Welcome

I just came across these welcoming ideas on Style Me Pretty, courtesy of Etsy (have I mentioned how much I love Etsy? :) ) seller The Wedding Chicks:





*swoon* How cute are those little birds?! I hadn't thought about a welcome sign before I saw this post, but now I am seriously considering one. The signs are $36 + shipping costs or $40 for a custom sign. This small decor item will make a big impact at our reception site, and it is definitely getting added to my wish list. How are you welcoming your guests to your wedding?

DIY Tutorial- Ribbon/Fabric Flowers

Supplies:

-Ribbon (I used 1 1/2" width w/ the wire-lined edges- it stays in place better) OR 44"/45" fabric (I used special occasion fabric).
-coordinating thread
-needle
-buttons, beads, (or you can just use thread), to use as embellishment

How To:

Thread your needle and tie a knot at one end. Put aside to be used for later.

For Ribbon: Cut about 22"-24" of ribbon from your spool.
For Fabric: Fold fabric in half, selvage to selvage. After squaring up your fabric, cut a 1 1/2" wide strip.

Start by folding over the ribbon/fabric on one end to make a pleat like this:

Continue holding the pleat against the edge of the ribbon/fabric with one hand. This will be the center of the flower. Continuing making new pleats towards the center while holding the existing pleats together:

Continue this process until you reach the starting point:

Begin a new row on top of the first row, while continuing to hold the ribbon/fabric together at the center. Pleat until you can pleat no more!...um, or until you have reached the end of the ribbon/fabric:

Collect the threaded ribbon and sew through the middle of the flower, making close, small stitches:

Make sure the flower stays together without having to hold it.

Petals:
To make petals (as I did with my shoe flowers), I just used a small pair of scissors to cut petal shapes into the fabric.

Embellishments:
If you have enough length in your thread, continue to use the same thread to sew on the beads/buttons/etc. otherwise sew a knot on the end and use a new thread. I used small beads for my ribbon flower (and some vintage looking buttons for the fabric flower):

Add anything else as you see fit :)

Done!
Now it's your turn! :) Share a tutorial you've found helpful in your wedding planning.

A Texas Menu

A majority of the weddings Mr. Beagle & I have attended throughout our lives have included a few primary elements, one of them being this: BBQ.

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Actually a wedding is not the only excuse to serve bbq, we love "fixin' it" for pretty much any occasion that involves a large group of people (graduation? birthday? tailgate? yes, yes, and yes). We love this food staple. (Salt Lick anyone?) So, chosing to serve this option at our wedding was easy-peasy. Sure, we would love to eat prime rib or pecan crusted salmon on our wedding day, but 1) the majority of our guests will not be expecting that to be served and 2) honestly, they would probably enjoy it just as much as bbq (despite the steep differece in price). So far, we've organized a tentative buffet dinner menu with our caterer (Laura w/ Classic Catering & Events):

Fresh BLT salad, pinto beans, red potatoes, brisquet, sausage, and an assortmant of breads.

This menu varies slightly from most bbq meals I've seen (we've nixed the cole slaw and potato salad mainly because we're am not a big fan of either and not everyone likes them :)). Since it's buffet, we are also going with clear plastic dinnerware (gasp!). Yes, I know, but renting dishes would have been an extra ~4.00/person (~$800+) and frankly, for that amount of money, I'm not that concerned about how it will look while people are eating. On a positive note, we will be using "real" silverware because bbq + plasic knife & fork = breakage.

Does your dinner menu reflect your culture in any way? Anyone else using plastic china?

Weekend Wedding Warriors: Part II

Continuing from Part I, the third task that I accomplished was finally finding a pair of wedding shoes. :) Well, actually I found two pairs and I finally narrowed it down to one pair.

I bought pair #1 online. Pair #1 had the round toe that I was desperately searching for and I really liked the vintage appeal they had. However, the gold color was a little too gold for the dress, which has silver threading. (My jewelry, at least for the ceremony will be gold. It will be my "something old" & "something borrowed", so I was thinking a light gold shoe might tie the jewelry in with the dress.)

I bought pair #2 when, by chance, I peeked into DSW while running errands and found them in the clearance section. Pair #2 was very comfortable and I loved the color, but they were a little plain.

So, I fixed them a la Princess Lasertron.

My inspiration:

from here, here, & here

My Wedding Shoes (yay!):

I'm really happy with the result: they are still simple enough, but the flowers add that "something" I was looking for and they will look cute in pictures! I may test out some smaller flowers too because I'm a little unsure about the size of those. Once I've decided, I'll either hot glue them on or make them into shoe clips (right now they are just taped on).

Any one else adding ornamentation to their shoes? What projects have you taken in to your own hands?

Weekend Wedding Warriors: Part I

Two weekends ago (I'm a week late on posting this :)), Mr. Beagle had off of work, so we were able to check some things off our wedding "to-do" list.

Task #1: Make a decision on tuxes. We reserved our date with the Men's Wearhouse & chose a jacket and vest style. Below, the vest is shown next to one of the bridemaid's dresses:


We are planning on pairing the vest with this purple tie:

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I like the contrast against the light color vest. Even though it's not an exact match with the bridesmaid's dress, it's close enough in color and will be far enough away that the difference in shades won't be noticeable.

