If you have any questions or need to reach me please email me at burlingtonbride@yahoo.com. Looking for a small jazz group for your cocktail reception or even a singer for your ceremony? Check out my website by clicking HERE. My repertoire is mostly jazz standards – love songs from the 30’s and 40’s. View video of a live performance on a jazz festival below. Lindsey Muir Live at the Litchfield Jazz Festival - 08.07.05 Table of Contents Our Wedding Story Wedding Photographs Engagement Photographs How We Got Engaged Engagment & Wedding Rings Candid Photos of me and FI Wedding Plans Ceremony Reception Wedding Weekend Accommodations Wedding Party & Family Women's Attire (Dress & Shoes) Men's Attire My Wedding Dress, Shoes & Veil Rehearsal Dinner Dress & Shoes Hair Inspiration Hair & Make-up Trial Flowers Pear Cake Favors Calligraphy & Paper Goods Monograms OOT Bags & Gifts Ideas Wedding Website Honeymoon Plans Bridal Shower & Spa Day FI's gift - Boudoir Photos Vendor Information Knottie GTG's Inspiration Board Burlington Bride's Blog I jumped on the blogging band wagon -- check out my wedding blog HERE. Our Wedding Story • My fiance and I live in New York City and last summer we decided to take a New England vacation. One of our stops was in Burlington, VT and we fell in love with the city. We then decided to invite our friends and family to join us in Vermont for our wedding. We were thrilled to spend the whole weekend with 46 of our closest friends and family. Our ceremony was held in a beautiful old church followed by a restaurant reception. I know every bride says this, but it really was an amazing day. I enjoyed every minute of it and was so proud and excited! Fun postcard from Cardcow.com [Back to Top] Wedding Photographs Pro-Photos by by Daria Bishop. Non-Pro Pics Prior to the ceremony we took some family and wedding party photos in front of the Willard Street Inn and then it was off to the church! The Ceremony Saturday, September 8th: Our ceremony was held at the First Congregational Church in Burlington, VT. Rev. Adrianne Carr did a beautiful job and was so open to all of our ideas and readings. It flew by for me -- I think it was actually about 30 minutes with lovely music and an emotional moment for me at the end of the vows. We were married and processed down the isle to "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys! Cocktail Hour & Reception After our ceremony we processed together (stopping traffic -- so fun) from the church around the corner and up the Church Street Marketplace to Adrianas. We enjoyed an hour of cocktails (amaretto sours) and stunning weather and then went upstairs for our reception. It was just what I'd envisioned -- an intimate dinner party with great food and wine and conversation flowing. With our wonderful photographer, Daria Bishop With my mother in law -- doesn't she look proud? My father in law enjoying the company at the cocktail hour Nice full length shot of us! I love this shot taken by one of our bridesmaids -- 1) beacuse it is the only photo of our rings on our hands like this and 2) It is a great shot of the pleats on my dress. Great shot of the bridesmaid bouquets and the Wish Bowl/Card table Totally unposed -- our groomsman caught us! My brother in his kilt in our families tartan A sweet quiet moment on the marketplace Only shot so far of my grandmother's pin in my hair! OMG our cake was SOOO good! [Back to Top] Engagement Photographs by Daria Bishop. To view a slide show of all the photos set to “I’m Old Fashioned” from my debut CD, “You’re Nearer: Love Songs of the 30’s and 40’s” click VIEW SLIDE SHOW HERE.
If you have any questions or need to reach me please email me at burlingtonbride@yahoo.com.
Looking for a small jazz group for your cocktail reception or even a singer for your ceremony? Check out my website by clicking HERE. My repertoire is mostly jazz standards – love songs from the 30’s and 40’s. View video of a live performance on a jazz festival below.
Lindsey Muir Live at the Litchfield Jazz Festival - 08.07.05
Table of Contents Our Wedding Story Wedding Photographs Engagement Photographs How We Got Engaged Engagment & Wedding Rings Candid Photos of me and FI Wedding Plans Ceremony Reception Wedding Weekend Accommodations Wedding Party & Family Women's Attire (Dress & Shoes) Men's Attire My Wedding Dress, Shoes & Veil Rehearsal Dinner Dress & Shoes Hair Inspiration Hair & Make-up Trial Flowers Pear Cake Favors Calligraphy & Paper Goods Monograms OOT Bags & Gifts Ideas Wedding Website Honeymoon Plans Bridal Shower & Spa Day FI's gift - Boudoir Photos Vendor Information Knottie GTG's
Inspiration Board
Burlington Bride's Blog
I jumped on the blogging band wagon -- check out my wedding blog HERE.
