A Gift For The Bride: Wedding Day Survival Kit

Last month, when I did the wedding shower and reception for a close friend, I was looking for something that I could give her that would be useful.  I had already bought the lingerie and the wedding gift.  So, I was wanting something for the wedding day that she could really use.  This is what I came up with. 

A Wedding Day Survival Kit:

I found the adorable white satin, quilted bag at Michael's and I filled it with everything she could possibly need on her big day.

1. A snack - Nutella on the Go!
2. MIO - a little energy to squeeze into a bottle of water
3. A small first-aid kit for any blisters or boo-boos
4. Purell - never know when you need a little hand sanitizer
5. Visine - can even be used to reduce the redness of a last-minute pimple pop-up!
6. Nivea Lip Balm
7. Tylenol
8. Hand Lotion
9. Pepto - for any pre-wedding jitters/upset tummy
10. Blue finger nail polish - just in case she forgot her "something blue"
11. Kleenex pocket-size tissues
12. Orbit gum - Dirty mouth, clean it up!
13. Travel-size sewing kit - for any last minute emergencies!
14. Wisps - for fresh breath with no mess
15. Q-tips - for eleventy million uses
16. Shout Wipe & Gos - you just never know what will happen from dressing room to alter

These would make great Bridesmaids gifts too!  You could even tweak them a little for Bachelorette party favors...add in some "hangover remedies".

The Bride loved it!  She said it came in really handy on her wedding day!

In other news, I'm heading to Huntington Beach in 10 DAYS!!!  Sofa king excited.  Seriously.  I'm sure you've heard already, but I'll be meeting up with Impulsive, Seriously Shawn, Viv @ The V-Spot, Becca from The Texas Darlings, Connie from The Young and Relentless, and Jen from Harried Mom of Four!  *name dropper* It's a repeat of our trip from last year...


BUT we're headed to Cali instead of Texas and we're adding in Connie!  I just read my Friday Confessions from last year's trip and I'm bouncing in my seat from excitement!  Bring on the fun, friends, and fornication...KIDDING.  I wanted to tag our trip #Californication, but they informed me there would be no fornication...and that name was already taken. 

I'm linking up today to TTUT hosted by my skinny ass friends Impulsive and Shawn. 





No rules, just fun.  Stop by and link up!  XOXO.

A Black and White Wedding

My first wedding EVER...on my own.  I've HELPED with most of the processes and planned my own...I've put together many many parties, bridal showers, and baby showers...but never a whole freakin' wedding!  Can you say "anxiety"?  I hope so, because I had it.  Bad.


To add to the overwhelming pressure of making a bride's special day perfect, I only had a WEEK!!  After putting together her Bridal Shower, and it being a success; the Mother-of-the-Bride asked me to step in and help them with the wedding after the Wedding Planner bailed.

I won't bore you with my internal turmoil.  I'll just get on with the details and pretty pictures.  

The color scheme of the wedding was plum, black, grey, and white, of course.  Such an easy pallet to work with!  I found most of the decor at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Most of the paper items (programs, tissue poms, etc.) on Etsy.  Again, with little time to work with, I had to make exceptions and do the things I had time for...skip things I normally would have done, and make compromises.  So, this is what is looked like when it was all said and done...

There were twenty 85 inch round tables that sat ten people, one extremely long head table, and three food tables.  Plus, a side bar for drinks.  All of those surfaces had to be covered and decorated.  So, we went with white floor length table clothes on the round tables and put black organza overlays on them.  The long head table and all of the food and cake tables had floor length black table clothes with black and white damask table runners.

For a touch of whimsy and to fill up some space due to the very high ceiling, I tied a mixture of black, white, and silver balloons on the backs of the chairs at the head table.  These were multi-purpose, because when it was time for the departure, I went through and snipped them all off, passed them out to the guests, and had them release them as the newlyweds left on their honeymoon!  It was really cute!

I did all the flowers myself.  I stopped by Sam's and seriously bought them out of white flowers.  Then, I looked for anything "plum"...and then picked up a few green stems, greenery, and baby's breath.  I think I spent about $150 all together and I was able to make 10 mini arrangements for the head table, a large arrangement for the food table, and 10 more "small" arrangements for the guest tables...I also make 22 tussy mussy bouquets that went down the center aisle in the sanctuary.  (I wasn't in the ceremony, so I don't have any pictures yet. BOO.  I made 30 of the tussy mussies (paper cones with a ribbon handle)...I'll have to do a post on them when I get some pictures from the photographer.)

The bride loves vintage.  So, I tried to put little touches of vintage wherever I could...like the pearls and the black and white photographs...I also those the candelabras were a bit "vintage-y".

When I took on the role as "wedding planner", they still had not bought or decided on any kind of wedding favors.  After racking my brain, I thought about a CD with songs from their wedding.  The bride and the groom are both musical people, so it seemed to really fit them.  The bride loved the idea, so I got to work making a playlist in my iTunes account.  Then, I burned 85 CDs, made some labels w/ a thank you from the bride and groom and a list of the songs.  I put the CDs in some clear jewel cases and tied them off with some raffia.  If I would have had more time and a bigger budget, I would have ordered something like these...

They are from onefabday.com - amazing site for wedding favors!

Here's a few of the pics that I was able to snap quickly as I was buzzing around like a bee making sure drinks were full and the food table was stocked...oh, yeah...AND running the photo booth! <--another post all in itself!

All in all, I think the wedding was a huge success.  Everything pretty much went off without a hitch...the bride and groom were happy, which is all that matters.

And they lived happily ever after.

Links:

• I Spy Game for the guest tables (Paired up with a disposable camera, this is a great way to get some candid shots of all the guests!) - WeddingsbyJaime on Etsy
• Monogrammed Napkin Rings - EyeCandyEventDetails on Etsy
• Wedding Programs - iheartstationaryshop on Etsy
• Personalized Guestbook Art - PERSONALIZEDprints on Etsy

Remember, if you see anything you like or want to know more about, just let me know in the comments and I'll reply through email or just shoot me an email from my contact tab!