Preppy Wedding Details Continued

I'm back. With even more preppy wedding details!

One of the things I didn't want to spend a lot of money on was the programs. Now you all know about my love for stationary, but I couldn't justify spending so much on something sure to be thrown away immediately following the ceremony.

So, I had my best friend (also a graphic designer) do a play on our monogram brand. The reason I didn't use our exact monogram? It gets so expensive to print in multiple colors. And because I used a printing service (and not my home computer), I kept costs down by only going with brown. My best bud also designed our reserved signs, so that elderly guests could have a table and a guaranteed place to sit.

You certainly could create something like this in word and print from home. Especially if you have a customized monogram to brand your wedding.

Another big thing to talk about is the food. Our caterer was fabulous and young and he really executed the wedding perfectly. I blogged about our menu here. But this will give you an idea of how beautiful his displays were. And want to know the veggie dip du jour - pimento cheese. YUM.

He also helped us with selecting our signature drink and suggested we do a fun spin on the mason jars used for the flower arrangements. I love the idea and execution of our drinks and with HOT weather the day of the wedding, these were a HUGE hit.

He also took our monogram and ran off signs for each station. You know to keep up with the wedding branding !!

Last, but not least, perfectly preppy wedding attire. You all know about the ebay dress, so I won't bore you to tears talking about it - only to recommend it as an option. If you're looking to save money, your dress is a great place to start.

The ring bearers suit was from the GAP via ebay and the flower girl wore a Strausburg Kids dress in a silk that matched what I was wearing!

Another cute detail is the monogrammed hankie my mom had made for me. I also made hankies for my mom and mother-in-law based on a recommendation by monogram momma. If you're interested, use The Silken Thread. Their work was beautiful and such a cute detail.

So, that's it for pictures. Thanks for looking!

I also wanted to let all you girls out there know, Jcrew is running a 20 dollars off 100 dollars deal until 5/5/07. Just enter IAP-389 at checkout. There are lots of cute new summer things in stock!

Preppy Wedding Details

I'm going to share some detail pictures of the things we did for our perfectly preppy wedding. Next week, I'll talk in more detail about some of our ideas for all you DIY girls out there.

Here goes ...


Keep in mind the overall theme tying this wedding together was SOUTHERN CHIC.

Some of you asked about our flowers. The wedding really was a hydrangea fest. I carried 6 bunches of blue hydrangeas while the maids carried 4 bunches of ivory. This saved us money, as hydrangeas are imported this time of year. (Also - the imported hydrangeas are supposed to be more hearty) As you can see, I also had a picture of my mom's mom and dad's dad (who are both deceased) dancing. I love this picture, so I went to Ritz camera, shrunk it to locket size and had my florest tie it onto my bouquet. That way, I had a constant reminder of their prescence.

We also used hydrangeas at the church to mark the reserved isles. Miss Magnolia blogged about this last week, so here is our version.

Now, while we're on the subject of flowers, here are the reception table bouquets. Because we had a cocktail reception, we only had seating for half our guests. This worked out just fine for us! It also cut down on the cost of bouquets and again, we stuck with hydrangeas. We also brought mason jars into the mix, cause let's be honest, you can't get more southern than a mason jar! I bought antique jars in varying sizes, colors and shapes from a yardsale in my neighborhood. Pretty good for a $15.00 investment.

The one flower item we did splurge on was the hydrangea topiary at the reception. Our location had beautiful side rooms with mantles, so this went in the "food room." It's not an original idea, we stole it from Martha of course. And a calligrapher did the parchment that runs between for $25.00. That's right, we were robbed. But, it was the week before the wedding and as my mom put it, the week before the wedding, you pretty much hemorage money.

Now onto the favors. Not a ton of explination on this one. We set up a table in the landing of the stairs leading to the reception. We included our Richmond-themed guest book, pictures of our parents getting married (and one of our engagement shots), the beautiful CDs and the ever popular flip flops. These were the guests favorite detail and a perfect idea for you summer brides.

Now, onto some fun reception details. First, the cake. We loved ours. It was red velvet and made by a city baker who charged us less than 2.00 a slice. And pretty much everyone went for seconds. She even recreated our monogram, which I think moved the whole branding of the wedding to a new level.

