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.

   

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!  

36 days and counting ..

We are in the home stretch of planning a wedding and we are so excited! It's been eight month since the engagement and the preparations began. Our to do list is definitely getting shorter. Throughout the planning process, I've been torn between sharing posts of the progress or maintain the surprise and delight for guests at the big event. I've gone with an middle road approach - sharing snippets on instagram, but letting most details be a surprise. I'm looking forward to blogging about some of the highlights of the planning process and sharing behind the scenes details after the celebration.

Check out the sneak peaks on instagram at #carriedavid or http://instagram.com/moggiegreen.  

Halloween Orchard dinner

This was the 10th year Katie and I have hosted a Halloween Party together - we are honored to share the holiday with so many special friends. This year we headed to a local orchard for an apple themed dinner.

We contacted a few orchards and made arrangements to host the party at Carter Hill Orchard in Concord, NH. Hosting a party off site is lots of fun but definitely involves a little extra planning. We chose a beautiful row of trees. Invitations were ordered from Bee and Daisy on Etsy.

 Before and After

The orchard provided the space and we brought the rest. We were very happy with the transformation. Three long banquet tables, hay bales and folding chairs were festooned with maroon, orange and green themed table clothes and plates.

Centerpieces included bright, festive flowers in apple barrels, apple candles and fresh apples. Cheese platters, crackers and a charcuitere plate were on the table for snacking as guests arrived.

 A peak of the table through the trees! 

Each place setting had an adorable sewn apple made by Wendy. Traditionally at our parties, the place card is something that can be taken home and used as a Christmas ornament.  

The temperature was on the cooler side so the hot apple cider served in mason jars was a big hit and great hand warmer.

We all sat down to enjoy an apple themed dinner: Apple pumpkin soup with bread rolls and apple bread, salad with apple cider vinaigrette, savory apple tarts with beets or onions, and apple cookies and bars for dessert.

Our guests in their great costumes!

 

 

Guests headed home with homemade apple pie (baked with love by Wendy) and their fabric apple.

We can't wait until next year!