D.I.Y. Monday : Summer Popsicle Invitations

Back at the beginning of June, I spotted this adorable invitation project on the lovely Design Sponge. Talk about a fun way to kick off summer! Not only would these be great for a summer party, they'd also make for unique, and informal rehearsal dinner invitations, or post-wedding party invites. Here is my take on Popsicle Invitations, enjoy!

Supplies Needed:
a pencil, scissors, glue, popsicle sticks, colored paper of choice, and scrap paper.

First, you will need to create a stencil so that all of your "Popsicles" are the same.

Rip off an appropriate size of scrap paper to work with.

Fold the piece of paper in half to ensure that your "Popsicle" will be symmetrical.

Start to cut out the shape you would like.

Unfold and -Tada!- You have your popsicle stencil.

Next, print off a copy of the text you would like to have on your invitations. Make sure that your stencil and layout match up okay size-wise.

Then, print out your text on your colored paper of choice.

Trace your stencil over the text.

snip, snip, snip.

Continue until you have cut out all of your invites.

Next, cut out backs for all of your "popsicles" by tracing your stencil on some blank paper.

And glue away...

And there you have it!

Soon to come: homemade envelopes for oddly shaped invitations such as these. Stay tuned!

Cake Please

The miniature cupcake, one of the most popular wedding cake alternatives of the last five years.

I'll take one of each please!

Image from The Weekly Spade

Why I Love Weddings ...

Warning: This video is so beautiful, you might shed a tear. There really isn't anything like a wedding. Enjoy!

Charlie + Morgan "This Tree is Home" from Sandbox Love on Vimeo.

The Intern Diaries : Day One

DAY ONE is complete!

I loved every bit of my first day as an intern. If I haven't stated already, my internship is with a florist. Even though at this point my goal is to be a wedding planner, I felt it necessary to get my foot in the door in any way possible. I truly believe there is something to be gained from every opportunity and so why not learn more about flowers? My first day proved that this is exactly what I should be doing right now. Lets break it down.

I arrived to the flower studio at 9 a.m. to help load up the truck with floral arrangements, and decorations for two separate weddings. One wedding was a lavender/wood theme, the other was a citrus/beach theme. Myself, the Florist, and a Wedding Planner (friend of the Florist) loaded up the truck as well as my car and headed northbound for an hour long drive to Yacolt, WA where the Lavender wedding was to take place.

This was the back of my car. Full of lavender wreaths, jars, boutonnieres, and tree trunk decorations.

The Wedding venue was called Pomeroy Historic Farm, and let me tell you: it was gorgeous. Unbelievable setting with cottagey-barn, horses, rolling hills, and trees everywhere. We unloaded the cars and decorated the alter/archway. I was honored to be working alongside people who have actually made careers for themselves in this industry. It was also great just to be involved in someone's wedding day. The groom was calmly observing the preparations, and a newly engaged couple was touring the place to see if it was for them.

Next we were to wait for some friends to bring the wedding cake that they had picked up from a bakery that morning. Once the friends arrived, I experienced my first ever wedding day catastrophe. As we opened the box that contains the two-tiered cake we were suppose to decorate, we discovered that the cake is lopsided, and cracked along the bottom tier. The only way to fix the cake it seemed was to start over. Needless to say, we couldn't decorate the cake, we had to inform the groom of the problem and give our most empathetic apologies. We cleaned up our things and this ended my day one on the job. I hope their cake was fixed!!

Next Saturday on Day Two of my internship I will be starting my day off by transporting 200 cupcakes + labels to a high-end wedding an hour away. You can bet I'm a little intimidated and very excited.

All in all, after day one, I can honestly say I am so excited about the opportunity to be working with these people. I met some pretty great people just after the first day. I wonder what else these next 3 months have in store for me.

