The Everyday Bride

Hosting OOT Guests I

Every year I find myself slightly unprepared when Nathan and I host out of town guests. There's never been a comical disaster (except for our first Thanksgiving, but that's a story for another time); I've just never been at ease with the decisions I've made regarding meal choices, sleeping arrangements, etc. So this year, I decided I would be start preparing well in advance.

I'm beginning my hostess preparations with meal ideas, specifically, breakfast ideas, because I can't imagine anything more welcoming to a guest than waking up to the smell of a something scrumptious baking in the oven! Besides, breakfast is sometimes the only meal you eat at home, because you're so busy sightseeing and showing off local restaurants?!

Up until this point, I've stuck to recipes I've mastered: waffles (with my trusty waffle-maker), french toast casserole, a variety of crostata's... So, I'm in desperate need of new breakfast/brunch recipes; enter: Williams-Sonoma online recipes search. I'll spend the next couple of months trying to master a baked apple pancake, a classic dutch baby, homemade sausage, and three different types of filled pancakes: cinnamon glaze, banana/graham cracker, and lemon/marscapone!!!

I'm hungry...

photo credits: Williams-Sonoma Recipes

Wedding Hair II: The Bridesmaids

Wedding hair is important for everyone - brides and bridesmaids alike. Can you imagine looking at your wedding album 20 years from now and shaking your head in shame because your maid of honor's hair looked like a hot mess? (It happens to my aunt every time she opens her 1989 wedding album!)

I'm not suggesting that their hair should be nicer than yours; not at all, in fact. Rather, their hair should compliment yours, whether your hair is down and casual or up in a beehive!

These maids kept it cool and "everyday-down", while the bride donned a ultra-cute low updo.

These maids looked beachy and beautiful while the bride kept it understated and half-up.

This entire bridal party donned city-chic dos...

...while this entire bridal party coordinated a variety of "everyday" looks!

And, my favorite of all wedding party dos has got to be this vintage entourage.

...a closer look at one of the updos. Isn't it fabulous!?

photo credit: style me pretty, snippet and ink, snippet and ink, style me pretty, snippet and ink, snippet and ink

Wedding Hair I: The Bride

Before I begin this post, I’d like to send a quick shout out to Snippet and Ink. While “researching” wedding hair options for brides and bridesmaids, I found myself continuously visiting Snippet’s Real Weddings for inspiration. What a comprehensive selection! But, I digress.

It might just be a personal preference, but I’m a huge fan of brides who look like themselves on their wedding day – brides who take a somewhat natural approach to their wedding look. There’s something about a soft, subtle, delicate beauty that (to me) will always be considered Classic, with a capital C. And, while I’m partial to brides who wear their hair down, specifically in loose curls, I completely appreciate a well-executed up-do. Below is a small sampling of some of my favorite looks. The only re-occurring theme is soft and natural...with a little bit of volume for good measure.

photo credit: snippet and ink, snippet and ink, snippet and ink, snippet and ink, 2 excited nests, snippet and ink, snippet and ink, snippet and ink

Bridesmaid Dresses: Tailoring Off the Rack

I stand corrected...

Months ago, when I saw post after post featuring this eggplant Adrianna Papell dress from Nordstrom, I secretly thought to myself: these ladies clearly want their bridesmaids to look fat. Clearly. As much as I loved (and I mean looooooved) the color and fabric of this dress, it would have been completely cruel to make my bridesmaids wear a dress that created a pooch - literally!

But then I saw Holly and Mario's wedding featured on Snippet and Ink, and my jaw hit my laptop. They seem to have tailored the puffy, pooch-creating midsection down to a smooth, sleek, almost form-fitting dress! So, the moral to that story is...if you're only paying $100+ for the dress, you can totally afford to tailor the shape if need be!!!!

photo credit: Nordstrom, Snippet and Ink, Snippet and Ink

Flower Girl Dresses: Us Angels

Finding a flower girl dress that fit my style and budget wasn't nearly as easy as I thought it would be. I went back and forth for MONTHS trying to find the perfect dress - seriously, months! I finally stumbled upon the perfect little eggplant Us Angels number at Nordstrom, of all places!!!! Who would have thought!?

If you're on the market for a stylish flower girl dress, take a look at Us Angels. Absolutely adorable!

photo credit: Us Angels

an eyelet and doily inspired wedding

These days, after 3 months of a particularly harsh and freezing winter, I find myself daydreaming about summertime fun in the sun! Can you blame me?!

So today I’d like to bring you my summer wedding daydream! Oh, if I had to do it all over again, I might have chosen a mid-June, outdoor, eyelet & doily inspired wedding! Talk about casual elegance! And, the number of ways you can showcase eyelet and doily details are almost limitless!

