Random Inspiration Pictures

Who knows if we'll incorporate ANY of these ideas, but these are all pictures that I found that caught my attention bc I love the creativity each of the pictures encorporates.

 Pom Pons sprinkled down the aisle

 

Printed buffet menus & tissue paper flowers

 

Rose petals laid out in a swirl design

 

 Bright colored ribbon flags

Cupcake stand topped with a small cake

 

...or a small tiered cake WITH cupcakes. Love the cupcake wrappers

 

Picture sign showing guests where to go

'Famous couples' sign

On that note, sweet dreams!

-Lisa

Paper Straws

My inspiration

A while ago, I saw this picture online of striped paper straws at a wedding reception, and I fell in love. I could imagine them displayed at the reception bar, as props for pictures and a personalized detail that would make the wedding more 'us.' I couldn't wait to show Patrick!

My hopes were dashed b/c when I told him about that ADORABLE detail, he didn't have the same reaction... at all ;). He gave me a hard time b/c they're made out of paper, and I thought my comeback made sense: "So are milk cartons." The straws have been a topic that I bring up when I want to get him fired up, and I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy for getting excited over it.

One evening, I found a great deal online for 144 straws, and I couldn't stop myself. I decided to go with the pink/white stripes because I thought most of the guys would probably have his reaction and stay away from them... but the girls would like them. It's not like they're made out of notebook paper; it's more like a mixture of cardboard and milk carton material, and even if they don't last forever and a straw needed to be thrown away, there would still be plenty of extras, and the girls could get a new one at the bar when needed for a replacement.

I took the monogram design from our invitations (and from the cake topper I like), printed out a few pages and used the leftover paper from the invitations to make flags. Check these out! I love Patrick and definitely appreciate his opinion, but I think HE is crazy for not seeing the charm in these straws ;).

Just imagine the two color combinations mixed together & sitting out in a couple glasses at the bar. The thought makes me very happy!

- Lisa

Cheers to Todd & Jody!

Last night was an exciting night for Todd, one of Patrick's groomsmen... He proposed to his girlfriend Jody, and she said yes! Looking back at the night we got engaged, I can't help but be really excited for them! I've only met Todd twice (and Jody once), but they seemed like a great couple. Now the fun planning part starts :)*

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An update on my personalized hanger - Patrick helped me by drilling holes for the wire, and I used a drop of the same glue I used on my shoes to secure it. The wording fits perfectly! I'm still going back and forth on whether I should paint the wood black... I'm leaning towards it, but just want to make sure it's what I want.

I'm almost finished with the invitations; they're finished except for putting a picture on the last half of them. I printed out the envelopes, and they'll be ready to go months before they need to go out.

We meet with the baker on Wednesday! Since we're leaning towards doing cupcakes, putting them on a stand (that we'll make) and having a small cake on the top layer of the stand, we want to pick the baker's brain to find out how large the stand should be, what kind of cupcake wrappers she uses, etc. I found a cake topper on etsy.com that would match the monogram I have on the invitations (but using "L&P"), and they also have it available in a silver mirrored acrylic... We haven't decided on it, but it's my favorite so far.

We're going to look into our ideas for the reception favors today, and I think that's about all the updates so far. Hope everyone's weekend is going well.

- Lisa

Garter #1: Finished

I'm not sure if everyone is aware of this, but over the course of our relationship, Patrick caught TWO garters at weddings; he was 2-for-2 for weddings we attended together before getting engaged!

The first garter was from my cousin Katie's wedding; the black and white damask print was gorgeous (and actually perfectly went with the decorations of my house). One of my favorite pictures was taken a few seconds after the garter flew into his hand; my brother Mike was looking back and me, grinning, pumping his fist and saying "YESSSSSSS." Patrick was an incredible sport dealing with my family playfully teasing him about it, and that gained him a lot of respect from the family & me. The second garter was from Mandy and Mal's wedding. Mandy's a huge Oregon fan, and Mal works with the Suns. Their garters (just like their wedding) represented their favorite teams & sports in general. When he caught that garter, Patrick tried to act like he hadn't caught it and "dropped" it on the ground. He got booo'ed (I admit: I boo'ed him for not holding onto it lol) and the ring bearer picked it up and gave it back to him.

Over the last few months, I've dedicated an hour here to be a seamstress and work our garters. I finished the first one tonight! It'll probably be the garter that Patrick will toss to the guys, and I'll make the one that'll we'll keep a little thicker.

