My Wedding Report

Remember way back, when I was wishing and hoping for a certain pair of shoes? I basically had given up on the search. I couldn’t find the shoes for a decent price and many stores weren’t even carrying them anymore. I had begun a new search for “the shoe.”

I recently had my birthday and went down to visit my family in San Diego for the weekend. Imagine my surprise when I was handed a lovely green box with the words Kate Spade across the top. Opening the box, I squealed with delight to find my dream shoes inside! My family had gone out of their way to surprise me and I was thrilled.

Probably one of the funniest things was my 19-year-old brother’s reaction to the shoes, “You are wearing pink shoes? Aren’t you supposed to wear white because of the dress?” Apparently he isn’t a regular reader of the wedding blogs. haha

Even more fun? We found mama duckling’s wedding shoes that weekend and they subtly match mine. Notice the bow-like detail? Just wait until you see the shoes with her dress. Hint: her dress matches the color of my shoes.

Did you ever give up on the hopes of getting something only to be delightfully surprised in the end?

Sometimes I go on overload with all the amazing wedding inspiration and ideas that are out there. For our wedding I definitely had some ideas of what I wanted, but had been struggling with how to put it together. Our venue has this beautiful rustic Tuscan feel with gorgeous outdoor greenery. For the wedding we want it to be rustic and simple with lots of whimsical and romantic details. Now I see lots of things that fit into those criteria, but still end up all over the place when it comes to colors and feel.

When I first started blogging, I “met” Anne from The City Sage blog. Anne is so helpful and supportive and it has been such a pleasure getting to know her. Anne has this amazing eye for design and always finds the most inspiring images. When she offered awhile back to create an inspiration board for our wedding, I jumped at the opportunity. I told Anne about what I had envisioned and different things that I liked, but I was having a hard time putting it on one board. Anne just sent me the inspiration board over the weekend and I LOVED what she put together. I wanted to share it with you all because I am just drooling over all the images.

Row 1: Karen Collins via This Is Glamorous, Cox and Cox via Simply Natural, French Style via This Is Glamorous, Ami McKay via Desire to Inspire
Row 2: Emilie Inc., Jose Villa, Ditte Isager, Rebecca Thuss
Row 3: Tim Evan Cook, Lucas Allen, Braedon Flynn via Once Wed, Paul Lowe
Row 4: Marie Claire Maison via Coco and Kelly, Martha Stewart Weddings, Hello Handmade Paperie via Snippet and Ink, The Knot

Part of what I love about Anne’s blog is the beautiful imagery and emotion she evokes with her words. When I asked if she would be willing to let me post the board, I also asked for a quote to describe her work. Here is what she had to say…

“Miss Duckling* came to me with a color palette of white, grey, navy, french blue and raspberry, and she wanted a stronger idea of how the palette should guide her as the wedding comes together. Miss Duckling has a very refined aesthetic sensibility but she’s also one of the friendliest brides you’ll meet in blogland–so I really wanted her inspiration board to reflect this balance of sophistication and approachability.

As I compiled the images, navy blue fell by the wayside and it became clear that French blue would provide the bridge between the two qualities I sought. French blue can be utterly luxe–as on a piece of Royal Copenhagen porcelain–or humbly radiant, as in the petals of a cornflower. Cool white and soft grey set a serene foundation, and bright raspberry provides a playful pop. I also considered the outdoor setting of Miss Ducklings’s ceremony and allowed snippets of green foliage to sneak in. The result is an inspiration board in which continental elegance meets garden romance. I can’t wait to see where Miss Duckling goes from here!”

Aren’t those images just beautiful? I especially love the bouquet and cake! This board definitely puts together so many of the elements that I want to infuse throughout the wedding. Thanks so much to Anne for putting this stunning inspiration board together and for your sweet words above!

Have you also had a hard time allowing your vision to come together? What do you do to find unity in all the ideas and inspiration out there?

Do you ever get really excited when you see pictures with your wedding colors or a similar vision to what you are trying to pull off? Well I’m always looking for someone to use colors similar to ours, because I don’t see the combination very often. In fact lately, I’ve been getting nervous if it is even a good idea or if my vision is too complicated or far off. For our color palette I’ve wanted French Blue and Deep Raspberry Pink/Burgundy with Navy and Gray accents.

And then I saw this picture of the “Classic” tablescape yesterday on WeddingbeePRO and got excited when sure enough there was the french blue that I have been talking about paired with a burgundy color.

THEN…I got even more excited when I was catching up with posts on Elizabeth Anne Designs and saw a post from Amanda with these pictures!! It’s the french blue I’ve been hoping to use paired with a burgundy. Our burgundy might have a slightly more pink undertone, but basically that is it! I was so excited that I had to come and share the pictures with you.

Thanks Amanda for the amazing pictures and design!

All pictures from Elizabeth Anne Designs

Using these colors we are going for a simple, rustic look with whimsical details.

Do you ever have this happen? Do you have any inspiration pictures that you could pass on to me?

Have you gone out to get your copy yet? I think I already mentioned how excited I was to get the new Martha Stewart Weddings magazine over the break. I probably have way too many wedding magazines. However, I think that Martha Stewart has one of the better ones because it is filled with ideas, tips, diy suggestions and is not inundated with advertisements like many of the other ones.

Anyways I thought I’d pick out some bits and pieces from the different features that I really enjoyed and how I could potentially add my own touch to include them in my wedding.