Our Wedding Story
• My fiance and I live in New York City and last summer we decided to take a New England vacation. One of our stops was in Burlington, VT and we fell in love with the city. We then decided to invite our friends and family to join us in Vermont for our wedding. We were thrilled to spend the whole weekend with 46 of our closest friends and family. Our ceremony was held in a beautiful old church followed by a restaurant reception. I know every bride says this, but it really was an amazing day. I enjoyed every minute of it and was so proud and excited!
Fun postcard from Cardcow.com
[Back to Top]
Wedding Photographs
Pro-Photos by by Daria Bishop.
Non-Pro Pics
Prior to the ceremony we took some family and wedding party photos in front of the Willard Street Inn and then it was off to the church!
The Ceremony
Saturday, September 8th: Our ceremony was held at the First Congregational Church in Burlington, VT. Rev. Adrianne Carr did a beautiful job and was so open to all of our ideas and readings. It flew by for me -- I think it was actually about 30 minutes with lovely music and an emotional moment for me at the end of the vows. We were married and processed down the isle to "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys!
Cocktail Hour & Reception
After our ceremony we processed together (stopping traffic -- so fun) from the church around the corner and up the Church Street Marketplace to Adrianas. We enjoyed an hour of cocktails (amaretto sours) and stunning weather and then went upstairs for our reception. It was just what I'd envisioned -- an intimate dinner party with great food and wine and conversation flowing.
With our wonderful photographer, Daria Bishop
With my mother in law -- doesn't she look proud?
My father in law enjoying the company at the cocktail hour
Nice full length shot of us!
I love this shot taken by one of our bridesmaids -- 1) beacuse it is the only photo of our rings on our hands like this and 2) It is a great shot of the pleats on my dress.
Great shot of the bridesmaid bouquets and the Wish Bowl/Card table
Totally unposed -- our groomsman caught us!
My brother in his kilt in our families tartan
A sweet quiet moment on the marketplace
Only shot so far of my grandmother's pin in my hair!
OMG our cake was SOOO good!
Engagement Photographs by Daria Bishop. To view a slide show of all the photos set to “I’m Old Fashioned” from my debut CD, “You’re Nearer: Love Songs of the 30’s and 40’s” click
VIEW SLIDE SHOW HERE
To learn more about the CD check out my website by clicking HERE.
At the Willard Street Inn where we will be spending the weekend of the wedding with our family and closest friends.
Down by the water (Lake Champlain) in Burlington, VT
Outside the Echo Center (Aquarium)
I love this one – notice I’m on my tip toes to kiss him! My heels for the wedding are 3.5 inches.
VIEW SLIDE SHOW HERE.
How We Got Engaged...
The Grand Plan (His version)
I envisioned golden perfection as to how I would ask Lindsey to marry me.... Lindsey's best friend would secretly pack her bags while she was at work. When she came home the bags would already be in the car and she would be under the impression we were going out for a romantic dinner. After food, I would get "turned about" and somehow end up going the wrong way toward the airport or possibly some bed and breakfast in the Berkshires. Once I felt she had caught on to my plan I would pop the question, enjoying the rest of our time. Easy, knowing she couldn't say "No" to my charm and debonair ways! (Besides, how would she get home?)
How It Actually Happened (Her version)
We had discussed marriage, so it was no surprise, but I set the bar terribly high for Nate. I asked that the proposal be thoughtful, not cliché, not in public and I bared him from every major holiday from Christmas to Valentine's day. Needless to say, I inadvertently put way too much pressure on him. When we finally moved into our apartment in NYC I began to wonder if he'd ever ask. To celebrate our first night in our new place, I brought Champagne for a toast. It was the perfect moment. So Nate began..."I'm such an idiot!" Not the way you'd accept a romantic proposal to go right? I'm puzzled and I ask, "Why?" He continues, "This is the perfect romantic moment, and I forgot the ring!" With that I began to cry. I told him "I don't need the ring, I just need you." And with that he said, "In that case, will you marry me?" I wasn't sure he was serious, so I made him ask me again before I said yes. It couldn't have been more spontaneous, and if you ask me, pretty darn romantic!
