Hunting for the perfect Wedding Location...

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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

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

If this dress



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And this dress





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

The Hunt for a Wedding Dress

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 should wear wedding dresses daily.

angry face

Birdcage Veils Obsession

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

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.