little loves

happy valentine's day to you.

I couldn't think of a more romantic picture than this one. It's a little "sweetheart" table I designed back in the fall.

Yesterday, as I was talking with a dear friend, we were talking about how little you have to do to celebrate with the ones you love. It doesn't take much. I just adore her sweet tradition...after the kids go to bed, she makes one big beautiful ice cream sundae to share, and then her and her sweetie watch a romantic comedy together. love it.

Yes, a beautifully designed tablescape at a romantic spot in an orchard would be ideal, but that's not really what it's all about.

We've never done much for Valentine's Day, simply because we want to truly focus on loving each other in little ways throughout the year. So, I never expect a slew of roses and flowers...but it was fun to walk down and have my hubby making my favorite breakfast of French Toast, and to have a few flowers and truffles by each of our places. (my daughter wanted to know why I had the biggest box of truffles. heehee.) It's little, but to me, it says "i love you." He'll have class til late tonight, so he thought ahead and wanted to do something special for us all.

This past weekend, my hubby took my little girl out to a Daddy Daughter Dance, and I went with my son on a date of our own. They both are so sweet, and just soak up the time we spend with them. And, also, ummm...when did they get so big???

I absolutely love this picture of her...it's filled with excitement and glee, childlike joy, and yet ecstatic anticipation. She knew exactly how she wanted her hair, and couldn't wait to surprise her date with which dress she chose.

I knew he wouldn't care about dessert or conversation, so I spoke his little love language and we went to CiCi's and then onto Bounce U. He thought it was better than anything he could have imagined. I loved how excited he was when he heard where we were going.

My sweet little man.

So, even though tonight I won't probably won't sit at a table like my "sweetheart" table, I'll pull out a few picnic blankets, and have a fun dessert to surprise my sweetie with when he gets home...and maybe get caught up on Downton Abbey.

Here's to hoping your day is filled to the brim with sweetness and love...

and all the mushy stuff, too.

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?

thrift{y}

When I'm styling events and weddings, I get asked a lot, "Where do you find all your stuff for your events?!"

The off the cuff answer is usually a quick one..."Anywhere and everywhere!"

And that's the truth...but the longer answer dates back to my love of yard saling. You may not know or remember this love of mine, and with how busy I have been over the last few years, I haven't had as much time to go. But for years, it was largely how I came to buy anything at all. And it's amazing the things that I found that we needed, from clothes and shoes that were perfect sizes for the kids, to pots and pans that I had prayed for. I'm so not kidding.

Getting married young, still being in school, and having to make one income be enough to support a family of four is not easy. Not that I would change any of it! It just meant that I learned how to do things on the cheap.

We got furniture from my Grandparent's attic and repainted it.

I found luxury items like "new" clothes, cute shoes and jewelry at Goodwill and Salvation Army.

I slammed on brakes and did lots of U turns to go back and get furniture off the side of the road.

Here's the secret...it's a great way to live.

I used to feel disappointed that I couldn't just go to the store and get new things whenever I wanted. But, then I came to see how much I valued reusing, repurposing, and not to mention, saving money. Now, it's become more of a choice, than a necessity, but I still would so much rather buy a chair with a story, than one that has thousands made in a factory somewhere overseas.

What has this got to do with saving money when you're planning your wedding?!? Lots, actually.

There are so many things that you can get for your wedding from thrift stores. If you want a vintage feel, get lots of mix-matched white china for your dishes, instead of renting all of them for twice the price.

Or, see what found objects you can get that create the style to your event that you're looking for. If you love the vintage picnic idea, visit your local thrift stores and keep your eyes out for old picnic baskets and blankets.

Dresses. Old dishes. Picture frames. Aprons. Yarn. Serving platters. Glassware. Tablecloths. Vintage linens. Suitcases. Books. Jewelry. Wooden crates. Buttons. Army trunks...need I go on?

There's a lot of treasure out there, folks...and it's ours for the takin'!

What others are saying...

(here are a couple links to great articles about this!)

Offbeat Bride had a great article about it here: here's the start of it...

"I just want to say that I am having an absolute blast finding awesome, unique, and totally, insanely cheap dishes and silverware for our wedding.

