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!

This here's a tale for all you fellas...

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day-- day of love, romance and "OH CRAP!" Randall of xkcd had a great comic about it today, in fact...

Now, I know all my ladies are prepared because that's the nature of our half of the population but the gents... well, there's always a wonderful crush of fellas racing for those last few roses at the store! I also know that my loving husband hates buying things for me because I can always find a deal, so this one's for you guys!

Who says you need to spend $50 on cut flowers and a vase? Tomorrow, you can stop by your nearest thrift store/Salvation Army/whathaveyou and pick up a vase for fifty cents, and pick up some pink, purple, and white flowers at the grocery store. Your lady will be so impressed you went to the trouble, it will totally make up for not paying through the nose for the smallest bouquet FTD has to offer! (which is mostly carnations, anyway)

"But Meg!" you exclaim, "I don't know how to do that!" No worries, my friend, here's a basic tutorial on picking up flowers and putting them in a vase. Low on effort, high on reward! You can use the money you saved to take her out for a nice dessert or pick up a bottle of wine!

Get yourself the basics-- a vase, some water, flowers, and scissors!

I had this vase around, but it cost me about fifty cents at the thrift store

I love the colors here, and this was the $5 bunch!

Get an idea of how much taller the original stem is than your vase

On an angle cut off a couple inches to start with

Still a little tall! Cut off another inch or two to get it about right

Cut the rest of your flowers at varying heights-- all one height is boring!

Don't: leave on wilty looking leaves and flowers! They'll make the bunch last a shorter amount of time!

Don't: Feel like you need to use all the included schtuff-- this one was included in the bunch, but I didn't think it was necessary. Simple is good!

Voila! Your bouquet is ready for presenting! 

And pretty from any angle!

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!

Destination Wedding... or is it?

A post by my designer hero, Amy Atlas, made me suddenly think-- who needs a destination wedding? Why not a wedding destination?

OK, that didn't make the same kind of sense on paper, but you get what I'm saying. Why fly halfway across the world? Why spend the money? Why make your friends and family spend the money? (unless you're trying to pare down your guest list, in which case you can just skip this post)

Hear me out for a minute, and take a look at my Pinterest board (oh, hello new obsession!) to see what I mean...

For save-the-dates, or even invitations, you can make up some vintage-style Hawaiian postcards to send out to everyone. I loved these postcards when I visited and bought a handful for myself. I'm willing to bet you could find them online in bulk, or just do the image up on your own cardstock.

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Find a nice park or outside venue that doesn't mind you trucking in a little sand, or if they do then use some outdoor-approved seat cushions in a sand color to make the ground look a little more inviting!

A nice colorful cake (the surprise is key!), green tablecloths, blue accents, and plenty of fresh tropical fruit will tie the whole thing together. Toss some paper umbrellas (super cheap from places like Oriental Trading Company) down for drinks, mix up a few jugs of Mai Tais and everyone will be set to go!

Invite your guests to dress in tropical wear-- linens, sarongs, and tank tops and have ushers greet them all with leis (also cheap from OTC), and if kids are allowed you can pick up some beach balls and bubbles for them to play with during the reception. If you're lucky enough to have local musicians who can play some sweet luau music you're all set, and if not you can find plenty of CDs to set the mood.

My mind is racing, there's so much more you could do with this idea!! And the best part is that you could do this for ANY destination wedding setting!

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!

(FloraLyte)

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)

It IS easy being Green!

Kermit the frog's got nuthin' on us these days! Eco Friendly weddings are all the rage, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I think there are so many ways to do a Green wedding and they range from the smallest of gestures to the grandest-- same goes for the price!

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about our wedding, but since it's the only one I've planned from start to finish it's getting center stage yet again!

Ours was small and on a tight budget, so we used recyclable plates, flatware and cups and served drinks in cans and glass bottles that could be recycled. Sure it isn't a lot, but it's enough to show an effort and enough to make your guests feel like they're involved in the process. Here are a few other ideas we used that were simple, easy, and effective!

The favors were in unwaxed paper boxes (which meant they could be recycled) and the extras were donated as stocking stuffers for a local women's shelter.

Nobody minded the prosecco in a plastic cup! I think most of my friends were happy to not have to worry about dropping their glass, and there wasn't a large load of dishes to be done at the end of one little toast!

