Update + Unique & Cute Wedding Touches

So, I just requested to see a couple venues over spring break. Ah! I hope they get back to me soon. This is all so exciting. If only I wasn't so indecisive! I still haven't chosen colors, and that is the first step. I was always a sucker for royal purple... then I got Jon into it, and now I've moved on to Pink & Burgundy - which Jon doesn't like. He prefers Light Pink & Royal Purple. Hm. I also like Light Pink & Peach so at least we're narrowing it down. I really don't see any blues or greens coming into the mix, unless they are accents.

CUTE WEDDING TOUCHES! Here are some great ideas I found and I'm definitely planning on implementing more than one of them!

• Taking polaroid pictures of guests as they make their way to the reception. Can either add these photos to the guest book or sign them and write the wedding date on the bottom and send 'em out with the thank you notes.


• This idea is interesting -- make your bouquet have two detachable sections, and present one to your mother and one to your mother-in-law. Still not sure what I think about this one.


• Using seed paper cards (possibly for thank you notes), insert cheesy line about love always growing, lasting forever, whatever. I would do something lame like that :).


• Putting a heart symbol or something at one seating at every table, then that guest gets to take the table centerpiece home. Or, better yet, donate them to a hospital or retirement home.

Stationary Spotlight: Mika78

Mika78 (Mika78.com) has the most amazing stationary. Ever. I am sad that it is out of my budget (I had clicked through half of the necessities and it was already 3K... that can't be on the cheap side!). But it is still worth showing off, check out these awesome designs. These are from general collections (except the purple one) but I know that I want custom made, one of a kind cards. And my save-the-dates MUST be little magnets... how cute (and practical) would that be?!

Cu-etsy finds!

I am really diggin some of the unique handmade finds on etsy.com -- I definitely plan on utilizing this website for vintage accents. Here are a few interesting pieces I saw:

My favorite sources of procrastination

These sites definitely top my list of wedding helpers. Check them out!

Snippet and Ink
A blog with daily wedding inspirations. Cute pictures from real weddings.
http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/

Project Wedding
Quite possibly my favorite. Very user friendly, amazing collection of real weddings, photo gallery where you can sort pictures by color and genre. Complete with an inspiration board section!
http://www.projectwedding.com

The Knot
This is a magazine's webpage. It's very useful; if you make an account you can set up a wedding webpage, and even have an online guest list where you can keep track of numbers and who has replied, etc.
http://www.theknot.com

Etsy
This is a website where people can sell the crafts they make. It is a goldmine for unique wedding accents for sure!
http://www.etsy.com

100 Layer Cake
Another blog, a little more on the alternative side -- great for the artistic, edgy side of me.
http://100layercake.com/blog/

Wedding Wire
GREAT vendor reviews based on location. Can give you the extra push to pick a venue or a photographer!
http://www.weddingwire.com/

Wedding Mapper
Another site that tailors your search to your local area.
http://www.weddingwire.com/

The Treasured Petal
A blog by a florist. Some interesting pictures, but hasn't been updated too recently.
http://thetreasuredpetal.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/

Loudoun Locales

Not surprisingly, I have come back to Loudoun County as the place I want to have my wedding. I have lived there since I was three, when Ashburn was just developing. Plus, it has a great variety of amazing venue options between it's wine country and many plantations and mansions. Here are a few particularly eye catching spots. Because many of them are historic homes, they will have distinct colorings, so I will have to check and make sure they don't clash with my future colors (which have still yet to be determined, but I am getting closer!). Most of these places are in and around Leesburg. Now I just have to determine what I like better -- vineyard or plantation? I am going to have to make some touring appointments over Spring Break!

Venues

Plantations/Mansions

Rosemont Manor - Berryville, VA

Unique Perk: 12 on-site guest rooms for wedding party

Oatlands -- Leesburg, VA

Unique Perk: I ran here during XC in high school! I also attended a JTHG press release here as a result of a AP US project that went really well

Morven Park - Leesburg, VA

Unique Perk: Epitome of Horse Country, holds annual Polo Cup and Antique Car Show

Raspberry Plain - Leesburg, VA

Unique Perk: Sweet Colonial Feel, Horse drawn carriage

Whitehall Manor - Bluemont, VA

Unique Perk: Slightly more mountainous backdrop than the others

Bout-iful!

