A Great Day With Sydnee

Today after school, I went to Sydnee's house. We had planned on making mock-up invitations, but at the last minute, she had to babysit. But, no problem! I just watched the kids with her. They were super cute! Xander was five, and loves life! I wish I was that age again, sometimes! ;) We went to a nearby elementary school and played soccer and badminton and then went to the swings... After a bit of running around, Sydnee, Xander and I went back to Sydnee's house where Xander's sister Coral had just been dropped off. We decided to order pizza and then walk to go pick it up from a local Dominoes. It was a lovely evening. The clouds were tinged with orange from the sunset, and the sky was a beautiful dusk blue. The kids were so fun to walk with, just talking about silly things. And then, we had the smell of pizza, bread sticks, and cinnamon sticks in our hands as we walked back home. Mmm! It was just a beautiful day. And gave me a glimpse of what it might be like to be a mom with Sydnee. :) She was really good with the kids and we all had a lot of fun.

After eating all the delicious food (it hardly all fit on the table and we had to keep shuffling boxes around!) Sydnee and I set to work on those invitations. There are so many ideas out there, we hardly knew where to start! But, finally we got some inspiration. Syd had bought some beautiful blue and brown metallic-y paper from the dollar store, so we played around with that. Unfortunately, though, the ink that Sydnee had bought that she THOUGHT was silver and gold, ended up being purple and bronze!! Whoops. So we didn't have any stamps to put on it. But we will. It actually DID look like silver and gold ink, and nowhere on the package did it say what colours they were. Ah well, I guess that's what happens when you buy stuff from a dollar store. You win some and you lose some! But the mock-up turned out really well, I think. I can't wait to post pictures. I took some on my camera, but I can't think of where my uploader cord is right now... and besides the whole house is asleep at the moment, so I can't very well go looking for it, anyways! But I promise, I will upload the pictures soon! (You'll just have to be kept in suspense for the time being!) We're really happy with how they turned out - simple yet elegant and fresh. Now, we just have to ACTUALLY make them properly (ugh... measuring?) and then duplicate them forty times... So that will be fun!

Life really is just so very beautiful!

I am in love with these flowers!

Aren't they neat? There's just something about them that I really like; they're modern yet classy, fresh and bold, yet feminin and soft... I just really love them! They're called gerbera daisies, and apparently they're pretty easy to work with and fairly cheap because they bloom pretty much all year. Also, as part of the daisy family (and related to sunflowers), they mean "innocence and affection." Isn't that a sweet meaning? Gerbera daisies also come in a variety of colours, as you can see below, so they can easily be encorporated into your wedding colours!

I think these are my new favourite flower. (And I think I just found my wedding flower, for my long-distant-far-off wedding! Hehe.)

A Brown and Blue Wedding

Just some inspiration photos! :)

Sydnee's Possible Reception

I almost forgot. Here are pictures from what might possibly become Sydnee's reception venue. It looks really nice from these two photos, I think. Sydnee and I might go there together one of these days to check it out and see what it looks like in person.

Sydnee's Possible Venue

Isn't it pretty? It's a rose garden and would serve as the place for the ceremony. The reception venue would be a short walk away. We still have to see it in person, but the price seems pretty good and it looks really gorgeous from these photos!

I was actually researching other venues today, just to get an idea of what's out there, and I can't believe how expensive some of them are!! ($2500, $5000, $9000....) But there are some really gorgeous ones, too. Yikes!! Why are weddings so expensive????

Being Resourceful

I really like those place card holders from my last post, and I was wondering, could you make them for cheaper? So I started researching. Here is a mini flower pot from http://www.forever-bloom.com/site/619770/page/520187 that costs a dollar. It is 1" in height, and the top diameter is 1" as well. While this is still a little pricey, it might cost less than the ones I found from my last post... (I mean, $1 x 50 = $50! But better than $5 something x 50 or whatever!)