One of the other things we did (that our caterer suggested) was to actually wheel the cake table out onto the dance floor to cut the cake. It worked out fabulously, because everyone was on the dance floor and they actually watched us do it! I've been to lots of weddings where no one paid attention and loved the fact that everyone was actually watching the two of us.

Ok guys, I'll be back on Monday with some other super cute details from the perfectly preppy wedding!

Preppy Wedding Pictures

Just wanted to share some fun wedding pics we received yesterday. We LOVE all the pictures and if you are in the Richmond metro area, you have to use Worthington Photography. All along, I knew I wanted photojournalistic style coverage and I just adore all the candid shots.

Here are a few of my favorites, tomorrow I will post some detail shots that capture some of the things I have talking about these last few months!

Mom and I (and Aunt Ruth in the background)


Funny moment. I think I was trying to convince my sister to let me blot on her hand. I don't think she was OK with that !!

This will give you an idea of how the color scheme worked. Very Southern Chic if I do say so myself.

The boys loved us for choosing suits. I think they look great!

Cheers!

One of my favorite shots.

TIME TO PARTY. I just love all these shots, we really wanted to reception to be a celebration and as these pictures show, we were VERY successful.

Happy Birthday PD!

Just wanted to wish my HUSBAND a very happy birthday. The big 27 looks very good on him, huh?

For today's shopping splurge, I urge you to log onto http://allurebeautybox2007.com/ to order your 2007 Beauty Box. With over $200 worth of products for $27.00, it cannot be beat! WARNING - at this point it hasn't loaded for me, just give it some time.

In other news, our photographers uploaded our pictures online last night, so I am now just waiting for an e-mail from the online site confirming the upload. It's killing me (and my friends). We cannot wait to see the 800+ pics. I'll make sure to share some of the favorites!

Preppy Gifts Galore

Happy Monday everyone! Hope that everyone had fabulous (and productive) weekends. I managed to attend a vigil on Friday night in my hometown, see a movie, go to an engagement party, do a parent's dinner for the husband's birthday and clean my house.

Our bed is in, we are just waiting for the matress now. I am so excited about it finally coming together (and the fact that the hubby and I no longer have to sleep on a full).

On this Monday, I thought I would lead you over to one of my new favorite sites - CCC Gifts. The owner, Diane is a fellow Virginian and her stuff is perfect for all those brides-to-be.

Here are some of my favorites:

She has beautiful (and very preppy) guest books:

Precious monogrammed cookie favors:

Super-cute hand-drawn invitations:

And I'm loving this memory board for after wedding mementos:

AND .... for all you preppy wedding readers, Diane is offering 10 percent off! Just enter preppywedding10 to get the discount.

Last, but not least, on this Monday morning, your preppy MRS. is drinking the new Diet Coke *PLUS. That's right, now you can have vitamins with your morning pick me up. And to be honest, it doesn't taste that much different. SOLD.

Hoos for Hokies

I am going to take the rest of the week off, because I just don't feel right blogging about wedding stuff this week. I promise to be back on Monday with lots of fun new ideas.

I wanted to leave you with this. Beta Bridge is at the center of campus at UVA. And as a Wahoo, I couldn't say it any better.

In Remembrance

We just got word that a 2001 graduate of my high school is among those dead. I come from a small town here in Virginia and I just know everyone’s thoughts and prayers are with his family and the families of the countless other victims.

I remember sitting in my dorm room during the events of September 11 and as a college student, your feelings of invincibility can be forever shattered. It’s hard to talk to my little sister, who spent yesterday glued to the TV and facebook trying to make sure all of her friends were ok. And her tears echoed the same feelings I felt some five years ago.

Now, I haven’t ever gotten political on this site, but I have to get this off my chest this morning. As a country, we have to figure out how and why these senseless acts of violence from a young person directed to other young people continue to exist. We need to look at the impact of our lax gun control laws. We need to figure out how and why this student (who was raised in America since he was a child) slipped through the cracks. We need to seriously consider the impact that all the violence children see and experience around them has on their adult reasoning. We need to make sure that these students in the prime of their life didn’t die in vain.

Say a Prayer

Please say a prayer for all the students at Virginia Tech. My cousin is a sophmore there and we just got word that he is fine, in lock-down in his dorm room.

