Inspiration Board - Clean, Classic & Beautiful

Clean, classic & beautiful wedding whites & creams

Fall Wedding, without the fall colors

So, I'm planning on having a lovely wedding bash next fall.  However, I don't want fall colors.  I'm afraid it will feel to halloween-ey for me.  Red and orange has never been my thing really.  What to do when fall is so associated with Orange, reds & yellows?

I'd love to pick colors that are a rich brown and dusty rose.  I feel they'll look fall, but not be too bright and garish.  Decorations will still have a flair for the season.  I'm doing pumpkins, leaves and branches.  But again that tricky orange, red and yellow comes into play.  No problem.  I'll only select barely yellow & brown leaves and I'm planning on painting the pumpkins white and stenciling them in brown or carving them.

Check out my plan with my inspiration board for decor and food.

I can't remember the sources for all of the above photos, but quite a few came from Martha Stuart.

In addition to the cute ideas above, I'd also love to do white pumpkins with pink flowers similar to the idea in the above right by Eddie Ross.  Get the DIY tutorial by clicking his name.

DIY flower balls - Part 2

I found another great tutorial for DIY flower balls.  I actually like this one better because its even cheaper than the last DIY flower ball tutorial I found.

Believe it or not these are made of coffee filters!  Hard to believe when the end result is so pretty.  I also like this better because you can customize the colors to whatever you want with a variety of food coloring.

Find the full DIY tutorial here.

DIY Will you be my bridesmaid cards

Your wedding is a special event and you should carefully decide who you want to have be there for you when you need it most. I helped two of my really good friends when they got married with their pre-wedding decorations, invitations and other needs even though I wasn't a bridesmaid.

The problem was they selected bridesmaids that they felt obligated to pick, not ones that were really good friends. One of my friends, Erica I remember was in tears. She had 300 invitations to make and all her bridesmaids were MIA. I offered to come over that night and help her. It really upset me that her bridesmaids could ditch her like that.

Another friend I helped with all her table decorations and bouquets. She had bought fake fall flowers over time and we spent the night putting the bouquets and centerpieces together. Its a fun bonding experience. I don't understand how you friends can ditch you?

My point is that you should carefully consider who you choose as your bridesmaids and let them know from the beginning what their duties are. You don't want them to be unprepared for the responsibility and the costs involved in being a bridesmaid.

Being a bridesmaid should be fun and exciting as well. Because I wanted to ask my bridesmaids and give them a little keepsake I decided to make up little dress cards in the color scheme I'm thinking about. I've seen dress cards on places like etsy, but felt the colors weren't exactly what I wanted. They also can get a bit pricey, especially when you get into shipping.

So I marched myself down to AC Moore to pick up some tools to make my cards & then went to Jo-ann fabric to get my fabric for the dresses.

What I used...
1 package of folded plain cards $2
1 mini glue gun $5
1 pack of glue gun sticks $2
1 piece of brown satin reminent (found it in a bin) $3
1/4 yard of pretty sparkly dusty rose fabric $3
1 roll of brown ribbon $1
1 package sparkle embellishments $1

Technique
I just freestyled drawing my dress shape on the fabric. If you aren't good at drawing then find a paper doll dress shape you like online, print it, cut it out and trace around it on your fabric on the backside in pen or pencil.

Iron your dress down if needed.

Iron the dress if needed

figure out where you want to place your dress on the card and glue down with a gluestick if you have one. If not, lightly tap glue gun dots onto the paper and press your dress ontop. If you put too much, you'll see the glue drops through the fabric.

Then I decided I wanted the pink sparkly fabric ontop of the brown, but wanted you to see a "wrap-dress" sort of look so i placed the sparkly fabric on top of the top part of the brown dress and then drew where i should cut the pink fabric(leaving a small bit of extra around to tuck). I then cut the pink out and glued it over the brown fabric, tucking the edges under so they weren't frayed.

