Stationery: Anything but Stationary.

I just love stationery that does stuff, like pads of paper that double as mousepads. Likewise, I am in love with these quirky wedding-related stationery ideas from Martha Stewart Weddings:

Save-the-Date Stickers
These make total sense, since your guests will still know where their calendars are eight months after receiving your save-the-date. This can't always be said about the save-the-date itself...

Rows of Prose
I love the idea of tying the ceremony programs to the chairs with ribbon. The outer envelope possibilities are endless... How about printing a fun fact about the couple on each envelope, or the lyrics to a meaningful song? How about a quote about love, or a poem? Or vows? (See what I mean?!)

Watch and Weep
I don't know if I'd actually do this for my own wedding (is it conceited to assume people will cry at your wedding?), but I still think these are so cute: Tissues built in to the ceremony program. And it would be so incredibly simple to DIY... you'd just need a travel pack of Kleenex and some 4-bar envelopes.

Pencil Me In
How awesome is this?! Black craft paper rolled out across each table, with the place settings written in chalk. This would be great for a low-key affair, or for a messy meal. It can always be removed right after the meal, making for a clean slate for dessert. It would also be fun to place glass jars full of chalk on each table, so guests can doodle.

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Bridesmaid Bargains

Since when is it okay to charge women $200 for a dress somebody else picked out? I mean, I know this is how it's done, but I just feel totally uncomfortable with this whole concept. My goal is to have my bridesmaids (all six of them) pay no more than $50 each for their dresses. If this means I have to kick in some money, so be it... but I'd love to find them dresses for under $50. (A girl can dream, can't she?)

How about these ones from Target?

Mossimo Black: Crossover V-Neck Empire Dress in Spanish Brown, $39.99

Merona Collection Party Dress w/o Sash in Spanish Brown, $39.99

Merona Collection Party Dress w/ Sash in Navy Voyage, $39.99

Merona Collection Taffeta Party Dress in Navy Voyage, $39.99

Merona Collection Strapless Party Dress in Navy Voyage, $39.99

Not bad!

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DIY Silk-Flower Ring Pillow

I'm really loving this DIY silk-flower ring pillow:

It looks similar to one I like on etsy, but probably can't afford. Do I attempt to make this?

Courtesy of MarthaStewartWeddings. Click here for DIY instructions.

Here is the original one on etsy, by seller 5eizen for $79, which I adore:

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Lighting & Lounges

Can I just say that I Love (with a capital L) candlelight? Of all things you can do to kick an event up a notch, candlelight gives you the most bang for your buck. I absolutely love this walkway of simple, white paper bags with sand and tealights inside of them... it's a great (cheap!) way to give guests some sort of direction in such a large, uncontained space such as a field:

Also, I love makeshift lounge areas. Whenever there's an open bar, people tend to congregate by the bar, so this breaks up the crowd a little bit by giving them someplace else to congregate. It also gives the event more of a 'home'-y vibe:

I really hope it's in our budget to incorporate both of these ideas. The lounge might be the tough part... we could always do IKEA furniture, but we could save a few hundred bucks by finding some really good yard sale finds... thoughts?

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Photographers and Caterers and Bands, Oh My!

May I just say that today marks ONE EXACT YEAR before our wedding day? Eeeee!

The wedding in New Hampshire was beautiful, and it so perfectly captured every little thing I love about that state. The wedding was on the MS Mt. Washington on Lake Winnipesaukee, in the peak of foliage season. It poured that day, but nobody even noticed. That's when you know it's a good wedding!

The evening after I returned to New Jersey, I helped coordinate a party sponsored by TheKnot.com. Then, the next day, my fiance and I met with Craig Scott Entertainment (band) to talk to them about our *own* wedding. They are amazing, and we booked them!

http://www.craigscott.com/

Shortly after our meeting with Craig Scott ('shortly' meaning one hour later) we met with our first choice photographer. His name is Tony Yang, and he, also, is amazing:







And if one wedding, one Knot.com event, a band, and a photographer aren't enough in addition to a full work week, I will add that we met with our first-choice caterer yesterday. We are thinking of doing a clambake with lobster, clams, corn, and potatoes, with warm chocolate chip cookies and a variety of dessert 'shooters' for each table for dessert. We can also do clam chowder and a pear gorgonzola salad as appetizers... perfect for our farm wedding! We are so excited. Signing the contracts this weekend... this makes it real!

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