On A High Note

If you've been paying attention lately, you've probably realized that TWB has fallen into radio silence for the past several weeks. Sorry for leaving all of you hanging.

I've decided, after a few things transpired over the past several weeks, that blogging isn't the priority it used to be for me. So, instead of putting in a less than full effort, I've decided to take a break from the ol' blogging game. I want to leave this blog as the great resource and dialogue it is, not write a few posts here and there along the way. In other words, I want to go out on a high note. (Yes, this makes for another Seinfeld reference here on TWB. Maybe my next foray into blogging should be Seinfeld-centric?)







Thanks, as always for reading, following, and chatting. Oh, and don't forget that you can still reach me @2weddingbelles. Toodles!

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.