Wedding Trend Tuesday- Styled Engagement Shoot

I just love the idea of a styled engagement shoot! It's not often that we have an excuse to get professional photos taken so why not make the most of it? It doesn't have to be over the top, or it totally can be! Each year, Green Wedding Shoes gathers their favorite engagement photos and we've decided to feature a few of them for your inspiration. Click the photo to see their entire list. Enjoy!

Wedding Trend Tuesday- Farm Tables!

My favorite thing about using vintage furniture at a wedding reception is that it gives your reception a warm and cozy, homey feel unlike stark traditional event rentals. It's decoration without trying too hard. There's nothing more family style than an old farm table to sit around with your family (like we did) or your wedding party! And a huge benefit is that you don't need to cover it up with a table cloth.

Here are some images to get you inspired-

This table is GORGEOUS and I love the mixture of chairs! Green Wedding Shoes

Here's a farm table used for a cheese table- you could also do it for your cake table! Intimate Weddings

 

I love this look- it shows how chic a farm table can be! Jetfete Blog

The great thing about a farm table is that it can provide you with a rustic feel if that is what you're going for or it can be very chic if rustic is not what you're necessarily going for.

Happy Tuesday!

Wedding Trend Tuesday- Burlap Banners

I'm a day late! I know, I'm sorry. I came back to a crazy apartment after a long weekend home and I just HAD to clean. Plus I spent almost all day Sunday at Ikea with my sister and got some great stuff to organize and I just couldn't wait a day to put it to use. I'm still working on getting into a routine so I remember which days to be posting what and when.

ANYWHO. Burlap banners are so in! Not only that but they're easy to make and cheap enough to buy them already made and personalized if you aren't so crafty. Plus it's a great way to let your guests know where things are located in your venue by using them as labels. I made a few for my wedding and would love to make them for your event (if you rent from us of course! :P)

The first one is from an Etsy Shop where you can buy them. The second is from a wedding featured on La Belle Bride.

And the next couple are from my wedding-

They're just a lovely way to add a special touch to your decor and they can be functional too! I actually made my save the dates a little banner that had info on some of the triangles and patterned paper on the others to add color. It was small enough for our guests to hang on the fridge as a reminder. There are so many different ways to use these banners.

Happy Planning!

Revamp!

Hi again!

So as the wedding planning chapter has sadly but also happily ended, we're on to NEW things! I have a lot more time to focus on a new baby...Old & Borrowed, which I have talked a lot about lately. Although planning our wedding has ended, I hope that wedding planning in general has not ended for me. The truth is I'm so sad that it's over! Just as everyone had warned me, it happened too fast.

Though that chapter has ended, this blog has not! I plan to continue my story which is now our story as we begin this new chapter of our lives...we being Kc and I but also we being my mom and I. We're stepping into a whole new realm with this one and we want to do it BIG. We want to do it right.

So this has officially become the blog of Old & Borrowed. It will still feature DIY projects and inspiration as well as the story of our new business.

Enjoy!

M

It's Official!!!

Hey there!

I am sooo excited to officially announce our new Vintage Rentals company- Old & Borrowed by Timeless Trends Boutique! Please help us spread the word by liking and sharing our facebook page! We would GREATLY appreciate it! 

Check out our new page!

So you may be wondering what this is! Well, a few months back as I was planning my wedding I thought to myself, "What do other brides do with their left over decor?" I mean, I had a store to take it to, but it's not that simple for most brides. Not to mention- if I hadn't had access to all of our store inventory for furniture- I would have had to have collected that furniture myself! And where would I have kept it? I was really lucky to have access to the shop to borrow SO much great stuff. Not everyone is so lucky.

That is when I thought, "what if we rented to brides and photographers for their events!" This was they don't have to spend months collecting and storing items to then have to sell on ebay or other wedding recycling sites. It save you from the hassle! 

So...how it works. You would come into our shop to check out our inventory and decide on what you need. We would then draw up an estimate that would depend on the items you are renting (furniture, knick-knacks, vintage china, mason jars etc...), if you need delivery, where your event is,  and how long you need the items for. After we agree on a price for everything, those items would then be reserved until your date so they could only be rented, not sold until after your event.

If you need delivery or staging services as well we would come in and do that as well! 

