Julia's Wedding, Part 2

Today I'll be sharing some more photos from Julia's wedding, mainly the food and decor. As I mentioned before, this was a major DIY event, and my mom and I made all the food, including the wedding cakes, and did almost all the decor. Yes, we are crazy.

Annie did the flowers, and they were perfection. She totally captured the vibe with just a few blooms!

Julia was in charge of the guest table, and made a lovely display with photos and vintage props. Instead of a traditional guestbook, guests signed a globe that had been painted matte black.

It all came together for the perfect rustic chic wedding.

Menu:

- Antipasto Skewers

- Crudites with Ranch

- Sweet Garlic Meatballs

- Shrimp Cocktail

- Pork Tenderloin Sliders

- Beef Tenderloin Sliders

Drinks:

- Citrus Water

- Bottled Izzie

- Bottled IBC

- Cappuccino station

Cakes:

-  Dark Chocolate & Salted Caramel

dark chocolate cake, filled with salted caramel buttercream, iced with dark chocolate buttercream

- Vanilla Bean & Lemon Cream 

vanilla cake, filled with creamy lemon curd, iced with vanilla bean buttercream

- Triple Strawberry

strawberry cake, filled with strawberry preserves, iced with fresh strawberry swiss meringue

Decor included:

- hay bales

- stenciled burlap overlays

- candles, candles, and more candles (graciously loaned from Courtney's wedding)

- scads of small wood slices (graciously loaned from Courtney's wedding)

- bits of moss tucked in everywhere (graciously loaned from Courtney's wedding)

- gold circle garland

- matte black mason jars

- brass birds figurines

- cluster of hanging poms and lanterns

- succulents

- amazing flowers by Annie

- chalkboard signs with lovely type drawn by Cory

You can see the first post about Julia's wedding here. 

I'll be back tomorrow with some photos of the happy couple.

Most photos by Perfect Perceptions, a few by me.

Julia's Wedding, Part 1

I had two close family members get married in the past few months, and I was honored to be involved in their weddings. I'll post about Julia's wedding (sister) this week, as it's the freshest in my mind, but stay tuned for Courtney's wedding (sister-in-law) next week!

Julia, my little sister, was married on a cold but beautiful autumn day. The wedding was out in the country, on a working farm. They have a lovely barn just for events, and that set the stage for the rustic chic nuptials.

This was a major DIY wedding. And when I say that, I mean it. We did just about everything outside of building the barn ourselves. My mom and I made and designed the decor, the food, and the cakes. Annie, my older sister, did the flowers. Julia did all the stationary and the guest table/activities. Some dear friends of mine served all the food. A friend of the couple photographed the the wedding, and both families pitched in for setting up every single thing and the equally crazy tear-down afterwards. It had plenty of fun times, and everything turned out lovely, but boy howdy, I'm glad it's done.

Here's a look at the wedding! I'll be back tomorrow with details on the food and decor.

Credits

Photography: most photos by Perfect Perceptions

Location: Live Oaks Farm

Bridesmaids Attire: dresses from Target, cardigans from Banana Republic, vintage jewelry

Groomsman Attire: grey pinstripe suits from Overstock.com with skinny ties

Brides Gown: ivory shantung taffeta ball gown by Galina, here, with a cashmere cardigan from J. Crew

Weekend Glimpse

What a lovely weekend!

 While shopping with my mom and sister, I spotted this lovely string typography in a cute plant shop, Roots. Would be a neat idea to recreate at home!

 Cowork Greenville held a weekend hackathon to create a new website all about Greenville. It's Life in Greenville, and the full site will launch in the next day or so. Lib and I got to contribute a little bit with some copywriting, and it was great to be a part of this.

On Saturday was a birthday celebration for dad, where we devoured a slab apple pie. 

Happy Birthday, Poppa!

2 manicure parties this weekend, such fun. 

I'm currently sporting an audacious 90's pink on my fingers and sassy metallic silver on my toes.

Not pictured:

- Mr. Baby is now officially Klaus

- empty pizza boxes

- Fraiser marathon

- grocery shopping

- booking a trip to NYC!

- Christmas decor still up

- ice cream sandwiches

- slippers

- not sleeping enough

- Indie Craft Parade planning

- 70 degrees. In January.

- wishing for snow

Christmas Gifting, Given

I had lots of fun shopping for the dear ones in my life, and everyone seemed to enjoy their Christmas gifts.

Once again, I was far too lazy to photograph everything before I gave it, so here's a look at the stuff I found online. The other presents were lovely, you'll just have to take my word for it.

From top:

For sister: Blue Moss necklace (available at Art & Light in Greenville) 

For sister & friend: Design Sponge At Home (autographed!) 

For husband: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

For mom: Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts

For friend: Jonathon Adler's Happy Chic Colors and Happy Chic Accessorizing

For sister & friend: Jonathon Adler's Happy Chic Tea Towels

For sister & friend: Jonathon Adler's Happy Chic Pear Trivet

For dad: Local Coffee Beans from Leopard Forest

For dad: Handmade mug by Illyria Pottery

For friend: Grid Infinity Scarf by White Moth

For brother-in-law: Tardis Cookie Jar

For mother-in-law: Woven Chenille Throw

For husband: Telescope

For husband: The Muppet Show

For husband: Vintage Kermit plush

For husband: Henson's Place (documentary)

Christmas Gifting, Received

As usual, my husband and dear ones went overboard with gifts, and I received so many amazing presents.

Here are some of the lovely items I was given... (I'm only showing the ones that are online because I'm far too lazy to take photos of stuff that's not.)

From top:

David Stark Wood Slices Dinner Plates // The Wildwood Chronicles // Cabinet of Natural Curiosities // Menagerie // Bon Bon Necklace // Metallic Sequin Pillow // Sweeteeth Chocolate // Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts // Today is the Day Pocket Planner // Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy // various bling from Charlotte Russe // Spring Step Suede Boots

Christmas Glimpse

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a lovely New Year.  We had a great, relaxing time with family, and thoroughly enjoyed our little vacation.

We spent Christmas with Cory's family, and I got reacquainted with my animal friends.

Poppy's smoked BBQ ribs were a highlight, as always.

The grandchildren got their annual photo by the tree (some willingly, some not-so-willingly).

And the womenfolk did our traditional marathon day of shopping. 

Can't come home until the car is full.

 We paid a little visit to a certain magic kingdom...

 Had some tea...

 And hobnobbed with royalty.

We picked up a little hitchhiker on the way home. Cory and I made a quick stop to switch off driving, and this sweet little guy asked for a lift and a home. Of course, we couldn't say no.  He's all settled in, gotten a clean bill of health, he just needs a name. He's currently answering to Mr. Baby, but that sort of nonsense can't be permanent. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!

We spent New Year's Eve with my family and our friends. I took it easy and left the camera behind, though I do with I had some photographic evidence of us trying to learn "The Wobble" ... that's blackmail material for sure.

Not pictured:

- fourwheeling

- fried turkey

- presents galore

- Splash Mountain

- new art

- shrimp and grits

- sunshine

- driving and driving and driving forever

- a fruit stand that sold "peches"

- ball drop

- 2012 planning