WR4W...all about ETSY

http://www.etsy.com/



I am sure most of you are aware of Etsy.
Handmade by "real" people for "real" people.
It is one of my favorite places on the web to shop for the perfect gift.
I truly believe, you can find most anything there...
and some of the wedding stuff is to die for.

Invitations:

Hand stamped invite

There is nothing I like more than the perfect invite.

I think the invitation, wedding or otherwise,

sets the mood for the whole event..

For me, it tells me what is ahead,

and how much thought has gone into the event.

ETSY has some of the best invites on the web

Yes, they may cost more,

but people should notice the quality.

For instance,

my wed invites were printed on white linen paper.

Very classic.

However, it was a casual, chic wedding...

and to reflect that,

I punched out polka dots to add a lil' pizazz to them.

They were perfect for us!

Regardless, of what type of wedding you are planning,

I am sure you can find something you like on ETSY!

WR4W...wedding dress code.

Today I will be short and sweet (very busy last 2 days.)
Sometimes, when I start to write for WR4W,
I look back at my wedding pics for ideas.
Today, was one of those moments,
but it wasn't a good thing...
it was a bad thing.

There are 2 places one should never wear jeans and/or a cap...
weddings and funerals.
Jeans, I can even handle, but NEVER...and I mean never, a cap.
I think it is disrespectful to the bride and groom or the deceased,
and in most cases, the church.

For me, weddings are a chance to get all dressed up.
New shoes.
New dress.
Maybe a hat, if it is outdoors and sunny?
Regardless, RESPECT the situation...
and leave your cap in the closet--at home!

:o)

PS...I didn't want to show pics from my own wedding, I mean, how rude would that be?...but when I googled to find a pic that would even fit this story...none could be found...LOL.
To me, that is an "I told you so" kinda moment!

WR4W...venues.

I like church weddings more than I can tell you,
but outdoor weddings,
they are the best.

Yet, in today's world,
I love the originality of getting married
somewhere that has great meaning to the couple,
or has some sort of historical relevance.

For example my hubs and I got married at this place:

Doermann Memorial Presbyterian Church

Blackey, KY

Look familiar?

Maybe not,

but it is from the movie,

Coal Miner's Daughter,

one of my fave of all time.

(Who doesn't love Tommy Lee Jones?)

It is not a major part of the film,

yet it is in one of my fave scenes.

It is the moment where Loretta tells Doo,

" I'm gonna have a baby."

I hope to use this

same place

 to say

those same words

 in the next 12 months.

hint...hint...

wink...wink...

Now back to venues,

which I hope to us on my

5th,

10th,

15th,

20th,

and 25th wedding anniversaries

to marry my little hubs

all over again:

Thorncrown Chapel Eureka Sprinks, AK

This is one of the most original chapels

in the US,

in my opinion.

The architect knew exactly what would look great in the setting.

I am in total awe of it!

The Biltmore Grounds Asheville, NC

The Biltmore...do I need to say anything else?

Such a beautiful place inside and out.

The Foundry NYC

I could just see

an uber-chic modern wedding

and reception at this place.

Anything NYC makes me green with envy...LOL.

However, if money was no object and I could do as I please...

this would be my wedding venue.

It is one of the most beautiful homes,

on one of the most coveted streets--

anywhere in the world.

The Wedding Cake House St. Charles St, New Orleans

*For those of you

 that may have noticed that I left out

one of my favorite cities...Savannah.

I did not.

My 12 year old has already told us,

she will be married here:

http://savannahcathedral.org/

and her reception will be here...LOL.

I am going to hold her to it!

WR4W...Bridesmaids' dresses!

Everyone wants to be able to wear that dress, again...but we all know it never happens. (Well, I hope it happened for mine because I let people wear what they wanted as long as it was black, or black and white!) However, doesn't it just irk you when the bride makes that promise, you know the one, "I have picked out the most beautiful bridesmaids' dresses. They are totally ones you can wear again."...LOL.

I have never seen it happen, or been in a wedding where the dress I wore, was able to be worn again...anywhere. Today though, I have picked out some great dresses that I would wear again and again.

Hope you agree,
if not,
may you be subjected to something pink, frilly, and itchy...

and the pic comes back to haunt you!

grey dresses

This one on the right...

I love.

I would wear it now...maybe not in that color,

but something close to it!

stylish short dresses

I love all 4 of these,

but the brown one is 100% me!

outdoor dresses

I would wear all of these,

except that little one in the front.

LOL

party or formal dresses

I am trying to buy the yellow one,

 right now,

as I type.

I swear.

...and if I had somewhere,

on the creek,

to wear the coral one to...