It saves you money and TONS of time because let me tell you- most brides don't want to spend the 2 days before their event hauling all that furniture around and setting it up. It takes a lot of time! In fact, there are a lot of things that I wanted to do in the barn that we just didn't get to because there were other wedding tasks to be handled and a rehearsal dinner to get to. You can sit back and relax and not have to worry about a thing, including what to do with all of the stuff afterward. 

Photo by Studio C Photography

If you are interested in our services or have any questions please contact us- the sooner the better to make sure you don't miss out on a single piece!

Old and Borrowed

240-288-8226

21 E Main Street,

Thurmont, MD 21788

www.facebook.com/oldandborrowed

Happy Planning!

M

I'm Married!

Hello!

I'm finally getting around to posting about the Big Day- it's been a whirlwind ever since it happened! The day was beautiful- beautiful weather, beautiful friends and family, beautiful decor- it was everything I could have asked for. Working up to the day was exhausting but completely gratifying. I'm just sad it's over! 

People ask if I feel different. Nope! I feel the same- totally happy and insanely in love...just with a different last name. We call each other husband and wife and then joke that it feels fake. Like when you're engaged and you call each other that because you're so excited- well it still feels like that! Totally unreal because you've been waiting for it for so long that it couldn't possibly be here. But it feels good and just right. :)

Ok! Ok! Pictures you ask! Well I'm going to post a few and then redirect you to Levi, our amazing photographers blog because his post captures it all.

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

Thank you Aubrie, Kaite and Lindsay for these pics! :) We had a great time dancing the night away with our family and friends. I would like to thank all of our parents for their help- Kathy and Ernie gave us a beautiful rehearsal dinner that was absolutely perfect and that heartfelt slideshow that brought us all to tears! Thank you Dad for our AWESOME lemonade stand, photoboth back drop and all of your help preparing and cleaning up- it was a lot of work. We would also like to thank our bridal party for being there to support us and for your help during the process as well. My brothers and cousin for doing our readings- it meant a lot to us. And our sisters who were always there to be excited for us and lend a helping hand. :)

And lastly I'd like to thank my my mom for being there through the whole process making phone calls, collecting furniture and enough dishes for 90 people(!) and for keeping me on top of things including knowing all of the right questions to ask our vendors! You were a HUGE help and I couldn't have done it without you.

Check out Levi's page for to see pictures of the entire day! He's gonna try to get our wedding on some blogs which would be totally crazy awesomeness! Stay tuned for that and our Honeymoon blog post!

Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading :)

M

1 day, 15 hours 49 minutes...or so

Ahhh I'm getting married!

I finally have just a few moments before bed to reflect.

This past week has been INSANE! Finishing our first big design project, and just trying to get to a point in school that I wouldn't be completely behind when I came back upon SO MANY last minute details. After all, I am the queen of last minute...trust me. There are a few things that I wish I could have found the time to not save until now but, hey! I'm a busy lady whether I'm planning a wedding or not!

It's been an insanely stressful last 2 weeks and even though I feel a little bit behind as far as some of the decorating goes...I finally feel like I can breathe again. That must be a good sign right? I can finally just sit and feel super excited that I'm marrying my best friend!!!

On another note, I have been obsessively checking the weather:

Weather.com

accuweather.com

Accuweather.com

Well, they do say a bit of rain on your wedding day is good luck, right?! And it shouldn't last long. I think it will happen during the ceremony...hopefully while I am IN the church only, please and thank you, God :) The good news is that it will definitely cool things down which will be good considering the barn has no air conditioning and I'd rather not bust out those large barn fans! And we've actually repositioned where cocktail hour will take place in case some sprinkles carry over. Always have a back up plan when you are working with Earth.

So sure, Mother Nature, you have my permission to give us a brief thunderstorm- just make it quick!

There is much to do in this final day before so I better get to bed!

Night :)

M

ps...I'm getting married!!!!!!

10 Days- Some inspiration!

Hiya!

As we're wrapping up our last minute wedding planning and crafting I did a little image research to help my family in understanding my vision. My people :) have really stepped it up these last few days in helping me go from pictures and ideas to real life! My dad and I started crafting the photobooth back drop this past week- I'll have pictures tomorrow or the next day for ya! My mom has been calling left and right to tie up all the last minute details and has begun working on her designated crafts with my brother and aunt. I cannot wait to see what they've created when I get home next week.

