The wedding planning continues!

I know, I know... I haven't posted in forever and a half. We basically took a break from wedding planning over the holidays. Holidays are stressful enough with the planning, preparation, cooking and entertaining. We were due for a break from the wedding obsessing. So now I'm back to obsessing, but I'm feeling refreshed and optimistic.

I just wanted to give an update for some of the progress we've made.

*drum roll please*

We have officially hired Matt Shumate as our wedding photographer. He's terrific, and we're really looking forward to working with him!

We think we have selected a caterer. It's actually one of our favorite locally owned little restaurants here, and I don't think we've ever had anything there that we haven't liked. They're also the first place that gave us the answers we'd been dying to hear. They're flexible and happy to work with us on a menu, they're happy to supply a couple of vegan meals if we need them, and they're happy to do a tasting with us once we narrow down the menu! YES! I don't know why it had to be so ridiculously hard to find somewhere that was happy to do that, but we were thrilled to finally hear it. Plus, as a big added bonus, they also supply the serving staff and the dishes! DOUBLE YES! And YAY! That'll save us hundreds of dollars to not have to rent all of those dishes. We have to meet with them again soon, but at this point, we're feeling pretty good about things.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a little adventure when we went looking for a wedding suit for Dylan. Our TV has been flooded with Men's Wearhouse commercials lately, and we kept seeing the commercial about "When all eyes are on her, she's going to be looking at you..." and how they're going to make you look your best for your wedding. We thought that seemed like a good place to start looking. As it turns out, not so much. We were excited when we arrived, and very disheartened and discouraged by the time we left. The woman who helped us was terrible. She directed us to a section of about a dozen suits on a rack and said that was where we could look. The choices were crap. When we told her we were hoping to find a dark brown suit, she just said they didn't have it. When we asked if there were any options, like maybe finding a suit in a different size and then ordering it in Dylan's size, she actually told us we should just go somewhere else! We couldn't believe it. I told her that there was a nice brown suit on their website, and she shrugged. When we saw a dark brown tuxedo, we asked her about that and she said it was a rental. We had to ask if they had something like that that he could try on, just so he could try on SOMETHING remotely like what we were looking for. We were shocked to find out that they don't have rentals for you to try on. They take your measurements, and you get what they give you. You don't get to try it on first! The woman literally told us we should shop elsewhere several times. Dylan was furious by the time we left. He was ready to write a letter to Mr. "I Guarantee It" in the commercials. It's not like we were being jerks, either. We were polite, and excited about buying his wedding suit. Blah! I don't ever want to go there again.

We decided to make the most of it while we were on the other side of town. I really don't have a good sense of the best places to buy a suit for a man, but I was thinking that our next stops should be somewhere like Macy's and Nordstrom. Lo and behold, across the street from the Men's Wearhouse was the Nordstrom Rack store! We figured it was a longshot, but worth a try. JACKPOT! There was a wonderful girl named Nicole in the men's department at the Nordstrom Rack who went out of her way to help us find the perfect suit for Dylan. We found a gorgeous chocolate brown Ben Sherman suit that we both instantly loved. Unfortunately, they only had it one size too small for Dylan! Lovely Nicole made it her personal mission to help us find the suit in his size. I don't know how many other Nordstrom Rack stores she ended up calling, but today she called and announced that she had found the suit! HOORAY! She gave me the number to the San Jose store, and when I reached their men's department I got as far as, "Hi, I'm calling because someone from the Spokane Nord--" and he said, "Yeah! Is this Alyson?" Now that's service when a complete stranger from several states away knows your name. So now we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Dylan's gorgeous new Ben Sherman wedding suit! And if for some reason the suit isn't right or doesn't fit, we can return it locally, so it's pretty risk-free. We're so excited!

This is a picture from the Nordstrom website of what I'm fairly certain is the same Ben Sherman suit that we bought him (except this one is navy, obviously):


This is a picture I took of the suit we found, so hopefully the suit that's being shipped to us will look like this! My flash made the suit look a little brighter than it really is, it's a nice dark brown.


Dylan's going to look so good!