Whenever things like this happen, I always wonder how someone could become so disconnected to do such a horrible thing.

Three Things

The lovely Debbie tagged me yesterday, so here goes.

Three Things That Scare Me:
1. Winding up on the Glamour Don’t List
2. Losing my wedding ring
3. That the whole cutting bangs idea is going to backfire on me

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. The husband
2. Borat. It’s the pee in your pants kind of laugh
3. LuLu in her pumpkin costume (I know she isn’t human, but it is too funny)

Three Things I Love:
1. Hamburger Helper
2. Vera Wang Mattresses (seriously go buy one today if you can afford it)
3. My Family

Three Things I Hate:
1. Poles that hide in the parking lot, waiting to sneak up on you on your birthday
2. Close-mindedness
3. Acid wash anything

Three Things On My Desk:
1. Company’s Annual Report
2. Trust Pink Pearl Eraser
3. Razr cell phone charging

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:
1. Trying to schedule hair appointment to cut bangs (see Things That Scare Me)
2. E-mailing insurance agent to get quote, since parents are finally kicking me off their policy (see poles under Things I Hate)
3. Calendar out, trying to juggle weekend plans

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. Watch entire season of the Office. Funniest show that I always miss watching.
2. Feel like my home is completely organized.
3. Babies. But, not anytime soon. Do not want to make the husband go bald.

Three Things I Can Do:
1. Bake. I am getting really good at it.
2. Foolishly make list of things I would buy from J Crew if I had the means.
3. Wear Jeans to work today. Seriously, it feels like the largest luxury.

Three Things You Should Listen To:
1. Anything Patti Griffin
2. Your Birthday Fortune
3. Your mom

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:
1. How to be a better photographer (hey, I am working on it)
2. How to be a better listener
3. To balance my checkbook

Three Favorite Foods:
1. Chicken Pot Pie
2. Mashed Potatoes
3. Hamburgers (with ketchup, mustard and pickes)

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:
1. Kids Incorporated (K, I, D, S) Fergie was sure cute, before she was so GLAMOROUS
2. Solid Gold (I aspired to be one of the dancers)
3. Party of Five (OK, so I wasn’t a kid, but it was my favorite teen angst show)

Three Things I Regret:
1. Not studying abroad in college (mainly because I didn’t want to miss out on the parties … how dumb)
2. Running into that damn pole
3. Sucking my thumb until I was 13. Result: Braces in my senior portraits.

I tag Sevent Spot Sarah, Miss. Magnolia, and Sarah from In the Life of Five Year Olds. Can't wait to hear your responses.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. We have a good bye party for our super fun couple friends, who will surely be missed and I have a wedding shower to attend on Saturday!

Jenny Yoo & The Perfectly Preppy Wedding Dress

I don't normally blog about wedding dresses, mostly because I think picking a dress is completely personal. Some girls obsess over the dress as one of the instrumental parts of the wedding, and some, like me, get their dress for 75 dollars on ebay.

I just want to point any of you brides to be look for a dress in the direction of Jenny Yoo. Her stuff is oh so preppy chic and under the 1000 dollar mark. She is designing a new line she calls wedding alternatives. Basically they are just dressed down bridal gowns. I think they are perfect for that spring garden wedding, or the perfect beach wedding, or for the girl who does NOT want to wear a 10 lb dress on her wedding day (TRUST ME, it gets old really fast).

Anywho take a look this Thursday, I think you'll like what you see.

Preppy Wedding Thank You Notes

I just got an e-mail from our photographers letting us know it is going to be another week or so before we get the full set of pictures from the wedding. But, in an effort to tide us over, she uploaded prints of us posing with our THANK YOU signs. I'll be using pictage to order some thank you notes with this shot.

How cute, huh? Now our guests will also have a little photo keepsake of the day!

Celebrity Look Alikes

So the husband sent this over this morning. He thought it was hillarious that Beyonce was my number one match. Now singing Irreplaceable (to the left, to the left) will have a whole new meaning.

Oh and take a look at his look alikes. I think he got screwed.

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.



My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

Martha does it again!

Thanks to everyone for there birthday well wishes. Yesterday was really great until I got into a little mishap involving my Volvo and a pole in the parking garage and let’s just say the pole won.

