Our First Christmas

We were so excited to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple and really enjoyed our time together starting what will be our family traditions. Here are a few pictures...

Our stockings were hung on the wall with care. Oh how we wish we had a fireplace!

And the gifts were all under the tree waiting to be opened.
How cool is it that our first Christmas was a WHITE Christmas!? We loved it and when all was said and done, we had 10" of snow! It was beautiful!!
The spread!

So a little info about our Christmas traditions...
Charles's family didn't have any traditions when it came to Christmas so we adopted a lot of traditions that my family had in place ever since I can remember. They are things I've always loved and I can't wait to share them with our children when that day comes.

- Christmas Eve growing up and all through the years, my brother and I were allowed to each open one gift...Charles and I continued this tradition as well and will when we have kids.
- Another tradition from my family: Christmas morning while breakfast is cooking, we open our stockings. Then when breakfast is done and the stockings are open we eat breakfast.
- Next we open the presents under the tree.
- For lunch and dinner Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I will not cook (just as my mom never did). I do not want to be in the kitchen away from my family during such a special time. So instead we have snack foods that can stay out all day long and when someone is hungry they can go help themselves.

The other tradition that we will have once we have kids is that on Christmas Eve once the kids are asleep in their beds we will place on gift at the foot of their bed that they can open immediately when they wake up in the morning.

The other thing Charles will do is sign the letter the kids leave for Santa with the cookies and milk. He will sign it "S.Claus" in red ink.

Something Blue

My something blue....

(Source: yours truly)

It's a blue topaz emerald cut stone set in a simple yet elegant sterling silver band and it is simply stunning! When I saw the stone alone months ago, I commented to my mom that I would love to borrow it for my something blue. At that time, it was just a lose stone and wasn't set in any way. For Christmas, mom surprised me with this beautiful ring and I cannot wait to wear it come May 1st! I'm hoping to start a new tradition and will pass this on to my daughter (should I be so blessed to have one) when she is getting married and hope that the tradition will continue for generations.

Miscellaneous Stuff

This is going to be a random post. I've mentioned a few things here and there in previous posts and I'm finally able to update you on some of them!

Thanks to my dear friend Patti, we were able to get the socks I wanted for the guys! She was kind enough to go the mall in Knoxville and get them for me. I don't think the picture on the BR website does them justice though.

(Source: yours truly)

I scored these baskets at Michale's for an amazing $7.99! They were originally priced at $29.99 but the largest basket was damaged so they were marked down. I couldn't have bought the smallest basket for the price I paid for all three of them. The damage on the large basket (not pictured) can easily be covered with some ribbon and no one would ever know. We'll need baskets for all kinds of things...napkins, forks, bubbles, ceremony programs, etc. so I'll have no problem putting them to good use. And after the wedding we'd be able to use them as well!

(Source: yours truly)

As I talked about here, instead of having a unity candle ceremony we are having a unity sand ceremony. There's all kinds of unity sand sets out there that you can purchase but they come with an outrageous price tag (for what you get) and I don't care for any of them. When I stumbled upon a picture of an apothecary jar and cruets used for the sand ceremony I knew I wanted to somehow replicate that look. I found our pouring vases at Michael's some time ago for $2.99 each. Then my search for an apothecary jar began. I finally found one at Michael's several weeks ago for $14.99. I love how they look together! My sand is purple sand (from Michael's) and Charles will be using white sand that I collected from a beach in Hilton Head Island, SC. back in March while I was on vacation.

(Source: yours truly)

Remember one of my more recent posts where I talked about the silver heart boxes I got for our flower girls? I mentioned that I wanted to either make or purchase bracelets or necklaces for them so I could put them in the hearts. Well, over the weekend when I was out shopping with Charles I found the perfect thing. JcPenny was having a 50% off sale on all their costume jewelry. I was on the search for some earrings to go with a new outfit when I came across these:

(Source: yours truly)

Unfortunately I didn't realize the picture was blurry until after I got it on my computer. So sorry about that! Are they not adorable? They were originally $12.00 each but I got both of them for that price since they were 50% off.

Also in this post I mentioned that the flower girls would have a headpiece/wreath to wear. My mom has been working on them and here is a sneak peak at one in the process of being made. More on these when they are complete.

