My Very Etsy Wedding - Part Two

I already shared some of my Etsy vendors with you earlier this week, but I'm back today with even more handmade goodness. Let's go.


Paper die cuts from Scraps4ever: These colorful little circles represented our guest tables on the floor plan that was displayed in the ballroom foyer. Not a really intense purchase, but it was something I needed and was easily found on Etsy.

credit: Girl Photography

Embroidered handkerchiefs by EmbroiderybyLinda: I stashed one of these hankies, complete with my husband's initials, inside my clutch on wedding day. So it was my "something borrowed," even though it's pretty nontraditional to borrow something from your beau.

credit: Embroidery by Linda

Flower girl pinwheels from ElizabethSt: Our wedding wasn't very flower heavy, and we had pretty young flower girls, so I didn't think giving them flower petals or pomanders really made sense. I figured pinwheels would be easy for them to carry, and the fact that they were so oversized made the girls look even cuter than they already are.

credit: Girl Photography

Honeymoon bag by astylishdesign: Okay, so this was technically a purchase used after the wedding. But I loved this bag so much that I still use it on plane trips now. It's big, durable, and a real attention-getter. I have since bought slightly different designs for two of my engaged friends because it really does make the perfect bride-to-be gift.

credit: A Stylish Design

Really, how did brides get a little help with their DIY, find totally unique items, or customize to their hearts desire before Etsy came along?

My Very Etsy Wedding - Part One

Like so many brides, I tore through the shops of Etsy when it came time to detailing out my wedding. Because I loved all of the vendors I worked with so much, I wanted to post about them here. They were all easy to work with and delivered exactly what I wanted. Note that some of these shops can be found outside of the Etsy world, but for convenience I've linked to their Etsy shops only.

Our cake toppers by craftyapril: I wanted these to look like tshirts we had worn back in our youthful days of running around Penn State. I believe this shop is closed now, but still wanted to give her a shout out.





My beaded headband by UntamedPetals: I chose the Poppy style headband, and asked that it be on an actual band instead of just tying it with ribbon ends. I loved how subtle this piece was.





Our invitations and programs by down2earthpaperworks: You already know what a success it was working with this shop from this previous post.





Our bouquet ribbon by mysilverbeetle: I know this sounds ridiculous, but I couldn't find the exact ribbon I envisioned for our billy ball bouquets anywhere. So I contacted Stephanie with this shop, and she found the perfect ribbon in a market in India and shipped it all the way to Philly. I'm not sure if this shop is still open.





All of the above photos were wonderfully shot by Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography.

I'll be back with another post on the rest of my Etsy vendors later this week, so stay tuned.

Notes From a Newlywed: The Videographer {Well Spun Weddings}

The last major vendor we secured for our wedding was the videographer. We weren't 100% sold on the value of having a movie done, so it took a while for us to make the call on this one. But our parents collectively asked us about getting a videographer enough times that we finally broke down and gave in.

I had long been a fan of Well Spun Wedding's work whenever I saw it pop up around the blogosphere. And, like I mentioned above, this was my last vendor to nail down so I didn't have an exhaustive search in my at this point. Well Spun it was.

Now, the only part of the DVD that I was personally looking forward to seeing was the section that features highlights set to music. And this part of the DVD turned out great (you can see for yourself below.) But we had some serious issues with the rest of the finished product - speeches that were cut off and the entire baraat was missing at one point.

It took a ton of back and forth over the past several months to get these issues fixed, and unfortunately our FINAL final product is not totally what we had hoped for. But I'm really glad we have the DVDs, so we can remember exactly how the speeches went and how everything looked that day.

I'm still not one to preach that you absolutely NEED to have a videographer at your wedding. I know that you can't fit everything into your budget, and I totally understand why some people skip this vendor altogether. Wedding planning is about making decisions and choices, and everyone just does what is right for them.

This officially marks the end of my 'Notes From a Newlywed' series. If you've missed any of the posts, feel free to scroll through and catch up.

