Inspiration Board: A Fall Wedding + A Giveaway!

many brides plan their wedding a year in advance.  those of you planning on getting married a year from now could have a gorgeous fall wedding.  in that spirit i put together a fall wedding inspiration board.  i wanted the feel to be elegant with rustic touches.  i focused on gold, deep burgandy, brown, orange and yellow for the colors.  i like the use of leaves for decor.

want a personalized inspiration board created for you?  send me a message with a few key words that describe the vibe you want for your party, a color scheme, and or any pictures of items you've already decided on and i'll make you one.  the first 3 people to take me up on this offer get it for free!

Charger:Bed Bath and Beyond Centerpiece: Kevin Monahan Photography Tablecloth: Norris Party Rentals  Favors:2 as 1 Wedding Favors Bridesmaid Dress: Dress For Wedding Tuxedo: Wedding By Color Wedding Dress: iOffer Bouquet: Weddingbee 

Tree Guestbook: Etsy  Cake: Perfect Wedding Day

Signed, Sealed, Delivered- Stamp Woes

just this week the united states postal service announced that in january of 2012 they plan on changing the price on stamps.  standard stamps will go from 44 cents to 45 cents.  postcard stamps will go from 29 cents to 32 cents.

why is this on my party planning site?  well, lots of parties, especially weddings require a lot of postage.  if you're sending 100 invitations with 100 stamped rsvp envelopes you'll be paying an additional 2 dollars.  then add in your thank you cards for the shower(s) thank you cards for the wedding and other essentials and you have another dollar or so.  it's not the biggest increase ever, but when it comes to the budget every penny counts.

it is also important to note that if you're using postcard stamps for your rsvps you need to consider when  your guests will be sending them back- if your wedding is in 2012 don't buy the cheaper stamps or you'll be stuck adding extra postage.

to get ahead of the game check out the forever stamps that are good for, well, forever at the lower cost!

My Baby Cousin Got Hitched

a little over a month ago i had the privledge of being my baby (she's 7 months younger) cousin's maid of honor.  and, by default her wedding planner.  my cousin and her fiance were a little clueless about weddings but i helped them out.  here are some of the projects i helped with and or details from the wedding that i just loved.

my mom, or the "aunt of honor" as she named herself, gave my cousin this ring that my aunt had given her years before.  i suggested tying it to her bouquet as a subtle reminder that even though she wasn't physically present she was there in spirit.

my cousin is a tall model-esque bride is she not?  at one point in our lives i was taller! i swear!

 my uncle, the father of the bride, has had multiple sclerosis for over 40 years.  i asked him to dance with us and he came out on the dance floor wheel chair and all to party with the best of us!  it was a great moment.

to help guests know they were in the right place my cousin and i bought chalkboard style poster boards and my brother used chalk markers to create personalized signs.

these place cards were the bane of my existence for a night or two.  in june my cousin graduated from veterinary school so she wanted to have tables named after animals instead of using numbers.  We put a sillhouette on each place card.  each animal started with a different letter and they were quasi alphabetical in the dining room to help people find their tables.

to identify the tables we printed the name of the animal and the silhouette on a piece of vellum, used doubled sided tape and created tubes.  each tube was then placed over an electronic votive.  i was obviously at the bear table.

we fed each other some delicious berries in chocolate sauce from the cheesecake bar. once the wedding really got going it was one of the only times we had just the two of us.  

i realized i almost finished the post with no pictures of the groom.  oops.  here is my new cousin in law and my cousin enjoying their first dance.

that was the wedding in a nutshell.  questions about anything i posted, just ask!

*all pictures personal*