My favorite bouquets!

Valerie and Josh are engaged!!

As of February 14th, 2010, Valerie Rankin and Joshua Gunter are engaged!! Yay! This is pretty amazing; Valerie and I can plan together now! I am pretty excited. I wonder/hope her expected wedding date is near mine! I'm assuming she'll do Summer 2011 but who knows. I am talking to her tomorrow so I can find out. Everyone is going to Tech this weekend for a couple birthdays, but unfortunately I can't go - so I'll be returning the favor and sending down a wedding magazine to her! The Knot, to be specific... it's a really good one (I also use their website), it's seasonal rather than monthly, which I don't like because I get bored quickly. But for $10 and the whole spring season, it's huge and chock full of great ideas! Happy planning to Val and Josh! <3

Detail Update!

So - my new tentative date is June 18th, 2011! It's in the early summer, so people should still be around. Also - I really like it because it has Jon and I's number in it (8 - since we started dating on January 8th, also an 8 is endless/turned sideways means infinity okay enough nerdy math talk :] ). Plus, then we'd be on our honeymoon over Jon's 24th birthday which would be really fun. Last update, I think I am starting to change my dream honeymoon locale from Santorini, Greece, to a little bit closer to home... St. Lucia! It's in the Caribbean, but closer to South America in the Lesser Antilles. I always told myself I wasn't going to pick a Caribbean Island like everyone else - BUT St. Lucia isn't your typical island. It's got amazing mountains - which is bound to provide for some good hiking, one of Jon and I's newest passions. It also has a rain forest! Plus, you can go between a couple different islands (Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe) via Catamaran (high speed sail boat), which takes about an hour and a half. The only downside? I was really looking forward to seeing historical / "must see" sites... St. Lucia doesn't really have anything like the Parthenon or Pantheon if you know what I mean. I'll have to think about how important that is to me...

Okay... not THAT important. haha

Flower Spotlight: Anenomes

I am really digging these little gems. I would have included them before, but google search always wanted to give me sea anemone, so I kept getting thrown off the track.

Sigh, and yet again, I find myself straying from the fig, candy pink, and peach theme.... I. really like the burgundys and pinks I had before. But then again those are just more pretty colors - I want a pop. I do like those better than the colors I have now. I do really enjoy the peach flowers, but Peach and Purple together - not the biggest fan. There is one theme I keep going back to though:

Colors: Deep Red, Black, White, Gold, Some accent color I haven't decided on

Essence: Vintage Chic / Retro / Mod

Patterns: Stripes, Argyle, Damask

But that might be a little too edgy for me. All in all I think I like light pink, burgundy, and a touch of green. I could do vintage romantic retro with that, right?! :)

Caroline & Jon Hook Article!

I know I've been posting up a storm lately (procrastination at it's finest..) but here is the link to Jon and I's article in the Hook! I didn't think it would be online, but I randomly decided to check, and of course it was there. Enjoy!

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/02/04/wedding-CollegeCouples-A.aspx

PURPLE! and... peach?

Peach Rose

Peach Ranunculus

Peach Dahlia

I'm pretty sure I want my bridesmaids to be in royal purple! More like the top three bridesmaid pictures (esp the first one!)... although Jon and I have been considering a peach and purple pairing (maybe with a hint of pink! mostly just with flowers & ribbons/accent items), however I don't quite like it in the last picture. Maybe it's just that the Bride's bouquet is kind of off-color and doesn't fit. But I did check, they do have my three favorite flowers in peach! I am going to ponder this matching for a while and see if I end up hating it. If I don't, maybe we have a winner... who'da thought it'd be so sweet and girly?! Part of me is still holding out for something dramatic and retro...