(Source: yours truly)

And to finish off this post I will leave you with a sneak peak at one of the bouquets for my maid of honor and bridesmaid. Mom hopes to complete them this week sometime and whenever they're done I'll post more about them.

(Source: yours truly)

Up next: Changes to my accessories.

Breaking & Keeping Traditions

For our wedding, I'm breaking lots of "traditions". I'm trying to keep things unique and hopefully do some stuff not many people have seen or heard of. Here's a run-down of our tradition breaking:

1) We will not be having a unity candle ceremony. However, we will have a unity sand ceremony. Us bride bloggers know exactly what I'm talking about but I don't think many of our guests will. Therefore, we have something memorable and unique to symbolize us becoming one.

(Source: unknown)

2) At the reception there will be no dancing and therefore, no first dance.

(Source)

3) As I mentioned in my last post, we will not be having a ring bearer.

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4) My dad will not be walking me down the aisle.*(This will be addressed in another post.)

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5) The seating at the reception will not be dictated by me or anyone else. Guests will be able to sit wherever and with whomever they like.

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6) We will be having a bouquet and garter toss but it will not be restricted for single/unmarried folk. Most everyone at our wedding will be married so in an effort not to make our few single friends embarrassed, the tosses will be open to everyone. I'm also thinking of doing something along the lines of what Miss. Bruschetta over on WeddingBee did. She tied Lottery Tickets to the garter and bouquet and opened the tosses to everyone. The tickets were the incentive to get the guests involved. Since Charles and I are not the gambling/lottery type, I'm thinking of adding some cash. Everyone loves some cash and I think it would be fun, memorable and get the guests involved!

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7) There will be no china, silverware, glassware or any other type of fine dining plates/utensils at our reception. Instead, we'll be going for the plastic. (More on this another time.)

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8) Our guest book will be a book featuring our engagement pictures with plenty of blank space for our guests to sign and leave little notes if they'd like. Just like with the unity sand ceremony, all of us bride bloggers are very familiar with this concept. But again, I don't think many of our guests will have seen or heard of such a thing and besides....I just plain love it! After the wedding, our "guest book" will have a prominent place on our coffee table and we'll enjoy it for years and years.

(Source)

9) All of our wedding music (ceremony and reception) will be done through iTunes on my MacBook! This is yet another thing we BB (bride bloggers) are familiar with. I love this idea because it's VERY budget friendly and we get to choose everything that will be played.

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10) We're seeing each other before the ceremony. Why? I for sure will be a nervous/anxious wreck and I'm sure Charles will be too. Seeing him will greatly help ease my anxiety. Plus, because we'll be seeing each other before the wedding we'll be able to get nearly all of our pictures taken before hand. That means no pressure on the photographers, my hair and makeup and overall appearance will look better, we won't leave our guests high and dry for an hour while we scramble to get pictures, etc.

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11) We're not doing favors. I just simply don't have the budget to give anything that I would consider worth giving.

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12) As mentioned in Save-the-Dates, I'm opting to e-mail our save-the-dates. Once again it comes down to the budget. When you're artsy and decent with graphic design, there is no cost involved at all to do this.

(Source: yours truly)

After this list of tradition breaking, there are some traditions that we are keeping:

1) Cake cutting and toast.

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2) We're also choosing to go down the old fashioned route and have a receiving line. Why? We really want to make sure we see all our guests. After all, they took time out of their busy schedules to attend the wedding and lots will have traveled as well. And...I have a hidden agenda. lol I won't lie. What is it? Well as you know we're having an outdoor ceremony and reception. I'm only going to be renting one set of chairs. I really can't justify buying double the number of chairs so that there are chairs set up where the ceremony will be and then also where the reception will be. During the receiving line, I'm going to have close family members (aunts, uncles, cousins and anyone willing to help) move the chairs from the ceremony location to the tables under the tent. Why spend the money on two sets when after the ceremony that set would sit unused for the rest of the day!?

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3) I'm keeping the something old, new, borrowed, blue tradition. I have my something old and new but I'm still working on the blue and have no clue about the borrowed.

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That's all I can think of at the moment. What are your thoughts on all this? Are you breaking more traditions than you're keeping? How does your fiance feel about it?