Engagment & Wedding Rings
Engagement Ring
Wedding Ring Inspriation
Wedding Ring "mock-up" (silver and fake stones) with engagement ring.
Wedding Ring "mock-up" without the engagement ring. I can't WAIT to see the real thing.
My Custom Wedding Ring is finished! (picked up July 7, 2007)
Side detail -- see the leaf?
Wedding ring with the engagement ring -- see how they "snug" perfectly?! That is why I had a custom ring made as nothing else would fit around the low original setting (early 1900's) of the engagement ring. It works perfectly with the engagement ring and stands alone as its own design beautifully as well.
Candid Photos of me and FI
In the backyard at the Willard Street Inn in Burlington where we’ll be staying with our friends and family for the wedding weekend.
Dressed up for a friends wedding (Sept. 2006)
After our personal tour of the Magic Hat Brewery in S. Burlington, VT (Aug 05)
I ask you – how cure are we?? His brother took this in the airport on the way home from a trip with his family to Florida last December.
Me with the beautiful knottie curlyjoe at her wedding (2.18.07).
Our Wedding Plans
Rehearsal Dinner:
Taste of Burlington
Our Ceremony will take place at the First Congregational Church in Burlington
Church interior
Beautiful center isle where I’ll be entering!
Sage green pew fabric – perfect with our colors! How lucky is this??
Reception
We will walk with all our guests a block and a half to Adrianas on the Church Street Marketplace for our reception.
We’ll have cocktails on their “patio” out front and then head upstairs for dinner.
They also have a great dark wooden bar that will be our “head table” as I’ve always disliked that formality.
Menu/Seating Chart Idea -- love this!
Wedding Weekend Accommodations
Willard Street Inn (from back garden).
Willard Street Inn ’s living room
We have chosen to spend our wedding weekend where it all began – at the Willard Street Inn. It’s a stunning 1880’s home that has been beautifully restored. I’m thrilled to be returning to a place that has some much meaning for us. And did I mention their breakfast is FANTASTIC?! Do check it out for a romantic weekend for a mini-break or an anniversary for all the rest of you VT brides!
Wedding Party & Family
We’ve decided not to have a tradition “MOH” and “BM.” Instead we have invited the people most important to us to participate – 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen.
The Girls:
Me with Lauren & Reese at the Cherry Blossom Festival (Brooklyn Botanic Gardens).
Me and Allison on Christmas morning, 2006.
Me with our beautiful flower girl…this is a very old photo. She is 7 years old now and very tall just like her daddy. Her father is a dear friend of 10 years and the co-producer of my debut CD ”You’re Nearer: Love Songs of the 30’s and 40’s.”
Nicole a little more grown up with her mother Liz.
The Boys:
FI’s best friend and groomsman with his wife.
From left to right – His father, his brother and FI – these are his other two groomsmen. This was taken in Disney World and was a reenactment of a picture almost 20 years earlier.
With my parents outside the Willard Street Inn in Burlington, VT. (Photo credit – Daria Bishop).
With his parents, brother and brother’s girlfriend at a cousin’s wedding.
Women's Attire (Dress & Shoes)
Color Inspirations
The Bridesmaid dress from Ann Taylor’s Celebrations Collection – beautiful chocolate silk strapless dresses with an early 50’s appeal. And when it went on sale from $188 to $99.99 it was music to my ears -- Score!
Bridesmaid shoes – Nina Gelsi “platinum crinkle” – aka: gold. We got them on sale from macys.com.
Ann Taylor’s new flower girl dress with espresso sash -- matches BM’s dress color. This might be the winner. Her mother bought her a white dress on sale before Easter and she'll be getting the Ann Taylor espresso sash to match. She promised to send me a picture of her in the dress soon.
Our flower girl in the dress her mother picked out for her with the Ann Taylor sash. Pretty darn cute if you ask me! It's not exactly the dress I would have picked myself, but I think she looks great.
My Mom in her dress
After two weekends of shopping in NYC for my mother we finally found this Carmen Marc Valvo dress at Bergdorf Goodman on crazy sale. I wanted her to feel special and beautiful at my wedding and I think we did it!
