More non-floral bouquets

I'm still pretty sold on the parasol idea, but at Offbeat Bride did a big post on alternative bouquets that I just had to share. Some of the ideas I don't much care for (not really into the button thing, a little too... Raggedy Anne?) but a bunch are totally cute. I love the lantern idea for an evening wedding!

These origami map bouquets are sweet! (you might have to have an Offbeat Bride Tribe account to see them)

Squee!

From livejournal

I adore these invitations.

Right up my 'lily fair' alley!

Luke came up with a wonderful idea! He likes the idea of parasols for the bridesmaids (and probably one for me too)!

Considering July/August in Oregon can be quite hot, and we don't want to spend a fortune on flowers, I like the idea! What do you guys think?
Perhaps something like one of these?

$7.50 each from http://www.lunabazaar.com
$7.95 each from http://www.lunabazaar.com
$21.50 each from http://www.lunabazaar.com
$22 from http://www.lunabazaar.com
$8.95 each from http://www.lunabazaar.com

For the bride with more of a budget, perhaps you'd prefer these lovely Victorian inspired parasols from The Ladies Emporium. My favorite is the Battenberg Lace Parasol, in Ivory.

And then of course there is always ebay, which has a variety of parasol options, though of questionable quality sometimes...

Admittedly I didn't spend much time look in etsy for parasols, but I didn't find any that were in my price range...Most of what I found were also things that had parasols printed on them, or jewelry of parasols, not actual parasols...

So, parasol, good idea? Lame? As a replacement for flowers for my bridesmaids, or in addition to them?

From Here Comes the Guide

From McHenry County Blog
From Joyce&Edward
From TwoBrides

Feedback?

Floral Alternatives

Duct Tape Flowers

Paper Roses!

I really want to find a way to use the paper roses as our center pieces, they are super simple, unique and quite pretty if I do say so myself.

Reporting back

Well, it was a strange 'presentation'.

We showed up at our local Red Lion in a few minutes early, and made our way up to the presentation room. There had been a presentation earlier in the day, so there was a small two burner unit, as well as a variety of pots and pans, and several dishes out. Two other couples were there already. We were handed a clipboard with a form to fill out, and waited another ten minutes or so before the representative started the presentation.

Now, I may be overly critical, being a performer and in theater, but this guy wasn't a very good presenter. His word choices and speech patterns just didn't inspire me to want to spend lots of money on high quality cook ware. He started with telling us about our benefits package (which was totally legit, as far as I could tell), and then asked if we would mind if he skipped the 90 minute talk about the cookware, and just let us go home with the benefits packages, and that's just what he did. We picked which vacation we wanted (we picked the one that can be to Mexico, Dominican Republic, or Bahamas, we have to provide transportation there, and they take care of nearly everything else), and a discounted membership to a grocery coupon service, and we were out the door.

To be honest, I was a little let down, I wanted to hear about the cook ware, but c'est la vie! I'll let you know when we decide to use the trip, we've got three years until it expires.

We're winners?

I don't think I mentioned the Bridal Show that Luke and I went to about a month ago. Needless to say it was a bit overwhelming. More samples, literature, pamphlets and drawings then I could wrap my head around. It was a lot of fun too! Looking at the sparklies, seeing what business I am familiar with have to offer. I will admit to privately snarking about the aging string quartet that was rather painfully out of tune. The fashion show was fun to catch glimpses of, though Luke wouldn't let us sit down and watch. (He insisted that since I was making my gown anyways, I didn't need to watch it... lol) I was honestly a bit taken aback by the terrible posture most of the models, but that is a different post altogether.

The most beneficial aspect of the show was trying all the caterers, and knowing they were all local places, places that I could go and visit. We found two and particular from the show that we are very seriously considering. Cowgirl Catering (which is a sub-company of Flavors), Carte Blanche, and Cornucopia.

At least that as what i thought the most beneficial aspect was until this afternoon when I received a voice mail notifying me that I'd won a wedding package.

Ah.... come again?

So I called the back, and sure enough, Luke and I have 'won' a vacation, either a tropical trip in the Dominican Republic, Mexico or The Bahamas; or a trip at one of 17 locations within the US. Not to mention a gift card of some sort.

All Luke and I have to do is head down to the Red Lion Inn on Saturday afternoon, try out some cookware, and give our opinions. Courtesy of Gateway Bride.

Now hang on a second before you jump in and tell me what a scam it is, I've read the consumer reports etc. And it sounds to me like a legit effort to get new couples to buy their cookware by offering incentives. No way are Luke or I going to be pressured into purchasing cookware we don't need, so we'll check it out on Saturday, keep our skeptic hats on, and let you know how it goes.

For those who liked the book centerpieces...

Like me, I found a few more around the interwebs.
Kim made these great mock ups, which I found via the Livejournal group weddingplans

Another pic of this centerpiece is here at their Flickr account.


Or these school house centerpieces from Amber and Jeff's wedding.
Also found via weddingplans.
And more of this centerpiece here, at their respective flickr account.

Totally cute.