Last weekend I went to a thrift store and got 40 pieces of silverware (in good condition), 10 wine glasses, and about 5 coffee cups (all attractive, in very good shape) for freaking FOUR DOLLARS AND SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS. I actually cackled on the way back to my car."

Simple Mom reposted her thrifting tips the other week and I loved all she had to say about it.

And, I've found over the years, the more you thrift, the more you'll find. Don't give up if you just don't see something one time...who knows what will be there the next week!

http://greenweddingshoes.com/rustic-vintage-wedding-ideas/

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!

Go Big or Go Home?

Most of the time when you think of weddings, you might think the best way to go is...well, big. What's ironic though, is that many times when I ask people what they would have done differently in regards to their weddings, the answer I hear the most is that they would have made it smaller. More intimate. More intentional with fewer people.

This is also a way to cut costs tremendously. If you are in a place of needing to keep things economical, the best way to keep expenses down is to decrease the number of guests. I realize it can be a tricky thing, because many times, families are so big, and friends are so numerous, there's no way to figure out how to lessen your head count. However, if it means being able to go ahead and tie the knot, it might be best to find a way to have fewer people, in a more quaint venue. instead of going big, consider going home.

Some of the sweetest weddings I've had the pleasure of being a part of were held in homes. A home allows for an intimate setting and very comfortable atmosphere for the guests. Sometimes at a bed and breakfast, or other times at a home large enough to have 50 or so guests enjoying being together. Just like at most receptions, you don't need seating for everyone. People like to mingle and stand with small plates of appetizers. If the weather is nice, garden weddings are completely enchanting. Instead of paying the pretty penny for a big name venue, begin to see the possibility of having an exquisite venue in your own backyard.

Sometimes going big isn't possible...

going home always is.

Come back tomorrow to hear about my most recent boutique wedding done in a 1920's home. It might just encourage you that it can be done!

picture credits: http://www.oncewed.com/32639/wedding-blog/real-weddings/a-diy-wedding-at-home-ii/

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

The Choice is Yours...

You might remember back when weddings were just something done at church on Saturday afternoons...with nuts and mints...and if you were being really extravagant...a cake. What was celebrated wasn't the wedding...it was the marriage.

We've come a long way since then. Yes, weddings are more personable than ever, and are able to be designed to fit exactly who the couple is, but many times that means more expensive than ever.

The question of doing it on a dime seems like a lost phrase when it comes to weddings. However, even though they have become wonderful celebrations filled with personality and glamour, there are still ways to save.

Just because you can do more than ever these days, doesn't mean you have to. It will still be beautiful...and it will still be your wedding.

I think sometimes, the biggest hump to get over is feeling this obligation to please the people coming to your wedding. I hear all the time people say,

"But, will it be nice enough?"

Not to rant, but if people are coming to your wedding to judge whether or not it's nice enough, they probably shouldn't be there to begin with.

The permission to cut back, is yours to take hold of, and more worthwhile than you might realize. At the end of the day, you will be married...and you don't want to start your marriage with thousands of dollars in debt just because you wanted to show your friends a good time.

Hear me clearly, I'm not saying to just forget about hiring professionals. I'm saying, choose wisely where you put your money. I still stand behind my principles to have people who know what they're doing be in charge of your day. Even the most economical weddings that I have done, have had families that say over and over again, how thankful they are to have someone else in charge of the details of the day. That's a must. You still want good photos to capture the day, and you still want to love the celebration...but this doesn't mean you have to spend your life savings to make that happen.

Choosing the things that are most important to you are key with knowing where to save. If you want to skimp on flowers because they're not that important to you, that's ok. Or, if you absolutely love photography, and you want to spend a bigger part of your budget on that, you can choose to do so. Spend time thinking about the things you care most about, and prioritize those things within your budget. That way, you will know how to proceed with other decisions. The choice is yours...just remember to choose wisely.

picture credit: http://aweddingrunsthroughit.blogspot.com/2010/03/old-timey-tuesday-recessional-and.html , http://www.fashion-era.com/Weddings/1927-old-wedding-photos.htm