Beautiful Bouquets

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No fun projects this week-- the "spring forward" today caught me totally off guard PLUS I stayed up way too late reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (talk about food for thought...). I do, however, have a very nifty DIY for centerpieces that I found today on Pinterest!

I've long been in love with the submerged centerpiece look-- I think it's a great way to add a touch of color and work in floating candles, but without being overwhelming and in-your-face like some taller flower arrangements can be. But, it's a bit of a pain to think about-- getting fresh cut flowers and making sure they're not underwater too long, trying to place them so they don't get singed by the candles, etc. As usual, Pinterest provided me with a "duh" moment today...

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What's that you say? Silk flowers look better submerged in water? Duh. 

So, for a cheap and easy fix to an elegant centerpiece, pick up some silk flowers, distilled water, and dollar store vases-- I'll try this out next weekend and let you know if it looks as good as it does on Pinterest!

Winter Weddings: Really Red Romance

Moreso than any other winter month, February gets a bad wrap. I'm not gonna lie, I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else, but just like with any other winter month there's a lot you can do to brighten things up-- especially when everyone inevitably suggests you have a Valentine's Wedding!

In the spirit of love and cheering this dreary, chilly, wet month up for those of us in the States, Here's your Valentine's Wedding, Pt. I:

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I adore the edible centerpieces, and what goes better with champagne than chocolate dipped strawberries? And with a helpful wedding party, they'd be so easy to make! Heart cookies would make adorable favors, and with a paper cutter and a heart shaped punch you could put together a quick and easy thank you note to compliment them! Best of all, a striking red and white contrast will make the head table pop! To see these pins and more, visit my Valentine's Wedding Pinboard on Pinterest!

Pretty in Pink

My dear sister Lauren is getting married on St. Patrick's day, but isn't going with that luck o' the Irish feel-- instead, their colors are pink and navy blue! It's a trendy combination these days, and why not? They go so well together and there's a little bit of masculine and feminine; something for everyone!

I started thinking about centerpieces for her this weekend and since they're having an outdoor wedding on a farm, I love the idea of upscale rustic (there are a LOT of oxymorons in event planning!) for them. I stumbled across some white and pink flowers on sale at the grocery store and put together the following:

I think these would also be perfect for a Valentine's Wedding with the soft pink colors and generous helping of white!

Winter Wonderland

Happy December, y'all!

Winter weddings are close to my heart after my own accidental winter wedding, and I think there is SO much you can do to make it anything you want!

For starters, decor-- the first thing I thought of when I knew I would be having a December wedding was a Winter Wonderland with soft, cozy lighting and frosty looking centerpieces. There's so much more to it, though, depending on where you have your wedding/reception, what time of day, and what kind of couple you are!

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With soft icicle lighting draping the ceiling, beautiful epsom salt luminaries on the tables, and snowballs greeting your guests at the door, elegance awaits at a beautiful winter wedding!

I'll do a few of these winter wedding pieces, so to start here's the "classic" Winter Wonderland with a bit of a twist! Keep up with these items and more on my Winter Wedding Pinboard on Pinterest!

Halloween Dream

I. Love. Halloween! AND Thanksgiving, so my fall roots go a lot deeper than I ever thought. When I was a girl, I couldn't decide if I wanted a Halloween wedding or a Springtime wedding. I ended up with neither, but I had decided that a spring wedding would be easily decorated and way prettier. Now, however, I'm not so sure!

The number of pumpkin-based crafts and decorations out there are ENDLESS! From using stockings to spray painting, our favorite gourd is quite the scene-stealer, and with a spray of bleach and water it will even keep a few days. The other amazing thing is the number of colors they come in naturally-- there are white pumpkins at a nearby church every single year! Combine them with other natural elements for some beautiful nature-iffic touches on your tables.

Check out the centerpieces below and more on my Fall Wedding Pinboard at Pinterest!

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Simple Centerpieces

Today's Markdown Monday is a referral to a DIY tutorial for the prettiest centerpieces I've seen in a while! I feature these in my post on Friday, but I think they would be amazing year round-- I'll be trying them out soon so look for an update on their real-life ease and beauty.

To find out how to make them yourself, head over to Crafty By Amanda!

Green-ish Centerpieces!

OK, so one of my favorite ideas for weddings is sending centerpieces home with people, and one of the biggest complaints that I hear from those trying to reduce waste (and, honestly, I tend to concur) is the amount of money people spend on flowers for centerpieces that just go to waste. I think you can not only save a lot of money but be a little bit more environmentally friendly by doing some other centerpiece options that would be more likely to be re-used by you OR your guests!

This is an example of my new obsession:

And this is what those nifty little things look like outside the vase:

AOII had our International Convention in Tucson at the J. W. Marriott Starr Pass in June and these were on the table for our Expanding Horizions dinner. I've just been dying over these-- there were blue and red and pink and green and OH the colors! But where to find these magical things? For a while, I thought they were maybe like the little beads you put in your plants to keep them hydrated and a colored LED in the center.

Oh, no, it's much cooler than that!

Water gems in EVERY color!! You can get them pre-hydrated or, much less expensively, un-hydrated. If you're traveling for a wedding, the un-hydrated would clearly be an optimal choice-- they're small enough you could fit an entire wedding's worth of water gems in your makeup bag!

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Pop 'em in water, watch 'em fill up, and then set in a vase with a FloraLyte ($2/ea) and you've got yourself a centerpiece that costs less than $7/each! BRILLIANT! Best part? You could stick your bouquet in one and keep it hydrated, and the gems (purportedly) last so you can send an awesome centerpiece home with your favorite guests that they can whip out for parties. Plus, the kids will love playing with the gems! (No lie, I sat there and played with them for like half an hour during awards)