A fun party favor....

I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I can give you a few hints:

1. It shares the same graphic as our save the date
2. It's black with white writing
3. It helps eliminate sweating
4. It's the perfect beer drinking companion
5. It might make an appearance at the rehearsal dinner

Can you guess what it is??

The guest book

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I've posted about the guest book before: Martha, Martha, Martha. Now, we've come up with a new idea. Kevin and I created a photo book over the weekend. We made the book at snapfish.com, a photo sharing site. It's an excellent site to share and store your photos.

We've featured photos of us together over the past 5 1/2 years. Yep, almost 6 years, I can't believe it! We've been through so much together and shared so many incredible things. I hope everyone enjoys sharing the memories.

Even the storage bins are PINK....

Take a look at last week's Wal-Mart special. We needed a place to start putting all of the stuff we've been buying lately. We also need to be able to easily travel to the reception hall with all our items. These pink bins were our answer. Who would have thought that our storage containers would match the wedding colors! Yea for the $3.50 sale last week. Thanks Wal-Mart!

Shop till you drop...

Kevin and I (yes Kevin came), shopped until we dropped last weekend. We went everywhere: Target, Michael's, World Market, another Target, TJ Maxx and Marshall's.

Just check out this list
1. metal tubs
2. vases for alter and head table
3. chocolate molds
4. ribbon
5. tea lights
6. stick handles
7. paper lanterns
8. sand dollar ties
9. pinwheel supplies
10. 2 basket trays
11. cookie wrappers
12. chocolate wrappers
13. fake orchids
14. hooks
15. fishing line
16. white rope
17. thick wire
18. sand
19. bags
20. snack pricing

Wow, needless to say we either priced out or purchased everything on that list. What an accomplished weekend.

The Alter

I was not going to have an alter but after meeting one of Kevin's "booth buddies" (the person his booth was next to for 3 full days) from the home show last year I changed my mind. She is going to try to recreate this beautiful alter from Karen Bussen . I've actually written about Karen before, she wrote the Simply Stunning Weddings.

The artist, Sarah from center it designs will be taking on this wedding project. She specializes in event artistry and I've very excited to see how she comes up with this. More to come about Sarah as we finalize the project details.

Paper Lanterns

I know I told you about paper lanterns early in this process, check out this post if you missed it:
http://tiffwedding09.blogspot.com/2009/03/martha-stewart-at-her-finest.html
But now I got to order the whole kit & caboodle! I've been in love with this concept since I got engaged. I ordered them in all sizes and colors. Anyone looking for great prices on paper lanterns should check out Asian Ideas . They had the best prices by far and the most in stock!

What a week!

My mom and sister (along with my two adorable nephews) just visited South Carolina for the whole week. We did tons of wedding stuff. Here's a quick summary of what we accomplished. I will try my best to write an individual post about each one.

1. Hair & Make-up Trial for me
2. Hair Trial for my mom
3. Dress fitting
4. Veil selection
5. Bridal jewelry selection
6. My mom's jewelry options
7. Bridesmaid gifts COMPLETE
8. Complete brainstorm of ceremony & reception set up (that's a big one)!
9. The alter
10.Rehearsal dinner location
11.One big shopping trip to Target
12.And a very long list for Michael's (arts and crafts)for me to go shopping for
13.Welcome Packages

And can you believe I'm forgetting some things....a BIG thanks to my mom, sister, and Kevin for helping me out so much this week. We're under the 2 month mark. It's time to go, go, go again!

Cake...

The biggest question on my mind right now is what to put the table cakes on. If you don't remember, click here for the post about the cakes. Cake stands are so expensive to buy or rent and I wanted to be more creative than that. I am trying to think of a way to adapt this concept to my table cakes. I guess I will have to give it a test run soon!

Oh the process of making decisions...

Aunt Arlene to the Rescue!

I would like to say a big thank you to Kevin's Aunt Arlene. After reading my blog post about the Heidi Grace fabric, she went to JoAnn's in Chicago and found another 8 yards! That put me to the exact amount I needed to finish the tables and have a few extras just in case. Thanks so much for reading and helping me find that mysterious fabric! Here's a photo of Aunt Arlene, Kevin, and I at her son's wedding.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Table Decorations, Heidi Grace Fabric

I was trying to think a little more creatively than renting overlays from the rental company, so this is what I came up with, Heidi Grace fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics. My mom collected this stuff from every surrounding Jo-Ann's in Ohio (THANKS MOM). This fabric is in high demand. I cannot find it anywhere. I think we barely have enough, but we will make it work. This will be in a circle or square shape over ivory linens on all the round tables at the reception. A bright pink runner will be on the rectangle "head table". I would like to make a few more items with it, but like I said it's a mysterious fabric. If you find it, give me a shout. Heidi Grace Midnight Kisses Large Floral Black.

Simply Stunning Weddings by Karen Bussen

How could I forgot to mention the book that started it all. This book is AMAZING. Every wedding vendor has it, loves it, and knew exactly what I wanted when I told them how much I loved this book. If you are planning a wedding or know someone who is, READ IT, GET IT! It has simple, beautiful concepts and ideas throughout!

Seating Cards

Since last summer Kevin has been sand dollar hunting. We plan on using these as our seating cards & favors. We are still planning all the details and we have to do some more hunting to do this summer before the wedding (that's why we had to get married at the end of summer), just kidding!

How do we display the sand dollars and decorate the lobby area of Alhambra Hall? My sister came up with the bright idea of making them part of the decor by hanging them on Manzita branches. I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I like it. I will have to ask my florist, Charleston Flower Market. It would look like to big trees in the lobby. Fun, fun, fun :)

Martha, Martha, Martha....

The guest book can be so many things these days. People use handmade scrapbooks, coffee table books, photo frames with a large mat for signing, and even individual photos of each couple arriving. So many options.....what is a girl to do?? I am thinking of combining a few ideas into one kick butt book. The idea pictured above is from good old Martha Stewart (click her name for the article). Each guest can write a personal note to the couple and I make a book full of envelopes for everyone to put their messages in. Well, that's just too easy. What about combining the envelops with photos and me and Kevin? I am trying to make something that we will look at again. I can also leave a few spaces for wedding photos. Sounds like a fun project, now I have to search for a book.

Martha Stewart at her finest!

Find whatever your heart desires at www.marthastewartcrafts.com! These are the Water Lily Paper Lanterns. I'm not quite sure where they will be at the reception hall, but aren't they cute?! I plan on purchasing several different paper laterns to help decorate and brighten up the hall. This is only the beginning of my collection......