Progress Post: 150 days to go!
I absolutely love this community and it's member's! I figured after lurking so long that I could finally pitch in with what we are doing. We have less than 5 months to go and time is flying by (our date is Aug 29, 2009)!
Us:
We have been dating for over 4 years now and I can't wait to start this next chapter of our lives.
He proposed while we were on a weekend getaway in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We were an Munising Falls and he set up a camera and proposed while we were under the waterfall. The picture turned out perfect too!
Colors:
We have changed our colors so many times. When we went to look for dresses there were no yellows that were flattering, but we saw this amazing tangerine orange. Thought it was really different and interesting so we decided to go for it. Some examples:
The girls bought the orange dresses in that photo. They are awesome and flattering on anyone AND have pockets!
My dress:
I only tried on 3 dresses. We went to Davids bridal and it was insanely busy. They had lots of gorgeous dresses, but it took forever. Also the lady tried to talk me into buying everything in sight and wouldn't back off until I kinda of got short with her. I don't know how many different ways I said no before she finally understood it.
I love all detailing with the beading. My dress is ivory.
Here is the stock photo:
I'm not sure what kind of veil I will have and would really love a hair fastener/flower. As for jewelry I'm still unsure as well. I want shoes that are some bright color for a splash of color. I want to have a very simple bouquet and will probably have some sunflowers and roses incorporated into it.
Perhaps something like this:
We aren't sure what the guys are wearing yet, but they will likely be tan or brown in color. We are thinking of having an orange shirt or tie for the guys to coordinate them with the girls.
Invitations:
Ryan mocked up something very similar to this. We are getting them printed (for free!) sometime in the next few weeks.
Ceremony:
We haven't started writing our ceremony yet, but it is something we are going to work on soon. We are asking one of our friends to officiate the wedding for us. I'm not sure what aspects we plan on including as of yet, but I was thinking about doing the wine and letter box (http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/lovebox.html) The ceremony is being held outside in an oak grove. I'm putting my parents in charge of making an "archway". I'm thinking something like this:
I also plan on making these pomanders for the chairs(gotta love martha stewart):
Dinner/cake:
Dinner with be served buffet style through Cranks Catering. We have to set up a tasting with them soon in order to decide our menu for the day. They have good reviews and were one of the most affordable in our area. As for cake, we have no idea what we are doing yet. We were thinking about doing a small 2 tier cake for the cutting and then maybe some sheet cake for serving the guests. I was also thinking about doing a desserts/sweets table instead. I would love to have an assortment for people to choose from. Something like this:
I also love this cake:
Our cake toppers are going to be something like these two:
We'll have an open bar with a signature drink or two as well. Our site is great because we can hire a bartend and provide all our own alcohol which saves a ton of money.
Our reception site is located in White Lake, MI in Indian Springs Metropark (in the James Clarkston Environmental Center). The site is relatively new (built last year) and has won many architectural awards for it's design. Here are a few pics:
This overlooks a pond and huge field. Also there is a area in the building that walks out underneath the water (tunnel) and you can see all the wildlife. It's amazing!
We also have access to a huge wraparound porch. I'll decorate with some white xmas lights and then also huge giant sunflowers on the post as well.
View from outside
For the decorations in the reception hall we will use mason jars for vases and not entirely sure which flowers we will be using yet. Probably a mix of sunflowers, mums, roses and whatever flowers are in season. I will be buying flowers through a wholesaler and putting together the centerpieces/bouquets ourselves. These are inspiration:
I haven't decided yet whether I want want tablecloths or to incorporate a color. We also will have tealights on each table. And our favors as well. We are going to make chocolate covered pretzels with a homemade thank you tag.
We haven't decided on any songs yet, but there are a few in line! I'm thinking of using some songs by the Vitamin String Quartet for our ceremony. We hired Platinum Mix Productions for our DJ and we also have a few guests that sing and play and may have them sing a song or two.
Our DJ is Dan Steward Photography (http://danstewartphotography.com/). He is a phenomenal photographer and can't wait to see the photos (and a friend of ours). We are going to be doing engagement photos soon (once the weather warms up and it's nicer outside). I think we may go up to Traverse City to do our photos (and for some fun, they live up there and we would love to visit).