Notes From a Newlywed: The Cake {Carvel}

Our wedding cake was figured out, at least in our minds, almost immediately after getting engaged. No eight tiers of fondant or fancy fruit fillings for us, no way. I'll tell you what we wanted in two simple words: ice cream.

An ice cream wedding cake was exactly what we got. I can't even begin to tell you how excited people were when we told them we were getting this cake. It's definitely something out of the ordinary, but everyone likes ice cream, right?




Good ol' Carvel in Mullica Hill, New Jersey prepared our four tiers (plus slicing sheets) of chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream, and cookie dough deliciousness. We have gone to this Carvel for numerous birthday cakes over the past few years, and they always do a great job with our orders. For anyone in the Philly area, I highly suggest hitting up this location for all your ice cream needs. Just ask for Jan.

Sure, our cake started dripping a bit before we cut it, and not all the flavors got served since we over-sized our order, but hey...it was ice cream and it was awesome. Carvel crunchies for all!





The photos in today's post were provided courtesy of Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography. Don't know Nicole's work? Check it out here.

Spotted: A Snapshots by Katie Proposal

I hope you're all ready for today's proposal story, because it's a good one. Katie from Snapshots by Katie was nice enough to send this over to TWB, making today the first time we've featured a proposal on the blog. A proposal is such an emotional moment that it makes it hard to remember all of the little moments and details...unless you have a photog shooting away for you, of course.

I'll turn it over to Katie now, so she can fill us in on how this proposal went down. Take it away, Katie!

This was one of the coldest days of the season, yet my heart melted when I was asked out of the blue to capture the moment! All I could think was “THANK YOU, I knew there was a reason I was standing in the freezing cold in Pentagon City”! Sure I was there to support my husband running the 5k but I was desperately trying to capture a cool moment and boy did I! But before I get into it let me give you a little background on the couple, courtesy of their friend Jen!

Demetria is a Richmond, VA native and moved to Arlington after graduating from UVA to finish her Physician’s Assistant school at GWU. Matt is from Massachusetts but finished high school in Woodbridge, VA and studied undergrad at JMU. They met when Demetria was on her ER rotation at the Fair Oaks Hospital where Matt also worked and was her preceptor. They started dating after she finished the rotation and the rest is history.

Funny story (from Matt)… “I had to write her Evaluation for her ER rotation and the Dean of her school read it to the entire faculty because she was so impressed with the things her preceptor (which was me) had to say about her. While she was an awesome student, and deserved all of her high marks… I obviously thought she was smoking hot, so I definitely made sure I gave her good marks. Guess it turned out to be a pretty smart move by me!!”

Ok, how could you not fall in love with this couple now knowing their story?? Ok so now on to the events of the day…

As Demetria and Matt finished the Valentine’s Day 5k ‘Love the Run You’re With’, they were greeted so warmly by friends and family. Matt seemed so calm but Demetria was a bit more perplexed. Family and friends held poster boards reflecting moments of times passed and references made to their future together. I think Demetria was truly overwhelmed with everyone’s presence as she seemed unphased by the wedding advertisements until Matt knelt down on one knee… ‘Click’ and the proposal unfolds.

So some of the photos are of family on the look out for Demetria and Matt to finish the race and then the rest are of how the proposal unfolded.

Notes From a Newlywed: The Suits {Macy's}

We weren't having a very formal wedding, so tuxes for the guys didn't really make sense. Once we were sure we wanted to go the suit route, we decided on a color: a light/medium grey. We also chose to make these the groomsmen gifts. Lots of decisions made. That was where the easy part ended.

Next came finding a suit that we liked. Really I deferred to my husband here, since I don't make a habit of wearing sensible pant suits in my everyday life and deemed him a more knowledgeable person in this matter. We did find one at a large chain men's store, but we ran into issues with availability and kind of felt our time there had run its course after some confusing customer service.