Or, this little pail from http://www.hotref.com/white-pail-favors-p-3966.html ... the price is a little confusing, though. It says: "List Price: $0.83 Sale: $0.74" but then at the bottom of the page it says: "Quatity discount 1-59: $1.49 Price, $1.37 Sale Price" and lists more quatities. Hmm... But check them out. It's a cute pail, nevertheless.

And so something like that, a mini pail or ceramic pot, combined with some dirt and sticks you find from a walk outside (free! Hehe)... And then the top... I'm not sure what this could be made of... A styrofoam ball covered with something?

OR you could make the sticks out of pretzels and make the whole thing a little edible favour... The top could be... hmm a timbit maybe? Haha. Or like a cheeseball or something? Or maybe even a rumball? And the pot/pail could be filled with something else... like, I don't know peanut butter or something.

Hmm... I think it's time to experiment... LOL!

A New "Favour"ite

Aren't these sweet? I found them online at http://sentimentalvalues.theaspenshops.com/. They would go nicely in a beach wedding, don't you think? I just love the lighthouse motif. The prices are reasonable-- if you order 1-11 they are $4.73 each, 12-23: $4.20 each, 24-47: $3.85 each, and 48 or more: $3.50 each. They could be used for decorations or else as favours.

I like these, too. They're little frosted costers with a cherry blossom design on them. I found them at the same site, and these prices are pretty good too:
1 - 47 $2.40 each, 48 - 71 $2.15 each, 72 - 143 $1.99 each, 144 or more $1.80 each.

And these! Just $0.99!! I wonder if they'd be easy to make... I've never made soap before, so I wonder how tricky it is... But even so, $0.99 is an amazing price!

Wow, and these are creative! Personalized band-aids? I don't know what to think. But again, just $0.99!!

Ooh!! And I LOVE these place card holders!!!! How cute and creative are they? A little more pricey, but still not too bad. They come in sets of 4, it looks like. Here are the prices... 1-5 sets of 4: $7.35 each, 6-11 sets of 4: $6.45 each, 12 - 23 sets of 4: $6.15 each, 24 or more sets of 4: $5.60 each.

I officially love this site!!! (What do you think, Sydnee?)

What Exactly Does 'Cordially' Mean, Anyways?

One thing I'm really looking forward to doing with Sydnee is making the invitations with her! There are so many ideas out there! Here are a few I found online, from tagsnsuch.blogspot.com.

Just a simple look. I like the kind of 'folder' idea, but I think this design could do with a few more embellishments!

These ones are kind of neat.

Again, a little simple, but classy.

I love this next one - I love how the white flowers match up with the stamped flowers! And the colours are really gorgeous, too!

This one is a cute one. I really like the background, with the silhouettes of the bride and groom.

I like the colours and pattern of this next one.

Isn't this next one sweet? A lot of work to hand-make, but I love it!

And I absolutely LOVE this one. Very creative!

We're going to be handmaking all the invites to save money, and while it is a little daunting, I think it will be a lot of fun. How hard can it be? (Famous last words, right?)

Lovely!

Isn't this a lovely photo?

Planning Sydnee's Wedding

So, yesterday, Sydnee and I got together over coffee to go over wedding details!!! It's SO exciting. I am just LOOOOOOOVING it! It feels like we talked about a lot. And I gave her my embarrassingly long document about wedding details. It was nine pages, double-sided, I believe. :S But it contained some useful information, I think.
I love planning with Sydnee, though. She's so laidback and isn't at all a demanding bridezilla! Oh, and guess what? My friend Acacia is going to be doing her wedding photos! Acacia is a wonderful photographer, and I think it will be a good ... wow, marriage is the only word I can think of. Haha. But it will be a good match. Beneficial to everyone involved: Acacia gets some mula as well as some wedding pictures to add to her portfolio, and Sydnee gets beatiful photos for a fraction of the price she'd be paying if she got them done by some crazily overpriced professional. And Acacia's photos really ARE beautiful. Like, REALLY beautiful. She has a good eye!
We also talked about colours: Sydnee is thinking either brown and turquoise (beautiful), or else maybe plum with another colour. She isn't sure though, what could go with plum. She was thinking white, but also thought that might be too plain. I don't know. Pale gold, maybe? Or a touch of green? Or... Hmm... I don't know.
We also were talking about dates, because some venues go up in price, depending on the date. But, the ones she has in mind now, don't. So, she might be having the wedding in July 2011, since the weather is more likely to be cooperative. BUT, she was thinking of going to Mexico or the Dominican Republic for her honeymoon, and so she was wondering if it would be too hot then, there. Hmm hmm hmm... There are so many little details you have to consider when planning a wedding!
Anyways, we talked about a lot more, but that's all I'll post about for now!
Miss Marian

