Serendipity

Whenever I'm at Barnes and Noble I take a few minutes to leaf through their selection of wedding magazines.  I rarely let myself buy one, since I have stacks and stacks of them at home, but I just love the feel of the glossy pages and can't help but savor the gorgeous photographs of the featured fairytale weddings.  Tonight, on such an occasion, I stumbled across a beautiful spread in Real Weddings, an Australian magazine I'd never seen before.

My mouth fell open as I saw my vision for our wedding actualized and in print in front of me.  It was like a dream sequence.  For the longest time I've been trying to explain to friends and family that I want to incorporate a vintage, musical theme into our decor and invitations, but whenever I described it to people it ended up sounding kitschy and juvenile.  This magazine spread, however, was anything but:

  

My latest obsession

Have you heard about the paper crane wedding tradition?

If not, you're not alone - neither had I until a few weeks ago.  According to Japanese lore, the practice of a man and woman folding 1,000 cranes for their wedding is called sembazuru.  Truly a labor of love, the time and energy the couple puts into hand-folding the origami cranes is said to symbolize the patience and trust necessary to sustain a happy marriage.  Cranes are associated with fidelity because they (like lobsters) mate for life.  Completing the tradition is said to bring the couple good fortune.

Okay, sounds great!  But let's say you actually do fold 1,000 paper cranes....what do you do with them?

The possibilities are endless:

Attention Sioux Falls area brides!

Just in case you haven't heard, Envision Wedding Studio is having their annual post-wedding season clearance sale next week!



I'll definitely be there when the doors open Friday morning - excited to snag what are bound to be some fantastic deals!  Let's just hope I'm not too exhausted after my incredibly nerdy midnight viewing of the upcoming Harry Potter film!  Priorities... :)

See you there!

Does the color scheme even matter if he's color blind?

Here's yet another example of my frequent urge to just chuck out all my planning and start afresh.  I've been engaged for almost 11 months now, and I thought I nailed the perfect color scheme AGES ago:

Purple and gold.

         

Sources (1, 2, 3)

No, not that purple and gold. 

J'adore Martha

The undisputed queen of DIY.  A Happy Homemaker for the modern age.  The true Domestic Diva.  Martha's is a household name, and while many admire her for all she's accomplished, others became disenchanted with her during the infamous insider trading debacle.  But whether you love her or hate her, the fact remains: this woman knows her stuff.  She's a self-made legend, and has gotten to where she is by always knowing which way the winds are blowing and acting accordingly, whether it be in the financial realm or in the world of crafts and domesticity.

After I got engaged (and, let's be honest, throughout the many months preceding my engagement) I started collecting bridal magazines.  Brides, The Knot, Bridal Guide, InStyle Weddings, Modern Bride, Real Simple Weddings, I had 'em all.  They were fun, with all their glossy pages, not to mention more pictures of pretty dresses than a girl could ever want or need, but when it came down to it, they weren't all that helpful when it came to actually planning our wedding.  Enter Martha.

Inspiration: Candlelight

So, last night's post was a bit of a downer; for that I apologize.  To make up for it, here are some inspiration pics of one of my very favorite reception elements: Candlelight.  Classic, romantic and elegant, it's simply stunning. 

I can't wait to find ways to incorporate it into our wedding, like these fab weddings below!  Enjoy...

Sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)