On a whim we returned to the suit section of Macy's, where we'd been before, but had been told (mistakenly) by a salesman that they don't really "do" wedding parties. We found a more accommodating salesman this time around, and we were on our way to buying ten suits through their personal shopping service within minutes. (And it should be noted that they outfit wedding parties all the time).

For anyone in the Philly area, I can't recommend enough to get your suits from the King of Prussia Macy's to outfit your groom and groomsmen. The thought of getting the right jacket and pant sizes, shipping them all over the country, and then dealing with exchanges or alterations for ten guys made me want to ball up in the fetal position in the shoe department (they have so much seating there). But Sherri with Macy's handled this like it wasn't a big deal at all. She was incredibly on top of our massive order, expedited exchanges when a couple different sizes were discovered to be needed, and coordinated our purchase with available sales so we could get the best price.

Can we talk about the suits for a second? The light grey Tommy Hilfiger looked great on all the guys, and complemented the bridesmaids' varying blue dresses fabulously. The suit has a slimmer cut and it's the perfect weight for the warmer months. I know a bunch of the guys have worn it several times since...including my husband.

Just a note on the ties: we also gifted these to the guys, with the g-men (left) ties from Banana Republic and the groom's tie (right) from Nordstrom.





All the suits (and the guys) were photographed perfectly by the one and only Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography.

Eyes on the Bride: Michelle T.

I first learned a bit about today's bride-to-be and her wedding plans when we met over a year ago during a day full of tree planting and weed trimming in Fairmount Park. As if there were any doubt before that little green thumbed adventure, there's definitely a reason this is a wedding blog and not a gardening one. (Is there even a chance any of those trees are still standing?) So to get back to weddings now...

Michelle agreed to give us a peek at the details for her and Kevin's upcoming May wedding, so read on to find out just what they have planned.

photo by Hoffer Photography

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation -- Michelle Thurstlic, 31, Attorney

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation -- Kevin O'Neill, 26, Law Student

City of Residence -- Glen Mills, PA

Wedding Location -- The Yellow House of Willowdale (ceremony & reception), Kennett Square, PA

How you met -- Kevin and I initially met during the summer of 2007 while I was working for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and Kevin was interning for one of the county's criminal judges. At the end of the summer, the judge's staff told me that I was all Kevin would talk about when court was not in session. Kevin says that he had a huge crush on me and tried to talk to me a few times, but that I was all business.

A couple of months after his internship was over, we ended up in the same bar one night in West Chester. Apparently I embarassed him in front of all of his friends by coming right out and saying "I heard you had a crush on me last summer." He got my number that night and we started dating within the month.

How long you've dated -- Together 4 years (engaged for 2)

How he proposed -- Kevin and I had plans to go out and celebrate the end of finals of his first year of law school. When he came to pick me up, however, Kevin presented me with a photo album filled with pictures from our time together. He had written little notes along with each photo saying different things he loves about me. When I got to the last photo, the caption was "will you marry me?" and when I looked up, Kevin was down on one knee with the ring. I was overwhelmed, but of course I said yes. Kevin then suprised me again by telling me that our families and friends were waiting at the bar/restaurant that we had planned to go out to. It was extra special to be able to share our happiness with everyone right away.

Wedding colors/theme -- Navy blue, kelly green, and white

Bridesmaids' dresses info -- J. Crew silk taffeta in Pacific Blue (they're wearing individual styles)

Best part of planning -- Laughing with Kevin over the ridiculousness of it all.

Worst part of planning -- Trying to get everyone on the same page.

Most surprising part of planning -- That Kevin's better at it than I am. Everytime I ask him to take something on, he's gotten it done on the first shot. I've agonized over every vendor and decision.

Favorite vendor so far -- Tie between our venue (The Yellow House of Willowdale--the wedding coordinator is just so great) and photographer (Hoffer Photography).

