Our Holiday Gift Wrapping

I have an obsession with wrapping. If you don't believe me just look at my wrapping Pinterest board. All year I have been trying different designs, color palettes and toppers in preparation for my holiday wrapping. between my husband and I there are over 20 people in the family to give gifts to, so I needed something awesome but easy!

Remember this Sarah Seven brunch I designed last month? Well, I made a pom pom wall and therefore ended up with several hundred poms that made perfect toppers for presents. I bought some grey paper, gold ink, and a snowflake stamp from Paper Source and went to town stamping all the paper before wrapping them up!

I them made some fabric tags with each person's name. They look like they took a while, but it was the easiest piece of the wrapping puzzle.

And for good measure I made a few glitter tape bows. I was obsessed with this one.

Over the holiday season I accidentally accumulated a bevy of glitter tape options. I can't wait to use all of these in 2013! (What's left of them anyway)

What did you do for your holiday wrapping?

Put Her Best Foot Forward {flats for your bridesmaids}

My sister is my MOH and sole bridesmaid, and, while she is amazingly smart, gorgeous, and funny to boot, she is not a heels girl. Lucky for her, I am not a bridezilla (hate that word), and couldn't give two hoots about the shoes on her feet. That being said, her dress is short, so I'll take it upon myself as bride and the more shoe-obsessed sister to find her a lovely, wedding-friendly pair of flat sandals to wear with her dress. Her dress is similar to the below, from David's Bridal and J. Crew:

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Here are a couple of shoes I think would be fun and unique for a bridesmaid...who ever said all bridesmaids need to wear silver kitten heels from Chinese Laundry? Ugh.

And a few more sparkly options:

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As for me, I'll be in these... ; )

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Bold & Bright Wedding by Lowe Photos

There are so many things I love about this wedding, first being those bridesmaid dresses! It is hard to find fashionable dresses for your lovely ladies, especially if like me, you prefer something non-traditional-bridesmaid. The bride is so giddy and excited that you can't help but smile when looking through this wedding. And lastly, the ombre floral backdrop is awesome.

"Kara and Eric's beautiful wedding was full of love and amazing details. It all took place at the beautiful Westward Look Resort in Tucson Arizona. From the hand painted ombre flower backdrop at their ceremony to the floral print shoes the bridesmaids wore, the whole day was lovely and elegant."

Floral Designer:  Inglis Florists

Invitation Designer:  Magnet Street

Cake Designer:  Village Bakehouse

Tuxedo and Mens Attire:  Men's Warehouse

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Asos

Event Venue:  Westward Look Resort

Hair Stylist:  Gadabout Photographer:  Lowe Photos

Holiday Engagement Shoot by McFadden Studios

Before we all shut down for the holidays, here is a fun engagement shoot to warm your hearts. I love everything about this shoot from the wardrobe, to the ornaments and of course those awesome lights. You just don't see lights like those anymore! Everything was captured perfectly by McFadden Studios.

"Nestled between a small private airport and a quaint small town in you will find a Pygmy Forest hidden from sight. Paige and Will thought it would be fun to decorate one of those pygmy trees with their special ornaments, wrap up in a cozy blanket with some home made hot chocolate and marshmallows, and watch a sunset together. They brought "Cupcake" along too, yes, it's the pale blue truck they snuggle up in. Paige handmade the wreath, marshmallows, garland, and some of the ornaments that adorn the tree for this session. Our hearts melted as we captured the love shared between these two."

Fun and Unique Wedding Guest Books

Gone are the days of the traditional guest book! Now there are so many fabulous ideas for a unique and fun way to have your guests sign in. I am loving some of these ideas! Polaroid or Photobooth Scrapbook

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Fingerprint Guestbook

Etsy is a great place to find all different and fun fingerprint images!

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Wedding Mad Libs or Advice

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Source- Buy them here!

Wine Bottle Guest Book

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I LOVE our guestbook and can't wait to share it with you after the wedding!

Until Next Week!

-Jess

Follow me on twitter @jessdawnd and follow my Wedding Pinterest Board

What could have been {Winter wedding inspiration}

We are getting married in July, an absolutely stunning time of year in Sonoma County--not too hot and humid, rarely rainy and foggy, overall, pretty perfect weather. Despite our chosen date, I've found myself fantasizing about winter weddings. There's something so picturesque and magical about winter weddings that I find pretty unique. We went to a beautiful winter wedding last year, of my good friend Marian, and it remains one of the most memorable weddings we've attended. While we're set in our date, and in our summer wedding plans, here are a few things that would inspire me if I were planning a winter wedding.

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 Here's one of many gorgeous photos from my friend Marian's wedding, taken by the super-talented Alison Yin. (Marian's wedding was recently featured on Rock N' Roll Bride here!)