Because Patrick has been great about letting me run with the ideas I've had for our wedding, I gave him the choice (and complete free reign) on what colors/theme he wanted for the garter. EVEN THOUGH it's not even close to our wedding colors ;), he chose "scarlet and gray" for his beloved Ohio State.

I used scarlet, black and silver ribbons, elastic and a pair of crystal "Block O" earrings that I ordered online. I took the earrings apart and will be using one charm on each of the garters. VOILA!

- Lisa

250 DAYS

Just a quick note, but not only is today a milestone in the countdown to our wedding (250 days!), I also bought a car! It's been a HUGE day. :)*

- Lisa

The Craftiness Continues - My Personalized Hanger

By far, my favorite part of the planning process has been the DIY (do it yourself) touches, and a lot of those ideas came from a picture of some type or a general idea that acted as my inspiration.

The latest project has been to make my personalized hanger to put my dress on before the wedding. It'll be a great addition to the pictures of my dress.

My initial inspiration came from a picture similar to this, and I became convinced I could replicate it:

I did some research to get more ideas and to get tips/tricks, then went to Michaels to get some wire and found a hanger identical to the one in the picture above. I started by writing out what I wanted it to say - it really helped with spacing/sizing - and my letters actually came out just as I had hoped!:

The only things to do are to drill a couple holes in the hanger, secure it with a strong glue and potentially put a bow on top... then VOILA!

On the same 'DIY' subject, I'm about 85% finished with the invitations. I have to make 10 more from scratch, and the rest of them are assembled except for the 3 inserts that'll go in the pocket (those are printed and just need to be cut out). My guess is that they'll be finished by Wednesday. ;)

We have a big day tomorrow of jet skiing at a lake, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

- Lisa

Engagement Party - Cleveland Style

I've been busy and haven't updated the blog in a few weeks... Gotta give an update on our Cleveland trip; it was an amazing weekend.

On Friday, we arrived in Cleveland around 6pm. We went to his parents' house and had a fun night with some of his family members who were already in town. Saturday was non-stop and flew by! We got up and ready, and Patrick's parents, sister Maggie, Maggie's boyfriend Colin, sister Kate, brother-in-law Mike and Patrick/I headed to Kate/Mike's house for lunch and to see their amazing extension of the house. We hopped in a taxi van and went to the Good Time III, a huge ferry-ish boat in downtown Cleveland. There was an air show going on, so the boat circled along the coastline to keep a view of the planes. It's really impressive how the 6 pilots fly so closely together without any issues.

After the boat came back to shore, the van took us on an Irish Pub Crawl that Patrick's dad put together. I loved getting to spend more time with his family and to meet Colin. It's easy to see how much he adores Maggie (and vice versa). We went to 5 (or 6?) Irish pubs - stretching from downtown Cleveland to the Sweeney's house.

On Sunday, we went to his family's church and came back to his parents' house to get ready for the Engagement Party! His parents went ALL OUT. They had 2 tents with tables for the backyard and decorations with our wedding colors. Before long, the house and backyard were filled with Patrick's family and friends.

It was drizzling, so Patrick and I were standing with some friends under a tent, and bagpipes started loudly playing from down the street! Because of what my family did to Patrick for the Polish initiation ceremony (and the fact that the Sweeney's are Irish), my initial reaction was "Oh no... what are the Sweeney's planning?!" ;)

His sisters made a presentation that included giving me an Irish tiara, a few Irish recipes and ingredients for Irish Soda Bread, an "Irish Princess" t-shirt, a necklace made from wine corks and grapes (to represent their family lol) and a gorgeous silver Claddagh ring. A little while later, a family friend of the Sweeneys gave a toast in Polish and then his dad made a very thoughtful speech/toast.

One of the most thoughtful things that happened was that Patrick's Grandma gave us a cut glass bowl that had originally been a wedding present to Patrick's Grandpa's grandparents* (*I hope I got that family history right; she wrote it out in the card to us, but the card is at Patrick's house and I can't double-check right now). That really meant a lot!

I can't tell you how welcomed I felt by his entire family, and it still amazes me. I knew that Patrick was fantastic, but it was kind of scary not knowing how his family (originally his immediate family - then - the extended family) was going to react to me. His extended family was a huge group (his mom has 6 siblings and dad has 3), a lot of fun and I think I definitely hit the in-law family lottery!

- Lisa