Dorothy.Reinvented.

Wow. Wow. Wow.
Can you imagine Dorothy skipping down the yellow brick road in these babies??



Red-shoe brides, c'mere.
Whyyyyyyyy didn't they make these in fuschia??

Damask Ladies....

More goods to share.
Check out Etsy seller Littlebeane Boutique for all things sticky.
I just got mine and they. are. yummy.
All photos courtesy of Littlebeane:

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice...

While I'm on the subject of our three sweet flower girls, I'd like to talk about their attire.
Of course, I want them dressed in a way to keep with the overall "feel": and color scheme of the wedding--which if you don't know by now, is fuschia, black, and black&white damask with silver accents. (Tangerine orange used to be a part of that color scheme and you can see that reflected in my invitations--which I will talk about here after they're sent out, but are in my Knottie bio). Beyond invitations, though, I'm sticking with the black/white/pink thing.

Back to the flower girls.
My bridesmaids are wearing black tea-length dresses which suit them very well.
But black dresses seem too dark somehow for three-year-old girls--while pale pink would be too frou-frou and traditional for our look... and hot pink dresses...just not feeling that.

So here's what I came up with, to keep with our look but also to keep it fun and colorful for the girls. Please let me know what you think!
One of these two dresses:

$39.00

$99.00
Shoe options:




And we can't forget their little purses!

For the Flower Girls...

Out of all the baskets, cones, pomanders and purses I've seen for flower girls to carry I really would love to have something like this for our three little princesses:
Photo courtesy of Nancy Liuchin Designs

I also reallllly love the look of flower girls in adorable tutus, but I think that's best a fit for daytime or outside spring and summer weddings. Can't see it as a fit with my evening wedding.
Tutu from Zoe's Couture Boutique on Etsy

And Phrogpluff's Etsy store:

And lastly, I introduce to you the oh so adorable children of our wedding party:
My daughter, a flower girl:

The whole crew together (3 flower girls and ring bearer):

Burn Baby...Burn!

I did a little...shall we say... experiment today.
I bought a 3 X 3 pillar candle from DollarTree to see if it would REALLY burn for 15 hours and if would burn clean.
I'm using lots and lots of pillars for the wedding and reception and in searching for the best ones for the value I've learned two things about pillars:

1: They are really expensive--especially the bigger ones and
2: I need to make sure I'm buying pillars that will keep on burnin' throughout the evening

Now, I only need my pillars to burn for six hours, and Dollar Trees $1 3 X 3 belltop pillars seemed too good to be true.
But ladies, I am proud to report the sucker burned all day. Lit it at 2:45 p.m. and it's still going strong at midnight.

You can order these in bulk at DollarTreeDirect online. The company will ship them to you OR to your local store for FREE!
The candle after 8-hour burn:

And now-- I'm off to bed!

Photo Inspiration for the Day

You know I lovvve candles--especially pillar candles--and how they look in mass.
Well, here is a perfect example of the kind of ambiance candles grouped together can create for dinner tables if you are looking for non-floral centerpiece ideas.
I just love how the candles make the table look like they are "glowing" in the centers.
Photo courtesy of The Event Essentials

Envelopes Part II: Mommy's Revised Label!

OK-- so one thing I learned really quickly when starting to plan the wedding was: tap into your resources!
In my case, today, I found out my sweet, sweet mother did not have to be a "graphic artist" to create a really nice label for me and fiance to use on our invites! I talked about how we're bucking etiquette and opting to use clear labels here. Something similar to the graphic below is what we will use.
If you like the fancy font, it is 'Scriptina' and is downloadable for free from DaFont.com.

We will print all of our guests' salutations and addresses on large 2" X 4" clear Avery labels.
Thanks, mom! You're the best! (Oh yeah, that's mom below. She's gorgeous, right?!)

Eye Candy for All! (100th Post!!)

Don't you know how just the most random things, completely un-wedding-related can TOTALLY inspire you or capture the look you are going for?
Well I had one of those moments this morning!
I stumbled upon a UK web site that sells "couture crackers." Yeah, I have no idea.
But anyways, they sell gift wrap and had this yummy-looking black-on-black damask that I immediately thought would be sooo luxe for envelope liners!
Unfortunately--they don't ship to the US. Boo.
But here it is along with a beautifully wrapped present that perfectly represents my wedding decor ambitions!
Photos coutesy: www.froufrouandthomas.co.uk


Here are some more very lovely/inspiring gift wrap photos the web site had going on :
Are there any unlikely, totally NOT wedding-related web sites or other sources that you look to for inspiration?

More "Drowning" Orchids...

Orchid Trial #2
*Sigh* OK. I promise this is THEE last submerged orchid trial I am going to do. Even I am getting sick of this. But I created this with my dying dendros fiance got me for Valentines day and thought I'd share because I think its pretty for those looking for a super cheap centerpiece. This took like 5 minutes to throw together.
I apologize for the kitchen appliances and liquor in the background in advance!