The husband tried to make it up to me though with a great chocolate cake (featuring my new last name) and a nice bottle of Ralph Lauren Romance, my favorite spring perfume.

I also have a cute shower/RD/wedding favor idea from Martha’s new spring Weddings issue (you HAVE to check out her new site, it is much more user friendly). Why not use some great childhood pictures of you and your husband-to-be as wrapping for a yummy take home chocolate bar treat. Here’s a look at Martha’s finished product.

Tonight I start a photography class at the local arts center. I am excited about the chance to take on a new project non-wedding related. Hopefully it will provide me with lots of tricks and tips for photography featured on the blog!

Preppy Candy Tubes

I am LOVING Karen Smallbone’s website and blog. She makes the most prepptastic wedding labels and accompanying favors. Take a look at this candy tube. You can even fill it with color coordinating Jelly Bellys.

Her blog is also a great resource for other preppy wedding vendors. Spend some time his Monday morning on her site, you will certainly be inspired.

In other news, it is my 27th birthday. My husband told me last week that I am no longer in my mid-twenties, I have officially graduated to my late twenties. Of course, his birthday is in two weeks, so he also likes reminding me that in those two weeks he is with an “older woman.”

For me, this birthday is not as hard as my 26th. Don’t really know why, but that one was a lot harder to manage.

We are going to Flemings tonight for a good steak dinner, should be lots of fun!

Preppy Easter Weekend

In honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, here are few of the recipes I plan on making for Sunday. And just as a disclaimer, this girl is a Monogram Momma In Training, so all of the recipes are relatively easy to do!

Red Velvet Cupcakes (From Country Living Magazine)

My sister-in-law made these for our couples shower and they were FABULOUS. I am going to do a cream cheese icing, instead of the chocolate that the magazine advises.

If you are looking for another really impressive (but easy dessert) try Paula Deen’s Coca Cola Cake. I did this one for the Oscar party and it was so yummy.

Seven Layer Bean Dip is also on tap. This one is great for any of you girls who feel totally underwhelmed in the kitchen. And when you leave it will be ALL GONE, allowing you a feeling of true accomplishment!

Last, but not least, I am trying this marinated cucumber salad. It is one of the husband's favorites.

This weekend should be great! We are going to Pottery Barn to purchase this bed and I am so excited about it. Here is the look we are going for. Our room is already that exact shade of blue and we already have the duvet. Get ready for some fun pictures when we get everything together.

My mom is also taking me outlet shopping for my birthday (which is on Monday). J crew outlet here we come!

On Sunday, we are going to church and then to this fun parade in Richmond. Then we are going to meet my folks for a low-key cookout. Should be fabulous.

Hope you all have great Easter weekends!

Discount Code at Wedding Paper Divas

My purchase is your gain.

Wedding paper divas has thanked me for my numerous purchases lately, with the following offer.

10 dollars off your next order with the code thankyouwpd

These guys are a pleasure to work with and their product is gorgeous. And they have a bunch of new designs. Take a look at the photo save the dates and the new favor mint tins!

Preppy Wedding Esty Finds

Y'all know how much I used ebay and etsy for planning and purchasing items for the perfectly preppy wedding, I have been storing these finds up for a nice day like today:

• A precious letterpress, will you be my bridesmaid card. After the wedding, it has been so lovely to read cards prepared by my girls before the wedding. Why not have your words of love be captured in the cutest way possible.
• A custom monogram designer. And they're cheap!
• The cutest invites for all you Nantucket/Beach Brides. They feature the cutest bicycle motif and this etsy seller will customize any invite to your liking.
  
• LOVE these bridesmaid stamped necklaces. This seller will also customize to your wedding colors.
• These fabric fortune cookies are adorable. These would be a great favor for a bridesmaids luncheon or tea. You could include your pre-destined fortune for each of your girls. Something like, "Your future shows an endless supply of lilly, more turq jewelry than you could imagine and an unquenchable thirst for Bud Light."
• I used these toile bags to wrap all my bridesmaids/VIP gifts. They looked lovely and worked as a place card at the bridesmaids tea before the wedding.
  

And now, humor me, here are some great pre-wedding/honeymoon pics! I lost my digital camera at the church on the day of the wedding, so as soon as it turns up, I have a bunch of how-to pics for y'all!