Men’s Attire
Black suits for groomsmen. I had my heart set on brown, but finding a brown rental suit (not a tuxedo) proved impossible. Money was an issue and it created WWIII with my FBIL, so I decided to let it go and find a nice black suit.
GM tie from Saks:
Father of the bride's tie:
Valentino from Bloomingdale's
Groom's tie:
Beautiful lilac and sage green tie for FI. Picked up by FI's best friend in London. This will really make him stand out as groomsmen will be in a more muted color.
The fabric sample for FI's custom made suit (with help as a gift from his best friend/GM). I can't wait to see him in it at the wedding. Although I basically picked it out he doesn't want me to come to the fittings so I'm surprised like he is on the wedding day. (As you can see below -- he changed his mind)!
Belt that FI's best friend picked up in London for him.
Custom Suit from: Alan David Custom, 16 E 40th St (Between 5th Avenue and Madison) New York, NY 10016. (212) 372-7284.
1st Suit Fitting: April 22, 2007
FI's first suit fitting with lilac and sage green tie and a close up of the belt. Last photo is FI with his best friend and groomsman. The tie, belt and half the cost of the suit were all gifts from him. Such a thoughtful best friend! (The shirt is a place holder)
2nd Suit Fitting: May 6, 2007
We went back again after the suit was tailored for him, again the shirt is a place holder. Also, the shoes he was wearing at the fitting are just regular work shoes, not the Hugo Boss shoes below he'll be wearing for the wedding.
Hugo Boss Shoes. Zappos wanted $295 and I got them for $195 at Bloomingdale's + 10% off because I opened a Bloomingdale's card.
My Wedding Dress, Shoes & Veil
Inspiration for my dress from the most beautiful actress ever! (Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face).
My Dress
A Romona Keveza short silk shantung. It makes me feel like a Degas ballerina! I figured, nothing else about this wedding is traditional, why should I wear a typical strapless floor length gown (no offence to any of you who look beautiful in your gowns). I just wanted my dress to be fun – plus it goes with the jazzy feeling of our reception location. And I can dye it later and get tons of use out of it and maybe even get a tax break if I sing in it!
This is the skirt (the top is below – they didn’t show them together on the runway)
Here is the top (shown with a long skirt) from the front
And here is the back of the top – a nice dip and buttons. Very clean.
Here I am in the sample – I’m opening the cup so I’m not so “boob-a-licous!” and adding a touch of lace at the bust line so it’s softer and a little more demure.
Here I am in the sample (it’s too small – ignore that it doesn’t close and the terrible shoes that they had me try on just for a little height).
My First Fitting (June 22, 2007) at Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier. My fitter was Melissa -- so far so good. We'll see how she did next month.
My dress hanging (it's a top and a skirt)
Me in the dress with the shoes and veil
The back of the dress (with my fitter Melissa in the shot). This is my favorite shot because you get the back with the veil, and the front and side in both mirrors.
Me with my mother -- she was so happy!
Close up of the back. I had the buttons arrive separately because they were heavy enough to pull the zipper cover (not sure if this has a name) open so you could see the zipper. I didn't want that, so we decided to have them put the buttons back on, as it's a nice detail, on the other side to obscure the zipper. No one will know but me, the seamstress and now all of you! In the picture there are a few pinned so you can see what it will look like.
Second fitting, July 18, 2007
Pictures to come...
My Veil
A sample of my veil from Rose's Bridal. Mine will be the same length, two layers, fingertip length but have no trim like the veil I tried on. Super simple. Please ignore the sleepy half smile.
My Earrings: My something old and something blue. Aquamarine and diamonds (made from an old watch fab). My maternal grandmother bought these for my college graduation (months early). She passed away just a few days before my graduation ceremony and my mother presented them to me at her funeral lunch. She and I were very close. I'm the only girl (she has 3 grandsons) so we had a very special relationship.
Shoe Ideas
Here are the shoes I was considering:
The beautiful ivybride06 wearing Stuart Weitzman peep-toe shoes and she is a SHORT DRESS BRIDE too!
And here are the Cynthia Rowley shoes I bought on www.zappos.com because I couldn’t find a size 5 anywhere! They have free shipping in both directions, so it’s a win/win. I LOVE them!
And they have blue bottoms – so I’ve got my something blue covered.
It's surprisingly difficult to photograph your own feet!