However, while I was running last minute errands for Mother's Day, I came across these from here & here:


I love #2 & #5 from the top pic (I think Mr. Beagle vetoed #1 & #3) & I'm smitten with both of the ties in the bottom pic. I think these patterned ties would go best with a non-patterened black vest because herringbone pattern might be too much. The only problem is that I wasn't able to find five ties that were exactly alike. So, if we were to go the black vest/ purple tie route, the guy's ties would probably not match. I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet, but since we will be able to make changes to our tux rentals until to 2 or 3 weeks before our date (and I have 90 days to return the ties), I have time to change my mind. :)

Task #2: Find wedding rings. This was not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. Our experience with picking out and buying an engagement ring was an exciting learning experience and we both had a lot of fun. This just felt like work. And the thought of spending more money for rings is kind of painful. Especially now, when we are knee deep in paying for other wedding related expenses. Also, has anyone else noticed that men's wedding rings seem more expensive than they should be? Mr. Beagle's wedding ring will be the first jewelry item he will continuously wear and he was really looking for something simple without diamonds. Just metal. Something similar to this:

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Unfortunately, we weren't able to find anything in our price range during this shopping trip so we will be going ring shopping again soon. On a happier note, I think I found my wedding ring, and I will be sure to post pictures if/when we decide to purchase it.

How are you using your weekend to complete wedding "to-do's"?

Not Just Another Bolero

Yet again, Etsy has proven to be a fabulous site for wedding inspiration. Seller Bonzie was recently featured on the site. Here's a sample of her lovely handmade boleros & wraps:

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After seeing these, along with the amazing bolero Miss Cheese was gifted and how awesome Miss Peeptoe looked sporting one with her dress, I must find a bolero or wrap to wear for our reception. I usually live in sweaters and cardigans anyways, so it makes sense to wear something similar on my wedding day. I think I'll also feel a little more comfortable in my strapless dress with a wrap/bolero on than I would without one, and who knows, maybe it will actually be cold in October. :)

Will you be wearing a bolero, shrug, or wrap for your wedding?

Our DOC

Ooops, wrong "Doc":

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Early on in our planning, I knew that I wanted to hire a day-of-coordinator (DOC). I didn't want a full blown wedding planner (I wanted us to have control of a majority of the "design" of our wedding), but someone to help run the show on our big day was a necessity. I began the search for our "DOC" last November, and only met with two possible candidates before I made a decision. The first company I met with was really disappointing. I won't call them out, but the woman who met with me seemed very disorganized (not a good quality for a planner!?!) and didn't have anything prepared (except for a pricing list) to show me. In addition, they were a bit out of my price range... so her lacking first impression turned out to be a blessing- it was easier for me to cross them off my list. :) I continued to search via google for wedding planners in the area, when I came across Pam, with Celebrations Wedding & Events Planning. We met over coffee and we clicked instantly. She brought tons of information explaining her services and came prepared with pictures of past events she's planned. I would have hired her on the spot, but I wanted to discuss it with Mr. Beagle first. Needless to say, I emailed her the next day, if not later that evening, to tell her we wanted to hire her.

This is by far the best decision we've made yet. She has helped us set planning deadlines, establish a day-of timeline, accompanied me to various rental appointments, has thought of all the tiny details I never would have considered, and has helped with coordination between all the vendors. It is so much easier to focus on my own wedding projects when the orgazation of our event is squared away. I think I would be lost and frazzled with out her help, and I can't thank her enough! I have no doubt that she will enable our day to run smoothly.

Are you hiring a wedding planner or coordinator? What's the best wedding decision (besides saying "yes" ;) ) that you've made?

Shoes, Shoes, and, Yes, Even More Shoes

I love shoes- this is what happens when you work in a shoe department for 5 years. So of course, in the beginning, I was super excited about the search for wedding shoes. I really wanted cute shoes so I could get cute pictures:

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Looking back, I think I may have stressed a little too much over finding something that would look so perfect for pictures (there will probably not be enough pictures to justify the time/effort I spent searching!). Nevertheless, with images of cute shoes floating around in my head, I began what seemed like a never ending task. The contenders:

Too High (I fell in love with 1, 3, & 5... I think maybe I was in denial that the heel was to high, but you can never be too sure when ordering online :) ):





Uncomfortable (2, 4), too cluncky (5), too short (1), just not right at all (3) :

Too casual:



Didn't really go with the dress (I think they were just too much, you know?), but are oh so cute (it pained me to return these). I couldn't justify keeping them when I have nothing to pair with them:





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Too blue. I loved these shoes, even though the heel was a tad short. When I gushed to several of my peeps about how much I loved them, they just didn't understand the "Something Blue-Shoe" concept and I started second guessing my decision. I think the vintage-y style of the shoe would have gone perfectly with my dress, but I sent them back before I could find out and now they are unavailable. :(

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I think the most frustrating part of my search was that I knew what I wanted, but could not find it! I had my heart set on round, closed toed satin pumps with a 2.5" - 3" heel. This was impossible to find *within* my price range. This is key, because even though J.Crew, Kate, and Stuart know how to make a really nice round, closed toed satin pump with a medium heel, I couldn't, no, wouldn't pay $200-$300 for a pair of shoes I will more than likely wear one time (even if I tell myself I will wear them every time I go out).

Luckily, this story has a happy ending, but you'll have to wait until the next post to hear more about my wonderful weekend finds. :)

I know Miss Peeptoe can relate to my woes of shoe searching. What has been the most difficult find for your wedding? Has there been one part of planning that has more stressful than the rest?

(Yes, I really did order and return ALL of these... good thing endless and zappos have free shipping.)
*all shoes are sourced from here, unless otherwise noted