to d-i-y or don't-i-y.

I am still debating whether or not to make the boutonnieres for the groomsmen or just get fresh ones from the florist. It's not really about the cost; our quote is for $10 each which is pretty reasonable. I'm just worried that I'll make them and then regret it when I see the pictures. I don't intend on making one for the groom--his will have dahlias to match my bouquet and will be made by the florist. Of course I can give her matching ribbon to tie them all together, but I'm worried they won't look right with a mixture of fresh and fake flowers.

To refresh your memory, here's trial #1:

Here is a look at trial #2:

I may or may not add a fresh button mum or two to the real deal (much like the first trial), I just didn't have any when I put this one together. I'm unsure about the little berry-like things. I tried to add them for some extra color, but they look weird to me.

This is the picture I gave the florist for the groom's boutonniere. It will have hypericum berries instead of the stringy green things in the picture (not sure what they're called) I'd have her add the same purple ribbon and the flower will be purple as well.

(Photo by Sarah K Chen)

So what do you think? Should I scrap the idea and just have the florist use fresh flowers for the groomsmen bouts'? Or should I stop overanalyzing things and make them myself? With or without the colored berry things? With real berries instead? Do tell!

a pretty ball of flowers.

I've always loved the look of a flower girl carrying a pomander. They are just too cute (both the flowers and the little girls of course!)

(source)

Oddly enough, the pomander was the first elements I knew for sure would be making an appearance on our big day. As usual, I took the opportunity as an excuse for another DIY project. Here's what I came up with:

I'll admit, I was a bad blogger and didn't take pictures of the process. But this is an easy one, so no pictures are required!

Materials:

Silk flowers

Styrofoam ball

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Ribbon (I used a little less than 2 yards)

Something to poke holes with--a pencil works well

Instructions:

1. Take your flowers off of the main stem. There should be a small stem left on the flower so you can attach it to the styrofoam ball. If you're using small flowers such as hydrangeas like I did, you don't have to separate them into individual flowers, just separate them into smaller groups.

2. Use your pencil to poke a hole in the styrofoam ball (go into the ball about an inch or so to make sure the stem will fit.)

3. Fill the hole with some hot glue.

4. Place the stem of the flower into the hole and let it dry.

5. Repeat these steps until your styrofoam ball is completely covered in flowers, only leaving a small bare spot at the top to attach your ribbon.

6. Cut a slit in the bare spot of the ball to attach the ribbon. Make sure the slit is as wide as your ribbon width so it fits properly.

7. Fold your ribbon in half. Measure the desired length of your wrist strap from the folded end (mine is about 6"). Mark this spot.

8. Fill the slit with hot glue.

9. Place the marked portion of your ribbon into the slit on the ball. Do not put the folded end or the two open ends into the slit, only your wrist strap marks. You are basically just glueing in a little fold at that mark to hold the ribbon in place.

10. For good measure, stick a few straight pins in on an angle to make sure the ribbon doesn't fall out if the pomander is whipped around (it is for a little girl to carry after all, this will probably happen).

11. After the glue is dry, take your two open ribbon ends and tie a bow with the folded wrist strap coming out of the top of the bow.

12. Trim the ends of the ribbon as desired.

13. Find a cute flower girl to carry your pomander!

Did anyone else use a pomander for their flower girl?

i want them all.

Check out the most beautiful bouquets I've ever seen, all in one picture, which I found on The Bride's Cafe. I'll take all six of them, thank you.

All photos by Stephanie Williams Photography. Flowers by JL Floral Designs.

What's that you say? I can't walk down the aisle carrying six bouquets? How about three? Or at least the purple one? I'd yet to find a picture of my dream bouquet, that is, until I found this one. Sadly, my florist said ranunculus won't be available in our area in September. Sad face :(

As soon I get over the fact that the dream bouquet will never be mine, I think I'll bring in the dahlia bouquet photos to my florist. I'm fairly certain I'll be using all dahlias for my bouquet, in different hues of purple. The bouquet in the picture is one of the smaller ones I've found, which is more along the lines of what I've been looking for. I'm not really longing for a bouquet that's twice the size of my head. Call me crazy, but I don't want to lift weights on my wedding day :) That is, of course, unless you'll allow me to carry all six bouquets as previously requested. No? Okay then, this one will suffice. While I'm with the florist, I might as well show her the green bouquet, as it's almost exactly what I've been picturing for the bridesmaids bouquets. Different shades of green with lots of texture. Perfect!
Are you sure I can't just have all six? Pretty please?

Which bouquet is your favorite?

the bout' test.

As I mentioned previously, I have been considering making the boutonnieres for the groomsmen. I had bought some flowers last week to have around the apartment, and since they are on their last leg, I thought I'd use them to test out my bout-making skills. I had some fake hydrangeas as well from some of our other wedding projects, so I used a stem of the flowers and a leaf to supplement the real button mums. After about 2 minutes, here's what I came up with.
It works, but I think it needs some more color. I tried adding a fuchsia feather. Still not loving it, but it proves that more color is better!
I think I'll do another trial, next time with purple button mums. Possibly two mums and less hydrangea, with some hypericum berries if I can find some. I'll leave out the feathers.

