Wedding DIY: Paint Chip Seating Chart

I'm all about stylish and budget-friendly wedding details. One of my favorite wedding DIYs for our wedding reception was the paint chip seating chart. Not only was it an easy way to display all of our guests' names with their designated tables. It also added a nice colorful element to the bright white space!

Things you'll need:

• Paint chips from the hardware or paint store: pick paint chips in a variety of colors that match your color palette
• Pen
• Scissors
• Glue
• Big piece of foam board

1. Cut your paint chips in half. Some of your chips may have the name of the color printed along the bottom. Just be sure to trim those ends too. I didn't mind if my trimmed paint chips were different sizes. If you want them to all be exactly the same size, use a ruler and an exacto knife to measure and cut each paint chip individually.

2. Once you have them all trimmed to size, write the name of each guest on the paint chips along with their table numbers.

3. Practice arranging the finished paint chips on the foam board. Once you have the right arrangement, start gluing!

Easiest wedding DIY on the planet? Probably. Have fun!

Photo by Katherine O'Brien Photography

Bridal Portraits

Brides--are you trying to decide if you should have a bridal portrait session? Do it. It's a great way to try out your wedding day outfit and get comfortable with your photographer. And, if you're planning to hire a hair and make-up artist, it's a good excuse to have a trial run with him or her. I'm so glad I had bridal portraits just for all those reasons.

I met up with Katherine O'Brien on one of those insanely hot August days, and I told her I was looking for a variety of shots and settings. We took a few shots in her studio in Buda and in an adorable refurbished camper she has in her backyard. We also shot in a lovely old office building downtown with really unique wallpaper in a few of the rooms. Our last location was the popular Hotel San Jose off South Congress. I've always been in love with all the bamboo and abundant wall ivy, so we were lucky enough to be able to shoot a few images outside.

Thankfully it wasn't as hot on our actual wedding day. I remember sweating so badly as this last photo was taken. But it was totally worth it! Katherine also brought along her Holga and a vintage camera or two. I really like how some of the film turned out.

All photos by Katherine O'Brien Photography
Dress by Rachelle Briton
Veil by Twigs and Honey
Trial hair and makeup by Erica Gray

Inspired by (Weddings)

Two days. That's it. All the planning and ideas are about to be real. It all feels sort of real already because family and friends have started to arrive. Like I said earlier this week, I'm ready.

I shared a bit of wedding inspiration on the blog a while back. Today I wanted to post about some of the other images and weddings that have inspired us throughout this entire process

Cakes and Colors

Max and Margo's wedding, which I found over on My Sweet and Saucy, was full of adorable handmade details. I fell in love with the rich, playful colors of the streamers, flowers, and plush heart pillows. I just adore the uneven textures of the cake, and the candy apples seem so perfect for a fall wedding.

[I love this picture of the couple looking at their beautiful setup. And the streamers!]

Ivory Clusters

We knew we wanted lots of colors incorporated into our decor, but choosing flowers and colors for the centerpieces was one of the biggest challenges! I went back and forth over garden roses and gerbera daises. It finally hit me after my third trip to the florist--clean ivory and white. I thought arrangements of simple, dainty white flowers would stand out amongst all of the other colorful elements we have going on. This cute little arrangement of various white flowers and mismatched bottles is just the kind of look we're going for.

Embraced by Nature

This image of Ashley and Kemble on their wedding day is stunning. They were going for an old Hollywood look on a farm. I think this image captures the Hollywood glamor, especially in Ashley's hair and dress, along with the insane beauty of the surrounding trees.

Vintage and Handmade

I love all the vintage and romantic details of Courtney and Drew's wedding. I thought the bridesmaids' baby's breath bouquets were surprisingly vibrant, and I just really fell in love with the look.

These are just a few of the images that inspired us. I can't wait to see how all our details come together.

Check out the rest of my wedding inspiration board on Pinterest.

Images of Old Music

Remember yesterday's post on old sheet music projects for the wedding? There were so many sheets to choose from and lots of cool covers. I love the cute little drawings and the intricate detailing on some of these. I took piano lessons when I was in grade school and I don't remember my music books looking this pretty. Just thought I'd share:

[This is the cover for a second grade music book. Looks intimidating!]

[Love the paisley design around Chopin's head.]

[I wonder what a French art song sounds like.]

I love old books, covers, and postcards like this. I just wish I could read the music!

Sheet Music Boutonnieres and Paper Cranes

I read lots of style, food, and local blogs. I also read a few wedding blogs. When I first started wedding planning I would visit up to five or so wedding blogs everyday. It gave me TONS of inspiration and ideas, but after a while it got to be too much. When you plan and plan for months and months you reach a point when you know what you want for your big day, but you continue to become influenced and inspired but the daily wedding blog roll. Then you run the risk of doing too much so the day starts to feel impersonal.

When I knew what I wanted and what was feasible for us to do for our day, I slowly started cutting out the wedding blogs. I still visit all of them here and there, but I mostly just stick to one or two on a daily basis now. And I'm no longer trying to get inspiration for our own wedding--I just love reading about couples and the journey they took to get married.

As for old sheet music, this is something I knew I wanted to include in the wedding since around week one. The look we are going for is a combo of playful and vintage, and Kyle also happens to be a musician. Old sheet music was one of the ideas we had to incorporate both elements, and when I scored a giant box of it for free at a yard sale I knew we'd be able to experiment and do something big.

