Wedding Invitations by Stephanie Astronaut

My invitations are signed, sealed, and delivered. While I have tried to do EVERYTHING myself, at some point you have to realize, you can't do it all!!! Yes I can draw and paint but I don't know how to scan those images onto a computer and make them into an invitation. I needed some one's expertise. And it paid off so beautifully.

For $50, I got an invitation, an RSVP, and also all kinds of background graphics to choose from. I got to be a part of every aspect of the design. It was also fun to collaborate with someone else. It was just a great experience over all. I am so happy that I found her on Etsy!

Heavenly Headbands

Love these headbands from Twig&Honey! Read about them over at Style Me Pretty, Happy Thursday everyone! I have a half day at work tomorrow and my first fitting in the afternoon. The days are slipping by.

38 days, a kitten, and a move

Oh life just keeps on coming. I am feeling very tired. Very overwhelmed. Ryan's job offered him a promotion {good} but in order to get the promotion we have to move {bad}. While it feels like too much right now and the last thing we need- I think it will be good for us. An adventure to start our marriage.

When I get past the anxiety of the unknown I feel a little excited to live somewhere new. To create new habits and meet new people. I am ready to start a new chapter in our lives. Ryan is talking babies but not me. Right now dealing with work, planning a wedding, helping Ryan deal with his loss, I feel stretched as thin as I can go. Being a bride with an anxiety disorder has not been easy. While I love my wedding and want so badly for it to be perfect. My energy, that I once was able to pour into the wedding, is gone.

So I have decided not to push myself right now. I am going to relax for the rest of July. I am going to eat good food and hang out with fun people. I am going to get lots of fresh air and read something other then wedding blogs. I am going to remember what it is like just to be a normal person for a couple of days!

And just so this post isn't pictureless here is our newest friend at our house- Skippy the kitten! How cute is he???

Engagement Session with Brad Hart Photography: Part 2

DIY Vintage Wedding Buffet Decorations

Our family is amazing! We are doing all of the food for the wedding ourselves. Ryan's uncle is cooking the meat. His Oma is cooking the rest of the meal {with the help of other family members}. Me and my mom are doing the appetizers and various family members are baking us cookies for our cookie bar {served with a nice shot of milk- more to come on that project!} I like to call it a family style wedding feast. I think a wedding should reflect who you are, not someone you are pretending to be for one day. Me and Ryan are small towns, we have large families, we hang out with our cousins, our families have meals like this all the time why would I want it to be any different for our wedding? I would much rather have a meal made lovingly by his Oma then eat some standard boring wedding catering {that doesn't even taste good most of the time!}. Doing your own buffet is a great way to show your style and background, involve family into your day, and save money!

I have been doing several projects to make the buffet a flawless part of the whole weddingscape- if that is even a word! One of my favorite projects is this vintage dresser drawer turned into cute container. I plan on filling two of these matching drawers full of chips. We have been glass containers for dip. Maybe it sounds a little funny now but I can't wait to see it at the wedding.



To make these I made a little trip to Restore and scrounged around for a cheap table with drawers that would make interesting containers. My first time around I didn't find anything that caught my eye. I forced myself to go around one more time and look closely at everything. That time I found the perfect bedside table with two drawers that were the perfect size! And for only $15!



I brought it home, cleaned it, sanded it, and cleaned it again. Then I used a set of spray paint that makes a crackle effect. It is super easy and you can find it at most craft stores. I got mine from Hobby Lobby. The last step for this is to decoupage paper onto the bottom of the drawers. All you need for that is an old paint brush, decoupage glue, and pretty craft paper.




This is an easy example of something that you can see on sites like Style Me Pretty and be inspired and make your own. Don't be afraid to try something even if you not exactly sure how to do it. Usually it is not as hard as it looks. Just takes a little bit of imagination and elbow grease!

Engagement Session with Brad Hart Photography: Part One

A new day dawns

Sometimes it can all get a little overwhelming. Sometimes things just don't go your way at all. Sometimes it will rain on your parade (or in this case your engagement shoot) but sometimes, just sometimes it all turns out the way you want to. Here is a just a taste of what is to come! Our engagement session part 1 with Brad Hart Photography was this Monday. A lot of rain and clouds canceled the shoot but we were still able to get some great shots! These were all taken in Ryan's Opa's barn. It's over 75 years old.

loss

There has been a very good reason why I have not been blogging lately. One I wasn't sure I was going to write about but I feel there are lessons to be learned. Our family has suffered a terrible tragedy.

Ryan's cousin Chason and his Uncle Mark were both killed in a car accident last week. Mark was 52, Chason only 23. Chason was like Ryan's brother growing up. He was a groomsman and a stand in best man while Ryan's best friend is away in the Navy. He was in the middle of planning Ryan's bachelor party when the accident happened.


What I can tell you from this is that when something like this happens during your engagement you shut wedding planning down. You don't care about centerpieces or photo backgrounds. You have to let it go and go with the flow. Your number one priority needs to be the ones you love. A wedding is just one day and in the scheme of things, such a silly thing to waste so much time and stress over.

I have never felt closer to Ryan's family. Through all of the tears and sadness good things can come. I got to know them, really know them, and I feel like they know they can trust me now. They know that when I am needed, I will be there. Your engagement is so much more then planning a wedding, it's also about becoming part of a family. I became a part of Ryan's family this weekend.

We will leave Chason's spot open at the wedding for him. I know that he will be there with Ryan on our wedding day - it was one of the last things he talked about with his mom. Mark and Chason- you were truely special guys please know you were loved and will be greatly missed.

Doily Chandelier by Martha Stewart

So for the last six months I have been agonizing over my centerpieces. I am a centerpiece snob. I am, I admit it, but it is all about proportion people! You can't have tiny, small centerpieces on a big round table! But I do understand that big, show stopping centerpieces are expensive and an undertaking. But after scouring the Internet for endless ideas I think I have finally found my show stopper.



How pretty are these doily chandeliers from the newest Martha Stewart Wedding magazine? I think they are going to really set the stage and go beautifully with all the other elements I already have. My mom and I went to the reception site this week. It was really nice to see the space and set it all up in my mind. I think now, after placing all the tables and knowing the surfaces I have to decorate that I have pretty much got it covered. There are some smaller projects to do but if they don't get done then I am not going to sweat the small stuff!



That is the state my basement is in right now, holding all of the decorations for the reception! We have our engagement pictures with Brad Hard Photography this coming weekend. I am so excited to meet with Brad and tell him about all my ideas. Crazy how fast it all sneaks up on you! It's starting to get exciting around here!