Oooh, and I also found a pair of wedding shoes at the Nordstrom Rack. They're very simple, but they're a pretty iridescent pearl and they're so soft they feel like slippers. And I got them on clearance for less than $20! I've heard too many horror stories about brides wearing hot shoes that killed their feet, so these will at least be my Plan B shoes, even if I find something fancier for pictures.

Apple, Pumpkin and Cinnamon Spice Autumn Wedding Theme

Autumn has always been one of my favorite seasons, so I'm excited that it's officially here!

Part of the reason we chose October for our wedding is because we both love this time of year. There is something so homey and comforting about the crisp weather balanced with the coziness that we create inside.

While we might not want to use this particular color palette, we are hoping to serve this style of food! YUM! Autumn foods are our favorites, especially the warm spicy flavors like cinnamon and allspice. I have an insanely delicious recipe that mixes sweet potatoes and apples with butter, brown sugar and those spices. As soon as the weather starts to change, Dylan starts begging me to make it every year. (We're having it tonight!)

Obviously this palette would be perfect for an autumn wedding, but it could just as easily be inspiration for hosting an autumn feast or Thanksgiving.

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The autumn assortment of boutonnieres, the place setting, the caramel apples, the wood veneer place cards, the dark red bouquet, and the leaf favor boxes are all from Martha Stewart.

The autumn bouquet (below the pumpkin pie) was photographed by Theresa Valls Photographic.

The pumpkin cauliflower casserole, the pumpkin chicken chowder (bottom left corner), the pumpkin pie with autumn leaves, and the pumpkin spice cakes (top right corner) are all from Country Living.

The pumpkin martini is from Thoughtfully Simple.

The roasted sweet potatoes (bottom right corner) were photographed by Victoria Pearson.

The pumpkin whoopie pies are from Williams-Sonoma. (When Dylan saw this board, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Why don't we have little pumpkin cakes like that?")

The spiced apple cider (top left corner) is from Cooking Light.

The pumpkin votives and table decorations are from Good Housekeeping.

Can I also just tell you how much I love these fall forest pie cutters from Williams-Sonoma? They make me want to be a better pie maker. They had me when I saw they had an acorn and an oak leaf!

Green, Brown and Acorn Wedding Theme

I know it's been a while since I've posted an inspiration board, but it's because I have had a mental block. I've been really straining my brain trying to work with some colors and details for our wedding, which seems to require an extra effort. It's fun and a little easier for me to detail color palettes for inspiration, but a little more tricky when I decided to incorporate some of the specific elements we plan to use.

Here are some of the goals for our wedding:

We want autumn warmth, without being cliché. That means no pumpkins, and avoiding the more traditional orange, yellow and red palettes.

We love the symbolism of acorns and oak trees, so we want to feature them in our details, but in cute and hopefully not cheesy ways.

A little DIY craftiness is a plus, because it emphasizes heart-felt sentiment when you know that someone put the time and effort into making it themselves.

Here are some of the things we're going for:

cozy

expressive of our personalities (go ahead, you can call us "nuts")

intimate

rustic
woodsy

sentimental

romantic

elegant

comforting

celebratory

So what do you think? What comes to mind when you look at this board?

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The green oak leaf menus, the green napkins with green acorns, and the pinecone and acorn boutonnieres are from Michelle Rago.

The oak branch candle holder centerpieces, the acorn cakelettes and the acorn ornament are from me. The acorn cakelette pan is from Williams-Sonoma.

The acorn boutonniere in the top right corner is from Martha Stewart.

The bowl of green acorns was photographed by Kathryn Kleinman.

The chocolate tablecloth is what we're supposed to receive in the mail any day now. The green fabric is a sample of what we're considering for an overlay.

The lime green twig ball pomander with mini leaves is from Modage Floral on Etsy.

The green paisley fabric is a close-up of a Brioni handmade silk tie from europeansilkcompany on eBay. We love paisley, so I'm thinking about splurging on it for Dylan.

I don't know who made the chocolate cake, but it looks delicious so I thought I'd use it as an example of our desire to serve delicious comfort foods. (To my future mother-in-law Jinx, who can't eat chocolate: don't worry, we will have some kind of cake that you can eat, too!)

