autumn = happiness

It's coming.  And, I love seeing it happen.  I'm pulling out my chili recipes and my sweaters and getting excited about the Fall once again. I even made a Autumn Love board that is making me very happy right now.  I seriously want to throw a party just to be able to design this table.

Peeking around the web, I found several fun easy ways to celebrate this season.  Tatertots and Jello always has a scad of fun ideas, and these are a few of her featured Top 20 Halloween projects.

i mean, really...what's not to love about burlap and lace.

Autumn Bunting @ My Blessed Life

i love this wreath.  it's pretty and elegant with a dab of spook. perfect.

 Simple Halloween Wreath @ Nikki, In Stitches

you know i can't resist a bucket list.

Halloween Bucket List @ Makoodle

chatting about fleurs...

Apparently, I'm just like Fancy Nancy.  Everything sounds prettier in French.  Thus, flowers become fleurs, and oh, so pretty!

Before You Go...

You might have heard the old Southern saying, "Don't arrive empty handed."  Well, going to your florist is no different. Don't go empty-handed!  Your florist cannot event begin to think, design, or create what you will like without having some idea of what your vision for your flowers is.

Pin It.

Have fun pinning away and make yourself a board or, you can go the old fashion route and clip out from magazines.  Your florist will be thankful for pictures, either way.  As you pin, you will begin to see a trend with colors and arrangements, that will help to show what your style is.  (Don't take mine as an example of similar tastes and styles...Mine is the opposite...it's a starting board for finding out which ones are clients favorites, so that then I can begin to narrow down which ones are their style.)  But, just from looking over a few pictures, you can begin to see which style and colors you like the best with flowers.

The last thing you want is to have your flowers show up at your wedding and be completely off from what you were thinking your flowers were going to look like.

So, if you're in the middle of planning, that's your homework...find pictures of what flowers you absolutely love, so that you know you're all on the same page.

flourish{ing}

 Flowers are amazing.  

You have a bare space, and then all of a sudden, you add flowers or greenery, and there's life!

But, similarly to color schemes, the trends with flowers change over time.  What I picked for my bridal bouquet (13 years ago today actually!) was perfect...then.  

Maybe I'm just too fickle, and vary my taste too much, but my flowers would be completely different now, than what I chose in August of 1999.

Over the last decade, {like many things in the wedding industry} the floral industry has taken quite a turn.  There is a whole movement toward more organic and natural arranging, and not your grandmother's (no offense!) florist.

For years, I didn't like the term florist.  It just felt stuffy, and unexciting, to say the least.  But, I love flowers!  It wasn't that I was unhappy with the flowers, more of how I would see them arranged.

There is a huge difference between having someone do the flowers, and someone being a floral designer.

In the next few posts, I'll be giving some tips on how to pick your favorite flowers, and how to make sure your style will truly flourish.

Color, Color, Who's Got the Color?

Maybe it's just because it's summer and these colors are so fun, but this is my favorite color combo right now for weddings.  It's so fun and spunky, but also modern and sophisticated. I think I'm in love...

Whenever I say or hear the phrase, "What are your colors?" I totally think of Steel Magnolias, where they're all in the beauty parlor, and they ask Shelby what her wedding colors are, and she says... (come on now, say it with me if you know it)

"My colors are blush and bashful."

And Weeza says...

"Your colors are PINK and PINK!"

Oh, I love that movie.  Ok, so what about you...

What were your colors? If you had to do it all over again, what colors would you choose?

I'm sure I'll change my mind in another month, but for now...I think I'll go put on my coral earrings and a turquoise dress.

Saturday Shopping...

Well, I think it's fair to say that I have some of the coolest friends in the world. Not only are they incredibly kind and compassionate, but several have hidden talent and creativity that seems to be bursting to life. Not to mention, they have great prices!

For your Saturday viewing pleasure, I thought I would show off a few of them to you. These beautiful women work from home, and do simple marketing with tools like Etsy and Facebook, and have each begun home businesses designing what they love to make.

saucy mama

First of all, my dear friend Stephanie, has beautiful jewelry. Her business is called Saucy Mama, and she designs awesome handcrafted earrings, necklaces, charms, and more! Right now, she even has a 25% off sale on these adorable birds nest pendants. I have one that I wear almost every day. She'll even customize the color or number of the eggs for you!

lucke penny

I have a fun new friend who just recently moved here from Texas. She is newly married and has begun the cutest Etsy shop called Lucke Penny. Adorable, right?

She has the cutest bow ties for only $10...perfect for Easter!

I already snatched up a couple, but no worries, she can make plenty more!

And, she makes awesome burpies and bibs...

(spoiler alert - you might see these again if you're pregnant and my friend.)

And, my favorite (of course) are the flag garlands. I'm such a sucker for something that helps you celebrate. Look how cute!?!

sweet beet designs

And, then, if you're really going for a make over in your home...check out Sweet Beet Designs. She finds old stuff and makes it hip and new and awesome. Check out this before and after.

I'm totally spoiled because all of these creative women live within minutes from me. However, even if you're not local, they can find a way to ship and get stuff straight to you.

Go have fun shopping!

10 min. LOVELY home makeover

Who says holiday decorations have to be what you see at the drug store hanging up that cost too much money and are plastic, tinseled, and tacky. (did i say that out loud?) Why not use things that you already have, and just think of them in a new way.

