ReCaps! Finally.......Prep Before Ceremony

Hello all. I know it's been a very long time since I've actually blogged, and all I can say is I'm sorry. This here is my first recap of the wedding. I didn't really know where to start, and I will probably be all over the place with this, but for this first post I will be recapping the church set up (the day of) and getting ready for the ceremony. I really didn't feel the need to go into make up, hair, etc. because I did my own at home in a big rush! More about that later.
I've gotten a bit lazy when it comes to blogging, so I've arranged the pics as collages.....I hope you don't mind. OK....so let's start. We were married on September 18, 2010. The weather was a very nice and comfortable 86 degrees.
We were married in a very old stone church that my dad's side of the family has attended for generations. In fact, my grandmother lived right next door to it.
The church has been there since 1888.
The Pastor was to meet us at the church to let us in to decorate at 2:30. But I think he didn't show up until about 2:55......right about the time I was scheduled to start getting ready. But ok......it's a good thing I had minimal decorations for the church. My 28 year old daughter met us there and was able to help out decorating. Thank goodness! And of course she brought her 4 year old daughter (my flower girl/granddaughter) and I of course brought my 13 year old daughter/granddaughter (I adopted her when she was 2). She was appointed as the Flower Girl's Escort. Such a prestigious title. ha! We just needed to ensure that the flower girl would make it down the aisle. You see, when I first asked my darling granddaughter to be my flower, she was animatedly against it. I told her she would be wearing a beautiful Cinderella dress, I showed her videos on YouTube of flower girls walking down the aisle, I begged and pleaded, tried guilt trips.....you name it! And still....NO! I don't want to be a flower girl! So I basically had decided that we would have to trick her. Long story short, she did wonderfully and had full knowledge of what she was going to do. YAY!
~~~MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON PICS TO SEE LARGER~~


So in the above pic, you can see her sitting on the bench and waiting to get changed into her dress. But first, setting up. You can see my 13 year old putting the signs on the pew bows. I really didn't spend much time or effort on the pew bows. I just bought the Dollar Tree bows, and added lavender tulle to them. The signs were very simple.....card stock and ribbon. My Mr. ran the simple runner that I had gotten from LinenTablecloth.com down the aisle.
While they did that, I was decorating the entryway.

I put out the layered programs that I made, the bubbles I had decorated, the Tears of Joy tissues I made, the guest book I had made at Photoworks.com. They had a coupon last year for a free book, so I jumped on it! I also put out pictures of our grandparents and parents on their wedding days. I especially love the one that has my grandmother and grandfather exiting this very church on their wedding day back in 1927. After decorating, we headed to a small church reception area to get dressed. It was just a few steps away. When we walked in, we noticed that it was set up for some sort of reception. I wasn't told about this. All of the areas I was planning to have photo ops in were completely changed. There had been a perfect corner in which to take pictures, but now that was gone. Oh well.....

So Alayla quickly got dresses in a corner....hiding from everyone. She's so cute, and she actually really seemed ready for her part! So now it was my turn. My daughter and Mom helped me with a few things.
Ah....I feel like a princess! Good thing I brought a small mirror......hey, ya gotta make do with whatcha gots! lol
I made my necklace, by the way. It was during crunch time, so nothing fancy. Seeing as I had never made any jewelry before, I thought it came out pretty good. I had planned to do a much nicer one, but I'm lucky I made one at all. I really don't even know why I was so determined to make my own.....darned blog world!
I made my shoe clips, but somewhere, somehow between the ceremony and reception I lost one. grrrrrrr........you can see that I had lost one in the Mr & Mrs Shoe Shot (coming later). Grrrrr.....
Well anyway, I added little blue beads to my garter for my something blue. My 13 year old (Sunshine) helped put my shoes on while Alayla sat patiently with "Baby", her giraffe that she never leaves home without. After I was ready, we had time for some pics. My sister and nieces joined us.
You can see the corsage that I made for my mom. I used a lot of the same elements for the corsage, boutonnieres, and my bouquet. Yup, I made my own bouquet too! I think my next post will be closeups of my bouquet, so it won't be as looooooooooooong as this post.
Sorry about that, but you seemed bored. hehe

pictures taken by: Sweet As Pie Weddings

Yes, I did end up hiring a photographer after all. I got a great deal.....all pics shot, unedited, all on dvd. So, in other words......I had to do any enhancing, color adjusting, etc. that needed to be done on the pics (which I love to do anyways!).

My DIY Unity Candles

I bought my "not so perfect" candle holder from Party City on clearance. I saw that it desperately needed a paint job, but for $2.00 I couldn't resist.
I painted her up a bit, bought some white candles and decorated them with vellum I ran through the printer......
.....and ribbons.
Piece of cake! One of my easiest DIY's.