The tufted moss ring pillow is actually a really great DIY project from Once Wed. I love the faux bois ribbon around the edge, but you can customize it however you'd like!

Burnt Orange and Brown (by special request)

One of my readers wrote me a note asking for help and advice with her upcoming wedding.

Here are the things I know about Danika and her fiance:

They're planning for a wedding in late December using burnt orange and brown for their colors.

They want plenty of unconventional mixed with some traditional elements. For example, they want ice cream instead of wedding cake. She doesn't consider herself a girly girl, but she has decided that her bridesmaids will have brown dresses and she's planning to have a hippy style vintage wedding gown. They want budget-friendly and down to earth.

Here is what I came up with for their wedding:

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To me, one of the trickiest elements is using a burnt orange and brown color palette in December. For a wedding in the dead of winter, it's nice to add warmth to a palette, but you don't want it to come across as a stereotypical autumn wedding. I was tempted to add a third color, but I wanted to keep this inspiration board true to what Danika had requested. By adding another color, it would be easier to distance these colors from an autumn palette. Fun color options could be pale or navy blue, light or bright green, cranberry, magenta, plum, or teal. I haven't done those exact combinations yet, but I do have a pumpkin and aubergine palette and an aqua, orange and brown palette that might help to give more ideas.

Danika wants plenty of candlelight, so a pretty and fragrant centerpiece idea may be tealight or votive candles nestled into small dishes full of coffee beans. In the picture near the top right, the jars are even wrapped with orange raffia bows. For winter, I think I would even use a luxurious velvet ribbon!

I was thinking that a fun way to keep the bridesmaids (and even the bride) warm for a light-hearted winter wedding would be cute cardigan sweaters. If the bridesmaids are wearing brown dresses, they could have burnt orange or off-white sweaters. For the bride, she could have her choice of off-white (whatever version of white that goes best with her dress), burnt orange or rich brown. The key would be to have nicely fitted sweaters that are feminine and not too thick or bulky.

Here are some of my favorite examples:

I love the lace detailing on this white Just Ginger lace trim cardigan from Nordstrom.

This Elbow Length Sleeve Pleated Cardigan by Banana Republic is a lighter orange, but the pleated detail and feminine style are lovely.

This Caslon Swing Cardigan from Nordstrom isn't the cardigan style I imagined, but I like this sweater. I've always liked swing style sweaters and jackets. If nothing else, the bride would at least have a cute sweater to wear in and out of the venue!

Don't let the picture of this Merino 4 Pocket Cardigan from JCrew fool you. It looks a little frumpy here, but it's actually a streamlined and flattering style.

I'm also a big fan of interesting wedding shoes. This couple is young and wanting to mix things up a bit, so I thought the chocolate brown Converse sneakers and some funky shoes for the bride were a nice touch. (The Converse and orange bridal shoes pictured were featured on one of my favorite blogs, Snippet and Ink.) The peeptoes pictured aren't ideal for a winter wedding, but I think these burnt orange Pia Stitched Flat by Pink Studio would be perfect for a hippy chic bride! Plus, they're less than $40!
For winter flower choices, my first thought was calla lilies. Actually, there are quite a few lily varieties that come in various shades of orange. I recently had a florist admit to me that Costco sold their flowers for cost (sometimes even cheaper than the wholesale florists), and I know they have assorted mini calla lilies for a reasonable price.

Serving ice cream at a winter wedding seems like it could be a challenge, so I thought I'd include some simple and tasty looking cupcakes as another nostalgic dessert option for people who are craving something cake-like. The chocolate cupcake with orange sprinkles is from Martha Stewart. The Swiss orange chocolate chip cupcake is from Alpineberry blog -- she even gives her recipe! If you really want to stay with a theme, you could even serve Swiss orange sherbet (orange sherbet with dark chocolate chips) by Dreyer's / Edy's.

Some warm ideas that also incorporate the color palette would be serving hot cocoa and spiced cider!


The rest of the details on today's inspiration board are from a variety of weddings on The Knot.

Ooo, and on one last note:

I LOVE argyle socks! (These are from the GAP.)