Places you registered -- Bed, Bath & Beyond and Pottery Barn

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans -- A lot of the decorations. The ceremony and reception are outdoors underneath a tent, which we're planning to decorate with bistro lights. We're also planning to use chalkboards to display seating arrangements and the menu for the buffet.

Honeymoon Location -- Undecided. Kevin is graduating law school a week before our wedding, and right afterwards will have to jump into intensive studying for the bar exam, which is at the end of July. We're planning to take our honeymoon in the fall, when he's finished, and are weighing France (all over), Argentina, or a road trip up the California coast.

Michelle's color scheme is one of my all-time favorites, and the venue sounds perfect for a May wedding, so I can't wait to see photos of how it all comes together. And those honeymoon options? None of them is a bad choice, right? Thanks again, Michelle, for stopping by TWB. Best of luck with the final months of planning ahead!

Spotted: A Meals and Miles Wedding

When I'd read the news that Meghann of Meals and Miles was engaged*, I reached out to her to find out more about her initial plans for the wedding. As many of you may remember, the days and weeks immediately following the proposal are somewhat of a blur with so many emotions, ideas, and frequent wedding blog searches all mixed together. Because Meghann is looking to have her wedding about 12 months from now, though, she was already beginning the process of nailing down some specifics, and has a distinct theme in mind.

After hearing about the "navy blue rustic snowflake" theme from Meghann, I came up with this inspiration board to share with her...and now with you. White and silver is always a winner when it comes to winter weddings, even if you're in a typically warm climate like Meghann is. Setting these colors off with something darker, like navy, creates a really full color palette to work within. The snowflake is a nice accent because it doesn't necessarily evoke ties to the holidays, just the winter season in general. Both the venue and table decor are big ways to get the rustic vibe across to guests. And I had to throw in some string lights just because Meghann likes them so much...!






sources (clockwise from bottom left): votives, boutonniere, lighted dinner, bouquet, candle, escort cards, place setting, lighted entrance, bouquet, heels, boat shoes, cupcakes, cookie wreath, table setting, balloons, salvaged door.



*Read the full proposal story from Meghann if you get a chance. It's a really sweet one and has some pretty unforgettable photos, too.

Eyes on the Bride: Julia A.

I'm very excited to have Julia here to talk about her Labor Day weekend wedding and all the planning that's going into the day. I am a frequent visitor to Julia's blog, Lemons & Loafers, so it's alot of fun to have her hop on over to TWB for the day. So Julia...take it away!

(photo credit: Kate McElwee Photography)

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation – Julia, 26. I work in marketing at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am also a Health Coach and Fashion Consultant at Lemons & Loafers.

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation – Anel, 25. Anel is an incredible photographer (Adz Photos) and personal trainer. He is also a volunteer firefighter in his spare time.

City of Residence – New York City.

Wedding Location – Portsmouth, RI at a gorgeous and romantic estate and grounds on the water. It’s incredible. I cried when I first saw it!

How you met – At work. We both worked at Integrative Nutrition, a holistic health school where I still work. Anel saw me during an interview and walked past 6 or 7 times in the hour so he could look at me again. We became fast friends and that bloomed into a relationship. I had to tell our boss we were dating, so I waited for the staff holiday party 2 years ago and made sure he had a few glasses of wine first!

How long you've dated – We have been dating for 2.5 years.

How he proposed – This is quite a story. Anel proposed on my birthday at midnight on a quiet bench on the Seine river overlooking the sparking Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was too good to be true! You can read the whole story here.

Wedding colors/theme – Our colors are bright pink, peach, and bright yellow. The bridesmaids are wearing beautifully bright yellow and the groomsmen will be wearing navy blazers, khakis, and Vineyard Vines ties in true Rhode Island form. We want the whole wedding to be preppy and classic with a little bit of whimsical thrown in.

Bridesmaids' dresses info – They are wearing yellow Alfred Sung dresses that have pockets. All of my bridesmaids are different heights and shapes and somehow it looks good on all of them. I’ll definitely be borrowing my sister’s after the wedding!

