Fall Inspiration: Favors

Picking favors can be a really challenging task, especially while on a budget.  It's important to find something that fits with your wedding theme, your personal style, and pleases your guests.  Given that I'm planning a December wedding, I have plenty of winter favors to share with you, but I decided to save those for later as winter is (thankfully) still a few months away.  Thus, I decided to continue with my fall posts and share some great Etsy autumn favors with you guys. 

If you're going for a green wedding, the first favor is just for you.  These eco-friendly leaf coasters, made of recycled water bottles, are perfect for guests to use during the wedding and to take home!  Or, use these painted pumpkin clothespins as place card holders or table number holders and have them double as favors.  Another great idea is to package up anything your heart desires in one of these fantastic fall foliage sparkle boxes.  For romantic lighting, decorate your tables with these gorgeous natural leaf luminaries, one for each guest to keep.  For a bookish couple, share your passion with your guests by giving them adorable handcrafted fall bookmarks.  Finally, if food favors are more your style, feed your guests some yummy fall spice cupcakes or gourmet pumpkin pie marshmallows!

Vendor I Heart: Unit i Press

I'm really excited to bring you my next featured vendor.  Unit i Press is based in Chicago, and offers custom letterpress invitations at a fraction of the cost. As a bride-to-be, I quickly learned the letterpress invitations are coveted by most brides, and I wanted to have this luxury for my own wedding as well, but was worried about whether or not I could afford them.  I also preferred letterpress because of its vintage, timeless look, which goes well with my wedding in a historic landmark church on the Cape.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when my future sister-in-law found Unit i Press on Etsy, which offers affordable letterpress without compromising on quality.  Furthermore, Yoosun (the designer) could not be sweeter, and was really nice about working within our budget when we had to completely change our invitations due to switching our date and venue!  I can't say enough about her kindness, but most of all, her work really speaks for itself.

Vendor I Heart: Just Wright Boutique

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem.  Well, I am finally able to admit that I am completely addicted to Etsy.  As a frugal bride, the items found on Etsy are are great way to find one-of-a-kind, pretty, and cheap wedding necessities.  So when I accidentally stumbled across Just Wright Boutique while searching for guest books, I was instantly enamored.  Their slogan for their guest book boxes is, "It's not your mother's wedding, so why have a traditional guest book?"  I could not agree more.  As a modern bride, I strongly believe it's those small but unique details that really make a wedding special, which is why I fell in love with their guest book boxes.  For only $35 a pop, you can choose from a bevy of designs in gorgeous colors.  And if you still can't find something you love, you can order a custom guest book box for $55 as well!

More Fall Inspiration

I adore fall.  Growing up in New England, fall was always such a magical time for me.  There was apple picking, pumpkin carving, and horseback rides through the crisp autumn air.  I always feel inspired when I'm able to return to New England in the fall and see the changing of the leaves.  I really love the vibrant rich colors of the leaves, and strongly believe the color palette of reds, oranges, and yellows would be a beautiful accent to any wedding.  Unfortunately, I think most brides tend to play it safe when they have a fall wedding and stick to brown as their main color.  While I love brown, I just think it would look so much better with a pop of bright color to accompany it.  Hopefully some of these inspiration boards will motivate all you fall brides out there to take a risk when choosing your wedding colors!

All photos courtesy of Style Me Pretty. 

Vendor I Heart: The Garter Lady

I have a great Etsy vendor to share with you today.  The Garter Lady creates custom, handmade garters using lace, organza, satin and silk, to ensure that you have a beautiful and unique garter to wear and toss.  Many of her garters are also adorned with vintage brooches, charms, bows, flowers, and even feathers, and most garters can be created in your custom wedding colors! She is always happy to create plus size garters for clients as well. With an enormous selection and prices ranging from just $10 to $210, I guarantee even the most picky bride will find something suitable!

Cake Toppers?

With my wedding date less than 3 months away, I suddenly realized one step of wedding planning that had been overlooked: cake toppers!  Since you are probably now well aware of my love affair with Etsy, it should be no surprise that that was the first place I turned to for ideas.  Honestly, I'm not totally set on having a cake topper at all.  They always seemed a bit pointless to me, just another way to throw money down the drain.  And no offense, but if I was going to have one, I certainly was not going to spend a lot of money on a boring silver monogrammed one.  So when I found two vendors on Etsy that make custom cake toppers that represent the bride & groom, I was thrilled.  They meet my AA standards of being both affordable and adorable.  The first set, my favorite, is from Italian designer Samyii.  The next set is from Fancie Fannies Bridal Shop, and cost a mere $20.  Spendid!

Vendor I Heart: Dottie Lovely

There are so many great vendors out there that one of the hardest jobs for a bride-to-be is choosing the one that fits her needs.  For even the most savvy brides, it can still feel impossible to even know where to start.  My mother always told me that when feeling overwhelmed, it's best to just pick one small thing and begin.  If you try to focus on the big picture, you can easily get lost or misguided.  Her wisdom inspired me to do the same while planning my own wedding.  Hence the genesis of my Featured Vendor series.  I plan to bring you fresh, inspirational and affordable vendors, one at a time, to help you plan your big day!