I'd be buying it!

mismatched dresses...my fave!

This is the type of wedding that I love.

People are happy,

no one looks the same,

and so much personality is spoken with each dress...

and I would totally wear them all...

even the wedding gown.

Love my WR4W post each week!

Hope y'all do, too!

CBB

WR4W...Weddings and Hats.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love hats. The bigger the better, but I am also, pretty conscious of when and where to wear them, too.

My main rules are: If they're big-outside...if they're little-indoors is OK...and day hats should not be worn at night. For example, if you are at a wedding at 2pm wear it until dusk...this would mainly be in the summer and dusk would be close to 9, at this point you would probably be home already or re-dressed for a night time event. Hats for men are different, but baseball caps are NEVER acceptable for a dressy event...NEVER, NEVER, NEVER at a wedding!

Recently though, I have been reading up on the Royal Wedding and "hats and hat etiquette" are a little different "across the pond". It seems almost that NOT wearing a hat makes you stick out at a wedding...kinda opposite of the good ol' US of A. (I'll get to that in a minute.)

I think for a bride a hat could only be pulled off by the trendiest of gals...very modern with possibly a short dress, maybe a vintage themed wedding, 2nd marriage weddings...definitely not for the traditional girl, but I do love the idea of the bridesmaids in a hat for an outdoor wedding!

Summer Bridal Hat

Trendy Hat for the Modern Bride

Second Marriage

Vintage Inspired

The bridesmaids' examples below...I LOVE!

Vintage Chic and an Upcycle

Flapper Bridesmaids

Modern Bridal Party

 Preppy Bridesmaids

Now, since I started this post about how I love hats and just kept going and going...LOL. I need to go back to my "across the pond" reference . The Brits love hats. They wear them to all weddings! Yet, their hats may differ a bit from ours at times. I like to consider them headpieces, not always hats. So here are a few "hat" moments from the Royals.

The Queen and Camilla

The Royals in Hats

Princess Anne in a Re-do!
Please, click here for a story that is shocking, but amazing.
Does her dress look familiar?
She is one of my fave of the Windsor bunch.
*She wouldn't take titles for her kids from her mother
upon their birth...
I love that!

Autumn Kelly Phillips and Zara Phillips
This pic was made at the Queen's 60th wedding anniversary!

The lovely Kate Middleton

and the most wonderful Royal of them all,
a lady that inspired me and others,
one of the most philanthropic people
to have graced this earth...

Diana, Princess of Wales

Hope you enjoyed today's post.

It makes me want to go out there and become a milliner...like I didn't want to already...LOL...

Or just crash some wedding where I can wear a hat!

WR4W...and birthdays, like mine!

Since today is the glorious day that I arrived, not so long ago, I am going to try and keep with the wed theme, but showcase a birthday-ish idea, as well.  I thought I would provide ideas for table settings. Regardless, of the amount of money that one puts into a wedding, a dinner party, a birthday celebration, etc. there is always room for class, presentation, and fresh flowers. These are some examples of great table settings that I think are "somewhat" easy!

yellow table
This table reminds me of waking up with sunshine on my face...LOL.
...and what do you do right after you wake up...
you go eat a healthy, hearty breakfast.
Most important meal of the day, right?

red table
This is so easy and yet so elegant.
I could see this table done in any color
and still look Fabulous!

white table

This is the perfect table to me.

All the different flowers for the centerpieces

are so inviting and goes perfect with the light blue tablecloth.

brown and green

I love these 2 colors together.

There were lots of settings,

 using Brown and Green,

that really inspired me.

simple setting

This link shares great "simple" settings.

I love them,

but I would say that...

I am a big fan of Real Simple.

If you look for table settings online, be specific!

It is unreal.

The more descriptions you use,

the better the search.

Now to close, here are my table setting rules:

1. NEVER use plastic tablecloths. (I loathe them.)
2. Centerpieces should never block eye-contact.
3. Mix couples/guests up. How else will they meet other people?
4. Good food. Good wine. Good fun.

WR4W...Photography.

Today, I want to talk about wedding pics and photographers. First of all, I do not like staged wedding pictures. I am a huge fan of wedding photojournalism.

What I mean is, I like great pics taken of an event

without telling anyone

what to do

or how to look

or how to pose.

From what I read and see on most wed blogs, lots of folks are doing it.

It is a trend that will be around for a while.

Therefore, just wanting to show some great examples of wedding photojournalism

on the blog for this Wednesday's post.

These were from my big day.

None were taken by professionals...at the time.

CBB

P.S. Not a fan of the backside photo, but it was a wonderful moment shared with my daughters!