Category — rachel

One of the reasons we chose our venue was because of the giant stone fireplace downstairs in the Great Room. Since we’re not getting married in a church, I thought the fireplace would be really pretty to get married in front of.

*That’s my Mom, who’s 5′6″, standing in front of the fireplace.

The next step in the equation was to figure out how to decorate the fireplace for our wedding, but since we are on a fairly tight budget it couldn’t cost a lot. After searching around online, I found this photo by Melissa Schollaert via Snippet & Ink. I love that the candles give off a warm glow, and the greenery intertwined with it gives some interest. I also liked that the mirror would reflect not only the candlelight, but whatever is going on in front.

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Has this happened to anyone else? My florist went out of business.

Luckily for me, there are three things that make this not so bad.

1) I had only put down $50 to save my date

2) Another local florist is supposedly honoring the contracts and all monies already paid

3) My DOC (who rocks!) is very good friends with her recommended florist

Saturday, I am going to meet with the new florist, the one who my DOC uses, to talk bouquets. I’m wanting to use roses as they are beautiful, always available, and have a million different color options. I love the Leonitas rose, which is a terracotta color, but I may do something more of an orange. The other local florist, who has been around a long time, has kind of irked me a bit… they haven’t returned my phone calls! That’s never a good sign, so I’m assuming I won’t be seeing my $50 again. And if I needed any help deciding not to use them, not returning my phone calls fits the bill!!

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Last week, I used Iris’ (Kate Winslett’s character) charming English country house for inspiration for a wedding. This week, I’m using Amanda’s (Cameron Diaz) very clean lined, modern Mediterranean house for inspiration.

The house they used for exterior shots was built in 1928 in Pasadena by famed architect Wallace Neff as his own residence. Interior sets were built on a soundstage (but are still beautiful!)

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Recently, over at Cote de Texas, Joni profiled the two houses featured in the movie “the Holiday” with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslett. I LOVE this movie, and partly due to the two beautiful houses they feature. Being in the design field, I believe you can find inspiration from many different areas of your life - your wardrobe, your house or apartment, or even pictures of clothes or rooms you’re drawn to and like. They say a lot about you, and what styles you prefer. So today, I thought I would take a picture of one of the rooms from the movie, and try to use it as inspiration for a wedding!

I decided to use Iris’ charming English cottage:

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I can’t believe it, but Tuesday was the 4 month mark! 4 more months of singledom. 4 more months of my last name as I’ve known it. 4 more months until W-day, the day I’ve been planning and thinking about since last fall. It’s coming quickly! Time to really start locking in my choices and ordering things like the bridesmaid dresses, buying the invitations, and getting on with the DIY!

I thought I’d post what I have so far, in pictures. Because I’ve changed my mind on some things - oh, how I’ve changed my mind!! You’ll remember that I’m an indecisive bride, a phenomenon that was explained perfectly over on A Practical Wedding this week (seriously, this was a *brilliant* post!). BUT!! I can confidently say that now, after thinking through a gazillion different alternatives and options, I really think I’ve found the ones that I’m truly truly happy with. Ones that make me say “Yes! That’s it!”. Finally.

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I know, I know, it’s an overused word - BUT on your wedding day, you want your jewelry to be special. Whether you want it to stand out and make a statement, or be simple and elegant, you don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot of bling for your buck!

These lovelies from David Yurman are gorgeous. But they will set you back $1400.

And these beautiful earrings? $1200.

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Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.

Since this is a holiday, I thought I keep it quick and show you how I’m planning on styling my hair for the wedding. After selecting my dress, and knowing that I’ve always wanted to wear one of those large flowers in my hair (ever since seeing Molly Sims wear one in a Cover Girl ad!), I knew that I wanted my hair pulled back. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it up a little high, or low and loose… at first. I made my mind up quickly, though, after seeing this picture of Michelle Williams from the Oscars a couple years ago:

{Image Source: People}

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I know for me, deciding on my centerpieces was not easy.  Centerpieces and tablescapes can be simple or complex, elegant and formal or rustic.  They can set the mood and the look for your party or reception, and will be in your guests’ line of vision for much of the party. 

This month’s House Beautiful featured a GORGEOUS table setting from the famous and talented Monique Lhuillier which blew me away: 

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Happy Friday everyone!

I don’t really have a lot to share this week, and because we all love more inspiration, I thought I’d contribute to purple week by creating an inspiration board myself!

Purple can be such a fun and modern color! It’s a little unexpected, and can be so dramatic. I envision this to be a night time wedding and reception taking place in a loft overlooking downtown. While the ceremony area may be minimal in decoration (a huge wreath against a white wall makes a big statement!), in the reception area it could be fun to swath it in color and candlelight! And if you feel comfortable with it, I think it would be great to rock a mini-dress at this type of wedding! This wedding is all about fun!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi everyone!

(Our venue, the YWCA in Fort Worth!)

Today I wanted to talk about the reason we buy the special dress, the reason we throw a celebratory party - the wedding ceremony which will join you in marriage to your fiancee. It’s definitely the most important part of the wedding as a whole, but it’s so easy to get wrapped up in choosing colors, a dress, and registering for all those gifts that you kind of forget about it. It may be that you’re going to have a ceremony that is pretty much planned out, where you only have a few choices or options. But, since we are not getting married in a church, and the ceremony will be officiated by one of our friends, we have a lot of decisions to make. Do we want a formal service? Do we want it to be religious? Do we want speakers? Or do we want to keep it short and sweet?

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