Will & Allie's Wedding

SOME WEDDING D I Y HAPPINESS

2010-09-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

HOME BREW

Bridal shower THANK YOUS

Bleach Pin Table cloth

jam!!!

Jam labels. Glue.

Invites - FINISHED!!!

2010-08-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

these things consumed our lives for weeks. now they're done and mailed away!

HAPPY FACE!

Painting the Invitations. pt. 1

2010-08-05T04:23:00.000-07:00

Last night Will & I spent at least 4 hours getting our invites together. Most of that time was spent hand painting each of them. Here's the punch line- we're still not finished with the painting. GRooOaaAN.

Heres the skinny:

In the Spring we bought this lovely Martha wedding invite set. This set has kinda set around because we're both procrastinators. However, Like any good putter-offer I have been thanking and plotting about what Im gonna do when we actually make the invites.

Last night I pulled them out and realize that all of my plans for the invitations are failures. I hate this wedding set. Its so boring. Its so Spring wedding. Its so void of character. Its so void of COLOR.

(YES, IM THAT OBSESSIVE OVER COLOR)

So, I huff and I puff and Will says: lets just buy another set. I huff and puff some more cause I havent seen another set I like and I have THIS ONE in front of me and darn it, I really wanna start these invites already!

Eventually, I plop down on the kitchen floor and I paint. and paint. and paint.

These are a few of the fully painted dry invites.

I really get obsessed over the dumbest stuff. The invites arent even close to being done. This is just the outside of them.

wonderful findings from other weddings....

2010-08-04T08:14:00.001-07:00

jealous!!! i want zombies at MY WEDDING!!!!

i want to meet this couple and become best friends with them.

adorable.

MY favorite bouquet so far.

TEAL BIRDCAGE VEIL. OMG I SO WANT ONE!

taking pics of people looking through picture frames. i really love this.
puppies with FLOWERS!

Booze!!

2010-06-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

just an update: today we got the ABC license for the reception. Hoorah!!

Our DIY (finally completed) T-Rex & Unicorn Save-The-Dates

2010-05-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

The FRONT of the card: The design is from a painting i'll probably never finish. I labored over what to put on the front for a while, but I finally decided that Im really gonna NEED to put a dino on the card- so lets roll with it.

The inside of our card: The design is made with card stock from the art store. We stuck a Post It (that we hope people will stick on their calendars) in the middle.

Our Save-The-Date Post It note. An idea we got from Off Beat Bride.

The back: Just has a small stamped heart.

We hope these cards are fun for people to receive. That's just about the whole reason we made them.

6 Months/ Save The Dates

2010-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

We're still working on it. Only now, we are actually working on it. S-T-D s (save the dates, y'all) coming soon. really.

ps- this image was taken and manipulated from a currently (and possibly forever) unfinished painting of mine: CHARLIE & REX

(clicking the LINK will take you to another Blog about the Whimsical paintings of Allie Kelley)

9 months/ Save-The-Dates

2010-01-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

It is nine months away from the wedding and Will and I broke out my massive and highly loved Sharpie collection and started doodling to brainstorm our Save The Dates. We haven't quite completed them but we're well on our way and fully expect/hope to have them out before Valentines Day. We wanted to wait till the New Year so people would have their new calendars to mark our wedding on.

Here are some of our doodles...

Personally, I would like the Top Doodle (weddin' TIME!) to be what we send out. HOWEVER, Will seems to think people will think less of us and we should try be a bit more classy. We'll see where compromise takes us.

Hunting for the perfect Wedding Location...

2009-09-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

.

When it come to the "WHERE" of our wedding, we were a little stumped. Our friends and family are spread as far south as Georgia as west as New Mexico and as north as Maine. So, we aren't certain on the very best location for everybody.

Living in Virginia affords us some beautiful nature scenes as back drops to our wedding. Last weekend we went scouting around the New River Valley for wedding venue.

Will's parents came down and we went first to SELU conservatory

and then to Claytor Lake.

Both places had their pros and cons

SELU was very quiet. Very tucked away in the forest. Renting Selu would have meant renting the
whole park, and there were some very beautiful places to get married there...

however the only place I could have had a reception would have been in a rentovated BARN. Also, I was really looking for a place to rent that several outta towners could stay at. The lodge at Selu was kinda: 70's dull/ native american corn themed/ taxidemery paradise ...

And that's just not what I wanted for my wedding weekend.

THEN we went to Claytor Lake. OH! I fell in love!