I loved these pictures done with different color themes. The details and fun little items were so fun to pick out.

I was happy to see the feature on different things you can do with scrapbook paper. First of all I already have a bunch of it and second of all it’s an affordable way to add personal touches and use some DIY skills.

Table Numbers:

These were done by cutting the paper in half and then using a number stamp with gold ink. If I were to use this for my wedding I would maybe cut numbers out using my cricut and then frame the scrapbook paper to make it a little more sturdy.

Paper Flowers, Wrapped Vases and Runners:

I really like the idea of wrapping the vases and candle votive holders. For the runner I would favor using wrapping paper just for ease of use, but if you some paper you really want to use that would work.

Sweet Sensations:

How adorable are these little guys? The heart is so sweet. These would also be great for little shower favors to add some decor to the table.

Placemats:

I think this can give a pop of color to your table, especially if you don’t want to pay for fancy chargers or linens. I would choose a softer design so that it doesn’t over power the centerpieces. Another idea would be to paste the menu on this sheet maybe on a circle shaped paper under where the plate goes.

What were your favorite parts of the new Martha Stewart Weddings magazine? Later I’ll also share on some more ideas that gave me inspiration for our escort cards and floral details.

Well I am having some technical difficulties with some of the pictures and posts I wanted to share today. But not to worry, I can share with you some pictures that I have been collecting for ideas and inspiration. I’ve told you before that we want a simple, rustic look with touches of whimsical and romance throughout. I picture lots of personal DIY details, lanterns, ribbon, flowers not overly “done,” candlelight, moss and rustic wooden frames.

Weddingbee

The Knot

Once Wed

Once Wed

Martha Stewart

Once Wed

Ritzy Bee

These are some of the first images I collected and I continue to brainstorm. We need to balance the simple and rustic with the romance and whimsical. Our reception is a ballroom but with exposed wooden beams and iron chandeliers that have this rustic Tuscan feel. So there is some formality to our venue amidst all its rustic charm.

What do you think? If you haven’t checked out my color palette post be sure to do so. You can kind of see some of the ideas that are forming so far that we need to ultimately pull together. I love your feedback and comments so please give me your opinions and ideas.

Grad School Update:
I just turned 2 papers in and now have 2 finals to go. I finish my finals next week and then it will be a busy month of checking things off the to-do list before I start my last semester of graduate school. Be ready!

In the spirit of election day I thought I’d post some wedding photos that feature Red, White and Blue details.

Photos from The Knot, unless noted otherwise

How cute are these dresses from Anthropologie?

Photo from Bliss Weddings

Has anyone ever been to a wedding with these colors?

This weekend I am hoping to create Mark and I’s inspiration board.  I had been debating if I wanted to do one or not, but I think it helps you articulate what you want your colors, style, theme and feel to be.  So I have been looking through inspiration boards to see what kind of elements you can incorporate.  The ones below are not necessarily what we are doing for the wedding, but boards that I think are well put together and unique.

Do you have an inspiration board?  If so please feel free to link to it in the comments area so that others (and me) can admire your hard work and creativity.

Here are some inspiration boards from Style Me Pretty:

And now I have a few for you from Snippet and Ink:

If you are looking for a specific type of inspiration board I suggest that you look at Style Me Pretty and Snippet and Ink. You can do a search on the site so that you only see posts that have inspiration boards.

Have you created an inspiration board? Link to it in the comments are so that we can see!

I am joining with many other websites and organizations to “Go Pink” for October in honor of breast cancer awareness. I encourage you to do the same if you have your own website. I think this month is an important time to reflect on how breast cancer has affected our own lives and the lives of people around us.

Snippet and Ink is honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month with this Pink Inspiration Board:

And of course my favorite M&Ms are also going pink! (I love M&Ms for Mark and Michelle!)

What is your favorite thing “going pink” for October?

The color palette of your wedding is a big decision. The colors you choose will be what you see on a daily basis through your planning process, a part of the photos that are captured that day and will set the mood and tone of your wedding. (Not to sound dramatic or anything) But it really does seem like an important choice! Mr. Ducky is doing the graphic design for our monogram, stationary, website and other fun details…so I needed to pick the colors and to start that process. However there is the small problem of him being slightly color blind. He can tell basic colors but distinguishing between similar shades or colors can be difficult. (Such as the time he got me an orange gift thinking it was pink)

Color Palette

I first discovered Colourlovers awhile ago but just decided to try creating my own color palette to help with the decision process. Here is what I am thinking so far:

It may seem a little busy but here are my thoughts. The lighter blue and raspberry will be the main focus of color. Navy and gray will be used for accents, fonts, and borders etc. We will use ivory instead of white for linens, stationary etc. Right now I am thinking shades of raspberry will be used in the flowers and maybe blue bridesmaid dresses. I don’t want super traditional colors but I still want it to be classy and simple. I am also keeping in mind that our wedding is the beginning of September which is the transition of summer to fall.

Here are a few more shades of the blue and raspberry that we may be able to use to fill in or as an alternative…

Shades of Blue

Shades of Raspberry

I am working on an inspiration board that will pull together the look and feel of what I am going for. Since that is not ready yet here are a few pictures of the colors together. It is not the exact shades I’m thinking but may help you get a better idea.

www.theknot.com

www.theknot.com

www.theknot.com

www.theknot.com

http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/

Here is color board created by snippet and ink. Again not the exact shades I am hoping for, but close…

So what are your thoughts on the color palette thus far? Anyone using similar colors?