You or your flower girl could wear a fabulous (yet understated) eyelet dress. Your cake could feature eyelet- or lace-punched fondant. You could wrap your cylinder candle vases in paper doilies or eyelet fabric. You could purchase Martha's premade eyelet wedding invitations or decorations (fantastic prices, may I add)! You could use eyelet or lace inspired embossers or hole punchers to embellish your wedding paper, or adhere paper-lace doilies to a variety of your wedding paper like this fabulous DIY bride! You are limited only by your imagination!!

photo credits: Creative Odds 'n Ends, HWTM, Martha's Eyelet Collection via Redbook, Lee and Hamilton Blog, Lee and Hamilton Blog, Martha's Eyelet Collection via Redbook

Purple Bridesmaid Dress

Argh! Of course, oooooof course this would happen. JCrew has an absolutely gorgeous eggplanty-raisiny purple bridesmaid dress that would have been perfect for my bridesmaids! That's what I get for being slightly ahead of the color curve!

Purple wedding girls: capitalize on JCrew's "spiced wine" bridesmaid dresses! They are fabulous!

photo credit: JCrew

Vendor Review V: Fabulous DOC

Honey Bee Weddings: A+

Wedding designers, wedding planners, wedding coordinators, day-of-coordinators (whatever they classify themselves as) are truly amazing phenomena. Nothing, let me say it again, nooooooooothing could drive me to work with planning-crazed brides, unorganized vendors, or micromanaging mothers. But these professionals brave the chaos and revel in the challenge to bring order. They are like firefighters running toward a burning building while the rest of us are running for our lives. And, Misse from Honey Bee Weddings, was exactly that firefighter for me...

I had originally hoped to DIY a DOC by enlisting “a friend of a friend” who wanted to break in to the business. However, wedding coordination proved to be too hard a task for her, as she silently bowed out a few months in. So, I promptly got down to the business of sifting through dozens of overpriced Chicagoland DOCs – an exhausting and unsettling process, indeed. But, thankfully, it didn’t take me too long to find Misse. I hired her on the spot as my Day of Coordinator…but I quickly realized that the phrase “day of” didn’t begin to describe her services.

At our first meeting, Misse offered budget-friendly vendor references (fruitwood chivari chairs with any color cushion for $6.50 per chair, what?!). She later offered invaluable wedding paper assistance (the amount of proof-reading and correcting she did was almost criminal). And during the week of my wedding, she navigated impossible vendor communication (impossible because I was busy entertaining family and being the bride)!

The day of the wedding, Misse did EVERYTHING - everything from picking up the wedding cupcakes, (because Sweet Mandy B's has a no-delivery policy), to keeping everyone/everything on time, to DIY project set-up (menus, place cards, advice jars, etc.), to post-reception tear-down. She even put out a small “fire” when 2 guests were unhappy with their table, and decided they were going to pick up their place settings and move – literally. She was poised and professional and found a way to make everyone happy! And, I don't know how, but she actually found time to step in to the photobooth, which left us with an AWESOME keepsake, (photo to the left)!

From “phase one planning” to the “day of coordinating”, Misse proved to be an invaluable resource on so many levels! If I had to do it all over again, I would only do one thing differently: I would have hired her as soon as I got engaged! Seriously, ladies: contact her!

related posts: our budget-friendly wedding V: farewell brunch, our budget-friendly wedding IV: reception, our budget-friendly wedding III: DIY wedding paper, Vendor Review IV: Photobooth, Vendor Review III: Wedding & Reception Flowers, our budget-friendly wedding II: ceremony, Vendor Review II: Hair and Make up, our budget-friendly wedding I: Attire, The photos are in!!!, Vendor Review I: Reception Music

our budget-friendly wedding V: farewell brunch

I don't know why, but I honestly thought that I had to give our guests a delicious farewell brunch before sending them home to their respective cities. I thought it was the only way to say "thank you" for traveling all the way to Chicago, spending hundreds, maybe thousands, on travel and hotel costs, and getting Nathan and I a wonderful gift. But then I realized how crazy it was to spend nearly 10% of our budget on a day-after brunch!

So, we decided to organize a Farewell Open House - wait for it - in our hotel suite. (BTW, we totally lucked out when The W accidentally gave my aunt (my namesake) our bridal suite, because our upgraded suite was A LOT bigger. Score!)

We decided to have Corner Bakery "cater" the "event" (which simply meant ordering $125 worth of muffins, pastries, and other morning goodies, tons of fresh fruit, and lots of hot coffee). We displayed our super awesome photobooth guestbook so people could page through the hilarious photos and relive the evening. People came and went at their own pace - many slept in and came late, while others came early and left soon after to catch a flight. It was casual and fun - exactly like Nathan and I, if I do say so myself! All in all, it was the perfect way to say goodbye to our family and friends.

Photo credit: W Hotel City Center, photos of our Wow Suite

our budget-friendly wedding IV: reception

When you cut through all of the fluff (the crafty wedding paper, the themed decor, the fancy china, the rented lounge furniture, whatever your wedding may have featured), all receptions are the same. From the local VFW to The Drake, the same laughs, the same tears and the same good times are had.

What I'm about to share, no amount of money can buy...they just happen...

