Another Cake I Like

I really need to find out what the name of this style is called with the frosting like that....

I love it! (minus the leafy things coming out of the cake)

found here

Flowers I liked on The Knot

Well, I am stalking The Knot's ideas again... so I decided to pull my favorite bouquets. I need to start making decisions on flowers soon so I can nail down a florist!

It could be that I just fell in love with her pretty dress, but this bouquet is lovely. It was made of was made of blush-colored roses, cream hydrangeas, hypericum berries, and fresh herbs.

The bride's bouquet was a hand-gathered mix of peonies, hydrangeas, lilacs, viburnums, alchemilla, sweet pea, tulips, freesias, and roses in shades of cream, chartreuse green, and champagne.

I don't really care for the gold tie, but the flowers look simple and pretty. Composed of French lilacs, white ranunculuses, and honeymoon tulips.

This has peonies, roses, thistle, lamb’s ear, Queen Anne’s lace, ivy, and snapdragons.

This bouquet was made up of peonies, dahlias, and roses.

So colorful and pretty!

The pink peonies are gorgeous! I think I would substitute the white calalillies for something else, but this bouquet is very pretty.

I think I am falling more in love with peonies the more I look at them!

 Champagne roses, hydrangeas, cream anemones, and green hypericum berries.

This is a white, pale yellow and bright gold bouquet filled with orchids, ranunculus, roses, and mums. A bit brighter than what I picture going with my dress... but still very springy and cute!

So, anyone want to chime in with their favorites? Sigh. So many choices for flowers... this one is difficult! I do love the more romantic ones like the first choice. However, I love all white peonies, and I think it is unique to add different elements in the bouquet such as succulents and herbs. More flower posts to come for sure!

A Lovely Christmas

This Christmas was so wonderful! My sister came for a visit with her new baby and he sure is bringing a lot of joy to all of our lives. Such a cute little guy, I miss him already!

I am kind of in disbelief that this was my last Christmas where I will be spending Christmas Eve night at my parent's house with my sisters. However, I keep smiling thinking about how next year will be our first Christmas together as a married couple... is it weird that I am already excited to send out Christmas cards with wedding photos on them?

Anyhow, besides the adorableness of my nephew and amazing memories spent with my family this year, I recieved some gifts that were blog worthy seeing as they relate to the wedding! First up, my Mom gave me beautiful diamond stud earrings. I don't have a photo because I refuse to take them out (they're screw-backs so I'm slightly lazy) but man are they nice. They are .75 carat and I LOVE them! I had been wanting some diamond studs so I am very happy!

Then AJR ordered me a gorgeous hair pin that I will wear in my hair for the wedding. I may have dropped some not so subtle hints that I was in love with the hair piece so I was beyond elated that he did in fact get it for me! :-D It is from Etsy, made by Heart n Sole. This lady has a lot of beautiful pieces that I adore. But the one I got is definitely my favorite! It has ivory freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and rhinestones twisted in sterling silver wire.

Then AJR's sister, Emily, gave me a very pretty and vintage inspired clutch that will be perfect to keep my little things in on the wedding day!

 

So, my wedding day attire is complete! Now I take my dress to get a few more things added (some lace here, some buttons there) and I am done! Just need to start looking into hairstyles I want to try out with my beautiful new hairpin!

Let it Snow

So it's been a few days since I posted, mainly because I am trying to finish up all my Christmas shopping and wrapping presents before Santa gets here! Virginia saw it's biggest snow storm in a long time and it was so beautiful! Really got me in the Christmas mood walking around with Sarah in the Fan District feeling like we were in a snow globe with all the Christmas lights on Monument Ave. covered in white fresh snow. Glorious!

This was off of my front porch Friday night. The snow was reflecting light everywhere... it was SO BRIGHT! You could have driven without your headlights on at midnight! (well, if you could actually get your car out that is!)

Ah. And now for a series on my little flower girls (L&L) looking out the window at all the snow on Sunday afternoon.

So sweet.

Beautiful girls.

"Mom, the snow looks so cool!"

And then Little L got a little pouty. She's so darn cute!

Non-Matching Bridesmaid Dresses

A new and exciting discovery made by brides everywhere is that you don't in fact have to make your bridesmaids completely match in the same bridaly (ahem, ugly!) dresses you choose at the local bridal store. Bridesmaids are rejoicing worldwide, hooorraay! I finally made my decision about what my girls will be wearing the other night but before I reveal that, I want to do a post on how fun I think it is to let the girls choose their own dresses in a color you pick for them. The look is so neat and I think you get happier bridesmaids and a more visually appealing look for your wedding (since the girls really set the tone for the scene!).

I just think this look was so well put together. The picture is amazing with all the women who are different sizes and shapes and in the different cut/styles and varying shades of the same color. A+ my friends.

GREEN! :-D

So romantic with all those pretty shades of pink!

I absolutely adore this. First of all, I tend to think bride/bridesmaid pictures look better when there are fewer bridesmaids because you can really see each of the women and what their individual looks are easier. This photo is so well balanced and the overall look is perfect. I'm jealous that those aren't my colors.

And this is my absolute favorite. Perhaps it's because I am drawn to off white/champagne colored dresses for bridesmaids and the fact that two of the girls are in lace is definitely helping their case, but I LOVE this look. I would be thrilled to have my wedding party attire look like this!

{found here, here, and here respectively}

Hair Styles for the Wedding

I stalked TheKnot.com again to find some wedding up-dos that I might like. I found some really pretty ones that were worth posting! I envision having my hair up, but low and to the side, possibly in a loose bun or with curls. I'm excited to explore some more pictures of styles!