Rehearsal Dinner Dress & Shoes
Rehearsal Dinner dress & shoes! Dress: Milly on sale at Loehmanns from $250 to $69.99! The dress looks much better on me but I couldn't manage to take a picture of myself in it! It has pockets which makes me really happy.
A better look at the shoes. They are RSVP Collection from www.zappos.com. They are not wildly comfortable so I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them yet but they are SO cute.
Hair Inspiration
Above two hair ideas by stylist Matt Yeandle. Visit his website for more ideas www.beautybymatt.com.
Kottie romil’s hair trial. I love it!
Now an updo inspiration
Hair & Make-up Trial
Hair & Make-up Trail with Sarah at Aras Salon in Burlington, VT - July 14, 2007
I'm really not happy with the trail so we'll keep looking and see what I can find.
Make-up "trial" at the MAC counter at Bloomingdale's - July 18, 2007
And then in natural light:
Hair & Make-up Trial at Indigo Salon, Burlington, VT
Hair & Make-up Trial at Stephen & Burns Aveda: THE WINNER!, Burlington, VT
Make-up in natural light (hair came down so as not to spoil it for my FI
Flower Ideas (from our wonderful florist Fresh Floral Design in Shoreham, VT):
This will be the place cards for each guest. We’re having a small wedding (70 people including us) we we’ll have 3 long tables of 19 and the beautiful wooden bar will be our “head table.” I love the purple as a pop of color and the lavender will do triple duty – place cards, design element and favors!
I LOVE this for my FI and GM boutonnieres
I’m drawn to whites, browns, purples and greens. This bouquet highlights peonies which are just beautiful. I love that it’s monochromatic.
The bouquet above is inspiration for my bouquet which will have White Bouvardia, ranunculus, waxflower, and small green hydrangea tied with green ribbon.
There will be purple and white tulips filled in the rectangular vase above -- there will be many of these vases lining the platform behind us where the pulpit is. See the church photos above for a better visual.
I also adore tulips. I’ve decided not to use them for my bouquet as they are too fragile, but will have them in arrangements on our 3 long tables at the reception (white and purple alternating).
We are not using pink, but we are having 3 long tables which will have a brown runner like this. The center “arrangement” will be a vase of green pears (also on our cake – see below) then we’ll have (on either side of the pear vase) 6 floating votive candles in glass holders on square white plates with dried lavender, then skinny cylinder vases with white tulips and white and lavender freesia.
Then at the bar (which is our head table) we’ll have candles like these with dried lavender filled about one third of the way up (as people have done with coffee beans).
Another monochromatic bouquet – this time in freesia.
Idea for pews from Martha Stewart Magazine. I'll most likely do these myself as we are working on a smallish flower budget. The purple will be so pretty in the church!
The Cake
Marzipan Pear Cake. It’s perfect for us! However our wonderful baker doesn’t make marzipan. I was starting to get frustrated when a knottie came to the rescue!
Thanks to BusyBrideJMD I found these pears from www.marzipanworld.com that I plan on using.
The sample I ordered just arrived (Jan. 29, 2007). There were nine pears, but FI couldn’t resist, so now there are eight! It was yummy – he gave me a bite.
Favors
Vermont Maple Sugar Candies: Ordered in bulk from Gift Baskets by Kim
Sage Green Ribbon from Costco and brown box from Kate's Paperie blow out sale (Spring 07).
Monograms and monogram stickers from www.creativemontage.com.
Calligraphy & Paper Goods
Samples from Calligrapher, Michele Clark (contact info at bottom of bio under Vendors). Highly recommended!
All lower case – modern and informal (like our invitations)
And the winner is...a combination of the two! All lower case like our inviations with a more formal fine chancery script. I love it!
Final Product: Michele Clark did a beautiful job. I'd HIGHLY recommend her. She is very reasonable and made calligraphy work within our budget (never thought we could afford such a luxury).
Invitations & Save-the-dates
I recently came across a fantastic relatively new company called “Creative Montage.” It is owned and operated by the daughter of a friend of my mother’s along with her husband. She has some beautiful “ready made” invitations competitively priced with places like mygatsby.com, but much nicer! She also does custom designs and monograms for your whole day! Check her out at www.creativemontage.com.