What it Took:
5 glass cubes from DollarTree- $5
1 glass cylinder from Michaels-$3
2 stems of dendrobium orchids-$4 (approximately)
Large floating candle: $2
1 pack of small floating candles from DollarTree-$1
Water
------------------------------------------
Grand Total=$17.00

Envelope Etiquette....

I'm breaking it!
I know you're "supposed' to always hand-address wedding communications--but I'm skipping this rule for something a bit more unique.
Sure, some could argue that this is less personal, but I actually put some thought into it.
We're going to print something like this on big 2" X 4" clear labels and use them to address our guests!
This is just a draft my mom made up from something similar I saw done on Weddingbee. (I blotted out the address in its entirety so it looks a bit weird here...)

Here is the Weddingbee one I used as "inspiration":

So, what do you think? Honestly, is this a no-no or tacky?

Post-Valentines Treat!

My sweet fiance got me three bunches of flowers for Valentines Day, some orchids, tulips and carnations, so I decided to play around with the carns and thought I would share! Also found a cool damask candle holder at Dollar Tree this evening that would go perfectly with my decor if I can find more. They are different than the other damask votive holders I found. I'm going to try to call Dollar Tree Direct Tuesday to see if I can order a bunch more. The cubes the carns are in are from Dollar Tree also. I secured the ribbon to them with double-sided tape, but if you're looking to secure ribbon to glass for an event, I'd use hot glue to make sure it stays. Anyway, enjoy!

In Lieu of a Veil...

I have (almost) decided to wear a flower in my hair to give me the "bridal effect."
If not a flower, then definitely a vintage hair brooch. I think either would work well.
So I ordered an orchid hair pin from Etsy for about six bucks just to see if I liked the flower look.
And I do! Unfortunately, the orchid clip I ordered is the wrong color to go with my gown. It's just not white enough and is kind of yellowish. See?

It's pretty though, and it looks fairly realistic. I can definitely wear it on our honeymoon in Punta Cana! I haven't decided if I will try to wear a real cymbidium in my hair. Although they are certainly sturdy blooms, I just think a synthetic, real-looking one may be a better option to last all night...
Here is one I'm considering from GabbyMac, but doesn't it still look kinda yellow?:

Here's an ivory gardenia from the same store:

Here are examples of hair jewelry I am considering:


Both from Michelle's Vintage Jewelry

Anyways, if you're looking for very affordable hair blooms from a cool Etsy seller, this post was made for you!
I'm still on the prowl for the perfect flower, though.
Do you know any great places to look?


And hey. Speaking of flowers. I hope I get some tomorrow for Valentines Day!

Lobby of Hobbies...Online! And a sale!

Any of you who are so blessed to have a Hobby Lobby near you is...well...blessed!
I love that place.
I love that place to the third power now that I'm planning my wedding--and now that I happen to NOT live near 100 miles of one of the craft stores.

Well, there IS great hope for those of us who don't have a Hobby Lobby nearby!
I have no idea how long this web site has been up, but Hobby Lobby has an online counterpart at CratfsEtc!

I assume that as this has just recently come to my attention that maybe some of you didn't know about it either?

Anyway, they are having a 25% off sale RIGHT NOW until Saturday Feb.16 PLUS free shipping on orders over $25!

Happy shopping!

Shoes made for Walkin' (Dancin')!

Ladies...I'm on the prowl.
For that perfect pair of shoes to rock with my wedding gown!
Now, me being the avant garde fashionista that I am--you know I plan on really pushing the envelope with my choice of wedding-day heels.

Which brings us to the first point: Of course I'm wearing heels--and fierce, high heels--on my wedding day. And for my ENTIRE wedding day!
I am just not that bride who will wear a pair of gorgeous heels for her ceremony, only to change into a pair of... ballet slippers, or worse, FLIP FLOPS, for her reception!

Yuck!

Not me. I will dance the night away in my gorgeous dancing shoes, because hey, beauty comes at a price and its not always supposed to be comfy! No offense to those ballet slipper/ flip flop gals...that's just never been me.
In fact, the only pair of non-heels I own are my gym shoes!

Second wedding day shoe fact: I will not be wearing white, clear or even gem-hued (gold,silver) shoes. I really have my heart set on finding a hott pair of pink/fuschia sandals or peeptoe d'Orsay to add some spice to my get-up and to kick up for all to see as fiance removes my garter!

Third shoe clue: Embellished=good. If I can't find the perfect pink, I can settle for a stunning silver, but they have to be uniquely adorned--and have a crazy high/sexy heel.

And lastly, I have a tip for you. More precisely, shoe porn!
If you're looking for the perfect pair of wedding day shoes and know what you want color-wise, one of the BEST tools ever invented online is the shoes-by-color finder that searches for your exact specification, e.g. pink sandal, silver sandal, red pump...

Check it out here: Shoes By Color

And, a few more known hot spots for shoes:

Zappos
Endless
Forzieri
Eluxury
Asos
Bergdorf Goodman
Shoes.com
Piperlime
Heels.com

Happy shoe shoppin'!