Onto the bottom of the dress. I sort of freestyled this as well. I cut long strips that were short in height and then got increasingly taller as I cut them. I think I did a total of 3 strips of fabric. Lets say 2", 3" and then 4". I took the first 2" strip, cut it in half and tightly accordion folded it. I glued the first tightly acordian folded piece from the left edge of the "hip" to the center of the dress. Then I took the other piece I cut and did the same thing except I glued it from the right side of the hip to the center.

Then I took the slightly thicker piece (lets say 3") cut it in half again and accordion folded (slightly looser than the first time) it and glued it underneath the first 2" piece from left to center. Then I repeated this process with the piece I cut in half going from right to center.

The last piece and tallest piece I kept in tact. I took the left edge and glued it underneath the 3" piece and then very loosly accordion folded it and glued it as I went over to the right hand side of the dress. The main part of the dress was done, but it looked kind of blah.

Time to embelish! I took a small piece of the brown trim and glued it to the waist like a belt. Then to make the belt look like it was tied I took another small piece of trim and folded it in half and glued it down to the corner. It needed some sparkle, so I glued a tiny star embellishment (found in the scrap-booking section) to the belt. Viola! you have a super-cute card.

I still think the card looks kinda plain, so I'm planning on printing out crowns and gluing them above the dresses. For the inside of the card I'm going to have my mother write "Will you be my Bridesmaid" since she has caligraphy-style handwriting.

Enjoy and have fun making your dresses!

You can also embellish your dresses with beads, feathers and other fun things. Don't be afraid to try other dress styles as well!

Stumped for Table number ideas?

 How about cookies?

Cheap, easy to make, fun & one less thing to clean up after the party :)

You could even make one for each person at the table so one person doesn't have all the fun of eating the cookie.

I saw them here

DIY - Flower Balls

In an effort to save some $$$, just about any diy project i run across can end up being helpful.  I just love this fabric flower ball.  If you're thinking very shabby chic, this is definitely a cute addition to your decor.  It only cost $15/ 2 balls.

You can see the project here.

Sweet Treats Inspiration Board

Feeling a little nontraditional?  Don't want a wedding cake?

There are other options.  I found these sweet treats online and thought they'd be a wonderful idea if you were going for something a little more modern than the staple wedding cake.

Want to make your own cookies?  check out these Wedding Cake Cookie Cutters

1.) Wedding cake cookies - :(  I can't find the creator, so let me know if you're the one who baked these pretty cookies
2.) Pink Coconut Ball - velvetstrawberries.typepad.com
3.) Parfait Bar - weddingbycolor
4.) individual cake balls  - austincakeball.com
5.) Heart shaped cookie cutters - Kitchencontraptions.com

Need a less expensive alternative?Check out this 3 Piece Hearts Cutter Set


Even if you do want a traditional wedding cake, there's no stopping you from having a candy bar or serving your guests something other than wedding cake.
Cupcake towers are very popular and can fit into a brides budget much better than $4/ slice of cake.

I love the parfait bar.  This is a much more healthy treat for guests and they'll feel like they are getting spoiled.   This would also work great if you do a post-wedding brunch in the morning.

The pretty coconut balls would be beautiful for a bridesmaid luncheon to finish off the day & cookies are always a nice and yummy treat for guests.

Still wondering what cake balls are?  Some do these with cake and others brownies.  You would make a whole batch of cake or brownies, crumble them into bits and roll into balls.  Make a chocolate (white or dark) to dip or pour onto the balls.  Decorate to your liking and place in candy cups.  It's a DIY cake-ball project anyone can do.  I've also seen people put their cake balls on sticks, like a pop treat.

Want some more ideas?  Here are some other sweet treats I like:

by Twig & Thistle

Japanese Wagashi Flowers - This particular kind to the right is called higashi,  a dry candy that's placed in a mold.  Isn't it the prettiest candy you've ever seen?