Here are a few images I found for my family to get what I meant when I said:

Vintage. Rustic Chic.

I sincerely apologize that I do not have sources on these images- they were either found through Google-ing or on Green Wedding Shoes, I believe.

We have been creating a list of all of the little vintage vignettes that will be set up through out the space- indoor and out. We have plans of a vintage couch and chair setting. Some colorful metal chairs with a trunk coffee table. A neat shabby chic dresser for our dessert table and some other little spots to take a seat and relax a minute.

One of the best parts of the day will be seeing everything together in one area. One of the great things about our venue, Lawyer's Event Barn, is that we get to start setting up on Thursday! So we'll get a little preview as well as the chance to set everything up just the way we want it- no rush.

Being that the reception is taking place in a barn, I want to really keep the decor pretty chic. I want it to feel casual but not hoe-down casual. I mean I know we're having bbq and all but this will be the most tasty fancy bbq you will ever experience!

I absolutely LOVE this look. I wish that every table could be a gorgeous farm table with an array of chairs. But lets be real- sometimes there are things you have to scale down. While we actually considered collecting 100 chairs we decided to just do vintage chairs around the head table with high back chairs for the Groom and I. :)

Some people may look at little groupings like these and say what's the point? Not everything must serve some kind of function! Some things are simply for beauty. It's like accessorizing and outfit! It just adds a feel- completes the look like a necklace or a pair of earrings might complete a dress. It can totally set the tone of your event which can really affect your guests mood. People may tell you not to get too wrapped up in the details...but if it's something you're passionate about and will help complete your day- go for it!

I am sooo excited to get decorating! AND for my craft day with some of my bridesmaids on Friday! I just have this strong image of what I want my day to look like and I plan on turning that into a reality.

If it's stressing you- let it go. But if you just get a little lazy about it you'll probably sorry later that you didn't go that extra few steps.

Happy bit'o'my wisdom :P

M

17 days!

Evening!

I am so relieved! We have found a pianist. I didn't tell you that we didn't have a pianist because I wanted to save you from the worry! Just kidding! I was just so embarrassed to be so ridiculously behind on such an important task. But I am incredibly relieved to finally be crossing off a task that was stressing me out so terribly. My voice lessons teacher from high school pulled through for me!

I finally got those table squares cut! I even added little bows to the corners...currently 2 corners and I may add them to the other 2 corners as well. These were so easy to make. I simply measured the square size we needed and cut them. For the bows, I used twine and just threaded it through with a little pair of scissors, you can see the little stitch below. It was a bit time consuming but easy enough anyway.

 

I finished up our seating chart using WeddingWire's INCREDIBLE application. I really can't get over how awesome their tools are and how helpful they've been in planning our wedding. The seating chart is particularly cool because you can little build your reception area!

I also finished tagging all of the jars with everyone's names and went for my first dress fitting! It was a very successful weekend as far as wedding planning goes.

• Schedule and have final fitting and alterations done on my dress.
• Order Rentals
• Finish up burlap decorations
• Make Photo Booth backdrop
• Finish tagging jars
• Finish making chalkboard
• Get Kc a bowtie
• Get gifts for all those people we get gifts for

Progress has been made on the photobooth in that we have a plan on how it is going to be decorated. I really can't wait to get that done and put some pics up!

Keeping a running to-do list helping me stay sane and know exactly what I need to do next. I actually bought a white board to-do list from target and it's really great because it's constantly reminding me of important tasks. I highly recommend getting one just for life in general!

Happy Planning!

M

23 Days

I can't believe I'm getting married in 23 days ahhhhh!

Kc and I are off to get our Marriage License tomorrow and to have our final meeting with the deacon! I'm so glad to have a long weekend to get lots of wedding crafting accomplished. I have lots of little banners to assemble and paint among other creative tasks to complete.

I'd love to make something like this for the dessert table but ours mights say "How Sweet It Is..." but that's pretty long- we'll see how much patients I have!

Also! I am 100% stealing this idea because I love it! We already have the wheel and everything...and look! She's got our date! Both of these found on this lovely etsy shop. She has all sorts of neat things.

