The beauty is in the (Wedding) details

Here are a bonus of 10 wedding details that I shared on my Facebook page. Enjoy!


Wedding Detail #1: For a cohesive feel throughout your event, don't forget the detail of decor in the bathrooms. Theme colors and fabric on the doors and a basket of essentials by a chair to rest your feet from a night of dancing and your bathroom is "ready to join the party"!

 

Wedding Detail #2: We ordered umbrellas in our wedding colors hoping that we could keep the rain away. Well the rain came anyway, but the umbrellas turned out to be a great accessory for our outdoor photos and one of our favorite elements. Plan on a few extra items (umbrellas, shawls, rain boots etc) in case the sun doesn't shine and then you'll have great photos regardless!

 

Wedding Detail #3: When your event takes place in several different buildings at one venue, it's important your guests know where to head and when. We had a easel on the path from the parking lot to share important arrival details and directions. You could also pass out maps, have arrows or have your groomsman greet and guide.

Wedding Detail #4: As our bridal party and close family stayed in 20 guest rooms at the Enfield Shaker Museum, we wanted everyone to feel like their room was their home away from home. We hung simple signs by each door with their names. This simple detail helped all feel welcome and allowed us to easily find each other's rooms.

Wedding Detail #5: Early on, I decided our wedding needed a logo. Our logo allowed a cohesive look throughout wedding elements from the belly band on our invitations to the runners on our reception tables, from banners to our corn hole boards. Ours was simple to create ourselves, but you can also find numerous vendors on Etsy who can create a design perfect for your event.

Wedding Detail #6: Just like you can't control the rain, the temperature can also be uncooperative. Two of our venues did not have heat so we rented a heater for the Stone Mill and provided a basket of shawls for the ceremony. Guests were encouraged to grab one on their way in to stay warm and then return it later in the night. Think about other ways to ensure your guests are comfortable regardless of the weather conditions: umbrellas, flip flops, sunglasses or sunscreen would all be great little details!

Wedding Detail #7: Keeping guests informed and excited before your wedding is easier today than it's ever been. We had a wedding website which was a good way to share details about accommodations, weather, things to do in the area and more. There are many free services which allow you to choose design, colors and elements.

Wedding Detail #8: If you are hosting your event in a location that might be unfamiliar to many of your guests, build excitement by sharing details about the location in your invitation. We included a hand drawn map showing where the wedding was to be held in relationship to better know towns in NH. I drew ours, but you can also finds lots of custom maps on Esty.

Wedding Detail #9: As I've shared on my blog, I love name tags for events with guests who may be meeting for the first time. Our rehearsal dinner was no exception. We ordered Team Bride and Team Groom buttons with childhood photos of each of us and added a felt flag to each with the guests name and relationship to us. They helped break the ice and were a cute added detail!

Wedding Detail #10: The last detail I'll share for now is very practical. As you might have been able to tell from my blog posts thus far, we brought a lot of things with us to the wedding. One of the most important details therefore was having a trailer to bring it all to the venue. The trailer definitely saved on trips and allowed everything to be packed up easily at the end of the weekend too. We borrowed ours from friends, but you could also rent one based on your size needs.

   

Asking my bridal party

A year ago today, my husband proposed and I said yes! As you can imagine, I was so excited to start planning our wedding right away. One of the first things I focused on was my bridal party to be. I knew my maid of honor and bridesmaid would be such huge supports during the planning and wedding, so I wanted to make asking them a special event.

I decided I wanted to make bags that I could fill with fun goodies and wedding prep treats. I found this great (and easy) tutorial online. I purchased a mix of fabrics that fit our color scheme (grey and yellow) and the feel we were planning for. I sewed the bags in all different combinations of the fabrics. They had a vinyl coated fabric on the inside so they could be used as a lunch bag or purse. 

Once the bags were finished came the fun of filling them! I bought small bottles of champagne and tied on yellow and white paper straws. I typed up a list of my bridal party with email address and phone numbers so they could easily contact each other. I included paint swatches of our colors, a bridesmaid dress catalog and a personalized invitation.

My sister (and wonderful maid of honor) baked these super cute ring cookies that went in each bag too. A few themed napkins finished off the contents. I add a tag to the outside and they were ready to present.

I gave them to my bridal party, mother and mother-in-law when we went out to dinner after our first dress fitting appointment.  (One went in the mail too!) Thankfully they all said yes as they were the best bridal party I could have asked for! 

A Cocktail hour full of DIY!

With the holidays and our honeymoon behind us, it's time to focus in on the DIY aspects of our wedding. From the moment we were engaged, my mind was full of ideas and planning for the big day. It was the ultimate party to plan. The planning process focused on several different unique parts of the wedding: the ceremony, the cocktail hour and the reception. Although each venue and feel was different, the colors and signature fabrics tied all the events together. Today, let's focus on the Cocktail Hour: the light hearted, fun part of the evening!

  

 The Cocktail Hour took place in the Old Stone Mill, a large open building with rustic granite brick facade and large windows inside. We wanted the Cocktail Hour to be interactive and allow our guests multiple ways to be entertained and mingle. 

Before:

After:

 

The most dramatic part of the decor was the fabric pennants strung across the space. We had over a 300 feet of pennants all sewn by my mom and I. They add great color to the space and coordinated with the fabric used throughout the wedding. The room also had large round lights strung across the room which added a great effect once it went dark. I wanted it to feel like a country fair and the pennants and lights certainly helped created that feel! 

Throughout the wedding, we used free standing chalkboards to help direct guests and share important information. On the back, we had quotes that conveyed the sentiment of the occasion. The chalkboards were built by my dad and I hand painted the quotes and details.

    

In the far corner, we had games! Two sets of corn hole boards for guests to play. My dad built the boards and we added the zig zag stripes and silk screened wedding logo. The silk screen logo, cut by my sister, was great to incorporate our logo throughout the decor. My mom sewed bean bags and we added rules to a chalkboard. 

  

We created a casual seating area with two adirondack chairs, a carpet, afgan and basket of books. The books were picture books about weddings and children's nonfiction books about the Shakers. The chairs were made by my father-in-law and the afghan and sign by my mother-in-law. Guests enjoyed sitting and posing for photos in the chairs.

 

  

By the door, we had a wagon full of cow bells, one of our favors for the wedding. My husband does a lot of bike racing where cow bells are rung by the spectators. Our guests all rung their bells when we were announced into the Stone Mill for the first time as husband and wife.

 

On the large doors, we hung two quilted banners in coordinating fabrics with our silkscreened logo.

 In the back corner, we had a photo backdrop area which came out just the way we had hoped! My husband and I search antique stores for the perfect tandem bicycle. We then refinished it and painted it yellow. My dad built the three sided backdrop and I painted the quotes. A few photos props, a basket of flowers and it was ready for guests to pose! It was so fun to watch everyone climb on and smile for the camera. Check out more shots here. 

 

 

 Our guest book was a quilt sewn by my sister and I. Guests were encouraged to write us a message on the write strips between the squares. It will be a wonderful momento of our wedding and the guests that we shared the weekend with.

 

We rented two large farm tables for guests to sit and chat at. The centerpieces featured shaker baskets and boxes made by my mom, painted mason jars with fresh flowers and balloons. We had two tables with appetizers and the flower cart from my shower full of mason jars to enjoy the drinks with. The bar was set up by the door and the DJ along the wall for ambiance. 

 

It was the perfect setting for an hour of mingling and visiting with our friends and family!

Good night!