were a grumpy grizzly bear, would you still love me? Would you still care?” “I’d always love you, no matter what,” responds Large.
I can definitely be a grumpy grizzly sometimes and I’m sure George could relate to this one.
Guess How Much I Love You
Sam McBratney (Author), Anita Jeram (Illustrator)
Again, probably meant for parental love, but relevant regardless.
This lovely bedtime tale follows Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare through a series of charming declarations.
It begins with “I love you as high as I can hop!” said Little Nutbrown. And ends with Big Nutbrown’s declaration “I love you right up to the moon.”
A Lovely Love Story
Edward Monkton
I cried at work reading this one. So embarrassing.
Such a cute premise. Two dinosaurs meet and fall in love. One is an emotionally distant dino and the other dino has a penchant for shopping. Regardless of flaws, they learn to accept one another as they are.
“Together they stand on the hill, telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs. And that, my friends, is how it is with love.”
Have you stumbled across any good wedding readings? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
love,
melanie