I've been hand doing all of our lettering. It appears that she uses stencils...or maybe she's just that amazing. Something to definitely consider if you are making your own and aren't exactly confident in your painting/lettering abilities. These are really easy to make, just a bit time consuming. I can post a "how to" explaining how I made mine once I start working them this weekend.

I STILL have to cut out our table squares. I know, I know! Just do it already! I will. This weekend.

My mom got us our little bird's nest for our rings! I have yet to have seen it but I'd love to achieve something like this (also found on etsy):

We've got the lemonade stand to build and our photobooth backdrop to create! All of the fun stuff at this point. :) I went to the dentist today and she asked if I am sleeping haha! Yes, I am sleeping quite well. In fact I think I'm more tired than usual and yes, stressed but ecstatic! My schedule at school is awesome this semester and is leaving adequate time for planning and working and the never-ending journey of staying organized and on top of things. I expect the next few weeks to get a bit crazier but I'll manage, as we always do. :)

Happy Planning! 

M

Something Old & Borrowed

Evening Friends!

All summer I've been gearing up and doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go from here. I don't want to be designer...I just don't have it in me. I don't have it in me to take criticism from clients who know nothing about design! Congrats if you do...that takes a lot of self constraint and patience.

So what shall I do? I love taking old things and making them new. I have a design background. And I also love event planning. I have learned that through the course of planning my own. While I may be stressed doing it, it's different sort of stress than designing stress. It's not in a self-depleting sort of way where no matter what you make it never quite feels good enough. And it's not the kind of stress where you're forced to create things that just don't come naturally. Anyway, a little off track here...I decided that I could create a blend of the three- especially while Vintage Events are very in. 

Two words- Vintage Rentals, particularly for weddings and photo shoots as well as events like Tea Parties, Bridal Showers etc... I get to keep my vintage inventory full of fresh stock that I love creating while selling pieces that have been around a while (and are still in good shape). While there are all sorts of vintage themed weddings out there for us to drool over...it's not that easy to come by great pieces for a reasonable price. Most people don't want to purchase furniture or the accessories themselves and certainly don't want to take the time to refinish them the way they want. Who has the time to do all of that? And what do you do with it in the end? You rent them instead. :)

I'm sooo excited to get this started as a branch of our current store Timeless Trends Boutique. I plan to work on all of the branding and such as my senior capstone project...if I don't make all of it before I get to next semester! Pictured are a couple pieces that I picked up as part of our starting inventory as well as some other pieces that would be great for a rental.

If you are interested in renting some of our pieces for your event let us know! You can contact us through the store site or on here- we have a large collection of pieces as well as a space you can rent to hold smaller events (tea, themed birthday, showers etc...)

Happy Planning!

M

1 month to go...ah!

Needless to say, we're getting down to the wire!

I cannot believe we're actually at the one month mark. I thought it would never come. Never come time to really be worried about all that was to be done; Never come time to have an excuse to be fully emerged in wedding stuff. Well, it's time! It's here! I'm fully emerged! Wow!

Being that I am now in Philadelphia and classes have begun, you can imagine that the next month is going to be totally crazy. There is so much to get done!

• Schedule and have final fitting and alterations done on my dress.
• Order Rentals
• Finish up burlap decorations
• Make Photo Booth backdrop
• Finish tagging jars
• Finish making chalkboard
• Get Kc a bowtie
• Get gifts for all those people we get gifts for

Goodness. Anyway, here a few pics of somethings I actually was working on a while back and just never really got a chance to post.

 

You may recall this birdcage that I posted pictures of a while back. Well here is the little banner that is going on it. I just have to decide how much cleaning up to it I'm going to do.

These little gems are to tie onto our chairs! Just simple little burlap pennant banners that I used acrylic paint on. I think I just used a pencil to make the holes to put the twine through.

Happy Eve

M

40 days

Happy Sunday!

Today was a lovely day! And I got many things accomplished with the help of my sister. 

9:00 It was an early start as I arrived at Justine's church, (my bff) to sing with her at her church. It went really well, I had a lot of fun and it got me in a good mindset for the day.

11:30 Annie and I had an appointment with the Hair and Make Up artist(?) She did a test run on our hair which went quite well. We decided not to post pics and leave it to be a surprise but I will tell you that pretty braids were featured in both of our updo's :) We were able to multi task and order the favors while Lauren did our hair! Two things to cross off the list at once- check and check!

