My Wedding Report

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.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to my cousin’s wedding. Having the wedding that Saturday ended up being perfect even though my cousin was unsure at first. Thanksgiving was at my house and it included all of my extended family, the groom’s immediate family and then members of the bridal party that had come into town early. It was so fun!! It gave everyone a chance to get to know one another and also kind of built the excitement and anticipation for Saturday. With the rehearsal the next day, it was like a weekend of celebration and events. So if you are considering this date for the future, I think it’s a great option. My only worry would be if you have a lot of far away guests that need to be out of town for Thanksgiving somewhere and then trying to travel back to the wedding that Saturday before returning home that Sunday. However, I think that the people you are close to will try their best to be there. And use the opportunity to have a giant Thanksgiving feast before where you can enjoy everyone’s company.

Alright, stepping off the soap box…I have some pictures to share with you. The wedding was at the Rancho Capistrano in San Juan Capistraon/Orange County. The Rancho Capistrano is a retreat center that is so beautiful. You can see it off the freeway, but can’t tell what it is and I had never been there. However, after this wedding I would highly recommend it. There are pretty ponds and lakes, spanish architecture and some beautiful courtyards.

A family friend of my Aunts did all of the stationary. It was super cute from the save the date to the programs. (This is the same lady that was the key leader in planning that amazing bridal shower I shared with you all awhile back!) All the guests had their own program that were laid out in alphabetical order with their table number for the reception attached. It was a good option for doing escort cards. My other cousin and I did the guest book and programs, and it was pretty easy to get everything handed out. It was a little awkward asking for the guests last name, but it was a nice way to greet everyone and then be able to really remind them to sign the guest book.

This is me being confused as to why Mark is snapping a bunch of “action” pictures as he puts it while I do the guest book and programs.

The ceremony was on a hill overlooking the a beautiful lake. The one downside was that it was on a bit of downward hill so you had to be kind of careful walking. (There are several ceremony site options if you are thinking about this location). The arch of flowers was gorgeous!

The bridesmaid dresses were a simple chocolate brown and looked good on everyone.

In this picture you can see a pretty good view of her bouquet that incorporated all the flowers her bridesmaid bouquets. All the bridesmaids had a bouquet made up of a different type of flower that was surrounded in green orchids.

Just after the ceremony and being announced as Mr and Mrs! Aren’t they a gorgeous couple??

This is Mark and I after the ceremony trying to get a good background for our picture. If you can’t tell, I’m literally bracing against him not to fall backwards in my heels!

This is a picture of my wonderful and amazing family! My mom and I are color coordinated…but not on purpose. haha

This is a picture of a table from the cocktail hour that has extra programs and the guest book laid out for anyone who did not get a chance to stop at the “station” before the ceremony. They also had the acoustic guitar playing in the background.

The centerpieces for the reception were really pretty. Bunches of flowers were arranged in simple vases for one type and another centerpiece had more of an arranged mixture. Don’t you like the bright colors?

The cake was really good. Each layer was a different flavor. I had chocolate cake with some sort of berry filling.

The favors were puzzle pieces talking about a donation to charity for autism awareness because my cousin is a speech interventionist that works with preschoolers who are autistic.

The reception was tented over a courtyard area with a fountain in the middle. Do you recognize those flowers? They were from the arch during the ceremony! Yeah for double use!

Chandeliers hung from the roof of the tent along with twinkle lights.

The wedding was not only so pretty, but it was also really fun. People were dancing all night long and genuinely enjoying themselves. One of my best memories of the night was of my 85 year-old grandparents dancing with all us grand-kids on the dance floor. Yes, I can say that I danced with my grandparents to Kanye West, Jackson 5, Beyonce and Madonna. I tried to take pictures, but they just did not come out so well.

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of the pictures from this real wedding. We had a wonderful time and I can only hope that people have as much fun at our wedding as we had at this wedding. On a side note, I inherited all those votive candles that you see on the tables for our wedding. Not sure where I will use them, but can’t say no to some money-saving hand-me-downs!

This last weekend I went to my second bridal show. I went to my first bridal show shortly after getting engaged down at the San Diego Convention Center with my mom. This was a HUGE show and was kind of overwhelming. I felt like there were some great vendors and a lot of not so great, but it still was a good experience to have and get some ideas.

For bridal show #2 I took Mark and one of my bridesmaids who has a great eye for style and puts up with all my wedding rambling. I received free tickets from our ceremony and reception site and knew a day of coordinator I was considering was going to be there, so off we went for Bridal Show #2.

Here a few pictures of some table and centerpiece ideas that we saw:

Some of the delicious samples from caterers and bakeries! You could have made a whole meal out of what was there (The last show I went to only had cake, but this show had every course you could ever want to serve):

How great would it be to have caramel apples at a fall wedding?

One of the vendors I was so excited to see at the show was Posh-Paperie, who does amazing stationary. Remember the green and gray silhouette invitation design from a few posts ago? Yep they did it and they are from San Diego!! Check out the blog as well for some more inspiration! (I think I will just save a whole post for them later…be on the look out)

And of course a fashion show! Mark’s favorite parts: 1) when the ladies “cat walk” resembled a cobra 2) when the groom had his jacket buttoned wrong and did not notice until he got to the end of the runway 3) the “scandal” of the bride’s strap falling off the dress

While we had a lot of fun at show, I don’t think it was the most useful for where we personally are at in the planning. The show was really well put together and I liked it a lot more than the last show I went to. However, a lot of the vendors were photographers and locations and we have already booked those 2 things. I had hoped to see a bunch of florists and day of coordinators at the show, but there weren’t too many. I think the show would be great for someone who has not done a lot of event planning and wants to get ideas and access to a lot of vendors.

What are your experiences at past bridal shows?