Our Wedding Invitation, Program, and Menu

Yesterday Jon and I celebrated our wedding anniversary! Thanks to Coach and "Mrs. Coach" Shaver (as Lillie calls her) we got to go out for a nice relaxing date. Even six years after getting married I still LOVE anything wedding related. I love wedding magazines, wedding photos, wedding blogs and loading up my wedding board on Pinterest. I made many of the decorative items for our wedding (with lots of help from my mom and sisters!) and thought today would be a fun time to show you a few of those things in honor of our annivesary.

I designed all of the printed material for our wedding and my mom and sisters helped me put everything together. It was a true labor of love as many of the items took quite some time to construct but looking back it makes each detail so special. I have several of my favorite items in a shadow box so I took those out yesterday to photograph.

Here is our invitation. It was made from cardstock and overlaid with lace and a little trim then wrapped with a satin bow. I attached the lace using a glue stick but a spray adhesive would probably work well too.

 Here is the simple RSVP card:

 And the reception insert:

The invitation was designed as a tri-fold card so you lifted the top to show this poem by Robert Sexton :

And then that opened to show the actual invitation:

Here is a menu:

 I think my favorite piece was the program which was around ten pages long and included favorite verses, quotes as well as all of the details of the wedding ceremony and wedding party.

A few of the pages:

I wanted the invitation and program to coordinate but not match.

In each invitation was this card with all sorts of details for the guests. I wanted it to look a little more elegant than just being on a piece of paper but didn't want anything too fancy either so I went with just a basic ivory cardstock folded into a card. For the front of it I drew a picture of the church we were married in. Somehow I only had one extra and it has safely resided in my shadow box for the past six years. Well, I set it out to take a photo and in the two seconds it took to pick up my camera off the sofa Lola successfully colored all over it! Lovely! =)

Inside it contained lists of hotels, places to eat, sites to see, maps and directions. The map in the middle below is not upside down I just drew the town hall where our reception was held in the direction it would be from the road but I know that looks a little confusing. And then the back just has a simple drawing of our reception site to give a coordinating look to the front.

 Here they all are together in a shadow box along with pieces of my gown of a bridesmaid dress.

  

We made quite a few other things like seating charts, name tags, dessert labels, etc. but I don't have any of those to photograph. Here is a photo of Jon and I. It's the only one I have on this computer right now. Maybe someday I'll get around to putting a few more on here.

I also wanted to let you all know our  Drummer Boy Pillow Covers in Cranberry are in stock now! We used a deeper red this year which I like much better.

Have a beautiful Monday!

A Few Pictures from Quinn and Lindsey's Wedding

I had been waiting and waiting for months for Quinn and Lindsey's big day and could not wait to take a gazillion pictures. Well, the Wednesday before their wedding I woke up so sick! Ugh - and it lingered for the next couple of weeks. So, the day of the wedding I felt like a zombie and took very few photos. In fact I don't have a single shot of Lindsey and Quinn together! I don't have any at all of Quinn and just a couple closeups of Lindsey holding Lola. I am so disappointed. So, just to warn you there are no beautiful pictures of Lindsey in her gown or their first dance or anything like that. I didn't even take any photos of some of the things I helped with like the menus and programs. When the photographer's photo are up I will try to remember to put a link to them so you can see how beautiful Lindsey was and all of the special touches that were throughout the whole wedding and reception! I did go over to the barn and take a few photos earlier in the day before the wedding so I have a few shots of that and then the rest are mostly of Lillie as I chased her around. =)

The barn doors:

The card and gift table:

Instead of a guest book they had all of these postcards made using photos from their engagement shoot and there was a little mailbox for you to put it in once you filled it out!

This was above the little mailbox/postcard station:

They had a large wall with their parents' and grandparents' wedding photos and this in the center:

One of the grandparent's wedding photos:

On some old shutters and doors they used clothespins to display tons of photos from baby pictures on up through their engagement!

There was a photo booth with lots of fun props that Lillie certainly enjoyed!

She spent most of her time though playing in the dirt...

and checking on the horses.

Little Lola and Mrs. Quinn McDowell

Congratulations Quinn and Lindsey! 

We are so happy for you! 

By Invitation Only....you are invited to my wedding!

OK I knew I was going to have fun with this months theme when I got the email. Its time for our monthly "By Invitation only" where a group of bloggers get together and present their interpretation of an agreed upon theme......This was right up my alley,  Planning your wedding as if you were getting married today! A chance to do my wedding all over again? Fun and how fast can I say I do! Same guy of course but you better believe I might want to do things a bit differently almost 30 years later. I had a beautiful wedding, make no mistake, but it was more about a lot of pomp and circumstance, the big dress, and I do mean it literally, lots of ugh....volume shall we say! A formal affair, wonderful but honestly a little overwhelming to my then 22 year old self.