Inspiration Board : Marisa's Pretend Wedding

I am very excited today to finally share with you my first "pretend wedding." As you may have read on the pretend wedding form or in my introduction post, this is just for a bit of fun. It is a way for me to be inspired by real people's fresh ideas. I then take the submitted ideas and let my mind run with them as I look at blogs, and wedding sites on the web. So now I'd like to introduce you to Marisa's pretend, natural themed wedding.

Marisa submitted a wedding that was centered on all things natural: natural lighting, bark, stones, wild flowers, etc.


The Color Palette:
Light grey, a soft yellow, a sunset orange, and a muted green tea ice cream green.

Location:

Marisa requested an outdoor ceremony in a meadow with mountains as the backdrop. :) I like your style, and in fact 3 different locations come to my mind.
- Pomeroy Historic Farm in Yacolt, WA:-Hume Lake, CA:

-and Sauvie Island, OR:


When thinking about a nature themed wedding I think of burlap sacks, twine, herbs, wild flowers, moss, and stepping stones to lead guests to the reception area. Which, in Marisa's case, would like her reception to be held in a nearby barn of sorts.

Jars hanging from twine could be used to form walk-ways, or to tell guests where to be seated. Oo! If you were to do the latter, how awesome would it be to have guests untie their candle and bring it to their seat to add to the centerpieces?
I spotted this adorable, and simple centerpiece on none other than the BHLDN website. I like the DIY look it gives. Plus, using herbs for centerpieces in place of flowers can be an inexpensive way to add some fresh greens to the table.
I love the look of bark and tree stumps. Use these that have slits in them to place table numbers into or use a couple of them on the guest book table to hold signs.
I also like the idea of using herbs to toss as the bride and groom depart. Give guests there very own little burlap sack full of clippings.


Ways to incorporate your colors:
Incorporating your colors would come largely from table linens and flower choices: bouquets and centerpieces. Since this wedding is set in the summer months, ensure that the orange doesn't move things into fall by pairing it with greens and yellows and staying away from brown. Here are some I found that I think would be lovely.




Last but not least, some fun guestbook/ favor ideas:

engraved stones as paperweights on the guest table or as place cards on the tables
I also like the idea of guests writing a word on a stone to describe the couple and then adding the stone to a garden or vase for the couple to keep.

oh and two final images:
Check out these cool birch wood napkin rings.
and gray bridesmaid dress from jcrew:


Marisa, thank you for daydreaming with me!

Sources: Where did I get these images?
1. & 2. http://theyoungrens.com/blog/weddings/jenny-and-graham-hotel-del-coronado/
3. In Writing Planter: http://www.bhldn.com/product/in-writing-planter#
4. Tree stumps: http://classifieds.weddingbee.com/topic/wood-slices-and-small-tree-stumps
5. http://ravenmoonlight.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/113_116
6. & 7. & 8. & 9. http://weddings.theknot.com/
10. http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2011/03/01/hudson-valley-farm-wedding/
11. http://holyordinary.blogspot.com/2010/03/30-days-of-hearing-silent-stones.html
12. http://www.bhldn.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/productID/ab73ad72-9ff8-47f0-8a98-db22c5d745e8/categoryID/ad446e74-6c33-4f83-b8e9-38d24d3fc7e6
13. http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/dresses/eveningdinner/PRDOVR~41367/41367.jsp

The Intern Diaries : It Starts

Life has been busy and guess what? It's only going to get busier. Day one of my internship with the florist starts on Saturday. I will be helping with transport of flowers and unloading supplies. Then next Saturday I really get to get my hands dirty with an eight-hour day and more responsibility. The florist is actually coordinating this wedding and therefore has many more tasks to delegate. I will be that person who picks up the cupcakes, sugar flowers, and other important things; then prays that everything stays in place for an hour long drive to the wedding venue. I've heard this wedding will be one for the books and I can't wait to see what the florist does with it: 200 guests, lounge area, elaborate centerpieces, etc. I'm excited to see how it all turns out and I will certainly be reporting back! I am plugging away at the Pretend Weddings that have been submitted so far and loving the fresh ideas. Thank you for this inspiration.