Honoring passed loved ones

We honored my husband's parents and my grandparents that had passed by putting photos on a chair designated for them, with their favorite flower.  I also made a memorial candle by wrapping vellum which I had printed on around a pillar candle.  We moved these things to a special table at the reception. First two photos were taken by my sister-in-law, the third by Rachel LeCrone.

The Cake

Here is our damask black and white cake with green orchids.  It's a beauty and it was created by Beaverton Bakery with flowers by Natural Nook!  I loved it and it tasted AMAZING!

Wedding Teeth Whitening Routine

Whitening my teeth was one of my biggest worries about my appearance.  White dress and yellow teeth don't go so well together...  I eat healthy and don't drink coffee or soda and minimal tea, and my teeth were still yellow.  After this routine I no longer have to worry about my teeth, though!  Here is what I used:

Listerine Whitening Vibrant White Pre-Brush Rinse 2 times a day
Ultrabright Toothpaste (cheap and the highest rated by consumers) 2-3 times a day
Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects 1-2 times a day for about 15 days

The effects were impressive, I never would have imagined my teeth could be this white without going to the dentist.  It worked for my fiance too!

Engagement Shoot

Our Engagement Shoot turned out so well, here are some of our favorite shots!  Thanks again to Rachel LeCrone!

Bridesmaid Bouquets

I've decided to make another compromise in order to save money, one that actually may end up being very pretty.  Since I have orchids and calla lilies in my bouquet, and orchids are very expensive I decided to go with calla lily bouquets for the bridesmaids.  They are going to be beautiful, and I think they should contrast well with the white bridesmaid dresses.  The green in the stems will tie in with the color scheme well, too.  Here is the picture I used for inspiration (fiftyflowers.com), and my bouquet inspiration picture (theknot.com):

Setbacks

Ugh.  Sometimes it is necessary to take two steps back before taking a step forward.  I know this, and still it is sometimes so disheartening.  All I want is a beautiful, fun wedding, where I can bring all my closest friends and family together and it seems like all we get is ripped of from every angle.  Come to find out, my dress is too big and yet too short because the lady at the dress shop convinced me to order the wrong size and to order it in petite.  Luckily I can wear flats and the length will work, and the dress laces up in the back so it can be tightened.  My fiance isn't psyched about this, though.  I've had to skimp in so many areas, and now come to find out I am only going to be able to invite half the people I wanted to invite.  I also am now considering switching from the flowers I've always wanted.  I just have to remember I am blessed in so many other ways.

Creative decoration ideas I love.

Here are some decoration ideas I've collected that I am going to incorporate:

Chair covers from theknot.com (I am going to combine these two ideas and use damask chair covers, black letters, and hang our initials from our chairs and the word "and" between the chairs, the black metal letters are from Michaels.):

Ribbon photo display from a project wedding blog (my idea is to fasten ribbons to two wooden dowels which would be secured to the poles of the reception tent and hang the pictures from the ribbon in the plastic frames from Michaels:

"Love is Sweet" for the candy table from mamajeas' green wedding blog:

I also like the pictures on a clothesline idea from Young House Love:

Is all black too black?

I pretty much always knew I wanted the bridesmaids to be in black dresses, as green is not the most flattering of dress colors in my opinion.  Then, somewhere along the line we decided it would be cool for the groomsmen to wear all black suits (with the exception of green handkerchiefs)... I didn't even think about the fact that that leaves 11 of the 14 people at the altar in all black, and three in white and black (bride, groom, MOH).  My fiance is pretty set on his groomsmen wearing all black.  I think black and white is classy to an extent, but I don't want to look gothic, any thoughts?

Here is the lame looking picture generated on Davidsbridal.com (the MOH's top is supposed to be white, and these aren't any of the dresses or the right color of flowers, and the groomsmen will have kerchiefs, not boutonnieres.  The groom and groomsmen will also probably wear black and white checkered vans):

Funny thought

I am having so much fun planning that I was just thinking...if teaching doesn't work out I would definitely get involved in weddings.  Anyone need a wedding planner?

Fun finds at Michaels

I LOVE Michaels, and it has been a great resource since they have a weekly coupon in the Oregonian and Statesman Journal (as well as other papers) for 40% off.  I go every week and usually get 1 item.

Glass apothecary jars: These are a little expensive if you buy them full price at Michaels, but with the coupon they are super cheap.  I also found a website that sells apothecary jars: dollaritem.com

Damask candle wraps:

Damask favor boxes/"purses:"  These are for the candy buffet.  They will sit in rows next to it the jars, to be filled with the candy.  I think they are so cute.  We might be putting tags on them that say our names, but we will have to see how much time we have. 

Black metal letters to hang from our chairs:

Beware of hidden costs!

To any brides or grooms out there: beware of hidden costs!  They are everywhere...from your caterer to your DJ, photographer to venue.  To find these you often need to read the dreaded fine print, or ask your rep if there are any other costs you should be aware of.  There is also the lovely vendor, I won't mention any names, who quote you one price to hook you and try and change it later.

Child attendant gifts

So cute!  When we bought our flutes, cake knife, and server from theknot.com, we got free shipping on orders over $100, so I also ordered this great ring bearer T.

Cake Knife, Sever, and Flutes

We finally found a cake knife, server, and flute set that we like.  I'm so excited about them.  They are very unique and truly us.  I love the symbolism of the joining flutes.  They also fit the damask/flourish theme (they match in person).  We ordered them from theknot.com.

Bridesmaid Gifts

SPOILER ALERT!  If you are a bridesmaid, don't look any further!!

I decided to go with goody bags for my bridesmaid gifts, as I LOVE goody bags.  They are going to be color coordinated by the girls' favorite colors (cheesy, I know, but I am a little cheesy).  I bought the black and white damask bags off of bathandbodyworks.com on their clearance section for $8, plus used a promo code from retailmenot.com.  I bought one for myself also and love it!  I then bought the monogram luggage tags from Michaels, and painted the letters the girls' favorite color with acrylic paint (also from Michaels).  The ribbon and gift tissue were just around the house, but they make great additions.

Here is what I plan to fill the bags with (I have some of the stuff already, and some I have yet to buy):

~Flip flops from Oldnavy.com (if you buy 2 or more they are only $2.50 each)

~Travel size lotion from bathandbodyworks.com (I ordered a set from the clearance section)

~Liquor chocolates (I'm not sure where I'm getting these yet, but I've found some on Amazon.com)

~Monogrammed shot glasses (these are from Target.com, but I don't know if I will go with them)

~Candles (I bought these on sale from theknot.com, with another order they have a tag that says "thank you," and a great scent, too)

~Tea

~Manicure/pedicure set (this one is from bathandbodyworks.com)

That's it for now, I'll probably find more as the search continues :)  BTW, by bridesmaids thought I was really weird when I asked them what their shoe size is, haha.