Breakdown: Candle holder (Party City) $2.00
Pillar (Michael's) $3.99
Tapers (Dollar Tree) $2.00
Ribbon ( Michael's) $1.00 ( lots left over)
Vellum (already had) 0
---------
$8.99 TOTAL (not including tax)

I Made One Myself!-DIY

(above pic from Martha Stewart)
You remember my posting about these creative little centerpieces (here) ? Well, in it I stated that I would be alternating these luminescent photo frame centerpieces with the original ones that I planned on doing (simple floating candle centerpieces). Well, I have finally tackled that project and made one! Woo-hoo!
I started with some 4 x 6 silver frames that I found at The Dollar Tree. I also bought more of this same type, some unfinished wood frames and some silver 5 x 7 frames, but have only actually completed one centerpiece to share with you. You start with removing the backs off of these and only using the front frame and glass. The backs can be discarded, or you can actually use them for something like signs.
Since these frames were silver ( one of my wedding palette colors) I didn't have to hassle with painting it.
I then went on Picasa (I don't have Photoshop or anything like that) =(
I placed the pictures so that I could fit 2 pictures per sheet of vellum....'cause it's kinda expensive paper. I got mine from Michael's....a package of I believe 100 at half price with a coupon. woohoo!
Here's are a few of the sheets I've printed thus far.
After printing them out, it's time to cut.
I used the insert that came in the frame for a template for cutting.
When you're done, place the pics in the frames then attach the frames to each other. I used duct tape (from a 99 cent store), which holds very well. I've also read other directions that said you can use epoxy. I really like the duct tape because it's clean....no muss, no fuss, and no waiting for anything to dry.
And here's my photo frame with a candle placed in the center (in a candle holder high enough to keep flame protected).
I love it! And it was SOOOO simple to make. I only bought one set that I will have to paint.....or maybe I'll just find another set that I won't have to paint. =)
Is anyone else planning on using this idea? You know, you don't even have to use these as centerpieces. These would be great at a remembrance table....for those that have passed and couldn't be with us to share in the celebration.

DIY- My Sweets Buffet

I know that candy buffets are very popular these days, and decided I would like to have a "sweets" buffet that would include candy, pastries, nuts and whatever else we can think of. Definitely we'll have Twinkies (the Mr.'s fave) and Nutty Buddy's (my fave). I also will have candies in our wedding colors, and the Mr.'s own personal nut mix (he makes this and takes it to work with him daily).
Thus far I've bargain hunted for these plates/trays and scoops for our buffet. For the most part, these are thrift store finds. I'll try and introduce them in groups.
My raised platters/ bowls. I used various cups and candlesticks for bases, and bowls and plates for the toppers. I haven't actually glued them on yet, as I have been busy with other things, but I do have the epoxy ready to go. The one in the far back right is actually a cakestand I got free from freecycle.....if anyone's heard of that. The plates/ bowls shown here are from Target and Dollar Tree (all $1 ea.). Bases are from the thrift store except for the back middle candlestick (Dollar Tree). Thrift store bases were .45 each.
I am planning on putting silk flowers or purple/lavender paper pom poms under the cup bases for that extra lil touch.
These containers with covers were all from the thrift store $1.95-$3.95 ea.
These are all open containers. The purple cup was from Target for $1...I just really liked the color, and decided I will put Pixie Stix in it. All the rest but the heart (Dollar Tree) were purchased from the thrift store. I know that the bottom right one is a dip/appetizer dish, but it's perfect for candy! It was $2.95 and the other 2 glasses were .45 each.
These are 4 more bases I'm trying to find toppers for.....
OK....found one! The 99 Cents Store. Three more to go!
These are prongs and scoops. 4 pk of prongs for $1 at Dollar Tree and a 3 pk of scoops at Walmart for...I believe it was $3.95. Oh, and I totally forgot I had bought 5 mini plastic scoops at Blake's for .39 each.....now where are they? Hmmm....
And I also have 2 glass jars with tops from Ikea that I've had for a few years now.....I'll include those in my buffet too, if I need them.
And that just about covers my first phase of the sweets buffet. I really just wanted to round these up so I can pack and put them away. You see, I have ALL my wedding stuff in our bachroom, and I need to clear it out for Thanksgiving because we just might have Thanksgiving here this year...YIKES!! I just might post a pic of my backroom, but I really probably shouldn't. It is just so embarrassing! It's a wreck! So maybe I won't...lol!
Are you doing any types of buffets? Any creative or unique ideas?

Changed Our Bubbles-DIY

So I decided to change up the way I decorated my original idea for my Dollar Tree bubbles.
I had bought a stamper with the letter "C" on it from Michael's for a buck and was anxious to use it on something. I had some paper I had bought quite awhile ago...just because it was purple....from Big Lots for a dollar also (50 sheets), and decided to cut little pieces of it to use as a wrap around my bubbles. I probably only used about 6 sheets TOPS for my 84 bubbles. So I got my new little stamper and stamped my little cut out pieces of orchid colored printer paper and used photo mounting squares to attach the ends together.