Place Card Ideas

Here are some creative place card holder ideas! I found these pictures on one of my favourite blogs to peruse, august15bride.blogspot.com - aren't they adorable? They are just made with three buttons: two that are sewn together and one that is glued to the bottom to serve as a base. Love them! Probably quite simple and cheap to make!

These next two are from www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/ and they show another creative place card holder idea. Fabulous!

You're Invited...

Here's a picture of a cute invitation (or it might be a save-the-date on the left, not sure) I found on mydiyweddingday.com -- it walks through their "love story," how they met, first kiss, the proposal etc. SUCH a cute idea.

Happy Tape

I was on http://mydiyweddingday.com/ and I came across a link about something called "Washi Tape." It's a ribbon and tape all in one! Very cool idea. So I went to the site happytape.com and found these pictures? Aren't they cute? I think they could add a really nice flair to the wedding. Cheap, easy, and cute! Love it!

This turquoise pair is being sold for $11 on happytape.com

A more elaborate set for $36.

Or you can get single roles for about $5.50.

And here's the original idea I found on mydiyweddingday.com - more favours!

Jasmine's Bridal

A few dresses from Jasmine's Bridal... The thing I like about this site is that you can see the dress in different colours. Though you can tell it's computer-generated, it gives you an idea.

There was a better picture on the website of this one; it has this silver rhinestone clasp thing-y on the right side that adds a bit of glamour.

I really like this yellow one. Originally, it was black, but as you know, I DO love yellow!!!! It has a low scooping back that is very pretty. I just think it's a classy dress!

Again, yellow. Can't remember the original colour of the dress. Green, maybe? But I love the chiffon-y-ness. Gorgeous.

The funny thing is, at my wedding, I'm not the one who will be wearing the bridesmaid dress... So I will never be able to wear one of these yellow masterpieces, unfortunately, unless someone else I know chooses a yellow colour scheme. Well, you never know, I suppose!

Guestbook? Nope. Guestrock.

Found this picture while browsing the web. These rocks take the place of a guest book. The guests just pick a rock and leave a message. I think it's a very creative thing to do! And probably pretty cheap, considering all you need are some rocks and a Sharpie.

Picture from craftster.org

Do Yourself a Favour

I love weddings.

Have I told you that yet? Haha.
And I'm so glad that I finally get to help plan one! Sydnee and I are hopefully getting together this week to talk Wedding, so I'm looking forward to that. I've been browsing different websites for cheap and sweet ideas for weddings, and came across this one from OnceWed. It's an idea for a wedding favour that ends up costing approximately 10 cents each! Nice and cheap! And they are really cute, I think. All you need is some nice paper, which can easily be found at a good dollar store, scissors, and some ink to write your messages. They can say stuff like, "We're so fortunate to know you. Thanks for being here today." Love it!

Here's another idea I found at www.weddingbee.com . Aren't they cute??? Though, I can imagine a little time consuming...

And, see, they can even be made into favours! Though... I wonder when you'd make these? Because it's not like strawberries can stay fresh for weeks or even days at a time...

I've always also loved the ideas of personalized buttons. These are from etsy.com and I believe you get 150 for $75. They sure are cute!