We finally decided on the following invitation suite
Our proof of the “Brooke” STD! Mailed on January 3, 2007
Addressing our STD’s
Sample of my block printing (I was shocked how well they came out).
And all tied up and ready for the post office! Pfew.
Our Invitations
Our invitations arrived today (April 30, 2007)! Aimee from www.creativemontage.com did a beautiful job. This is what I saw when I opened the box.
Our “Brooke” Invitation
Our “Brooke” RSVP postcard
Our “Brooke” RSVP postcard (front)
Our “Brooke” Reception Card
“Brooke” Table Number
“Brooke” Thank You Note
Wedding Map
Front of Wedding Map insert. Wonderful FI made our wedding map to be mailed with our invitations. I've ordered extra card stock to match our invitations and FBIL has a heavy duty color printer at work and offered to print them for us.
Update -- both FBIL and professional printer printed so poorly (on the textured card stock) that I had to "let it go" along with the $30 in wasted card stock, and let them use their "natural white" flat paper which is a pretty close color match to our "cream" wedding stationary. Here is how they actually came out:
Directions -- on the back of the wedding map will be these directions. The directions are also included in the OOT booklet/welcome letter in case they forget to bring it with them.
Custom Stamps from www.Zazzle.com
Because of the postage increase and the delay in the new "wedding stamp" from the USPS I decided to make custom stamps for my envelopes with our mongograms. Great use of the monogram (used one for the envelope and another for the RSVP postcard), and because Zazzle was having a sale they ended up being $.59 each for custom $.41 first class postage. That's only $.18 extra which ended up being a total of about $20 extra for 120 stamps! Totally worth it not to have a panther on my RSVP postcard. Also there will be 30 extra so I figured I'd use the extras on the Thank You cards!
All ready for the Post office. Mailed on June 21, 2007!
DIY Wedding Menu
Test Print of wedding menu. Designed in Publisher and printed on matching textured card stock from our ink jet printer at home. See print screen below:
Monograms
Our beautiful monograms from Aimee at Creative Montage . The pale color is actually a much cheerier green and prints a bit more vivid than it appears.
OOT Bags & Gifts Ideas
Idea for OOT welcome gift
From knottie TarHeels&Rebels. This would be so perfect to hang on the room doors at our beautiful B&B where we’re taking all 14 rooms. It looks very Martha Stewart and I’m not too crafty – any ideas how I could make this or something similar?
OOT gift bags from the wonderful VTBride2Be. She got them at www.papermart.com. See them HERE. At $10.07 for 25 – you can’t go wrong. I think this is going to be what we decide.
I did end up getting the exact same bags as VTBride2Be. They arrived quickly are great quality and are big enough to fit lots of goodies! Thanks VTBride2Be.
OOT Booklet - 1st draft on regular computer paper. I plan to print the cover on nicer cream stock.
Cover of OOT Booklet. The green from our monogram didn't scan very well, but you get the idea.
First and second pages. Welcome letter on the left and a wedding day of time line along with directions to the church from all three hotels.
Pages three and four -- A map of downtown Burlington and a suggested list of "Things to do" and "Places to Eat." These are our favorite things to do and restaurants so it makes it a bit more personal.
Pages five and six -- One of our engagement photos by Daria Bishop followed by a list of important numbers and a pharmacy near each of the three hotels in case anyone needs anything.
Back cover has our address for our guests records -- also it indicates I'm taking FI's name as it says Nathan & Lindsey (soon to be) [FI's last name here].
Card Box for reception. Great bargin: $8.06 at Laytner's Linen & Home on Broadway & 82nd.
Brown favor boxes at Katie's Paperie on sale ended up costing $.61 per box (on sale from $1.50 per box).
Favor box next to 50 yards of sage green ribbon I picked up at Costco for a great deal (can't remember what I paid). I will wrap the favor boxes with the ribbon and seal them with a monogram sticker from Creative Montage.
The crowd we have to "brave" to make it to the Kate's Paperie sale! The first beautiful day of spring - 74 degrees!
We also picked up a Kolo photo box for FMIL as a wedding gift. She has piles and piles of photos in a drawer and doesn't seem to like albums, so we thought this would be a nice way to store/organize her photos. We'll start her off with some of our engagement photos and then wedding photos when we get them. It was on sale for $24.80 (from $31).