What would you do to improve the bouts'? Do you think they have potential?

boys need flowers too.

In the form of a boutonniere, that is! I'm a fan of simple ones with green hypericum berries for our ringbearers, because you know they are going to destroy them by the end of the night anyway!

(source)

Next up, the groomsmen. We'll be keeping it simple for them too, adding in a few button mums (possibly in purple, green, or a mix) to add some color. Nothing too elaborate, just something to dress us their collars a little.

(source)

Lastly and most importantly, we have the groom of course! The Mr. will be wearing a different bout than the rest of the gents, containing a purple dahlia and probably more of the same hypericum berries to tie them all together.

(source)

All that's left to decide is who will be making them! I have a florist, but I feel like these would be so simple to make. And with an estimate of around $12 per bout from our florist, it's worth it to try. I'll be sure to post an update when I do.

Is anyone else considering making their own boutonnieres?

more tissue paper.

While we're on the subject of tissue paper, check out these dahlia napkin rings. I'm probably going to use white linen napkins rather than trying to find a color that goes with our scheme. White is just easier and cheaper. I was thinking of placing a real dahlia on each place setting to dress it up a bit, but these could work too. Maybe I can recruit some helpers for this one... my list of projects keeps growing and growing. There's a how-to from Martha for this one as well.

Do I...
a. Take the cheap route and use tissue paper
b. Be lazy and pay for real flowers
c. None of the above

pew decorations.

I'm not sure what to do for pew decorations. The church is pretty but I would like some simple decorations in the aisles. I'm thinking of somehow incorporating hydrangeas on the pews.

Do I tie the hydrangea into bows on the pews...

or make paper cones out of the same paper I'm using throughout the wedding and stick the stems in the cone?

I'd love some opinions. I'm open to other ideas if you have any.

First two photos from The Knot. Last photo from Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book Blog.

tealights on the cheap.

I've been on the lookout for affordable tealights to add to the tables at our reception. A set of 24 of these from Save On Crafts costs $8.64. That's only 34 cents each!

I think we might put some on the cocktail tables with some button mums in them. See how cute they look with flowers?

While you're there, Save On Crafts has a ton of other affordable supplies for weddings, so be sure to look around!

thank you.

Thank you EAD for posting pictures of this gorgeous wedding, and letting me know that single dahlias and mums in vases can look elegant!
This arrangement is very pretty as well...maybe I can get Adam to make some wooden boxes. Really, any excuse to use a power tool is fine with him.
Photos by whitebox weddings via Elizabeth Anne Designs.

a little (more) help.

From the last post on Dona's bridesmaids bouquets, I think the purple tulips are in the lead so far. Michelle asked me to do a couple more with white flowers, so here they are.

The first is a bouquet of a few white calla lillies, and the second is a bouquet of anemones. I personally still like the purple tulips. What about you?

a little help.

My bridesmaid Dona is getting married this May and is trying to decide on the bridesmaids bouquets. Our dresses are white with navy blue flower print, and we are wearing cute light yellow wedges. She wants to use purple flowers for the bouquets but she's worried it won't look right with the white/navy/yellow of our outfits. I put together a few pictures of what we would look like with a few different bouquets, some in purple, some in yellow.

I think the purple or yellow tulips would look really cute, as well as the yellow calla lillies. The purple hydrangeas don't really look right, not sure if it's because of the blue-ish tint of the flowers or because the shape of the flowers is similar to the flowers on the dress, but something just isn't working.

Which is your favorite?

p.s. Sorry I cut your head out of this picture Michelle...I wasn't sure if you wanted your picture all over my blog!

craspedia.

One alternative color scheme I considered for a long time was gray and yellow. It is just so modern and elegant. While looking for branches for our wishing tree tonight, I came upon this flower called the craspedia. While they don't look like your typical flower, I think they would be the perfect element to add to a simple and modern gray and yellow wedding.

Inspiration boards from only the best -- Snippet & Ink. Craspedia from Nettleton Hollow.

weekend recap part two.

Thankfully, Sunday was a much more successful day than Saturday. First, Adam and I went through our engagement pictures and decided on a picture to use for our engagement announcement. We worked on cropping the picture and filled out the paperwork so all we'd have to do was print the picture and put it in the mail. Next, I went to look for fabric to use to make our own ties for the groomsmen if all else fails. I didn't find any, but I did find the stuff for one other project I needed to work on. Sorry, that one is still a secret!

When I got home I realized that the flowers that Adam had bought me last week were getting to be at the end of their prime, so I took them out of the vase and made a mock-up of what my bouquet would look like. It turned out I didn't have enough of the mums (I'm pretty sure they are mums not dahlias) to make a bouquet big enough, but it gave me a general idea.