I'm proud that my first post in this series is by a vendor that I chose to make my wedding cake. Dottie Lovely (The Cake Lady) is based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.  Here's what I love about Ms. Lovely: first and foremost, her cakes are not only beautiful and unique, but taste absolutely delicious.  I think that it's easy for brides to get caught up in the aesthetic appeal of their cake, and forget that their guests have to eat and enjoy it! The second great thing about her is her affordability.  For no extra charge, Dottie will make each layer of the cake a different flavor, and decorations are included in the price. There are no hidden costs, unlike with many bakers! Additionally, she only charges a $10 delivery fee, while most vendors on Cape Cod charge $50.  Lastly, Ms. Lovely is the perfect name for her, she's the sweet grandmother every bride wishes she had!

Fall Inspiration

I live in the middle of the city, which offers many wonderful advantages, but one downside is that I don't normally get away often to appreciate the beauty of nature.  This weekend, however, I took a drive through the country to visit my fiance, who was out of town for work.  Along the way, I passed a pumpkin patch.  Other than reminding me of fond childhood memories of fall and Halloween, I was really struck by the beauty and richness of the orange pumpkins.  Orange has always been one of my least favorite colors, so I never considered using it for my own wedding colors (plus I'm getting married in the winter, so it would not really be appropriate).  But after feeling inspired by the beauty of this wonderful fall color, I decided to make an inspiration board with pumpkins as my theme.  Now that it's complete, I'm starting to feel jealous of fall brides!

Candy Bar?

I have a question for all you brides out there. How do you feel about a candy bar? I personally think candy bars are a cute, fun, and inexpensive alternative to the traditional pastry/dessert table. Plus they are great for children. I especially like how this one, featured on Brides.com, fits with a wedding theme, which was an all white wedding (this would be perfect for my winter wedding theme as well!). But aside from all that, I'm not sure if the candy bar is actually worth it. Since it's wedding season, I have been to numerous weddings lately, and I find that with all the appetizers, multi-course dinner, wedding cake, and cocktails, I'm usually stuffed and do not eat from dessert or candy displays.  I fear having a candy bar at my own wedding if most of the candy will not be eaten by the guests. Sure, it is a great alternative to a dessert table, but it's also a waste of money if no one eats it. What do you think, yay or nay?

Winter Decorations

Although I love flowers, I also like the idea of nontraditional wedding decorations and centerpieces, especially for winter or fall weddings. There's something about flowers that just feel too summery to me. If you're worried about wanting centerpieces that smell good without having traditional flowers, consider other options, such as cinnamon, lavender, and eucalyptus.

The other bonus is that everything featured here is DIY, and considerably cheaper than purchasing flowers, and, in my opinion, still look fantastic. I have found two great websites for DIY decorations: Nettleton Hollow, based in Brooklyn, and an online store called Save On Crafts. I'm obsessed with all of these great natural, winter wedding ideas, and know that branches will be the focal point of my centerpieces!

Clockwise from top: lavender, Texas tallow berry, mitsumata branches, silver leaves, sierra red manzanita wreathe, cinnamon.

Welcome!

I'm a 26 year old graduate student trying to plan a cheap, fun, unique winter wedding, all in less than a year! I got engaged in April 2009, for my 26th birthday, and am getting married on Cape Cod in December 2009.  


A little about my wedding:

My fiance and I originally planned to have our wedding in the Dominican Republic. We loved the idea of having an intimate wedding in a tropical getaway for our closest friends and family and had always dreamed of getting married by the ocean. We had the venue reserved, I bought a lovely dress, and I had even won a free destination photography package. I couldn't have been more excited for my dream wedding.


But then the economy crashed, and suddenly, our dream wedding no longer seemed like a reasonable option for numerous reasons. I think I went through all the phases of grief within a week. I know it sounds silly, but I had already put so much time, energy, and passion into our Carribbean wedding that I felt like I couldn't bear the thought of throwing it all out the window. 


Once I was finally able to accept that having a wedding on Cape Cod, where I grew up, would be much more financially feasible for for me and my guests, I faced another dilemma. Should I keep the wedding in the winter, as planned, now that I would no longer be in a warm climate, or postpone the wedding for six months? Ultimately, my fiance and I decided that we did not want to wait any longer to be husband and wife. Neither of us had ever wanted a long engagement, so we decided to stick with the winter wedding.


Now, when I tell most people that I'm getting married on Cape Cod, their first response is usually something along the lines of "Ooohhhh, very nice" followed with a random story reminiscing about their experience of Cape Cod. The standard follow-up question is to ask me what my wedding date is. When I respond "December 12th," I always get an "Oh. That will be chilly." Yes, I know Cape Cod in the middle of winter is not most people's idea of the ideal wedding locale. So my goal with this blog is to change people's perceptions of a) winter weddings in general (we don't all have to be June brides!) and b) Cape Cod in the winter. I hope to inspire others to have more offbeat, nontraditional weddings, to show people that you don't have to spend a fortune to have a fantastic wedding, as well as to see the beauty in a New England winter! 

Thanks for reading :-)