Heritage Photos to Heritage Wall

Our collection of heritage photos meant the world to me at our wedding. While I had physical copies of all the photos, I made sure that I scanned them and eventually ordered prints for myself.  I had a vision for how to display them, so I began collecting frames as I saw them on sale at Michael's, Home Goods, and Target.

I love how each picture dates the couple and expressions.  Let's meet the family:

Mr. Palindrome's Parents

Mr. Palindrome's Paternal Grandparents

Mr. Palindrome's Maternal Grandparents

Mr. Palindrome's Maternal Great Grandparents

Mr. Palindrome's Maternal Great Grandparents

Palindrome Bride's Parents

Palindrome Bride's Maternal Grandparents

Palindrome Bride's Paternal Grandparents

Palindrome Bride's Paternal Great Grandparents

After framing each photograph, I laid them out on the floor and arranged them loosely based on family ties.

Some experts lay a piece of butcher block under the frames and then tape the paper onto the wall.  Then they nail hangers right over the paper, thus ensuring exact placement.

I am a "this looks close enough" kind of gal.  So I just used my hand to approximate distances and it worked out pretty well.

I love how the mixed patinas of the frames make them look original.  I also like the asymmetry of the collection as a whole, yet it still feels balanced.

Did you collect photographs for your wedding?  Are you planning on incorporating them into your home decor after the wedding?

Mine at Last: All in the Details

We had, what I considered to be, a very traditional wedding.  We married in a church, hosted a sit down reception on a Saturday, and partook of many other traditions (bird seed toss, first dance, cake cutting, etc.).  Our families and Mr. Palindrome thought our wedding was quite different (online RSVPs, red bridal shoes, individual cakes, pictures before the ceremony).  Even though I could have broken the mold more, I think that our details were the expressive icing on our cookie cutter base.

I'll take you on a little tour of some of the details that made our day.

Our semi-DIY invitations were ordered from eInvite.com (invitations, response cards, inner envelopes and outer envelopes).  I cut belly bands, sealed them with a wax seal, lined the outer envelopes, and hand wrote calligraphy on the envelopes.

A dear friend of mine from high school was unable to be with us on our wedding day, but she was there in spirit as she gifted me with a lovely, silk dressing robe.

One detail that isn't captured in too many photographs are my red nails.  I love this photograph because not only does it capture my fun manicure, but it also documents my last few hours as an engaged woman.

I can't tell you how many people commented on my red shoes!  I ended up wearing them the entire day (soooo comfortable!) and the number one question asked was: "What is the significance of the red?"  Our guests obviously don't read wedding blogs with any regularity. 

This photograph captures the feathery details and my something blue brooch on my bouquet.

My DIY birdcage veil featured feathers, a flower, and a sparkly rhinestone pin.

The DIY boutonnieres echoed the themes of winter and feathers. 

Our first look was a little rushed as we were running a half hour behind schedule at that point.  However, it was one of my favorite moments of the day.  Since we were separated all day, I was getting anxious to see him.  We met in a quiet lobby on one of the upper floors of the hotel. Mr. Palindrome lifted my veil (a small nod to Jewish tradition) and we just hugged for a long time.  This photograph shows my DIY clutch and the tennis bracelet that Mr. Palindrome gifted me for the Valentine's Day before his first deployment.

At the entrance of the sanctuary, we set out a vintage dresser tray with sweet vintage hankies.  I printed the sign and added it to a frame that an aunt of mine had given me in college.  Not many people took them, but we made sure that all of the grandmothers, mothers, and I had one before we went down the aisle.

My event designer, Pavaune, executed these amazing feather wreaths.  Using feather boas and foam wreath bases, she glued these wonderfully romantic decorations. She hung them on every other pew down both sides of our aisle.

For the detail shots of our rings, our photographer posed our rings on a small platter that I made by pressing paper doilies and rubber stamps into pearlescent clay.  You can make out part of the engraving on my wedding band, which we also had engraved on Mr. Palindrome's band as well:  01022010 (our palindrome wedding date!).

Rather than spend money on floral arrangements, we decided to utilize the greenery that was already decorating the sanctuary for Christmas.  To add some soft light and warm the space a bit, we lined various size candles on the ledges at the front of the church.  Mirrors underneath the candles also helped to reflect the light.

Our DIY Unity Candles are prepped and ready.  My event designer pre-burned the wicks for easy lighting during the ceremony.  The candle on the far left is the lighter candle that the mothers used to light the family candles.

Since it was such a chilly day, some guests hightailed it to the reception.  A special thanks to those who stuck around and partook of our little DIY birdseed packets.  One of the Palindromaids admitted that since her fingers had gone numb, she couldn't untie the ribbon and ended up chucking the entire packet at us.  She plays softball too, so it wasn't a gentle lob!

Once fingers were warm again at the cocktail hour, our guests exercised their digits on our fingerprint guest book.

Or they exercised their digits picking up some of our delicious appetizers!

The table settings were simple, which let the natural decorations, such as orchids in the champagne glasses shine.

I didn't let myself get too attached to chiavari chairs, but my event designer worked some magic and our long tables were lined with silver chiavari chairs and ivory cushions.

In honor of our meeting place and alma mater, Bucknell, we ordered chocolate bison from a favorite chocolate shop in Lewisburg, PA.  As soon as I received the shipment, I promptly ate one of each kind just to make sure they were as good as I remembered.  Then I ate a few more.  We also enjoyed the leftovers on our mini-moon with a glass of wine.

A friend helped me to wrap them simply in clear boxes.  We laid the bison on beds of green paper grass and finished the boxes with our DIY monogram labels.

Our vintage cake topper from an Etsian vendor was the perfect size for our 8" cakes.  Even though I don't know the story behind it, we now have our own story to attach it to and save for future generations.

These close-ups of our jazz band and variety band woodwind pieces really capture the feel of the music and the energy level that we enjoyed.

During the planning, I wasn't the biggest fan of a large, traditional wedding.  I had succumbed to the romance of eloping under a lighthouse on the Oregon coast or a family-only soiree at a beach house with cocktails by the pool.  However, it wasn't just my wedding.  It was Mr. Palindrome's wedding.  Our families love us and wanted to be involved.  I met people I had never met before at our wedding and they showered us with the same love and affection as if they'd known me from birth.  The big, fat wedding took over and I didn't die from a planning aneurysm.  In fact it was pretty fun (Evidence A: My Boogie Shoes).  However, the details really brought the wedding to a level where I felt that my personality and sense of style could define the aesthetic.  One of the best compliments I received was from a friend who told me that she could see my touches in every aspect of the wedding.  Our big wedding felt like an intimate gathering to me, in large part due to some of these details.

What special details are you looking forward to and planning?

Here's the church, here's the steeple

Look inside and see all the decorations!  (Anyone else remember that little saying and accompanying motions that were a staple in my childhood Sunday School classes?)

Before the beginning of Advent, the committee that I chair at our church was responsible for decorating the sanctuary.  With the beautiful, clean lines and the serene green paint, we had an easy job.  Everyone pitched in to provide decorations and manpower.  I even brought the wine and cheese for a little snack break!

There are 5 large windows on each side of the church (on the lower level).  The arches are colored glass are already decorative, so we just spruced them with bay leave wreaths on every other window and then candles in every window.  The candles are covered with a hurricane and we added fresh cut magnolia branches from a member's yard.

Here's a close up of one window.  It was so simple, but gave just the right amount of warmth.  At the front of the sanctuary, one of the more creative ladies filled urns with wild berries, holly and other greenery.  Unfortunately the lighting was not very good, but in person, these arrangements looked organic and fresh!

I was particularly invested in the decorating since it will all be up through our wedding.  I love that the remnants of my favorite season will flavor the decorations at our wedding.  We freshened all the greenery this week by replacing the magnolia leaves with some evergreen trimmings and the front arrangements with rosemary bushes.  The additions to the decor that we will be making are a plethora of candles on the ledges of the choir loft and those romantic feather wreaths on the pews.

(Photo sent to me by Ms. Planner)

Ms. Planner finished 12 of them and we loved them so much, we decided to shoot for 12 more!  As you can see from the picture above, there is no center aisle at our church.  To accommodate using both aisles, we thought it'd be nice if we could decorate them both equally.

Mmmm - candlight, romance, feathers, my future Mr. Palindrome waiting at the end of the aisle.  Just a few short weeks until I see the vision come to life!

Is anyone else using holiday decorations in their decoration scheme?

Pew Sprucing

I adore the inside of our church. The walls are a soothing green and the dark wood pews maintain a very elegant atmosphere. It's a reverantly decorated church, yet very comforting. To me, it feels like home. Since the church will still be decorated for Christmas on our wedding day, we haven't planned much in the way of other decorations. In fact, I had let it fall off of my radar after I finished the Unity Candles.

Then my coordinator, Miss P, emailed me and casually mentioned these bad boys from Victorian Petals at the end of her note:

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Be still my beating heart!  The feathers!  The romance!  Me gusta.  Her idea was to hang them on the pews as the finishing touch to the ceremony decor.  I was all over it.  Then she emailed me and said she thought we could DIY!  She found some materials on Save-on-Crafts (the place I bought my Bridal Illusion Tulle as well):

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And then, she offered to make them herself since I have so many other projects on my plate!  I {heart} Miss P!  I ordered the supplies and had materials sent directly to her (enough to make 12 of them).  I love how we can work together like this.  I toss ideas to her and she helps me make the dream a reality.  Or in this case, she found an awesome idea and is taking the lead on executing it.  With all of the other stresses in my life right now, knowing that she's thinking of the details that I'm not, really takes a weight off of me.

Are you decorating your ceremony space in a significant way?  What elements from the space itself are you keeping in your decor?

PS - Save-on-Crafts also had this baby in their online catalog for $2.99!  Unfortunately it wasn't available at the time I purchased my supplies.

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Felted Fun

I ran across these darlings from The Felted Pair during my daily Etsy troll:

So appropriate for the hive!  Can you imagine this on top of some delicious lemon buttercream or vanilla buttercream?

Why hello lil' tweetie pies!  These just smacked of the Dachshund's palette!

And this . . . well, this is for my other wedding.  The autumn wedding I have all planned out in my head with pumpkin centerpieces and pumpkin pies.  I have about 5 alternate weddings planned, if anyone is looking for ideas! :)

Do you find yourself planning alternate weddings to accommodate lovely little items that just don't fit with the style you chose?

TJ Maxx and I are like *this*

My name is Palindrome "Impulse Buyer" Bride.  I've got the shopping gene and it's a strong one passed down by grandmotherdrome to motherdrome to me.  TJ Maxx, Ross, DSW, Marshalls, Home Goods . . . I imagine a piece of heaven to be similar stores where you find a bargain everytime you walk in. 

Thankfully for my overtaxed personal budget, the wedding budget has allowed me to satisfy some impulse buying without any guilt.  For example, I was wandering around TJ Maxx at the Janaf Center (a tad on the sketchy side, but they have surprisingly good stuff) and happened to spot these little guys:

I had candleholders on my list of wedding items to buy.  I like lace.  I like vintage.  Black is in my color palette.  I held my breath and checked the bottoms for prices.  Clearance! Cha-ching!  I grabbed the trio and walked out that night with about $10 less in my pocket and these beauts swinging in a bag from my arm. 

Can't you picture them on my guest book table?  Or maybe by the seating chart?  I can't wait to see the candles in them and how the lace looks with the warm glow!

Are you keeping your eyes out for wedding items at your regular haunts?  Have you had any success stories at a discount store?