I'm sure that there is much more that I am forgetting, but this is good enough for now. Thanks for looking!!
Us:
We have been dating for over 4 years now and I can't wait to start this next chapter of our lives.
He proposed while we were on a weekend getaway in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We were an Munising Falls and he set up a camera and proposed while we were under the waterfall. The picture turned out perfect too!
Colors:
We have changed our colors so many times. When we went to look for dresses there were no yellows that were flattering, but we saw this amazing tangerine orange. Thought it was really different and interesting so we decided to go for it. Some examples:
The girls bought the orange dresses in that photo. They are awesome and flattering on anyone AND have pockets!
My dress:
I only tried on 3 dresses. We went to Davids bridal and it was insanely busy. They had lots of gorgeous dresses, but it took forever. Also the lady tried to talk me into buying everything in sight and wouldn't back off until I kinda of got short with her. I don't know how many different ways I said no before she finally understood it.
I love all detailing with the beading. My dress is ivory.
Here is the stock photo:
I'm not sure what kind of veil I will have and would really love a hair fastener/flower. As for jewelry I'm still unsure as well. I want shoes that are some bright color for a splash of color. I want to have a very simple bouquet and will probably have some sunflowers and roses incorporated into it.
Perhaps something like this:
We aren't sure what the guys are wearing yet, but they will likely be tan or brown in color. We are thinking of having an orange shirt or tie for the guys to coordinate them with the girls.
Invitations:
Ryan mocked up something very similar to this. We are getting them printed (for free!) sometime in the next few weeks.
Ceremony:
We haven't started writing our ceremony yet, but it is something we are going to work on soon. We are asking one of our friends to officiate the wedding for us. I'm not sure what aspects we plan on including as of yet, but I was thinking about doing the wine and letter box (http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/lovebox.html) The ceremony is being held outside in an oak grove. I'm putting my parents in charge of making an "archway". I'm thinking something like this:
I also plan on making these pomanders for the chairs(gotta love martha stewart):
Dinner/cake:
Dinner with be served buffet style through Cranks Catering. We have to set up a tasting with them soon in order to decide our menu for the day. They have good reviews and were one of the most affordable in our area. As for cake, we have no idea what we are doing yet. We were thinking about doing a small 2 tier cake for the cutting and then maybe some sheet cake for serving the guests. I was also thinking about doing a desserts/sweets table instead. I would love to have an assortment for people to choose from. Something like this:
I also love this cake:
Our cake toppers are going to be something like these two:
We'll have an open bar with a signature drink or two as well. Our site is great because we can hire a bartend and provide all our own alcohol which saves a ton of money.
Our reception site is located in White Lake, MI in Indian Springs Metropark (in the James Clarkston Environmental Center). The site is relatively new (built last year) and has won many architectural awards for it's design. Here are a few pics:
This overlooks a pond and huge field. Also there is a area in the building that walks out underneath the water (tunnel) and you can see all the wildlife. It's amazing!
We also have access to a huge wraparound porch. I'll decorate with some white xmas lights and then also huge giant sunflowers on the post as well.
View from outside
For the decorations in the reception hall we will use mason jars for vases and not entirely sure which flowers we will be using yet. Probably a mix of sunflowers, mums, roses and whatever flowers are in season. I will be buying flowers through a wholesaler and putting together the centerpieces/bouquets ourselves. These are inspiration:
I haven't decided yet whether I want want tablecloths or to incorporate a color. We also will have tealights on each table. And our favors as well. We are going to make chocolate covered pretzels with a homemade thank you tag.
We haven't decided on any songs yet, but there are a few in line! I'm thinking of using some songs by the Vitamin String Quartet for our ceremony. We hired Platinum Mix Productions for our DJ and we also have a few guests that sing and play and may have them sing a song or two.
Our DJ is Dan Steward Photography (http://danstewartphotography.com/). He is a phenomenal photographer and can't wait to see the photos (and a friend of ours). We are going to be doing engagement photos soon (once the weather warms up and it's nicer outside). I think we may go up to Traverse City to do our photos (and for some fun, they live up there and we would love to visit).
I'm sure that there is much more that I am forgetting, but this is good enough for now. Thanks for looking!!