BEADED INSPIRATION!

 This is the beaded inspiration found on Etsy.com......But we don't want to pay the high prices....so off to JoAnn Fabric store for the half off sale on all their beads!!!!!

We bought these beads and copper colored wire to wrap toasting glasses, serving set, and the unity candle.  We will post the finished products when we make them.  Most likely we will have to wait until the Christmas vacation for more time on wedding decorations!

TREAT TABLE AND HEAD TABLE

 This candle set will be at the head table in front of the bride and groom.  When the wedding is over, the kids can take this to their new home!

These two sets of jars will be used at the treat table.  Once again, after the wedding, the kids can use these decorative jars in their home!

COUNTDOWN- 10 MONTHS AWAY- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

HOLIDAY/WEDDING BUY- 40 BOXES OF WHITE LIGHTS AT $1.00 PER BOX (100 COUNT.)!  WOOT!

 Vases!  These were 1/2 price at Krogers!!!!  We are thinking these would look good with greenery at the entrance of the church or rececption. Not sure yet, but couldn't pass up the great buy.....plus Caitlin and Joey (and maybe this Mom! :-)) can use them in the house after the wedding!

THE FLOWER GIRL IS 8 MONTHS OLD!

Auntie Caitlin and Nevaeh.  The future flower girl is 8 months old already!!!!

WINTER QUARTER AND GRADUATION APPLICATION!

This week marked the light at the end of a VERY long tunnel for Caitlin.  She met with her academic adviser, signed up for Winter quarter, which starts in January......and....this weekend, she is filling out the forms for graduation and ordering her cap and gown!!!!!  YEA  .....May will be here before you know it!

By the way...I need to brag a bit.....Caitlin got 100% on her medsurge midterm!  WOW....such a brainiac!

SAVE THE DATE CARDS

The Save the Date cards were ordered online at Shutterfly.com   Caitlin got a 40% off coupon in e-mail, plus an additional 20% discount when ordered.  We got 200 cards/envelopes for under $100.00!   Once we have the guest list done...(hopefully by Thanksgiving), we can mail these out!

ONE YEAR FROM TODAY....

In exactly one year from today, Caitlin will be a married woman!  THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!!

THE CAKE!

 

Our evening started by trying on the wedding dress again.....can't wait to share the full view with you....but for now only a sneak peek!

 

Our cake shopping started and stopped with the only place that Caitlin would entertain.....all of our cakes have come from this little shop since before Caitlin was born!  The cake is FABULOUS!....and only $2.00 a slice.   The cake booths at the bridal shows had prices starting at $3.50 and up.  Grandma and Grandpa Richards are buying the cake as a gift for them!  Wow!  What a nice gift!

 

And this is what she picked out!  SIMPLY ELEGANT! 

 

We ended our evening with a nice dinner!

COLLEGE DAYS!

Caitlin's last year of nursing school is in full swing!  Wedding takes a back seat to school for now.....Thinking Thanksgiving and Christmas break will be the next big blocks of time to focus on the wedding plans.  Good thing we had over a year to plan!  Soooo much to still do!

HOME FOR THE WEEKEND!

Caitlin was home for the weekend (last year in College!) and so was baby Nevaeh (and Courtney)!  All my girls together this weekend.....what more could a mom (grandma) ask for!

5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Awww! Joey is sooooo sweet.  They have been dating for 5 years now!

FLOWER GIRL

Our flower girl is 5 months old already!

TASTE TESTING

We had a taste testing at the caterer's this evening.  The food was FABULOUS!  The menu is picked and the deposit paid.  Whew!  The hardest part is done.....now onto picking out a cake......so many choices!

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, CAITLIN!

Hard to believe that my baby girl is officially an adult now!  Where did the time go?!  I am enjoying this phase of your life.  Thank you for allowing me to share in it.  You are a special girl.  I love you very much!

Mom

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

IDEA FOR RECEPTION!

 

How cute is this idea!? The art teacher at school is doing this for her daughter's wedding.  Once she told me, I googled the idea and found this on Green Wedding Shoes’ blog, and fell in LOVE with this guest book idea! The crafty bride and groom created their own Fingerprint Tree, where guests simply left their mark by placing their fingerprint and signature on the tree. What a great keepsake for the bride and groom to hang in their home!.........Caitlin loves the idea!

We can purchase the Fingerprint Tree at this bride & groom’s Etsy shop, Bleu De Toi. With a choice of ink colors. ....Or  make our own by buying a canvas board at Hobby Lobby, painting the tree, buying washable ink pads, quick dry markers for names and baby wipes to clean the fingers!!!!  HOW FUN AND WHAT A NEAT KEEP SAKE!

POSSIBLE CATERING IDEAS!

Today was a day of visiting different caterers.  One caterer set us up with a linen rental company:  http://www.lirents.net/index.asp.  Caitlin found her place setting to rent for the wedding reception.  This setting works out to be around $5.00 per set (dinner plate, salad plate, two forks, knife, water glass and eggplant/plum napkin).

Isn't it beautiful!  Caitlin has good taste!

http://pceventsinc.com/

The caterers have been ranging from $40.00 to $65.00 per person (OUCH!).....that is until we found this caterer!  He has a wedding package!!!!