The flowers also look pretty in the purple vases we bought at the dollar store. We bought 100 of them! It's hard to tell from the picture but the vases are purple. I think we'll probably put green and white hydrangeas in these vases rather than the mums or dahlias.

For the taller centerpieces, we'll be using Mamertino wine bottles. I'm thinking we'll remove the labels, but I'm not sure yet. The flowers in this vase will probably be dahlias or mums. I didn't want to pull the leaves off the flower and ruin it, but we'd probably take them off for the final arrangements. It looks kind of weird with the leaves sticking out.Some of the wedding elements grouped together. They won't be arranged this way for the wedding but it helps show how the colors will work together.
After playing florist for a little while, it was time to make dinner. Since Adam won our bowling bet the night before, I had to make chili. He ended up helping with it which was nice and while we waited for it to simmer I worked on my "secret project" while Adam researched honeymoon possibilities. We ate dinner and then went to the gym. When I came home I did the last thing on my to do list for the weekend... made red velvet cupcakes! And let me tell you they were pretty delicious. Definitely on the list of possibilities for the wedding.

Sunday was a busy day but I felt a little less stressed out after getting so much accomplished! Yay for productive days!

All photos are my own.

button mums.

I love button mums. They are just so cute! I've been waiting to find a picture of a bouquet of button mums and haven't been able to find any (although I haven't been looking very hard). I think I'd like to incorporate these flowers into the wedding, possibly in the bridesmaids bouquets. So today while I was looking through the real wedding featured on Style Me Pretty today, I found one!

The flowers look like they're choking a little bit, I think I would make the bouquet fuller and tie the ribbon a little lower. But I think it has potential! Otherwise maybe the girls could have mixed bouquets, something like this:

Except a little smaller and substituting small stems of hydrangeas for the roses.

Which do you like the most?

Photos by Jonathon Canlas via Style Me Pretty.

i heart him.

My fiance is one of the nicest, most thoughtful people I've ever met. Here is a perfect example of how sweet he is to me. I asked him to go to the store after work to pick up some noodles so I could make stroganoff for dinner tonight. He said yes and picked up the noodles on his way home. What else did he come home with?
Purple dahlias. And some other type of flower...not sure what they are. Spider mums maybe?

Why did he buy me flowers? Because this weekend I went on an unsuccessful journey to find things to fill my vases with since I couldn't use ornaments anymore. So he decided flowers would be perfect to fill my vases with. He was going to just get the light purple flowers, and then he saw the dahlias. Which happen to be the flowers that I want to use for my bouquet. So he bought both. Needless to say, he made my day. I heart him.

Also, I promised my dad I would put a picture on here of our new dining room set. So here it is! I'm very excited about it! And we are putting our purple candlesticks to use before the wedding... no point in letting them sit in a bag in the closet when we have a pretty table to decorate! Unfortunately we can only fit 4 of 6 chairs around the table in our little apartment, but you get the idea.
All photos are my own. I apologize for the poor pictures, I was too lazy to get the camera so I just used my phone. Please forgive me.

things to do.

I'm back in MI for Christmas, and there are lots of wedding related things to do while I'm here:

-decide on a decorator
-check out hotels to block rooms at
-choose guy's attire
-register at a local store
-get ceremony information from church
-get our engagement pictures back!
-meet with the florist

The last time I met with the florist, she told me she thought ranunculus were only available in the spring. She was going to check to make sure, so I'm hoping she's wrong. If not, I think I found another option for my bouquet, minus the overpowering amount of ribbon:

I know dahlias are fall flowers, and I'm almost considering using these even if she can get ranunculus. Dahlias remind me of the garden that Adam proposed to me in, because they were all over the place!

Which do you prefer, dahlias or ranunculus? Or is it ranunculi if it's plural?

Bouquet from here.

bridal bouquets.

There is a lot to learn about wedding bouquets. There are so many different types of flowers, it's overwhelming! White bouquets are classic, but I find myself always drawn to the more colorful bouquets. I love the look of a bouquet that has varying types of flowers all in shades of the same color. For my wedding, I think I'd like to carry a purple bouquet. I think it will go nicely with my ivory dress. Although I am not a florist, I have looked at some options that I think I'd like to have in my bouquet. Of course I wouldn't have to have all of them!
Anemones, dahlias, delphinium, orchids, hydrangeas, and ranunculus. Of course, I would want them all in varying shades of a plum/purple color, if possible. Here are a couple examples of the flowers in the right colors.
Orchids, ranunculus, hydrangeas (please ignore the stephanotis in the middle) and dahlias. I hope the bouquet would look something like this pink one as far as size, shape, and it's also where the idea of mixing flowers came from. I realize none of the flowers are the same.
Although I also love the idea of having a bouquet of just ranunculus, they are by far my favorite flower! Something like this bouquet in shades of purple, minus the peonies, and smaller (you'll have to use your imagination!).

Most pictures from The Knot. I can't remember where I found the pink bouquet, sorry!