Since our city lets us recycle EVERYTHING, even the foil wrappers on the cupcakes were recycled! (check with your local recycling plant to see what they'll take)

We didn't have a lot to spend on flowers, so we splurged on sustainably farmed roses and just had smaller arrangements and a few stems in bud vases on the tables for the reception. The smaller bouquets were easy to carry and handle (I've seen bridal bouquets that weighed 20lb!) and didn't leave us feeling like we'd wasted flowers at the end of the day. 

I gots some asplainin to do!

So the husband and I have just moved, and as a moving present AT&T decided not to let us have internet for two weeks! So on top of coming straight home from AZ (which gave me plenty of inspiration!) and starting to move, I didn't even have internet!

As you can imagine, between the time change and the move I've been exhausted to distraction and of course that's when I start coming across all sorts of inspiration. There's loads coming up including a blast from the past, DIY/low budget takes on high class events, and snippets of Convention and the amazing things from Arizona. WHEW!

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, back to work... hope you enjoy!

-M

Gift Horsing Around

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So your wedding party is spread out over the US and you've been dreaming of gift cards as a final thank you for their assistance... but how do you know what's in their area? What if they're picky? What if they already have everything and couldn't really use another Target gift card?

Enter the online discount industry! Groupon, Half Off Depot, Double Take Deals, LivingSocial, Crowd Cut, and others are spread around the US and tend to pick the better restaurants and shops in the area to promote with deals. Just check out the hometown deals and get them dinner, lunch, or even a massage!

Do you have a coop-un?

We all know that couponing is a big thing right now, and though I'm not the Extreme Couponing type I certainly enjoy a Groupon or two!

This week, we'll look at the many uses of these online coupon sites and ways to utilize local coupons in planning your wedding, putting together a rehearsal dinner or reception, purchasing gifts for your wedding party, and getting ready for your wedding!

At Home Reception

A few weeks ago, when spring was just coming out and everyone was venturing outside, we invited some friends over for dinner! Given that we lucked out on the front porch department, we sat outside and had a wonderful relaxing night.

I sat there thinking about other parties we've had and how much fun it is to bring everyone in and enjoy each other's company! I know families who have done receptions at their homes, and while it's a bit stressful to pull the house together, you could spend all the venue rental money on food and drinks, the bride and groom can throw on a casual dress and suit, and if you have the back yard for it you could even just do a short ceremony and turn everyone loose!

Just think about it, you could do what we did this evening and make a ravioli bar (all you need is a little camp stove to keep the water boiling!), you could do a mac and cheese bar, you can use paper and plastic goods that will go straight in to your recycling bin, and you can throw some croquet sets, bean bag games, and horse shoes out and everyone can grab a beer and relax!

Ring Pop Jokes Galore

In a fit of exhaustion, I turned to my Facebook friends list for inspiration tonight-- I knew I could count on Krystal! I've seen in passing this new fad, Cake Pops, but hadn't paid much attention to it, but Krystal brought it up again so I've looked a little more in to it and I still don't know how I feel about it...

Pink

Cup Cake Pops

Blue

I haven't had one yet, but in theory they're pretty good and a lot of folks are starting up small businesses with them! I may not rush out to buy one, but since they're easily made (see Bakerella) I'll champion them as the perfect do it yourself treat for the cake table or the favors table! 

Woah mama!

We've all heard about the overbearing mother who wants to run the wedding-- but what to do?! Having someone like myself around (aka, a wedding planner) can help a lot; frequently mothers feel like their daughter's wedding is something they should be helping to plan. Traditionally, it is; times have changed, however, and during my wedding my mother and I were both working more than full time, my mother-in-law to be and almost all my bridesmaids were in different states, and life was generally hectic. I would have killed, even on my limited budget, to have a wedding planner!

If your mother gets upset and you don't have someone to help sort the situation out, explain that you value her opinion and find something she's wonderful at that she can help with. Her feelings may be hurt in the short run, but when she's relaxed enough on your wedding day to enjoy herself she will see that it was all in love! Not to mention, it's not selfish or outrageous for everything to contribute something amazing to the wedding. My mother, who did more than what she got credit for, was given a break until the week of when I begged her to do the flowers. There was miscommunication on the design I wanted, but when I saw them I almost cried-- they were perfect!! I suspect that even if she only does one thing for recognition, your mother will be as thrilled as mine at the love you have for what she's done!