Then I found Olivia and Joshua's wedding on Green Wedding Shoes and these awesome sheet music boutonnieres:

[Photo borrowed from GWS; taken by Alec Vanderboom]

These were a definite yes. The couple's floral designer then posted a handy DIY, and I started making sheet music boutonnieres left and right.

The second sheet music project is more personal. 

When Kyle and I met I had just given up on a silly paper crane project. Have you heard the Japanese legend about 1,000 paper cranes? The legend tells us that he who makes 1,000 origami paper cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. I wasn't so hung up on the legend, but I thought a wall of 1,000 or so paper cranes strung together could look pretty amazing. So I started folding and kept folding until I had made probably 80 paper cranes, and then I quit. I didn't have time to fold paper cranes. But then I had 80 paper cranes to get rid of. So I just started giving them to roommates and friends when they popped over. 

Around that same time Kyle came into my life, and the first time he came over he got a paper crane. He seemed worthy by that point. He kept it perched on his desk in his room until he moved. I think he still keeps it in his office at work, and I think that's kind of cute. 

We aren't some kind of crane-obsessed couple, but the sheet music gave me another nifty idea for how to incorporate this personal story into our wedding. 

I don't want to give away too much about how the cranes should look on the big day, but I will tell you our venue is full of trees with low-hanging limbs. Hopefully that can paint a picture for you.

I can't wait to see how all the cranes and boutonnieres look in about two months!

DIY: Streaming Love

I love personal and playfully styled weddings. For me, small details and color really help set the tone. So what is playful, colorful, and something your guests can toy around with? Love streamers.

I first saw this adorable idea played out in a wedding featured on Grey Likes Weddings and immediately knew I wanted to make it my own.

 [Photo Credit]

The time required to complete this DIY totally depends on the number of streamers you want to make. I started out making about 80 and was able to finish in about eight hours over the course of a week.

Things you'll need:

• Ribbon of various colors and sizes: the amount you'll need depends on how short you cut each strip and how many strips you use for each streamer. I recommend starting out with one spool of ribbon for each color.
• Wooden dowels: you can usually find these in any major craft store. Any size will do (between 1/8 and 1/2 in., but the smaller dowels will be easier to trim down.) They are usually sold by the yard. Calculate the number of dowels you need by taking into account that each 3 ft dowel will be cut down into three 1 ft dowels or smaller.
• Hot glue gun/hot glue
• Scissors
• Ruler (optional)
• Small saw (or another tool to cut a dowel with)

1. Start by trimming the 3 ft dowels down to 1 ft using your small saw or trimming apparatus. You should now have three smaller dowels per 3 ft dowel.
2. Cut your strips of ribbon. They can all be the same length or various lengths. It's up to you.
3. Carefully use the hot glue gun to individually attach each strip to the dowel. I found that it looks nice to slightly overlap one over the other.
4. Repeat until you have enough love streamers.

I ended up needing about three times as much ribbon as I originally thought. I didn't want to over buy in the beginning, so I just ended up visiting the craft store time and time again throughout the week. No biggie.

What kind of personalized details do you enjoy in a wedding?

Love (Just Like the Movies)

Kyle and I were on the fence about hiring a wedding videographer for quite some time. We eventually decided it was more than worth it to us to have footage of our ceremony and the day’s festivities.

Thankfully, wedding videos of friends and family are much easier to watch these days with the direction most videographers seem to be going. I’m seeing more shorts or wedding “music videos” in which all the sweet, cinematic, tear-jerking moments are captured, elegantly put together, and set to music in a quick 3-5 minute video.

It was really important to us that we choose a videographer that was both experienced and creative. We found Tyler Faires through the wedding blogosphere and booked him after seeing this video:



Such a sweet wedding. We just love how Tyler makes the music, the venue, and the wedding party such an integral part of his videos. We’re excited to see how he captures our day!

This Is Not a Wedding Blog

Maybe you already know this, or maybe you can just tell by reading some of the blog posts I’ve written so far. I’m getting married. AHHHH.

It’s true, though. I’ve been engaged to Kyle since May 2010 and by late October 2011 we’ll be husband and wifey.


After nearly 15 months of planning and only 3 more to go, I feel pretty good and well-read about what’s happening in the world of weddings. And I’m loving all of it.

So, while this is most certainly not a wedding blog, I can’t help but fall in love with all the unique and creative wedding blogs out there. That’s why you may find a post here and there about wedding-related things, especially things that I’ve found inspiring as we plan for our big day.

There. I’ve said it, and I feel much better now. And now for a little oohhing and aahhing:

[Source]

I’m absolutely in love with this vintage Dior gown, which I first spotted on Green Wedding Shoes. The color and hints of gold make it perfect for a rather glamorous bride.

What do you think of wedding blogs?

Totally Pinspired

Pinterest has become another one of my latest and greatest obsessions. I no longer have to e-mail myself when I find an image on the web that I might want to go back and reference. And I no longer have to organize my bookmarks or images when I find something new, thanks to Pinterest. This awesome tool lets me "pin" the images I find inspiring and then organize them by topic or category.

[My Style Pinboard]

[For the Home]

[Wedding Inspiration]

Check out the rest of my boards here.

What do you think of Pinterest?