What would I choose today? Well something quite different, partially reflective of how times that have changed, and very much with how I have changed. How I appreciate the simpler things in life, that less can be more, and that some of the most beautiful moments occur when surrounded by nature so I have decided to spend this wedding outdoors as much as possible. So, here we go, the details right down to the nitty gritty details of my wedding, IF I were getting married today.......

The invitation would look something like this.....cannot make up my mind, but one of these beauties from The Lettered Olive! It has to be letterpress...have such an obsession with it!

Where is my wedding going to be?  Why, Napa Valley of course! I would have to have it there, its a place that calls my name and a place near and dear to my heart and I have made no secret of my love for Napa on this blog, as I talk about it often. I cannot imagine a more wonderful place to call in my guests from all over and invite them to come spend the weekend for pre wedding festivities. Wineries, outdoor jazz concerts, al fresco dinners, bike rides through the vineyard would all be a part of the weekend iternary. Everyone arrives on a Friday night, just in time to be part of a welcome dinner we are hosting outside under a great big tree at one of my favorite vineyards of course, but first everyone settles into their hotel rooms.........

Right at sunset, everyone gathers to marvel at the landscape and view, and soon we are seated ushering in a perfect night of friendship and celebration........

The next day everyone is able to  do as they please, go into town, visit wineries, go on a scheduled group bike ride and picnic lunch, spend the day at the spa, whatever strikes their fancy......

That night is the rehearsal dinner, held under a beautiful trellis at one of our favorite wineries, this is an intimate affair for my closest family and friends and it goes on until the wee hours of the morning....

First what am I wearing you ask? Well, since I am the belle of the ball....have to go with something that makes me feel princess-y but still fun and party like, so I opted for this fun party dress, that has a little bling, a few feathers...fun, chic and definitely special and with legs like these....I want to show them off!

Moving to the actual dinner......held under a fabulous trellis at my favorite vineyard, this is a night to remember, don't remember feeling this happy!

The most scrumptious mini wedding cakes are served for dessert!

As the night nears (or should I say early morning begins) we are told that we are expecting the most beautiful weather on Sunday, the wedding day.....clear skies, no humidity and 75! I will take it can am giddy with anticipation........as we end the night! 

We awaken to the most brilliant blue sky, slightly breezy cool air and blazing sunshine, its a custom ordered day! My bridesmaids are all dressed in different dresses but all done in blush tones, some lace, some silk, some linen, they each got to choose their own according to their own taste wtih a few parameters..they blend harmoniously like a perfect symphony!

The flowers are all done around the palest pinks, peaches and creams...my favorites peonies, roses, french tulips 

And if you are wondering about my own gown,I have decided to go wtih the most delicious vintage wedding gown that I have ever laid my eyes on......true I could have gone with something simplier but I just couldn't resist and if theres one day to pull out all the stops this is the one! Come to Mama......

The ceremony is outside of course and has been beautifully designed to focus on the beautiful nature, but oh what a magical setting!

 Love how outdoor seating areas have been set up, with real furniture, absolutely stunning right in the middle of the vineyard.

And for the actual tables.....a fantasy like concoction of bring the best of nature and elegance with touches like the crystal chandeliers and urns overflowig with luscious white blooms, how exhilarating to see my vision come to life. All this under a great big white tent right smack in the middle of my favorite vineyard.  The icing on the cake is seeing all those that I love and care about enjoying what I have dreamt up!

A close up of the all white flowers on the table

My cake is simple but elegant, inspired by beautiful and timeless Wedgewood....and very similiar to my wedding invitiation.

As the guests depart a small wedding favor is given to each and every guest, specifically designed just for them, monogrammed silver votives holding my favorite gardenia candle as a special keepsake of this memorable day in my life.....

The wedding is deemed a wild success...everyone proclaims it is the best wedding they have ever attended and that no other could possibly top it. The band goes on and on at the pleas from the crowd until 3 am! Cheers to that!

      And soon, after a weekend fit for a princess, we are off  driving into the Napa sunset....happy as a glass of a good Chardonay!

Thanks for stopping by "my wedding". How about you? Would you do things differently? How would you like to plan your wedding if you were doing it all over again? Would love to know!

Wishing you an enchanted day!


If you want to see more interpretations of a wedding day done by other talented bloggers, then visit Marsha the brainchild aka glamourpuss over at Splenderosa and you will see not only her gorgeous rendition but links to all the others, Click here to visit!