Nathan and I decided to completely omit some of the not-so-timeless "reception ceremonies", such as the bouquet toss and garter ceremony (to each his own, right?), and we decided to vary some of the others. For instance, Nathan and I were introduced casually, sans bridal party, to Queen's "You're My Best Friend" ...It might sound corny, but as our DJ started playing the song, Nathan looked at me and said, "I'm so lucky to have married my best friend..." As we rounded the corner, we entered the room to a roar of claps and "wooows", but I'm not sure if the smile on my face is from the crowd's welcome or from Nathan's comment.

Shortly after, Nathan's brother (BM), my father, and my sister (MOH) gave the most touching speeches I'd ever heard. (I'm sure everyone says that about their wedding...) We laughed...

...and cried. And, nearly all of our guests mentioned how touching the speeches were.

Nathan and I danced our first dance as a married couple to Making Memories of Us. Nathan's not much of a dancer (I know, I'm the lone dancer in a family of wall-flowers...), so we decided we would invite everyone to join in after the first 60 or so. The bizarre thing was, he knew everyone was staring at us, but he didn't care. He just stared into my eyes and sang to me. It was the fastest and slowest 4 minutes of my life...

Later, I danced with my father to My Wish. Because he was terrified to have "all eyes on him", we decided to make it an "informal" father-daughter dance...covertly sneaking a private dance amidst the sea of other dancers. His plan worked, no one looked at him! He kept saying, "how am I doing; should we be moving around more; why is the photographer taking pictures of us, doesn't he know how funny I look right now?" It was hilarious! But then, he got really serious and said, "this would be a lot harder for me if Nathan weren't the best mad I'd ever met..." I lost it - completely broke down on his shoulder. Thank goodness this photo was taken just before. It's one of my favorite photos from the entire evening.

And then we danced and danced...

and danced (with some air guitar)...

...and danced some more... (Name that tune: "a little bit softer now, a little bit softer now...")

We wrapped up the evening with a photo shoot in the stacks... These are my FAVORITE photos from the entire evening, bar none. Even though it was relatively planned out, the photos seem to have captured our stolen moments.

...okay...enough said on that subject... ;)

photo credit: Essence Photo and Video

our budget-friendly wedding III: DIY wedding paper

Almost every piece of our wedding paper was DIY. I didn't mean for it to happen that way, but as I researched costs of programs and menus and calligraphy escort cards, I realized that we could break our budget on wedding paper alone.

About a month before the wedding, I decided to pitch the "candle escort card" idea because I became obsessed with these little books. Obsessed! Inside these beautiful little books, I used a "Story of Us" book theme, which was also used throughout the rest of our ceremony and reception paper. It was entitled, "Chapter II: In the Beginning" and featured our tear-jerking engagement story. (Our menus [not pictured] were entitled, "Chapter III: Eat, Drink and Be Married," of course!) Unfortunately, my photographer did NOT get a shot of the escort cards in all their displayed glory. But, oh well, at least I have something. (I love how you can see the library books in the background!)

Next up are the Bride and Groom chair signs. This was a super quick project; seriously, it only took about 20 minutes, a printer, a xyron, and some ribbon. Of course, since our wedding, I've come across some really beautiful B&G signs, tied with thick, luscious ribbon, and now I totally regret not thinking that part out. But, oh well, live and learn...

Some of you may remember my original plans for our table numbers. Well, I searched and searched and couldn't find any "usable" digital images, so I forfeited that awesome idea, and went the super-easy route. This project was also extremely quick and cost effective. All that was needed were tent cards, a printer, and a xyron. Twenty minutes later, ALL of my signs were done - table numbers, bar menus, advice jar, everything. (There is an abandoned DIY project within these table numbers as well, but that's for a later post...stay tuned.)

(Disclaimer: Please excuse the quality of the next photo. We haven't yet had our final photography meeting, and therefore, have not received the final color corrected images.)

Our advice jars were placed in each of the large seating nooks. Apparently this was the perfect place for them, because EVERY SINGLE PERSON at our wedding left us a little note of advice. I almost feel guilty to have these little tid-bits of marital capital, almost like we should have to figure it out on our own... But, I'll admit, it was so much fun reading the advice with Nathan... One listed the author's version of the top ten marriage myths, the first one of which said, "it is actually okay to go to bed angry, as long as you make up for it in the morning!" It's almost too perfect, isn't it?!)

I expanded on the typical "advice note card" idea by fashioning library-check-out-advice-note-cards (which were inspired by this post by Creature Comforts). I made ours slightly larger than hers and customized it to read, "date: 11.01.08" and "issued to: Colleen & Nathan". I'll post the template in an upcoming entry...so stay tuned.

Last but not least are the programs. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but our photographers only got ONE shot of our programs, and it was only of the back cover. The back cover featured the chorus of "You're My Best Friend" (courtesy of i heart peonies inspiration), which is great and all, but I labored over the eight-page, all-inclusive, programs that featured a vellum pouch on the last page with a single tissue tucked inside...for their tears of joy. I'm so incredibly disappointed that I don't have a photo of them, because the hotel threw away the extra copies, leaving us (and anyone who was in the processional) with no keepsake. Bummer, indeed.

photo credit: Essence Photo and Video

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