Oh, I also added little silver rings which I found at a dollar store (50 per pkg) and strung them onto the ribbon (from Michaels-2 for $1) which I changed from purple to alternating colors of white and lavender.
This was probably the most boring project thus far....well as far as sitting there and putting them together. I did a little at a time whilst watching TV. I'm just glad it's all over with!

basket from thrift store-earlier post)

Yay! Another DIY Checked Off The List!

OK....so I'll have to give "Becoming His Mrs." some props for putting this idea in my head. She had gone to Michaels and found some Halloween directional signs for 1/2 off a few weeks ago and painted over them to create directional signs for her wedding. So............I also went to Michaels, but unfortunately they were not on sale at my store. Bummer. But then I thought, "Hey! Dollar Tree always has stuff like that for every season/holiday."
But before I bought any signs, I decided to head over to my reception site to see what kind/types my venue could use. I really only needed one for the gate entrance to the courtyard, as there are two different areas you can enter into. One of them being a Senior Center in which my guests could end up surrounded by seniors in yoga positions. Mmmhmmm.
So I took some more pictures of the outside of my venue and headed off to Dollar Tree. I found a very simple "spooky" sign, and bought it for a buck. Well, duh, of course! It's Dollar Tree!
Unfortunately, I did not even think of taking pictures of it for tutorial sake. My baaad. I didn't think of it until I had already spray painted with white acrylic, stenciled the design in pencil AND had started painting it in.....super my bad! Well, what's done is done. I've already forgiven myself.
So above pic is of the supplies I used......

This pic is when I realized I should have taken some pictures...........
....and this is my completed project! I am really happy about the way it came out. ESPECIALLY because I've never, as an adult, painted with brushes. Takes some getting used to! Oh, and I actually used a thin black Sharpie to write the Mr and Mrs line on the bottom, which I failed to include in my supply pic. I was NOT ABOUT to attempt doing THAT with a paint brush!
And I just thought I'd throw in the green fence where I'll be hanging my pride and joy.

( border stencil and spray paint from Walmart, letter stencil from a dollar store, brush on acrylic paints and brushes from Michaels, sign from Dollar Tree)

Our Simple Centerpieces

These will be the centerpieces for the tables. In the first picture the glass gems look a bit yellowed, but they really aren't. There are white pearly ones, white frosted, and clear. Inside the heart are also purple ones.
This is a very simple design, and pretty inexpensive.

MATERIALS:
I bought some platinum look chargers from Big Lots (12 for $18), but I will only be using 9 for the centerpieces. Glass hearts from Dollar Tree (9 for $9), floating candles from Michael's ($4), lots of glass gems from Michael's and Big Lots($22) and purple square place mats from Dollar tree (9 for $9).

Comes out to approx. $7 for each setting. 9 settings in all. Not bad, but I really thought it was going to come out to less. That's one of the biggest reasons why I didn't opt for flowers....budget! I love the look of flowers, and I'm not a big fan of fake flowers, so I went with a candle theme. Plus, having flowers means florist ($) or if you do it yourself it could mean having to stress buying flowers days before the wedding AND keeping them preserved. I really don't want to have any extra stress the week of my wedding. I just want to concentrate on me, and since we are basically doing all the decorating ourselves, I went with something simple, sturdy, easy, and something that has no shelf life.
So....ta-da! Centerpieces are all done a year before the wedding, with minimal assembly required the night before.

That's what I'm talkin' about!

One Of My Wedding Favors at 14 Cents A Piece!

O.K., so this is one of the wedding favors I will be using for my wedding. As I've said before, we are on a very strict budget and I bought these plain bubbles from Dollar Tree. They were 12 to a box for $1.00. So I bought 7 boxes. ($7)
The ribbon was .50 for a 6 yard roll on sale from Michael's. I cut the ribbon every 12", so each roll made 18 ribbons. So that would be about 5 rolls ($2.50) to complete 84 bubbles. Then I made little thank you tags on my computer. I bought plain white cardstock (75 pages for $2) at Big Lots which is way more than enough paper!
So let's see what that comes out to for 84 decorated and personalized bottles each.
$7 + $2.50 + $2 = $11.50 Now, we divide 84 bottles into $11.50, and that gives us.....drum roll please........
.14 each bottle! Fully complete!
Now that's a favor I can afford! This will not be the only favor I have on my tables, but I will share the other(s) with you later when I take some better pics. The ones I have on my computer are a bit blurry.
I'm not 100% on the guest list yet either, but I may have to buy one more box of bubbles. But at this kind of pricing, I don't think it will break me.