I Don't Know Who "Mason" Is, But I Like His Jars

I'm really diggin' the "rustic" look that so many weddings have nowadays. Luckily for me, BM M got married a year and a half ago, and still has tons of leftover mason jars. All of us bridesmaids spent the entire morning of her wedding in a field picking wild flowers, then we brought them back and filled them with water, and arranged all of flowers in them for centerpieces. Tons of work, yes, but the end result was beautiful and the decor really suited her outdoor, backyard wedding. While BM M's wedding and mine have a lot in common (both rustic, outdoors-y locations), they are still quite different. So the big question in my mind has been "I have all these mason jars, now what do I do with them?".

Enter: Pinterest. I'm not going to dote on it and talk about how awesome it is because I honestly think it's played out (please don't hate me). That being said, I have utilized it a couple times, this time being one of them. I found these:

Stones with a candle (no shells for me) - Easy Wedding Centerpieces

Water with a floating candle and twine - Emmaline Bride

Jars with fabric wrap - 100 Layer Cake

I really liked the look of the candles and water, but the thought of having to fill all those jars (I'm thinking 2 per table of 8, at 20 tables) just exhausts me. Same with the stones. So my mind is almost completely set on doing the fabric wrap. MOH K told me she saw a pack of fabric squares, which I'm guessing would be considered quilting squares, at JoAnn Fabrics. It had different patterns, but all with the same purple color scheme. I like the idea of having a variety of patterns! I would also like to try wrapping it with twine instead of a ribbon.

Now, what to put in them? Depending on what flowers I choose for the bouquets and bout's, maybe I will put a few stems in each one. And how cute is this?!?

Lemon slices in water! Makes me want yellow as a secondary color! - Pinterest

Obviously there are a lot of cute and easy things you can do with mason jars. I think the hardest thing is trying to find and collect enough of them. I've got that part covered! Anyone else use mason jars in their decor?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Gettin' Healthy

Remember when I talked about my "bride workout" and making healthier eating choices after the New Year? I do, and I am sad to admit that I haven't exactly been following either one. Well let me rephrase that in order to not sound like a total giver-upper. I changed the routine a bit. Instead of doing my fave exercise video Tae-Bo, I switched to weight-lifting. I found an Android app that takes me through a few different exercises, and it's been working pretty well. Let me tell you that I have always lacked upper arm strength and definition. And when you think about yourself in your wedding dress, what is the one thing that everyone sees? Your upper arm flab. I just want to tighten enough to look good in pics, K?

What I wouldn't give for these upper arms. Here's another workout option I think I'll try! Image courtesy Shape.com

Now about my eating habits...I was doing really good. Then the Little Noodle came home selling candy bars for little league. Then work got stressful. Then (insert excuse here). So here I am, at my desk, with a little smear of chocolate on my keyboard as I type. I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that I'm running out of time before the wedding to really get into a healthier routine. I'm even thinking about trying one of those raw food diets. You know, eating just foods that are natural and unprocessed? Wonder if I could stick to that one...

I also started taking a multi-vitamin every morning. I've always had a hard time with those, because I can't swallow pills. If you don't know, vitamins are HUGE. Then I found Nature Made Multi-Mini's. They aren't what I would call "small", but they are definitely smaller than other vitamins I've tried. So if anyone out there is looking for a multi-vitamin that doesn't choke you on the way down, I'd highly recommend them! I compared the ingredients to regular sized vitamins and all the goodies are still there.

My new vitamins! Image courtesy Naturemade.com

In conclusion, it's really hard to exercise when there's a foot of snow on the sidewalks, and it's hard to eat healthy when there is no supply of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables and the ones in the store are too wilty from sitting for days in a truck. But I'm finding ways to do it all little by little. Anyone have a routine or diet that has really worked for them?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Stress-Free Registry

Confession: I sorta dread Bed Bath & Beyond. The store is always packed, the aisles are stuffed with breakable knick-knacks of all shapes and sizes, and I can only take so many sales people trying to tell me what I need in my kitchen.