If you haven't found this out about me yet, I'll go ahead and spill the beans...I like projects that are inexpensive and easy to do. This applies to cooking...cleaning...decorating...gift wrapping...and on and on. So, yesterday I had the urge to bring in a few Valentine's day pretties, without the fuss. It took a few minutes to shop the house, but with using the base decor that is already here, I added a few things that I simply love.

Here are my 10 minute makeovers for {lovely} home decor.

At Christmas time, my living room sitting table centerpiece was filled with evergreens leftover from the tree trimmings.

I took the evergreens outside, and replaced with my big red candlestick and some fresh greenery. I'm not a huge pink person, so my V-day color is primarily red. (because that's what I have more of!)

I love mixing the sullied silver with the texture of the wood and paper flowers. Even though this centerpiece is a little more understated, it has a naturally romantic look that I love.

While I'm spilling the beans, I guess I should also tell you that I'm not a big heart fan. (gasp). But, the kids of course love decorating with hearts this time of year. So, I found a way to incorporate them, without having them take up the entire house. Their little hearts can be strung around the house in ways that are celebrating their artwork, without giving me twitches from all the hearts.

In another corner of our home, I have this old drop leaf table that I've turned into a desk(ish) of sorts. It's a quiet little reading corner, and I love all the books that came out of my hubby's grandparents home. So, with a few books about love, and a pretty sign my sweetie made me, now I feel like it's spruced up for the season.

My bunting from a former wedding was perfect to hang in our kitchen doorway. I like it so much, I might just leave it there for good!

Buntings are more involved, I know...but a really fun way to make them with the kids is to do them with scrapbook paper. You can cut out the triangles from pieces of paper you have, staple them over a piece of twine or string, and hang them up to create a beautiful doorway design for any season!

If you have chalkboards, change out your quotes or scriptures to focus more on love. That's something I need to be reminded of no matter what the season is!

What do you have at home that celebrates this season?

Roaring 20's Wedding

I knew this wedding would be fabulous from the moment I started working with the bride to be. The bride and groom decided to go the more intimate wedding route, choosing a roaring 20's theme! Though this wedding was on a smaller budget, it was not lacking in style! This fun crowd had a blast dressing in 20's fashion, and partying the night away. The wedding was held at the bride's sister's house, which was a perfect fit, being an early twentieth century home.

We used the foyer to accommodate the guest book area, along with many vintage furniture accents to create the 20's feel from the moment you walked through the door.

The tables were adorned with oil lamps and arrangements of peacock feathers and art deco accents. They added a bit of the Speak Easy Tavern feel to the reception time.

The bride carefully chose her gown, shoes, and jewelry to

all reflect her style as well as the period she was representing. She completed the outfit with bright red lipstick and a 20's styled hairdo. It was brilliant.

I designed an old time Candy Store using period sweets on a sideboard.

Guests had been asked to come dressed in 20's style, but for anyone who needed a few more touches to their outfits (or just for the kids to play dress up) we had a few extra accessories on hand.

We used silver painted sticks to create an altar area for the bride and groom. We lighted the sticks and hung crystals to give a more enchanted effect. And, of course, being the 20's, the peacock feathers couldn't be left out!

It was so fun to see how everyone participated in the theme of the wedding and truly had a blast celebrating...20's style!

Special thanks to Laura Redd for helping me make this event one to remember!

a time for everything

One of the first decisions that you make when planning your wedding is the time and date. If you're trying to cut corners, one thing to think about is what time you will set for your wedding. If you set your wedding to be at 5pm, that means that you will have your reception right at dinner time...which also means you will be suggesting that you will be serving dinner. Meal times = lots of food.

I have a sweet couple that I'm working with right now, and they are trying to keep things as simple as possible...in every way. So, one thing they decided was that they would have their wedding after lunch, but before dinner, so that they wouldn't have to feed their guests an entire meal. They'll still have a few little things that are easy to pick up and eat while mingling, but they won't have to spend a ton to feed everyone a meal.

The food for the reception can sometimes use up to half of your wedding budget! Think outside of the box...if you know that you need to cut back, think about ways that you could schedule the reception to be at a time that you could get away with not feeding everyone quite so much food.

Remember, selective menu does not mean that it will be dull. Check out these beautiful, but simple receptions...

vintage picnic wedding

(one o'clock ~ three o'clock)

(quilts for ceremony and reception seating)

high tea reception

(two o'clock ~ five o'clock)

fun storyboard with this example

dessert reception

(eight o'clock ~ eleven o'clock)

There are ways to be economic and creative while entertaining your family and friends. Whether or not you have dinner, you can still have a fabulous affair!

picture credits: http://theweddingcommunityblog.com/2011/10/17/afternoon-tea-wedding-reception-moody-monday/, http://stylishperfection.com/?p=519, http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2008/09/26/reader-question-dessert-reception/, http://www.brides.com/wedding-ideas/wedding-meals-drinks/2010/09/alternative-wedding-reception-ideas-dessert-receptions, http://www.mywedding.com/blog/nggallery/page-6055/image/11281/page-1/, http://bluelilyevents.blogspot.com/2011/05/vintage-picnic-wedding-inspiration.html