1:00 We began crafting! Or cleaning rather haha. We're using vintage china so we began pulling that out and loading into the dishwasher. Next! Wash jars! Yeah not the most exciting thing ever but you gotta do the dirty work first right?

Alright time for the fun part, the jars! Finally all washed up we began tagging. Remember those tags I made in a previous post?

Find out how I made these here.

They're being tied to the mason jars so everyone's cup already has their name on it!

Scout wanted to know what was so interesting :P

I can't wait to see what they look like topped off with an old fashioned spiral straw!

Happy Planning!

M

Days fly by!

Ahoy there!

Let me start by saying I'm SO excited for my bridal shower tomorrow! EEEEEeeeee!

Kc came down last weekend and we finished up with our sponsor couple and the priest and the deacon the weekend before that! It feels good to be crossing things off the list!

1. Wedding Bands
2. DJ (yep, we ended up going DJ- request songs!!!)
3. Parents outfits
4. Invitations (designed, printed, sent)

 

But there are things that aren't crossed yet- yikes!

1. Make table Squares
2. Ceremony Music/ Musicians (let me know if you you know a violinist or cellist!)
3. Finish up ceremony details
4. Figure out hair and make up
5. Get accessories
6. Take care of alcohol for reception
7. Make MORE decorations
8. Get rest of mason Jars
9. Order favors

Ok I have to stop making this list, I'm getting nervous!!! No, I feel pretty good about where we are at the 2 month mark- or a few days less now! 1 month, 26 days WOW. 

Kc and I worked on making Chalkboards last weekend too. Yep, he really is helping in all this crazy planning ;)

Happy Friday!

M

3 months and 5 days

My gosh.

The days seem to be FLYING by. My excitement grows with each day that passes! And despite how insanely busy we've been at the store doing and preparing for events- we've actually managed to stay (somewhat) on top of wedding tasks!

We've been meeting with everyone through the church, we've picked out our wedding bands (so exciting!), we've gotten tons of yards of burlap (and I mean tons!), and I've been trying to keep up with all of the crafting! Tonight, I've just about finished up the escort cards, minus the actual table numbers, which will happen after the rsvps come in and I know for sure where everyone is seated. Wow, those are some long sentences...sorry! 

It looks like a lot of tags there but that isn't even half! Just what I worked on tonight. I've gotta wash tons of mason jars and add the drink tags, make burlap table squares for the middle of the tables, make burlap pennant banners, and so much more that I can't even think about! Whew! Good thing I love crafting :P

Earlier this week my mom and I were checking out a barn sale in Frederick and picked up a neat bird cage for cards to be put in. Just needs a little cleaning up and it will be just perfect! Clearly I'm not afraid of a little rustic touch at our wedding :)

Happy Father's Day!

M

Drink Tags- the final touch!

Good Morning!

First I must tell you that the craziest thing happened last night. I awoke to the sound of running water in my bedroom at 2 am. Uh oh! When I turned the light on, I saw it...water GUSHING out from around my air conditioner. "BOWLS!"

Kc and I race to the kitchen finding the largest bowls we can and stash them under the river flowing from the wall. I look in Kc's room. MORE WATER! The bowls were filling up in a matter of about 30 seconds! It was a blur of commotion as we are running back and forth between the bathroom and the rivers. WATER. Everywhere there was water!

And the craziest thing- I could not stop laughing it was just so ridiculous. Seeing the water spilling out of the wall. I was hysterical. I was even more hysterical after I discovered that the emergency maintenance number was no different than the leasing office number which led me to a voice mail! Not good. I think I should win voice mail of the year because it was pretty fantastic. I wish I had my own recording of it. 

Needless to say, they came and sucked the water out of the apartment, and gave us the magnet that has the emergency maintenance number...why that is not online is still beyond me. But they were very sympathetic as they do not want to lose a resident. This is certainly a memory Kc and I will share forever because it was rather unforgettable! We will look back and laugh at the time a river was flowing through our walls and out of the air conditioner. Good times!

Anyway, I really came here to share the finished, finished product of the drink tags! I decided that they needed a little something on the back. Here's what I came up with:

What do you think? :)

M