Source: Alison Yin Photography 

How do seasons inspire your wedding plans?

Feeling the Post-Wedding Glow

Well, over a year after I started blogging my eco-friendly wedding planning journey here in E&I, I am finally a Mrs. And it feels awesome!!! Our wedding day was the best day of our lives. We worked our butts off the week leading up to the wedding, crafting, running errands, and [trying to] make time for friends who were in town. We barely got any sleep that week and it was stressful beyond belief, but as soon as I saw Kyle on our wedding day, all of the stress over details melted away in a flood.

Our wedding was perfect.

As a perfectionist - and any other perfectionist can relate - I never say that word. Kyle and I went back to our beautiful hotel room that night, and we fell on the couch with grins from ear to ear and both said "It was perfect."

Everyone tells you that "things will go wrong, and it's okay." But honestly, nothing went wrong. A couple of things may not have gone exactly the way I dreamed it up in my head, but certainly nothing went wrong. It still holds true for both of us that this was indeed the best day of our lives. The time and energy that we put into every single detail paid off, and people noticed. Although we went over budget, the wedding would not have been what it was without those extra expenses. In the end, it was all worth it.

 Here's a photo our dear friend Dan took of me and Kyle at our rehearsal dinner at the end of the night, when we were about to say goodbye. We were so excited to finally marry each other, we couldn't let go.

I'll post wedding photos as soon as I can, and I've got another blog coming about the things they don't tell you about married life (what little bits I know of it, anyway). Thank you all for your support over the last year and for your help making decisions with me to put together the wedding of our dreams!!

Best of {Trends}

I'm not sure how or when trends start but in the wedding industry, like fashion, there's definitely trends that come and go. There are some trends that are really "in" right now that I absolutely love (and some that just miss the boat). But the ones I especially love appear effortless but with class and sophistication oozing out of them. I've included some of my very favorite "trends" below from low maintenance succulents and herb boutonnieres and bouquets to dirty iced cakes that scream "dig in." Then there's tablescapes with lace for a dreamy romantic feel or chevron table runners with the perfect twist of spunk. And last but certainly not least, the neutral mis-matched bridesmaid dresses, perhaps my favorite trend of all. If I could, I might try squeezing each of these trends in somewhere in the day but I'll refrain. In the meantime, I'll narrow down which ones are the most appropriate for us and match the romantic and fun wedding we've been planning.

What are some of your favorite trends? Are you including any of these in your plans?

Officiants {asking someone you know}

You may remember my post about finding an officiant, here. Well I am so relieved and happy to say that we now have ours! And better yet, he is my uncle (well, he's my dad's cousin to be exact, but same diff). If you are interested in having a family member or friend be your officiant, below, you will find what worked for me!

1. Talk to your fiance about who you both would want.

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From the beginning of thinking about finding our officiant, my fiance and I really liked the idea of having someone we know. We wanted someone whose marriage, family, and values we admired. It was important to us that the person was outgoing, comfortable speaking in front of a group, and had a great sense of humor. It was also a good chance to start imagining the ceremony we envision having. Things like readings, music, incorporating a special ceremony, etc.

2. Look into the legalities.

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I found this site with rules by state. Once you select the state, there is some helpful info and a list of clerk's offices in that state. We found it to be a great quick reference. We also called the office in the county where our wedding will take place and asked them some questions. For example, can our officiant be someone who was ordained online (Universal Life Church, anyone?)? And, can we waive the 3-day waiting period between getting the license and using it since we are coming from out of town? I highly recommend giving your clerks office a call.

 3. Pop the question.

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The hardest part for me was asking, because I didn't want my uncle to feel pressured into saying yes. When I approached it, I made it clear that while we would love for him to be our officiant, we completely understood if he didn't want to do it for any reason. Thankfully he said yes!

Are you thinking of asking a friend or family member to officiate your wedding?

Newlywed Holiday Cards

I absolutely love receiving all of the holiday cards in the mail this time of year.  There's something special about the bright & cheery smiles of my friends & their families, something I only feel when I receive snailmail.  I have to admit however, I am a bit sad that my fiance & I decided to hold off on sending out holiday cards until once we're married.  I guess that gives me plenty of time to look at all the designs & start planning next year's well in advance, right?!  {ha!} We'll likely use a picture taken at our August wedding for our card next year, but that doesn't mean I can't dream about the fantastic winter designs.  Some of my favorites include snow, which of course doesn't frequent the city of San Francisco.  Who knows, maybe come late November/early December 2013 we'll decide to forgo the obvious wedding picture & head up to Tahoe to take some snow-covered pictures of me & my Mr.

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