Best part of planning – Buying a wedding dress. I tried on over 20 dresses and when I found the right one, I just knew! There were lots of tears and it made me finally feel like a real bride. I could actually picture walking down the aisle with Anel at the other end.

Worst part of planning – Trying to stay within our budget. I had these grandiose ideas of what I wanted our wedding to look like but then I realized that everything has a price, and for weddings, the price is generally pretty high. It’s been quite a challenge but I’m very happy with all of our decisions so far.

Most surprising part of planning – That Anel wants to be so involved! I love that he cares about the décor, invitations, and what colors are featured so much. It’s nice to know that this wedding is just as important to him as it is to me.

Favorite vendor so far – I absolutely adore all of my vendors but I think that my favorite people to work with so far have been my friend Erin who designed our save-the-dates and is also on board to design our invitations, table cards, menus, and all other printed material for the big day, and Kate, our adorable photographer. Erin is always so positively up beat and comes up with the most gorgeous designs. Kate is funny and sweet the most talented wedding photographers that I have ever seen. You can see some of her photos here.

Places you registered – Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Sur La Table. We went for classic pieces that will never go out of style. I cannot wait for all of our red Le Creuset pieces to arrive!

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans – I don’t have any patience or talent for DIY so not yet. I’m turning to many talented Etsy artists to do this for me!

Honeymoon Location – We are honeymooning on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. We can hardly wait for a week of the beach, Italian food, good wine, and lots of relaxation. Then we’re off to Bosnia to have another celebration with Anel’s family there.

Doesn't Julia's wedding sound like one that you'd definitely have a blast at? I can't wait to see photos after her and Anel's big day. Thanks for stopping by TWB, Julia!

Notes from a Newlywed: The Shoes {Badgley Mischka}

I knew before I even went wedding dress shopping that I didn't want white shoes with my dress. Not only did I not want white, I didn't want anything close to it: no bone, ivory, cream...well, you get the point. Unless you're wearing a short dress, no one even really gets a good look at your shoes other than your photographer, so I really have no valid reason to explain my aversion to white bridal shoes. I've seen lots of brides wear them and they look stunning. But for me, I just wanted a little bit more color.

There were already alot of blue elements in our wedding: the bridesmaids' ceremony saris, their reception dresses, and parts of our paper suite. So I settled on blue shoes. Plus, these would be my "something blue," although I ended up with a few blue things by the time my wedding day rolled around so that wasn't really a hard bridal requirement to fulfill.

I ordered the satin Badgley Mischka Randall pumps from Nordstrom in medium blue. Such pretty shoes! The flower at the peep toe sort of coordinated with the detailing on the bodice of my dress, and for being 4" high they weren't totally uncomfortable. Note for anyone looking to wear Badgley's for their walk down the aisle: they run big, so definitely order a half size or full size down from what you usually wear to avoid any missteps.






All fabulous footwear photos are by Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography...who only threatened to steal my heels on wedding day, but didn't actually follow through with it...!

Notes From a Newlywed: The Flowers {Flowers by Mary Elizabeth}

So, I had put off looking for a florist until the wedding was about six months away. I didn't feel a huge rush in securing one since I knew my floral order was pretty small. All I needed was ten bouquets. No centerpieces (we were going non-floral). No boutonnieres (the guy's were just going without).





I had gotten quotes from several Philly area florists, and in doing so I specified the exact number of stems I wanted assembled and delivered. I thought doing this would decrease the chance of having wildly different prices come back to me. Wrong. I really don't know how vendors can price out a service and product that is essentially identical and come up with such varying numbers. But it somehow happens.





Luckily for me one of the florists I found was Mary McVeigh of Flowers by Mary Elizabeth. Her prices were very competitive, she was extremely responsive to all of my questions, and she was really flexible when it came to listening to my ideas. What she delivered - in the midst of the semi-chaos of our hotel suite's prep time - was exactly what we had discussed months prior.





