Rules Of Engagement

The Ring, The Proposal & The Wedding - A Blog For Guys & Brides

Subscribe

Posts Tagged ‘mason jars’

Fabulous Finds: July

July 30 2010 Fri

Our first ever “Fabulous Finds” post debuted in June, and and we can’t believe it’s already time for our July edition! These are some of the things that we just can’t seem to get out of our head this month. From cool songs to make your wedding memorable, beautiful photo mementos on the bouquet, and specially made soda or beer bottles, the theme this month is make it personal, personal, personal! Enjoy, and hopefully some of these finds will make their way into your big day!

1. Using unique songs for your wedding dances: I recently did a post on Non-traditional music ideas for your wedding, particularly for the major dances that take place during the reception. I was inspired by my friend Clare who used Jason Mraz, Old Crow Medicine Show and The Avett Brothers in her wedding, and my friend Becca who adorably danced her first dance with her husband, Billy, to “Is This Love” by Bob Marley. While writing my post I found it especially hard to find unique songs for the dance between the mother and son, but now that I’m done, songs are just popping up everywhere! I heard this one while downloading the B is for Bob album for my daughter and thought the lyrics would be so meaningful for a mother/son dance. Take a listen!

2. ABC Paper Cups : Are you thinking what I’m thinking, guys? Using these cups to spell out your proposal could be so clever and cute. Beyond popping the question, you could also use these cups to spell out your new monogram at your reception, or even something as simple as an “I love you”! The cups are made by IaM Design.

3. Flower Belts and Necklaces: If you remember my Pops of Pink post, I included a beautiful fuchsia and blush colored floral belt. The necklace below is very similar and would add an ethereal, natural touch to bridal party attire. Necklace below is by Emerson Made.

4. Pictures on bouquet: What a great way to remember the loved ones that can’t be part of your big day!  I have never seen this before and thought it was unbelievably creative and sentimental. This idea came from  Andy and Brandy Southard’s wedding in Staunton, VA.

5. Personalized soda, wine or beer bottles:You know I’m all about personalization, and these specially made bottles are no exception! I saw this in Larkin and Jason’s VA wedding and thought it was the coolest idea for a favor, especially because the beers were brewed by the bride and groom themselves! They created custom labels, and named it “Gibas I Do Brew”….how cool? If you’re not into beer, check out the specially made labels for the Jones soda bottles.

6. Photos in mason jars: You can also get personal with your table decorations by adding old wedding or family photos in beautiful mason jars to give a rustic yet romantic charm to the setting. You could place them around the cake as a tribute to your parent’s and grandparent’s wedding days or you could put different pictures of you and your fiance on each table. The pictures could even correspond with the table name; a picture of you and your future spouse at a baseball game could be at the “Orioles “table, for example. Get creative with this lovely idea! 

Hope you enjoyed some of our favorite things this month. Let me know some of yours!

~Priscilla

Real Weddings with Krista & Kevin

June 4 2010 Fri

For our new feature on Real Weddings, Krista and Kevin Jones have been chosen to share their wedding pictures and the story behind them so we can get a glimpse into their big day. Read on as Krista shares the inspiration behind their unique details and money saving tips.

True Love

Kevin and I met at James Madison University in beautiful Harrisonburg, VA. We both love to travel, love the outdoors, and love to find creative, cost-saving ways to do things. We were eager to have a wedding that was different than other weddings we had been to— and do it for under $10,000!I wanted our wedding to have a laid-back, family friendly atmosphere- both kid friendly and fun for our college aged friends and adults.

The Location

We first met and got engaged by a lake under a big willow tree, so for us it was important to have an outdoor wedding. We found Church Point Manor, located along the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach. We loved the huge, old trees and long boardwalk leading to a dock on the river. The price was right and they were open to us providing our own catering. Most venues charge you a cake-cutting fee, make you use their catering, and have many stipulations. The secret to saving money here was finding a place that only charged us a venue use fee.

The Dress

My “dream dress” is a very expensive gown from Romona Keveza. This was way out of the budget, so I opted for the closest replica I could find: the Maggie Sottero Ireland gown. It was the very first dress I tried on in the bridal salon and my veil was bought online.
The Accessories
My hairpiece I found for $5 at H&M. I loved the soft vintage pink color! The earrings were from Forever 21 and again, just fit the “feel” I was going for. I ended up doing my own hair and makeup for this big day- and I could be as picky as I wanted!
The Bridal Party
One thing I don’t like about weddings is when bridesmaid dresses are expensive and never worn again. Because of this, I wanted to have my bridesmaids wear something they could wear all the time. I found a bohemian summer dress from Anthropologie that fit the style of the wedding, and my bridesmaids loved it! One even wore it to an event before my wedding! It makes me happy to know that though they spent $180 on the dress, they will wear it again and again.
The Programs & Ceremony
I designed and created the invitations and programs by using very simple texts and designs on nice, nature colored paper (ivories, browns, greens). I wrapped the invitations in hemp string. Creating our own invites and programs saved hundreds. Many of our “younger” friends RSVP’d on our free mywedding.com website which also saved costs on postage. Our ceremony took place outside under a big tree. My oldest brother officiated the service, my one sister sang, and my other brother walked me down the grassy aisle. Friends provided the sound system and ceremony music and handed out the programs I had designed and printed.
The Reception
We also knew that in order to save money, we were going to have to get REALLY creative with the meal. After seeing a pizza buffet on oncewed.com, I knew that was for us. We ordered multiples of four different gourmet pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen who delivered them quickly right before the meal to ensure they were hot. This cost us way under $1000 for around 180 people. A family friend made the hors d’ouveres and a replica of Panera’s Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. We ordered some beer and wine to go along with it, and provided tons of drinks for this hot day. Total cost for all of this was under $2000. Our yummy coconut and lime cupcakes were homemade and designed specifically for us by a talented JMU Grad, Casey Hazelgrove. She has a natural talent and growing skill for beautiful sweets and charged us minimally for her time and materials. Our reception was held under a big tent that had been decorated with hundreds of hand folded origami birds, hanging big branches I had pruned off trees in my yard, twinkly Christmas lights and little lanterns. We had painted wooden signs around the property that had been made with wood we found on the side of a road! We covered the rented tables with big pieces of burlap to add to the nature feel. We also provided games in the lawn— horseshoes, frisbee, and ladder ball. I wanted everyone to have something fun to do while we took pictures.

The Flowers
We collected mason jars and filled them with candles and flowers we bought wholesale at Norfolk Wholesale Florist. My friends made all the bouquets and boutonnieres– even taking berries off trees to add to the earthy look.


A Little Help from Friends
The biggest part of keeping our wedding low in costs was the tremendous amount of effort on behalf of family and friends. They worked tirelessly the day before and during and after the wedding to provide the “look” I had wanted. One friend was the Wedding Day Coordinator and without her it would have been chaos! Other friends captured our day on DVD for us! We were also totally overwhelmed with the amazing work of Jodi Miller Photography and cherish our pictures to this day.

Thank you Krista and Kevin and Jodi Miller Photography for sharing these beautiful images and details with our readers!

~Priscilla