A simple up-do with a cream rose. So romantic.

A twisted bun

Pretty curls... ah, I love.

This girl had very fine hair and had the stylist curl it and pin it into a low up-do. Beautiful with the custom made hair pins!

Another hair style with pinned up curls. So pretty!

Am I allowed to ask for these as wedding gifts?

Too bad you can't register for super neat stuff like this!

A placemat that looks like a post card... oh how I fall for anything totally random and unique.

Found on Etsy

Grandview Manor, Our Reception Spot!

I feel like we are starting to kick some wedding butt! This weekend AJR's mom and my family met in my hometown to accompany AJR and I to check out the reception site for some ideas on set-up and so that AJR's mom could see my hometown and all the glory it has to offer! Here are some photos I snapped from the little trip.  We also booked the restaurant that AJR's parents will be hosting our rehearsal dinner. Oh, AND I finally showed my mom my wedding dress! Friday night I made a trip to a fabric and button store to purchase a few things my Russian seamstress is going to adhere to The Dress. Somehow a tiny ziploc bag with a piece of lace and satin covered buttons cost me $98. Whew... on second thought, maybe this wedding is kicking MY butt.

The back of the manor facing the water. I'm in love with the humungous sleeper porch on the second floor, so fun! To the left of the house is a pool house and tennis courts.

AJR and his mom checking out the dock. The tide was so low!

Ahhh, my favorite part of the house! The bathroom that is bigger than any bedroom I've ever had. Amazing! This is where I want to get ready before the ceremony since there is no bride's room at the church. It is perfectly roomy for me and my bridesmaids to get all prepped!

This is the bedroom connected to the bathroom fit for a queen. The bathroom actually doesn't have a door, it is all completely open and airy. I love all the natural light! (haha, and there's my step-dad and AJR checking things out :)

My little sister was not so keen on having her photo taken while she sat on the bed.

I kind of liked the shabby chic feel of the furniture and decor.

A cute little fireplace.

A formal dining area.

It's quite possible that I only took this photo because it had green.

So basically, that's a quick preview to the manor. The reception will be held outdoors under a 5-peak tent facing the water and people can have access to the house to use the bathroom, but the house will actually be just for AJR's family that will be coming there from out of town. There are 6 bedrooms, and numerous couches and space for them to set up camp for the weekend. It's a perfect spot and has everything I wanted in a reception site!

The Honeymoon!

And our honeymoon is officially booked!

AJR chose to go to Vancouver, BC and it looks ammaazziinngg! Originally, I wanted to visit Ireland, but since that was a dreamworld request (when you are 23 and trying to plan a wedding, you don't have the luxury of just traveling the world for fun) AJR had to explore some other options. I'm still crossing my fingers for a one year or two year anniversary trip to Ireland ;-)

However, Vancouver is definitely a pretty easy compromise. It has everything I wanted in a honeymoon. Great scenery, delicious restaurants, outdoor activities, and it looks clean and beautiful. I was completely against the idea of going anywhere tropical or too touristy. I didn't want a honeymoon where I had to bathe in sunscreen to do anything fun, as I am about the whitest girl you've ever seen. AJR isn't a beach person either.. we'd prefer walking on a cobblestone street in some romantic town and drinking wine or something. So needless to say, Vancouver proved to be the perfect getaway for us as a newly married couple! We are blessed enough to have parents who own an RCI timeshare, so our honeymoon will be at a fraction of the cost it normally would. Thank you Mom and Vince!

Vancouver at night... swoon!

Shopping! What a charming area.

I am dying to go whale watching. Stunning.

Butchart Botantical Gardens in Victoria

White Wedding Cakes from The Knot

I browsed through all of The Knot's posted wedding cakes that are white and I picked out a few that were my favorite. I think my top choice of all the cakes I've seen is still the one I posted on a few weeks ago, but it never hurts to look around and be sure!

I'm loving the foilage on this one! "An understated, but elegant confection of buttermilk spice cake and cream cheese filling tempted guests. White foliage draped across all four tiers, matching perfectly with the light buttercream icing."

Cute. I like the lines... but not sure if I'd want this for my wedding. "A white swirl floral motif accented each of the fondant-covered tiers, which were chocolate with raspberry filling, French vanilla with strawberry filling, and mango with mango puree." Mmm... that sounds delicious!

I think I'm attracted to anything with leaves/floral scroll work. " A square-shaped middle tier and sweet, delicate accents combine to create a chic, sophisticated wedding cake. "

The pearl look is neat. "The four-tiered ivory cake was covered with fondant and decorated with different-sized, white and ivory, sugar pearls. To top it off, white peonies and roses were placed on the top tier."

Okay, the idea behind this one is just so sweet. I love when people tie something that meaningful into their weddings. "Because Sunny didn't wear "something borrowed or blue" from her mother, she decided to have the wedding cake designed after the lace from her mom's wedding dress. The cake designer hand-piped the design of the lace into the white buttercream icing. "It turned out beautifully, and my parents were honored to have this as a tribute to their wedding day," remembers Sunny."

So... the cake search continues!

Wedding Shoes!

I mentioned finding my wedding shoes this weekend... and here they are!

Ah, I love them. I was hoping to find a pair with a smaller heel, but the one on these isn't so bad. However, the color and the peep toe/closed heel is absolutely what I was looking for. I found them on sale for $35 (can you believe it, THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS) at a DSW and they are made by Nina.

They are online here