Fun with Engagement Photos
Something fun to do with your engagement photos – we sent a holiday card to our friends and family using our beautiful engagement photos. We used KodakGallery.com, but had some trouble with getting the order right – know that what you see in their print preview is exactly how it will print even if you picked a different font, size etc. Once they got it right, the product was a nice quality.
Mini-Cards will act as place cards
Thanks to another knottie I discovered “mini-cards.” You can get 100 mini cards with 1-100 pictures on the front and text on the back. $19.99 + $5 shipping - you can't beat that! I’m using them for my place cards. They will be attached to lavender bundles. Check out www.moo.com to learn more.
My "moo cards" arrived -- YAH!
They are quite thick and appear matte finish. I love them. I took a flower shaped 1/4 inch hole punch (from Katie's Paperie) and punched a hole at the top to tie them with rafia to our lavendar bundle place cards. The backs will be calligraphed with each guest's name.
Lavender Bundle Inspiration.
I'd like to try a version of the famous Martha Stewart "wishing bowl" so that guests don't have to stand in line for one guest book. This way they can take the cards back to their tables and write them at their leisure.
My fantastic florist, Dana from Fresh comes through again! The vase on the left if very similar to what she'll have for us (and set up our guest "book" table). The vase she'll be using has a wider opening -- perfect for placing cards inside!
Bridesmaid Gifts
Golden Pearl Earrings on sale from Dasha Boutique. They arrived beautifully wrapped in a black box with a purple bow and the box was placed in a purple mesh bag with a tie. They also have a 15-20% discount on Bridesmaid Jewelry depending on how many you order.
Gifts for Bridesmaids -- Body Shop was having a sale -- 2 for $10 so I coudln't pass it up. I got each girl a body butter and body scrub -- 3 yummy flavors; one for each girl: Grapefruit, Brazil Nut, and Passion Fruit.
Personalized Note Cards for Bridesmaids
I found the above personalized note cards from www.citywrites.com but couldn't spend $52 for 25 cards.
So I'm bought extra card stock from Creative Montage and had them cut in quarters making 4.25" by 5.5" note cards by AlphaGraphics on 5th Avenue and 28th Street. Then I rounded the corners with my trusty corner rounder and had Michele Clark, our wonderful calligrapher, calligraph their full names on the cards. Each girl has their own custom font and color too. The cards will end up being about $11.25 per girl. (Breakdown: $3 for 25 cards + $4.50 for 25 envelopes + $3.75 calligraphy ($.15 per card) = $11.25 per bridesmaid! Great budget gift and so lovely.
I got a different color envelope for each girl plus sage green for me. And I got some metallic pens for them to go with the stationary. Kate's Paperie was having a 20%-80% off sale as their SoHo store is moving. The girl who helped us was not the sharpest crayon in the box so we ended up with about 68% off instead of 50% so the envelopes ended up being about $.18 each. Score!
And for an added touch I'll finish them off with this great corner rounding punch from www.impressrubberstamps.com that I got on sale for $7.20. I'm also going to use this for the wedding maps and our menus.
The punch even arrived with this sweet hand written thank you note from the owner! Nice touch, no?
Sugar Lip Treatment was given to me as a gift about 2 years ago by one of my BM's and now I can't live without it. It's my total splurge at $22.50. If the budget allows I'll get each girl one. More luxurious treatments can be found at www.fresh.com.
To complete the BM's gifts -- sweet little make-up cases from 1154 Lill Studio.
For $36 each you can pick custom fabric for each girl. 1154 Lill Studio also has an array of bags, clutches, wallets etc. If you buy 5 of the same purses for your BM's you get a discount. Check it out at www.1154lill.com
"If I had the money..." section
Classy alternative to the “bathroom basket” from www.valseyandme.com. The box holds 40 mini soaps which are personalized with your married name and the kind of soap you pick (five scents). It also comes in white or black. Refills of 20 additional soaps are $25.
They also have this smaller version that would be a nice favor or bridesmaid gift. Holds 10 mini soaps – great “couple gift” as these are $20 each! The mini is only available in white.
Playing Card Gifts
Fun gift idea for your wedding party or even in your OOT bags to keep your guests entertained (or when the men are waiting for the women to get dressed)! These are $19.99 (25% off duplicate orders) from www.snapfish.com. Membership is free and once you’re logged in and your photos are uploaded, click on “Store” on the top, then you’ll see gift options on the left. Click on "playing cards.”.
