For those that want that missed it or want to see it again, here is an encore presentation of our wedding slideshow video.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Crafty business
For the past couple of weeks, we have been channeling our inner Martha Stewart to make colorful home-made decorations for the wedding reception. Here are a few things we've made.
We'll be making all of our own table centerpieces. I borrowed some vases from my drama closet at school and we've decorated them with green ribbon. We'll be filling them with fresh daisies the day before the wedding. Simple, but should do the trick!
For our escort cards, I tried to replicate something I saw in Martha Stewart's magazine.
The picture is terrible, but if you click on it, you can get a better idea. The fabric and pins remind me a lot of my Grandma Love. I used to hang out in her fabric store and impress her customers with my knowledge of button colors (I was two years old). This little board is my tribute to her and a fun way to incorporate all of our colors into the escort cards.
This website has the "how to" on how to make this board...but I have to say, my template is much better and much easier to use. If you're reading, Martha, give me a call and I'll send it to you...for a nominal freelance writer's fee.... ;)
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/hoverson-escort-cards?backto=true
Above are some of the name tags. We used scrapbook paper for the buttons instead of fabric...much easier and has the same effect. We used the same paper to make the table number cards. Cute, right?
Instead of a traditional wedding cake, we are doing a cupcake tower. John ordered it online and then we assembled it and decorated it with ribbon. Imagine this filled with fresh flowers and white frosted cupcakes...mmmmm...cake....We'll have a small cake on top for us to cut too.
We've ordered enough cupcakes for everyone to have at least one, but you could probably get away with two if you really wanted to. Careful though...don't want to end up like this....
We'll have none of that at the reception. :)
We'll be making all of our own table centerpieces. I borrowed some vases from my drama closet at school and we've decorated them with green ribbon. We'll be filling them with fresh daisies the day before the wedding. Simple, but should do the trick!For our escort cards, I tried to replicate something I saw in Martha Stewart's magazine.
The picture is terrible, but if you click on it, you can get a better idea. The fabric and pins remind me a lot of my Grandma Love. I used to hang out in her fabric store and impress her customers with my knowledge of button colors (I was two years old). This little board is my tribute to her and a fun way to incorporate all of our colors into the escort cards.
This website has the "how to" on how to make this board...but I have to say, my template is much better and much easier to use. If you're reading, Martha, give me a call and I'll send it to you...for a nominal freelance writer's fee.... ;)http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/hoverson-escort-cards?backto=true
Above are some of the name tags. We used scrapbook paper for the buttons instead of fabric...much easier and has the same effect. We used the same paper to make the table number cards. Cute, right?
Instead of a traditional wedding cake, we are doing a cupcake tower. John ordered it online and then we assembled it and decorated it with ribbon. Imagine this filled with fresh flowers and white frosted cupcakes...mmmmm...cake....We'll have a small cake on top for us to cut too.
We've ordered enough cupcakes for everyone to have at least one, but you could probably get away with two if you really wanted to. Careful though...don't want to end up like this....
We'll have none of that at the reception. :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Love Shower, Part 2
For those of you who were wondering about the title of this post, "Love" is my mother's last name...not a cheeky reference to the types of gifts I got at this shower. :) There was definitely a lot of love in the room though from my mom's family and my friends from high school, college, and beyond! Thanks to everyone for making this such a great day!
As I mentioned before, this was a "travel" themed shower. Each passenger...I mean...guest...received their invitation in the mail in the form of an airline ticket. I keep forgetting to bring my ticket over to scan, so I'll try to post a picture of it later. It was the cutest invitation I've ever seen!
Jenny put together a collage of pictures and set up a mileage pole for all of the places I've visited ...and one I will be visiting VERY soon! Look closely and you'll see St. Lucia!
This picture is Jenny trying to figure out which way is "north." I thought this was a pretty ingenious and creative way to use a music stand and a pool noodle in a bridal shower.
Our friend, Betsy, misread the departure time on her ticket and showed up an hour early...so we put her to work! Betsy used her creative talents to decorate the house with balloons and airport signage.
Luckily, most people ignored the signs...
My mom made a special dish from every country I have visited! These two were my favorites...the Yorkshire pudding and the Akara from South Africa. It's ironic that my two favorite dishes came from a country that is definitely NOT known for its cuisine (I'm talking about you, England!) and another where it is customary to leave stew on the stove for three days straight.
Here is a spreadsheet of all the recipes in case anyone wants to try them at home!
We also previewed some cupcakes from Sam's club...we're thinking about getting these daisy-cakes for our cupcake tower for the wedding. They were yummy, but a little TOO flower power for me, so we're going to go with just white on the tower for the wedding.
After food, Jenny jumped into teacher mode and led us in a few games. We had varying levels of success on the game where you had to translate "I love you" into different languages...I was on the "not successful" level. :(
Then I opened gifts and tried to guess what area of the world each represented. This is Elissa's gift...the splatter screen, bacon cooker, oil and vinegar holders, sink scraper... all are used for cooking, creating, or removing....grease...or Greece. ;) In the background of the picture, you can see Betsy's "search and find" method of decorating...can you find the Scottish and Canadian flags?
Then, feeling (and looking!) like a rock star in my white movie star glasses and light up tiara, my friends and I went out to a fabulous tapas restaurant in Kalamazoo and enjoyed a girls' night out on the town. I won't be blogging about the rest of the night, but trust me, we were very good! :)
I really do have the best friends! Thanks everyone for all you do for me!!
As I mentioned before, this was a "travel" themed shower. Each passenger...I mean...guest...received their invitation in the mail in the form of an airline ticket. I keep forgetting to bring my ticket over to scan, so I'll try to post a picture of it later. It was the cutest invitation I've ever seen!Jenny put together a collage of pictures and set up a mileage pole for all of the places I've visited ...and one I will be visiting VERY soon! Look closely and you'll see St. Lucia!
This picture is Jenny trying to figure out which way is "north." I thought this was a pretty ingenious and creative way to use a music stand and a pool noodle in a bridal shower.
Our friend, Betsy, misread the departure time on her ticket and showed up an hour early...so we put her to work! Betsy used her creative talents to decorate the house with balloons and airport signage.
Luckily, most people ignored the signs...
My mom made a special dish from every country I have visited! These two were my favorites...the Yorkshire pudding and the Akara from South Africa. It's ironic that my two favorite dishes came from a country that is definitely NOT known for its cuisine (I'm talking about you, England!) and another where it is customary to leave stew on the stove for three days straight.
Here is a spreadsheet of all the recipes in case anyone wants to try them at home!| Bridal Shower Menu | ||
| Food - Recipe | Website Link | Country |
| Smoked Ham Salad on Gruyere Potato Coins | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Smoked_Ham_Salad_on_Gruyere_Potato_Coins | Switzerland |
| Belgian Loaf | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Belgian_Loaf | Belgium |
| Canadian Bacon Appetizer | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Layered_Canadian_Bacon_Appetizer | Canada |
| Cheddar Ale Pub Spread | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Cheddar_Ale_Pub_Spread | Ireland |
| Apple Clafoutis | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Apple_or_Pear_Clafoutis_(an_Easy_French_Dessert) | France |
| Cheese plate | England, Ireland, Switzerland, France | |
| Akara | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Akara | South Africa |
| Scottish Meatballs | http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Scottish_Meat_Balls | Scotland |
| Yorkshire Pudding | http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1850,137183-236204,00.html | England |
| Cupcakes | Sam's Club - wedding samplers | USA |
After food, Jenny jumped into teacher mode and led us in a few games. We had varying levels of success on the game where you had to translate "I love you" into different languages...I was on the "not successful" level. :(
Then I opened gifts and tried to guess what area of the world each represented. This is Elissa's gift...the splatter screen, bacon cooker, oil and vinegar holders, sink scraper... all are used for cooking, creating, or removing....grease...or Greece. ;) In the background of the picture, you can see Betsy's "search and find" method of decorating...can you find the Scottish and Canadian flags?
Then, feeling (and looking!) like a rock star in my white movie star glasses and light up tiara, my friends and I went out to a fabulous tapas restaurant in Kalamazoo and enjoyed a girls' night out on the town. I won't be blogging about the rest of the night, but trust me, we were very good! :)
I really do have the best friends! Thanks everyone for all you do for me!!
Because we're getting married!
And when you get married, I guess you get a little narcissistic.... :)
We hadn't taken any engagement photos, so we met some friends in East Lansing and played with our new camera. It was fun walking around campus with our paparazzi of friends taking pictures. MSU has so many beautiful spots, we were hoping we'd get at least one good picture!
We need to choose a photo for our signing board for the reception.
Maybe not this one...
maybe something more like this...
This is our artistic & creative production team! Jenny's friends from Virginia were visitng Michigan, so they joined us on a campus tour. Spartan alumni include Jenny & Elissa (my college roomates and high school buddies), Nick (Elissa's husband...they met at MSU too!), and Darby (John's college roommate and my Wesley friend).
Thanks, friends!
We hadn't taken any engagement photos, so we met some friends in East Lansing and played with our new camera. It was fun walking around campus with our paparazzi of friends taking pictures. MSU has so many beautiful spots, we were hoping we'd get at least one good picture!
We need to choose a photo for our signing board for the reception.
Maybe not this one...
maybe something more like this...
This is our artistic & creative production team! Jenny's friends from Virginia were visitng Michigan, so they joined us on a campus tour. Spartan alumni include Jenny & Elissa (my college roomates and high school buddies), Nick (Elissa's husband...they met at MSU too!), and Darby (John's college roommate and my Wesley friend).
Thanks, friends!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Love Shower, part 1
My mom and my maid of honor, Jenny, threw a travel themed bridal shower for me. Each gift had to represent a different area of the world, either by content or wrapping paper. It was really fun to see the creative ways my friends incorporated my traveling experience into these gifts! I'll post more about the shower later, but first, here's a quiz to see how well you can do guessing the countries (or states) these gifts represented. Good luck! (And no guessing for those of you who were at the shower...that's cheating!) :)
1. Salsa bowl, margarita pitchers, margarita glasses
2. Wine glasses, Red Bicyclette Wine, Corkscrew
3. Cheese slicer, cheese shakers, cheese grater, and beer cheese soup mix
4. Splatter screen, bacon cooker, oil and vinegar holders, sink scraper
5. An assortment of ales, beer steins
6. Gravy boat, towels
7. 101 Elephant Jokes (and fine china...but I wouldn't mix elephants and china)
8. see picture below...
Bonus Question: I won't tell you what was in this bag, but the country was "Djibouti"...you can guess the gift on your own.
1. Salsa bowl, margarita pitchers, margarita glasses
2. Wine glasses, Red Bicyclette Wine, Corkscrew
3. Cheese slicer, cheese shakers, cheese grater, and beer cheese soup mix
4. Splatter screen, bacon cooker, oil and vinegar holders, sink scraper
5. An assortment of ales, beer steins
6. Gravy boat, towels
7. 101 Elephant Jokes (and fine china...but I wouldn't mix elephants and china)
8. see picture below...
Bonus Question: I won't tell you what was in this bag, but the country was "Djibouti"...you can guess the gift on your own.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Repondez S'il Vous Plait!
Getting mail is so much fun when you're getting married. :) Having small green notes from your friends and family in your mailbox is much better than bills and junk mail!
If you haven't RSVP'd for the wedding yet, send us an email! Otherwise you may be dining at one of Marshall's fine fast food establishments on the night of the wedding! ;)
P.S. Herbert likes getting mail too.
If you haven't RSVP'd for the wedding yet, send us an email! Otherwise you may be dining at one of Marshall's fine fast food establishments on the night of the wedding! ;)P.S. Herbert likes getting mail too.
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