That being said, the one place that has just about anything and everything we could ever need or want is Bed Bath & Beyond. So when it came time to do our registry, I felt that was the best option. Plus, everyone always has a 20% off coupon ;)

I went to their website to see if I could start a registry without stepping foot in the store, and I was stoked to find that I could! I entered our info, and within 3 minutes I was ready to add all sorts of goodies. I had been keeping a list on my phone of things I wanted to register us for when the time came to do so. It was helpful that BM S and MOH K were both getting married before me, and I got to see all the cool stuff they registered for. So I started at the top of the list, and did a search for each item. I had no trouble finding almost everything on my list. I even found the Egg and Omelet Utensil Set that Mr. S had to have so badly. Seriously, I searched for "egg fork", having no clue as to what such a thing would even be called, and it popped right up. Now that's impressive!

There were a few things that I just couldn't pick out without getting touchy/feely with them. Stuff like sheets and towels are too iffy to pick out online. So I told Mr. S that we would have to stop in to the store to pick them out during our productive weekend. When we got there, they were packed (as usual), and the registry area was buzzing (as usual), but they accommodated us and soon we were running through the store in a scanning frenzy. For real, I had to get up out of there quick. On a good note, the woman helping us scan was super helpful and didn't try to force me to pick out fine china that I didn't need. So kudos to her!

At this point I feel pretty good about the stuff we have on our registry. Since showers and parties haven't yet begun, I think I'll just try to keep an eye on it in case I have to add things. What a good problem to have though! And just because I like you all so much, I'll share a few of my fave little goodies we will (hopefully) be getting from our wonderful guests (all images copyright Bed Bath & Beyond)...

OrGreenic 10 Piece Cookware Set - Recommended by my bro who has them and LOVES them

Oster® Electric Wine Opener - Can't wait to try this puppy out!

Deluxe Potato Cutter - I love homemade french fries, so much healthier!

Preserve® BPA Free Large Colander - Ironic that Mrs. Wallaby just highlighted this exact Colander today. Great minds think alike!

Duet Towel Sets - Super soft and great color selection

Add to that some gadgets and gizmos a-plenty (any Disney movie fans catch on to that one?), kitchen textiles, bed sheets, and more, and that's our registry! What are some of your faves/regrets from your registry?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

MOH K's Wedding Stationery Reveal

I was thrilled to do the stationery design and printing for my sister/MOH K's wedding earlier this month. Now that the wedding is done, I can show you all my hard work. WOOHOO! So without further ado, here it is! (all images personal unless otherwise noted)

Save the Date Card

Invitation

Response Card

Program Front

Program Back

Table Number Card

The table number cards in use - Photo copyright Autumn Rae Studios

Place Cards

And the place cards in action (these were used only on the head tables) - Photo copyright Autumn Rae Studios

Favor Bags (We made puppy chow and it turned out SO GOOD! Highly recommended if you are doing favors) -Photo copyright Autumn Rae Studios

And finally, the 18x24" Seating Chart

And now, since we've got a bit of image porn going on here anyway, have a looksie at some of the pics of my GORG sister and her beautiful wedding! She did a fabulous job at picking just the right details for her style, and who doesn't love some inspiration - especially if you are planning a winter wedding! Huge props to the photographers at Autumn Rae Studios out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The photos are spectacular! (all images copyright Autumn Rae Studios)

Bouquet/ring shot - always love these!

Us gals having a giggle (keeping ourselves warm)

And the gents looking dapper

The bride moments before the ceremony

Have you ever seen a more beautiful bride?!?!

The bridesmaid's gifts: pink rubber boots!

MOH K showing off her boots

The bride's shoes - ruffles add such beautiful detail!

Lookin' good ladies!

My favorite dance of the night - an un-rehearsed, upbeat little diddy my dad picked. The cutest and most fun father-daughter dance ever!

Sparkler exit

Cupcakes for dessert! Notice MOH K's nails - they are pink with silver sparkles that are thick at the top, and gradually decrease as they go down the nail. So pretty and unique!

Anyone else attend or plan a winter wedding?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Our Wedding Featured on Facebook!

Exciting news! The company I work for has asked if they could feature our wedding on their Facebook page! Remember my post about how Mr. S and I work for the same company, designing and printing wedding invitations? Well, it's only fitting that they showcase our upcoming nuptials via social media!