The Following Items are Included with the Wedding Package

• Gourmet Dinner Rolls and Butter Included
• Tossed Salad with Ranch and Italian Dressings
• 2 choices of Hors d'oeuvres, 2 entrees
• Regular and Decaf Coffee with Disposable Cups, Creamers, Sugars Included  (he added tea- FREE)
• Prepoured Water Glasses at Each Table Setting
• Floor length Self Serve Coffee Station Included
• China Dinner Plate Included at Dinner Buffet
• Preset Silverware at Each Table Setting
• White Table Linens for all Guest Tables Rectangular and / or Round Included (8 Guests Per Table Linen)- (Ivory Linen --- No additional Charge! )
• Floor length Bridal Station Included (30' Floor length Table with 3 Rectangular Linens)
• 8' Floor length Gift Station Included
• 5' Round Floor length Cake Station Included
• Floor length Buffet Line
• Cake Cutting with Disposable Plates, Fork and Napkins Included
• Linen Napkins (Choice of Color) Included
• Carver, Servers and Service Included
• Chef in Field or Captain Included

Price Per Person - $28.95

18% Gratuity charge added to total of order. Minimum 100 guests. The wedding package listed above is being offered for a limited time only and is based on date availability. 

YAY!!!!  We are even able to get the above place setting that Caitlin picked out earlier.....and he knocked the $5.00 off the above price for the trade in tableware!!!!  We are still paying the same price in the long run....but are able to use the two different companies!!!!  

Next step is for Joey and Caitlin to pick a date for the food tasting before picking the entrees and signing a contract!

GIRLS DAY OUT!

Today Caitlin, Grandma Betty, Vickie and I went to the Parade of Homes......It was fun gathering home decorating ideas!  The rest of the day of spent on finding damask stamps and paper for the invitations.  Next Friday, we are going to meet with a few caterers and bakeries.

Preview of Engagement Photos

CHAIR SASHES

Remember the sashes we found back in January from this website?????

http://www.weddinglinensdirect.com/

We ordered 300 of them in plum color (which matches our eggplant colored flowers that we have!).  We actually ordered the plum and eggplant samples before we purchased 300 of them! They were on sale for 59 cents each!!!!  Woot!  Can't beat that price!!! 

We also ordered 30 of these organza circles to put in the center of each table (under the centerpieces).  They were only 99 cents!  YAY!  Caitlin was hoping to find a damask cloth to go under the centerpieces....but not luck so far.  If we do find plum or copper damask, then we can use these organza circles somewhere else when decorating.  :-)

INVITATION IDEAS

Caitlin seems to like the pocket type invitations, but they are rather expensive, so Joey's mom and Caitlin are going to explore the idea of making them to save money!

Here's an example of embossed damask.  The black outside of folded invite would be plum/eggplant. The red could still be the plum showing through (to save money).  The white could be ivory.  The black damask could be copper. The black ribbon could be plum. The wording could be plum or copper.  Then the lower fold of the invite could have a pocket with RSVP, registry and map to church and reception.

Here's a close up of the embossed damask.

We found this sample on weddingbee.com. We could use this idea on the outside of the invitation to dress up the envelope side.  Hopefully they can find plum/eggplant card stock.  It is such a hard color to match!  

Once they figure out the invitations, then they can focus on the dinner menus, table tents, table numbers and seating chart........since they all have to match!  :-)  THANKS FOR YOUR HELP VICKIE!!!! 

BRIDESMAID IN A FRIEND'S WEDDING

Caitlin's roommate got married yesterday.  She was one of the bridesmaids.  The theme was black and white zebra print!  Here's the cute couple.....one day I will be posting pictures of their wedding!  Speaking of pictures, Caitlin and Joey are getting their engagement pictures done today.  I am looking forward to seeing them.  I'll post some when they come in!

CENTERPIECES FOR RECEPTION

The first task was to separate the stems by color.  The colors are plum (eggplant), copper and cream with greenery.  Caitlin's colors compliment a fall pallet.....I even think the finished product reminds me of a Tuscan color combination.

This is a 20" tall vase for the tower centerpiece.

I used a 5" foam ball covered with moss for the top of the vase. The ball fits nicely on top....after the arrangement is made, I can lift the ball off and store the arrangement until the wedding (I placed the arrangement in a plastic round bowl).  This makes for an easier transport to the reception hall.   Caitlin also wanted colored stone in the bottom of the vase for added color.

 For the start of the arrangement, Caitlin and I cut stems off of leaves purchased in a bunch (Thank you Joey for your help....some of those stems are hard to cut!).  We stuck them in the foam and bent them to show the vase.  After breaking one vase while assembling, I got smart and assembled it on a non-breakable vase.....then moved to the glass vase to see the creation evolve and  to take these pictures.  :-)

 

This flower arrangement is made with 2 bunches of leaves.

The finished centerpiece!!!!!  Isn't it beautiful??!!  This took us two hours to create.  With Caitlin's help, we made 5 arrangements today!  5 down and 25 more to go!  YIKES......Thank goodness the wedding is still a little over a year away.  With school, and work we are making these in our spare time. When these are done, other arrangements and bouquets will be made.  Check back for wedding updates!

Future Flower Girl!

Awwwwe!  How sweet!  Uncle Joey and Aunt Caitlin with Nevaeh! (13w4d old)

BRIDESMAID DRESS

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This is the bridesmaid dress.  This is purple, but the dress will actually be ordered in eggplant, which is a different shade of purple.  The shoes will be dyed eggplant also....not sure what style shoe will be picked.  The girls will order their dress around Christmas time!  (See previous post for the web picture of dress in eggplant)