Monday, May 30, 2011

Great Buys at the Auction!

Today I experienced my first auction and it certainly was a good one (extremely hot 98 degrees) but there were tons of great finds including these lots of Ball Mason Jars that I got for less than you'd find them almost anywhere! Definitely worth the heat. My mom also picked up some unique things for her next Vintage Warehouse sale (June 11th and 12th) which you can find more information about on her website as well as more pictures!


I got the lot of vintage medicine bottles for a great price too! So you may be asking what this has to do with my wedding planning. I will tell you!...or maybe I'll show you!
















They make perfect eclectic vases that add beautiful color and have a rustic vintage feel!


The medicine bottles (with straws of course) make really cool drink containers too! Maybe I'm stretching it but the things we can come up with when we think outside of the box can be both creative and quite clever. I also picked up cool metal containers to throw some ice in and use as drink coolers. 
Overall, it was a very successful day and I can't wait to venture out to collect more unique finds (especially at auctions)! Moral of the story: you never know what great things you can find in the most unexpected places.

Friday, May 27, 2011

A great find!

Some time last week my mom and I went out to get stuff for the store and I, of course, found tons of things not for the store but for myself! One being this fantastic little journal:


You can get yours too from http://timelesstrendsboutique.com/

And granted I have no clue who the little girl is on the front, it will make a perfect guest book! Or you could use it to keep all of your ideas in. But I would really love to do a photo booth if I can get my hands on a Polaroid camera and some film! So then our guests can choose their favorite snapshot, tape it in the book and leave a little note! It will be an awesome keepsake from our wedding that will be fun to look through for years to come.  

Easy inexpensive photobooth.


 Having a book for our guest to tape them in means we wont lose any along the way and I don't have to spend time putting them together!


This is another really great and unique idea that I have come across. Have your guests leave you little notes they can type up instead of having a traditional guest book. For a beach theme you could have them leave you a "message in a bottle," or for an outdoor wedding, set up a mailbox for your guests to put their letters in. Make it fun! And it's also a great opportunity for a really neat keepsake from your wedding that doesn't require a lot of money or work.

Have any unique ideas of your own?

Happy Planning

Mary

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Suggestion: Research Tons.

I always knew my wedding would have vintage flair. But as I researched more and more my tastes changed and what I thought I wanted became the last thing that I wanted. You only have 1 wedding (or hopefully anyway) and so you don't want to look back and think, ya know I wish I would have done it differently. And you also don't want your hopes a dreams to change as you research more only after you've already booked your venue and bought decorations. My suggestion: research TONS. I have spent countless hours looking at wedding blogs (which are usually better than some of the more commercial sites), some of my favorites include Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes. I also found BRIDES to be better than the The Knot, which can tend to assume you are spending tens of thousands of dollars on your wedding, which may or may not be the case. Find your favorite websites or blogs and let them inspire you. Find out ALL of your options and bookmark everything you love! It's easy to forget really great ideas that you think you'll remember, but in reality it's a long and pretty overwhelming process so write everything down. You'll be glad you took the extra effort when it you begin to really get into the planning process. It will also help your wedding be cohesive, and it's better to have too many options than not enough. This way you can really pinpoint what you're looking for, what is you, and what makes your wedding unique.

Here are some photos that inspired me and helped to convince me that a barn wedding was a fantastic idea that could still be very chic!

Images found at http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/gallery/rustic-barn-wedding+672/2
 Happy Planning

Mary

Monday, May 23, 2011

Hello and Welcome!

I always knew my wedding would have vintage flair. But as I researched more and more my tastes changed and what I thought I wanted became the last thing that I wanted. You only have 1 wedding (or hopefully anyway) and so you don't want to look back and think, ya know I wish I would have done it differently. And you also don't want your hopes a dreams to change as you research more only after you've already booked your venue and bought decorations. My suggestion: research TONS. I have spent countless hours looking at wedding blogs (which are usually better than some of the more commercial sites), some of my favorites include Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes. I also found BRIDES to be better than the The Knot, which can tend to assume you are spending tens of thousands of dollars on your wedding, which may or may not be the case. Find your favorite websites or blogs and let them inspire you. Find out ALL of your options and bookmark everything you love! It's easy to forget really great ideas that you think you'll remember, but in reality it's a long and pretty overwhelming process so write everything down. You'll be glad you took the extra effort when it you begin to really get into the planning process. It will also help your wedding be cohesive, and it's better to have too many options than not enough. This way you can really pinpoint what you're looking for, what is you, and what makes your wedding unique.

Here are some photos that inspired me and helped to convince me that a barn wedding was a fantastic idea that could still be very chic!

Images found at http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/gallery/rustic-barn-wedding+672/2
 Happy Planning

Mary