Oh Vera...

Just when I had made up my mind...

{here}

Long White Dress...

Our trip was wonderful. The weather and water were both perfect and the only problem was that we had to come home! Living with extended family for a week is always interesting, but I made it out alive. Only one minor freak out and I kept it behind closed doors. Apparently I have a beach baby on my hands. She LOVES the ocean and water in general. We all stayed burn free too! A miracle, I tell you. We must have used 5 things of sunscreen though.

Other big news! We made a big decision while we were there...We're now 100% sure on the date and the venue for the rewedding. Yay! We haven't signed a contact yet, so I'll share more details after we do. Though it's not really hard to guess where. :) Let's just say that this dress would be perfect...

{her tan lines really bug me}

The white dress...

I know I went on and on about this dress, but I can't help but think about this dress. It's so me. Easy to wear and it actually looks comfy! I have always adored Lela Rose, as you know if you read this blog, so it's not shocking that this is from her latest collection. I can't help butthink...what's a vow renewal without a beautiful white dress?

{Studio}

A few fave inspiration boards...

{Looks like sunshine to me}

{love the bowtie!}

{Am I the only one ready for Fall?}

{Love the tent and string lights}

{California Dreamin'}

{Ahhh Nantucket...wish I was there right now}

{#1, #2-3-4-6, #5}

Is it Fall yet?

How cute are these? They're velvet with REAL stems! Love them, want them, need them!

Purple Paper Goodness...

I am not a fan of purple...at all. I hate it with a passion in fact. I could explain why, but it's just one of those things. Anyway, I hate it, but for some reason I LOVE the Ceci New York invites that I found on {What Junebug Loves.} I love the purple with the teal and my favorite part is actually the custom purple envelope. Who knew? Oh and the shape of the card itself isn't half bad. All together, this is one stunning group of paper goodness. Enjoy...

{click image to enlarge}

{here}

5 from the Files #2...

It's all about the dress this week...

{ppp}

{gold}

{style.com}

{n-a-p}

It's all in the details...

I've always been a bit enamored with Cheree Berry's work, but she hasn't had a ton of her custom work on her site until now! I finally saw more and it's all fantastic! I LOVE the little details in each of her pieces {like #1! How darling is that?} and she has a nice preppy style that appeals to the JCrew side of me. What else do you expect from a former Kate Spader?

Enjoy the paper goodness...

{click on images to enlarge}

{all images from here}

From the Inspiration files...

I was cleaning out the inspiration files today {we're having a "sick" day} and found some things that I thought I'd share. I know that these don't "go" together, but I just loved them all too much not to share. Like in #4, I love the balsa wood box that the favors are packaged in. I always use them to pack hostess gifts in. It's so much better than a paper bag. 

Hope you enjoy...

{I'm not really sure where any of these came from, so sorry. I know that the last two are from MSW. If they're yours or you know where they came from, please clue me in!}

Letterpress for less...

This is one of the pieces that made me want to have a whole week o' paper. Isn't it great? I've been waiting to share it and this time is here!

Not only is this suite beautiful, but Studio on Fire did a post featuring this invitation and tips on how to keep your letterpress costs down. How great is that? They share some really good information that you could use to print a job with anybody, but why not use the sweet people that taught you in the first place? Check out their blog and site, plus I'll be sharing another one of their pieces that is a favorite of mine!

{here}

Cute cheap find...

How fun is this photo tray from Target? It's from their new Umbra Loft line, which I haven't seen in stores, but looks very promising. Like it promises to wreck my "no spending" rule asap! You could put a picture in the bottom or a piece of fabric or patterned paper would look great as well. There is one review of it and it was glowing, so I think I'll need to make a run out to 

How cute would this be for a reception with pictures of the couple or old family wedding photos? I would serve cupcakes or cookies on them at a dessert bar or something that would be eaten quickly so you could look at the pictures!

New Year, New Venue!

OK...I think that the search for a venue is finally over. After having a small crisis of conscience about the cost of the other venue I shared, we decided to keep looking. Well, I did...How was perfectly fine with spending whatever it cost, but he wasn't the one having to not shoe shop for a year! So, the only other option for me really was our local museum. There are not many non-cheesy wedding venues here, so when I say that this was the only other venue I would consider, I really mean it. I am also in the process of joining the Contemporary Art collector's group there and we have many friends that work there, so it seemed like a good place to spend our money. The rental fee is also considered a donation, so we get to write half of it off! Love that!

Here are the few pictures I could actually find on the web, which aren't great. When I go sign the contract next week, I'm planning on taking more and will post when I do. I'm actually more excited about this venue then I was about the last one, because it's broken up into 3 separate spaces, so we'll have a place {the lobby of the museum} for the ceremony, then move outside to the Sculpture Garden for cocktails, then into the cafe {think large white room ripe for decorating} for dinner, then back to the lobby for dancing and dessert. Well, that's my plan as of right now...I've got a little time to tweak it. ;)

Drum roll please...

This is a view into the cafe from the sculpture garden at night. I love the candles in the reflecting pools.

This is the lobby where we'll hold the ceremony. I am in LOVE with this space and I always have been. I've got a little thing for Chihuly glass and the idea of doing the ceremony on the stairs under the flowers makes me VERY happy. 

I'll take a better picture of the steps, but they're big, black and marble...not sure how to handle those yet.

Daytime shot of the rest of the garden. Isn't the design in the pool great? 

Excuse the horribly HUGE display of fruit and cheese {not having that!}, but I posted this to show you the flowers when they were lit. This is also where we're going to do the dance floor and some sort of lounge area. Which I'm hoping they can set up during cocktails and dinner...they're going to hate me for all of these ideas!

This is the white box known as the Museum cafe. It's great because you can basically do anything with it, but it's going to take a large amount of my budget to decorate it, I think. Not sure what I'm going to do, but I'm so happy with the rest of the venue, I really don't care. I do think that we're going to do a buffet/station type dinner, so that will take up more room than just a typical sit-down dinner would, with the tables for people and for food, etc. This way I'll have less floor space to worry about and we can invite more people and make it more of a party atmosphere. 

So, what do you think about the new venue?

Cake goodness...

I know that I included one of her cakes in my last post and that April Reed certainly isn't a new discovery or anything, but I. LOVE. HER. WORK. Honestly, this first cake has been saved in my inspiration files for FOREVER and it's the exact cake I'd like to have if we decide to do a cake. It fits the venue and my personal taste so perfectly. She has such a great vision and style. Not to mention that she is incredibly talented and her sugar flowers are ridiculous. Which one would you choose? 

{click to enlarge}

I'm loving...

Marigold and Pewter

It looks so happy and cheery. It doesn't really go with the idea I have in my head for our reception, but it would be great for an summer daytime wedding I think.

{maaartha}

I wish I lived in Australia...

The new issue of Wedding Style Guide in on newsstands. Such a great magazine! Anybody know of a source to get it in the States or want to send me a copy? Love the preppy Hamptons wedding. I also love that they have all of the paper products in the stories available to download and use. So great for the semi-DIY bride!

ps~ they have a great blog too...