Showing posts with label wedding location. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding location. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!?

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.

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?

Monday, June 8, 2009

I Won!

Remember last week when I posted about the Giveaway over at Mismikado's Journey? Well, Friday evening Sebrina e-mailed and let me know that I won!! Woo hoo!! So....early next year I will be ordering this beauty from April Hiler!

(Source)

Of course I won't be ordering a "B" but instead a "P" for my new last name! I love this item and already know the perfect place for it at the venue!

(Source: yours truly)

I'll attach some purple ribbon to our "P" and hang it on one of the tress pictured above that the guests will walk through to get to their seats. The bird feeders that are currently in the trees will be taken down come the wedding and the spotlights at the base of the trees will be hidden most likely by live potted ferns. The swing however will be used the day of. The seat will be covered in deep purple velvet and the ropes will be covered in tulle. I cannot wait to get pictures of me and of the flower girls swinging away! However, during the ceremony we'll have to find a way to hook it up onto the tree so the little ones don't make their way back to it. :D

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

More Location Details

As I mentioned in "Our Wedding Date, Photographer and Location!" and in "Good News and a Few Updates", our wedding and reception will be held at Gremmy's Garden Bed & Breakfast.

Back on the 13th, I took Charles over to show him the grounds of the B&B. He'd seen it before but only while driving by on the way to my house. I wanted him to get an idea of what I had in mind and get his thoughts on things too. He absolutely loves the property and is really excited. Which in turn makes me really excited. ;)

Besides showing him the grounds, I also needed to get measurements of the driveway so I know what size tent will fit and I also wanted to get some pictures of the property. Upon measuring the driveway (the only level spot large enough for a tent), we happily discovered that it will fit a 30' x 60' tent perfectly! Thank you Jesus! :) And here are just a few of the pictures I took of the property for your enjoyment! The picture board has descriptions of what the picture is of or what will be placed there for the wedding.

(Source: yours truly-click to view larger)

I haven't been able to show Charles the inside of the house or get pictures yet because Emily and Ron (the owners) have been out of town. However, they'll be back later this week and I'm going to give Emily a call and see about coming by. I cannot wait to show you the gorgeousness that is inside these walls!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Good News and a Few Updates

Over the weekend I worked on a new personal budget. With the help of my mom I was able to determine that despite having to cover my own health insurance I can still save $350 a month towards wedding costs. Praise God! :)

In other news...my mom and I have an appointment on Thursday evening with Emily Herrod the owner of the Bed & Breakfast where the wedding and reception will be held. It will be a short meeting though because she will be getting ready to go out of town for almost a month! Once she gets back in town at the end of May, we'll have a more lengthy and detailed meeting with her.

I've had my eye on several Mori Lee "Affairs" Bridesmaid dresses for sometime now. At the end of May, I will know for sure if the designs I've been eying will still be available! Once I find out which dresses are still available and can share that info with my attendants, I will be able to share them with you!

I placed a HUGE order with Save-on-crafts.com over the weekend and cannot wait until it comes in! With the help of my mom and hours spent surfing the net I finally have my reception centerpieces figured out! I had been very undecided about what I wanted until this past weekend. All the centerpieces will be DIY projects and I cannot wait to share my vision and then process with you!

Over the weekend, I also ordered our cake topper! Once it comes in I will share that with you all as well!

Are you waiting for a big order to come in so you can get started with a DIY project?

Up next: my floral inspiration.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Our Wedding Date, Photographer and Location!

The big details are DONE! Already...woo hoo!!!

We will be getting married on Saturday May 1st, 2010!

Our photographers will be the the incredible Hope team. A husband and wife who do the MOST AMAZING wedding photography I've ever seen. While we haven't met yet, picked an investment (package), or signed papers, they have us penciled in and we will be getting together to meet within the next few weeks. They just opened a new Gallery in Knoxville and are still waiting for a few of their new albums to come in. Once they're in, we'll set up an appointment! I cannot wait to meet them! I already love them even though I only know them through their blog, website and emails and I know that love will grow once we've officially met in person! Please be sure to check them out at hope-photo.com and hope-blog.com. Here are just a few of the millions of reasons why I cannot wait for them to be our photographers!

We will be getting married at Gremmy's Garden Bed & Breakfast. This gorgeous place is located just down the road from where I live. My mom used to work for Emily (better known as Gremmy) for several years while the B&B was in operation. I also helped every now and then and consider the Herrod's to be a huge blessing to our lives. While the B&B is currently closed to the public Emily has agreed to let me have our wedding and reception there! I am soooo thrilled and cannot wait to talk to her further about the details. I have my eye on the Rose Room to use as the Bridal Suite. It's always been my favorite room. It's just beautiful and it gets terrific natural light all day long! Their house and the property it sits on is stunning! Be sure to stop by her website and take a look at the pictures!