There is a quant white gazebo in front of a lake in front of rolling hills. Those hills are gonna be on fire with Fall colors come Mid- October.

There is a reception area just a few hundred yards away.

And just a little beyond that lies several cabins that are on the lake and super cute. They can easily hold all the family and friends coming in from out of town.

Below are a few shots of the Gazebo on the lake and a six bedroom cabin on the lake.

Click on the pics for a larger, more awesome view

DIY ideas for Groomsmen attire

2009-09-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

I was feeling like the Blog was a bit too full of girly happiness.
I thought posting anything geared towards the Groomsmen
might help balance it out.

I found this wonderful post on Hip Hostess. I love it
so I am posting a link to it.

Its a DIY guide for how to make a ribbon boutonniere.

Click HERE for instructions. There's a good chance we'll be making several of these.

Dream Wedding Dress

2009-09-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

If this dress

-------->

And this dress

---------->

could some how mate and have a baby,
I would be in heaven.

The Hunt for a Wedding Dress

2009-09-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is what I want: A fun, flattering, classy dress.

This is what I don't want: To pay a crazy amount for it.

So I found this dress on ebay ---->

I LOVE this dress! I think its amazing and perfect.
The problem is that I cant try it on, so I grabbed a friend and headed to the dress store.

If I cant try on the dress I want, I'll try on dresses that come really close...

Here's a few pics

of our beaded, ivory colored satin, tiara wearing shenanigans

great dress, but the clasp was missing so it was nearly falling off.

Heather, youre such a princess. I think you shou ld wear wedding dresses daily.

angry face

Birdcage Veils Obsession

2009-09-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

As my wedding excitement increases, I am finding myself OBSESSED with Birdcage veils (also known as Russian Veils.)

My girl Jessey on her wedding day. GLAM. loves it ------->

There are lots and lots of these on ETSY.com some of which are amazing.

However, they can run $60-$300 and thats just silly. There's nothing to it.

it's TINY!

So, of course, I have every intention of making my own.

Here are a few websites with lovely easy to follow instructions:

ONCEWED has full colored pics and easy instruction on how to insert the flowers

HipHostess has a wonderful tutorial with shots of materials and what the final veil looks like. LOVELY.

ProjectWedding has handdrawn instructions and a tally sheet of prices

If all else fails, I'll have fun posting pics of my disaster veil and Ill just buy one from a seller on ETSY.

Favor Ideas from MarthaStewartWeddings.com

2009-09-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Brilliant Ideas and Pictures from Martha Stewart
i LOVE these:

the caption for this one reads:

"Given as a favor, chocolate is always a big hit, and letting your guests assemble their own boxes sweetens the deal. Create a buffet of offerings -- we used milk, white, and dark chocolates -- and label each with a printed tag. Small boxes, secured with elastic bands, are casually stacked alongside the treats."

Anyone who knows Will knows he has a sweet tooth and loves to cook. I think it would be sweet to send guests home with some of Will's homemade goodies...

The picture of the Cookie Buffet is along the same lines of : we make yummies- guest take them home to enjoy...

And finally, my FAVORITE: Earl Grey Tea Cookies

I think it combines my obsession with tea with Will's LOVE of all things sugary. Loves it.

Also, its super cute.

The people at Martha Stewart kindly provided a
"How To" for DIYers like myself.

A few ideas I really like....

2009-07-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

I found these ideas in the Aug/Sept 2009 Modern Bride magazine:

Instead of rice, it would be neat to have guest throw yummy smelling herbs-

And the picture wall is something that everyone could have fun with at the reception. It just seems like something everyone can really get into (pun intended.) I just gotta figure out who I can sucker into making it for me.

*Click on the Pic for a better View*

Delightful Cake Toppers

2009-07-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

So, I just found this and I wanted to share: Bobble Head cake toppers. Made to look just like the bride and groom. I doubt they'll be on our cake, but its good to know your options.

Okay. Were ready.

2009-07-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

So, as most of you may know: Will & I are engaged. We've been engaged since April 8, 2008, in fact. Here it is July of 2009 and we haven't quite gotten around to planning anything. Well, we've decided that's gonna change.

We are a assuming it's very possible that Will is gonna get a job outside of Virginia. So we dont know where we are getting married. AND because we would like to get settled before we start paying for big things- like a wedding- we don’t know when we're going to get hitched. BUT we're gonna start planning this ordeal anyway and its gonna be fantastic!

So, this is our blog. 2 people who want a wedding, but are awkward and reluctant to plan it. I guess this is our adventure.