Our engagement slideshow

Courtesy of Green Eyed Photography (aka my mom).

Updates!

We are making progress on this whole “getting married” thing…a date is set, a venue has been found-but-not-quite-booked, we have leads on a cake, I bought my dress and they even got me into a veil (!!)…things are rolling!

Un mariage français

Since Adam and I have a bit of an addiction (best word for it, really) to France and, in particular, Paris, I dug up a few pictures of great ways to add un peu d’inspiration française to a wedding!

The Knot’s template tool

The Knot has a great little template tool now to make your own inspiration boards! I have been playing around with it. Here is my first, my ideas for a winter wedding (which, because we just keep mixing around ideas, might end up being the case – imagine a wedding in the winter in a beautiful theatre!).

I chose a palate of red, purple, black, and white, since there is so much black and deep red at Sycamore Rouge (our choice for an autumn/winter indoor wedding). I absolutely adore that dark, rich shade of purple – it’s feminine, but not overly so, and works well for day or night, indoor or outdoor, and for all seasons! In my opinion, as far as colors go, purple, blue, and red are the easiest to pair with any season.

Foodies unite!

I love when weddings do something wacky – in particular, with the food. The breakfast-for-dinner idea is one that is unusual and fun. Serving ethnic food that doesn’t match your heritage is a wonderful way to make your wedding totally individual. And, of course, serving any alternative to wedding cake is, while trendy, still a fun way to make a statement.

Here are a few of my favorite wedding food ideas:

Are. You. Serious. A Sno-Cone cart? That’s the coolest thing ever.

Nothing cuter than fresh lemonade and strawberry shortcake!

Such a great favor idea – home-baked bread!

S’mores! What a fun dessert idea? And tell me that doesn’t look amazing…

I don’t even know what that is, but I know I want to eat it.

Wedding loooooove…

Rustic touches for outdoor weddings

An outdoor wedding is the dream for us, I believe. I love the idea of a classic-but-rustic decoration theme, and have found so many amazing photographs to inspire me!

I love the barrels! And those blue flowers are gorgeous – does anyone know what kind they are?

What can I say about the design of this wedding except “ahhh”? It is so relaxing and calm…just what a rustic wedding ought to be.

LOOK AT THAT “ALTAR”! How cool! I absolutely love that idea. It is so simple, but it creates an amazing “picture frame” effect for the stunning setting.

Check out this layout for a classic picnic. Lots of pillows and pretty baskets and flowers make this reception look so inviting and warm. It’s hard to go wrong with a nice picnic!

Long tables

I love the idea of long tables at wedding receptions. They bring to mind the idea of a family dinners and special holidays. I find them more intimate than lots of separate tables, actually, especially at a small wedding. However, even when there are lots of guests, using the long tables for dining can create more unification and encourage conversations with new people. Check out these examples and see what you think:

My favorite is first. I love the simplicity of the presentation and the soft colors.

Another beautiful, simple presentation. A pretty outdoor location doesn’t require much beyond this!

I’m normally not a big fan of pink at weddings, but I can make an exception here. It is sweet, lovely, and feminine, but the brick in the background of the venue keeps it from being too much like Valentine’s Day on a table!

Wow. Just wow! What a beautiful look for a seaside occasion!

More simplicity for a homespun look. I love that the wine bottles are on the table. Wine bottles are so pretty just as they are that they provide easy decor. They can even replace floral centerpieces! Find some unusual bottles or ones with interesting labels and you’ll have instant conversation pieces to highlight your tables.

Orange is my favorite color, so this is right up my alley. Warm, inviting, and absolutely gorgeous.

Inspiration: Pomegranates

Lots of wedding blogs make collages out of things they are inspired by, so I thought I would give it a shot. My inspiration, which I got from the lovely juice I am currently drinking, is the pomegranate! It is a delicious, sweet fruit that is a bit of a craze at the moment, and for good reason. Its health properties are amazing! What’s more, the pomegranate is a beautiful color and an elegant food, so it would be a great thing to have as wedding decor. Here are a few ideas for weddings inspired by the pomegranate:

Stuff I think is pretty

This is an adorable idea for the end of the evening…chocolate chip cookies and milk shooters!

Mountains, baby’s breath bouquets, and books…good combination of things. I love the idea of there being old copies of Shakespeare’s plays strewn about our venue. We’ll have to hit up some antique book shops!

Bogie & Bacall…both beautiful, talented, blessed with unforgettable voices, and effortlessly chic. Actually, my grandmother and grandfather wore something similar at their wedding…I’ll have to find the picture…

Ah, there we go! My adorable Grammy and Popsie on their wedding day in 1950! Looking just as good as Bogie and Bacall, if I can be rather biased.

Ceremony decorations are entirely unnecessary with a tree like that! And it could easily be just as striking in the evening, just have lanterns all around. Instant gorgeous, just add luminescence.

If we even bother with table numbers – since we don’t know the set-up, of course – this is pretty much what we would like to do, only with Shakespeare! We have a few variations on how exactly to go about it, so only time will tell what we settle on.

Love this. Simple, cute, festive, and a Midsummer reference all in one!