Whatever Weekend – Whimsical Weddings

Okay, so that’s a lot of alliteration in the title.

Really, though, a friend of mine is planning a wedding, and it has me all nostalgic!

Tom and I have been married nearly 5 and a half years now.

Photo by Tom Thompson

Our wedding was outdoors, with simple fall decorations (lots of plum and green,) and a laid back, picnic-style atmosphere, with a pie bar instead of wedding cake.

Photo by Tom Thompson

Mmmm pie.

It also makes me nostalgic for our friend Tiinia’s wedding. She and her husband, Kevin, were married on the haunt grounds where the work on Friday the 13th. Costumes were encouraged, and the style was a delightful combo of horror and glamorous vintage.

My friend, Tessa, is planning a simple, elegant ceremony, and an Alice in Wonderland themed reception. I’m so excited to help her with decorations for the reception! I’ve loved Alice since I was a little girl, and the possibilities are practically endless.

So, I’ve been working on some inspiration boards on Polyvore.com, a site where you can create your own boards for fashion, beauty, or just for fun.

Here’s some inspiration for her bridal and ceremony style:

Then there’s the reception:

We’ll be thrifting for tea cups, saucers, and pots, clocks, rabbits, and mushrooms, next week.

If you’re planning a wedding, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Keep a check list, and focus on marking one thing off at a time. Here’s a great list that helps you finish each to-do in time: The Knot Wedding Checklist.

2. Create a budget. Once you’ve decided what kind of venue you want (indoor or outdoor, formal or relaxed, etc.,) the kind of food you want to serve, and your wedding style, start working on your budget. If you don’t have all the money you need right now, open a savings account that you can add to each pay period to pay for upcoming costs. Use The Knot Wedding Budget along with your checklist.

3. Ask for help. Ask reliable friends and family to help with tasks you know they can manage. If you have a crafty friend, ask them to help with decorations. If you have an aunt who loves to bake, have her make edible favors, or even the wedding cake if she’s that awesome. Delegate responsibilities to your groomsmen and bridesmaids, like tailoring and dry cleaning, and the bachelor/bachelorette parties. You might feel the need to have your hand in everything to make sure it’s perfect, but it will be worth your sanity (and your beauty sleep!) to accept others’ help.

4. Enjoy your engagement. Make it a point to date during your engagement. Take time away from planning (turn off your electronics if you need to,) and just spend time with your significant other. The engagement flies by, so treasure every second!

Married? What was your wedding like? Any inspiration photos? Any advice you’d like to give brides to be?

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday – Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Yesterday was a doozy. Despite it’s doozy-ness, I did get to see a very special friend of mine, along with several other old friends, while she’s in town from Chicago. We’ve known each other since kindergarden, went to school together all the way through high school, although we grew apart then, and began talking again years later. Her father passed away around the same time my grandmother passed away, and I just so happened to find her online around that time. She had a back to school party (I wasn’t even going to school at the time, but another old friend would be there,) where she told me she had “this cute guy” she wanted me to meet. That cute guy asked me out the same night, and we’ve been married for over two years now! I owe her a lifetime of happiness that follows a time of great sadness, when it comes right down to it.

Here are some pictures from last night:

She gave me this really thoughtful gift – a book, signed by the author, Chuck Palahniuk. It was around the time Mom was going through treatment, and he asked her to tell him something about me. She gave a brief (and flattering!) synopsis, and he signed the book, “To the best daughter ever.” He told her that he’d taken care of his mom when she was sick, too, and that he understood. How cool is that? I cried.

Anyway, I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people who surround me. All of them have changed my life. All of them are amazing, and even if they aren’t around on a day-to-day basis, they each have a part of my heart with them, and I have a part of theirs.

I hope you all have a season full of love like that. The love that just won’t go away. I’ll be gone from the blog scene for a week or so – the hubs and I will be spending time with family on all sides. Enjoy every minute you have with every person you love!

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Whatever Weekend – Happy Anniversary, Have Some Shoes

Tomorrow, my husband and I will be married for 2 years! He’s taking the day off, and we’re going to spend the whole day together. I’m going to fix him one of his favorite breakfasts – strawberries and biscuits, and we’re going to do whatever we darn well please.

I don’t know what the traditional 2 year gifts are (I think year 1 was paper,) but this year he got a coffee pot, and I got some shoes. Yep. And we gave them to each other early, because, let’s be honest, we have nowhere to hide a coffee pot and a pair of boots and flats from each other. It’s like trying to play hide and seek in our apartment – it just doesn’t work. To be fair, I do have a couple of little surprises for him tomorrow, but that’s about it – shoes and coffee. To be fair, Tom loves coffee and can’t live without it, and a dripping caraffe was really getting on his nerves. He was happy to get a new coffee pot; actually, he asked for it. And honestly, I love shoes, and I couldn’t think of anything else to ask for. My beloved boots are beginning to fall apart, and I need a new pair. 

It’s ironic that a barefoot runner bought his wife shoes, that a girl who’d rather have a good cup of tea bought her husband a coffee pot, and you might laugh at the mundane nature of the gifts, but why get something the other won’t use? We’re easily amused and completely content, and genuinely want to make sure the other is happy with their gift. So what if they weren’t wrapped? So what if we didn’t wait until tomorrow to exchange them? Now, every morning Tom makes coffee, he’ll think of me, and every time I slip on my favorite pair of shoes, I’ll think of him.

Share the Love,

Chelsea