Want to learn more about these japanese candies?  Click here.

Want something that conjures up your childhood and is a fun treat for everyone?  How about s'mores kits?  These are a definite DIY'er perfect project.  Click here to find out more.

Bride & Groom gift idea - Custom hangers

Handcrafted Personalized Bridal Hangers by Lila Frances, originally uploaded by Nina Renee Designs.

What a different idea, customized hangers.  I never would've thought of this, but what a sweet gift for the Bride and groom.  You could even get these for your bridal party.

Not only are these a sweet idea, they're also affordable.  At around $18 who can say this isn't a unique and wonderful gift.

Get yours here.

cute favor idea - birdseed hearts

I found the cutest favors the other day.  Birdseed hearts.  They're being sold on etsy right now, but I think that any DIY'er could easily make these. 

Not only that, think of the possibilities of shapes.  I would simply use a cookie cutter in the shape I wanted to make these sweet birdseed favors.  Looking to buy some?  Get them here.

Wedding gown shopping - Part 2

Maggie Sottero - Coco

So here I am trying on dresses. The first one I put on looked nice, but I knew it wasn't "it" or to be so cliche, "the one". To the left you will see the dress is Maggie Sottero's Coco.

However, when we put this on my friend, it looked like the dress for her.  (Please see the last post with her in this dress.)

The next dress (to the left)  We're getting warmer.  Very pretty.  (Also Maggie Sottero) However, I was told the back had pleats that just didn't look good.

So, onto the next.  I didn't take a picture of one dress I tried on because I knew immediately it wasn't for me.  It looked good, it was pretty, but it was too plain for me.  (I need a little bit of sparkle you know. ;)  )

Now onto the winner for the day for me.  Maggie Sottero's Leoni in White Diamond.  Oh, I looked and felt like a fairytale princess.  Yay!

I wouldn't have thought of even trying this one on based on the online photo.  the bottom looks like it's a heavy fabric on her website, here you can see it's pretty and flowy.

I also thought I'd love a strapless, but the one strap is what makes this dress interesting.

Now we'll be off to the running of the Brides this friday.  Let's see if I can find anything that can compare or exceed my beautiful Leoni gown

Wedding Gown Shopping with Friends

This weekend I went wedding gown shopping with my best friend that's getting married. I'm planning her wedding for her, which is tough given she's on a really tight budget. Even with that, I know it will work out. We're both thrifty and crafty so between us we'll pull something off that's fun.

We had some trouble early on. She's quite a busty girl and almost every dress is strapless. I feared for her since I'm sure she wouldn't want that on her wedding day.

Really, you shouldn't have boobs hanging out everywhere.   Very classless on your wedding day,  and I've seen some brides still do it.

Coco, by Maggie Sottero

The first few were duds. I felt like everything looked kind of frumpy on her. Then we found her material, she needed something with shine like a satin.

Finally, she put on a dress that I tried on first. It looked great on her. It slimmed her out, however she was all boobs. We agreed she needed halter style straps added.

So, why did we go look at dresses so early on?

We thought this one looked like the winner

Next week we're going to the running of the brides to check out gowns.  She had no idea what would look good on her, what size she needed or even what she liked.  This was our try-on day where we would figure out what we liked, the price ranges and what looked good on us before the madness of the running of the brides.


Don't know what the heck the running of the brides is?  It started in Boston's Filene's Basement many years ago.  It's a twice a year event in Boston and it also happens in other areas of the country once a year.  These are sample dresses from high end designers all over the world.   Prices range from $199- $699 for gowns, but the price tags on the originals still exist (think $10k +) so you're getting a steal and a half on these gowns. (You just have to be willing to beat other brides down for a dress..lol)

When those doors open, the anxious women (some have camped out all night) run in as fast as they can and grab all the dresses they can hold.

Wish us luck on our endeavors. We'll be posting our photos and videos of the madness.

