Favor Table

We started working on our favors months ago, when the berries were fresh. We made 120 jars of jams and decorated them with a gingham topper tied with twine. We packaged the jams in regular brown lunch sacks with a personalized label from my wedding labels (dot) com. (we also got matching labels for the jam). The jams went into the bag with three shortbread cookies, a biodegradable cornstarch knife, and a napkin. My family and I spent a lot of time on the favors, and when it was all said and done, we all agreed that it was worth the time. I got a lot of compliments and I'm so happy with how they came out.

Bouquets

Being that I got married in a small town, my options for flowers were limited. I had previously contacted the florist in Millinocket and got a quote of $250 for 2 bouquets and 2 boutonnieres- that was a lot more than I wanted to spend so I decided then, that I would be making my own. I researched mail order flowers but got mixed reviews and wasn't ready to take the chance.
Wednesday before the wedding we took one finally trip to Bangor to finish up shopping and to look at bulk flowers at Sam's Club because my mother had seen nice looking flowers there for a good price a month before. Unfortunately, the flower selection there was very poor that day so we decided we would look at the local grocery store back in millinocket and if that didn't pan out, I would carry some hydrangeas. Back in Millinocket the next day, we heard that a local greenhouse had just started carrying cut flowers and so we went to check that out. JACKPOT! The selections were great and we ended up choosing three types of flowers and two greenery supplements and we walked out of there with some great supplies for less than $30. That, along with the ribbon I had picked up at Joann's brought the total to $45 for two bouquets- not too shabby! Saturday morning there were plenty of things to do and so when my friend Jackie offered to turn the loose flowers into bouquets I didn't think twice about saying yes. I didn't really care how they turned out, or at least I didn't think I did, but when I saw they finished product tears welled up! I can't believe what a great job she did and I really felt touched by the obvious care she took creating them. Shout out to Jackie! You missed your calling Chiquita!

Here's a great shot of my flowers and a poor one of Andrea's but hey, look how cute she looks with our little man!

Guest and Gift Table

It's been a long time but I'm back and I'm a Mrs!! Yee, Haw!

So, now that I've finally got some free time on my hands I don't know what to do with myself. I'm going to start by showing off the projects I took the DIY route with- because I'm so proud and pleased with how everything turned out. (All photos can be enlarged by clicked on them.)


I posted the RSVPs on a cork board covered with fall fabric and displayed it at the dinner on Friday night. I saw a lot of people enjoying it and I heard a lot of people saying they should have got it together and done some art work. Of the 90 invitations we sent out, only 40 were returned with some art work as we had requested. Bah Humbugs!





Two views of our guest book/gift table. I had wanted two separate tables for these things I just assumed I would have them, I didn't know that most people use one table for both and unfortuntly, there wasn't another table available, so what did I do? Well, I'm proud to say, I shrugged it off and went with the flow. It's a bit crowded but I think it still looks good.
We did a version of the wish tree using cards I had made. I used spare paper I had and printed out an inspiring word on each card and stamped them with the same leaf design I used on the invitations. We got a lot of great cards and I thought they looked beautiful hanging on our tree.

For the card box, I repurposed an old travel case that had belonged to my husbands grandmother. It looked great and was perfect for cards plus I was glad to have some family "heirlooms" present.

my lips are sealed

a quick blog to respond to the hundreds of emails i've received demanding my speedy return to blogging. This might be a slight exaggeration, or it might not be. You be the judge.

The projects are mostly finished but I've decided not to blog until after the wedding, mostly because I am feeling an enormous amount of stress but also because I want there to be some surprises for my guests. So, to all you demanding readers, I say, "patience is a virture." HA HA (Nelson)

More creative RSVPs

Favor Sign

Inspired by the above photo from Martha's latest wedding magazine, I am trying to create a simalar look for our favor table. As I've mentioned before, we made jam for favors and we're packaging them in lunch style paperbags along with shortbread cookies and an eco-friendly knife. My plan is to use two flower pots with branches in them to simulate bare trees and to hang the sign I made from these. Here's the sign I made.

Our RSVP Situation

Along with our invitations, I sent out RSVP postcards. In our pursuit to inspire creativity and fun we left one side of the postcard blank and printed a small line of instruction at the bottom of the printed side which reads, "please make some art on the back of this card for our scrapbook!"

As you probably can guess, some people didn't do anything on the back (BOO! HISS!) but a surprise amount of people stepped up to the plate and I love 'em for it. So, without further ado, please enjoy some of the great art we have been receiving in the mail this past week!