Cute brown sugar hearts for coffe cups -- great at the reception or as favors. Click here to see more: www.pinkproducts.co.uk. I found another source for similar sugar hearts -- Sur La Table. 64 sugar hearts for $24.95. I'm seriously considering buying a box...where does the desire for little things like this end?!
Cookie Valise from www.bandgcookie.com. $18 for 1/2 dozen cookies of brownies and it comes in this cute brown mini-suitcase! If only I had $18 to spend on every one of our guests. A girl can dream.
Wedding Website
Our wedding website was created with yahoo site builder for free! They have a few templates and it was so easy to do that I ended up being our “webmaster” and I don’t know much about web design etc. Learn more at sitebuilder.yahoo.com. We simply purchased our domain name and off we went!
Honeymoon
Avila Beach Hotel, Curacao.
Bridal Shower & Day Spa
August 19, 2007: My bridesmaids told me to "reserve August 19 for them." That is all I knew about my bridal shower. On the day I was told to stay in my room (at my parents) "until I was called." They brought me to a spa and we had manicures, pedicures and I got a 1/2 hour massage. They brought mimosas and chocolate covered strawberries. It was fantastic. Then on our way out I walked into another room at the salon and "SURPRISE!" My bridal shower was at the salon. It was such a treat. Below are pictures from the day.
FI's gift - Boudoir Photos
"Intime" (aka boudoir) Photos taken by Tony Yang in his NJ Studio
Photo session was July 18, 2007. Proofs are here (as of end of July).
Here are a few of the proofs that I got back from Tony Yang. These have not been post processed. It will be interesting to see what he does to "touch up" the images.
Vendor Information
Photographer: Daria Bishop Videographer: Wes Jones Ceremony: First Congregational Church, Burlington, VT Reception: Adrianas Florist: Fresh Floral Design Ceremony/Cocktail Hour Music: Solo Guitarist from Boston area -- Brendan Burns Reception Music: iPod place list as the space is too small for live music Wedding Cake: Mirabelles Café, Burlington, VT Marzipan Pears: www.marzipanworld.com STDs and Invitations: Creative Montage Placecard Moo tags www.moo.com Calligrapher: Michele Clark, calligraphybymichele@verizon.net, 718-967-3559 Wedding Dress: Romona Keveza from Mark Ingram’s Bridal Atelier in NYC. BM dresses: Ann Taylor Fiona Jacquard Dress Men’s Attire: We’re having a suit custom made for my FI by "Alan David Custom" 16 E 40th St (Between 5th Avenue and Madison) New York, NY 10016. (212) 372-7284. Rehersal Dinner: Taste of Burlington Wedding Weekend Accommodations: Willard Street Inn Hair & Make-up: Stephen & Burn Aveda Salon in Burlington, VT. Officiant: Rev. Adrianne Carr Favors: Mapple sugar candies by Gift Baskets by Kim
Knottie GTG's
Knottie GTG 7-19-07 at Zen Palate in Union Square. L-R: Lawyergirl, BurlingtonBride, Lisichka, Roselike, Sweet_Sin78, No Knot Name, Kenia-Ralph, Nova726, 847Christine, AnotherName, Carrieland, AugBride07
Bling Shot!
Knottie GTG 6-11-07 at the 79th Street Boat Basin From left to right: 315Bride, Soon2BMrs.Kocal, BurlingtonBride (me), NYCBella, Carrieland, SafariGirl, 847Christine, AnotherName, jocelynpo, NYCNHEmily, Lisichka and katydid2007. (Please correct me if I made any mistakes with your knottie names).
Knottie GTG 5-19-07 From left to right: Carrieland, soontobepkg, 847Christine, BurlingtonBride (me), Kimberlynyc, Soon2BMrs.Kocal, 315Bride, OctBride101307
Kottie GTG 1-24-07 From left to right: Katydid2007, BurlingtonBride (me), BethanyBez, 315Bride, Carrieland, SafariGirl, lucky7crazy8.
Knottie GTG, 11-15-06. From left to right: BrooklynBridge (standing), mrsraygunn, Carrieland, blm5383, BethanyBez, 315bride, curlyjoe, BurlingtonBride (ME).
Bling Shot
More to come as the planning continues!