We recently gave followers the chance to help Mr. S and I choose our wedding invitations. Feel free to check it out on the M. Middleton Facebook page. To give you a little more background on my job, I manage the design and printing of custom wedding stationery. Retail stores buy our albums, and sell the invitations to their customers. Then, Mr. S prints them. Simple as that! So I basically picked 5 designs that I really like, typeset them, and we put images on the Facebook page. Then, we made a poll so followers could pick their favorite. The IT web guy said viewership went up 300% since they shared our story :) Go us!

In case you are curious and don't want to scroll through all the posts on the Facebook page, here are the 5 invites I picked (all images copyright M. Middleton):

Option A

Option B

Option C

Option D

Option E

If you want to vote (and I do believe that you should), head over to the Facebook page and look for the poll! Obvi I am not too concerned about letting people see our invites before they are sent out ;)

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Petal Picking

As I mentioned in my last post, my next task is to pick some gosh darn flowers. Being the DIY freak that I am, I immediately wanted to do my own bouquets with artificial flowers (they don't die) and they are cheaper than real flowers, or so I thought. Once I started pricing out the two options, I began to realize that real flowers weren't so far out of my price range. I have yet to look at the local flower markets, but I'm really intrigued by some of the options for buying flowers online.

Once site I found is Fifty Flowers. I've read some good reviews about this place and I was especially excited when I found my beautiful white and lavender Dahlia on there!

Pink Lavender Button Dahlia flowers - Fiftyflowers.com

Yes, it looks pink. It's actually lavender, thank you very much. I LOVE how the petals fade from lavender to white inside. And the availability? Starts in June. Oh yeah! You can get 30 stems for $129.99 shipped. This, however, would only make about 2 bouquets, based on the amount used for my inspiration:

Dahlia bouquets wrapped in lily grass - Flowers by Shirley

My other fave flower? Ranunculus.

Ranunculus Flower - Fifty Flowers

Problem is I don't see any online in "our" color - lavender. And the price? $239.99 for 100 stems. A bit over my budget of $200. It's not out of the question, but I'd rather have some purples in there!

Now for the artificial options...

I found these pretty white and dark purple dahlias online:

Artificial Dahlia Stems - Afloral.com

But at a price of $5.29 per stem, it's actually cheaper to buy the real ones!

Conclusion: I love the lavender and white in the flowers. I like a soft and romantic look for the bouquets. I guess I'm not so particular as to "need" a certain type of flower, as long as it fits my colors and vision. Is that too much to ask? ;)

I have yet to check out the local pickings (hopefully this weekend). So we'll see what I can find. Anyone know of a particular kind of flower that might be what I'm looking for, that also wouldn't break the bank? How did you pick your flowers?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

A Productive Weekend

Happy Monday! I've been feeling pretty lazy lately in the wedding planning department, so this weekend had an extensive plan to get some shiz done:

• Bought the Little Noodle his wedding apparel-I couldn't believe how closely the shirt color matched to the groomsmen ties and bridesmaid dresses! $25 at good 'ol JCPenney. Can't beat that price, especially when he will probably only wear it the one time.

Boys 4 pc Suit Set (shirt, vest, pants and a cute little clip on tie) - JCPenney

• Bought the groomsmen ties and Mr. S's tie. I had a coupon for 50% off accessories at Men's Wearhouse, but they were on sale buy 1 get 1 free anyway, which ended up being the same price in the end.

The Groomsman's Tie - $10 on sale at Men's Wearhouse

A similar tie to Mr. S's (no pic available online of the actual one)-$20 on sale at Men's Wearhouse

• Finished our registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. I had already started it online (so convenient!), but I wanted us to go in to pick out certain things, like towels and sheets. I'm pretty picky on the softness and texture for stuff like that. As a prize for Mr. S being so patient and helpful as we ran through the store scanning things (I don't think many guys actually enjoy that), I bought him one of the items off the registry that he was really wanting...

