Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Guest Book Ideas

After looking at various wedding websites over the last few months, I've noticed that there are many awesome variations of the traditional guest book. Maybe these have been around forever, but as I haven't paid much attention to wedding things until now, they're new to me.


 
I love this first idea. The guests all write a bit of advice or well-wishes for the couple on a piece of paper and then hang it from the little tree. It makes a beautiful decoration too. I love the idea of getting advice from the guests, especially the married couples because I feel like there will be a lot to learn once we're married and I'm sure people who've been married for a while have great tips to a happy and successful marriage. However, I'm not sure what we'd do with the tree after the wedding. Of course we'd read all the notes, but it doesn't seem very practical to keep a tree around an apartment or house forever. I'd like to find something a bit more practical to hold the wise words.

 
This idea makes me happy. I love blankets and quilts. These people made a quilt incorporating their engagement photos and had people sign it using fabric markers. What a great idea. A quilt is practical and snuggly, and with this additional use it can hold great words of wisdom and reminders of fun memories and loved ones. I would be a bit curious to test out if it's difficult to write on fabric, but also I might be worried something would get spilled on it. Overall though it sounds like a good idea. I also read of people asking guests to sign pre-cut pieces of fabric and sewing them together later. Then you could add pictures of the actual wedding if you wanted to, or leave it simple with just the notes.

These two ideas are really cute. I've seen a few examples of the wedding tree (which is awesome and classy looking), but this is the only balloon version I've seen (also very creative). Each guest presses his/her finger into an ink pad and then presses it into the already drawn tree to make the leaves, signing his/her name or initials. I like this idea, but I think it would need to be accompanied by something else since there is no opportunity for a personal message or advice.

So this is kinda a fun idea. It's a homemade photo booth. You could use a Polaroid camera to take pictures and then have a book and photo sensitive adhesive to put the pictures in. Then the guests could write a little message next to their photo(s). I'm not sure how durable the book would be, but I'm sure you could think of a way to improve my idea. Maybe have the guests write their message on a colored piece of paper and put the photos and note into an envelope. That way someone could put both pieces securely into a book later and make it look pretty. Another concern is maybe this style wouldn't appeal to everyone. I definitely want as many guests as possible to sign whatever type of guest book we decide on.

This little book has little colored envelopes for guests to put in their notes, that way they all stay in one place. I think I would also like the guests to write their names on the bottom of the envelope so we could know whose note was in each envelope. In this option the notes are less visible though.

This option is pretty common. I love photos and it would allow everyone's comments to be visible. Also it would be a great addition to any room. Although I would be concerned that there wouldn't be enough room for everyone to sign. I also think it would be cool to do a twist on this idea... although I'm not really sure how.

 
This first book is just a twist on traditional guest books. It is customized with pictures of the bride and groom. I've also seen pre-made scrapbook pages with open space between pictures for guests to write on, as seen in the second photo. I kinda like that idea of having the homemade touch.

I think that's it for now, just kinda gathering ideas I've seen and collecting my thoughts on them. I might add a few later if I come across any others that I like. :) To me it's important to give the guests an opportunity to share their words of wisdom with us, as well as have a guest "book" that is practical and that we can enjoy for the rest of our lives.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Said Yes to the Dress!

I said yes to a dress today! It's gorgeous! I'm so excited. I wasn't planning on buying a dress this early, but I just stumbled upon the perfect dress for the perfect price. :) It's a gorgeous Casablanca dress, but that's all I'm going to say about it... I don't want Corey to find out too many details. :) I love it though and even though our wedding is a year away, I feel really good about getting it. It was fun too, Laura and my mom went with me to look at the dress yesterday and today I went back with both of them and my dad. I had a really great experience with a very nice woman and she shared a lot of tips with us about various aspects of the wedding. :) Had a nice weekend at home, now back at school.

Friday, April 1, 2011

It's been 3 months!

I'm thrilled to have been engaged to the man of my dreams for 3 months now! :) Sooo happy!!!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cute Wedding/Engagement Photo Ideas

This is kinda random, but through looking at a lot of wedding websites, I've come across numerous cute photos that I saved to get ideas from. I wish I could remember where I got them all from, but I've just kinda collected them over the past few months. Here are a few of my favorites. :)

I like this one because Corey and I enjoy spending time at the beach. He surprised me on our first Valentine's Day together by taking me to the beach, and we've gone back many, many times since.
 

I love how the sun peeks through on these next two. :) So creative.
 

I'm definitely a photo person. I love pictures, I love being able to capture special moments in photos because they can describe and convey so much more than words can. I love this picture of the bride and groom dancing. It's so sweet and obvious they are in love <3
 

This one is cool because of the Space Needle and the hands. Corey proposed to me in Seattle, and as the Space Needle is one of Seattle's most recognizable landmarks, I like the idea of having it in the background. The hands are great too. :) I'm a big fan of holding Corey's hand.
 

The next two are just super cute.

And I found this one on my friend Anna's blog but I had to add it, I think it's a great first look idea. :)

That's all for now, I'm sure I'll find more to add later.

A Few Reception Ideas

So I really like the idea of having the reception at night. Corey and I don't know where we will be having the ceremony or the reception, and in Oregon it would be hard to plan anything outside... you never know when it might rain, even in the middle of summer. But I still like these pictures, I think it would be cool to incorporate some kinda of light like this, whether by candles or strings of light.

I can't remember where I found this first picture, but I think it's a great picture of a lovely reception area. I love the lights on the tree and around the party area, and I think it's awesome that they were able to have it outside. I really like the dance floor area.

This next one is a little bit much for me, but I still thought it was kinda cool. It seems like there is a lot going on, but I kinda like the lights along the top of the tent.

I'm sure I'll come across other ideas later, but this caught my eye tonight. :)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

To Mom

Mom, look at these cute little hearts! I don't really know what they are for... just decoration? Could they be used for anything afterwards? They kinda remind me of the Christmas ornaments you made a while back, just smaller and less detail. :) I thought they were really cute.






Then I just thought that this cake was really pretty. I think that it would be fun to have a small cute cake and then supplement with a sheet cake. I don't know what I like about this cake because it is pretty plain, but it's just pretty and sweet looking. I think that Cor will enjoy cake tasting lol, I will too. :)

Colors

As Corey and I aren't talking about wedding plans until I graduate (super hard I know), I decided I might as well start thinking about what colors I like. That way when we get together I can see what he likes and dislikes. I'm pretty open about colors so it'll be good to have his help :) For now, these are some of my favorite color combos I've come across. I found these inspiration boards on google. If anyone reads this... (Laura and Dad and Mom), you should let me know what you think!

Navy and Yellow (i love the sunflowers)

Green and Grey

Green and Navy

Grey and Yellow

Random Others