Doily...Do!

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I love doilies! I recently went a little doily crazy at Michael's, and bought 200 doilies (in four different sizes). I have now spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with them. However, I am happy to see that many many people share my love for these dainty little darlings.

So here are some of my very favorite doily creations which I think are totally DIY-able!

Seat Signs

{etsy}I love these luggage tags. They could be cute little seat signs at the ceremony. I could hand write the words (ie. mother of the bride, mother of the groom,etc) and then just tie them to the back of the reserved seats.

{etsy}These would also make adorable seat signs but I think they may be a little more difficult to pull off. I suppose I could try using cardstock or something instead of the cork board. I am just not sure it's worth the investment (of both my time and money).

Envelopes

{etsy}

{Flickr} This.is.so.adorable. How sweet is this envelope? I am sure it would get ruined in the mail but it is SO SO SO pretty. I know that some people have used the lace as an envelope liner or used a clear plastic covering over the envelope to preserve the lace. Unfortunately, I don't think that round doilies would work for the envelopes.

Table Decor
{Ashley Ann}. This would look amazing at an outdoor wedding. I think its a really sweet idea. In fact, here is a wedding that used this idea beautifully!!

{Martha Sterwart} This is an adorable idea! (oh Martha...) It makes a perfect charger/place mat and if you have clear glass plates, it also doubles as a great place card.

Lanterns & Lighting

{Wedding Chicks}

{Martha Stewart}I heart chandeliers. This might be a wedding must. I LOVE LOVE LOVE chandeliers, and doilies plus my wedding will be during the day so I won't need actually light to come out of my chandelier, but I am sure I could figure something out if I really wanted light.

{Dujour} I am not sure this is something I could actually use for my wedding but I think it's pretty so I thought I'd share ...


Other

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{Intimate Weddings Blog} These would look amazing on vintage glass cake stands.

{Maya Made} How amazing would these be for confetti as you walk down the aisle!?!? More importantly how amazing would these look filled with blush pink rose petals sitting on beautiful cushions before the wedding. hehehe.

{Ashley Ann} I don't think I would make the tote bag BUT I like the idea of using the doilies as a stencil this could be cute for the outside of an envelope or something!

{Apartment Therapy} These pom poms are adorable. They would be great as a backdrop for the dessert table. In the red and pink they kind of have a valentines feel. I wonder if they would look more beachy/vintage if there were white... or perhaps silver and white.

I obviously can't use ALL these ideas, after all I only have 200 doilies. I guess I should talk to my wedding planner and my event planner to see what they think! (I know, I have a lot of planners for someone who loves DIY projects)

What do you think? Which of these would be the best use of my doilies? Keep in mind I would have to get whatever I make to Costa Rica!

More Engagement Photos

As I mentioned, we took our e-photos out at Fort Tilden, which is an abandoned military fort right on the beach, so not only did we get to play in the water but there were all these cool old buildings to shoot in.



I LOVE this shot and I am super bummed that the string from my shirt is showing. I wonder how hard it would be to photoshop that out.

I also can't help but wonder whose responsibility it is to watch out for these things. I would say its like 55% the photographer and 45% my responsibility. I would say with things like make-up or hair, it would be more like 90% my responsibility and 10% the photographers responsibility. By that I mean, it's probably not the photographers place to comment on your choice of makeup but if there is lipstick on your teeth or mascara on your eyelid they should probably say something.




One of the best things about working with Erin is that she did a great job of location scouting. She got to the location an hour before us and drove around looking for great sites so that we could make the most of our two hours.

We got the rest of our engagement photos!!! So I obviously had to share some of my favorites. I love this shot because it makes my legs look sooo long and I think its a great shot of my favorite pair of shoes!

This picture was a tough one to pull off because I have no control over my facial muscles and tend to get really giggly.

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Now that I have these photos in my hands, I just have to figure out how to put them to use. Of the top of my head, I am thinking photobook and/or StDs. What did you do with your e-photos?

"Tiers" of Joy

Since it looks like I may not be able to make my own wedding cake... (I haven't quite given up entirely!!) I decided it was time to speak to my wedding planner about my options. When I spoke to her a few weeks ago and she mentioned that I may not be able to have a three tier cake! Since I will be getting married on the coast it would be more difficult to transport a larger cake. The other option would be to fly someone out to the wedding location to assemble the cake on site.

I know... devastating!

First of all, I have had dreams of a three-tiered wedding cake for as long as I can remember. Second of all, I love the number 3. I think that the best things in life come in threes. (For instance, I have two sisters, I live in apartment number 3 and I was born on the 3rd!).

One of the things that I am really loving right now is uneven tiers, which is why I really want more than two tiers. I love the look of a slightly narrower cake with tiers in three different heights. I love this green and pink 5-tiered cake.

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The uneven look also looks great with three tiers. I also can't help but wonder if the wider/shorter tiers would actually make the cake more stable?

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How adorable are these cakes? It also seems like they would be pretty stable, right?? I actually don't know anything about what makes a cake sturdier or easier to transport.

That being said, I thought I should at least investigate this two tiered cake situation. I found a few adorable 2-tiered cakes that I think might look great with uneven tiers (and the right cake stand, of course!).

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I totally love the lace look (obviously). I would love a simple cake that is uber romantic with a vintage feel. I would LOVE if I could make the three tiers work, if not, I think this is not a battle worth fighting.

Does anyone have any great 2-tier wedding cake inspiration? How many tiers did you have on your cake? How do you feel about uneven tiers?

With this ring... bowl or pillow?

I don't know when the ring bowl thing started, but I kind of think its adorable. I keep telling Mr. Pancakes that its SOO practical even though neither of us takes our rings off before bed. (Yes, Mr. Pancakes has a psuedo-engagement ring of his own).

Back to the point, it seems like Paloma's Nest has monopolized the market and there tasty little treasures don't come cheap! Now they've teamed up with my very favorite calligraphers MMInk to come up with these lovely ring bowls:
{Paloma's Nest - $52}

Yup, you read that right...$52!!! Turns out I don't love it THAT much. The good news is that Paloma's Nest has teamed up with Anthropolgie to come up with these cute little budget friendly ring bowls.
{Anthropologie - $9.95}
I was totally sold on the ring bowl until I saw this amazing "something blue" ring pillow. I definitely don't have a something blue yet and it would be such a great little addition to the day.
{Emerson Made - $68}
Yup, you read that right...$68!! It's craziness... so I did a little DIY ring pillow searching and found two great options:
{Martha Stewart Weddings}
I was thinking that I could do a burlap pillow and a pink chiffon flower with a little bit of blue ribbon. I

Then I found this super simple ring pillow. It's just pleated trim and a little bit of ribbon. I went down To MJ Trimmings to check it out and it looks like I could put this together for just $4!
{Martha Stewart Weddings}
I was thinking that instead of the pink ribbon I could do a little bit of burlap and a little bit of blue ribbon as my "something blue."

Now what is this I hear about using fake rings for the processional? Is this true??

Bridesmaids Dresses: To match or not to match...

I am so torn about bridesmaids dresses. I am having a fairly large bridal party because no one told me about the 50:1 (guests: bridesmaid) rule. Under this rule I should only have 1, possibly 2 bridesmaids. I have SIX! That being said I have no idea how to dress them for the big day. I kind of miss the days of mandatory matching bridesmaids dresses! There as SOOO many options.

1. The traditional matching dresses (I LOVE THESE!)

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2. The same style in different colors

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3. The same color but with a choice of 2 or 3 styles

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3. The same color family, no prints, but generally bridesmaid's choice.

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5. Color scheme but complete bridesmaids choice

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6. Matching Prints

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7. Mismatched Prints

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I am not sure what dresses to pick but I do have a few criteria:

• Cost less than $100
• Short and lightweight since it is a daytime beach wedding
• Light colored (in the pink, champagne, or blush family)
  
• Preferably not strapless

I really love the look of matching dresses but I love the idea of letting my bridesmaids pick their own dresses. I feel like if they pick their own dresses they are more likely to wear the dress again. Also my bridesmaids are all such different shapes and sizes that I wouldn't know how I could pick a dress that would look good on all of them. (I definitely want everyone to look A-MAZING on my big day, I am not one of those brides!hehe) On the other hand, because my bridesmaids look so different I kind of like the idea of having dresses that make them look more unified. I feel like that makes them more special.

Additionally, three of my bridesmaids have already said they hate pink and will need a lot of help finding a dress. They made it clear that they are more than happy to wear a pink dress for me, they just don't know how to pick a good pink dress. My sister basically laughed at me when I asked her if she would prefer to pick her own dress because she hasn't worn a dress in years and claims to have never worn pink!

It seems like my best bet would be to pick a 2 or 3 styles in the same color (family?) and let the bridesmaids choose the one they like best. I feel like this really addresses the majority of my concerns and my bridesmaids' concerns. The only problem is, where can I find 2 or 3 dresses in the same color that cost less than $100? I am under the impression, based on a very preliminary search, that I won't be able to find dresses under $100 at a bridal/bridesmaid dress store...ie David's Bridal, Dessy or J. Crew? Am I wrong?

Something for the Fellas

I love bowties! I would love to put my groomsmen in bowties but I don't think that its actually going to happen so I thought I would look for other unique groomsmen details (before I fall in love with bowties and there is no turning back).

My (Our) groomsmen are a great group of fun loving guys. They are a super close group who grew up together and even have matching tattoos. Since Mr. Pancakes doesn't drink, a lot of the alcohol related gifts are out of the question (ie. flasks, personalized beer mugs, etc). Additionally they aren't the type of boys who need money clips, cuff links, or personalized pocket watches.

So here are some fun alternatives I found:

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When Mr. Pancakes saw this picture he said "I would so be a shoe-be if we could get matching dunks for the wedding!" (Shoe-be. noun [shoo-be]:Those beach-goers who think it is appropriate to wear shoes on the beach.)

While I think matching shoes are adorable, I really love the idea of a barefoot beach wedding. I could live with matching flip flops but I just don't think shoes are appropriate on the beach.

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I love this idea! It is a very practical personalize gift. Would this be DIY-able? What kind of thread would you use?

{Soure}

How cute are these boys in their sunglasses! I think this would be super cute and its definitely a great beach-appropriate option.

Clearly I want something colorful, fun and practical. These guys don't take themselves too serious so we really want to have a little fun with their gifts.

What are other fun options? What did you get your groomsmen?

E-Photos Sneak Peek

I found Erin on Wedding Chicks, she was looking to fill out her portfolio a little and was offering limited engagement sessions at $50. I figured it was such a great price that it was definitely worth the risk.

Although we haven't gotten our photos back, here are a few of the ones which she posted on blog. I had originally planned on wearing a super cute spring dress to our e-pics but the morning of the shoot we woke up it was soo cold and overcast. I was a little worried that it would look super cloudy and gross but the sky actually looks pretty amazing.

I took forever to find a deserted beach in the New York area. We really didn't want a urban/city shoot so we started the search for an appropriate beach. Although the popular beaches were out of the question because there would be too many people and too much trash on the beach. Finally, we found Fort Tilden which is a deserted military fort out in Queens. We rented a zip car and drove about an hour to meet our mysterious photog for a few hours of fun on the beach.


I love this huge rose. Mr Pancakes bought it for me for Valentine's Day three years ago, when we were living in Bangkok. Her name is Orchid Valentine and I brought her back to the U.S.

Erin Leigh
I was a little disappointed about my outfit situation but I think that they turned out alright...I can't wait to see the rest!