Calphalon 2 Piece Egg and Omelet Utensil Set - $11.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond

You see, he likes to make scrambled eggs, but he only likes to use a fork, which is NOT acceptable on non-stick pans! I found these for him, and used a 20% off coupon. Now we're both happy :)

On the schedule for next weekend: buy a grey dress shirt and black vest for Mr. S to try on. MOH K and I are working on the guys apparel, and I really need a visual to see if it's going to work. More on that next time! Also, we are going to stop in at a couple local fresh flower markets to get some ideas and prices for bouquet flowers.

What wedding shtuff did you accomplish this weekend?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Let The Music Play

In other words, we've found our DJ! We met with Mike from Studio 616 on Wednesday. I can't say enough about how helpful he was with figuring out what we really need for a DJ. Remember when I talked about their DJ & photo booth package? Turns out we didn't really even need or want the photo booth, and Mike worked with us to create a package that was in our budget, but also gave us enough time for the DJ to be there for the whole event, ceremony included!

Even Mr. S, who is pretty hard to win over, was ready to sign him right then and there. So to everyone who is looking for a DJ in the Grand Rapids area, check them out!

Now that we have the tunage figured out, my next task is the flowers. I'm still on the fence about whether I want to go with real or artificial, and whether I want to DIY or let a pro handle it. So basically all I know at this point, is that I want some pretty purple flowers ;)

I love love love the look of an all Dahlia bouquet, but sadly, they will not be in season for my June wedding.

So delicate and natural! Dahlias wrapped with lily grasses. Image courtesy of Flowers by Shirley blog

I've asked a couple local florists if they have any other suggestions that might be a similar look. My budget will definitely play a factor, since I don't want to spend more than $200. I actually don't want to spend more than $100, but considering everything I need, I've accepted that I have to plan for a bit more. I need:

• 1 bridal bouquet
• 4 bridesmaid bouquets
• 1 grooms boutonierre
• 4 groomsmens boutonierres
• 2 dads boutonierres
• 6 mother/grandmother corsages

If anyone can do all that for under $100, sign me up! I'm pretty confident I could do it myself if I find the right flowers. I've heard Costco has a good variety and pricing. And there are a few fresh flower markets around here that we might have to stop in and check out this weekend. Did anyone else DIY their flowers? Any tips or regrets?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

"Hey Mister DJ..."

Remember that song from back in the day? I think it was Madonna...anyway, we are meeting with a DJ today after work. Since we are now only 4 MONTHS away from our wedding, a DJ is one of those things we should probably get booked!

Funny side story: at MOH Sissy K's wedding this past Saturday (YAY!) everything turned out gorgeous, including her. Sneak peek at some pics (all images copyright Autumn Rae Photography):

Look at that profile! She was breathtaking!

The snow let up and the sun came out just in time for some outdoor pics.

I just love her fur wrap!

During the reception, my sis had specifically asked the DJ NOT to play the Chicken Dance song. Well, the groom's dad was not aware of this and requested it about 10 times. Finally, the DJ gave in. My sister freaked out, and ripped the DJ a new one. It's not funny, but it is :) We all kept telling her "it's just a two minute song, no one will even remember they played it", and finally, she calmed down. Not worth ruining your mood for it! Other than that one misfortune, things went so smoothly and as scheduled that it was hard to believe it was a wedding. Nothing was forgotten, misplaced, ruined, or unused. What a happy day! The Chicken Dance is still a sore subject though!

So, back to the point of my post. The DJ we are meeting with is Studio 616. They have a package that includes 5 hours of DJ and 3 hours of photo booth for $616. When I contacted him, he said I could rearrange the time for each if I wanted, as long as it was still equal to 8 hours. I like the flexibility they offer!

There are a couple other DJ's that I've gotten quotes from, ranging from $575 and up. My goal is to spend less than $650, and I don't think we will have a problem staying in that budget. Originally, I didn't think I'd need the DJ there more than a few hours. But as I thought it through, I realized it was cheaper and easier to have them there for both the ceremony and reception, so I don't need to ask someone to play music for the ceremony. I researched local musicians to play guitar during the ceremony (which I think would be beautiful and unique) but was quoted more than $200. The idea is still on the table if I can find someone who won't charge that much.

I'll update after our meeting tonight, and let you all know how it went! Is there anything you liked/didn't like about your DJ? Did you get a good deal (if you've booked one already)?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti