Party On

Oh my goodness today has been such a joy so far! I slept a solid 10 hours (hallelujah! I generally have crazy bouts of insomnia), went to church, and have spent the day relaxing with my husband. Yesterday was the culmination of all my planning and Natasha’s hard work. I can’t say that I’m sad it’s over. I had tons of fun but man it’s much more stressful planning another person’s wedding. I wanted her to have her dream wedding and with that desire I put a lot of pressure on myself. She decided to have the bridesmaids and I do the bouquets, and I really loved how they turned out. At the time though I was sweating it. I was kicking myself over every little thing. Josh had to reassure me when asking various questions like “Is it pink enough? Is it round and even enough? Is it full enough? Would you like it? Does it look fresh enough?” By the end of the night I didn’t take one picture and I never wanted to see a rose again, but today is a different story. With the leftover roses I made thi...

Today I got to do one of the thing I love most- shop. I also got to eat at Zaxby’s which is up there on the list. Anyhow- as Natasha’s wedding is now 15 days away (!!!) I took to the streets to shop for the remaining items on her list. After 4 hours and 6 shops, I came away with some treasures. Let me start by pointing out these lovely vintage toasting glasses. Oh my goodness I love them to death. I found them at The Cottage Consignment which seriously is one of the most adorable stores I’ve ever been to. It’s filled with antiques and modern day gifts. Not only that but it’s linked to this great smelling café. Have I mentioned how nice the staff is? Because they are and they’re really helpful. They actually had a huge selection of glasses and the price wasn’t bad at all. I got this pair for $65 with tax included Natasha is wanting the church alter to have candles only so I’m hoping these all white candles hit the spot. Which set up do you like better? The first or the second? I ...

My dears this week has flown by. We’re definitely wrapping things up with Natasha’s wedding. Can you believe it’s 16 days away!! EEK! I’m super excited for them, it’s going to be beautiful. I’ve basically been coming up with schedules, suggestions, etc. but I though I’d share these little favor cards I created at Vistaprint These are definitely just options and I’m not sure we’ll end up going with either one since we’re quickly running out of time, I just love the fact that you can order *Business Cards* and make them into whatever you want. This definitely would have saved us some time! And 250 cards for $20 really can’t be beat. Love it! They ended up going with Milestone Pictures for their videographer, which is amazing and of course   McLellan Style Photography is doing their photography (actually I think I forgot to mention that earlier). It’s just going to be beautiful. I’m not sure what was decided as far as the rehearsal dinner goes, but I suggested these places…. ...

This will be short and sweet because I need to pack for DENVER! YAYYYYY!!!! I haven’t seen my family for almost 4 months and I miss them so much. Plus, it’s important for me to support my niece. If you want to learn more about Apraxia or are looking to give money to research for a worthy cause (charitable people are happy people!) click here . Moving on, the only thing I really know about my groom is that he plays blues guitar. Hey- what can I say? This wedding is all about the bride. Based on this information-slim I know- here are some quirky/cute groom gifts I think would hit home- though I do think they’re a bit too cheap to be the whole gift. Handmade guitar picks ($ 10 per !) Cuff links. Why give him just the picks when he can have the whole guitar ? I don’t know. Maybe you’re into that. Other guitar related loves? I think this pin would kind of be a cute alternative to a boutonniere. Guitar pick wedding favors are pretty cute too! But my favorite guitar themed item?...

Natasha’s wanting place for guests to put cards, but she’s also wanting a place for long-time married couples to leave sage advice. Of course we want it to be elegant and beautiful, but at the same time it’s needing to be cost-effective. Here’s some quick ideas I love the idea of using a mailbox. Running about $9 per mailbox (not bad!) it’s just a quick paint job away from being super cute. I would probably use spray paint over lace tights (method seen here ) to give it that vintage feel she’s shooting for. Mailbox photo found   here . Pre-decorated Advice mailbox from Etsy found here. What would we do for the advice? I still totally adore this idea. The cost? The branches run between $15-$24 for, crystal strands $20 (I’m kicking myself, I totally found them for $5 per strand and now that’s lost to me….bad documenting Shantel), and pre-made wishing tags run from $12 -$ 15 for 24, though I could see them costing A LOT less if I were to make some. Helllooooo Michals. Le...

So Natasha had a bit of a time finding a reception venue in her budget. She was needing two days of renting the venue (Friday and Saturday) as her decorator is only available Friday and the wedding is on Saturday. On top of that, the venue had to fit 220 people and be under $2500. Her husband’s employer ended up pulling some strings (yay for Nashville Blues Society!) and they ended up getting the Hotel Preston, but here are some other venues I ran across that fit the bill for at least one of her requirements. I myself struggled to find a place that met all of the requirements. Here’s my (Nashville only) picks for…. Best for big groups Clockwise from top left; Country Music Hall of Fame Curb Conservatory - fits 400 for a seated dinner; Houston Station - fits 300!; Hermitage Hotel Grand Ballroom - fits 350; Ambrose House - fits 250 Best on the budget, but also holds more than 100 people Belmont Mansion - Wedding AND Reception for up to 150 people for $2100!  (too small for Nat...

Recently I've had an *epiphany*. I like to throw parties. Seriously if there's a party I'm planning I think about it 24/7. I stay up until 4am thinking about the guest list, the decorations, the food, and any other nit picky detail you can think of. I recently planned my wedding to this lovely man and it was incredibly fun. I loved planning every minute of that day from the food (BBQ made by the same man who cooked at the 4th of July BBQ we met at 2 years ago) to the personalized vintage items (I wore my grandmother's wedding dress for the reception, we used our ancestor's wedding photos as table identifiers, we hung our parents and grandparent's wedding photos from the tree we got married under, I used antique windows as the seating charts...I could go on but I won't bore you to death).    If you'd like to see more of the wedding pictures go here------  www.amberbeckham.blogspot.com So what's better than planning a party with all the fixing...