Unexpected Pretty things

Looking for something beautiful, yet unexpected?

These button pomanders & boquets may be the perfect thing for you.

These beauties are from dcbouquets.co.uk

I love how romantic and Victorian they look.  You could hang these cute pomanders down an aisle or give them to your flower girl to carry.

You could even do your arrangements for tables or your bridal bouquet in this.

Maybe do your actual bouquet in flowers and your separate "tossing" bouquet in buttons.

This could even be a cute DIY project for you and your bridesmaids.  Make sure you get all your girls together (don't forget the wine and snacks)  to make your bouquets in buttons. 

It could be uniquely theirs and a keepsake from your wedding.  Give them a bunch of options with ribbons, buttons, pearls, feathers and crystals.

Think beyond the bridal white... Even dcbouquets has a version of their bouquets and boutonniere in black.

Making an event extra special

photo from sciencecheerleader.com

Today I'd like to talk a little about making an event extra-special.  What makes an event extra-special for you or your guests is adding a small touch that's different, unexpected and uniquely you.

Some Brides release doves or butterflies after their wedding.  I personally would love to release fireflies or lightning bugs for a early evening wedding or reception.  The only problem is some parts of the country have no such bugs, and they're near impossible to find online for purchase.

Only two options exist, catch some 1 day before your event or purchase or make fake ones.

I found this tutorial on how to make your own.

Here's another tutorial on how to make DIY firefly lights.

Too much of a pain and not realistic enough for you?  You can purchase firefly magic lights instead.  A bit pricey, but as close to the real thing as you'll get.

Another unexpected change from the norm would be to forgo confetti, rice and bubbles.  Rather than have these, try sparklers.  It will be more fun for your guests, no cleanup and quite pretty.
Think of the amazing photos you could take as well by spelling out words with sparklers!

image found on sodahead.com

How do you do this?

You have to have a camera that allows you to change the settings for shutter speed.  Any old SLR camera can do it and some digital as well.

You MUST use a tripod for these shots or your whole image will be blurry.  They are best done at night for the best effect.  The slower the shutter speed, the longer you'll have to "write" you words out.  Play with different times and speeds to get the effect you're looking for.

Save the Date Ideas

Are Save the Date Cards necessary?  This is a question I've toyed with.  It can be a major added expense that you can avoid entirely.  When my parents got married, there was no such thing.  You just mailed out the invites and called it a day.

I did some research.  While not necessary, they are a convenience and thoughtful idea for your guests.  It allows them time to set aside the date for your wedding.  I scoured the web to see if I could find some cute ideas, and I sure did.  Some of my favorites are above.

- WeddingSeal - blog.weddingpaperdivas.com
- Calendar - blog.weddingpaperdivas.com
- Hankerchiefs - Elizabethanndesigns.com
- Tandem Bike - blog.weddingpaperdivas.com
- Tickets -  beachwedlockinvitations.com
- Firefly - minted.com
- Tags - shop.getmarried.com

Beautiful Bouquets

To continue with the romantic theme, we have bouquets with soft and beautiful colors.  The most interesting bouquets I found were actually made of balsa wood.  I also love the bottom left hand corner bouquet, which has pear leaves and "monkey tails" in it.

From Left to right:
- Found it on http://forums.weddingbells.ca/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2162203
- Photo by Ze Fisher.
- Photo and Floral Design by Petalena
- Balsa wood bouquet http://www.krislyndesign.com
- Bouquet found on Martha Stuart.com

Romantic Inspiration Board

So I joined wedding wire and created an inspiration board of how I envision the perfect romantic wedding.  Soft pastels in pinks and purples.  Ivory and shimmering silver also add to the ambiance of romantic beauty.

Welcome to Posh Parties

Posh Parties is the premier blog on all things beautiful and fabulous in the world of parties and events.  I strive to keep you up-to-date on the latest trends and the hottest ideas in the world of Weddings and Events.