Lilac, Bronze and Dark Chocolate Brown

When we got engaged, my first idea for a wedding color palette was lilac and dark chocolate brown. The few people I mentioned this to looked at me like I was crazy. This was before I had discovered the magic of inspiration boards, and I could not find good examples of the color combination I was imagining. I have gradually found a decent assortment of light purple with brown, copper and bronze wedding related pictures. This seems to be a particularly difficult color scheme to find in uniform, matching shades. I've decided to take Martha Stewart's cue and mix and match a bit. In this palette you'll find shades of purple that could be described as lilac, lavender, orchid, light violet, and maybe even periwinkle. I did find a lot of beautiful jewelry on Etsy that did a nice job of highlighting the color palette I was looking for, so I'm using extra Etsy crafts today.

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1. Lilac and brown themed boutonnieres by Martha Stewart. I love fiddlehead ferns!
2. Swiss meringue buttercream flower cupcakes by Martha Stewart.
3. A wedding cake decorated with fresh lilacs, but I can't remember where it came from.
4. Etsy Find: The Airy - double fluff chiffon headband by Mandizzle. Her lovely floral hair accessories are almost as gorgeous as she is!
5. Etsy Find: Lilac Opalescent Earrings by Candies64. I love their luminescent color.
6. Etsy Find: Romance Collection - Marianne Earrings by La Boite a Bijoux. I love the flowers combined with the opalescent gems.
7. Leafy placecards by Martha Stewart.
8. Etsy Find: Amethyst purple faceted glass earrings with copper by ShySiren. These have a pretty copper / bronze element.
9. Lilac, sweetpea, lamb's ear and lisianthus bouquet from Martha Stewart.
10. Etsy Find: Lilac drops by Kneehighs & Pigtails. These make an impact with the clarity of color and sharper facets.
11. Lovely lilac and brown stationery assortment by Martha Stewart.
12. Etsy Find: My Little Acorn earrings by AmberSky. Her jewelry has a beautiful vintage style. I love these -- lilac AND acorns!
13. Etsy Find: The Flora - layers of chiffon petals headband by Mandizzle.
14. Fresh lilacs!
15. Wedding cake with purple flowers (hydrangeas?) by Martha Stewart.
16. Etsy Find: Violet Beauties by bellalu0. I love this color so much!

Bonus Lilac Finds:

Lavender Butterflies Cake Wrap by Paper Orchid Stationery.

They call this Tiered Ruffle Chiffon Dress silver, but it looks pretty purple to me.

This lilac, gray and white seersucker bowtie is from JPress.

Indigo By Clarks Women's Tanzania Pump

Bonus Etsy Finds:

Bella Purple earrings by AmberSky.

Sweet Lilac Breeze earrings by dkjewels.

Vintage Wine Dance earrings by dkjewels.

Catherdral earrings by stregata.

Bijoux Necklace in Alexandrite by Kneehighs & Pigtails.

Pink and Chocolate Brown

My cousin Heather just got engaged! Congratulations Heather and Dave! I've been working on several different inspiration boards for her that I'll be putting up over the next few days. Heather loves soft, feminine and pink, so I'm using different shades of pinks in most of the boards I've created for her. I'm also trying to balance out the girly just a little, since Dave's wedding color preference would be the University of Michigan colors. :-P

My first board for her is a classic combination of pink and chocolate brown.

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Some of my favorite elements on this board:

The candies in the center of the top line are dark chocolate covered almonds with a beautiful glaze, called Almond Jewels by Koppers Chocolate. I've had some of their products before and they've all been incredible.

Below the candy are another Martha Stewart idea -- individual flower favors for people to take home and plant as a keepsake from the wedding. I think she used different shades of violets.

The fab shoes are by Giuseppe Zanotti.

I love the bouquet and boutonniere to the left of the shoes. They're made up of Magic Silver Roses and Smokebush leaves tied up with pink velvet ribbon. Love it!

The precious mini-cake favors aren't actually cakes at all! They're fudge layered with pink sanding sugar. Another Martha DIY! Much easier AND affordable than having a bakery make individual cakes. The blossom ring is also a Martha DIY, perfect for bridesmaids.

I also love the contrasting chocolate and pink dresses for her little girls.