And yes, I kept the bouquets simple, small, cheery, and chock full o' billy balls. I thought the bright yellow would pick up the gold details on our saris for the ceremony, and then pop against our dresses for the reception. But really...I just knew you can't go wrong with some b. balls.











This floral explosion of photos provided by Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography.

Notes From a Newlywed: The Invitations {Down-to-Earth Paperworks}

When it comes to our next vendor, Down-to-Earth Paperworks, I really can't say anything but good things. If you want to read more of my gushing over working with Menna and a bit of background as to why I decided on this particular style of invites, be sure to check out this post from earlier in the year.

Menna not only designed our invitations, but also whipped up coordinating ceremony programs, too. And these weren't your average programs...they had a front and back cover plus eight interior pages of text. When you have a 90 minute Indian ceremony, you definitely want to make sure that all of your guests can follow along.









Thanks, as always, to Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography for getting some great shots of our paper products.

Eyes on the Bride: Cris S. {Part 2}

Guess who's back...back again...Cris is back...tell a friend...now that our Wednesday morning song break is over, it's time to turn it over one more time so Cris can walk us through her 2012 Texas wedding. Remember that these are just some of the details, as Cris already gave us the lowdown on her first round of nuptials last week. And to get even more Cris whenever you want, don't forget to check out Kiss My Tulle. Okay, here we go...

Wedding Location – Our home in the Texas Hill Country (check out how we’re remodeling it for The Big Day: http://www.atno64.com).

Images Courtesy of: Style Me Pretty, Hi Fi Weddings, Inspired By This, Martha Stewart Weddings, Unknown, and Style My Pretty

Wedding colors/theme – Upscale Picnic (like the kind that my grandma used to host in her gorgeous backyard during the summer) and lots of blues, greens, reds, and pinks.

Bridesmaids' dresses info – I’m letting them pick any dress they want as long as it’s a jewel blue color. They LOVE this and have already shown me several options. (I think they’re excited to pick something from their closet or find a dress that they’ll actually wear again).

Best part of planning – Seeing amazing ideas from other weddings and trying to figure out how to do them cheaper and/or with my own spin on the idea.

Worst part of planning – Trying to nail down the guest list – this sucks to a spectacular degree.

Most surprising part of planning – How many people try to get you to use their vendor/friend/services. I’m still trying to figure out a tactful way to say no. (Funny story, one woman was SO insistent that I use her cake lady – even though she had no clue what style of cake I wanted, how much my budget was, or that I had already booked a cake vendor. Sheesh!)

Favorite vendor so far – My photographer, Miranda Laine Photography. The photography was SO important me that I used a whopping 1/3 of my budget toward it and booked her within weeks of getting married. Miranda is everything I was hoping for in a photographer and was SO amazing during the interview process that I just knew she was the vendor for me (you can read more about how I chose my photographer here.

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans – Lots! I’m blessed to have come from a very hands-on, crafty family, so I’m planning on making tons of the décor for my wedding. (I’m also really lucky and my best friend/matron of honor lives close by and loves helping out with this kind of stuff). So far I’ve planned: a fabric/flower streamer thing for the ceremony alter, pallet tables for the reception, tree stump benches for the ceremony seating, the ring pillow, a quilt for the DIY photobooth backdrop, some costume bits for a kid’s costume box, the flower girl dresses, possibly the junior bridesmaid dresses, all of my invitations (and assorted paper goods), and on and on….

Images Courtesy of: From The Kitchen of Olivia, Elizabeth Ann Designs, Oh Happy Day, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Martha Stewart

Honeymoon Location – We’re toying with going to the United Kingdom (The Boy was stationed there in the mid-80’s and wasn’t allowed to go to Ireland then + he loved it and wants to go back for a visit), Greece (we can score a killer deal on an apartment right on the beach [thank you, assorted military/veterans vacation clubs]), or New Orleans (if we’re low on fundage – we’d love to support tourism there after everything they’ve been through in last few years).

*all other images provided by Cris